Author: Ross Andrews

Initiative

He took some initiative. She showed some real initiative there.

The gist of this concept is that you need to start (initiate) something yourself. Of course, your brain can trick you into believing that this relies on various conditions. The young apprentice may tell himself he is not qualified to start a new project. The exec may convince herself that she needs sign-off from the partner before anything can happen. This is in fact what the big corporate companies have set up to manage risk in the work place. Standardization of the workplace ala McDonalds’ production lines means that little goes wrong, but little is created in the mean time.

Hence we want to be our own bosses. Once you leave the comfort of a salaried low ranking job, never has the pressure to initiate something been so great. Publish an article, make a sales call, think of a new offering that will turn a profit and then find an audience that is willing to hear you.

Write a novel. Paint a picture. Initiate something from nothing. Show some initiative. Create

Important to understand is that the urgency of initiative (make a start and create something) is very different to the urgency of conformity (hurry up and wait for sign-off). We do what we do for the long run and for the freedom of being able to make something now, here, today if we can.

The tech urge within

For some reason the world of audiophile technology and tech hardware has become extremely refined in its marketing of products. The premium that must be paid to own a new high grade audiophile amplifier is insane. And yet….

And yet I want one as if it is going to cure my human condition. I don’t understand this urge. Why do I feel so intensely that I have to be part of this tiny group of people that spend their children’s school fees on audio equipment? Do I honestly believe the music will sound THAT much better? No. Sigh…..

I think the truth is that there are many industries that have tapped into this tribal urge to belong – Apple being the most obvious. An iPhone essentially does the same thing as a phone one tenth its price – and yet the company’s revenues go up and up. People want to spend money on things which make them feel part of a group.

The trick is to decide what will make a tangible difference to life, and what is merely hype.

The latest iPhone will not out-perform my Motorola to the point that my life improves. And neither will a new amplifier improve the performance of my headphones.

The pull is strong indeed though. It’s like these companies are using the Jedi force to extract my wallet from my pocket, and it is all I can do to push it back in.

That’s my consumer culture rant for the day. Back to work 🙂

Speeches

Making an impact on an audience is difficult. Powerpoint presentation design, tone of voice, content, lighting, manner when speaking – it all needs to be thought of when you make a public presentation. The speech needs to be refined and rehearsed.

However, more important is what you have done in the years and decades leading up to that point. If you don’t have the message clarified over time due to a consistent history with the subject, then it will all sound a little desperate. I think you need to have a long track record behind you and the impact you make with a speech is not the result of a couple of nights’ work – rather it is the culmination of many bits of previous work. If you gain a reputation for a line of work that is channeled, focussed and weighty due to your reputation with the audience – you will probably make an impact. If a speech is grappling to be relevant and consistent with who you really are then it will fall on deaf ears.

 

 

 

Chasing ratings

When creating something, the problem with following ratings, clicks, likes, engagement online is that it has its own set of rules to win – it is its own game, in and of itself. When the art of popularity is refined, it usually (always?) becomes a race to the bottom to appeal to the most people. This distracts you from the real task at hand – making something cool.

Creating something authentic and original – whether it is a book, an experience in a BnB,  a song – means that it will not appeal to everyone. By definition. This is ok.

Instead we must double down on the people we want to please, who matter to you and whom you want to engage with your art.

I don’t think you can possibly matter to everyone. We must stop chasing ratings for ratings sake.

Album Covers

So I am up early due to baby-screaming-in-the-night syndrome. It’s a tricky syndrome to manage… I have taken the “Stuff it let’s just get up at 430am” approach.

But I digress.

I have been thinking about album covers and how important they are still. Even without the physical album, digital streaming is enhanced by the album artwork and the information traditionally contained within the album cover. It’s all about the Metadata.

With a surplus of information, the trick is collation and turning chaos into a neat package to sell to folks. There is a premium for turning your messy downloads and MP3s into a cohesive library that looks beautiful. For proof – check out this product: https://roonlabs.com/

Besides, who wouldn’t want to look at a Tiger in a leather jacket while listening to CRX? Happy Tuesday!

album

Fear of the conversation

The creative process is often thought of as a completely solitary process. A creative brain unleashes its powers and, given enough freedom, creates something amazing from nothing, all on its own.

I think the truth is less romantic and more, well, realistic. You need at least two twigs to make a spark. Check out this quote from Steve Jobs:

“It’s through the team, through that group of incredibly talented people bumping up against each other, having arguments, having fights sometimes, making some noise, and working together they polish each other and they polish the ideas, and what comes out are these really beautiful stones.”

So this implies a friction and a teamwork which is necessary for creative things to happen. The Beatles as a group were greater than the sum of their parts. Fine solo albums from all 4 notwithstanding – the friction was necessary to change the face of music and to generate something as unique as Sgt. Pepper, or Revolver.

So why doesn’t this creativity and spark happen more often? In my life it is because of the fear of disagreement. I want everything to be happy and easy all the time. But conversations, confrontations and disagreements are part of the human condition. I need to force myself to reach out for opinions, to open myself up to arguments and disagreements on a piece of work. It is through this process that the product is polished. It is the hardest but simplest thing you can do, is talk to someone.

Who is best to talk to? Well the person you are selling to of course. Only they can offer the best insight as to why they liked or disliked what you have to offer.

 

Monitor the Limits

One thing that can affect my productivity and creativity is my energy level after exercise and varying levels of sleep (I have a 2 yr old!).

Tech is helping me track the exercise half of the equation. My Polar M400 watch shows me when I should and should not go to the gym or play squash because I am either undertrained, or strained from too much exertion. If I am fit, then I can be more productive. I have normally found heart rate monitors a bit of a gimmick, but lately it is really helping me to keep track of my body. Highly recommended for creatives who also enjoy keeping fit.

All I need is for my 2 year old to play ball on the sleep side of things….hmm.

Publish something – it’s good for you

Publishing is good for you. It’s like an apple a day.

I have decided to take the publishing process from blogging, and apply it to my ‘day job’. It’s getting me really excited about work and play.

Marketing my supply chain risk assessment services online is essentially like writing a more technical blog, and searching for people who may be interested to read it is like an easter egg hunt. Don’t worry I would never subject you to that writing on this blog! My point is that the process is valuable and can be applied to many situations.

Everyone should publish something. It doesn’t matter what it is, because the longer you do it, the better you will get at writing. Publish ideas regularly enough and it will become a database of thoughts to throw at any given situation. That is a remarkably valuable and powerful thing.