Creative Reaction

What You Expect From Your Clients is What You Will Get, though from a programmer’s standpoint, perfectly parallels the creative business world, where many speak ill of their clients, claiming “they don’t get it” and often looking down at them. It’s simply absurd; without clients, business would cease. The problem is most rampant where both parties have several layers of bureaucracy; the creative process is stripped of almost all personal interaction and communication breaks down. 

Perhaps it’s stating the obvious that as long as clients are impersonalized as “them” and “they”, good communication and good service simply will not happen, and creative businesses depend on both.

The Design Funnel, another great manifesto on ChangeThis, is not about design as a gift or a rare ability or spontaneous insight; it is the process of design. Our clients have messages - stories to tell - and in creative businesses we must interpret (more often than not) vague requests, from which we form “concrete goals and results which are satisfying to (us), and effective for (our) clients)”. In a business setting, we cannot simply sit around and wait to be inspired; we have deadlines and air dates. And so while the work we do is creative, we must have a framework upon which to build, in order to meet business demands as well. The Design Funnel is a process which will undoubtedly prevent much of the heartache and frustration in “dealing” with clients, as it involves listening, communicating and collaborating. Download it and read it. It should change the way you interact with your clients.

This is a perfect follow up to yesterday’s post, Connectivity Sabbath. In it I focused on being able to break from being connected (cell phone, smart phone, e-mail, Chat, etc.) for periods of time, though the post I discussed also had links to articles involving breaks from all forms of technology; essentially any device with a screen.

In each case, the subject had his or her own rules. Ariel Meadow Stallings, who is unplugging one night each week for a year, allows herself the use of a digital camera, her iPod, and incoming phone calls, for example. Noelle Sadler, an American who works at an ad agency in Barcelona, says she will leave town with “the phone, laptop, etc., at home and disconnect. Even my watch sometimes”. Paul Wiggins, also profiled in the article, spends an enormous time in front of a computer as part of his job; assistant editor and web producer for Fairfax Community Newspapers in Sydney, Australia. Yet he goes “completely without computers and his smartphone from the close of business Friday until Monday morning’s commute”.

In another profile, way back in 2001, students at the Christian liberal-arts university Seattle Pacific University, declared a one-week “Technology Sabbath“, “swearing off all things technological so they can concentrate on friendships and faith. About 300 students… volunteered to use technology only for classwork and to spend their free time the old-fashioned way - talking with friends or attending worship services.”

Oddly, my favorite link in the article isn’t even explored. In I Need a Virtual Break. No, Really. author Mark Bittman realized that he was a true technology addict and forced himself to take a 24 hour break. “I eagerly shut it all down on Friday night, then went to bed to read… I woke up nervous, eager for my laptop. That forbidden, I reached for the phone. No, not that either. Send a text message? No. I quickly realized that I was feeling the same way I do when the electricity goes out and, finding one appliance nonfunctional, I go immediately to the next. I was jumpy, twitchy, uneven… I managed. I read the whole paper… I tried to let myself do nothing, which led to a long, MP3-free walk, a nap and some more reading, an actual novel. I drank herb tea… and stared out the window. I tried to allow myself to be less purposeful, not to care what was piling up in my personal cyberspace, and not to think about how busy I was going to be the next morning. I cooked, then went to bed, and read some more.” (Very worthwhile. If you follow one link, let this be the one.)

One of the major points of all this is that we are being mindful of our choices, both at work and at home. We don’t have to use computers for everything; writing and/or sketching by hand use different parts of the brain, which can be useful for any creative process. There are times when e-mail is a good choice and there are times when a phone call or speaking in person is a better choice. And certainly there are times when shutting off the constant droning of CNN or news radio brings instant calm. Be the master of technology. Success depends upon quiet times of reflection.

In this MediaShift post, Mark Glaser explains his methods and motivations for deliberately going off-line for 24 hours once each week. 

More often than not, external forces are at play when we are away from the technologies we are (overly) dependent upon; the theft of a CrackBerry, a power outage, or a natural disaster. As one of the subjects of the post puts it, “the truth is that we don’t want to be disconnected, though we desperately need the break”.

The article profiles both those who purposely disconnect, and those who feel they are unable to do so. Very thought-provoking.

Technology is neither inherently good nor bad; we simply need reminders to keep it’s usage in perspective. There are times where connectivity enhances relationships, and times where connectivity distracts us from focusing on friends and family in our midst. Connectivity allows us to work from home, though it can also bring work into any environment at any hour, leading to workweek creep. 

As business owners and managers the example we set for our co-workers and employees sends a powerful message. We need to show that we have clear boundaries between work life and personal life, while enabling and encouraging our employees to have the same. It’ll do us all some good. (See here and here.)

As information aggregator Kosmix grew to thirty employees, its team started suffering from e-mail overload and workweek creep; it was time to rethink its communications. Stop Email Overload and Break Silos Using Wikis, Blogs, and IM details their efforts.

It seems Kosmix was relying primarily on e-mail, even for things which e-mail is not well-suited for. (For a primer, look here.) This is sort of thing is often the case with startup companies, where, in my experience, off-the-shelf Macs, procedures and free services “work” without design or strategy, then suddenly buckle under the load as the company grows.

Now at Kosmix, Blogs and RSS feeds are being used for status updates (making many meetings unnecessary!), Wikis are being used for “persistent information”, and IM is being used for live communications from diverse locations.

My second favorite thing is that employees are allowed to set their IM “status” to “Do Not Disturb” when interruptions are especially unwelcome. My favorite thing is that technology being used smartly and is aligned with business needs.

(My only concern as an IT professional is that they are using Yahoo for IM, which is likely not the most secure choice, and there’s no mention of using a VPN to connect to the office.)

I like that there’s a healthy realization that “Kosmix is certainly not the first company to use internal blogs, wikis, and IM for corporate communication” and that “as Kosmix grows further, even this model will break down at some point and (they) will have to look for new communication models.”

The results “have been immediate and very visible. They include a lot less email and almost none on weekends; better communication among people; and 360 degree visibility for every member of the Kosmix team. After we instituted these changes, everyone on the team feels more productive, more knowledgeable about the company, has more spare time to spend on things outside of work.”

Now who wouldn’t want that?!

Author and keynote speaker Stephen Shapiro had his BlackBerry stolen in Malaysia at the beginning of a three week trip and has been detailing his “withdrawal”. In Stay Connected by Disconnecting he explains the difficulties involved and in CrackBerry Addiction he has had 24 hours to contemplate his dilemma, and decided that periods of “disconnection” are healthy, as they “should improve your productivity, increase your ability to stay focused, enhance your relationships, and reduce your stress”.

Really, you should think before any form of communication, as to whether it’s the best way to convey your message, though Voice Mail has its own particular challenges. Increasingly, many people are avoiding it altogether, especially in corporate settings, as Michael Arrington explains in Think Before You Voicemail. In fact, he declares it DEAD. (Definitely worth reading.)

The biggest issues are Voice Mail’s “linear” nature (unless your have an iPhone) and that it is simply not part of most people’s workflows - it’s easy for Voice Mail messages to fall though the cracks.

A while back, I found some tips on how to leave a perfect Voice Mail message:

1. State your name & company.

2. State your phone number s-l-o-w-l-y.

3. State the date & time (& time zone if different).

4. Make your point across in one sentence.

5. Indicate if the call needs to be returned. If it’s an FYI, say so.

6. Explain when you are available for a callback.

7. Phone number s-l-o-w-l-y again.

8. Consider leaving your e-mail address. If you do, spell it slowly, especially if it does not contain your name.

Considering all the necessary information needed to make Voice Mail work, you’ll have to weigh its efficiency, or lack thereof, for yourself. Most of this information is built into or is simply unnecessary if you instead choose to use e-mail.

In September ‘07 I blogged about which technology is best for various communication needs, which linked to this excellent article. Perhaps today is a good time to review it.

This BusinessWeek post, Three Steps to Calming Angry Customers, can be applied to any number of business and day-to-day situations, assuming, of course, you are actually trying to help the angry individual.

Tom Murphy, director of the Human Resiliency Institute (nice) at Fordham University, has created a three-step process for dealing with angry travelers as he trained JFK International Airport’s 500 employees. Simply stated, the steps involve being calm, giving detailed, truly useful answers, and brainstorming together with the hopefully now calmer individual to solve his problem. A quick, worthwhile read. Just make sure you leave hostage negotiations to the pros.

An unusually long and slightly more serious than usual Seth Godin post, mostly on what does not constitute a good use of e-mail communication. Worth reading, even if it does sting a bit when you notice a bad habit or two. E-mail checklist.

Possibly before some of us were using e-mail, Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. was writing about the importance of face-to-face communication and the drawbacks of e-mail and even telephone calls. He speaks of the “human moment”, ”an authentic psychological encounter that can happen only when two people share the same physical space.” The Human Moment has, according to Hallowell, two prerequisites, “people’s physical presence and their emotional and intellectual attention.”

His theory, explained in a 1999 Harvard Business Review article, The Human Moment at Work, (the first page of which is available for free here) was later expanded into a book, though one aimed at a much broader audience.

Boston.com features a great article with Hallowell’s ideas in a business setting in its jobs section, specifically as it applies for young workers entering the job market, and with some excellent insights. Worth reading.

It would be hard to argue against the theory that Human Moments, featuring face-to-face interaction, are essential to human well-being.

Being intrigued by the above articles, I just checked out Hallowell’s Human Moments: How to Find Meaning and Love in Your Everyday Life from the Library. Look for additional mentions of this book in future posts.

An article in RainToday, primarily written for consultants, has an interesting article entitled, The Death of the Business Phone Call, which explains the many the pitfalls of e-mail.

In a few sentences, “If your goal is to communicate clearly and efficiently with prospects and clients, relying too heavily on email can easily lead your digital conversation into the weeds. Even if someone emails you first, often the best way to respond is by picking up the phone.”

So, before you click on “Reply”, think, “what is the best way to respond to this?”. 

“Rarely does any dialogue end with the prospect’s question and my answer. The response to any query is usually followed by a clarifying question or two of my own, which can make email cumbersome. The most effective way to accomplish ongoing dialogue is via live conversation – the kind where lips move.”

Wow. An excellent post by Seth Godin. He posits, almost rants, that in light of more expensive and difficult commutes and travel, expectations are higher, and you had better make an impact when communicating in person! Worth reading.

Hilarious post on Seth Godin’s blog.

I’ve considered this blog incomplete without addressing Time Management. A time management primer is here on Businessweek online. It touches on the myth of multi-tasking, managing e-mail, good communication and the value of being organized, and while none of the material is ground-breaking, it’s a good place to start (or review).

Priority Magazine (a Pitney Bowes publication) published an excellent article on various forms of office communication, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and how to make the most of each - though they never posted it online. And as we know, if something is not online, it may as well not exist. I finally tracked it down online here at this other site. It covers e-mail, meetings, phone calls, and Instant Messaging. It is, quite simply, the BEST article I’ve seen on the topic and I strongly recommend printing it, reading it, and implementing its advice.