When you are good at something, you tend to look at all the problems via that angle. This is important for you to know as this is how you will be looking at problems. This is also important for you to know when you listen to experts as this is how they are looking at the problems.
This is all the more important when it comes to way we use social media.
Take LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and even blogs – there are a variety of ways of using these tools to contribute, increase your capacity and/or make a difference.
Every tool will have experts who know how to make the most out of these tools. Some of these experts go so deep on these tools that they will look at every problem as something that can be solved via THAT tool. These experts are also popular in THEIR community which seems to validate that whatever they are doing is WORKING.
So, what should you do?
Here is one suggestion:
Take the best of what the experts are suggesting that you do but PLEASE apply the advice to your context. Your specific case may require some change to the strategy or may warrant a TOTALLY different strategy.
I am 75 days old on Twitter. I have a long way to go there but I know that I have to start somewhere.
So, here is what I am doing on Twitter in the next two three weeks (starting Feb 23, 2009 to March 13, 2009):
Everyday from Monday to Friday I will have five tweets from 6.30am to 10.30am PST under the ThinkTweet category. There will be a ThinkTweet at 6.30am, 7.30am, 8.30am, 9.30am and 10.30am PST. My goal is to make every one of these tweets count – meaning make you think.
I am VERY confident of keeping this promise about the schedule. Why? (wink) because I have already scheduled mostALL MOST of these Tweets using HootSuite. I wrote them over the last few weeks in preparation for these two weeks.
I know, I know – Twitter is all about conversations. However, I think Twitter can be used for something more. To enrich and enlighten. 140 characters is a lot to make someone think. These 50 tweets will be my humble attempt to prove that.
Come and join me on Twitter on this journey. You don’t have to be on Twitter to follow these tweets. There is an RSS feed option on my Twitter home page and you can subscribe using any RSS reader. If you are my friend on Facebook, you will see these Tweets as status updates on my Facebook profile.
My last book “Beyond Code” (foreword by Tom Peters) was published in the month of September 2005.
This article talks about the making of “Beyond Code.” I am hoping that it might provide some information for people wanting to write a book (or already writing a book.) For others, it may just be look into what happened during the initial stages of the book.
The project started on September 12, 2005. It was planned and executed over sixty days in one notebook. The entire notebook is now scanned and posted on Flickr. Here is the link for the entire manuscript
The target was to write 120 pages and at 2 pages per day, the plan was to finish the book in sixty days. You will see that most of the blocks (under the dates) are filled. They were all empty when I first started writing the book. I used to fill every block after I finished the planned writing for that date. So, at any time, I could open this page on the book and I would know where I am in the book – how far ahead or how far behind
The numbers in front of the chapters are the total number of pages written for that chapter.
I used the same book for all the chapters and mixed up chapters over the sixty days. I had a page for capturing the chapter flow – basically the title of the chapter and the page numbers that would cover that chapter.
I captured almost everything in this book, including the quotes that I wanted to include in the book. Here is the quotes page:
Once again, here is the link to the manuscript. You can click on the slideshow on the top right side of the Flickr page to quickly browse through the book.
This is the VERY first draft of the book. Of course, it evolved over the next one year before it got published in September of 2005. You can download the entire book here:
This is not a trick question. Really, think about the question again -
“Who owes you a big one?”
In fact, in the next minute or so, can you think of a dozen people who owe you a big one?
If you can’t come up with any names, it is time to re-visit your social currency. You have to give first to get something. If you have not given anything SIGNIFICANT to anyone recently, you won’t have anyone in the list for the answer above.
Rather than thinking about why this is the case, may be you can invest your energy in making some changes. What could you do in the next 60 days to positively change the answer to the same question:
Over at Successful Blog, ever-amazing Liz Strauss was having a comment-party tonight talking about Ideal Workplace and Ideal Work. I was late to the party but here is my perspective on the topic
Both the ideal workplace and ideal work are created first in our minds. Whether you are in the ideal workplace and whether you are doing ideal work, the first thing we should do is to THINK we are in the ideal workplace and we are doing ideal work. Only then can we give it our best shot for what we are doing at PRESENT.
Here are a few more things to consider. An ideal work is one where:
1. You are GROWING
2. You have an ability to CONTRIBUTE to the world in a BIG way.
3. You are in a FLOW
4. You wake up in the morning WANTING to engage in your craft
5. What you are doing is MEANINGFUL
6. If you stop engaging in your craft, you create a big VOID
Jan 13: This gem is from Dalai Lama – “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” (Twitter Link)
Jan 14: Networking 101 – If you goal is to ALWAYS give to your network, you will ALWAYS have enough to give #lion (Twitter Link)
Jan 14: Networking 101-The litmus test: If you disappear from the world today, how BIG of a VOID will it create in all your networks? #lion #powerq (Twitter Link)
Jan 14: Networking Metric is NOT how you leverage your network but how much you CONTRIBUTE to the network (whatever be the medium) #lion (Twitter Link)
Jan 20: “Greatness is never a given. It must be earned” – President Obama #inaug09 (Twitter Link)
Jan 21: ThinkTweet: Beware of mis-attribution: “Hard work due to incompetence” mis-attributed as “walking the extra mile” (Twitter Link)
Jan 26: Want to be memorable? Leave behind a “possibility” that was never there before you touched them (Twitter Link)
Jan 27: ThinkTweet: Are you seducing people to buy what you have OR are you being seduced to sell what your customers want? (Twitter Link)
Jan 29: ThinkTweet: Your stress in the downturn is inversely proportional to your investment in yourself before the downturn (Twitter Link)
Jan 29: ThinkTweet: You can only do something about a downturn by DOING something about it (Not thinking about doing something) (Twitter Link)
Jan 29: ThinkTweet: A downturn provides huge opportunity for those that can create HUGE opportunities for OTHERS (Twitter Link)
Jan 31: ThinkTweet: You are an “expert” when people people who are qualified to make that assessment say so & NOT when you just claim it. (Twitter Link)
Have a great week ahead.
If you want to follow me on Twitter, here is my handle there: @UpbeatNow
I first got to know about Mark McGuinness via his work at Lateral Action (he co-founded Lateral Action with Brian Clark and Tony Clark) and was fascinated by his thinking. After that I read more from him and was equally fascinated by his work outside of Lateral Action. He has released a very interesting eBook titled “How to Motivate Creative People(Including Yourself)”
Whether you consider yourself creative or not, you will learn a lot from this book. You can download the book here:
Here is a quick Q&A about the background for the book:
RS: Mark, what made you write this eBook?
MM: The initial idea came from hearing managers asking how they could motivate people when the economic downturn meant they couldn’t offer big pay rises or bonuses. To me, it sounded a strange question — we all need money to survive, but I don’t think most people are primarily motivated by money. And that’s particularly true of people in ‘creative’ professions, who typically have a real passion for the work itself.
So I wrote the e-book to get managers and leaders to think about forms of motivation other than the carrot and stick — such as an inspiring challenge, the chance to make a difference, or to gain recognition and boost their reputation.
If you look at the research into creativity, there’s a lot of evidence that intrinsic motivation (i.e. satisfaction in doing work for its own sake) is critical to high-level creativity. So if you really want to get outstanding performance out of people, you have a much greater chance of success if you focus on intrinsic motivations — such as an exciting challenge or learning something new — instead of just financial rewards. And the good news is, it doesn’t necessarily cost the earth — just a little imagination on the part of the manager.
A great example of this came from Tim Siedell http://badbanana.typepad.com/, a creative director who left a comment when I published one of the chapters on my blog. He described talking to one of his employees, who was feeling creatively frustrated. When Tim asked what he enjoyed doing outside of work, the guy said he’d always wanted to learn the guitar. So Tim bought him a guitar and a course of lessons — and to judge from the effect ‘you would have thought it was a five figure bonus’.
RS: The book says it is for creative professionals. When I read the book, I think it applies to everyone. Why the distinction?
MM: Most of my work as a coach and trainer is with creative professionals, broadly defined — i.e. people who make creativity central to their work. So it made sense to write about what I know best. A few people have made the same comment as you — that the book has a much wider application, which I’m delighted to hear.
I see the distinction as one of degree. As I say, most people are motivated by job satisfaction as well as money, but creative types are well known for taking this to extremes. For example, many of them are prepared to work for very little money for a chance to do work that is intrinsically satisfying or that allows them to build their reputation.
RS: You talk about four kinds of motivation – intrinsic, extrinsic, personal and inter-personal. Why should someone care how they are motivated?
The book is primarily written for managers and leaders, whose job it is to inspire and motivate people. So I think it’s important for them to consider different types of motivation, so that they can get the best out of people with different personalities, skills and core motivations. There is a danger that we can assume everyone is motivated by the same things we are — so I really want managers to consider the whole spectrum of different types of motivation.
I also want the book to be useful for anyone who wants to make the most of their creative talent. Understanding your own motivations not only promotes healthy self awareness, but it also means you know how to maintain your enthusiasm and energy for your work — especially during challenging times.
RS: I know Lateral Action is one project you are working on. What next for you Mark?
Well, we have big plans for Lateral Action, and we are only really getting started — if you have an interest in creativity, productivity and entrepreneurship then you can sign up for plenty of free inspiration via RSS or e-mail. http://lateralaction.com/subscribe/
As for me personally, right now I’m excited about a new training course I’m developing around storytelling. And I have another secret project in the pipeline… if any of your readers would like to hear about my new projects as they are announced, they can subscribe to my Wishful Thinking blog www.wishfulthinking.co.uk or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/markmcguinness
RS: Thanks Mark.
MG: Thank you Raj, for your interest and the great questions, they made me take a fresh look at my own motivations for writing the e-book!
OK, below is a video that will show you how to do just that. Enjoy!
The video has been viewed more than a million times.
Now, what is the point?
First, it is interesting to learn to fold a shirt in 2 seconds.
More important, there is a lesson here. What other trick similar to “folding a shirt in 2 seconds” do you know? All you need is a simple video camera and basic editing skills to get that on to YouTube.
Most people keep waiting for that “right opportunity” to act. With the tools available today, you can go and create that “right opportunity.” This video is one such example.
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