Beyond Messaging

Business as Usual

Modern life and modern business is so full of change that the very idea of "business as usual" seems quaint and out of date.  If you are not growing and changing, you can sure assume that your competition is!  There is this fear of the other company coming out with a new product, a cheaper way to make something, or a revolutionary way to interact with customers.

Let's think for a moment about business as usual.  Routines create efficiencies, processes in place ensure consistent results, and business as usual should indicate that all the process you painstakingly set up are working as planned.  Business as usual means customers are buying, being billed, and money is flowing into the bank accounts.  Business as usual means that employees have the tools and equipment they need to do their jobs.  It means no downtime, less frustrations, and less friction.

If your business is well tuned, has a great product, and great people, business as usual is going to make you money!  Interruptions and upheavals can cost valuable time and energy better spent on making customers happy.

So while your strategic thinkers are innovating and pointing out the new direction the company needs to go in, please don't forget to appreciate the profits that come with business as usual.

7 tips to get out of a career rut - CNN.com

Get off your butt if you want to get out of the rut.

via www.cnn.com

Just in case any readers out there may be feeling like they are in a rut big enough to put up posters, here's some cheery cheesy  handy advice from our friends at CNN. Plus it rhymes! Gee, Thanks!

Thinking Outside the Box

Sometimes I like being in the box.  The box gives me structure, a way to look at the situation, to codify my experience.

I am the kind of thinker who likes to compartmentalize things, compare them, and see patterns in their relationships.  I prefer to make decisions that make sense in relationship to best practices and standard operating procedure.  I like to make business choices that fit with an overall model.  When possible, I prefer accuracy, and simplicity.  Boxes can help provide that.

Of course the real world doesn't tend to fit into pre-defined boxes.  Sometimes we need to break out of the box.  Build a new box. Even go boxless.

But don't spurn the box out of hand.  Define and analyze your boxes and see if they are useful.  If not, break it open.  If it is, build upon it.

Recession's latest victim: U.S. innovation - Dec. 11, 2009

Patent filings fell in 2009 for the first time in 13 years, worrying Silicon Valley that it is losing its place as the leader in global innovation.

via money.cnn.com

This article hightlights the need for patent reform in the United States. A terrible combination of an antiquated patent system, increased litigation, and the economic downturn has all come together to stifle the ability for American Inginuity to thrive.

The patent system needs reform and the patent office needs proper funding for upgrades and staff. Small Businesses are large alike both need to be able to file legitimate patents and expect to have them granted in a timely manner.

In my opinion some of the problems in the world of patents have to do with those companies out there who are buying up stagnant patents and then throwing spurious lawsuits out to other companies that are making products and making money. "Patent warehouses" whose only revenue stream comes from patent litigation, are in my opinion a bit like parasites sucking money out of companies that are selling products and creating jobs.

Innovation, including patent registration and new inventions, is the lifeblood of the American way. It is our ticket to a better future. Innovation represents being able to do more with less, more efficiency, and a better standard of life. We need to be encouraging companies and individuals to apply for patents and market new innovations.

Your job is to make your boss look good

Seth Godin posits that the question "What do you want me to do?" is a danger, and that a great consultant will instead ask "here's what you might need..."

I always think of my mother's career advice which is that your job is to make your boss look good.  Expanding that, another part of your job is to make your bosses', customers', and fellow employees' jobs easier.    Sometimes that does mean just doing what they need you to do, even if you don't neccessarily think that it's the best way.  Teams work by consensus and you cannot be a leader at all times.  (Heck, if you are a System Administrator you are probably seldom a leader)

On this other hand, Seth has a good point.  We have positions based on technical skills, expertise, and talent.  Sometimes what the organization needs is not another "Yes, man" or woman, but a critical thinker who is not afraid to voice their opinion.  Especially when that opinion is based on the very expertise for which you were hired in the first place.  Employers also need to remember to foster critical thinking among their employees.

If your team's great ideas are being squashes, ignored, or otherwise discouraged, sooner or later your team members will stop telling you what they really think.  Is that what you want?