I'm striving for honest time

Are you on Optimistic time or Honest time?

Image: Elizwrites.com

Godin posted on this, and it struck a chord. In marketing, you are aiming to meet the client's deadlines. Sometimes, you have great clients who can see everything that is involved in something as mundane as sending an email, and they are willing to give it an extra day or quality control. In that scenario, both of you can be on honest time and plan accordingly. (This does not take into account the art director's tantrum or the intern with "food poisoning", but you can work around those thing if you have time.)

What really causes the crisis in most agencies is that only one or two people are on honest time. The rest are on optimistic time, and clients have been taught that the optimistic deadline is correct. So, that is the expectation. Now, what happens when deadlines are hit on optimistic time? As Godin says, someone suffers. It may be the client who has the smallest account, or the one who recently said they were happy with the agency. Maybe the manager with the quiet demeanor is ignored.

Godin makes the point that honest time is the best way to go, but it's not easy. If you could get everyone on your team to change to honest time, and to concede that quality checks take more than 10 minutes, it would definitely be the business changer Godin predicts, but how do you do it?

Writing 101: Getting better

What's something that needs improvement? American writing. 
Is there hope? Yes!

If you read yesterday's post, it may have seemed a bit harsh to condemn American writing. But, there is hope! And no, you do not need to pay for a professional writing class.

Step 1: Read....Read amazing writing.
If you don't read, and the last thing you've read since college is People, it's time for an upgrade. Every week, you should read something that challenges you--challenges your ideas, your vocabulary, your writing rhythms. If you need a quick read, choose a top blogger. If you have more time, choose Steinbeck, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabella Allende, Poe, Shakespeare. One student found their passion in The New Yorker food reviews. I recently read "The Life of St. Francis of Assisi" which challenged me because of the complexity of the ideas and the language.

Step 2: Write....Write and have someone else read it.
I have taught hundreds of grammar classes, and one was as enlightening as a single critiqued essay. When we can see the mistakes we personally make, it has so much more resonance than an impersonal lecture. (If you are interested in reading a grammar book, I recommend "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves".)

Listen to your critic's remarks and learn from them. And, it might be best to have two or three critics--people who love you enough to challenge you.

Step 3: Repeat cycle as often as possible
The only way you improve at anything is to practice. Read, write, read, write, read, write...the more you do, the better you will be.

Improvement needed: writing as a craft

Day 3: Tell us about something that you think should be improved.

So, anyone who makes their living as a writer, or who just enjoys a good read, would agree--the state of American writing is abysmal. People assume because they learned about writing in school and have written something before that they're a great writer. 

Now, before you think I am an elitist snob, there are things I am terrible at. No one will ever pay me to run (or really even watch me on purpose) because I am very, very bad. But, I realize this and when people ask if I am a runner, I usually make it clear that I am a person who runs, but definitely not a runner. Ditto for pretty much any other sport--ever. 

I am not comparing myself to
Steinbeck but rather
recommending him. Shame on you
for only looking at the picture!
Image: NPR.org

But, I'm a decent writer. It's not because I was born with a miraculous talent or because my parents read Shakespeare to me in the womb. I believe that I can write well because I work at it, and because I hold my writing to a higher standard than texting or facebook feeds. (I could linger here for hours talking about the American education system and the incredible disservice we are doing our children, but there is only so much time.)

Just because you have written something doesn't make you a writer, and just because you have run a marathon doesn't make you a runner. It takes practice, standards, and reading great examples of literature. Might I recommend Steinbeck for starters? 

Thank you for reading my rant. 

The Essentials

By Susan Muegge
What matters most?

My favorite business book of 2014 was Essentialism by Greg McKeown. With four kids, an active volunteer and faith life, a professional career I am passionate about and a physically demanding lifestyle, you realize that there are only so many hours in a day. In the past year, I've realized that each of those minutes is a gift and should be spent with as much purpose and passion as possible.

I've recently turned down two job offers, one from an amazing company I would love to work for, because I realize that I am spending all my time doing what I love. If I took on something new, I'd have to give up something. (This is a dramatic switch from my 20s when I did everything I wanted and drank more espresso. An espresso maker of my own was both the best and the worst gift ever. My husband disposed of it out of love for me.)

I still fail--there is more TV than I'd like, and sometimes I get sucked into facebook, but I try to come back to the center and ask what matters today. I sincerely hope that when I look back in five years I'll see a life that matters and that was built with the right choices everyday.

BTW, I spent two hours yesterday making a three-layer birthday cake for my daughter, and I would not swap that time for anything because of the look on her face.

Getting back to the business of B2B marketing

By Susan Muegge

Why are you doing the YourTurnChallenge? 

When I had a full-time job, I was a Seth Godin addict--I loved the brevity of his posts and the impact of his ideas in the marketplace. In recent years, I have spent more time Spartan racing and leading missions personally and focusing on employment screening professionally.

It's time to reclaim my personal brand and re-enter the conversation on B2B marketing and content marketing--my first professional love. Somehow, I got recruited into B2B marketing for HR almost 10 years ago with Starr Tincup, now the Starr Conspiracy, and I have remained there professionally since--with the exception of five years of teaching college classes.

Let's get this party started.

Personal branding, a quick reminder

This presentation from SlideShare begs an interesting question: do you need a personal brand? So often in our professional lives we spend our time working for the company and boosting their brand, but is it important to have a brand of our own? Do you need to have a stream of idea clients if you are happily employed?

The answer is a resounding yes. Even if you are happily employed, you want your brand to show who you are, both to your company and your external clients. If your boss, or your boss' boss, wants you on the next project because he knows of your work, you've done well. Tom Peters and Zig Zigler led the charge on personal branding, and the coversation has only gotten more interesting in the age of social media.

Truthfully, this is a case of writing what I most need to hear. Look forward to more blog posts from someone developing her brand! Good luck as you all work on your brands.

Here are some great personal brands:
William Tincup
Laurie Ruettiman
Tim Sackett 


Who's on your shortlist for HR personal brands? What are you doing to work on yours?

The Complete A to Z Guide to Personal Branding from Placester

SlideShare leader in 2013

Turns out, there's a market for educational content.

In 2013, my SlideShare presentations used for college instruction were in the top 5%--more than 7,000 views! Check it out:

http://slideshare.net/yearinreview/smueggecci/B0FwAw