A few weeks back I had multiple client and business needs that required me to dress up a little more than I usually do. After enduring the standard, “You got an interview or something?” wise cracks that are inevitable, I began to notice a change behaviors in a couple of ways. Now I want to be clear, I believe the old maxim, “The clothes make the man” is BS. I am not what I wear. I am not my designer label. But…the clothes are an outwards manifestation of something internal. They don’t make you work any harder or be more productive but if your job involves appearances in any way, you’re at a disadvantage. They make people see you in a particular way, like it or not, we are a prejudicial people. You make snap judgements; everyone does. Fighting reality is futile (but that’s another post). Give it a shot yourself - take 3 weeks and shift how you dress, then see what differences have come up in both your personal attitude and that of those around you…

We are regularly told that we should “think before we speak”, however, I believe it to be equally important that we think before we act. Never be dictated to by expediency. was a regular saying from my father. And I have to say that, historically in my life at least, he’s been correct. Now I know that we all end up in situations where we need to make snap decisions or something needs to be handled in the immediate - that’s just life but there are also times when some reflection and careful thought can be afforded. Unfortunately, no one has every taught me what to actually do with that time.

The Canvas

So if I’m supposed to be thoughtful about what it is I do in specific situations, how do I achieve that? Well, I don’t know if it’s the solution for everyone but I’ve got a template that works for me and I wanted to share with you all. You can find it at http://journal.driventodevelop.com. It’s a pretty simple and self-explanatory template (if you need a hint there’s an instruction box in the top right that I’m working to make contextual help). I needed a quick way to throw some security on it so it uses Twitter for authentication but I assure you I’m not collecting any kind of info otherwise. In the past couple weeks, I have been surprised how much this has helped me with situations I was experiencing and brought things to a significantly better conclusion that I had hoped for at the outset. Give it a shot and let me know what you think…

I’ve tweeted before about this but felt, as is often the case, that it could be percieved as a bit flippant with regards to how I feel about the startups I encounter. While those who know me will agree that I rarely take myself too seriously, I am serious about new ideas and how they could change things but I don’t need you to tell me that. Let me back up a second…

Flys Buzz

“Startups don’t buzz, flys do; and it’s usually around horseshit” Far too often I have an idea pitched to me that is little more than a haphazard collection of buzzwords and acronyms. If your idea needs something like that to make it attractive, you need a new idea. Making it “social” or using gamification will only work if your idea doesn’t suck to begin with. Start there and then work your way into the other bits, not the other way around. That’s the idea I want pitched to me. And don’t tell me “I think” this or that, I can’t measure “I think”. Show me some sort of actual data - even if it’s a SWAG it at least shows me you’ve thought things thru enough to put numbers around. Ok, enough of a side rant.

Labels

Now to the main point of my tweet. The reason why I will stop listening when you use the term “disruptive” in your pitch is that disruptive can only be applied in hindsight, thru the lens of success. Twitter didn’t set out to be disruptive, Amazon wasn’t bankrolled because they were disruptive, they set out to solve a problem. That’s what you need to focus on: solving someone’s pain. If you can show me how you deliver value in that direction (and how you intend to reach out to people with that pain), then I’m interested. So now, go sit down and rethink your elevator pitch without using a single buzzword - then give me a call cause I’d love to hear it…

It’s not you…it’s me. I have been meaning to do this for a long time and while I don’t think there is ever a right time for a break up like this, I think the time is now.

Calling It

There have a been a lot of changes in my life recently and I think that they are beginning to effect my perspective on life. Honestly, I sort of hope that they do. Life is short. So damn short, in fact, that it is not worth running thru if you’re not enjoying what little time we have on this rock. To that end, I am rebooting my blogging life. The old stuff will remain here but my new adventures and musings will be here. Maybe at some point I’ll combine the two domains in some non-breaking way but right now I don’t want the hassle so I’m declaring blog bankruptcy and just moving forward.

New Setup

Like so many others, I have decided to give Octopress a shot. I won’t bother you will any details since so many others have done a great job of explaining how to get things up and going but I can say that so far I’ve been very impressed. Initially, my intention is to blog at least once a week and see where that takes me. They’re not going to be long posts (I’m hoping this will help me in my follow thru) and I hope that they’ll be more than semi-coherent ramblings. Guess we will have to see…