I can’t remember where I saw this, but the truth of it really struck me.
Jun
11
2009
Three Ways to Manage a Project
I’m an avid read of Seth Godin’s blog and most of his posts really hit a nerve for me. But this morning, reading his post titled Direct and Useful Project Feedback, I started thinking about how I run and get involved in projects and it echoed back to my post about personal motivation and innovation. I can’t work in the sort of environment he describes in scenario #1 wherein the team just does what it’s told. And I totally agree that there is quite a bit of difference between #2 and #3. Building a “great product” nearly always yields a product that you can be proud of (though maybe not a product that you “love”). But the inverse clearly isn’t always true. Good insight as always…
Jun
5
2009
Motivation and Innovation
I have done nothing truly innovative in the first 155 days of 2009.
This is what I have come to recognize as the cause of my current state of discontent. I have been doing a lot of self-reflection lately, which of course only happens when I have too much time for self-reflection. My preference is to occupy myself with exciting (read: cutting edge, innovative) projects rather than silly introspection.
Now, it’s true that I have done several things this year with which I’m quite satisfied. I’ve started making some good friends here in LA as the two-year anniversary of my moving west has come and gone. We added the Atlanta Braves as yet another flagship Photocore client. I was involved in launching a free career assessment aimed at helping young people understand themselves and find their ideal job (more about that later). But none of these satisfy my basal thirst for innovation.