Ordinary Life, Extraordinary Living

Do You Clean Up As You Go?

Last week, I was feeling trapped, overwhelmed and underwater. I had piles of to-do's near by laptop, on my desk, on the kitchen table. I had flashes of that I Love Lucy episode where the conveyor belt moves faster and faster and Lucy is unable to put the chocolates in the box fast enough. Out of desperation, she stuffs them in her pocket and in her mouth.

I had an epiphany while talking to a friend about how he handles similar situations in his own life. Well, first I was dumbstruck and then my aha followed. My friend told me that wherever he goes, he creates piles. He's a pile maker and he likes it that way. I'm learning new perspectives on piles. Piles pile up until the time is right to focus on the pile, when it moves to the top of the priorities.

My aha came next. If you’ve ever observed other people cooking, you’ll see that some people clean up as they go and others clean up at the end. In the latter case, the cook is comfortable with letting things “pile up” until the time is right to focus on clean up—either at the end of cooking or the end of the meal or maybe the end of the day. And then the cook focuses on just that, cleaning up.

I’m a clean up as I go person. The problem comes in when stuff is coming in too fast for me to keep up and clean up as I go. Then it fails miserably. And leaves me feeling anxious as the pile gets bigger and bigger.

So I'm trying the "pile it up" approach. Expect things to pile up and create focused time to work on the pile, just when it needs to be addressed. And no sooner.

In addition to trying this new approach, I'm reviving an old approach, the low information diet. I've got my inbox under 100 emails and hope to keep it that way. I'll let you know how it goes.

In Praise of Joe

This week, I was in the car, listening to the radio, and just happened to catch Garrison Keillor hosting The Writer's Almanac. He always reads a poem, in addition to giving tidbits about writer's lives. Sometimes I find that I have to concentrate too hard to enjoy the poem while I'm driving. But on this particular day, the poem made me smile, chuckle, and appreciate the power of words. The poem is In Praise of Joe. While I'm not a coffee drinker, I do appreciate a hot cup of chai. I imagine it does the same for me as coffee does for others. Enjoy.

A Job Post I Can Get Excited About

A friend pointed me to a job post that says as much about the company as who they are looking for. The text of the job post is in italics, with my reactions in bold.

"We are looking for talented people…"

It seems that every third job posting for user interface design or user research starts with this statement.

User Centric is looking for talented people…but instead of posting something traditional, let me take a different perspective and write about what it is like to work at User Centric and hopefully you'll realize it is where you want to go with your career.

A fresh approach to a standard corporate memo. Hooray!

Our goal is to affect positive change in the user experience. User Centric is a company that is privileged to have projects where the outcomes can influence the lives of millions - or sometimes just a handful. What we do has meaning and it begins with a desire to understand how people interact with technology.

In any given month at User Centric, you might work on a project that will make daily tasks easier for 40 million users… and then switch gears to then work on a different project where the impact is extremely personal (in one example, after a test session, the user thanked me because in her words, "This product will change the way my kids will look at their mother").

As a job seeker, I'd be all over this one because it screams, "We provide meaningful work that even your grandmother could relate to. " People want impact and meaning.

When it comes to understanding user experience, there is no perfect approach in design or single way to capture and measure the experience. We continue to evolve our practices and techniques with each and every project. We encourage our team members to learn and educate their colleagues. User Centric is a place where I can say that I learn something new almost every day.

A learning community, where one can grow, is one of the biggest attractors for smart people.

Ultimately what allows us to enjoy our work is our team. Our employees at User Centric make all the difference. We have found we're more insightful and creative practitioners when we can leverage the experience and intellect of a great team. And we have fun together! There is a tremendous energy that comes out when our teams work on user research and interface design projects.

Reminds me of a Japanese proverb, "None of us is as smart as all of us." While the proof is in the pudding, the fact that the posting talks about the benefits of team work makes me want to know  more.

User Centric is looking for people who want to make a positive kind of difference - people who want to learn about multiple knowledge domains and work on more than just one type of product. You will never be bored at User Centric.

This last line grabbed me. Simple and compelling. A job where I'll never be bored.

For an extra treat, take a look at the Interesting Fact section of the bios for each team member.  It's a great way to show more than credentials, expertise, and experience and put the whole person to a name.

Gavin Lew, a managing director at User Centric, emailed me about how he came to write the job post:

"I just woke up one morning and realized how much I hated the standard job postings. So, I decided to write something different. It turned out to also be a nice way to gauge whether the candidate had a similar perspective. It generated passion and energy for some. Those who made no mention were correlated with candidates who never went to the website to learn about our firm."

Often, it doesn't take a lot to be remarkable, other than to decide to do something different. What have you done lately that's memorable and worth talking/blogging about?

Passion, Down to the Crankshaft

My husband pointed me to a site on vintage racing bikes, maintained by Ray Dobbins, avid collector and seller. It's a wonderful glimpse of someone who loves what he does.

From the detailed description of the equipment used to photograph bikes in Dobbins' garage (e.g., 1,000 watt Sears work lights and a backdrop of two king-sized white sheets, professionally sewn together) to the photo gallery of bikes for sale, sold, and not for sale, it's clear only passion could have produced this site. Take a look for yourself.

Besides the joy of doing something he loves, I can see from Dobbins' site that he's developed a community of bike afficionados, who help him find rare parts, become his  customers, and publish his pictures in trade magazines (with his permission.)

If you are waiting to find the time, money, energy, or space to pursue your passion, wait no more. Dive in to be the Ray Dobbins of what you love.

What Google Looks For In A New Hire

A friend of mine recently interviewed with Google. Besides the fact that they get something like 16,000 resumes a day, I was intrigued by these questions that my friend was asked in the interviewing process:

• Have you ever started a non-profit?
• Have you ever started a business that was profitable?
• Have you ever won a national or international competition?

Not your typical interview questions. Clearly, Google is looking for individuals who are enterprising, competitive, and interested in more than a paycheck.

Breast Cancer for Husbands

A friend just started a blog for husbands of women going through breast cancer. He described his reasons for blogging in this way:

"My wife has had breast cancer over the past three years. Blogging about it seems therapeutic and also a way for husbands to support each other."

In my discussions with Ilene Kouzel, who died of ALS in October 2006, she saw the real heroes and heroines as the caregivers--the people who quietly support and walk alongside the path of someone fighting for their life.  Ilene would be cheering my friend right now.

One of the best things about our age of technological abundance is the ability to connect with kindred spirits, easily and effortlessly. If you know of a husband supporting a woman diagnosed with breast cancer, please direct them to this site: www.breastcancerforhusbands.com.

Declining Value of Your College Degree

Dan Pink called this one a few years ago with his book, A Whole New Mind and this article provides concrete numbers to make the case. The median weekly salary for individuals with a bachelor's degree, adjusted for inflation, decreased from 2001 to 2007 by 1.7%. Even those with a master's degree experienced a decrease of 1.0%. It's only with a professional degree (e.g., J.D. or M.D.) or a PhD that the median weekly salary saw a rise.

The reasons for the decline?

"Economists chiefly cite globalization and technology, which have prompted employers to put the highest value on abstract skills possessed by a relatively small group, for this state of affairs."

Abstract skills. Read:right-brain competencies. As Pink says in his book,

"....[I]ndividuals...must examine what they're doing to earn a living and ask themselves three questions:

1. Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
2. Can a computer do it faster?
3. Is what I'm offering in demand in an age of abundance?

If your answer to question 1 or 2 is yes, or if your answer to question 3 is no, you're in deep trouble."

If you aren't sure what skills you need to develop, read A Whole New Mind. Three years after it was originally published, it's still right on target.

A Glimpse Into Humanity: $2 Drawings and Post Card Secrets

I found glimpses into the human mind and experience with two online sites:

Seth Godin points to a cartoonist who will "draw anything for $2". The cartoonist posts the finished product. While the drawings are humorous and entertaining, I find the actual requests for what to draw even more fascinating.

• A blogger who created an "ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard." If you aren't familiar with PostSecret, it's a intriguing look at the nature of being human, through the lens of what we will confess to anonymously.

The cartoonist and blogger are channels that give voice to our collective humanity. They provide the platform to create a community. A decade ago, this type of intimacy, in a public setting, would not have been possible, with such ease.  We are living in amazing times.

When One Door Closes, Another Opens

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that railroads are doing well, partly because with the rise in gas prices, they're looking like a better and better alternative to trucking. In any economy, there are winners and losers. After 9/11, security-related companies did well. Now it's railroads.

Business is also up for therapists who serve Wall Street bankers helping to address anxiety, panic, and depression, as reported by Yahoo News. This may sound a bit like schadenfreude.

And finally, I found myself this weekend at Victoria's Secret, waiting to check out, with three lines in front of me, five deep. Lingerie is apparently recession proof. (Along with haircuts. Just try getting a woman to change to a cheaper stylist or to forgo a regular appointment!)

As long as human beings have needs that they are willing to pay to satisfy, there's money to be made. I may sound like cold-hearted capitalist AND the real message is that we all choose our mindset, the lens with which we view the world.

Advice from Coolest Women We Know

My friend, Wendy Bohling, invited me to join a women's networking group that she started last fall. The group, aptly named, "Coolest Women We Know," draws from accomplished women in high-tech, ranging from C-levels in telecom companies to software entrepreneurs to heads of non-profits aimed at increasing the number of girls pursuing engineering degrees to partners in law firms servicing mergers and acquisitions. The group expands by members inviting the "coolest women they know" to join.

At my first meeting last week, Wendy started off with this question:

"What one piece of advice would you give someone struggling with their career?"

As we went around the room, I murmured my agreement with each golden nugget. It all resonated, because these were words spoken from experience, from failures and successes, from having lived the lesson. The collective wisdom of this group left me in awe. A few of my favorite pieces of advice:

• Don't take no for an answer. No is only a position from which to negotiate. It's the first step to yes.
• Look for the new, interesting thing to start.
• You are not your job.
• Feedback is a gift.
• Understand where the center of power is to be successful. (It's not always where you think it is.)
• Don't take yourself too seriously.
• Keep asking yourself what will matter a 1000 years from now.
• Every relationship counts.

My advice? Well, I gave two pieces. Give yourself permission to play and find good allies.

What one piece of advice would you give? Provide your comments below.

Thanks, Wendy, for including me in this group of very special women.

Your Story Isn't Who You Are, Secrets to Staying Creative, and Nuts and Bolts

In loading up my iPod for an upcoming trip, I came across these thought-provoking podcasts:

• The Accidental Creative. The direct link to the podcast on iTunes is:phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=93424211. Todd Henry interviews some great thinkers about their work and how they stay creative. I especially enjoyed the interviews with management guru, Peter Block, author of The Answer to How is Yes, and networking guru, Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone.

Block talks about how the question we ask is more important the answer, taking on personal responsibility, and how the story we tell often limits our future.  He also points to a familiar concept for boundary crossers, that you need to get out of your field to innovate.

Ferrazzi talks about how generosity and intimacy are the keys to great relationships. He also talks about his secrets to staying creative, among them are Vipassana meditation, reading retreats (similar to what I've heard Bill Gates does), and finding enough space in life to hear your inner voice. Ferrazzi is also a prolific writer with lots of great articles on his site.

• w3w3, an Internet talk radio site, has a new interview with tech entrepreneur, Audrey MacLean. A professor of entrepreneurship at Stanford, MacLean is also the founder of several high-tech companies, including Network Equipment Technologies and Adaptive. I particularly resonated with her description of entrepreneurs as individuals who create something out of nothing, seeing things the way they could be instead of how they are today, and inspiring others to create with you. She's emphatic that you can't do it alone, that you have to create a team. I'm living that lesson with my new venture, A Bigger Voice. MacLean also talks about the challenges of balancing family with building a biz. I'm living that one as well. Lucy Sanders, the CEO of the National Center for Women in Technology, and someone I know from my days at Avaya, is one of the interviewers.

As long as I'm on the subject of entrepreneurship, I heard a great concept from Sue Kunz, a Boulder entrepreneur who just sold her company, Solidware to Coverity. With any successful company, there's usually a "nut" and a "bolt." The nut is the visionary, the one who dreams big. The bolt is the pragmatist, the one who knows how much is in the checking account at any given moment. Sue considers herself the nut. Her partner at Solidware was the bolt. I marveled when she recalled that in the early days of Solidware, they spent less than $300 on office furniture for 14 employees.  Made me think a bit more frugally in setting up A Bigger Voice.

While these thought-leaders are seemingly talking about different topics, it comes down to two opposing but complementary ideas--reaching for the stars and staying grounded. If I'm able to do that consistently, I'll consider myself a lucky woman.

Paying Cash

My husband is the financial genius of the family We have a nice split in responsibilities. I make the money and he makes sure that it grows, like tomato plants in the hot summer sun, instead of slipping away, like water from a leaky garden hose. This may not seem like a fair balance in responsibilities. Making money is the easy part. I have trouble saving and investing it.

So I was all ears when he said, "Want to know how we can automatically save 10-15% on our expenses?" Sure. Sign me up.

"Pay cash or write checks for everything."

Is he talking to me, the person who charges a chai at Starbuck's, postage for a large envelope at the post office, and whatever other small necessities can be paid for by a credit card? I often go weeks with less than $10 in my wallet. Yes. He's talking to me. He was tired of paying Visa bills for thousands of dollars each month, knowing that credit cards are too easy to use. My husband doesn't like surprises at the end of the month.

BTW--this tactic has nothing to do with how much I'm earning. In fact, my gross revenue has increased every year since starting my business, with this year being no exception. It has everything to do with the phenomena that you spend as much as you earn.

We are trying this out for a month. I went to the dentist's office and paid by check. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and paid by check. I paid for jewelry I bought at the Nordstrom's sale with cash. Ouch. Yeah, that more expensive necklace wouldn't have looked good on me anyway.

When I told my sister about paying with cash, she sneered, "Oh, I hate that. It makes me feel poor."  My sister then placed her credit card on the store counter to pay for two pairs of earrings.

This is an unintended consequence that leads to the intended result--feel poor, spend less. Men don't get it. My husband offered to go to the bank on a regular basis, so that I would have plenty of cash. That doesn't help the feeling of poverty. He knows that it hurts a lot more when you have to hand over the green stuff rather than swipe a card.

If I don't get mugged (really, I'm only carrying ten bucks with me...the rest is in the car), I'll probably be permanently scarred with the idea of handing over a Ben Franklin for a tank of gas and a few twenties for a haircut. I may even start an obsessive/compulsive relationship with my local ATM. Tell me when the month is up.

Thank God for Sisters and Nordstroms

As I emerge from a period of burnout, I've really begun to appreciate my sister, whose house is a five minute walk from my home. She called me up to go to Nordstrom's anniversary sale this morning. We went for an hour--a true girly girl outing in the middle of the day, in between my business appts.

In sixty delicious minutes, we tried on jewelry made of red coral and blue agate and crystals and bought two pairs of earrings for special occasions and a neckace that will go with everything, every day.

We looked at dozens of shoes and tried on the display models for bright red sandals and cushy walking shoes and orange flats. 

We went upstairs to the clothing section and breezed through racks of flowery dresses with tropical colors and matching wraps, crisp white shirts, and vibrant green jean jackets. My sister imagined one dress with her favorite blue shoes and then thought twice about the sequined pink dress I loaned her for a family wedding.

There's something about leaving your office in the middle of the day, just to have frivolous fun--surrounded by beautiful things, oohing and ahhing, with someone who loves bling and appreciates sequined clothing. Thanks, sis, for the outing.

Love Is In the Air, Or At Least in the Water

I noticed recently that a large number of my clients have gotten married or will get married this year. One in January, one in June, one this Friday, one in August, and one in September. For all but one, this is not the first time at the altar. What's that about?

I hope it means that as people get older (most of my clients are 35 years and up), they find out what and who truly makes them happy. Or maybe it means that marriage is still in style, as a way to show commitment and love to another human being. Or maybe it means that it's time for a great party and an exotic vacation. Whatever it means, I'm happy for them....

Burnout: Symptoms and Antidotes

I've been missing in action on all of my blogs over the last week. I realized over the weekend that I was on the edge of burnout. Small things were bringing me to tears. I was having trouble getting out of bed before 8am and even then, moving slowly for the rest of the day. Something was wrong.

As I explained to the team of consultants for A Bigger Voice:

"In the last week, I’ve noticed signs of increasing frustration, lack of “mojo” and less joy. It’s become apparent over the last couple of days that I’m on the edge of burnout. This is both good and bad. Good in the sense that burnout usually comes from working on something that I’m passionate about over an extended duration (it’s happened two or three times in the last seven years) and with an intensity that signals to me that I’m doing meaningful work. It’s bad in that it usually takes me awhile to get back into balance. It typically requires an extended time away."

I then went on to ask for help from the team in a series of client meetings coming up.

Some important lessons for me:

• There are always mileposts along the way before getting to the breaking point. A few weeks ago, a friend asked me what I've been doing for fun amid all the work of running the pilot for A Bigger Voice, and I replied, "Oh, I leave my home office at the end of the day, head upstairs and do stuff in the kitchen, like empty the dishwasher." As I listened to her reaction ("Oh, really, how nice"), I thought to myself, "Oh my gosh, I guess I've been a bit focused on work." But then I was on to the next thought, topic, task.

• Others see the mileposts as well, often before I do. One of the consultants told me after seeing my email that she wasn't surprised about the burnout. She sensed it weeks ago, just from the increasing frequency of "sharpness" in my voice.

• Declaring to others that I was on the edge of burnout was the start of coming out of burnout. It gave me permission to take a morning off to shop with my sister, go out for lunch, and just play. A burden was lifted and the clarity of knowing my state for the time being was freeing.

• It's okay to ask for help. I'm thankful that I have a great team that is multi-talented. It allows me to step away and feel good about who will step in to fill the gap. And I would ask for help no matter what, given that it's only after I put on my oxygen mask that I can contribute again.

• Rejuvenating myself doesn't need to take weeks, when I focus on the keys that bring me alive. In addition to shortened work days, I went to a presentation by Ashoka, a leading organization supporting social entrepreneurs. I would have thought this would be counterproductive, but instead, it helped me to look up from my feet and see the horizon and a larger vision for my work. Possibilities and big dreams excite me. I got home at 9:30 at night, energized. In the mix was a night out to see a chick flick, a new collaboration that uses my strength of interviewing others for wisdom, and dinner with an old friend. What I thought would take weeks to emerge from burnout sludge took a few days.

While I'm not completely back in the saddle, I have a lift in my voice and I find myself laughing a lot more. I'm getting up earlier, looking forward to checking off items on my to-do list and enjoying the process of the work. I'm returning to my old self....

Tourist in My Own Town

My sons have tired of summer vacations consisting of long road trips. We've seen most of the interesting sights within a day's drive over the last ten years. And having taken a true vacation to paradise in February, a more extravagant summer vacation didn't seem called for.

Instead we've decided to create "Family Friday," days when we play tourist in our own town. Last Friday, we treated ourselves with an outing to the Tattered Cover (one of the largest independent bookstores in the US), visiting their newest store in a renovated historic Denver theatre. The Tattered Cover is known not only for its large selection but also for their quirky, comfy chairs, the type you might remember from visiting an elderly aunt's house as a kid. The TC was known for encouraging lounging long before it became popular at Borders or Barnes and Noble. We are a family of readers, so getting lost in a new bookstore was a perfect way to spend a couple of hours.

While our minds were being fed, our stomaches were still waiting. Lunchtime found us at the Wazee Supper Club, another Denver mainstay. It boasts the best pizza in town and an atmosphere that is pieced together from historical artifact after another. My favorite part of the history of the restaurant is this sentence from the back of the menu:

"The three stained glass windows above the bar were bought from a guy in a pickup parked nearby."

So much for historical accuracy.

This week, we'll visit the Colorado State Capitol, with its distinctive gold dome. We tried to get reservations to the Denver branch of the US Mint but got shut out.

Lunch will be at a favorite Indian buffet in the LoDo area. And if we are feeling particularly indulgent, gelato could be awaiting us a few blocks away.

Future outings include the Eldorado Springs Pool (which is fed by the same source for the Eldorado Springs water), an overnight trip to Mt Princeton Hot Springs (2 hours away), and if we can get our sons bit with the history bug, a tour of Denver's Brown Palace Hotel.

Just writing this helps me remember how much I have right at my doorstep. Look around your own home turf and you might find yourself remembering, too.

Enjoy playing tourist in your own town.

The Gut is Right After All

A Wall Street Journal article points to how our brains make up our minds long before we are conscious of the choice. Some might say that this negates free will. I would argue that it means that our gut instinct knows first and that our heads then try to make the logical case to support.

Big, Bold Choices

A friend sent me the link to her new blog, part of a "citizen blogger site" set up by the Houston Chronicle. I rarely plug personal blogs (as opposed to ones that specialize in a discipline, like marketing or social media). This is one I can recommend because the writing is passionate, honest, and intelligent--something that all good blogs, no matter the topic, have in common. In my email back to my friend, I told her that she had missed a key calling. (She's a marketing and change management professional.)

It was also a reminder to me to get more personal and passionate in my postings, as I can get wrapped up in concepts and interesting stories, instead of relaying my own experiences. It goes back to two pieces of advice that I've received:

• Be a part of life, instead of the observer
• Make big, bold choices

So if you find me playing the observer, instead of the participant, leave a comment. If I'm playing it safe, instead of taking some risks, leave a comment. I need to be reminded every once in awhile.

Simple Missions

In reading this article about Adolph Kiefer, a 90-year old legend among Olympic swimmers, I learned something about mission statements. Kiefer, an Olympic medalist from the 1936 games, has owned a catalog company supplying all types of aquatic equipment for 61 years. He's also the inventor of many things that swimmers take for granted today--nylon swimsuits, lane markers that stay in place, and stylish starting blocks.

The most fascinating tidbit from the article (other than reporting that Kiefer continues to swim every morning in his ninth decade of life) is that "Kiefer...never enforced one of his 14 patents, in part because he believes his improvements ought to be available to purchasers of every brand, and in part because he thrives off the success of other brands." In other words, the pie only gets bigger when we share.

And the mission statement of Kiefer's company? It can be summed up by this quote from his nephew, William Fischer, who manages the business:

"[Adolph Kiefer's] goal has always been to make swimming safer and available to everyone."

Simple, easy to understand, and compelling. I wish all mission statements were like that.

Are We So Successful That We've Lost Our Way?

In a call with a mentor today, he talked about a company that proactively challenges whether they are drinking their own Kool-Aid. How? By seeking a third party assessment of how they do business, when business is going well. The intention here is to seek help so that the organization can thrive.

Most companies only seek help when things are going poorly, and only in order to survive.

Organizations can seek feedback to validate the status quo beliefs or they can seek feedback to grow.  It's easy to get duped into the former.