Discoveries

In recognition of Columbus Day, I thought I would briefly highlight some of the ways I make discoveries that help me solve problems and create opportunities in my work life.

• Networking:  By networking and maintaining that casual, social network of professionals in my field of endeavor, I almost always gather new ideas or possible solutions to old problems.  The simple act of talking with people can help me make discoveries of new ideas and techniques.  It also helps me develop, grow and maintain a support system.  I try to network with smart people from a variety of backgrounds and professions, because I find it more interesting and the conversations more worthwhile.  Anything that pulls me away from the desk for a cup of coffee, lunch or a drink every once in a while, while still providing work benefits, needs to be practiced with regularity!
• Contests:  I participate in professional contests in which I submit work to be judged.  The value of this is in the evaluation of my work by the judges more than any awards that I might win.  Having said that, it is always nice to be able to bring back awards certificates to the office to show my boss and board that I might know what I am doing!  
• Attend Awards Ceremonies: When I am not able to participate in contests (usually because I missed the deadline), I still try to attend contest award ceremonies.  Many of these programs allow you to view award winners and sometimes take samples.   Talking to winners and reading about their award-winning work shows me how others are addressing challenges and opportunities similar to mine.
• Judge Contests:  Better even than participating in a contest is judging one.  This is better because it allows me to see a variety of projects and forces me to evaluate them.  I have never participated in judging without coming up with at least one great idea which I later "borrowed."
• Read voraciously:  I try to read, or at least scan, material from a lot of different sources. The in-depth perspective you get from a book is different than the overview nature of a magazine article which is different than a blog or internet post.  By trying to expose myself to a variety of sources, I get different ways of looking at issues, different ways at addressing a problem or challenge.  My reading is not limited to books and magazines on marketing and communications related topics.  I strongly suggest that it is more important to read books of other disciplines and broad-based business publications as well as fiction, history, and other non-fiction.  All of these will help you gain a better insight into the workings of the human mind.  Reading outside of your current discipline can also help expand your awareness of issues you are working with, help you develop stronger business empathy and, candidly, be a nice break from dealing with the same topic all day!
• Volunteer:  Volunteering has many advantages.  In addition to being good karma and allowing me to feel the benefit of doing something for others, volunteering helps me get a fresh perspective on my job.  By getting involved in another organization, I can often find a different way of addressing tasks I have to deal with at work.  Whenever possible, I get involved in responsibilities different than those I have at work. When the marketer becomes the Little League treasurer, and the IT head manages the inventory for the homeless shelter, they gain a new perspective and greater insight into how organizations run.  That greater insight helps them do their job more creatively.  

How do you discover new lands and new approaches to your problems and challenges?

A Scanner's Lament

I like to scan the news.  Since I often read a couple of newspapers, see news online on Yahoo, Bing and various other sources, and listen to newscasts when I am driving, I tend to scan the news, looking for something new or something of particular interest to me.

Earlier this week, I opened what I thought was an online news story on something I was mildly interested in.  Expecting to see a written story flash across my screen, I was surprised instead to be greeted by the loud (read obnoxious) opening music of a video report on the story.

I know that everyone is supposed to prefer video in these You Tube inspired days.  I know that I am a pariah for not having short videos on my website or a link to a YouTube channel for the organizations I work for.  And I am not immune to the power of a well crafted video.  But most of the time, I would prefer to read things.

Videos have their very important place in the communication tool box..  They are excellent for persuasive and emotional messages, wonderful for entertainment purposes, and unparallelled for providing a record of significant events.

But as a means to relay a news story, I don't think videos make sense. There are several things I don't like about news stories in video form:

• The video often just involves talking heads.  There is nothing of additional value provided in many news vlogs.
• Videos have sound.  I am often reading the news at times or in places that make a blaring soundtrack disruptive and insensitive or just plain embarrassing.  Most often, there is no indication as to whether the news story you are opening is written or amplified.
• Related to the above, if I want to learn the latest on the debt ceiling, or Lindsey Lohan, I don't need the person at the next table at Starbucks to know.
• For videos to be a viable option, you need to be able to watch them without constant buffering and delays.  Bandwidth availability can be a significant issue.  With slow bandwidth (or heavy use) videos are usually just an excuse to get frustrated because they either don't play or they stop every few seconds to buffer.
• You can't scan video.  You can't listen to just the sub headlines.  You have to listen to all or most of it, often to find out, it didn't involve Lindsey Lohan at all!
• Vlogs, which are video blogs, can be very entertaining, but the are usually more about the vlogger than about any particular topic.

So, if you are considering a video version of your next newsletter or doing a video newscast

, please consider those of us who who woudl rather "Read All About It!"

Reading: Your Future

"The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read." Mark Twain  

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." Groucho Marx

I have never met a good writer who isn't a voracious reader.
I have never known of a great leader who wasn't a student of other great leaders.
I have never heard of a great thinker who wasn't an even better listener.

It is my opinion that writers, leaders and thinkers are made.  They are self-made.

Writers, leaders and thinkers all share a curiosity about the world around them and an insatiable thirst for knowledge.  They read in search of answers, often without knowing the questions.

They also read literature.  A great mind is not developed solely by reading self-help books.  A great mind is developed by exposure to great thoughts, most often found in great literature of all sorts.  Fiction, and poetry can teach us about the human condition.  Philosophy and science can teach us how to think.  History and biography can teach us about leadership and failure.

Often times a writer or a leader will find success while not having been previously in the public eye.  She was an overnight success, the pundits say.  In fact that couldn't be farther from the truth.  She grew page by page.  In the library.  Between the covers of a great book!

Related articles

• Virginia Woolf on How to Read a Book

Reading list

I have always been frustrated when colleagues, whom I had admired previously, state importantly that "don't have time to read novels!" These people are often voracious readers of business books, business biographies, and self-help books of the 7-Habits variety.

If we consider marketing to be the art of making connections with other people, sharing information and persuading them to act as you'd like, it seems to me that you would need to know a bit about human nature.

For my two cents, there is no better way to get a handle on human nature than to pour through a well-written novel! Virtually every novel ever written has something, directly or indirectly, to do with human nature. Dickens, Walker and Irving are the cheapest (and most enjoyable) marketing consultants you can find!

Make sure a classic novel is on your reading list!