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Be Explicit & Intentional, Your Business Depends on It
I started climbing again today. Sitting on the ground stretching, my climbing shoes and my chalk bag at my side, I watched a few people prepare for their ascent. On goes the harness, then the rope gets looped in and tied off in some crazy fancy eight knot that should save your life as you plunge into the abyss. Your buddy checks you. Each buckle gets reviewed, your knot is inspected. Chalk bag, check. Additional … Continue reading
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All-Nighters Suck, Overtime is a Myth
Don’t wait to deliver bad news hoping that you might fix everything with a mad sprint to the finish. All-nighters suck. And if you lead a team, overtime is a myth. There are times when optimism has gotten us in trouble. I’ve noticed this in a lot of freelancers. After all, we can do it all! We think, “gosh this deadline is looking tight, looks like I get to do another few all-nighters. No worries, … Continue reading
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Never Hold Your Breath
I’m taking a scuba class right now. One of the primary laws of scuba diving is, “Never hold your breath”. This is because it only takes very small variations in pressure to collapse your lungs. I’ve been told more than once, by friends, family, and clients that I’m not responsive enough. This has always been a challenge, as my nature is to wait until i can formulate the right response. However, I rarely end up … Continue reading
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Contractor 101: Final Exam
In the process of interviewing people for the post of office / operations manager, we asked them to complete a business acumen final exam. Peter & I sat down and wrote a fictitious letter to a client containing pretty much all the major business mistakes we have made in the past number of years. Think you are ready for the big time? Give it a shot. Look for spelling, grammar, poor communication, business etiquette, a … Continue reading
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PDA Etiquette and the Evolution of the Smoke Break
I’ve always thought it was ironic when smokers “go out for a breath of fresh air”. Recently, I found myself sympathizing with the plight of the proverbial smoker when I came under heavy fire from my friends for answering my iPhone email in front of them. So I left the company of friends to go outside and communicate with people by myself. Having skipped many of Shane’s important emails in my attempts to skim read, … Continue reading
