Break it Down

The longer a project is the less you’re able to predict how much work you can accomplish. I’m sure you have a clear idea how much work you can get done in a day and you’re probably able to predict what you can do in a week. But two weeks? It gets a little fuzzier. A month? You can’t track that in your head anymore. A year? Forget it.

Break your projects down into timeframes that are easier to understand. If you have a one day project, break it down by the hour. If it’s a one week project - what can you accomplish in five, one day bursts? Chunk that month-long project into four ambitious milestones and further break those weeks into day-long goals. The year-long project. Yeah, you guessed it: segment that thing into twelve month long chunks with four week-long goals.

This will impose upon you a structure that asks what you can get done in each of its increments. You’re not designing by the gut, you should be able make the prediction. Sometimes you’ll be right and sometimes you’ll be wrong. That’s fine. Each time you take a stab at predicting how much you can get done the better you be at estimating in the future.

If you’re not actively challenging yourself this way you’re going to waste time. And the longer the project is the more time you waste. Give a person a week to get something done and they’ll probably surprise you by how much they can accomplish. Give that same person a month to do the same project and they’ll get less done. Give them a year? You’re just wasting time and resources.

Build a stronger network

Networking isn’t just about shaking hands and passing out business cards, it’s about connecting with people who share your passions. Sometimes those people are the link to a new opportunity but most often all you’ll get from someone will a conversation. Not everyone will be in a position to help you realize your dreams but that doesn’t mean they can’t be helpful.

Shift your focus away from yourself. Seek out the people who are passionate about their work and committed to excellence. Make note of these people and start introducing them to one another. Become a social connector. Look for opportunities to link the people in your network, then step back and let them make things happen. Ask for nothing in return and watch your network solidify around you.

Making connections for other people doesn’t cost you anything, it keeps you on the forefront of people’s minds, builds your social currency and establishes a nice pattern of reciprocal behavior. If you’ve made a connection for someone in the past they’re more likely to make a connection for you when the opportunity arises. Give more and receive more.

Instead of asking how people can help you, start looking for ways to connect the people around you.

You know nothing

The more you know the more you realize how little you know. It’s so much easier to embrace new ideas and information when you push the ego to the side. Life is easier, and more interesting, when you accept that you don’t have all the answers. New solutions present themselves, you allow yourself to be taught by students, employees and people from other backgrounds. You grow.

Great ideas come from all directions and absolute statements can often be the box that limits us. Absolute statements might serve the needs of bigots, politicians and the insecure but you’re better than that. Sure, there are some truths that we accept to be true: gravity, our dependence on oxygen, the thing I’m looking at is called a computer, etc. But even those things have different names in different languages. Often the ideas we spend so much time and energy defending are simply a different way to explain a similar idea or need.

Even statements that are true at face value are worth questioning. Is the sky blue? No, not always. And what does ‘blue’ mean? Ten people imagining a blue sky will have a different image in their mind. An individual who grew up in Beijing will associate a different color sky from the person who grew up in Malibu. Not too long ago people accepted that the world was flat. What other things do we accept as truth that might be disproved over time? What things do you accept as truth that are the adoption of someone else’s values?

Set your ego aside and allow yourself to be a student. Question any individual or statement that seeks limit your understanding of the world. Accept constraints and definitions when they help you but don’t accept them blindly. Be curious, question everything.

Take big steps

There’s a time and place for taking the scenic route but when you’re working on a deadline or looking to make progress fast you need to take big steps. Nothing will get you where you’re going faster than opening up your stride, focusing on your goal and thinking less about the details. Put ten people in a room and ask them to imagine a running cheetah and they’ll each imagine it differently. Design is same way. You can discuss an idea all day but no one in a meeting will be imagining the same thing until they can experience it firsthand.

In the initial stages of a project try pushing beyond your comfort zone. Get the big ideas out of your head so you and your team or clients can react to them. Move fast. It’s great if you’ve taking a step beyond what anyone was expecting because people will be in a better position to articulate their values. You’ll learn what people like, you’ll learn what they don’t like and you might just surprise everyone with something no one expected.

Small steps will take you longer to reach your destination. You might get the same result with tiny, iterative steps but it’ll take you longer to reach your destination and you risk getting stuck fixating on details too early in the process. Nothing kills energy for a project like micromanaging and endless revisions.

Once you’ve established the direction and your group has a shared set of values you can shorten your stride and shift focus to the details.

The Power of Submission

“If you want to push then I'm ready to push, but if you’re pulling while I'm pushing then why'd you ask me to push?”
-Aesop Rock

In a culture of leaders and leader wanna-be’s what does it mean to be a team player? It means everyone, regardless of role or title, is willing to get a little dirty.

It’s my philosophy that leaders and followers are all committed to a similar ideal, product or team. Their roles within that structure might be different but they have all submitted their ego to something larger than themselves and in giving themselves to the goal they will do whatever it takes to succeed. Even if that means letting go.

Some people strive for leadership because they want people to follow them and, by my definition, that person isn’t a true leader. Who wants to follow someone whose goal is to simply have followers? The leader needs to provide a vision beyond themselves and demonstrate their commitment. By giving themselves to the goal, submitting to it, they lead by example.

Even if your natural state is in a leadership role, try stepping back when someone is more qualified than yourself to take the reins. Let the people around you supply answers, give them space to succeed and let them provide answers and inspiration. There is power in releasing control. As a leader you can choose when and how to submit to your team. Allow yourself to be led.

Don't be a Kanye

We’ve all worked with a Kanye at some point in time. They are the center of their world and we are all caught in their orbit. Their ideas are superior, they can’t be told how something is done and they don’t receive feedback well. They don’t play well with others and the bold ideas represented in their work are ultimately undermined by their ego, caustic communication skills, ultimatums and hyperbole. Eventually they become irrelevant because the ego that drives them fearlessly into a powerful creative space is the same thing that makes them unbearable.

They are an archetype, a caricature that is easily understood, used for what they are good for and ignored or dismissed when they are no longer relevant.

The amount of money they generate determines their longevity. Since of us don’t generate the flood of revenue that Kanye does, we need to be more personable and learn to collaborate. The quality of your work is important but so is your ability to communicate effectively and inspire. There isn't room for divas and shit-talkers in most companies and creative partnerships. If people don't enjoy your company, they won't want to spend time with you (unless, of course, they're making lots of money by spending time with you).

Strive to support the people around you. Elevate them and you elevate yourself. Don’t be a Kanye.

Make time every day

How do you find the time to get things done? My first drum teacher told me to make the time, every day, to practice. He said 5 minutes per day is better than 2 hours once per week. I apply this principle to everything but expand the time allotted to a minimum of 15 minutes. Anyone can set aside 15 minutes daily. Turn off the TV and avoid Facebook. 

If you’re like me you have a dozen things happening at any given point in time. Does that mean you need to spend 15 minutes per day on every project? No, you’ll need to figure out how many projects you can reasonable manage and then prioritize them. Many of my current projects are solo, so I can work on 3-4 things concurrently and feel like I’m making progress. If I was working in teams the number of projects would drop because teams generally take more energy.

Consistency and developing momentum are the goals. Thinking about your project regularly means your brain will always be churning on that idea, solving problems, in the background. The more time you can spend, daily, the better as long as that time is well spent. If you're stuck and unproductive, switch projects or take a walk. 

Recently I was asked how to get started on a project. The person was setting aside time but was stuck figuring out what could be done in only 15 minutes. Treat your planning the same way you treat your production. Start by setting aside small chunks of time to identify your questions and clarify your goals. Break down the concept into addressable/actionable items, prioritize and, once you have a clear path, start using that daily time to make something.

You are who you appear to be (on Facebook)

If you bitch, whine and attack on social media that’s who you are to the rest of the world. It’s doesn’t matter if you’re only venting when you have a bad day. If all people see is your bad day reactions they’ll assume that’s who you are. And they’re probably correct. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t post challenging ideas or engage in real debate online. It just means you should probably avoid slander, witch hunts and being an asshole. It’s a safe assumption that the person going on the attack and judging others online is probably that same person offline.

The reverse is also true. If you promote creative ideas, interesting dialog and support via social media that’s who you are to your readers.

Applying for a job? You can expect a hiring manager to look at your Facebook page. Probably before they find you on LinkedIn. If you’ve called sick into work your manager would be silly not to check your updates. Think before you post. What does your Facebook or Instagram page say about you as a potential employee? A collaborator? A friend? 

Try Listening

Take the time to listen. You’ll get more out of your relationships, have more meaningful dialog and people will be more likely to listen to you. It’s called mirroring. If you set the pace for a conversation, allowing it to breathe, the other person will be more likely to match your pace and tone. Speeding up, interrupting and abruptly changing topics tells people you don’t care what they’re saying. And they won’t care what you’re saying.

Slow down, take a breath and listen. Most people are already thinking about their response before the other person has finished speaking. Don’t interrupt. Seriously, if you feel the need to interrupt just leave the conversation. Create space in the exchange to consider your response. Acknowledge what the other person said by responding to something specific about their statement then advance the conversation by adding to it. I know this sounds scripted but try it. You’ll see immediately how people change when they realize you’re actually listening to them.

Try this: use The 5 Whys in your next conversation. You don’t always need to ask a why-related question but ask a question that invites the other person to elaborate on their previous statement. Ask 5 questions and see how deep your conversation gets.

Know your strengths

Do you know your greatest strengths? Your weaknesses?

On some projects you’ll need to collaborate with people whose skills are different from your own and sometimes you’ll need people with comparable skills. To make effective team-building decisions you’ll need to know yourself.

Try this: write down your single greatest skill. The thing you do better than anything else. Then do the same with your weakness. Now find some people you’ve collaborated with in the past. Folks you trust to give you an honest answer. Ask them to name your greatest strength and weakness. I bet you’ll get some surprising answers that are different from your self evaluation. That’s because we don’t see ourselves clearly by default. Who we are gets clouded by who we want to be.

Have you been choosing collaborators based on who you are or who you want to be?

Plan your day

The question I’m asked most often is, “How do you plan your day?”. I break it into three chunks: Prep, Play and Production. This works for me but may not work for everyone. The most important thing is that you plan your day in whatever way works for you and then honor that plan. Here's what I do...

1. Prep (morning): Wake up, Eat/shower/coffee, Do admin (emails, phone calls, Facebook), Close Facebook, Plan for the day’s project. The goal is to clear out distractions and seed the brain with ideas.
2. Play (lunch): You could do anything here that doesn’t require lots of active thought or communication. Take walk, clean, make a meal, etc. I go to the gym. Let ideas from from the Prep stage bubble around in your mind.
3. Production (afternoon): Work on the project. By the time I get to the Production stage in the afternoon I have ideas and clear actions fresh at my fingertips. Leave Facebook closed until goals for the day are met.

Close Facebook now

I like Facebook. I like connecting with people, I like reading unexpected articles and seeing the the varied opinions of my friends being expressed. I like that I can use it share my own ideas and events. I don’t like that its an easy distraction from getting real work done. I also don’t like that it manipulates our emotions in the same way slot machines and Candy Crush appeal to our desire for immediate feedback.

Unless you’re independently rich and have zero obligations to friends and family you probably have things to do. And I bet you’re already aware that Facebook is getting in the way of your getting those things done. Deep in your belly you’re feeling guilty about trolling for Likes and cute cat videos but the immediate feedback of your newsfeed is hard to deny.  

Set aside time for Facebook the same way you might set aside time for reading a book or watching a movie. Don’t let it dominate your life or become your excuse for unfilled creative projects. Close Facebook now.

Assemble a super team

We all wrestle with doubts and insecurities and it’s the job of our enemies to capitalize on our weaknesses. To foil their plans you need to surround yourself with people you trust. People who inspire you to be more than you think you can be. They might do this directly or they might lead by example. Track these heroes down. Talk with them, train with them and test your ideas against them. Spend time with people who make you stronger, faster, and smarter.

Be selective and choose people who won't flake when things get tough or collapse under pressure. Everyone needs support sometimes but be wary of people whose super power is causing drama.

Don't expect your team to go easy on you. If you're going to be ready for the next big challenge you'll need the members of your super team to tell you what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong. With support from the right team you can dream bigger and take larger risks.

Buy yourself some time

Feedback doesn’t always come at a convenient time. You might be deep in thought, in the middle of a conversation or actively trying to solve some other problem when an unexpected distraction drops in your lap. Shifting gears isn’t easy and very often a jarring shift means we don’t receive the distraction as gracefully as we would if we were prepared. Buy yourself time to react. Try one of these...

1. Take a deep breath and give yourself time to collect your thoughts.

2. Make a 'thinking' gesture. Example: lean back, touch your chin, nod, say 'Hmmmm....". Create a pause in conversation.

3. Be direct and tell the distracting person to give you a minute.

Over the years I've used all of these, professionally and personally, and I’m sure you can come up with your own scripted actions for buying yourself time. Try it and let me know what works for you!

Dial back the heat

Sometimes creative conversations get heated. People get attached to their ideas, they dig in their heels and friction develops. What are you supposed to do? Dial back the heat by acknowledging the tension. It seems obvious but sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. Example, "It feels like things are getting tense. Let's take a breath, step back and refresh ourselves on the goals." 

Once the tension is abated ask whether your partner is willing to entertain other ideas. Most people will acknowledge that there might be other solutions. Then invite them to help you explore them.

Another strategy for reducing the stress of competing ideas: consider listing the project goals and invite other people to help prioritize them. Often this will expose emotional attachments and focus the conversation on what is needed, as opposed to what is desired, and lead to alternate solutions.

Keep yourself engaged

I have an issue with boredom. I hear people say, “I’m bored” and it drives me a little crazy. Boredom is a symptom of a lifestyle choice. The choice to be disengaged. I know we can’t all choose moment-to-moment happiness but we can choose engagement. For most of us, if we are unsatisfied with the task at hand or just plain bored it's our own damn fault.

Don't wait for your life to excite you. You'll be waiting a long, long time. The world couldn't care less if you're bored or unhappy. It will continue spinning long after you're gone.

If you look for dissatisfaction or boredom it will always be there but your energy is better spent looking for opportunities to do the things you love. If you don't see the opportunities, make them for yourself. You don't need to wait for anyone. Breathe life into your own ideas. Create the moments that bring you joy. 

When visions collide

Before he passed away I had the opportunity to attend a talk with one of my design idols, Tibor Calman. Something he said still resonates with me, "If you're not fired from a third of your design projects you're not doing your job." While I don't agree 100% with his statement I love that it acknowledges the power of conflicting visions. At some point we will all work on projects that we don't find interesting or we disagree with the vision. For some people that's their daily routine.

The question that interests me is this - what do you do when you disagree with a vision? You have a few options if your amazing ideas have been rejected: 1) Walk away. 2) Accept the conditions and do your best because you have bills to pay. 3) Learn from the experience and find work that better aligns with your vision in the future and finally 4) Be such a pain in the ass that you're fired. While I prefer 2 and 3 as a strategy sometimes its best just to walk away. And sometimes we aren't given the option.

Beware the vocal minority

People are eager to offer what they think you should have done. They will describe in broad strokes how your product would be better if only you had done "X". They won't ask about your goal but they will project where your concepts are leading and how you should move forward. When pressed they will be shy for details but they will sow enough doubt that you'll question your path and it'll slow you down. We wrestle with enough doubts on our own. Beware the vocal minority. Don't give them too much power over your vision.

It's easier to identify what doesn't work than to articulate what is perfectly okay so most people's default mode is critical. Some people are just invested in being the one who can spot faults. They feel like they're accomplishing something by pointing out faults - they feel smart and sometimes they feel like they're helping. 

If someone expresses doubt don't take it as the gospel. Be critical of feedback, ask for details and test your ideas against multiple people.

An introduction to Scripts

I'll broadly define Scripts as recurring conversations in everyday life. They are situational and range from the banality of "How about the weather?" to something more loaded like "Tell me why I should hire you." Almost every conversation has an associated script and expectations on both sides of the conversation. If you know the function of a script you can better anticipate the needs of the person(s) you're speaking with.

As an example, The 5 Whys, are an effective script for helping a client articulate their goals.

Personally, I love conversations that veer from known scripts into unexpected territory because participants need to switch off their autopilot and pay attention. Ironically, the people who know me can anticipate that I will go off-script so even my desire to break the script becomes a script!

90% of feedback is worthless

But that last 10% is pure gold so it’s worth plowing through the trash to find the treasure. Okay, maybe that’s harsh, but its also true. Everyone comes to a feedback session with their own ideas and agendas. And you probably do the same thing when you’re giving feedback because, by default, people see the world through their own eyes. Makes sense, right? Empathy takes work. And sometimes empathy needs a little pat on the bottom to get it moving along.

Thankfully there’s something simple you can do to increase the percentage of usable feedback. Before you start collecting feedback make sure people know your goals.

Blam. Easy as that. It’ll save you time, improve the focus of the feedback and, as an extra bonus, you’ll be less defensive because you won’t be getting reactions to things that don’t address your primary concerns.