Monthly Archives: August 2011

The Collaboration Engine

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Very few people can get anything done alone. Do not think for a second that you can get away with sitting in a room by yourself all day and end up building an empire. The odds are not great because you will lose inspiration and steam. It has nothing to do with what you are capable of. It has everything to do with keeping your dream fresh. If your dream sits inside of you and never escapes, it will get stale and die.

How do you keep your dream alive? Share and build it with others. Other people can act as bouncing boards. You send an idea out into the world, and it comes back to you in a different form. As an artist, it’s exciting because you can better-understand how others will react to your vision. As a businessman, it’s imperative to get outside feedback. More often than not, you are too close to your dream to see the flaws or incongruities. Find a friend and get outside of your head.

But getting feedback on your dream is not enough. You need to keep pumping the piston by passing the idea back and forth. Strong bouncing boards will shape your idea and make it stronger. Find a collaborator with whom you can pass ideas back and forth consistently. Find a collaborator who is accessible, trustworthy, and near the same wavelength. Try to avoid skipping a beat. Don’t drop the ball, or the idea may shatter.

Keep collaboration alive. It may very well be the key to achieving your dream.

Drive + Joy = Productivity

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Sure, hard work gets things done. It takes drive, inspiration, and commitment to fuel hard work. But hard work alone cannot generate continuous, sustainable results. It takes a magic ingredient and one far too many large corporations fail to mix into the recipe: joy. Employees need to be happy, and you need to be happy to succeed. If a job is a constant influx of hell and bad tempers, people will burn out and crash.

It is not the employee’s responsibility to find or build that joy. In fact, most workers are too afraid to have fun in the office – like children kicking a ball around indoors, they are afraid they’ll get in trouble. It is the responsibility of the boss and the managers to enable an environment of fun and happiness. Not scheduled, forced happiness like luncheons or copy-room birthday parties. I’m talking arbitrary, unrestrained fun. Random field trips, marshmallow fights, grill days, action figure theft, whatever.

We purchased nerf guns for the office. Random shootouts happen daily now. I see endorphins flowing and smiles forming again. You’ll never know when you’ll get four inches of cold styrofoam to the skull. And I’ve gotten more done on one war day this week than all of the truce days combined.

Shape a culture in your office that enables and promotes joy. You can measure the results.

Good Leaders Decide Quickly

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If you want control, take control. If you want the final say, speak. Do NOT make people wait for your opinion, orders, or perspective. Why? They will lose your respect if you waste their time.

If you think you deserve leadership, then lead as promptly and efficiently as possible.

Life in Hollywood

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I walked three blocks from my office to my apartment today. Here’s a list of the things I saw:

  • Two hovering helicopters
  • Two police cars pulling a man over during rush hour
  • Silver Lamborghini
  • A handful of Priuses
  • The Goodyear Blimp
  • A Tattooed Mohawk Man walking four Pomeranians
  • An elder Serbian neighbor walking her granddaughter on a leash
  • An overweight crossdresser in an orange wig riding a bicycle
  • A family of Japanese tourists in Hawaiian shirts
  • Group of high schoolers smoking pot
  • Food truck serving waffle sandwiches

In three blocks, I’ve experienced a lifetime of interesting.

Automate the Mundane

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Life’s too short to waste on boring tasks. In your own daily life, what mindless activities can you automate or delegate? Folding laundry, filing taxes, commuting? How can you optimize your routine to compress time and energy invested in these things? Is it worth money to have someone else do these things for you?

The first step to living a better life is to question the aspects you do not like. Spend time thinking about how your life could be without them. And then strategize. In an effort to live a rich life, we all should work together to waive the mundane.

Deliver the Message

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Have you ever been asked by someone to say “hello” to another person you planned to meet later that day? How many times have you actually delivered that message? I am asked to do this almost every single day – and yet, I seldom pass on the word.

There’s no excuse. A “hello” is simple and easy to deliver. While seemingly insignificant, the results can be profound: you could trigger the reunion of two people. “Wow, I haven’t spoken to him/her in a while! I should give him/her a call!” I know of two marriages that spun from reunions that started this way.

If you feel the need to carry a more relevant message, why not ask the sender if there’s anything else he or she wants to say other than “hello?” It may even provide more conversation fodder for the meeting ahead.

My First Commercial [Film Friday]

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Please enjoy my first experience directing a commercial. I co-directed this spot with Justin Hamilton for friend Jason Nava’s JNAVA clothing line. Nathan Peña shot the piece and Taylor Gianotas edited it. Lifestyle, sex appeal, and cigarettes. What more could you want from a web commercial?

Go to Bed

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I know you have a lot to do. And I know you think there’s plenty of time to sleep when you’re dead. But there’s really not. You can try to milk your waking hours dry while trying to top the world. Or you can be a human being and get some sleep. I spent my teenage years ignoring everyone’s advice. And now I’m paying for it with slight memory retention loss, heart strain, and then some. But now, I’m looking the other way. I’m face down in a pillow eight hours every night I can get away with it. I’m in business to bank some Z’s. You know what? I feel better for it. Don’t take sleep for granted.

Put It On Paper

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Having difficulty making a decision? Map out the options on paper.

Want to make a commitment? Put it on paper.

Spread an idea? Share it on paper.

Trouble sleeping at night? Empty your thoughts on paper.

Upset at someone? Express your feelings on paper.

Worried you will forget something? Remind yourself on paper.

Overwhelmed? Sort everything out on paper.

Plan to grow a business? Strategize on paper.

Want to change the world? Start on paper.

You need to separate yourself from your thoughts to organize, prioritize, and realize them. Paper is the oldest trick in the book. No pun intended.

Meaningful Work

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A quarter of the average American’s week is spent on the clock and a third is spent asleep at night. Many work even longer hours than that. With so much time and energy devoted to one thing, it’s worth it for our health and sanity to make sure our jobs are fulfilling.

Everyone wants a job he or she can be excited to wake up for in the morning. For me, I need a job that I can believe in. A company building things I believe in. Leadership with strategy I believe in. But that’s just me. Most people can find joy in their work without being tied to the higher context of their employment.

So what constitutes “meaningful work?” I think it’s simple. A job where you’d rather do nothing else with that valuable time. Perhaps a job that satisfies your need to create or relate with the world. Perhaps a job working to solve an important problem. Or perhaps a job that’s plain and simple fun.

In any case, you choose to do the work over anything else. Do what you want to do for a living. Find a job like that, and life will be good.