Want To Do More? Just Say No

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Michael

Last week I shared some thoughts on productivity with college students, how to get stuff done. One suggestion: learn to say “no.” “No” acknowledges that you have limited time and resources, that you can’t do everything. If you want to do something great with your life, you have to make choices. Choices require you to say “no” to some things.

In a helpful post at the HBR blogs, Tony Schwarz offers executives the same advice:

Saying no, thoughtfully, may be the most undervalued capacity of our times. In a world of relentless demands and infinite options, it behooves us to prioritize the tasks that add the most value. That also means deciding what to do less of, or to stop doing altogether.

Learn to say “no” to get more done.

The Value of Being an Expert

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Michael

Lee Miller is an expert. He makes cowboy boots, by hand, in Austin for the likes of Lyle Lovett, Slim Pickens, and Tommy Lee Jones. His prices run from $1,900 to $8,500 per pair depending upon the level of customization. He has a four-year waiting list and isn’t accepting new clients.

That’s the value of being an expert.

Grow Your Business With Better Design

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Michael

Nike, Apple, Target, Herman Miller–top companies in large part because of their emphasis on design. Quoted in a recent FastCompany article, Fahrenheit 212′s Mark Payne offers, “Design is differentiation made visible, visceral, and experiential. Creativity and innovation are emerging as disciplines because we have no other choice.” This comes as no surprise to those who’ve read Dan Pink’s fantastic little book A Whole New Mind. Pink suggests that while the past belonged to left-brained engineers, doctors, and scientists, the future will belong to those who marry technical ability with qualities generally attributed to artists: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. Sounds very much like a Steve Jobs. Even the folks at Harvard Business Review are advocating muses to inspire creativity and innovation.

The trend is clear: design can be one factor that separates you from your competitor (or, conversely, that will separate your competitor from you.)

The Secret to Success

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Michael

Surprise: there is no secret to success.

My friend Mark builds beautiful, hand-crafted furniture in his workshop. He didn’t learn to do that overnight. Kerry makes delightful art in her studio. Each piece takes her weeks (months?) to create and she spent years developing her skill and vision.

Anything you want to do well requires you to show up and work. A strong marriage, raising a child, creating change at your office, building a business. No magic bullets.

If you want to know how successful people got that way, check here.

A Few More Thoughts on Student Presentations

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Michael

The other day, I offered an incomplete list of presentation suggestions for college students. Since that list was incomplete, here are a few more ideas, specifically on your presentation slideshow:

Don’t use a PowerPoint template; instead, look for design inspiration on Slideshare. It’s a little like the Internet in general: there’s a lot of bad stuff but some good stuff too. Pay attention to the colors and typefaces. Here are a few of my favorite designs on Slideshare and here are two slidedecks I’ve posted there: Time Management for College Students and Boring to Bold: Presentation Design Ideas for Non-Designers.
For small rooms, consider light background colors; for large rooms, dark backgrounds.
Don’t steal images from Google Images (or other places). Either buy them from iStockphoto or get free Creative Commons images from flickr. Compfight is the best way to search the flickr Creative Commons pool. Make sure the images have enough resolution so they don’t have jaggies.
One idea per slide.
To see some outstanding presentations–both with and without slides–spend some time watching the videos on TED. It’s an excellent investment of your time. You could also watch a Steve Jobs presentation or two.

More to come…

Boring to Bold — “Featured” on Slideshare

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Michael

Earlier today I posted a slide deck on Slideshare.net, “Boring to Bold: Presentation Design Ideas for Non-Designers,” some thoughts on creating presentations that communicate more effectively than the usual bullet-laden slides that most of us see. Late this afternoon, Slideshare notified me that the presentation had been chosen to be “Featured” on their home page–excellent! Click over to Slideshare to see the presentation.

Boring to Bold: Make Better Presentations

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Michael

Behind email, presentations are the second most common form of business communication. PowerPoint slide shows, however, are often sleep-inducing bore fests. I recently spoke to a group of students in a colleague’s class on the topic of effective presentation design. The slides have been posted at Slideshare–you’re welcome to take a look:

Boring to Bold: Presentation Design Ideas for Non-Designers

View more presentations from Michael Gowin

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Michael

Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked; there is no reason not to follow your heart. — Steve Jobs

Like many others, I was saddened to hear the news that Steve Jobs, visionary leader of Apple, passed away last night. He has been called the Edison of our generation and I think that’s an appropriate description. Of all that’s been said so far, this compilation of posts at Cult of Mac says it best.

How Much is Your Customer Worth?

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Michael

I missed a payment date on a credit card last month–not something I do regularly–and got slapped with a $20 late payment fee.

The balance on the card, prior to the fee, was $56.

I called the company, explained that I would pay the balance today, and politely asked to have the fee removed.

“Sure, Mr. Gowin. We can do that.”

Knowing that customers can and will switch credit cards (it’s easy enough), it’s better for the company to waive the fee than leave a customer frustrated and angry. The customer, in return, feels empowered and is likely to remain loyal.

Two lessons:

The long-term relationship is worth more than $20.
It doesn’t hurt to ask.

Critiquing Critics

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Michael

Sitting in my feed reader’s posts today was this from Cult of Mac, a summary of Christopher Hawthorne’s critique of Apple’s new planned campus in Cupertino.

Further down the feeds was Seth Godin’s critique of critics, which reminds me of Anton Ego’s review of his meal at Gusteau’s.

I wonder whether Seth had either of these in mind in his post today.

MichaelGowin.com/blog

Your computer is a factory for ideas. Go build something.

Category Archives: Business