The Secret to Winning Your Inner (and Outer) Creative Battles
By Tiffany Monhollon | January 13, 2010
It’s not exactly rocket science. In fact, you’ve heard it time and time again. So have I. So, there’s no buried lead here. The secret, plain and simple, to winning your creative battles is pushing past “it.”
Maybe “it’s” familiar excuses. Like lack of tme, money, access, direction, inspiration.
Maybe “it’s” the unexpected loss of a loved one.
Maybe “it’s” added stress.
Maybe “it’s” loss of focus.
Maybe “it’s” fear. An illness. Office politics. The economy. Uncertainty. Perfectionism.
Whether internal battles or external battles, the solution is the same.
First, simply, you must move. Go. Act. Push. Innovate. Create.
So, if it’s that simple, why haven’t you done it already?
Unpacking Your Creative Baggage
I’m not sure how the term “baggage” became a negative metaphor for the things that weigh us down or keep us from moving in life, because really, what we’re talking about here is, plain and simple, life itself. The things that happen to us, the circumstances of our reality, our memories, our experiences, our family, our mistakes, our commitments.
But I do know that for the past few months, I’ve been taking things, circumstances of my life, packing them up, and letting them weigh me down creatively. And there it is: Baggage. “It.” Real, difficult, painful, frustrating, heavy life.
But today, I’m done with that. I’m unpacking that baggage right now, taking each piece out one by one to see it for what it truly is.
Instead of letting it weigh me down, I’m releasing it so that it can build me up creatively.
That’s the funny thing about creative baggage. The same source of obstacle can be a source of celebration, reflection, insight, creativity itself.
The Paradox of Time
It’s a simple secret. An easy answer.
But never confuse simple with easy. Or quick. Or effortless. After all, we call it a secret because it’s something we discover. Sometimes, winning creative battles takes time. Time and a lot of seeking. Time to reflect, heal, accept, investigate, relax, meditate, escape. Time to gain clarity and understanding.
The funny thing is, the sooner you give yourself permission to take your time, to put on the breaks, to examine your inner life, the sooner you reach the answer, and the clearer it becomes.
“Resistance has no strength of its own. Every ounce of juice it possesses comes from us. We feed it with power by our fear of it. Master that fear and we conqueror Resistance.”
– The War of Art, Steven Pressfield
Topics: Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Does it Really Work? What Happens When You Risk It
By Tiffany Monhollon | November 13, 2009
There’s something to be said for planning. Being a strategic thinker is one of my top strengths according to the results of my Strength’s Finder test. On top of that, there’s ideation, which shows up in the fact that ideas fascinate me and I weave threads of connection between ideas, events, even people that may seem unconnected to most people. Then there’s input, my craving to know more and to obsessively collect and archive information, ideas, things, even relationships. All this falls heavy on the side of the creative process that tends towards analysis, perfectionism, and the propensity to write long yet grammatically correct sentences laden with syllables.
But all thought and no action is a recipe for nothing but regret, according to Michael Schwalbe, contributor to OPEN forum who cites research from happiness expert Daniel Gilbert.
Thank goodness the other two my my five response-generated strengths (that, interestingly enough, I’ve gotten both times I’ve taken the test) push me into the action part of creativity. Communication is the strength that led me to my profession. The strength of achievement is what gives me so much personal satisfaction from being productive and working hard - and is probably also what compelled me to break down into tears over the one B I got in college.
The Sweet Spot
So, for me, finding the sweet spot, the balance between thought and action is a continual adventure in learning. I collect motivational sayings on the topic to remind myself that I’m not the only person who’s trying to find that place.
“Don’t worry, be crappy.” - Classic Guy Kawasaki quote I first experienced staff meeting style, via VHS!
“Getting your ducks in a row is not nearly as powerful as actually doing something with your duck.” - Seth Godin
My new favorite is this simple yet elegant venn diagram from David Armano that I’ve been referring to mentally about three times a week ever since we met at Blog World.
Agile Planning by David Armano
Adding in Risk
Wait. With this talk about planning versus action, where does the risk part come in? Somewhere pretty close to the middle, according to some theories.
In fact, Schwalbe writes about risk in the article cited above, where he explains what he calls his 40-30-30 rule: that success in anything is like success in sports, where 40% comes from physical training, 30% from knowledge and skills, and 30% just from being willing to take risks. He cites Gilbert’s happiness research and notes that:
While we tend to focus solely on building our skill sets or expanding our knowledge, the greatest advancement and learning most often comes from action, experience, and taking risk. And our regrets in life reflect this. According to Gilbert, studies show that “in the long run, people of every age and in every walk of life seem to regret not having done things much more than they regret things they did.”
Because the truth is, no plan will ever be perfect. Or maybe it’s more like, if you wait for the exact, perfect iteration of the plan, you’ll never get anything accomplished. Because you have to try, and sometimes fail, and at the very least learn, to be able to move from where you are or to get beyond the idea you have at this moment.
Because ideas will keep coming. Innovation, research, thoughts, connections, relationships, life. It will all keep moving, changing, shaping the plan you’ve already made until at some point, you’ve got to abandon the idea or take the risk.
The risk of action in an imperfect world.
Without knowing what’s going to happen. Embracing the possibility of the worst. And the anticipation of the best.
So, is risk worth it all? For an extreme and highly interesting example, take a minute to listen to this story about Earl Cooley, a ground-breaking, elite forest fighter. He took a risk to jump out of a plane in 1940 to parachute into a burning wildfire to fight it. He went on to establish smoke jumping as one of the most effective forest-fighting tactics in history and just passed away this week a hero in his industry and at the ripe old age of 98.
Time, Discipline & Inspiration
My husband has this theory, (and no, he’s not alone in this thought), that over time, the more you take these risks, which are, almost always, just mental risks inside your own mind, and simply dedicate yourself to action, the better you will become - at whatever it is. As an artist, he extends this idea to the thought that disciplined action sustained over time can create results on par with the results you get from pure, unfiltered inspiration in an environment that lacks true discipline.
I think about that a lot. I see it happen in his art over time. The really inspired stuff is always brilliant. Everything else? His art is always good, but with discipline, it’s just as brilliant the more he simply commits to the process. Takes the risk of doing what he can (inspired or not) and moving on to the next page so he can keep developing the skill.
Taking action and putting yourself out there - especially when you’re not inspired - can be the ultimate test. The ultimate risk. In terms of risk and reward, this makes sense.
The more you work, the more risks you take, the more inspired you become.
Topics: Career, Leadership, Life, Motivation, Personal Development, Strategy, Success, Uncategorized, Work | 3 Comments »
The Power of Presence: My Top 33 to Follow from Blog World 2009
By Tiffany Monhollon | October 20, 2009
There’s nothing like meeting in the first person for building relationships and sharing ideas. So I’m kicking off my Blog World coverage first things first - with the people who truly made my first trip to this conference truly meaningful. From pulling up a corner of carpet together in some packed out panels, to big and small moments of meaningful conversation, to spontaneous evenings of great company, these people represent moments of meaning in a fun yet busy few days. They’re people I genuinely connected with.
Some you’ve heard of. Others you haven’t. But all of them are truly genuine, thoughtful, great people I’d recommend getting to know online and tracking down at an industry event. So, here they are: My top 33 39 people to follow from Blog World 2009.
- Irene Kehlor (@IreneKoehler) - AlmostSavvy.com, super sweet lady
- Jennifer Kushnell (@ysnjen) - President of ysn.com, sweet social butterfly
- Bryan Person (@bryanperson) - Live World social media evangelist, awesome pal
- Jodi Gersh (@jodiontheweb) - Social media and content management
- Chris Hall (@hallicious) - Consumer innovation, blogger at hallicious.com
- Katja Presnal (@katjapresnal) - Consultant, skimbaco lifestyle, nice, savvy woman
- Sonia Simone (@soniasimone) - Remarkable communication, copyblogger
- David Spinks (@davidspinks) - Community manager at Scribnia & blogger
- Grace Boyle (@graceboyle) - Business development at Lijit, Small Hands, Big Ideas
- Davina Anthony (@dmacreative) - Designer, developer DMA Creative
- Mitch Canter (@studionashvegas) - wordpress designer, social media dude
- Doug Haslam (@dougH) - SHIFT communications, doughaslam.com, overall nice guy
- Amanda (@highimpactmom) - highimpactmom.com
- Maggie Fox (@maggiefox) - social media group, smart panelist
- Justin Levy (@justinlevy) - steak. and also social media
- JD Lasica (@jdlasica) - socialmedia.biz
- Natalie Wardel (@mrsnatalie) - social media, PR and overall sweet gal
- Robin Maiden (@robinmaiden) new media & podcast consultant
- Bill Rice (@billrice) - marketing, kaleidico.com
- Darren Rowse (@Problogger) - problogger.com, digital-photography-school.com
- Shannon Yelland (@shannonyelland) - job seeker
- Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan) - newmarketinglabs.com & author, Trust Agents
- Stephanie Schwab (@stephanies) - Digital Services, Kaplow
- Connie Bensen (@cbensen) - Community strategist, social media, thoughtful panelist
- Ellen Rowan (@zaellen) - blogger and awesome mom
- Joseph Morin (@josephmorin) - social media guy and tweetup extraordinaire
- Jyl Johnson Pattee (@jylmomIF) - community builder, mom it forward, uber-friendly lady
- Jennifer L. Iannolo (@foodphilosophy) & Mark Tafoya (@chefmark), culinary media network
- Saad Mukhtar (@saadmukhtar) - business development, Scribnia, Navator.com
- Rohit Bhargava (@rohitbhargava) Ogilvy, influential marketing
- Zane Aveton (@zaneology) - blogger and uber bringer-together
- Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) - NYU journalism professor and big idea instigator
- Daniel B. Honigman (@dan360man) - media thinker and Weber Shandwick guy
- Becky McCray - http://twitter.com/BeckyMcCray
- Beth Rosen - http://twitter.com/bethrosen
- Melissa - http://twitter.com/ConsumerQueen
- Howard Greenstein - http://twitter.com/Howardgr
- David Armano - http://twitter.com/armano
- Jason Falls - http://twitter.com/Jasonfalls
Who do you want to see at Blog World next year or at the next conference and meet IRL yourself? Who would you add to this year’s list? If you were at blog world or on this list, you can follow me on Twitter so we can continue the conversation.
Update: You can follow this whole list now using TweepML: Top Blog World Pros
Topics: Blogging, Personal PR, Social Media, Twitter | 29 Comments »
Do This: Influence Up.
By Tiffany Monhollon | September 14, 2009
This week, I’m kicking off a new series here at Personal PR called Do This. These short posts will be designed to inspire you to take action in ways that will build your network, improve your professional relationships, grow your knowledge, help you share your ideas, and other core principles of Personal PR.
This week’s action: Influence Up.
1. Pick an Influencer.
Choose someone who has influenced you in an important way in your career. Think about people who have shaped the way you approach your job, the way you think about your field, or risks you’ve taken to get where you are. Maybe a current or former boss, a mentor, a thought leader, a teacher or professor, or a peer. Maybe someone you’ve never met who’s left an important impression.
2. Tailor Your Gratitude.
Then, take time this week to thank them in a way that will be meaningful to them. The key to this challenge is to go out of your way to encourage and thank this person in a way that acknowledges and honors their style of influence and personality. A thought leader might appreciate a kind blog post written about their influence in your career. A mentor or professor might love a handwritten note or letter about where you are in your career and reflections on how their influence has helped you achieve where you are today. A peer might be honored if you nominate them for an award or honor.
3. Honor with Action.
Then, take this activity one step further by intentionally acting on the influence of your chosen influencer this week. Think about the moments and lessons this person has created in your life. Dust them off, examine them, and consider how you can re-apply these lessons today.
There’s no greater honor to anyone than that their influence continues to take root and flourish within someone else.
Influence up.
Topics: Business, Career, Do This, Learning, Life, Personal PR, Relationships | 3 Comments »
12 Daily Must-Dos for PR & New Media Pros (Plus a Challenge)
By Tiffany Monhollon | September 10, 2009
In my new role, social media is officially a part of my title. And so is managing. These two things along would be plenty to fill the week, but right now, the demands of time mean there’s also a lot more on my plate. Since corporate communications is the other part of my job, I spend a great deal of time on internal and external communications, media relations, and content and project management. Oh, and don’t forget the meetings!
So, I’m putting a plan together that will help me manage my daily tasks better and make more productive use of pockets of unplanned time. I’ll be using three tactics:
- Daily Dozen (idea adapted from John Maxwell: mine focuses on workday).
- Custom Action Item List
- Monthly Goal Meetup
My Daily Dozen
Social Media
Since social media content, monitoring, and management often gets pushed aside in favor of larger deadlines, immediate requests, and long-term projects, it’s something I am putting squarely on my plate each day. Now, when I have small portions of time, I can go to these items and get them checked off the list more often.
1. Monitor news, Google Alerts, digital media clips & HARO
2. Check and update company Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn
3. Interact or connect with 5 people in social media
4. Approve / respond to comments on company blog
Editorial
My team is responsible for nine monthly-to-weekly publications, so editing is a major part of my job. We also help with the editing process for our marketing and advertising team to make sure everyone’s on the same page editorially. So, every day, I edit anywhere from 3-15 articles, publications, ads, or collateral pieces. I must admit, keeping up with this pile is one of my biggest challenges these days. Sometimes, just keeping up with the content is so overwhelming, I miss out on opportunities to encourage the learning mentality, the writing and research process for my team because it’s not built into my daily routine. So I’m putting these editorial duties squarely on my list:
5. Edit content
6. Read an article, participate in a live chat online, or attend a webinar
7. Share articles, tips or ideas with team or leadership
Big Picture
Managing all these daily tasks and keeping up with action item lists ongoing is enough to keep my busy. But it’s also critical to take some time in each day to focus on the big picture. This includes follow-up with customers, keeping my team in the loop, keeping myself on task with projects, deadlines, and meetings, and taking time to see how it all fits together. So, here are the big-picture things I want to take time for each day:
8. Follow-up on e-mails, phone calls, requests from customers and media contacts
9. Check in with / encourage my team
10. Manage my action item list
11. Intentional, unscheduled time to reflect, brainstorm, or make decisions
Projects, Meetings & Follow-Up
Managing projects, meetings, deadlines, and follow-up is another big part of every day. To keep track of all the action going on in my day, from meetings to deadlines to project action items, I use a daily action item list, a GTD hack I’ve built for myself to make the system work for me. This is the most difficult part of the day to manage, since the work I need to take action on varies from weekly or monthly deadlines to new projects and proposals. But it’s also critical, because it can be so easy to get bogged down in the rest of the day and miss out on the opportunity to move. So, to make it simple, this last part of my daily dozen is broad yet energizing to me:
12. Take action
You can download a template of my daily/weekly action-item list at the end of this post if you’d like to check it out. Items on this list include I need to accomplish that day or week, like:
- Checking tracking reports
- Team meetings
- Action items on major projects
- Deadlines
- Ideas, proposals, research
Tracking Success
Since I created this daily dozen for myself last week, I have been pleasantly surprised. I’ve managed to accomplish each of these 12 things (yes, including the action!) every day. And interestingly enough, it hasn’t made me compromise on deadlines or projects. Instead, I feel like I’m making better use of the spare minutes that tend to accumulate, or focusing more on each item as I tackle it instead of letting my attention wander or succumbing to the pressure to multitask. And that gives me incredible daily momentum.
But, I know myself, and over time I’m curious how this system will evolve. So, I’m going to audit my time every once in a while to hold myself accountable and keep track. Several years ago, I created a form I use for this. I break the day down into manageable chunks (30 minutes or so) and chart my progress as I go along. You can download and customize a copy of the chart if you’d like to try this for yourself.
What will success look like? I am hoping this daily dozen will help me better manage my work so I can accomplish some of the goals I’ve set up for myself this September, a part of the new monthly goal meetup my friend Rebecca is putting together for emerging leaders to use as an extra-employment accountability, encouragement, and ideation group.
September Career/Life Goals
1. Read a book devoted to spiritual growth.
2. Make more time for friends and family, celebrating my sister’s upcoming marriage.
3. Create launch plan for new comm program (launching in October)
4. Create a monthly writing and blog outreach plan.
5. Determine plan for completing master’s degree.
The lines between work and life are continually blurred for me. But I see these goals not as distinct phenomena. They’re all related, because they’re all very important – to me. When I’m more in tune with my spiritual needs, I’m better in relationships, at home and at work. When I’m more productive – and aware it – at work, I feel more energized and confident to accomplish my personal goals. When I’m sharing ideas and connecting with people, I am learning and growing more equipped at work.
So, this is where I’m starting, in this now. Will it change, will it evolve? Time will tell. But simply the process of creating and using this daily dozen has already proven to me the power of intentionality. I’m confident these short-term goals will do the same.
The Challenge: Your Daily Dozen
Do these daily tasks hit home with you? Motivated to create your own daily dozen? Simply post them in the comments section or, better yet, post your own daily dozen to your blog and share your post with me by linking to this post or sharing the link in the comments section. Next month, I’ll feature a roundup of all the daily dozen posts that participate! If you want to talk about this idea on Twitter, use #dailydozen and spread the word!
GTD Tip: I formatted and printed my daily dozen and put it in a clear plastic presentation cover so I can mark off each task with a dry-erase marker as I get them done.
Free Stuff
Topics: Blogging, Do This, Goals, Leadership, Productivity, Social Media, Time Management, Tips, Work | 10 Comments »
5 Lessons for Moving into Management
By Tiffany Monhollon | August 25, 2009
Last week, I took a day off to celebrate. And by celebrate, I mean spend all day reading and avoiding housework. Not checking my work e-mail (which means only checking it twice), and trying to give myself permission to not check in on my team.
It was my first day off since moving into management.
Don’t worry, you haven’t missed the announcement. This is it. That’s because the first few weeks were hectic to say the least. The day before the big announcement of my promotion went out to my team, a team member gave their notice of a career change, so my first official day as a manager, I was in what-the-heck-do-we-do-now meetings all day long, figuring out how we’d cover the workload for the already short-staffed team – by Friday.
I probably wouldn’t say it was an ideal moment, but then again, in hindsight, maybe it was. There’s nothing quite like that kind of moment to bring you firmly into not just awareness of, but operation in reality.
If anything was ever an opportunity to learn by doing, I’m pretty sure this qualifies. So, now that I have a few minutes to rub together, I’ll share some of those insights with you. If you’re moving into management during a time of change in your organization, here are the lessons I’m learning:
1. Build relationships with peer leaders before you need them.
Dealing with change is difficult enough without the added stress of trying to handle it all alone. Lucky for me, I’m a part of several communities for emerging leaders, and the first one I tapped into when this challenge arose was my team of peer leaders at work. Because we’d spent time building good, working relationships in the midst of the change this year has brought to our company, instead of bogging down into sticky traps like territory, I was able to discover that a member of someone else’s team would be a great fit for mine, and we were able to find a solution that was really a win for everyone involved. My new team member is now able to flex even more of their skills and abilities, and we were able to make what could have been a progress-halting transition without missing a beat (or a deadline).
2. Make time for planning, brainstorming, and innovation.
Getting ahead of the curve on change relies on you thinking ahead of change before it happens. So, think about scenarios. The what-if scenarios and the please-no ones too. When you’re equipped with solutions and ideas, you’ll be ready to put them in place or advocate for them when the time comes. And it will come. If you’re not equipped with ideas, moving into management may also include a mourning period and feelings of incompetence.
With tight-to-impossible deadlines, we are bringing to bat several ideas we’ve been talking about for leaning up processes during the changeover period. And I feel energized, excited, and inspired to lead my team into a new way of work. Together.
3. Keep unscheduled time (for your team and yourself).
I know it’s true for me, and I have a sneaking suspicion it’s the case for many leaders, but I have a stack of deadlines, projects, and initiatives – work – that truly never gets smaller. Keeping up with my e-mail could be a part-time job. So, managing my calendar and keeping unscheduled time is a difficult to impossible task most weeks. But it’s critical. For two reasons. One is, you need time to think, process, filter, and decide. Personal time. Door closed, I’m-thinking-and-the-radio’s-on time. Focused, quiet time. But you also need another kind of time. The friendly, door open, yes-I-have-time-to-help-you kind of time. Other people time. What your team, peer leaders, and boss need from you. Because in addition to all the other work you do, people also need your time.
4. Contribute to a community outside the office.
So, my official title now, if you’re wondering, is Communications and Social Media Manager. It’s a new role combined with an existing one, and the journey that’s lead me to this exciting new time where I am leading and building a program for a billion-dollar, international company has been interesting and at times terrifying, and it ain’t over yet.
One thing that built my confidence and competence enormously over the past few years is contributing to a community outside of the office. In professional spaces that help me grow, flex, and explore the possibilities of working in PR, communication, marketing, new media.
One place that’s been vital is being a part of the Brazen Careerist community since it was no more than a crazy business dream of some of my first blogging pals. It’s a place where I can contribute, learn, lead, and grow. Today, that community is announcing exciting news and cool launch. They’ll be focusing even more on user tools and ways you can share ideas and get to know other young professionals across the globe.
I love this part of social media, the part where I’m more than a talking head. Where ideas and relationships shine. Where possibilities widen and potential is written, shimmering, across every page. It helps me grow and challenge myself as a thinker, as a professional, as a leader. It can help you too.
5. Give yourself a break.
This is the part I still struggle with feeling guilty just typing. I’m afraid I’m struggling against the pressure to be a workaholic. Well, I guess that depends on how you define work. Because sometimes, it seems like whether at the office or at home, a good (how much of my day am I not sleeping?) well, 90% of my waking hours, anyway, could be classified as some sort of work.
So taking Friday off last week, unplugging, and leaning on the strength of my team was a huge test for a new manager. It was important, not just because I needed a break, but I needed the confidence boost that my team was at a place where they could handle things without me. Where work would get done, deadlines completed. And guess what? It did.
So, Monday rolled around and with it I had a new wave of confidence, a new sense of possibility. Because if I’ve learned anything so far in the past few months, it’s that you don’t have to have a title to be a leader.
But when you actually get one, it’s nice to watch yourself settle into those new shoes and keep moving.
Topics: Business, Career, Community, Leadership, Networking, Personal Branding, Personal PR, Relationships, Social Media, Tips, Work Life Balance | 9 Comments »
Business or Personal? Your New Media Rules
By Tiffany Monhollon | August 9, 2009
When it comes to personal branding and new media, there are countless examples of professionals, businesses, and individuals who have built popular and effective networks of followers, friends, and business contacts. As new media tools and strategies become an increasingly important part of the business world, PR, marketing, and communications professionals are adopting these tactics for both personal and professional use. So, what’s your new media strategy? Do you mix business with personal on Twitter? Do you only accept friend requests from those you know on Facebook? Are you a virtual free-for-all networker across the web?
Let’s talk about your opinions, stories, and theories about how professionals should use new media.
Topics: Authenticity, Blogging, Business, Personal Branding, Personal PR, Social Media, Transparency, video | 5 Comments »
