To me it’s amazing what she creates with sand. Sand. Small grains of sand are turned into beautiful artwork right before our eyes.

I don’t know how she got started. Maybe she was on some beach one day and started messing around. Maybe she took a sand art class. Regardless, there’s no doubt that she creates something masterful with something nearly insignificant.

This week at my new job, I was waiting on my dry erase board to be installed. I tend to have spur-of-the-moment bursts of inspiration. As such, I like to have a place to write them down and let the creativity flow. Before it arrived, I felt like I couldn’t do much of anything. “But what if I have a great idea?” I thought. “Where will I write it?”

And then I watched this video. I learned that in the hands of a true artist, the tools are secondary. It merely takes vision and will in order to manipulate the tools in order to create art, beauty, and impact.

Maybe it’s time we stop waiting for the “right” tools. Perhaps we don’t need the latest of any gadget in order to do meaningful work. Maybe what need is a passion, a will, and a commitment to creating something of beauty.

Passion and talent is what turns sand into art.

photo credit: Dennis Wright

Peter Bregman has a really insightful piece called To Get More Done, Slow Down in HarvardBusiness.org:

This life is a marathon, not a sprint. Most of us don’t go to work for 20 minutes a day, run as fast as we can, and then rest until the next race. We go to work early in the morning, run as fast as we can for 8, 10, 12 hours a day, then come home and run hard again with personal obligations and sometimes more work, before getting some sleep and doing it all over again.

[...] Not an athlete in the world could sustain that schedule without rest. Most athletes have off-seasons.

So if we’re running a daily marathon, it might help to learn something from people who train for marathons.

[...] Here’s what I learned: if you want to run a marathon successfully without getting injured, spend four days a week doing short runs, one day a week running long and hard, and two days a week not running at all.[...]

And when we do take the time to rest, we discover all sorts of things that help us perform better when we’re working. Inevitably my best ideas come to me when I get away from my computer and go for a walk or run or simply engage in a casual conversation with a friend.

I quoted a lot because I love the way the common sense of it builds, one piece upon the last. It’s not a unique observation, nor particularly novel, and it ain’t rocket science. But it does bear repeating and reinforcing.

What I think is interesting about this idea of slowing down is that it’s not so much that you get more done, as the title of his piece suggests, it’s that you accomplish more. Subtle difference, that, but I think a powerful one: when you take your time getting your work done, you tend to do the most meaningful stuff naturally because you don’t have time for all the trivia.

At least that’s what I find. It’s easy to get caught up in a crazy-hectic, run-around frenzy trying to keep up with my email inbox, my phone calls and voicemails, my to do list, my face-to-face meetings, my IM client, and more often these days, the work-related stuff that comes in via my Twitter direct messages and Facebook messages. When I quiet those inputs and choose my focus, I tend to gravitate towards the weightiest task; the one that’s going to have the biggest reward. Whether that’s a proposal that’s due or a presentation I need to give, my instincts know what to do when the volume of the chaos is turned down and the pace slows down with it.

photo credit: alancleaver_2000

Deadlines are often an effective, if stressful motivator, and countdowns, as a reminder of that deadline, work in all kinds of settings. Once, while working for an e-commerce retailer, I tested a variation of the site’s home page during December with and without a “days ’til Christmas” countdown. You can probably guess the outcome: the variation with the countdown left the other variation in the dust.

But sometimes it isn’t even the specifics of a deadline that motivate me; the generalities of the limitations of time work well, too. I don’t know about you, but when I think about having only 8 hours in a typical workday (well, perhaps more like 10 or 11 or sometimes 12 or 13 — I am starting a business, after all), and how many false starts it sometimes takes to get things done, it really pushes me to focus on the important stuff. And at a more macro level, it’s helpful sometimes to remember there are only 52 weeks in a year, so that each week had better be moving me measurably closer to the goals I have for the year.

What are your time-based tricks to force focus and get yourself moving?

Happy Monday!

photo credit: James Jordan

We talk a lot here about work-life balance, but what about other kinds of balance? There are a lot of ways within the workplace that you can skew too far one way and lose sight of something else.

For example, it’s easy to get stuck on one side of either process or improvisation, when both have their merits. Process improvement is important to the maturity of any organization, but being quick to see and try novel solutions to problems is key to learning.

Or how about between creativity and discipline? When I worked as a technical copywriter, there were often stretches of time when I felt I needed to distract myself so I could let my mind wander and approach my work fresh when I returned to it. I used to have a sign above my desk that said “A writer is writing even when staring into space.” But it would have been all too easy to let that approach become a trap by convincing myself the distraction was needed when perhaps the discipline of the “sit butt in chair and write” approach would have at times be more helpful. I’m sure there were times I let myself off the discipline hook a little too easily, and other times when I could have used more of a break for the sake of better creativity.

What balance do you struggle to keep, and what steps do you take to ensure you keep that balance? Tell us in the comments. And have a wonderful, balanced week!

photo credit: DeaPeaJay

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like there’s just too much to do. Oh, that’s not just me?

I also feel like the tools and systems I use to manage it all sometimes fail me, or I fail them, or whatever, and it all feels too complicated. That sound familiar too?

Why not start this week by finding the simplest approach you can take to managing your time and priorities, and seeing how far that gets you? Whether that means writing on a sticky note or two in your workspace to remind you of something you really should be working on and getting done, or busting out a good old fashioned notepad and pen to make some lists, or shutting off Twitter and closing your email application so you can concentrate on something for a block of time, or even perhaps all of the above, try something incredibly simple and see how it works for you.

And then let us know in the comments how your new, simple approach worked for you. Happy Monday!

photo credit: torres21

For some of us, creativity just spews from our core, touching everything we do, whether we design a newsletter, write a song or paint a bedroom. For others of us, it may come a bit more slowly as we wait for inspiration to strike or a skill to develop.

Whether you work alone, at a small shop or for a big corporation, you’ll often have the chance to collaborate with other people. And, whether that collaboration takes the form of a strategic partnership, a volunteer committee or a special project team, there is an art to making sure that the group inspires action and change, rather than prohibits it.

Sure, group think and stagnation can set in. Or, the collective wisdom and inspiration of a particular assortment of people can raise the level of everyone’s participation and performance.

For example, I recently participated in Nashville’s 48 Hour Film Project. A group of friends and I had just two full days to write, create, shoot, edit and produce a 7-minute film that used a required character name, prop and line of dialog.

Like many things, inertia was key. Things started slowly, but in no time (once the pizza and beer arrived on Friday night), ideas were shared, improved upon and agreed on. Each team member made the others better and come Sunday afternoon, we had a product that we were proud of – and one that was a lot of fun to make.

There’s a difference between making a movie on the weekend and working on something for the boss. But, we’re wondering this weekend: Do you think teams inspire or kill creativity?

Tell us in the comments, or even weigh in on the following questions:

• How do you keep your team creative?
• Are teams better when participation is voluntary, as opposed to required?
• How do you decide when teams are worth using in the creative process?
• When is it time for a team to call it quits?

photo credit: nDevilTV

For many of us in the U.S., this will be a short week: since the 4th of July falls on a Saturday, many offices will get Friday the 3rd off in observance. Undoubtedly, this will be a tremendous relief to most people.

But in some cases (hey, I’m not admitting anything here), the relief will only come on the heels of anxiety about accomplishing all that we have on our schedules for the week ahead.

Last week, I talked about using a planning session on Monday morning to prioritize the week ahead. That kind of planning becomes even more important when your usual time available for tasks is reduced by 20%.

My challenge to you (and, OK, to me as well) is: be extra ruthless this week in determining your priorities. Stay focused on the 2 or 3 things you’ll be able to get done each day.

Having done this, you should find the long weekend a lot easier to enjoy. At least, that’s what I’m hoping for myself.

What are your tricks for getting yourself to focus when you have more tasks than time?

photo credit: Simone♠13

I don’t know about you, but I have weeks when I’m incredibly disciplined about planning my work and accomplishing big things, and weeks when I slack off and allow myself to react to whatever comes up. The problem with the latter approach is that I invariably spend my time doing less important stuff, like constantly struggling to get my inbox to zero, or trying to keep up with my workload and meetings and all the other demands on my time.

I’ve now started scheduling time first thing on Monday mornings to make good decisions about where my time is allocated. (Hint: I know that fellow Corporate Idealist Sam Davidson takes this approach, too.)

The reason this is more than a productivity tip is that striving for excellence at work sometimes does take a little longer. Not much, a lot of the time — sometimes the difference in time and effort between doing sometime the mediocre way and doing it the way that delights people is negligible. But if excellence is your aim, it’s best to allow the time to let yourself feel you can make good decisions, and not feel pressured into “just getting it done.”

So, if you haven’t already, why not take a little time this morning and carve out some time in your week for going above and beyond? Maybe carve out an extra personal review period on Wednesday so you can re-organize yourself and re-prioritize mid-week. And maybe schedule a little extra time for next Monday morning so you can do it all again, only better.

What are you going to do this week that will make your company better off?

What are you going to do this week that will make your customers better off?

What are you going to do this week that will make you better off?

Happy Monday!

photo credit: AMagill

Many years ago I worked for an institution with some very bad habits about a tiny group of people making all the decisions. It felt bad when the decisions were handed down, and even worse when I was asked to participate in the method. Needless to say I’m not there anymore….and not surprisingly, neither is the management team that drove the whole operation into the ground.

Perhaps it was leftover from childhood, when Spy vs. Spy ruled our play time. We found out we could write in lemon juice as invisible ink, and require our friends to use passwords to get into the clubhouse. It was absolutely glorious fun, but kids’ stuff in a grown-up world doesn’t usually translate well.

Knowledge and Status

There are times to keep situations low-key and to keep preliminary planning groups small. Throwing open all processes to a large group from the beginning usually results in chaos and frustration. Problems arise when management fails to plan for appropriate transparency in the overall strategic effort. Your team should be defined as those upon whom you depend to help carry out change, as well as those significantly affected by the results of your decisions. This may mean administrative and executive staff, as well as clients. Rumors and misunderstandings quickly will destabilize your operational foundation once the word is out planning is happening behind closed doors.

The best thing to do is to let people know in regular staff or even client updates that management will be looking at some current issues, and then provide a general timeline for when others will be brought into the dialogue. It is important that people know up-front that their input and perspectives are valued, and will be taken into consideration if any new approach develops. Beware the intoxicating “knowledge is status” dynamic. When people are in-the- know for too long, and fully aware that others are not, they tend to want to protect that status by losing interest in transparency. Your governance team must understand from the outset that your process is an open one long-term.

Truth or Consequences

There is a familiar saying, “Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.” Simply put, this approach doesn’t work. Transparent management is not about asking permission so much as being candid, respectful, and trustworthy; and about extending the same expectations to your team. If we are honest with ourselves as we evaluate our own experience, we must admit that it is rare for colleagues to forgive fully being kept in the dark about the direction of the team they assume they are on. Without full investment in the direction, even the best ideas will falter in implementation. And without that investment, there will not be much incentive or accountability for driving to the goal. In the worst case scenario, your team may have a stake in sabotaging the plan to prove management doesn’t know what it is doing.

Your Cred is Everything

Management’s personal credibility is everything to the success of your organization. Decoder rings and secret knocks are child’s play, not grown-up management techniques. Staying above board early with your team, and as often as possible, puts you at a strong competitive advantage over today’s average approach to planning and engagement with organizational teams.

The added bonus for you? It feels really good, too.

photo credit: Éamonn

A friend once told me, “When clients come to me with something they want to do, I pass it through three tests. If it is not clearly illegal, flagrantly immoral, or physically dangerous, I tell them to go right ahead and do it.” For years I thought this philosophy was unique to the practice of law, but I’ve recently wondered if it should be applied in most professional work.

Often when a client comes to you, he or she is less seeking your advice than seeking your skills in implementing what they already have decided to do. This may create an ethical pull in one or two directions. The most difficult is when the client’s goal or process itself conflicts with your personal ethics.

Recording Your Concerns

We all know people who have succumbed to the pressure to go along with something they believed to be wrong, and the results are disastrous. There is no good end to that story. If you have a supervisor, talk with them in private about your concerns. Most people are supportive of working through the problem, and at the very least if you are now on record with your issue. If you are beyond ethics and into illegal territory, you must refuse participation. If you are the supervisor, you will have to have this conversation directly with the client.

Wants vs. Needs

There is a second type of more nuanced ethical dilemma: You may not think the goal or process is wrong, but you may believe it is not in the client’s best interest. We do what we do to help advance positive results for our clients, and in turn hope to garner a reputation for excellent outcomes. If we do what the client wants, and the outcomes are poor, have we truly succeeded? But if we push our own agendas and become disconnected from the heart and mind of our clients, do the outcomes matter?

Staying Connected for Everyone’s Success

We can do more to balance this equation by strategically building better, deeper relationships with our clients, and by spending more time working through the pros and cons of various decisions. There are no easy short cuts.

I would tweak the story above to say the three tests are for us as providers. Know your own business culture and standards and faithfully enforce them. If we cannot establish shared goals and understanding behind project direction, the client relationship will not be successful. That relationship is the ultimate positive outcome we all want.

How have you handled tricky ethical scenarios at work? Tell us in the comments.