My sister and brother-in-law sent a Valentine’s Day picture greeting to my kids yesterday:
The kids responded in kind:
Knowing your audience is key when communicating.
Being authentic is key when responding.
ch:
Is Your Type-A On Board?
12 Feb ’12 By 9 Comments
Do you ever struggle to rest?
Sure, we’d all enjoy a free vacation. But what would you do on that vacation, say, on day 4 of 10?
I’ve found that most people who are type-A, producers, drivers, have a hard time resting. I don’t mean sleeping (though that could sometimes be included). Type-A’s probably sleep too well – my wife often counting to 20 from when my head hits the pillow to when I’m snoring. I mean actually unplugging from their brain’s constant “on” setting and disconnecting completely.
The real problem is, there isn’t just one button to turn off.
There are about 30.
We’re constantly creating, managing, and revising. Our entrepreneurial spirit is looking at the next horizon, and our eyes are keen to spot new opportunities. Even when we’re “not” working.
In our creative lives, we have to switch off the:
• It’s fun to make something from nothing.
• If that person can do it, so can I.
• If no one else is doing it, I will.
• My previous idea worked, so this one could be even better.
• If I fix this right now, it will increase value longterm.
For most authentic drivers, we also carry deep senses of accountability and responsibility. Our creative impetus is linked to strong emotional triggers.
In our ethical lives we have to turn off:
• My value is proportional to what I produce.
• If I’m not doing something I’m being lazy.
• If I don’t work hard my household will suffer.
• I have a deep sense of loyalty to my employer; I can not fail them.
• I have a deep sense of loyalty to my employees; I must be there for them.
I am far from the authority on exactly how to switch everything off (very open to concise, wise council from experienced leaders), but I’m learning.
Things that have been convicting me and subsequently empowering me to turn off my “systems”:
• My longterm success is dependent on my present-term health.
• Things can wait.
• People need me more than projects need me; prioritize people accordingly.
Before you tell a type-A they should take a break, think through their lives a little before offering what appears to them as flippant advice. They do want your help, they just need it accurately and in context.
One of the most practical steps I’ve committed to recently – at the request of my wife and the example of my senior pastor – is turning my iPhone off at 6pm. My wife needs it, my kids need it, and I need it.
At home I’m also trying to work less and play more.
It’s not just a vacation we need, it’s a well-managed life where all the buttons get turned off in sequence before we hit the beach. ch:
Self-Publishing Snapshot
25 Jan ’12 By 8 Comments
I took a snapshot of this graphic by Alan Grundy while perusing Delta’s inflight magazine over the weekend. You know, during that time where they make you turn off all your electronic devices for take off and landing.
iPad off. Delta magazine open. Ironic that I was reading an ebook.
Let’s address a few of it’s points today.
Aside from the personal investment of time, MS Word, and Adobe InDesign, my hard costs have been paying for a good editor ($400 per title, á la Sue Kenney), and CreateSpace’s Premium service (as opposed to their regular free service, which nets better royalties) at around $39 per title. Granted, this is for physical copies (CreateSpace), not ebooks. Spearhead absorbed my cover design costs by my team, but that would have been another $400 roughly (had I not done it myself) and hired it out. But again, that’s for a full print cover, not the smaller single page needed for ebooks; average cost for a good design is now under $150. And finally a conversion service (unless you want to deal with the headaches of doing it yourself). I’m using streetlightgraphics.com (who also do covers) for under $80/title for a package of Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords formats.
So I’m well under half the cost of the statistical average.
From all my study I have to say the price points listed above are not only correct, but where a self-published author (of any breed) should list. Remember, ebooks are forever, and that’s a very long time to sell on a global market. We’re trading price point for sheer volume to a world that will soon have a billion e-readers in their hands (Amazon’s Kindle is about to hit India).
As for the number of authors hitting the NYTBS list? Let me just say, who cares! The industry model has changed. The selling power of a legacy published book is usually 6 months with its peak lasting for less than 2. Recently I spoke with a friend who had his book hit #1. It lasted for a few weeks. Then it was gone. How many royalty checks did it earn? Yes, a nice big one. And then what? Nothing. The publisher has kept the rights, and it’s overpriced as an ebook, selling only a few copies a month (of which he sees next to nothing).
Much like Dave Ramsey’s “status symbol of choice” being the paid off mortgage, authors are finding keeping their world-wide rights at 70% forever is the highest status symbol they can get. Already my CreateSpace sales of The White Lion Chronicles are earning an extra $75/week for my family; I’m expecting the ebook sales, due out next month, to exceed that.
When my most recent royalty check came in from my legacy publisher my dad happened to be with me. It was a $700 check. He was really happy for me. Then I told him what it would have been had I sold the same number of books through CreateSpace or Kindle Direct Publishing (numbers I’ve sold on your at my own merch table).
$6,500.
And the crazy part is, it wasn’t name recognition that sold those numbers with my publisher. It was me and my hard work (et all, Wayne). I should know. They had no budget for 4th quarter marketing and made me submit a list of what I was going to do. (Actually they only ever had $500 for first quarter marketing).
Time to feed my family, not a pig. Of course, I’m about to eat the pig anyways. ch:
Moving Creations from Deadly to Divine
24 Jan ’12 By 13 Comments
Sometimes our greatest ideas can turn out to be lethal creations if left in their infant stages. Thus the importance of surrounded ourselves with people who can point out the dangers we often miss.
Three tips on the process of prepping for criticism:
1.) Map everything to its fullest as you see it in your head: Often we don’t get good input on a plan because we inadvertently leave out components we think are irrelevant. Sometimes the most fringe idea can make or break a project, and to the experienced eye, the most mundane things can sometimes be the most poignant, not the obvious.
2.) Give wiser, more experienced people 100% carte blanche: Nothing’s worse than having someone submit an idea that they’ve already made up their mind about. “So are you telling me or asking me?” is something we often say around our office. Make sure that people know they can have it it. Doing so will produce better ideas than you ever could have come up with on your own.
3.) Divorce yourself from your work in terms of self-adulation: No true artist, inventor, or producer can or should divorce themselves emotionally from what they’re making – doing so trumps the entire impetus of the creative process. But realizing your personal value is not bound in your ideas will go a long way in accepting critical feedback that’s essential to your project’s success. People that never finish are most often tying their self-worth to their ideas instead of who they are in Jesus. As a result thy are easily offended when hearing criticism, never realizing they’re killing their project by not receiving.
Don’t despise critique. Welcoming outside input is most often the greatest key to success (and keeps eyes from getting gouged out). ch:
PIPA Love SOPA
19 Jan ’12 By 20 Comments
No, it’s not some new children’s book. Although a big lovable elephant named Pipa who follows his favorite bar of soap on a jungle adventure sure sounds cute. Or like a prison allegory turned horribly wrong.
Actually, a prison allegory would be tame compared to what PIPA | SOPA really is. (And if PIPA | SOPA have their way, the allegory would never get air time for poking fun at a government system).
Here’s why.
The Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House are new government regulations designed to thwart online piracy. Sounds noble, right? Except that there are already numerous national and international laws on the books that accomplish this pretty well, successfully disbanding copyright infringing entities.
When you read the fine print, these two measures are actually allowing unprecedented government access into our most accessible vehicle for the freedom of speech: the internet.
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the US Government breaks everything it touches. Heck, it can’t even turn a profit delivering mail!
My friend Christian Fahey pointed out an incredible statistic on his blog recently:
If you started a business the day Jesus was born and managed it so poorly that it lost $1,000,000.00 a day up until the present day, you would have just over 2 trillion dollars of loss (that’s 2,000,000,000,000). That is 1/7 of our national debt, which is today over 15 trillion dollars. (Thanks to Chuck Missler for the analogy.)
The bottom line is our government either outspends positive cash flow and puts public entities in debt, or it over regulates and puts private entities in debt (and out of business).
With such mismanagement, do you really trust our Congress to properly manage the internet?
Although since AL Gore did invent it, maybe they have a right to and don’t even need to vote.
Please watch this video by FightForTheFuture.org first, then consider writing your Congressional Representatives through their web form. While you’re at it, sign Google’s petition too.
If you have a differing viewpoint than mine, I’d love to read your comments. And if you share the same, or if you want to add to the dialog, you’re always welcome to comment (but you already knew that). ch:
______________
UPDATE 01.20.11: I just received this email from Tiffiniy Cheng, spokeswoman for FightForTheFuture.org, (as did you if you signed up with them) and thought it was worth posting. Great job everyone!
Hi everyone!
A big hurrah to you!!!!! We’ve won for now — SOPA and PIPA were dropped by Congress today — the votes we’ve been scrambling to mobilize against have been cancelled.
The largest online protest in history has fundamentally changed the game. You were heard.
On January 18th, 13 million of us took the time to tell Congress to protect free speech rights on the internet. Hundreds of millions, maybe a billion, people all around the world saw what we did on Wednesday. See the amazing numbers here and tell everyone what you did.
This was unprecedented. Your activism may have changed the way people fight for the public interest and basic rights forever.
The MPAA (the lobby for big movie studios which created these terrible bills) was shocked and seemingly humbled. “‘This was a whole new different game all of a sudden,’ MPAA Chairman and former Senator Chris Dodd told the New York Times. ‘[PIPA and SOPA were] considered by many to be a slam dunk.’”
“’This is altogether a new effect,’ Mr. Dodd said, comparing the online movement to the Arab Spring. He could not remember seeing ‘an effort that was moving with this degree of support change this dramatically’ in the last four decades, he added.”
Tweet with us, shout on the internet with us, let’s celebrate: Round of applause to the 13 million people who stood up - #PIPA and #SOPA are tabled 4 now. #13millionapplause
We’re indebted to everyone who helped in the beginning of this movement — you, and all the sites that went out on a limb to protest in November — Boing Boing and Mozilla Foundation (and thank you Tumblr, 4chan)! And the grassroots groups — Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Demand Progress, CDT, and many more.
We changed the game this fall, and we’re not gonna stop.
13 million strong,
Tiffiniy, Holmes, Joshua, Phil, CJ, Donny, Douglas, Nicholas, Dean, David S. and Moore… Fight for the Future!
P.S. China’s internet censorship system reminds us why the fight for democratic principles is so important:
In the New Yorker: ”Fittingly, perhaps, the discussion has unfolded on Weibo, the Twitter-like micro-blogging site that has a team of censors on staff to trim posts with sensitive political content. That is the arrangement that opponents of the bill have suggested would be required of American sites if they are compelled to police their users’ content for copyright violations. On Weibo, joking about SOPA’s similarities to Chinese censorship was sensitive enough that some posts on the subject were almost certainly deleted (though it can be hard to know).
…
After Chinese Web users got over the strangeness of hearing Americans debate the merits of screening the Web for objectionable content, they marvelled at the American response. Commentator Liu Qingyan wrote:‘We should learn something from the way these American Internet companies protested against SOPA and PIPA. A free and democratic society depends on every one of us caring about politics and fighting for our rights. We will not achieve it by avoiding talk about politics.’”
Tone Setting
11 Jan ’12 By 10 Comments
Setting the right tone at the beginning of any venture is imperative. It tells all those you’re working with exactly what they can expect, and what you expect as their boss or co-worker.
But doing so takes a lot of work. Experience gained through years, enduring one’s own set of scars, and lots of study are a few keys. But being able to articulate all that for the benefit of a diverse group is even more labor intensive. It’s one thing to be able to do something naturally, it’s another to explain why and how you did it.
However it’s much harder to define standards “as you go” than it is to initiate them right from the get-go. So while many prefer to just wing it because it demands less prep time, ultimately they’ll suffer the long term effects. Miss managed employees, poor work environments, emotionally disenfranchised team members, and suffering business or church models are just some of the ramifications.
If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. So take your time and accrue experiences of your own. It’s easier to set precedent now than make exceptions later.
Before you embark on any new venture ask yourself a few key questions:
• What are the qualities of the people I want to spend the majority of my day with?
• What are the values I want everyone to have in common?
• What kind of work ethic and environments will promote the greatest team collaboration among the most diverse group of people?
In discovering what you value the most, you’ll be able to better cultivate and communicate atmospheres where others feel comfortable with what’s in your head.
Day 1 for New Life Media employees yesterday was all about these defining company qualities. From our company profile and mission statement to our vision and core values, the executive team did a tremendous job at setting the tone properly. The result is team members who aren’t left wondering what unspoken expectations there are; they are comfortable and therefore free to be themselves. And therefore they perform better.
Of course playing with new iPads is fun too. But even that’s one of our core value: fun! It help alleviate stress in hectic environments (which our office is).
As the military is famous for teaching: BLUF – Bottom Line Up Front. It’s what successful organizational models are built on. You can qualify your statements all you want later, but just say what you need first so people know where you’re coming from. Trust me, your teams with thank you for it. ch:
New Life Media: Staff Training Week
10 Jan ’12 By 9 Comments
One of my latest co-creations is coming to life today. I do wish I could enjoy it a little more – 15-hour work days for a week straight leaves the sensory capacitors a little numb – but I’m thrilled regardless.
New Life Media is a marketing firm specializing in public image design, and is the brain child of master designer Jason Clement, business guru Kirk Gilchrist, marketing sensation John Cobb, and myself – master guru of sensational something or otherness.
While the company’s website won’t be public for another week or so, we have employee orientation and training all this week. We’ll be unwrapping new iPads, playing with toys, trying on apparel, talking tech and design, smelling new business cards, and diving into our sales strategies and delivery models.
As with any new for-profit venture, I get fired up about having the ability to employ people (something I’ve learned I can do much better than the government, thank you very much). One of my greatest joys in life is to help provide income earning positions that fit with peoples’ dreams. It’s truly a privilege, and I’ve fallen into it by sovereignty, not on purpose.
Many good things await New Life Media. And many organizations will be better for her existence. Here’s to another Kingdom business birthed for God’s glory. ch:
UPDATE 5:54pm ET – What a fantastic first day for all involved. I’ll be posting pics tomorrow. Lots of laughs, and lots of good content. Very proud of our new staff. Thank you Travis, Kristen, Nina, Rebekah, Candy, Theresa, John, Kirk, Jason, and Jamie for doing our office build out! Peace.
Rewards Hang Above
18 Nov ’11 By 6 Comments
For dreamers, graphic designers, and visionaries, it’s not too often you can quantify something you produce.
It’s the “feel” or “emotional response” a project stirs in people – not a physical building that you’ve built, corn field you planted, or cabinet you crafted.
But when things go into print, something happens. Holding a book in your hand, feeling the card stock between your fingers, or – in this case – seeing the billboard looking down on 110,000 cars per day, that’s pretty rewarding.
Thanks to my team mate, Jason Clement, for rocking this sign. ch:
What’s Your Rewards Program?
14 Nov ’11 By 10 Comments
I got a benefits card from Starbucks in the mail today. I’m now a Gold Card carrier. Nice envelope, nice packaging, and nice things to say about me. (Though automated).
Here’s the crazy part: Starbucks isn’t even close to being my favorite coffee.
Part of the reason I got this status – based on how many times a customer orders – is that a church I ministered at gave me a loaded Starbucks card as a gift. Free coffee. Score. (Thanks Mocha Dragon).
But there was also this idea floating around in the back of my mind that if I order enough, I get benefits for my patronage.
Never underestimate the power of providing benefits. Such a program can attract people to be patrons even if you don’t provide their favorite product. There’s power not only in the type of benefits you provide, but also in the sense of community that you create. Because people want to belong.
The interesting thing is that Starbucks didn’t create the idea of a rewards program. And while some church goers would consider it blaspheme if their church had a benefits program, the simple fact is, God started it.
Psalm 103:2 says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” And Hebrews 11:6 adds to it by saying, “…And He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
God has a rewards program with benefits.
Sounds way too capitalistic for those occupying Wall Street at the moment. But the truth is, while salvation is offered freely, favor is costly. It demands loyalty, patronage, and consistency.
There are even particular rewards and benefits disseminated in direct proportion to our level of patronage. And while the idealist would say, “You should seek God simply because He’s God” – and I would agree – there is the reality that people are human, and sometimes we don’t see the goal, only the benefits. And if that’s what it takes to drive certain people forward, I’m all for it. Because eventually they’ll get the point. Or they’ll run into the Rewarder.
Unless, of course, you offer a terrible product. In which case I may stop using my Gold Card when the free money runs out. ch:
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF:
Q: What rewards do your friends get from knowing you? Do certain friends get different benefits? Based on what?
Q: What retailer or business do you frequent because they have a great reward program? Are you willing to pay more, or put up with something you don’t like, because of their program?