Fugees still

I have days like this when I search my Itunes for something the reminds me of simpler times. The Fugees the score is one of those times. I remember playing these songs over and over again. The generation that I was born into are now up on deck. We are the ones having with families and we are fully into our career.  We are helping to drive mainstream television and still have some markting power.  Think of the most popular shows on now. Well popular shows on network tv that is, they all seem to revolve around this generation.  Lost, 30 rock and I would even say the strongest story lines on the office. When you start to move down the channel listings you see our influence slipping. Maybe that’s a good thing maybe not.  We are now starting to mange people younger than us. Weird when you start being the older person in the room is that what being 30 something is.  When I play Fugees is that now considered old school. Well we’ll see I guess. I still love hearing “ready or not”  That’s my jam.

Peace

Drew

How many trees had to die?

Let me first say I know nothing about mailing or the habits of people when it comes to mail. I have no expertise in how it should be done and can only tell you what I’ve read and what I can imagine.  I got an email from a colleague  that sent me a tweet of someone who is part of the shock and awe campaign that is going on right now.  They asked is it necessary to receive a tree a week? That’s a hard question. If it didnt work would we do it or if we had other methods would it work better. Just the fact that we were able to track you down through twitter should give some indication that there may be a better way, one that allows us to know you.  Why don’t we add that field to our data. Yes, I’m suggesting we add a twitter field along with our email field.   This person follows around eighty people that may follow another 90 people wich may follow 300 people and so and and so on.

On the cover of fastcompany this week is Ashton Kutcher also known as @aplusk Great article on new media advertising. Everyone is talking about it but not all are doing it . I think it may be fear of losing the gray haired dude  who calls it some type of mojo. But how may trees have to die?I’ve actually been thinking a lot about this.  But how do y0u concentrate on the product along with the means of letting people know about it? If I ask that question does that mean we are doing too much? I’ll let  my boss figure that one out.  What am I supposed to do?

Peace

Drew

Early Adopter

I dont really know if I can call my self an early adopter. I usually wait for one generation before I adopt anything. This has come to mind because I’ve just became the owner of a Kindle.  The Kindle is an e-reader device. It allows you to buy books, magazines and newspapers that are delivered right to your portable device.  I have always enjoyed reading but it was in spurts. I would read heavy for a month or so and then not read anything for weeks. I am hoping to change that.  I bought the iphone months after its release. That happened because I saw too many youth ministers walking around with them at a youth specialties event. I remember the day when I said I’ve had enough. Anyway it was great buy and so is my Kindle.

Is being an early adopter a good thing? I dont know. I got my twitter account soon after it was made public but didn’t do too much with it. We talk at work about trying to be at the front end of pop culture. Talk would be the word. We were a nimble ship and slowly we have become and destroyer still agile in the water but a little harder to turn.  So what’s harder leading or following the leader. It may be safer to follow the leader but does it end it up costing you more? It may, if you miss an opportunity.  I don’t want to miss an opportunity but I also what us to be around in the next 10 years. We’ll see how that goes. I have high hopes. I wish I adopted more things earlier. Maybe that will be my new years resolution. Adoption.  Do you have something that I need to adopt.

Merging-departments

Over the past 10 years I’ve had to do a couple of things that I know nothing about. Actually that can go back to college where I had a different job every year and sometimes 2.  Ive been a fitness instructor, an actor, runner for a law firm, I did account receivables and much much more. Last year which was just a couple days ago I was asked to take on another part of the company. I had to do that when we put creative and technical together. It wasn’t easy but it was something.  So here we are at the start of new adventure. With this one merger the males were quickly outnumbered. Conversation about films have been replaced with the bachelor conversation and I love it. All we need is to hire a black female video director and we may have a hat trick. Any way I’m looking forward to it.  So how am I going to do this? I don’t really know yet.  Here’s what I think.

I think inspiration counts. I dont want to be a dude that feels that his mark has to be on everything. I hope that I can inspire people to do more than I could ever do.

I think there is something about being challenged by your peers even when they don’t exactly what you do.

I think them knowing that they have a direct line to you ahead of others is a real good thing. I had meant to let the team know that. They can pull me out of a meeting or stop me in the hall. They have access. (that sounds bigger than it is)

Ok. I’ve already broken a rule and updated my blog during work hours.

Peace

drew

Drew’s year in Pictures 2009

I decided that I wasn’t going to write a New Year’s post.  I will instead post some pictures that I took in 2009.  I added a new country, started a great relationship, celebrated ten years at the office, in a new job and sold my car. So much more happened but instead of telling you I’m going to show you.  We will be back to our scheduled program on Monday.  New Blog post Merging departments.

Adversarial Partners

How do you work with conflict? Some of us are really good at it and some well suck.  It seems more and more that I’m in a constant state of conflict. This doesn’t mean that if they were about to go over a cliff i wouldn’t grab them. It does mean that I can be pretty exhausted at the end of the day.

When dealing with this I try not to do a couple of things. One I try not to chalk it it up to a personality trait there by giving them or me a bye.  I try to understand how they are feeling. That I think is pretty important.  People are people and conflict can have some happy surprises.  We’ll see how this partnership turns out.  Happy monday to you.

drew

Body Language

What does your body language say about you. I have a couple of tells that I know of and probably 100s that I don’t.

1.  When I’m frustrated my face relaxes and I speak slower.

2. I have a forehead rub that i do when I’m done with a decision I just don’t know how to tell someone.

3. I force a smile when I’m when I know a conversation is not going well and I want to get out of it.

I tend to size people up from the first time I  meet them. We all kind of do this.  If I work with you I make a pretty quick decision on whether I can work with you or not.  If I can’t work with you or I know that the relationship will be a rocky one I make one of these two decisions.

1. I use an intermediary no use in causing a ton of conflict if I can still get the job done. If I can’t well….

2. I point out the problem and plow through.  I sometimes make light of it.

I’ve gotten to the point in my life where its just not worth the hassle. I actually have fun at work whether its arguing over some video or laughing about the huge mistake I just made.  Why have a job where you hate going to work everyday?  Is it worth that much to live in misery? Money? Your body language is a tell and we can all tell when you hate it.  So how do you change that? You either change your body language or you change your job.  I’m sure your coworkers don’t like it either.

We all work for someone

The older you get I think the more we all realize that we work for someone.  Even if you own your own business you work for the client, the customer, the eh.  It can be some what demoralizing when you come to that realization. I work for someone.  When you work for someone your realize that your’s and the person you work for may have different goals, dreams, aspirations.  You may have complete different philosophies about life, politics, family and yes even church.  I’ve tried to make a happy balance between the two.  Me and the person I work for.  I try not to answer emails on the weekend unless it affect what happens Monday at 8:30.  I try after 8 o’clock not to exchange calls and emails.  You bought my service not my life, right.  It’s not easy. You find that the longer you work for anywhere the more parts of your life are intertwined with your own.  Sometimes I succeed sometime I don’t.  But I am trying. This philosophy if you call it that works great when you are doing some thing you may not agree with. We all work for someone. This seems like a bit of downer but its more of a “Take your life back”  You work so you can live you don’t live for your work.

Peace in the middle east