For my final blog post for Comm 534, I thought I would simply let everyone know how much I have enjoyed being in this class. I can see what a wonderful thing it is to have a cohort of students to share classes with for an entire year. You are such a great group of people I think I will honestly miss seeing you every week. I hope when you are on campus you will feel free to stop by my office and say hello (ASC 301A).
I have learned a lot in this class and am very happy I took it. Sadly, I have to confess I will not miss the weekly blog postings! I may keep my blog for a while to see if I get the urge. I may find I enjoy it a lot more without the pressure of having to post something when I am not in the mood. My greatest struggle was always WHAT to write about?!
And – no surprise here I bet – I will actually continue to enjoy my second life in Second Life. Actually, I may even create a third life for those times when I want to be completely anonymous – LOL.
My next technology adventure will be the purchase of an Iphone, which I am really looking forward to. In doing my final paper, I found a great video called “Connected” that is a marketing tool for a small private college in Texas who is handing out Iphones to all incoming freshman. It is a great example of how the phone can be used both in and out of the classroom. In case you are curious, the link for the website is http://www.acu.edu/technology/mobilelearning/index.html. Right now I am torn between splurging on a Nikon D80 Digital SLR camera or the Iphone. Both require $$ so I will have to budget for whatever I choose.
Now I am off to pack for my trip to NYC while my avatar, Debbie Rubble dances in SL at the Dogglounge. At least one of us is having a good time.
Again, I look forward to seeing everyone around campus! Don’t be a stranger.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Good Advice from David Hansson - Stop Working 14 Hours A Day!
I was watching some video online tonight looking for inspiration for my final project and one of the speakers at Y Combinator (David Hansson of 37signals) closed with a startling comment – QUIT WORKING 14 HOURS A DAY! Boy, was that music to my ears?! (Do you hear that Karen North – my late-night working partner-in-crime?!)
Having been guilty of putting in at least 12-14 hours a day for the last few weeks, that is some advice I am ready and willing to adopt. Hansson said no one can be creative working 14 hours a day. He thinks the goal should really be to get in 5 solid hours of work a day and then to enjoy yourself and have a life. In his experience, he believes a person can get so much more done in a focused 5 hour day than a in a lengthy 14 hour day. The software developer he was advising confessed to having a hard time with focus and being guilty of becoming distracted and surfing the Internet.
While I myself do not suffer from “Internet-surfingitis,” I will admit to suffering from burnout and not feeling the same motivation that I know I should feel. Perhaps there is a difference between “being creative” and simply working to complete tasks, because I know I work very hard to get as much done in every day as I possibly can. I have no choice. I have deadlines that have to be met. However, I often leave work exhausted and wake up the next day feeling even more tired than when I went to bed.
It does not take a genius to realize this cannot be a good situation. However, I persist because despite my exhaustion, I love my job. I love the people I work with and this situation I currently find myself in is one that we hope to have resolved within the next few months. Yes, a faint light shines at the end of the tunnel!
And even though I do admit to working too many hours on occasion or even working non-conventional hours, I don’t think it is all bad. I work the way I do in normal times (right now is not a normal time) because I have a passion for my job and take pride in doing the best job I possibly can. If I work non-conventional hours, it is because I have chosen to do so, not because someone is making me do it. Even now, no one is making me put in the extra hours. It’s just that when you care about what you do, you want to do it well.
However, the words spoken by David Hansson, have given me something to seriously think about. It was not so long ago that I couldn’t wait to get in to work every day -- eagerly awaiting the new challenges that were sure to arise. I want to feel that way again and I know it is possible. If I weren’t on overload at the moment, I would be feeling that way right now. There are so many exciting things happening in my job, at our new Center on Communication Leadership and at the Annenberg School itself.
I think I am going to make this online promise to myself and blast it outward to the world, as only a blog and the Internet can do. After this class and my 6 week summer session ends, I AM GOING TO TAKE SOME QUALITY TIME FOR MYSELF AND RECHARGE MY BATTERIES. Perhaps I’ll take a short trip somewhere and get away… or maybe…just maybe… I’ll do nothing at all. Imagine that, just laying around the house and enjoying the feeling of having no deadlines to meet and no place to be. I wonder if I could actually do that?! I’m not sure but I am always up for a challenge, and perhaps this is my most important challenge yet.
Having been guilty of putting in at least 12-14 hours a day for the last few weeks, that is some advice I am ready and willing to adopt. Hansson said no one can be creative working 14 hours a day. He thinks the goal should really be to get in 5 solid hours of work a day and then to enjoy yourself and have a life. In his experience, he believes a person can get so much more done in a focused 5 hour day than a in a lengthy 14 hour day. The software developer he was advising confessed to having a hard time with focus and being guilty of becoming distracted and surfing the Internet.
While I myself do not suffer from “Internet-surfingitis,” I will admit to suffering from burnout and not feeling the same motivation that I know I should feel. Perhaps there is a difference between “being creative” and simply working to complete tasks, because I know I work very hard to get as much done in every day as I possibly can. I have no choice. I have deadlines that have to be met. However, I often leave work exhausted and wake up the next day feeling even more tired than when I went to bed.
It does not take a genius to realize this cannot be a good situation. However, I persist because despite my exhaustion, I love my job. I love the people I work with and this situation I currently find myself in is one that we hope to have resolved within the next few months. Yes, a faint light shines at the end of the tunnel!
And even though I do admit to working too many hours on occasion or even working non-conventional hours, I don’t think it is all bad. I work the way I do in normal times (right now is not a normal time) because I have a passion for my job and take pride in doing the best job I possibly can. If I work non-conventional hours, it is because I have chosen to do so, not because someone is making me do it. Even now, no one is making me put in the extra hours. It’s just that when you care about what you do, you want to do it well.
However, the words spoken by David Hansson, have given me something to seriously think about. It was not so long ago that I couldn’t wait to get in to work every day -- eagerly awaiting the new challenges that were sure to arise. I want to feel that way again and I know it is possible. If I weren’t on overload at the moment, I would be feeling that way right now. There are so many exciting things happening in my job, at our new Center on Communication Leadership and at the Annenberg School itself.
I think I am going to make this online promise to myself and blast it outward to the world, as only a blog and the Internet can do. After this class and my 6 week summer session ends, I AM GOING TO TAKE SOME QUALITY TIME FOR MYSELF AND RECHARGE MY BATTERIES. Perhaps I’ll take a short trip somewhere and get away… or maybe…just maybe… I’ll do nothing at all. Imagine that, just laying around the house and enjoying the feeling of having no deadlines to meet and no place to be. I wonder if I could actually do that?! I’m not sure but I am always up for a challenge, and perhaps this is my most important challenge yet.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Cell Phone Obsession
One of the things I enjoy most about this class is the interesting guest speakers who visit us each week. Last week’s guest Charlie Nooney from MobiTV was great. In addition to giving us good solid information about current mobile technology, he also hinted at where he thinks things might go and why – and I have to say the future looks very exciting to me.
Like most people, I am addicted to my cell phone. I use it both for business and pleasure. I can “almost” not remember a time when we weren’t using them everywhere – which is funny since I am definitely of an age where I should remember a world without them. But that really speaks to just how central cell phones have become to our lives. Charlie kept referring to them as the “most personal targeted device” we own. When he said it, it really struck a chord with me. I had never thought of the phone in quite that way, but as soon as he said it, I realized he was absolutely right. I invest so much more of myself into my cell phone than I do any other gadget I own, including my computer. It goes with me everywhere and keeps me “plugged into” the various parts of my life. Heaven forbid I ever forget it or fail to charge the battery…especially during the week…and especially living here in L.A. Drive time in Los Angeles without a cell phone is sheer torture. It’s where I do all my catching up with friends and family. And, it’s also the place I conduct all of my personal business. Not surprisingly, I’m much too busy at work to do anything other than, well, work.
I’m also guilty of obsess over ring tones, call back tones, cell phone cases, cell phone colors, etc. These are really rather meaningless pastimes, but the customization aspect of these features does allow you to personalize a phone in a way you don’t with your computer. More confirmation of Charlie’s point. The phone is an incredibly personal device.
There are two ways to look at our current cell phone obsession. Some folks would argue that this is exactly the problem with cell phones – they don’t allow you to enjoy any “down” time. We are constantly trying to maximize every second of every day. And I have to be the first to admit, I am guilty. On the other hand, I think the cell phone also allows me a great deal of freedom. When I do need to be away from the office, I can take off, secure in the knowledge that if I do need to be reached or respond to an email, my wonderful cell phone gives me that capability.
I have so much more to say about this, but I’ve been swamped this week maximizing every second of every day for the last couple of weeks (score one for the cell phone haters) and knowing I have an early day in the morning, I think I will sign off for now and come back to this topic again later.
Like most people, I am addicted to my cell phone. I use it both for business and pleasure. I can “almost” not remember a time when we weren’t using them everywhere – which is funny since I am definitely of an age where I should remember a world without them. But that really speaks to just how central cell phones have become to our lives. Charlie kept referring to them as the “most personal targeted device” we own. When he said it, it really struck a chord with me. I had never thought of the phone in quite that way, but as soon as he said it, I realized he was absolutely right. I invest so much more of myself into my cell phone than I do any other gadget I own, including my computer. It goes with me everywhere and keeps me “plugged into” the various parts of my life. Heaven forbid I ever forget it or fail to charge the battery…especially during the week…and especially living here in L.A. Drive time in Los Angeles without a cell phone is sheer torture. It’s where I do all my catching up with friends and family. And, it’s also the place I conduct all of my personal business. Not surprisingly, I’m much too busy at work to do anything other than, well, work.
I’m also guilty of obsess over ring tones, call back tones, cell phone cases, cell phone colors, etc. These are really rather meaningless pastimes, but the customization aspect of these features does allow you to personalize a phone in a way you don’t with your computer. More confirmation of Charlie’s point. The phone is an incredibly personal device.
There are two ways to look at our current cell phone obsession. Some folks would argue that this is exactly the problem with cell phones – they don’t allow you to enjoy any “down” time. We are constantly trying to maximize every second of every day. And I have to be the first to admit, I am guilty. On the other hand, I think the cell phone also allows me a great deal of freedom. When I do need to be away from the office, I can take off, secure in the knowledge that if I do need to be reached or respond to an email, my wonderful cell phone gives me that capability.
I have so much more to say about this, but I’ve been swamped this week maximizing every second of every day for the last couple of weeks (score one for the cell phone haters) and knowing I have an early day in the morning, I think I will sign off for now and come back to this topic again later.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Usability on the Campaign Trail
After reading “Don’t Make Me Think” by Steve Krug and “Prioritizing Web Usability” by Jakob Neilsen, I became inspired. I thought it might be fun to do a little user testing of my own on this year’s campaign trail. Since usability is concerned with how easy, effective and efficient a user’s interaction is with a particular website, I thought I’d see which candidate (in my view) had the most user-friendly website. In creating a usability test for this exercise, I tried to think about what tasks most voters in America might be interested in doing while visiting the websites. Here are the 3 tasks I finally decided to try on each site:
1) Find out the latest news on campaign’s progress
2) Find out how to join or contribute to the campaign
3) Find out the candidates policy on the economy
Then I scored each site (5 points possible) on the following:
1) Overall design
2) Content
3) Structure
4) Navigation
Here are my results:
John McCain
http://www.johnmccain.com
User is greeted by an opening screen asking for your email address, but the site does provide a click thru to the main homepage if you do not choose to share your email info. The main homepage is nicely laid out, with a good text/background contrast making the site easy to read. Page is divided into clear sections and joining the campaign and donating are both clearly indicated on the top right. There is a news box on the main page with links to John McCain’s most recent statements as well as links to press releases, news and speeches. His position on the economy was easily found on a dropdown menu at the top of the main page which allowed a voter to click through and read his stance on various tax and economic issues. Overall a nice site with all information easy to find at a glance. Overall score – 24/25
Barack Obama
http://www.barackobama.com/index.php
Like McCain’s site, you are met with an opening screen asking you to join the movement and provide your email address. A “skip signup” button is provided to click on through. Once inside, Obama’s homepage evokes heavenly blues and whites with touches of red on key buttons such as “donate now” or “apply now.” The color scheme is really quite nice. The main page contains several boxes although they are not clearly labeled. It is necessary to scroll down to find the news and events boxes which I didn’t like. It was easy to find his position on the economy thanks to a drop down menu labeled “Issues.” I expected to find Obama’s site the best of the three and in looking for information quickly; his site did not live up to my expectations. It took me longer to find what I was looking for on this site. Another annoyance was the back button was disabled forcing me to close the window rather than to click back out. Overall score - 22/25
Hillary Clinton
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/
Surprise, surprise! Another annoying opening screen asking for me to give out my email address. However once inside at the main homepage, the structure and layout of the site is nice and straightforward. The main page is divided into clear definable sections making information easy to locate. Buttons to join and contribute are easy to see and clearly clickable. Like Obama she also had “Issues” as part of a drop down menu located across the top of the page. The labels on the drop down menu should be more succinct like Obama’s who only lists one word (i.e., economy, war, etc) – which I think is better. News was also found on the main page and did not require any scrolling. Overall score - 23/25
Despite the fact that I am a Democrat, I honestly (and surprisingly) liked John McCain’s site the best. Obama’s was more pleasing to look at than Hillary’s but Hillary’s site had a more straightforward and clearly defined layout making information quicker to access. Hillary only gained a point over Obama due to his site's disabling of my back button, otherwise it would have been a tie. Isn’t it odd that the findings in this usability test have an uncanny resemblance to the current state of affairs on the campaign trail?
1) Find out the latest news on campaign’s progress
2) Find out how to join or contribute to the campaign
3) Find out the candidates policy on the economy
Then I scored each site (5 points possible) on the following:
1) Overall design
2) Content
3) Structure
4) Navigation
Here are my results:
John McCain
http://www.johnmccain.com
User is greeted by an opening screen asking for your email address, but the site does provide a click thru to the main homepage if you do not choose to share your email info. The main homepage is nicely laid out, with a good text/background contrast making the site easy to read. Page is divided into clear sections and joining the campaign and donating are both clearly indicated on the top right. There is a news box on the main page with links to John McCain’s most recent statements as well as links to press releases, news and speeches. His position on the economy was easily found on a dropdown menu at the top of the main page which allowed a voter to click through and read his stance on various tax and economic issues. Overall a nice site with all information easy to find at a glance. Overall score – 24/25
Barack Obama
http://www.barackobama.com/index.php
Like McCain’s site, you are met with an opening screen asking you to join the movement and provide your email address. A “skip signup” button is provided to click on through. Once inside, Obama’s homepage evokes heavenly blues and whites with touches of red on key buttons such as “donate now” or “apply now.” The color scheme is really quite nice. The main page contains several boxes although they are not clearly labeled. It is necessary to scroll down to find the news and events boxes which I didn’t like. It was easy to find his position on the economy thanks to a drop down menu labeled “Issues.” I expected to find Obama’s site the best of the three and in looking for information quickly; his site did not live up to my expectations. It took me longer to find what I was looking for on this site. Another annoyance was the back button was disabled forcing me to close the window rather than to click back out. Overall score - 22/25
Hillary Clinton
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/
Surprise, surprise! Another annoying opening screen asking for me to give out my email address. However once inside at the main homepage, the structure and layout of the site is nice and straightforward. The main page is divided into clear definable sections making information easy to locate. Buttons to join and contribute are easy to see and clearly clickable. Like Obama she also had “Issues” as part of a drop down menu located across the top of the page. The labels on the drop down menu should be more succinct like Obama’s who only lists one word (i.e., economy, war, etc) – which I think is better. News was also found on the main page and did not require any scrolling. Overall score - 23/25
Despite the fact that I am a Democrat, I honestly (and surprisingly) liked John McCain’s site the best. Obama’s was more pleasing to look at than Hillary’s but Hillary’s site had a more straightforward and clearly defined layout making information quicker to access. Hillary only gained a point over Obama due to his site's disabling of my back button, otherwise it would have been a tie. Isn’t it odd that the findings in this usability test have an uncanny resemblance to the current state of affairs on the campaign trail?
Monday, March 31, 2008
TechCrunch to Sue Facebook?! Yeah, right.
Happy April Fool’s Day! Well, almost.
Michael Arrington really had me going. Initially his story about suing Facebook seemed completely plausible, especially since I’ve seen several negative Facebook stories in the last week. But It wasn’t until I came to the last section of the post where Arrington described his explosive interaction with Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly saying, “He then threw his hot triple soy latte espresso at me, which caused extensive second degree burns over the top half of my body” that I was fairly sure. And then, the icing on the cake (and the perfect end to the ruse), “Later on, he also unfriended me.”
What a hoot! And a day early at that.
This was just what I needed today -- a good laugh when I least expected it. I started thinking about the last time anyone played an April Fool’s joke on me…and would you believe it has probably been at least 10 years. What do you think that means? I like a good laugh as well as the next person. I don’t think of myself as a particularly serious person. Is it possible I am reaching the age where people aren’t sure if I can take a joke? That is almost too scary to even contemplate. I don’t EVER want to be that old. Or at least, I don’t ever want to be thought of as not having a sense of humor regardless of my age. I want to always retain the ability to laugh – both at myself and at others. Yes! I said “at others.” What’s wrong with having a harmless laugh at someone else’s expense? Isn’t that the point of April Fool’s Day anyway?
In the spirit of April Fool’s, here is a link to the Top 10 Harmless Geek Pranks: http://lifehacker.com/373817/top-10-harmless-geek-pranks
10) Install the Blue Screen of Death Screensaver
9) Fake a Desktop with Screenshot Wallpaper
8) Schedule a phone call with a Text-to-Speech Message from Wakerupper.com
7) Fill an office with Packing Peanuts (Or Make it Look That Way)
6) Remote Control Your CoWorkers Computer with VNC
5) Message Co Workers With Net Send
4) ”Break” Your Victim’s LCD Screen With Wallpaper
3) Hijack Firefox with the Total Confusion Pack Extended (Enabled April 1st only)
2) Customize the Office HP Printer’s Console Message
1) Turn Web Pages Upside Down
I am so inspired by this and enjoyed my TechCrunch laugh so much that I am planning to try prank #2 tomorrow at work. It seems funny and relatively harmless. I would have preferred the packing peanuts prank – which would work perfectly in the Dean’s Suite, but I just don’t have the time to get it together. Guess that will have to wait for next year!
Michael Arrington really had me going. Initially his story about suing Facebook seemed completely plausible, especially since I’ve seen several negative Facebook stories in the last week. But It wasn’t until I came to the last section of the post where Arrington described his explosive interaction with Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly saying, “He then threw his hot triple soy latte espresso at me, which caused extensive second degree burns over the top half of my body” that I was fairly sure. And then, the icing on the cake (and the perfect end to the ruse), “Later on, he also unfriended me.”
What a hoot! And a day early at that.
This was just what I needed today -- a good laugh when I least expected it. I started thinking about the last time anyone played an April Fool’s joke on me…and would you believe it has probably been at least 10 years. What do you think that means? I like a good laugh as well as the next person. I don’t think of myself as a particularly serious person. Is it possible I am reaching the age where people aren’t sure if I can take a joke? That is almost too scary to even contemplate. I don’t EVER want to be that old. Or at least, I don’t ever want to be thought of as not having a sense of humor regardless of my age. I want to always retain the ability to laugh – both at myself and at others. Yes! I said “at others.” What’s wrong with having a harmless laugh at someone else’s expense? Isn’t that the point of April Fool’s Day anyway?
In the spirit of April Fool’s, here is a link to the Top 10 Harmless Geek Pranks: http://lifehacker.com/373817/top-10-harmless-geek-pranks
10) Install the Blue Screen of Death Screensaver
9) Fake a Desktop with Screenshot Wallpaper
8) Schedule a phone call with a Text-to-Speech Message from Wakerupper.com
7) Fill an office with Packing Peanuts (Or Make it Look That Way)
6) Remote Control Your CoWorkers Computer with VNC
5) Message Co Workers With Net Send
4) ”Break” Your Victim’s LCD Screen With Wallpaper
3) Hijack Firefox with the Total Confusion Pack Extended (Enabled April 1st only)
2) Customize the Office HP Printer’s Console Message
1) Turn Web Pages Upside Down
I am so inspired by this and enjoyed my TechCrunch laugh so much that I am planning to try prank #2 tomorrow at work. It seems funny and relatively harmless. I would have preferred the packing peanuts prank – which would work perfectly in the Dean’s Suite, but I just don’t have the time to get it together. Guess that will have to wait for next year!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Dual Monitors - The only way to go!
Finally – confirmation!
Recently Ben Worthen of the Wall Street Journal wrote an article about the results of a study at the University of Utah that showed that bigger monitors make people more productive. The study – while not perfect – claims that a person can save up to 2.5 hours a day simply by using a larger monitor! I won’t go into the imperfections of the study other than to say that, yes it was funded by a monitor company and that everyone’s work habits vary, but I happen to be in complete agreement with this study simply based on my own experience.
I began using two monitors several years ago and immediately saw a dramatic increase in my work efficiency. Shortly thereafter, I turned into what could be called a “dual monitor evangelist” because I have been urging everyone I know to also adopt the two monitor method. Having two monitors allows me to have several programs open and in view at the same time. It also allows me to drag info between programs without having to go through extra steps to accomplish the same thing (i.e., no minimizing and maximizing of the programs). It really revolutionized the way I use my computer.
What has been surprising to me are the responses I get when I try to tell people how great it is to use two monitors. Most people just say something non-committal like, “Oh really?” Or that they wouldn’t like the space that two monitors takes up on their desk. I even had someone tell me “No thanks,” when I tried to give them an extra flat panel monitor I had at home so they could see for themselves. What is up with that?! Turning down a free monitor?!?? Yikes.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by people’s reluctance to try something new. We all have a tendency to get somewhat comfortable with the way we do things. Even I have to admit to being rather lazy when it comes to embracing new telephone technology. However, I do TRY to be open-minded about new ways to do things. If enough people tell me something is great, I recognize that they may know something I don’t and am willing to give their recommendations a serious look. Yes, it’s true. Turns out that I am actually an old dog who is WILLING to learn new tricks! (Rumor has it that I might be looking into getting an Iphone).
Recently Ben Worthen of the Wall Street Journal wrote an article about the results of a study at the University of Utah that showed that bigger monitors make people more productive. The study – while not perfect – claims that a person can save up to 2.5 hours a day simply by using a larger monitor! I won’t go into the imperfections of the study other than to say that, yes it was funded by a monitor company and that everyone’s work habits vary, but I happen to be in complete agreement with this study simply based on my own experience.
I began using two monitors several years ago and immediately saw a dramatic increase in my work efficiency. Shortly thereafter, I turned into what could be called a “dual monitor evangelist” because I have been urging everyone I know to also adopt the two monitor method. Having two monitors allows me to have several programs open and in view at the same time. It also allows me to drag info between programs without having to go through extra steps to accomplish the same thing (i.e., no minimizing and maximizing of the programs). It really revolutionized the way I use my computer.
What has been surprising to me are the responses I get when I try to tell people how great it is to use two monitors. Most people just say something non-committal like, “Oh really?” Or that they wouldn’t like the space that two monitors takes up on their desk. I even had someone tell me “No thanks,” when I tried to give them an extra flat panel monitor I had at home so they could see for themselves. What is up with that?! Turning down a free monitor?!?? Yikes.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by people’s reluctance to try something new. We all have a tendency to get somewhat comfortable with the way we do things. Even I have to admit to being rather lazy when it comes to embracing new telephone technology. However, I do TRY to be open-minded about new ways to do things. If enough people tell me something is great, I recognize that they may know something I don’t and am willing to give their recommendations a serious look. Yes, it’s true. Turns out that I am actually an old dog who is WILLING to learn new tricks! (Rumor has it that I might be looking into getting an Iphone).
Monday, March 10, 2008
Who Do YOU Want to Work With?
I LOVED this week’s post on Tech Crunch by Michael Arrington entitled “Startups Must Hire The Right People And Watch Every Penny. Or Fail." I wish I’d wrote this post because it sums up exactly what I look for when trying to hire an employee. And as an ex-accountant, the “watch every penny” section simply warmed my cold accountant heart.
I have always looked for that indefinable x-factor when interviewing potential staff. Michael Arrington says to look for the person with the “fire in their eyes” who wants to work as part of the team and gets excited about anticipating and solving problems. I agree they are not hard to spot, but they are often very hard to find – even when the salary is a good one. I think people like this are often valued at their current jobs and may not always be out there looking for a job when you need them. So good networking is often the only way to find them.
However, this advice is not only good for those in the tech industry and startup companies. I think this is good advice for all companies in every industry.
In every company I have ever worked in, the people I want to work with and those I want on my team are the ones I know have a passion for what they do. And I believe it is possible to have that passion even in a receptionist or administrative role. In my mind, it really comes down to taking pride in your work product and in understanding that you are what you produce.
It makes me think of the stories I’ve heard about self-made millionaires who started in the mail room but were able to work their way up to being the CEO of their company. These are exceptional people, of course, but they are also the type of individuals who took pride in being even a lowly mail room clerk – because he or she knew their reputation would be built on how well they did in whatever job they were assigned. And when there was a higher level position available, their superiors were willing to give them a chance (regardless of whether their credentials met the stated requirements) based on their work ethic, their intelligence and their passion for doing an outstanding job under any circumstance.
In terms of the work/life balance issue, I do think this is important. I struggle with this issue every day, but if I didn’t love what I do, I wouldn’t be doing it. I know I can pick up and walk out the door at any time things get to be too much, but I stay and work as hard as I do because I love the company I work for and the people I work with. I am constantly excited about what is around the corner and what new projects might end up on my desk. It’s really not such a bad problem to have. The alternative would, in fact, be much much worse.
I have always looked for that indefinable x-factor when interviewing potential staff. Michael Arrington says to look for the person with the “fire in their eyes” who wants to work as part of the team and gets excited about anticipating and solving problems. I agree they are not hard to spot, but they are often very hard to find – even when the salary is a good one. I think people like this are often valued at their current jobs and may not always be out there looking for a job when you need them. So good networking is often the only way to find them.
However, this advice is not only good for those in the tech industry and startup companies. I think this is good advice for all companies in every industry.
In every company I have ever worked in, the people I want to work with and those I want on my team are the ones I know have a passion for what they do. And I believe it is possible to have that passion even in a receptionist or administrative role. In my mind, it really comes down to taking pride in your work product and in understanding that you are what you produce.
It makes me think of the stories I’ve heard about self-made millionaires who started in the mail room but were able to work their way up to being the CEO of their company. These are exceptional people, of course, but they are also the type of individuals who took pride in being even a lowly mail room clerk – because he or she knew their reputation would be built on how well they did in whatever job they were assigned. And when there was a higher level position available, their superiors were willing to give them a chance (regardless of whether their credentials met the stated requirements) based on their work ethic, their intelligence and their passion for doing an outstanding job under any circumstance.
In terms of the work/life balance issue, I do think this is important. I struggle with this issue every day, but if I didn’t love what I do, I wouldn’t be doing it. I know I can pick up and walk out the door at any time things get to be too much, but I stay and work as hard as I do because I love the company I work for and the people I work with. I am constantly excited about what is around the corner and what new projects might end up on my desk. It’s really not such a bad problem to have. The alternative would, in fact, be much much worse.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)