Most people hate too many choices, in part because they are afraid to make the wrong one. I enjoy choices and the analytical process of breaking them down (anyone who shares a fine meal with me will understand this). Sometimes, however, too many choices get out of hand – you end up narrowing them down to a select few personal choices of your own (when overwhelmed, my defaults for Thai food are Panang Curry, Pad Thai, Pineapple Fried Rice, and Tom Yum Soup). From a consumer-facing position, assume your customers are terrified by choices and help them make the appropriate one. A series of options, binary logic, or a game of twenty questions can go a long way for narrowing things down. If gamified, the decision-making process can even be fun. As a consumer, know what you like, why you like it, and be flexible enough to discover new choices based on the key components of things you enjoy. Either way, choices do not have to be scary. Be prepared to help people get through them or be prepared to get through them yourself.
Category Archives: Life
Call People With Your Phone (That’s What It’s There For)
Random calls work like magic. Through cold-calling old friends in an effort to “stay in touch,” I’ve discovered great collaborators, learned things I could never imagine, and been offered jobs. Keeping your network fresh is important. And it’s really easy to do when you find yourself bored, commuting, or waiting for laundry. Just pick up your phone. Skim through your contacts. Pick someone you have not spoken to in a while. Call the person. Don’t think about it. Just do it. Think you need a reason to call someone? “Catching up” is a perfect reason to call someone. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: stay in touch.
Create Daily
I can think of nothing decidedly more human than creativity. The human value of creativity stems from our primordial experiences as a species when we discovered how to wield tools. Inventing and creating are spiritual endeavours. Like cleansing yourself of toxins, genuine creative output clears the heart and mind. The more often you create, the healthier and richer your humanity becomes. I blog daily and get a kick out of it. What can you do everyday to keep the juices flowing?
Change the Game
I saw Moneyball with my father today and recommend it to anyone who appreciates numbers, entrepreneurship, the game of baseball, or sports photography (a lot of Wally Pfister’s camera work was superb). At the heart of the film, protagonist Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) needs to do a lot (build a championship team) with very little (one of the smallest budgets in the MLB) and change the game forever. Almost everyone questions, bashes, and rejects him along the way. Why try to change a game that’s been around for 150 years?
Everything changes. Politics change. Culture changes. People change. The ground beneath our feet changes. Empires rise and fall. Nothing is predictable. No one knows what the world will look like in years. But count on it being very different. You can fight it and fall behind. Or you can beat it and come out ahead. Why NOT change a game that’s been around for 150 years? It’s far more risky to preserve the game than change it. If you are not doing your part to stir things up and disrupt the world around you, you will most likely miss the train. Change the game.
Live in the Moment
Why ruin a pleasant moment with ongoing woes or concerns beyond? Do not let the past or future overwhelm you. Easier said than done, but it’s all a matter of focus. Focus on the activity at hand, person in front of you, or space you occupy. Do not let your mind wander; give the present your full attention. Face stress only when you need to. It’s the healthier and happier way to live.
Don’t Waste Gatherings
Time together is a valuable commodity. Our Constitution honors the freedom to assemble in the very First Amendment. Time together should not be wasted on passive consumption. Active minds together exchange ideas and experiences that, when combined, can overrule the sum of their parts. The classroom, conference room, or venue should be reserved for collaboration, discussion, or audience involvement. Dialogue should be a two-way street, a symmetrical relationship. With the Internet more ubiquitous than ever, we have the freedom to access, share, and consume information whenever and wherever we want. We can connect with lectures, sermons, and updates asymmetrically on our private time. We should never waste the opportunity to commingle when sharing a room together. Spend private time well; spend time together better.
Rest Up
It is important to rest up any chance you get, especially before facing large milestones or difficult stretches in your life. Sleep is not a bank – you cannot make deposits; you can only make withdrawals. You cannot hibernate and save for hard times, so get what you can when you can. Go to bed.
Notes on Notes
I take note of any piece of information I may want to draw from in the future – newspaper articles, blog posts, books, lectures, conversations, or films. In the digital equivalent, I have binders full of random insights. While I retain some lessons learned, most disappear into the depths of my computer. Only when I review, organize, and annotate my notes months later do the breadth of lessons really stick. Essentially, I take another full set of notes on top of the old to boil them down again into relevant takeaway kernels. The result is a compounded understanding of the material at hand, a level of review I cannot recommend highly enough.
If you honestly aspire to learn a subject, take notes on anything and everything you want to retain about the subject. Block off a period of time every six months to review and process all of your notes. Take notes on the notes. You will be surprised how much more you walk away with.
Your Dreams, Not Theirs
You prescribe your own dreams; do not let anyone else do it for you. Listen to the advice and wisdom of others, but form your own opinions and goals. Do things your own way. Do not be afraid to do things differently. After all, different is key to making a difference.
Embrace Rebellion
Craig’s first rule of parenting: children want to do what they are told not to. Aside from defiance or simple curiosity, I believe evolutionary biology drives our need to question authority. We are programmed from birth to challenge our parents. It’s a part of a natural life cycle: old must replace new and do so better than before to keep the species alive. It is the same reason we champion underdogs, success stories, fresh releases, and overthrows. Change is good, and new is the prerequisite to change. Embrace rebellion; it’s natural.
Craig Ormiston 