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60 Days to Better Productivity by Pamela Bryan

Ask yourself: If I had more time, I'd...

IF YOU DON'T DO THE WORK YOU LOVE, YOU'LL BURN OUT...YOU'LL LOSE PASSION & JOY!

CHANGE WHAT YOU DO:
Why does productivity matter?
-Business survival
-Deliver Increased Value
-You Choose:

• Same $$$ in less time ....OR...
• More $$$ in same time

-Ship more often
-Reduce Stress

MORE GENIUS WORK = HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY
But what does genius work feel like???

• Happy
• Engaging
• Uplifting
• Time stops

Why doesn't genius work happen more often?

• Inherited structure
• Never thought about it
• Don't know how to change
• Don't believe change is possible

STEP 1: Thinking BIG
•I wish...
What do you wish for???

STEP 2: Define Your Genius Work
•Your genius work can ONLY be done by YOU.
List your genius work and compare notes with others:

• highest impact results
• meaningful
• you are proud
• gift

Moments of Genius (From 'Do More Great Work'):
6 GREAT MOMENTS IN YOUR CAREER:

• Feelings (How did you feel?)
• Behavior (How did you act?)
• Your Role (Who was involved?)
• Look For Themes

Measuring Your Mojo- by Goldsmith

Professional Mojo:

• Motivation
• Knowledge
• Ability
• Confidence
• Authenticity

Personal Mojo:

• Happiness
• Reward
• Meaning
• Learning
• Gratitude

You can download app for iPhone/iTouch at mojobook.com

FOCUS FOR TODAY:
What 3 areas of focus & activities would be the best use of my time today?

STEP 4: Find Time

• How are you spending your time?
• Delegate- Quick & Easy
• Must Be Done/Good Work (Gold Mine of Time)

What is your day like???

STEP 5: Secrets to the 'Must Be Done' List
GOAL: Eliminate BAD work & streamline process

STEP 6: Make Time
8 Steps for Effective Delegation:
1. Schedule a meeting
2. Define scope of delegation

• Single task
• Whole process
• Function with a process

3. The Basics

• Why?
• Where does it fit?
• Expected outcome?
• Standards?

4. Share the process in writing & discuss
5. Ground rules for your involvement

• Sole authority- clients handle
• When clients need your input

6. Training needed
7. Level of Authority
8. Set status review time

TOP 4 DELEGATION TRAPS:

• Expecting perfection
• Assuming understanding
• Interfering
• Failing to follow up & congratulate

Notes from HOW Design Conference

Please forgive me if my notes here are a little bit rough but I figure that it's better to get the information out there for those interested than to not post it at all.

Life Kerning- Justin Ahrens

•Don't be an island, find wisdom from others.
-Find people who are familiar with the industry & enroll them as advisors (3 is a good number)
-Make a special criteria (such as meeting on a regular basis...like once a month)

"I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday." ~Abraham Lincoln

•Have a set of rules to stick to because you are probably the problem
•Accountability
•Family Morale (both families....your family at home and your work family)

THE 3 F's: FUN FAME FORTUNE
When considering a project, consider these three things:
-Will it be profitable?
-Will it be FUN?
-Will it attrack other work?
*The project MUST qualify for at least two of these qualities above!

Links:
Linchpin by Seth Godin (there were probably 3 speakers at conference that mentioned/referred this book)
www.37signals.com/rework
www.donmilleris.com

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Why We Brand, Why We Buy by Debbie Millman

A little bit of history...we designed for function to make our lives easier.
Branding- physical impression of ownership

Branding as we know it originated in late 19th century with the advent of packaged goods.

5 WAVES OF MODERN BRANDING:

•Wave 1: Brands as guarantors of consistency
•Wave 2: Brands as guarantors of quality (Could not mislead or decieve. First time that safety is factored into branding. Metaphor in branding.)
•Wave 3: Brands as expressive statements (acceptance, trendsetting...Debbie talked about how she wanted Levi's and her mom got a pair of green corduroy Levi's and she proudly wore them because of the label...definitely a story I can relate to coming from a home where my mom made most of our clothes or we got outdated hand-me-downs!)
•Wave 4: Brands as an experience (ex: Nike, MTV, Starbucks...)
-Brand loyalty develops
-We have a significant collective tendency
-We feel safer & secure

"GIVEN THE CHOICE, A BABY WILL CHOOSE THE CONNECTION WITH THEIR MOTHER OVER FOOD."

•Wave 5: Limbic brands (brands as guarantors of connection)
-Our brains have invented ways to connect
(ex: facebook, twitter, linkedin, myspace, YouTube, etc.)

"WE HAVE THE POWER TO EITHER FURTHER OUR HUMANITY OR DESTROY IT."

Don't forget to check out Debbie's new book: Look Both Ways
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Don't Go It Alone: Using Collaboration to Solve Creative Design Problems by Maria Giudice

Download this presentation: www.hotstudio.com/#/presentations/hotpresentations/

"The Obsessive Collaborator"

Who should you collaborate with?
-Clients: creates stakeholder buy-in, streamlines the design process
-Project Team: provides multi-disciplinary perspectives
-Customers
-Wild Card

Collaboration has to have a goal and it has to have an outcome.
Facilitation Tips:
•Appoint a facilitator, a scribe and a photographer
•Stay neutral
•Keep focus
•Don't allow any one person to dominate
•Involve the quiet participants
•Actively Listen!
•Summarize periodically

Brainstorm Rules:
•One conversation at a time
•Go for Quantity!!!
•Be visual
•Go for WILD IDEAS!
•Don't forget FOOD!

Tools & Methods for Collaboration:
#1- Get Physical & Tactile (get everyone out of their chairs, make them do something, get them involved!)
*GIANT POST-IT NOTEPADS ROCK!!!*

#2- Think Out Loud
*Mind-mapping- words connect, leads you on a path to ideas you might not have though of,
non-judgmental
*Identifying Challenges- strategy, project scope, timeline, communication, implementation,
politics, technology, team expertise
WHAT ARE THE FEARS AND WHY???????????

#3- Communicate Visually
*Touchy-Feely (bring in stuff & lay out for people to look at, pick up, feel, etc.)
- Clients pick up pieces that speak to them, related to what they want or like in relation to
their design goals from you.
*Back to Basics (let the client come in to help create using basic art supplies)
-Why'd they pick that color?, Why do they like that shape?
- Familiar Tools: paper, scissors, crayons, glue, etc.
-Use legos for layout design- can ease feeling of intimidation plus Legos are more FUN!

#4- Share the Road
*Card sorting (let client organize word/symbol cards as they want on their site...
*Brand Attribute Exercise
-Yes, No & Maybe answers to keyword cards
-Is it Useful? Is it Descriptive? Is it Colorful?
-Use Templates (more fun to cut & paste than to draw)
-Use Worksheets (fill out/answer questions)

#5- Prioritize & Synthesize
*Set Limits & Prioritize (limit # of words in exercise to narrow down to....)
*Dot Voting (casting your vote for an idea using dot stickers like currency)
*Mood Boards (collaging colors, layouts, specific theme/idea, type, special treatments, etc.)

TAKE TEAM PHOTOS OF HAPPY CLIENTS- THEY FEEL PART OF THE SOLUTION

How to Cultivate a Creative Culture:
•Environment
-Resources
-Social Spaces
-Fun Colors/Shapes
-Free to Express Yourself

•Be Spontaneous & Have Fun
-ex: 15 minutes to design a T-shirt for fun
-Playing role games (store/computer/customer)
-Energizing

•Everyone is a Contributor
Iterate & Evolve
-Don't stay still
-Be open to change
-Educate yourself

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Please come back as I have MORE to post! But saying how it is now past 11pm, I am going to give my eyes and fingers a rest for the night. See ya tomorrow!

HOW Design Conference: Pre-Conf. Workshops

So, I decided to sign up for the pre-conference workshops at HOW Design Conference this year. It was like only an extra $50, so I figured, why not? A la carte, they were like $175 each so I figured it was worth the bargain. Originally, I had signed up for Splash of Flash and then the one on CSS. But the more I thought about it, the less I wanted to take the CSS workshop. I figured that what I needed to learn would have to be more extensive than what any 3-hour workshop could provide. I probably should have considered this with the Flash workshop, too, but decided to stick with it. I ended up taking the Splash of Flash workshop in the morning and then went to Chaos to Clarity workshop in the afternoon.

So here's the thing with the Splash of Flash workshop- at first, I was taking notes and trying to keep up with the speaker. There were a lot of really cool things that he showed us in Flash and it was enlightening to me considering that I'd never really done anything in that application. So there were a few "a-ha" moments where I felt that lightbulb go on. But on most part, I really felt that it got either too advanced for someone like me or that it ended up being more of a showcase for CS5 and a few other programs, which I do not have. And actually, before I took the workshop I had decided that I was going to make myself learn Flash and CSS via Lynda.com and so by the time I was done with this workshop, I really wish I would have chosen a different workshop to go to. For what I got out of it, I think that I would have benefited more doing something else. But that's just my own personal take on it.

I was actually really excited to be taking the Chaos to Clarity workshop. I had actually met the speakers: RaShelle, Judah and Eric the day before when Kelly and I were in the convention center getting our registration done. So I was really enthused after talking to them about their workshop and how it could help me as far as where to start making a business plan, setting goals, etc. We were paired up with a partner and had to ask each other questions throughout, getting to know each other and helping to realize some things that we might not have thought about before. The one thing that I really wanted to focus on with this workshop was ME and what I am passionate about- the whole reason why I chose to take this workshop instead of the CSS workshop. I rely heavy on my day job as it is what pays my bills but I have to admit that it's hard to feel passionate about a job where I feel as though my potential will never be realized. I'm tired of trying to fight my way up in the corporate world to a position that would earn me more respect within the company only to feel as though I just haven't made any real progress. I think that there are a lot of people within the company who still see me as the Data Admin Tech that I started out as way back when and don't realize or acknowledge that I actually have two degrees in art and design. So the idea of this particular workshop was very appealing to me. I am ready to get more serious about the kind of work that I am passionate about. In this workshop, I learned about creating a business plan with a vision statement, values and also a mission statement. I also learned about planning milestones and a road map for my career and the action steps, support structures, systems and resources to help make it happen. I even got up a couple of times to share my story and suggest a few things. I really felt that this was a very valuable workshop with what I not only was able to take away from it but also, hopefully, what I was also able to contribute to it. There was a drawing for a couple of one-on-one career coaching with RaShelle and Judah but I didn't win. But- I am seriously thinking about how I could find a way to get their input on a few things as I roll along. I think it'd be well worth it!