skip to main |
skip to sidebar
It's that time of year when many of us look ahead and wonder what we can do to make the next year a better one. I woke up yesterday morning to a story on NPR on an issue that business-consulting firm, Basex, terms the "Problem of the Year: Information Overload". Actually, I think this is the Problem of the Millenium. Sometimes I open my e-mail program feeling like a lion tamer at the circus - whip and chair in hand.
While it seems like stating the obvious, that we're all feeling inundated, and often times frustrated, with e-mail, what I didn't realize is how our Pavlovian response to "you've got mail!" diminishes our productivity and efficiency. Apparently to the tune of $650 billion to our national economy in 2006.
But all is not lost. The top two tips I came away with were these:
- Turn any auditory reminder of e-mail off, and try to check it only every hour.
- Use the letters "NRN" in the subject line, indicated "no reply needed," and "NTR" for "no thanks required". I suppose what should be added to that is to resist the urge to send any "me, too" replies to messages. Not that the world needs any more acronyms (just ask anyone working in the aerospace industry), but these two seem like a good idea to me.
In researching this subject a little further, I found an interesting blog called Taming Email, the goal of which is helping you empty your inbox. Imagine that . . . an empty inbox. One can always dream.
So, happy new year, and good luck with those resolutions! Maybe by this time next year I can retire the whip and chair.
Years ago a client came to me asking for a logo, and told me that the logo needed to be inviting and convey warmth. Just as I was picturing a color palette rich in buttery yellow, chocolate brown and maybe brick red, he said, ". . . and my favorite color is blue."
Now, this is one of those times where I have to muster all the diplomacy I can find. Because here is where clients get tangled in a web of personal taste versus speaking a language their intended audience will understand. Yes, your company's image needs to reflect you. You created it, after all. However, if you try to do business in Brazil without speaking Portuguese, you're not going to get very far.
The psychology of color is all about conveying your message to your desired audience, which means you need to speak their language - literally and figuratively. Sometimes this means putting personal preference aside. I know, I know, it's a hard thing to do. Color is a very emotional thing, and we all get very attached to our own associations with various colors. If you grew up in Washington State, green might symbolize the great outdoors and wonderful memories of camping as a kid. But if you grew up in Southeast Asia, green might symbolize death. You can see how lack of understanding might set your business back, like it did for an airline company back in the 1970s that painted a fleet of airplanes green that flew to Southeast Asia.
Leatrice Eiseman is highly regarded as the queen of color and consultant to the Pantone Institute, the folks who make the notebooks full of little, tiny color swatches with rather large pricetags that graphic designers live by. I once attended a workshop she gave on color forecasting, and was fascinated and impressed by the breadth of knowledge she brings to the task. Not only does she take into account the psychology of color, but of history and how we humans respond to various world events; our need for comfort, or our tolerance for risk and change.
For further reading, there's a great Wiki page about the psychology of color. And, in the words of Kermit the Frog, "It's not easy being green."
I don't know about you, but if I never have to schedule another meeting via e-mail again, I'd be one happy camper. You know the routine: someone sends out a meeting request, someone replies with the one hour they have available in the next six months, someone else responds with a question and no time suggestions, and you end up spending way more time than is reasonable trying to herd the cats.
But one fine day, I got an e-mail from someone asking me to take part in a Doodle poll. Wow! The simplicity of it! The ease of use! With one click, I found myself on a website with days and times, and a place just for me. All I had to do was type in my name and click on my available times, and that was it. I could see who else had been there and what times they were available. So easy, and so wonderfully time-saving. And even better, you don't need to log in to use it.
Created by Michael Näf at the University of Zurich, this cool tool also works well for potlucks, gathering opinions about what movie to see, and anything else that might take a whirlwind of e-mails and cause a whole lotta' frustration.
So, are we still on for tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.?
It amazes me when people say, "Oh, I'm just not the creative type." I don't believe creativity is something you're born with, but rather something you cultivate, nurture, and strive for. Creativity is part of our biology; if our bodies can constantly create new cells, then our brains can create new thoughts, and therefore be creative.
I recently became aware of a local campaign called Creativity Matters that believes that creativity can be taught. Imagine the possibilities! The best problem-solving happens when you let yourself step out of the box and think about things in a new way. I've sat in more meetings than I care to remember where new ideas are shot down before being explored, and I blame our quest for instant solutions. Creativity needs a little time and space, but the the rewards are often far more effective and lasting than going for the quick fix.
So, how do you learn to be more creative? Creativity Matters has a great list of 25 ways to cultivate creativity every day. Check it out. Oh, and I highly recommend firing your inner critic. Creativity needs optimism, and our inner critics live on a steady diet of doubt and fear. So, whenever possible, put that voice aside in favor of the one that says, "Hmm, I wonder what's possible?"
Before we humans had written language, we used images. Ancient cave paintings all over the world illustrate that our deep-seeded need to tell our stories goes way back. Along the way we've come to rely more and more on written language as our main means of communicating, and we're now inundated with so many stories vying for our attention it's hard to know which ones to pay attention to. Just ask anyone returning from vacation with the dreaded task of opening e-mail for the first time in two weeks.
Given the sheer volume of information we attempt to digest daily, it's no wonder that we make quick decisions about which messages we choose to "hear". It's usually a gut-level response to what something looks like, before we even decide to read the actual words. Does the color palette get my attention? Do the photos intrigue me, draw me in? Is the text laid out in a way that makes it accessible and easy to digest? Of the 20 items in my mailbox, which one will I choose to actually read in the brief moment I have right now?
That's not to say that the words themselves aren't important Once you get someone's attention, you'd better have something worthwhile to say. In the words of the man the New York Times calls the "Leonardo da Vinci of Data", Edward Tufte, "If your words aren't truthful, the finest optically letter-spaced typography won't help. And if your images aren't on point, making them dance in color in three dimensions won't help."
The surest route to being heard is to marry meaningful text with good design. What constitutes good design is a topic for another time, and I'll save my speech about why you probably shouldn't let your neighbor's teenage son who's learning PhotoShop design your company's logo and business cards. The bottom line: the most important message in the world, if poorly delivered, will go unheard.
The wonderful folks of Theater Simple showed up at the September BeatWalk with a trailer loaded up with a big mound of fake grass and a park bench perched on top. They invited people to come sit and talk about creativity and art, then created a podcast of those conversations. Apparently they had so much great material they expanded their usual 15-minute format to a 30-minute podcast. I had the great pleasure to be interviewed for this, and not only did they include my passionate opinions about life and art, I got to have the last word.
OK, world, own your creativity!
Technology was supposed to make our lives easier, right? While that sometimes doesn't seem to be the case, every now and then an online tool comes along to prove that technology can, indeed, make life a little easier.
A vendor I'm working with on a big, complex project turned me on to Active Collab, a subscription-based service that allows multiple users to post and alter task lists. You can also upload files related to the project, and create milestones as certain tasks are accomplished. I've found it fairly easy to use, although it's a bit confusing when posting new tasks to know how to add to an existing task list rather than creating a new task list. I've been told the professional version might be an improvement.
ActiveCollab has great potential even for smaller, less complicated jobs. Anything that has more than one person working on more than one task would benefit from a system like this. And it's especially useful if team members are at multiple locations.
If I were to pick the number one issue that gets clients into trouble, it would be lack of planning. So, repeat after me, "I WILL plan ahead!" C'mon now, with enthusiasm.
Remember that poster from a couple decades ago, where there's no room for the "d" in "ahead" so it looks like it's falling off the edge of the paper? I know, you have loads on your plate, and you can't possibly imagine where you'll find the time to stop the freight train and plan ahead. But let me just tell you, there are costs and frustration galore associated with not planning ahead.
Say you need to produce a brochure to help promote your business. You contact a designer, and tell them you need 500 printed brochures in-hand in a week. If they're still willing to speak to you after that, beware. Chances are they'll not only charge you a significant (i.e., 25% - 50%) rush charge (because, after all, they need to set aside other work to push your job through), but you may end up paying a rush charge with the printer as well. For color laser jobs, that's usually not as big an issue. But if this is something that needs to go on a press, most printers require 5-10 working days to prep, print and trim your job. And if the printer does quality work, odds are they're going to be booked in advance. Sometimes you get lucky and there's an opening; it's always worth asking. But in terms of having a successful and somewhat sane experience producing print collateral, planning ahead will give you better results and up the odds that your print piece will actually bring you a good return.
Some suggestions for planning ahead:
- create an annual publications calendar, with key events and drivers for print collateral;
- for something straight-forward, like a tri-fold brochure, aim to have text written and finalized at least 4-5 weeks prior to an event;
- if your designer won't be handling the print buying for you, book the printer when you hand off text to the designer; and
- allow approximately 2 weeks for design AND 2 weeks for printing.
Now, let's say our mantra together: "Plan ahead, plan ahead, plan ahead . . ."
It's been on my mind for over a year now to start a blog, but I couldn't seem to get past the apparent selfishness of it. I mean, really, who's going to tune in to what I have to say on a regular basis? Aren't bloggers just people who sit alone and type away into the wee hours of the morning about whatever pops into their minds? And yet. I feel the pull to do just that. So I did what I always do in situations like this: I turned to Google.
The web has increasingly become my Magic Eight Ball of choice. "Should I blog?" "Concentrate and ask again."
Actually, I entered "reasons to blog" and got 16,700,000 results from Google. And that included at least one dud, which was "Reasons to know your Ghetto!" which led me to an adult site. Hmm. Verrrry interestink.
What I learned from this small amount of research is that blogging isn't quite as selfish as I'd thought. For one thing, with 24 years' experience working as a communications professional, I think I have a few tidbits to offer up to the world that might just help Somebody, Somewhere. But among other reasons to blog were things like connecting and contributing to the collective wisdom,engaging in discussion, and learning from each other. My favorite quote was, "Professionalism is more than consumption, it is contribution." (Rovy Bronson.) I don't know who Rovy Bronson is, but that quote pushed me over into the camp of folks committed to blogging. (We all seem to quote Rovy, yet I couldn't quite find out who he is.)
So, why tune back in for more? Well, I'll do my best to put forth modest pearls of wisdom that relate to how best to tell your story, how to raise awareness of you and your business, and how to avoid common promotional pitfalls that are costly and time-consuming.
"Is anyone still reading this?" "Ask again later."
Posts
