The Happy Burro

I know some of you could write that many words in a week.  I’ve read your blogs! 

National Novel Writing Month

I am embarking on a one-month adventure that starts November 1st.  I am going to write 50,000 words in the month of November.  The premise is to write a novel in 30 days.  Impossible?  No.  Improbable?  Maybe. You may find more info here.

Why This Works

The problem with most writing is that the writer gets bogged down in titles, sentence structure, ideas, character sketches, etc.  The majority of the words stay in their imagination and never see the light of day.  There are few rules for this exercise.  The main focus is to just write, write, write.  Don’t worry about sentences, thought flow, etc.  Just get everything on the novel’s subject out of your head.  December is for editing.

Concentrated Effort – About Being S.M.A.R.T.

A good goal needs to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound.  Writing 50,000 words in a month is a S.M.A.R.T. goal:

Specific: writing 50,000 words

Measurable: each word

Attainable: just over 1,000 words a day!  This is where commitment applies.

Realistic: This goal has been completed by thousands for almost a decade.  Check this out.

Time-bound: One month, November: 30 days.

Writing 50,000 words may not be your idea of a good time.  What could you accomplish in 30 days if you applied an hour or two every day?  Lose/gain weight?  Research a hobby? Get better at a sport?  Increase your networking skills?  The greatest part is that we’re talking about 30 days!  Not a lifetime, not even a year.  Thirty days…

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How you can help:  send me an email anytime during the month of November with some words of encouragement to continue writing.  Or, let me know what YOU are going to do for 30 days!  Thank you in advance for your help and continuing the conversation!

A quote from Camino Real by Tennessee Williams:

“Make voyages,” he writes. “Attempt them. There’s nothing else.”

Joe Raasch :: Oct.30.2007 :: Life, Personal :: No Comments »

We have the ability to learn from any leader – even a bad one.  Here is a real-life story from my bank of experience: 

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…or it seems that way…I was in account management at a large, Fortune 10 company.  I was having a bit of difficulty with one of our major accounts – a west coast-based consumer products corporation.  Part of the reason I let the issues fester is that my manager was not exactly an ‘A game’ leader.  She was a great person, but wasn’t suited for her role.  Everyone seemed to know this, including her.  She did leave the company a few months later. 

The account issues boiled up to the point that I went barreling into my manager’s office.

Our verbal exchange went something like this:

Joe: “Margaret (not her real name), I am DONE with the ABC Company account! (not the real company name either…).  My contact is frustrating, irrational, and demanding way beyond the normal call of service!!!”

Margaret: What do you want me to do about it?

Joe: I want you to fix it!  Get me off this account!

Margaret: That’s unreasonable.  Go figure it out on your own.  It IS your account.

Joe: (sputtering) WHAT????!

Margaret:  Why don’t you go think this through and get back to me with some ideas.

I stormed out of her office.  In fact, I stormed out of the building and walked a few miles on the path that winds through the corporate campus. 

I returned to my desk, thought through the issues, and returned to Margaret’s office…

Joe:  Hi.  I have some ideas on how to rectify the ABC account problems.

Margaret: Great! Sit down and let’s discuss your options.

We had a great exchange of ideas.  Ulitmately, we didn’t move forward with any of my recommendations.  That didn’t matter.  We solved the problems at hand, met the client expectations, and the account continued to be profitable for us.

The lesson?  Never go to your manager with just problems. Come with solutions too.  Even if you don’t know exactly how to handle things, at least show you’ve thought through the issue as best you are able.  Even a bad manager might be able to help!

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For more on learning from our leaders, check out this post from Managing Leadership.

Joe Raasch :: Oct.25.2007 :: Employee Engagement, Leadership :: No Comments »

When executing a change at work, is it standard practice to treat everyone the same?  I am not talking about respect, dignity, and the like. I mean using a ‘peanut butter’ approach in attention, communication, direction, accountability, etc.

Mark Goulston, the Leadership columnist at FastCompany, recently published a wonderful, direct, and actionable list on managing teams for change:

10 Ways to Frustrate and Squander the Cream of Your Crop

1. Unclear vision from the top 
2. A mission that seems meaningless 
3. Little or no strategy
4. No system for holding people accountable
5. Having a system for accountability but not using it (a.k.a. the slackers get to slide by) 
6. Mediocre managers who lack clarity, commitment and passion are difficult to respect
7. Rewarding mediocre people whose only skill is knowing how to work the system 
8. A culture rife with whining, complaining, blaming and excuse making 
9. Having to rely and depend on people who are not reliable or dependable 
10. Having your best people see other companies where their talents would be much better utilized
     

    

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    What would you add to the list?