The Local Wisdom Blog

The Times of UK just posted an article that talks about how we can’t work properly amid a barrage of emails, texts and tweets.

We need to clear our minds and focus on what matters, but it’s a tough job when we are bombarded with 34 gigabytes of information a day. That’s about 8 to 9 full length movies.

Being a business owner doesn’t help there are so many tasks, decisions, distractions, priorities, procedues, and interactions that we must mentally manage. It feels like balancing a bunch of spinning plates.

Here are some of the habits that I do to help manage my mental:

Exercise
I try to hit the gym before work. In the book Brain Rules, John Medina talks about how our brains developed while our bodies were in a constant state of movement. Our ancestors used to hike an average of 12 miles a day.

Take breaks
The brain becomes retroactive after 20 minutes of focus. Take a break by getting up and walking around. Not by watching TV or browsing the Internet.

Give attention to people
Q: What’s more important than your laptop? A: The people you work with. We are inturrpted by co-workers quite often. It’s easy to passively interact with them continuing to work on the computer. Instead ask for a moment, get to a good place with what you were doing, then turn and talk to your co-worker.

More pencil and paper
Computer programs can help you with more than it really can. The truth is that the best way to be creative is with a paper and pencil. Those two simple tools are not bound by the rules of a program. Is I don’t use a computer to take notes, outline presentations, or brainstorm mindmapping.

Talk through things
Again bringing focus to people over computers: I’ll start an email, stop halfway, then either pick up the phone or walk over to someones desk to simply talk to them. I reserve emails for precursor conversations, simple questions and answers, scheduling time, and sharing files.

Check out the original article: Have we forgotten how to concentrate?

Thanks you Steve Rubel for the link.

If you have more tips for us/me that you use in your work/mental balance post a comment.

Microsoft Office 2010 is going to come out soon. You can download the beta here. One of the biggest features new in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel is co-authoring.

Co-authoring will allow people to share, edit, and collaborate on documents in real time. Yes, its like Google Docs but from your desktop. I was first fascinated by the concept when I learned about the operating system for the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) computers. The OLPC laptops allows children to work individually (home), within a selected number of people (groups), or publicly (neighborhood). The entire OS is build from a collaboration stand point allowing children to share anything they do on a computer with people around them. This is very similar to the way we work everyday in the office.

We’ve found ourselves in a situation a few times where we are brainstorming in the same room within the same shared Google Spreadsheet. Similar to how we would post stickies on the white board we posted words in cells. This made the act of documenting and organizing ideas very easy.

So, Microsoft 2010 seeks to take us a step further in that direction. Its not fully where I’d like it to be. To fully utilize the co-authoring system Microsoft says in a footnote:

“Instant messaging and presence requires one of the following: Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 with Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2; Windows Live Messenger, or another instant messaging application that supports IMessenger. Voice calls require Office Communications Server 2007 R2 with Office Communicator 2007 R2 or an instant messaging application that supports IMessengerAdvanced.”

I’m still interested to see how this pans out, but the real solution will be on the operating system level.

A crucial part of being a Local Wisdom project manager is the creation and delivery of presentations. This frequently means PowerPoint.

I’m not a big fan of PowerPoint because I think it’s overused, and misused… But sometimes it’s necessary.

When you absolutely, positively, need to use PowerPoint, here are a few guidelines delivered in a crass, and entertaining manner:

How NOT To Use PowerPoint

We are constantly striving to fine-tune our presentations to make them as short, simple, clear, and minimalistic as possible.

Dialogue is always best.

Week 1  2010

Let me start by saying Happy New Year.  Hope this 2010 brings continuous happiness, more episodes of the Jersey Shore, a Jets Super Bowl, even faster internet speeds, teleportation (maybe that’s asking for too much) and more cool, creative and awesome projects for LW. So with that said, this past week’s themes included “busy is an understatement”, “the science of Account Management”, and “10+ years of a united front”.

At the end of each year, our shop is launched into the thralls of projects, projects and yes more projects. Our customers have allotted their 4th quarter budgets for new websites, web apps, and/or have updates that they need to their current sites. Their timelines are always ASAP or yesterday. Last week was a beautifully executed balancing act performed by our project managers, designers and developers. While working on 4 major projects and preparing for a large pitch, busy was an understatement.  It’s weeks like that which fuel my passion for this business and adds to the adventure that is Local Wisdom.

Busy weeks bring their own trials and tribulations and why would the first week of the “new decade” be any different. Our customers have needs and wants.  They need to have their initiatives complete but want to have it delivered (at times) at the flip of a switch. Insert fantastic Account Management & Project Management here.  The end of the year always seems to be a negotiation on timelines with our customers.  With the 87.5 holidays and everyone taking vacation time, it makes for an interesting scheduling feat but we manage. Customers sometimes have issues. We listen and understand as the process is a give and take….and most importantly Local Wisdom always delivers.

We celebrated our 10th year in 2009 so this year would make it 10+ years of making Smart, Happy, and Healthy Websites.  I have to say that our core team, which has not changed, is as united about the direction and future of LW as we were in the basement plotting and planning about this years back.  Hiring talented, passionate, reliable, self motivated people can be a challenge for any company, but we have certainly succeeded in doing so. It’s great coming to work each day knowing that every employee shares a common goal in the success of our family…I mean company.

With that, till next time. Another busy week = more juicy themes.  This weekly review was brought to you by Derrick Larane, Sales Director here at Local Wisdom.

How do you get a project to run smoothly? It all starts with the Project Manager. Our lead project manager Christine Robinson explains the process of whipping the team into shape and keeping us on time as well as the documents and process used to do it! Send requests for screencasts to share@localwisdom.com and follow us at twitter.com/localwisdom and visit us at http://blog.localwisdom.com

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Anita Zinsmeister of the South Jersey Dale Carnegie Training left me a voicemail last week to attend a free intro class for Leadership Training for Managers (LTM). The 7 week (1 day a week) program covers: planning, decision making, time management, motivation, conflict resolution, and fostering innovation.

The group has an excellent ability to teach through games, simulations, and discussions. Derrick and I have taken the High Impact Presentation training. Well worth it.

If you want to check it out visit: http://southjersey.dalecarnegie.com

I’ve always wanted to attend, but wanted to get the other partners involved. It’s best we are on the same page. Needless to say we went yesterday and had a great time.

If you’ve taken the LTM class, I’d like to hear from you. We’re definately takeing the course, but probably not until next year first quarter. This time of the year is our most busiest.

Here are some notable quoatables from the intro class

You can only coast when your going downhill.

If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

Imperfect action always beats perfect inaction.

Only knowledge that gets used sticcks in the mind.

Bonus! Here’s DC’s 7 management diseases:

1. “We’ve never done it that way.”
2. “We’ve always done it this way.”
3. “If it’s not broken, why fix it?”
4. “We’ve tried that back in 1988 and it didn’t work.”
5. “it costs too much.”
6. “That’s not my job.”
7. “We’re just not ready for that just yet.”

Working with people is like a drop of milk in black coffee. There’s essentially no real telling where and how the milk will spread. This is chaos theory.

At the same time, our approach in the work we do is based on getting brilliant minds together to focus on an outcome and make it happen. Yes, we work in groups quite a bit. It can be difficult at times to keep things moving towards a creative end, but when done properly it saves a lot of time, money, and you get a great product that everyone loves.

The PsycBlog has a great post entitled How Groups Form, Conform, Then Warp Our Decision-Making, Productivity and Creativity and goes over some very good points on working in and facilitating groups over several subject areas:

• Formation, influence and leadership
• Productivity
• Decision-making
• Creativity
• The power of groups

Also, here is some supplemental reading: 10 Rules That Govern Groups

Designing information can help us see data in ways that help us achieve specific goals. Well designed data ends up having little text yet the information is delivered through a variety of visual means. That’s how we learned in kindergarten, using pictures and picture books. We process images way faster than we process words.

The Vignet Labs blog posted a great article that show some great examples of information design.

For more information on the subject here are some of my fav books:

Anything by Edward Tufte (The top four results)

The Best Information Diagrams 2 (steep price, still trying to get my hands on #3)

The above image comes from: http://www.sistemadesignitalia.it/drm/

RNIB (supporting blind and partially sighted people) has a great culmination of Excel (and other program) keyboard shortcuts.

Excel Keyboard Shortcuts on RNIB

ConsultingMag.com just did an interview with Allen Adamson, managing director of Landor Associates and author of Brand Aid.

His main theme focuses around uniting brand experts and technology experts. I whole heartedly agree and I’m looking forward to reading the book.

In his interview with consultingmag.com, he praises Johnson & Johnson and their baby care division:

Most marketers are finally getting up to speed. I think Johnson & Johnson is doing some of it very well, particularly for their baby division. They have known for years that moms talking to each other are a key vehicle to getting their brand message into that marketplace. They have the [YouTube] baby channel, and they really created a whole platform for new moms to talk to each other.