I am a mouse on a wheel. It might be a shiny, diamond-studded wheel that spins all nice and smooth, but it is still a wheel. I’m a stimulus/response machine. I don’t see this as an inherently bad thing. It is what it is. It’s this behavior that has helped me succeed in many things. It helps to multi-task at work. It helps me to juggle multiple to-do’s at home. It helps me just put the blinders on and get things done even when those things might not be fun or overly exciting (like training hard or doing the laundry).

Part of this change has to do with my new role as a manager. I am no longer defining my success at work in terms of what I do, but in terms of what my team can do. I am having to deal with many more varied projects and problems than I have ever had to do in the past. Like it or not, since I spend so much time at or thinking about work; this work-based stimulus response behavior pervades the rest of my life. It is not good or bad, it is what it is.

However, I’m starting to see a dramatic contrast. I just returned from a whirlwind 8 day trip to China, Korea and Taiwan (for work). Talk about stimulus-response overload! Now, in the throes of holiday season, most of my team and peers are on vacation. E-mail has flowed to a trickle. I haven’t had a phone call in days. My stimuli are all gone! Oh no, what to do! It’s actually taken me a bit of time (a day or so) to make the switch from dancing monkey (stimulus response addict) to normal human being.

As a “normal human being”, I feel much more calm; but also less excited about stuff. I am able to think long term, but am actually not nearly as motivated to get a bunch of near-term (easy) stuff done. I am more looking forward to going to work in the morning (less pressure) but a little more bored when I get there.

So yes, there is a change. It’s not good or bad. It is what it is.

I think I have pretty high standards. Mark McGoldrick is off the charts….at least when it comes to money. Unfortunately, I am puzzled as to how someone who seems to have it all, can still not realize that wealth and happiness are not perfectly correlated.

Mark works in the world of high-finance, at one of the most prestigious firms in his field. He is by definition a trader, but unlike many traders who operate using sophisticated mathematical models, he focuses on buying severely distressed assets, and later selling them for substantial profit.

He is so good that Goldman Sachs paid him $70 Million in total compensation….for a single year. Yet, he feels robbed. So much so, that is leaving his current firm to start his own gig. The funny thing is, as outlandish as this salary might seem, top hedge fund or private equity financiers make this much or in many cases, much more.

What is truly odd, is that it appears <from the article at least, I do not know Mark or know anyone who does> as if he is a walking basket case. He is working 21 hours a day, worked through a hacking cough for 6 months due to bronchitis (no doubt brought on by stress and lack of sleep), gained weight and probably is suffering in many areas of his life outside of his bank account.

“Around the same time, Mr. McGoldrick got sick. Frequently on the phone or on an airplane, he developed severe bronchitis, with a hacking cough. He couldn’t get through a phone call without throat lozenges for 100 consecutive days, a person familiar with the matter says. He visited his doctor in London, who ordered him to change his grueling lifestyle.“

I admire Mark’s ability to achieve results and capitalize on opportunities; but would never ever want a life that was pushed this close to the edge. I  hope that his new gig gives him the freedom <and courage?> to adopt  new standards for working…that help him not only successfully ply his trades, but provide a platform for him to bring his health and work-life balance back into order….and keep it that way.

If your legs work. Take the stairs.

I’m amazed at how many folks in my building take the elevator. My building only has 4 floors to begin with.

The fit folks tends to take the stairs. The ones who need the exercise the most (but are completely capable of stairs) don’t.

We sit around at enough at the office, take advantage of any opportunity to get the blood flowing.

A great post by Scott Adams. My writing skills are marginally above average. My humor skills are woefully below average. Reading his blog on a regular basis is a great way to learn from osmosis.

I wrote about getting more from less. The way I figure, this is not about being lazy. It is about utilizing the most precious commodity we have in this lifetime, our time, in the most effective way possible.

This applies to how we work, how we workout, how we relax, how we play and just about everything else we do. Everything we do takes time. It pays to spend more time on the things that are going to give you MORE REWARDS and less time on the things that are most likely to result in boredom, frustration or perhaps even PAIN.

This philosophy is a simple and intuitive one to grasp. Yet, it is so hard to implement. Why?

I think that most of us feel genuinely guilty if we don’t work hard. We actually go through self-sabotage if we don’t give it a full effort. If we don’t work hard, we don’t expect out-sized rewards either. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

When you consider a hard-working and very intelligent person or a lazy and equally intelligent person….which one do you think would be more successful in the long run? The lazy person of course!

It is the smart and lazy person that knows how to delegate, knows how to say NO to stupid projects, knows how to network, knows how to outsource, knows how to sell their results and skills in ways that get them noticed. In general, it is the smart yet lazy person that gets ahead.

What happens to the smart yet hard-working folks? They do OK, though they probably end up working twice as many hours…for a smart yet lazy boss!

The message here is that it pays to learn how to be lazy (and smart!). If you want to be in control of your life, find some of these people, and learn how they make such a big impact yet manage to get out of the office at a reasonable time. Model their best behaviors. Soon enough, maybe you’ll be one of them :)

Really.

I am deep in the throes of withdrawal due to my new e-mail policy.

You see, e-mail addiction is just like any other addiction. Think about the symptoms for any hardcore drug of choice. Anxiety. Needing a hit first thing in the morning. Impacting your social life. Impacting your time with friends or family. Now take a hard look at how e-mail is impacting your life. Any similarities?

In fact, for me, it is much WORSE to cutoff the e-mail than it was to deal with a coffee/caffeine addiction! I really used to love my Americano’s.

The simple questions can be the HARDEST ones. Whether you are in business for yourself as an entrepreneur or a cog in the corporate wheel, the question still applies.

I’m in the business of HELPING PEOPLE. This applies to my corporate job and my non-corporate personal endeavors regarding personal development.

I’m starting to crack down hardcore on my TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS. I hate the term “time management” because the thought of having to “manage” anything can in itself be an utter waste of time. However in this case, the fixed cost investment will be well worth it.

The way I figure, since I an 27 years old right now….I have about 25,000 days left to live..give or take a few thousand (yes, I expect to live to at least 100 y/o).

Looking out my condo window, I see three cranes putting up massive new buildings. My view will only be partially blocked.

Right now, according to the Seattle Times, there is a major shortage of rentals in downtown Seattle. I get the sense things will change drastically once all the new construction comes online over the next 6 to 12 months.

 ”If renters have a bright spot on the horizon, it’s this: Developers in the central Puget Sound region plan to roll out 20,857 new units between this year and 2011. And that’s just counting apartment complexes with 20 or more units.” - Seattle Times

For now though, landlords are having a field day.

I had a very interesting meeting today. Frustrating at times, but ultimately I had a huge learning in what it takes to be a leader. I work at Microsoft, as a product planner in the Windows Division. My job is all about making sure that future versions of our software exceed the expectations of our customers. This is a tall order, given the hundreds of millions of Windows PC’s out there, but it is one that I truly enjoy trying to meet.

I was working with a technical team, helping them hone in on the most impact-ful features they should focus on building in a future release. These folks are subject matter experts for their product area. They are living and breathing their product all day long. They should feel completely empowered to make big decisions so their teams can move forward.

Unfortunately, progress had stalled. People felt dis-empowered not empowered. As a very big company, sometimes people feel that they need to get an “ok” from on-high before moving past any big decision point. There was some logic to this, as there was a higher-level process in place that could impact the overall direction of the team. However, it was clear, that waiting for approval or executive direction was not going to help the matter.

The team was losing forward momentum. The reality was, even our executive team would ultimately respect their decisions, as long as they were well-thought out and based on solid customer data.

It took an extra long and open conversation with the team, but ultimately everyone came around to the realization that they were in charge of their team’s direction. The best thing to do was to move forward. Take a few more steps. Make informed decisions. After all, there was still time for minor adjustments to the plans later on.

Ultimately, the lesson was that even the lowest levels in an organization need to assume that they have full authority to shape their destiny. Don’t wait for someone else to tell you what to do! You have all the authority you need within yourself.

Academia has finally confirmed what we have known for years. I personally feel that PowerPoint is not at fault, it is the presenter. I’ve seen many outstanding PowerPoints in my day, but the majority of folks never take the time to learn what it means to engage and audience effectively.

 From Information Week:

“The brain simply isn’t wired to absorb information in two simultaneous forms as well as it takes in one type of information. Processing the written and spoken word at the same time creates quite a challenge for the mind, according to John Sweller, a researcher from the University of New South Wales.

……

Sweller crafted the Cognitive Load Theory, which deals with the amount of information people can process at once. Sweller believes it is more difficult to process language and retain new information simultaneously.

What really tunes the brain out during PowerPoint? Speaking the same words that are on the screen, according to Sweller.”

I was walking across Microsoft campus the other day and noticed a few security guards standing along the perimeter of our sports fields.

Yes, we actually have a gigantic sport field, with a few soccer fields, a ball field and a beach volleyball court. It’s pretty state-of-the-art; made out of “field turf.” This stuff actually feels like grass and has faux dirt (small bits of rubber) that give it a bit of added traction and bounce.

Anyway, after a few minutes, I noticed the guards run out towards the field. Were they gonna start an impromptu game of  touch football? Maybe do a few conditioning drills?

Nope.

A large ball of steel decended out of the grey sky, and our fearless leader hopped out.

Perhaps he woke up late for a meeting and traffic was a bit too severe? Perhaps he made a quick sandwich run to Red Hook? Maybe he was meeting with a VIP downtown?

Whatever the reason, you know you’ve made it when you show up to work in a Helicopter!

In CHECKERS, you focus on one move at a time. Take pieces as they come. You aren’t thinking that far ahead. Action and short-term results are the way to win.

CHESS is an entirely different game. Outstanding chess players think a dozen moves ahead. They have a game plan. They are willing to trade-off short-term gains for potential long-term success.

Which is life?

You see, I would like to think that life is like playing checkers. You never really know what’s going to happen a few moments from now. You listen to you intuition or heart and act with congruency. This sounds like a great way to make decisions…IN THE MOMENT.

However, there is something to be said for thinking things through. Considering the effect of your actions. Considering you DHARMA (duty) and pushing through tough spells to gather insights and come out of a situation better of.

 Actions on the chess board of life could include having an investment plan, going back to school, sticking with a job through the “tough times” or starting a workout program. You’re doing things with a very long term view.

So, which is it? Are we playing a game of CHESS OR CHECKERS? Living in the moment or living “intelligently”?

I faced a very tough decision this weekend that dealt with this very subject.  The hardest decision I have had to make in years.

Turns out I’m playing CHESS. How about you?

Wikipedia is one of my favorite resources on the web. It is clearly one of the most popular reference sites out there. Which is why I found this blurb referenced on Jason’s weblog strange:

“At this point, Wikipedia has the financial ressources to run its servers for about 3 to 4 months. If we do not find additional funding, it is not impossible that Wikipedia might disappear”. The warning by Florence Devouard, chairwoman of the Wikimedia Foundation was certainly dire, and Lift07 was as good a venue to make an appeal. But it is another illustration of how difficult it is to find the proper business model in the digital age, and more precisely in this case in what Florence called the “gift economy”.

The solution seems as easy as a couple text ads or a banner on the page. I really hope Wikipedia doesn’t choose to take some ridiculuous moralistic stand against ads. I would gladly put up with a few for free access to a constantly updated and growing body of knowledge on practically any topic. Wouldn’t you?

The past few days I have been absolutely buried at work. As I like to say, “Being busy is better than being bored,” so I won’t complain (too much). However, it has become startling clear how debilitating it can be to worry and stress about looming deadlines and projects. It’s a never-ending sense of dread.

Projects and deadlines become stressful for only one reason: fear that you will not live up to your own expectations.

Who creates these expectations? Like I said….You Do.

They could be expectations about what someone else will think of you. Of what you will look like in front of your peers. Of what you will think of yourself later on.

All of these expectations are based on a set of rules and laws that you alone create. Therefore, why not create a set of rules and laws that are motivating and not debilitating?

For example: if you are putting together a presentation for executive management in a few days (which I am doing right now in fact); which of the following inner-dialogs would you rather have running through your mind and body?

1. I need to have the presentation perfect. It needs to have all the right data. It needs to look perfect. I need to be prepared for each and every possible question they could have coming at me!

2. I will have an insightful and well-researched presentation. I will be prepared to discuss the issues with conviction and courage. I will educate others, and also be open to educating myself on other people’s points of view.

If you don’t train your mind to have a positive inner-dialog, chances are it will just run amok. Some people call this “motivation,” when all it really does is wear you down on many levels. Train you mind to have a more constructive and positive outlook. It will free up a lot more energy better tasks….like finishing your presentation!

Now…back I go to work :)

Was writing a business email this morning and noticed something strange with the way I was writing it:

…..I was speaking with the Team X and there is concern about how our charter overlaps with their’s…

The reality was, there wasn’t really concern, there were just a few questions. Some education was in order. I was inadvetandlty setting off the fire alarm when there was not even any smoke, just some dry kindling! I rewrote the mail to focus on the positive:

….I was speaking with Team X and we think there is an opportunity to scope our roles and projects so we have the most cross-team synergy…

Subtle change in wording will convey a completely different set of emotions.

Rich people I know, fit into one of two categories. The first is wealth by assoociation through inheritance, family or close friends that have “helped them out.” The second is by working damn hard and taking big risks that most other people would run like hell from.

I don’t know anyone that just casually stumbled upon a boatload of money through an easy side business or online venture. I do know some people that joined start-ups at the right time, but they really fit into the second bucket of working damn hard and taking big risks (most start-ups never see the light of day).

I don’t know anyone that manifested millions of dollars through their sheer desire or just asking for the moola really really nicely. This trick might have worked to get a check-out-counter candy bar when you were a kid, but it ain’t gonna work in the real grown-up world.

I don’t know anyone that magically trippled their income by just hoping it would happen because they are one freaking nice person, and good looking to boot.

So basically, if you want to get rich you are really in for it. Better be prepared to work damn hard. What is damn hard? Harder than you have ever thought you’d have to work. Hard work can be fun, but it still takes time and effort. So next time you see a book with “Millionaire” anywhere in the title, just keep walking by. You don’t have time to read it anyway. You’ve got work to do.

The ideas was simple, charge advertisers $1 for each pixel on a single million-pixel page . The value proposition was equally simple, be part of internet history, Who could possibly pass that up?

The page was started in August 2005, and quickly sold out, netting the creator (Alex, a 21 year old student at the time) a boatload of cash. To get the ball rolling, Alex and his family bought the first few blocks of ad space. Once he had earned $1000, he wrote a press release that went viral instantly. Traffic to the site soared after the BBC started writing about the site. 300,000 pixels were sold in the first month alone. The advertisers (and of course Alex) all benefited immensely.

Start up costs? Probably zero or close it, just time invested to design the site and handle the customer transactions. Web Hosting and domain name would costs a little. Not sure if Alex did a deal with the web hosting company to place their logo on the site. If so, this cost would be taken care of.

This graph shows daily reach per million compared with a Om Malik’s popular weblog. The traffic peaked for about 4 months, but even today has a material number of hits (just under half the reach of Om’s blog in the past few months). Not bad. Wonder if Alex will be starting a 10 million pixel page anytime soon?

Some may look at kids making so-called “easy money” on the web and just bicker and moan. I on the other hand, look at this as a perfect of example of someone getting compensated for following through on a creative idea. Way to go Alex!

I was talking with a Ed (a co-worker of mine) a few weeks ago and the topic of leadership and management came up. Of course, we naturally started talking about Jack Welch, and his latest book “Winning.” I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I have read his other books, and personally think the Audio CD (read by Jack himself) for his book “Straight From The Gut” is one of the best business books of all time. Hearing Jack, in his gruff no-nonsense tone, talk about leadership, is both hilarious and 1000 times more impact-ful than just reading it. It is well worth your time, whether you are working in a big corporation or just looking to motivate yourself, your family or your friends to achieve something worthwhile.

Ed and I were talking about what it is that makes someone a successful leader. He brought up a fantastic point about what made Jack such powerful figure. Keep in mind, Jack Welch was a lifer at GE, starting right out of school at the age of 26 and climbing to the top over a 30+ year career. The point is, Jack Welch has INCREDIBLE FOLLOW THROUGH. Ed mentioned that in his last book, there are a few pages showing memos from some of the Jack’s top leaders at GEs. These memos were commitments the leader’s had made several years prior. Jack had printed these memos, and personally referenced them regularly years after they were made, making handwritten notes on the memos to keep track of progress against commitments.

To think that a CEO of one of the most successful companies on the planet would have this long-term view and make it a point to not only keep, but reference with painstaking detail the important communications he has with his employees….well, it just blows my mind. Most companies have standard review processes, which including some type of goal-setting and ratings against goals. Unfortunately, management rarely keeps these goals top of mind. Pursuit of the next big thing is always seeming to be more important that actually finishing what was started.

You can say Jack was successful for many reasons (charisma, brains, luck, etc) but I think it comes down to two things 1) endurance and 2) follow through. Finishing what you started and having the endurance to do it. Not losing sight of goals and commitments. Measuring progress (or lack thereof) against those goals and commitments. In my last post (peaceful warrior: an amazing film) I mentioned Tony Robbin’s “words of wisdom” that making progress is ultimately what helps us feel not only a sense of achievement from reaching a goal, but a sense of lasting fulfillment for what we have done. Having following through, means that you are able to see exactly where you (or your company, or your relationship, or whatever) are making progress, and where you are just plain old stagnating.

When was the last time you stopped to review goals or commitments you made for yourself (not for your job) and gave yourself and honest assessment? Most people never do, and when it does happens, it is not done consistently. Following through is one of the hardest things you will ever do, but if it works for Jack, it’s worth giving a shot.