Jason Womack

Has the word "cool" been around THAT long?

Upon a reference from a mentor of mine, I looked up author William Gibson's info. At one point, I saw a Q&A, where he was asked to talk about the word "cool."

Curious, I looked up that word (a word I use ALL THE TIME!) and was surprised to find it's been around...quite a while!

The earliest use of the word in this way seems to be in Wilkie Collins' "The Moonstone" 1868:

"She has been a guest of yours at this house," I answered. "May I venture to suggest — if nothing was said about me beforehand — that I might see her here?"

"Cool!" said Mr. Bruff. With that one word of comment on the reply that I had made to him, he took another turn up and down the room.

"In plain English," he said, "my house is to be turned into a trap to catch Rachel ...

via en.wiktionary.org

Seminar recap: 2010-09/28 (Lower Manhattan, NYC)

What a seminar day that was! Thank you SO much to the 16 participants for your time, energy, enthusiasm and focus (most of all!) during our course, Mastering Workplace Productivity.

Following is a brief overview of some of the key points/takeaways - from my own perspective as a student of this information over the past 16 years. Remember, Productivity is NOT an accident:

Know when you're at your best. (Consider visiting the website: www.AtMyBestWhen.com). For the next few days, start each morning by reviewing your OWN list of things you "could" do to increase the likelihood of having a better day, a day where you're able to perform at your own 100%. At the end of the day, review that list and set yourself up for the next morning!

Invite the good information in...Set goals, and actively seek out people, information and experiences to achieve those goals. Although I did not get to meet him on Monday, giving my book, The Promise Doctrine to Ken Robinson's driver (who DID give it to Ken, who sent me a message on Tuesday!) was a major step in a direction I want to head in: Introducing my book and materials to the kinds of people who influence me regularly. Consider watching Ken's most amazing TED Talk by clicking here.

Other TED.com presenters I brought up:

Seth Godin
Malcolm Gladwell
Richard St. John
Jill Bolte Taylor

Of course, we discussed the famous "5-day-experiment" (much more information http://www.5dayexperiment.com) and ways that you can "test" new information. Specific experiments recommended during our course on Tuesday:

Review your philosophy of productivity (the first activity we did together in the morning)
Review the three words you circled on page 2 of the workbook (the intro paragraphs)
Review your "I'm at my best when..." every morning
...and, a 5 week experiment (once a week) invite a mentor to coffee or lunch and bring up a "big issue" asking for their support

Finally, there were several books I recommended during the course, many of which can be found at http://www.BooksWeRecommend.com. (Remember, if you're interested in diving deeper into any of this, do give me a call/send me an email. In one quick conversation, we can narrow the field down to 3-6 books out of the 40+ on that site that I have studied!)

Here are the titles I mentioned:

Don't Shoot the Dog, Karen Pryor
The Memory Book, Harry Lorrayne
My Stroke of Insight, Jill Taylor
The Element, Sir Ken Robinson

 

 

"The research says..." and then what?

I absolutely loved Jonathan Dahl's Editor's Page letter in the September issue of SmartMoney.

When you read something and in it the author says, "The research says..." do you buy it? In a seminar recently someone asked, "What are the proven strategies to improve productivity?" It's an important question...I just don't have really good answers.

Unless...you use this answer:

"The ways that work for you."

I know, I know, it's kind of a work-around, but I believe it in my heart. This is why my work with people one-on-one is so specific, powerful, and long-lasting. When we work together, we're saying aloud, "There are one or two more effective ways to prioritize and manage my time. Let's go find them..." and, we always do!

Oh, for some ideas: http://www.womackcompany.com/5day

Women's Business Socials

Over dinner with the CEO of the local Girl Scout chapter, Jodi got to brag about her Women's Business Socials...

Good times.

What are you determined to do?

...and, who knows what you are determined to do?

I subscribe to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and the FIRST article I read each issue is the last one, called: Etc. Hard Choices.

Hats off to the editors for putting such great information together for us to read, and BE inspired by...thank you so much!

My main takeaway is this: Decide, commit, act, acknowledge.

It is possible to take on, do and accomplish more by focusing and enlisting the support and guidance of those around us.

(Oh, 2 questions for Bloomberg: do you ever publish the rest of the interview or Q and A online? And, can I recommend a possible interviewee: http://www.cpwomack.com - he's got some great stories!)

How long, really, will it take?

I took this picture in New York on a visit some time ago. I was at that store Anthropologie (Jodi loves it, we go in every time we walk by!) and I saw this great kitchen timer on a table.

As you know, a common theme to the work we do is to "Objectify Everything." O.E.

I am a strong believer in the power of a timer. You see, I can't argue with the clock. I remember a coach of mine telling me this on the track. We were training, it was mid-season, and we were doing some short, intense workouts. (twelve 1/4 mile repeats, on 1:30) If you haven't run 6-minute miles lately (and, let's be hones, who does THAT for fun???), you wouldn't know the challenge this present!

Now, let's leave the track, and head back to your office. Those emails in your inbox? That voice mail you saved? The papers on your desk? That to-do list you wrote down somewhere? How much time are they going to take?

Here's the opportunity: Write a list of the next 20 things you need to get done this week. Next to each on, leave room to write TWO numbers:

First: Write down about how long you think it will take.

Second: Time yourself, when you DO do it, and write down how long it actually took!

How's it going?

I took the picture below on a visit to Homer, Alaska when I visited some time ago. In the moment after I snapped this picture, the juvenile Bald Eagle had the fish tightly held in the talons, and flew off toward a perch nearby. By all measurement, this bird had succeeded in "catching" breakfast.

For this assessment, please open up your dayplanner or your digital calendar. Review the past 48 hours and look for:

- meetings
- completions
- acknowledgments
- interactions (at work and at home)

Sometime, later today, someone is going to ask you, "How's it going?" or "How was your day?" In that moment, you have an opportunity to reduce the subjective nature of all the possible answers ("It's fine." "I'm busy." "Another day..." etc). Share with them something that happened, is happening, or is going to happen as a result of who you talked to and what you worked on that day.

By identifying solid, specific and meaningful measures you will give yourself an objective "yardstick" to measure your productivity, performance and time management.

 

(Once upon a time, there was a place in Homer, AK where a woman was allowed to "feed" the Bald Eagles. Everyone called her, "The Eagle Lady." Over the 20+ years she did, the eagle population in this area grew exponentially. This program ended in 2009...)

Learning from the feedback

Debrief it all (fyi: There's an entire episode on our DVD regarding the review process and achieving a higher level of productivity and performance...)

If you think about the past week and ask this question, "What have we accomplished this week?" what comes to mind? I'm hopeful that you can think about an achievement you or someone on your team experienced. Take a moment, and reflect on that completion. If you really want to push on this, pull out a piece of paper and go through the following activity.

On one side of the paper, write: "What we did."

On the other side of the paper, write: "What we could have done."

Next, take about 10 minutes and make a list of 10+ things you did during the process of that project or event to get it done. (If it helps, ask someone who worked on the project with you to help you - it will speed up the process. After you get the list of 10, now, go back through and on the other side of the paper come up with just one idea of what you could have:

- Done differently, or
- Done more effectively, or
- Handled with fewer resources, or
- Asked for earlier...

If it is possible, bring the learnings and ideas from THAT event, project, experience in to the next one.

(At the end of each day, for the past decade or so, I have stopped long enough to write down just a few of the things I accomplished, saw, learned, heard about, finished, started - you get it - during that day. Over time, this gives me an interesting vista of "just how far I've come.")

Add some time, get it done...

In our book, my dad and I write about the impact of setting realistic and timely milestones on the projects and goals we decide to take on. Here is a productivity tip, in two parts: A) Go to your inbox (stack on your desk, email, voicemail, and notebooks) and find something that needs to be done "sooner than later." B) Call or email a mentor and ask them for a favor. You need them to hold you accountable to get that thing done. Decide in your mind By When you want to have completed it, and add a day or three. Ask your mentor two things: 1) Do you have any advice on how I can get that done? 2) Will you call me on (the chosen day) and ask me how I'm doing? Try it out, and see what happens.

Getting ready...to be ready

Could one sentence change the way I prepare for my next meeting. Short answer: YES.

Never have a meeting or make a presentation without doing your homework.

Longer answer: There isn't enough time in the day...that's kinda how I start. But, when it comes to meeting with someone, I highly recommend making that one of the MITs well in advance of sitting down together - no matter how busy the day. I enjoyed this blog post by Tim Sanders...thanks, man!

What is your homework?  Context.  This is a habit I developed at Yahoo!, and recommend to everyone I know.  When you are going to make a sales call or take a meeting with a new company/person - do some background research so you know the context of the situation.

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