Can you do it better?

How do you know your performance is good enough? Ask for criticism.

I didn't post yesterday because I was trying to figure out how to recover from some criticism I asked for and received. My critic is a well-polished editor whom I respect and admire, and I was hoping to get back glowing reviews. However, while she liked my ideas, she had some suggestions for improvement. Yesterday I was figuring out how to use those to make my writing better.

Today is my first post incorporating her suggestions. Please feel free to comment on my trial, as additional critique is always welcome.

So, the big questions: How do we get criticism and how do we use that to be better? I had a boss once who suggested we always ask ourselves, and our customers (including our family) a simple question. "What could I have done better today?" Do we want that much interaction, though? I say yes. We can always be better. But, who should we really be asking? We can't please everyone. Make sure you are pleasing the appropriate audience, and as self-centered as this may sound, that audience is ultimately the one which can help us the most. Ask yourself, who is my customer? If you sell retail, your customer is obvious, but what if you are in a corporation working as a project manager? Who is your customer, and do you have a few? Obviously, the stakeholders in the project would be customers, but who else? Don't assume that your boss is your customer and the only person you should look to please. Think about the outcome of the project, who will be the consumers, and who is to benefit from the results. Those are your customers, and the people you should be looking to please. They are the ones you should be asking: "Can I do it better?"

We can always do better, and we should. In a world of ever increasing commoditization of products and services, differentiation from your competitors is paramount to success. If you want to survive, you have to constantly seek to do things better, more efficiently and deliver superior result. The best way to get there is to ask your customers, the consumers of your product, "...what can I do better?..." on a daily basis.

The outside of the inside... a different perspective is often needed.

Adapting....

How much is it ok to ask for? How much can you take? How much should you settle? Ooh, how I despise that last one. Compromise is so, well, "icky". But, if we look at it a different way, settling isn't always compromise. Sometimes, it is just payment for something else. Every day I have to tell myself, you can deal with this, because... the payout is worth it.

I get paid to help other people make things "right". And my nature is always searching for the right, just and better way to look at, perform, any given action. The downside of this personality is that I'm always looking for a better way to do everything. I mean, I look for a better way to brush my teeth and do laundry every day. This creates a constant disruption, and I have to quell my mind at times, and remind myself that oft-times it is better to "stay the course" and get some results. It is a constant balance of cost vs. benefit.

So, we work through the tough stuff, always making suggestions of how to make the little things better, but, at the same time, keeping our eye on the ball of the big goal. Learn to make balanced decisions which support the long-term plan, but allow the actions in the middle to find solid ground with those performing them. The best way to do so is to manage by accountability and goals, rather than by tasks.

Of course, all of this is very difficult when you are faced with managing not only the goals, but also the resources performing the tasks. Managing the intricacies of personnel increases the complexity of any project immensely. It is specifically for this reason that it is sometimes a very good idea to bring an outside resource to manage the goals and keep the team focused on the objectives, rather than their individual jobs. (shameless plug for consultants)... The outside resource can focus on clarifying objectives, goals, and assist in managing work breakdown structures while not being responsible for the overall "well-being" of the employee. It may seem harsh, but the separation of responsibilities creates a situation where the consultant is viewed more abstractly, as if he doesn't have a "dog in the fight". The consultant can spend more time managing the objectives while the manager can spend more time managing the employees.

All of this because I'm dreading having to use a windows machine at work...but will somehow choke it down and not make any waves. Still, what a dismal tool Outlook is. (shortened rant... so I don't get myself too worked up...)

Home sweet home.

What is it about returning home which makes us feel so great? Is it the comfort of being surrounded by our stuff? Is it truly a feeling of belonging? I don't know the answer, but as much as I enjoy traveling, I enjoy coming home equally.

How does this affect most of us in the business world? Do we long for home and comfort each day in our professional endeavors, the same as our personal? I think we do. I think this can be seen in our offices, our lunch compatriots, and our work style. Is this a good thing? Well, sometimes it is. Other times not.

We are in a really tough economic climate now; one which will force many businesses to change heavily in a short period of time or face extinction. As such, each one of us should stop thinking about how to make it through the day and start thinking about how to make it better. If we all want to be able to return to the safe, comfortable feeling of "home", then now is the time to adventure and travel (metaphorically) on behalf of your clients or company. Now is the time to be a skeptic and challenge everything static about all we do. The right questions to ask now are: "What do we do really well? Do our consumers still want that? How can we make that competency better? What other things can we do which leverage our core competencies without compromising what we really do well?"

Focus is more important now than ever. Companies should be shedding all they do not do well and center their efforts on leveraging the best that they are to continue. Let other (partner) companies provide services for other aspects (i.e. .. outsource email, HR, benefits planning, recruiting, etc...). They can do it better, and cheaper because it is their core competency. Focus now on your unique capabilities to win this battle.

....tomorrow....

-j

tools?

I'm in such a great city. I really love Seattle.

I'm experimenting with new tools. Can I really blog with my Blackberry?

Sorry for the lack of meaning in my post this morning. Tomorrow will bring new and exciting rants.

What did we do?

I've never really spent time in Seattle before, but as I visit, I can't help but think it is underutilized. As it was in Vegas, instead of people waiting on cabs, it's the opposite. And, towncar drivers are offering fixed price / negotiated rides to compete with cabs. How bad will it get before it gets better? My cab drivers told me that the great buildings, financed by Wamu, which once housed thousands of workers, now see twenty.

What have we signed up for? How can we make it better (or at least help)? The only words that come to mind are "don't panic"... But, our fear is probably warranted.

Many authors have foretold of conditions like we now have. Ayn Rand, in "Atlas Shrugged", wrote about a society of "second handers", willing to live off the fruits generated by those who can without any payment whatsoever. They had no appreciation for the men who had the ideas to create masterpieces like these buildings in Seattle, and only expected them to "share" their wealth, mind and effort for the "common good". Slavery is evil. It is no less evil to enslave a creator, because they "can" than to enslave a worker because they "will". And, some will say, as they always do, "...you don't have to look at it that way...we all have our civic duties..." They are wrong, and they will see the result.

I don't mean to be doom and gloom this morning, but I'm worried, concerned and alarmed at what we have just signed up for. I'm not as concerned about the man taking office, or the dismal state of congress, as I am for the "Joe's" who asked for it. How can a supposedly educated populace truly believe that the collectivization of "health care" will make their situation better? How can we believe that we can continue to consume more than we produce and survive? HOW could we possibly believe that we will get better results from physicians who are conscripted to serve us than from those who voluntarily choose to trade with us? And, if we truly believe these things, that the government is more able to provide for us than ourselves, then what right do we have to disagree with whatever they propose? Why not just give our entire lives over to them? "From each according to his ability; to each according to their need". Isn't that what we are proposing? Aren't we saying, as long as you don't make too much, you won't be punished (as much as those rich people), and if you are in more need than your brother (because you have more children, are obviously less capable, and are crying louder) then we'll just give you some money (which we just stole from that rich person).

That is what we just voted for. I'm not going to stand here and tell you that the alternative was a whole lot better, but I am going to tell you that RECORD NUMBERS showed up to confirm that the overwhelming majority of American voters prefer a free ride to the American Dream. I'm dissapointed, concerned and worried. Also, I have no intention of breaking that $250k mark for the next four years (as I'm sure you are aware, other businesses are making the same plans).

Seattle is beautiful. I'm enjoying my life today, likely at the expense of tomorrow. Thanks for the opportunity to rant.

Better than you remember? Or just different?

Perspective is so much, or should I say paralax? How much is internal when you are viewing the world, and how much is the truth? As you all know, I'm not a relativist by any means, but, I do realize that all things take on a different look, feel and taste when viewed from a different angle.

This week I made my first trip to Las Vegas in 21 years. I was not a fan of the Vegas I went to 21 years ago, finding it dirty and hostile and, well, Elvis Presley - cheezy. Well, this time I went on business (SEMA convention), and stayed at one of the nicer hotels on the strip. How much had Vegas changed, compared to how much had I? Which one had changed more? Was Vegas more appeasing to everyone or was I in a better place to enjoy it?

Needless to say at this point, I did thoroughly enjoy my time there. I found much of it to be far less glitzy, more about the quality of things instead of the quantity, and, in cases, even elegant. I did a bit of gambling, with the expected results, and stayed up way past my bed-time. I would say that both angles were working. Not only is Vegas more grown up, but I'm in a much better position to enjoy some of its best attributes (great hotels, restaraunts, bars) without having to dive in to the underbelly and wait for my cocktail waitress to bring me another PBR....