How to be a creative FREE-AGENT worker and dominate in the Social Age

Beware of Terminal Seriousness

Beware of Terminal Seriousness

Seriousness at work is essential especially when one wants make a big impact and take calculated risks. When you face your fear or try something new it’s good to be serious minded as you contemplate the ramifications and mitigating actions to make your endeavors a success.

When your boss considers your career path and remuneration you would hope it carries a good measure of seriousness. When you're about to sign a 3 year service contract with a new vendor you better be serious. When you hire your next specialist, taking it seriously is probably a good idea as you consider team fit, impact, genuine competencies and unique value beyond the resume. Seriousness is a good thing as it indicates care, professionalism, focus and thoughtfulness.

Closely related to this is something you have to be aware about. It's called terminal seriousness. This is seriousness gone wrong.

Terminal seriousness is the type of seriousness that never stops. It points to deeper underlying issues. Seriousness that does not go away is toxic stuff. It's virtually an illness. It's rooted in things like fear, resentment, anger and helplessness.

Terminal Seriousness Poses Some Notable Risks.

  1. It kills relationships. People want to enjoy their work and interactions with their boss. Being a stiff plank all the time creates a barrier to free talk and openness. If people don't feel positive and empowered around you, the all-important human connection is nigh on impossible.
  2. It demoralises. Terminal seriousness clouds any appreciation or recognition you may have for your people. We all want to be recognised and appreciated for what we do. If the leader allows seriousness to reign, resentment is imminent.
  3. It stops innovation and creativity. Awesome work happens when we feel great. Great ideas don't materialise under a cloud of terminal seriousness. (There is a caveat to this: you can be serious about creativity.)
  4. It kills culture. Happy feelings die under terminal seriousness.
  5. It encourages murmuring. Innately people want to share their experiences and if they can’t share it with the leader they'll share their experience with someone else and tell them how the boss was not there for them.
  6. Its bad for your health. Enough said.
  7. It feeds fear. Self-expression is the last thing on people’s minds if seriousness shrouds all interactions.
  8. It’s a sign you don't really like your work. It shows that your work gives you very little pleasure. It demonstrates your work is just a means to an end and that you'd rather be doing something else. This in itself is uninspiring.

This is a friendly reminder to keep work real and happening by making sure you use seriousness for what it’s worth but know there is a time to stop the seriousness. Keep it in its proper place. No more and no less. Seriousness out of control is a signal you're working in the wrong place. Work should be fulfilling and meaningful. That's the objective here at WorkLikeAnArtist.

Thanks for reading another WLAA blog post. What are your thoughts on terminal seriousness? Leave a comment, email me (karl [at] worklikeanartist.com), connect on Google+, Twitter - @krohde, LinkedIn and if you liked this please share on your social networks.

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Photo Credit: Karl Rohde

How To Build A Workplace Culture You Want To Work In

Culture is the thing you experience every day you go to work. It’s how it feels to work where you work. Do you like yours?

Culture is the product of human actions and it exists wherever a group of people gather or group together. People make it happen.

Culture matters because it creates a climate, an atmosphere, that strongly influences our behaviours and beliefs about what is possible for us as individuals. It affects our experience at work and determines whether we enjoy our work or not. It influences how hard we strive, influence, sell, push, hustle and do.

A culture is extremely important if you're planning on doing your best work. Indeed culture has the power to make us thrive or stifle our potential. So what can you do about it?

Whose responsibility is culture?

It may seem convenient to say your boss and his bosses. Yes, they are responsible. However consider influence. Influence is something everyone can do. The people you spend most of your time with will influence you the most. It stands to reason if association influences then you are an influencer by virtue of your association with others.

If you can influence, you can impact workplace culture. By your words and actions culture is in your hands, to some extent. With a little forethought culture can be shaped by your actions. Culture is a choice and you can choose to contribute or detract.

I’d rather fire someone for not contributing to an innovative work culture than for poor work performance. - Tony Hsieh, CEO Zappos.com

At its most basic we can all talk about what’s wrong in a given job. So too can we talk about what’s right and the possibility to make things better. James Altucher has a crazy story of pushing the limits of culture. He was an IT Analyst Programmer and ended up having his own TV show with HBO. His example shows the power of not waiting for permission to do something remarkable. Stop waiting for others. Many leaders, not all, sold out for the trappings of status – it’s highly likely they won’t make culture rock for you. So go make it happen yourself. Start acting how you would like your leaders to act. We need leaders at every level. Will it be you? (click to tweet)

8 ways you can make your workplace culture rock. Let’s go.

1.    Engage. Get involved. Speak up. Be part of the place. Stop sitting on the fence. Challenge! Ask questions, rattle a few cages. Give an opinion. The 80's is over – you can give ideas without getting sacked. Be nice, smile and give positive feedback

2.    Help. Be a mentor to someone. Nominate yourself to be a guide in something you love. If you love presentations be the dude everyone goes to get help on creating slides that rock. If you’re a management artist – offer your talents to help other managers.

3.    Initiate. Propose to change something that does not work. A new idea. Rearrange, sort, clean up, suggest, nominate.

4.    Lead something. Pick a project or a thing that you value and find meaningful and nominate yourself to drive the outcome in your unique way. Perhaps your organisation is struggling to adapt to the business of social media – maybe you could drive awareness and sense here.

5.    Specialise. Be the best at something and be the recognised go to person. This one guy I know rocks at Excel. Whenever people want to know advanced Excel they know who to go to.

6.    Produce something. A killer presentation. Start a business blog. Develop a solution to a problem. Add functionality to a system. Write a process. Adopt a best practice and embed it.

7.    Make a connection. Create an alliance around a common goal. Contributors unite. Three of you like project management, or strategy or creative innovation – get together and create and push each other. Perhaps 4 of you like productivity – meet Thursdays for productivity mastermind coffee catch-up and rock it.

8.    Change the conversation. Limit time with people who rant without cause and intent to make things better. Start a better conversation.

To cover it all stop waiting for permission to do cool stuff. Think like an entrepreneur. They don't have time for a negative culture. They make it happen.

Thanks for reading another WorkLikeAnArtist.com blog post. Are you subscribed? If not, you're welcome to subscribe here. What are your thoughts or experience on making workplace culture rock? Pop a comment in the box and if you care to please share this post via your preferred social networks or forward it to a few friends.

Photo Credit: Karl Rohde

I'm a big fan of connecting. Join me on Google+ , Twitter (@krohde) and LinkedIn. If you have any questions on hacking work, comments, or just want to chat - feel free to drop me an email at karl [at] worklikeanartist.com.

A Brief Guide to Presentations That Rock

The social age is in many respects defined by marketing platforms. Whether you like it or not, in the social age you are a brand. When branding and marketing converge in your work, the humble or cursed presentation slide emerges as the standard for communicating value and personal brand presence.

Not knowing how to use PowerPoint or Keynote is no excuse. You can learn to make it work for you. Knowing how to master these everyday tools presents an opportunity to stand out. I’m going to point out some simple rules that anyone can apply.

Apologies for the Windows/PowerPoint bent. I trust if you’re a Mac user you can translate Windows for Mac and PowerPoint for Keynote.

I’ve written this post like a lesson. There is some theory, some practical examples and a heap of links as a useful resource to get you started. With less than an hours effort, you’ll be well on your way to producing beautiful slides that rock. Let’s get started.

Why your presentation slides need to rock.

  1. Being average in today’s social age is not viable. Being remarkable is now mandatory.
  2. You’re there to make an emotional sale. Trigger a feeling and response. We’re looking for a good mix of logic (presenting the facts) and emotion (making people feel something). Using the two elements ensures you’re giving your best.
  3. You’re there to make your audience think and focus on what you are saying. No, not what the slides are saying. It’s what you say that matters.
  4. You’re there to drive intrigue and internal engagement. A good slide is a form of communication. Good communication is getting others to adopt your point of view, to help them understand how you see things.
  5. You’re there to demonstrate your passion and that you care. Unless you’re an amazing writer, it’s hard to do this in a report. A presentation is the thing that helps you do this very well

Why presentations suck. Things you have to stop doing.

  1. Stop using PowerPoint as if it’s Microsoft Word. Equally don’t paste in a spread sheet. If it’s more than a short sentence per slide you’re creating chaos. Unsolicited chaos drives people into a self-imposed coma.
  2. Stop the use of standard fonts like Arial, Comic Sans and Times. Again these are good for documents not presentations.
  3. Stop relying on the slides to do the talking. You’re there to talk and the slides are there to support what you say. The focus is always on you.
  4. Stop using all text and no images. You need contrast to catch the eye.
  5. Stop using clip-art or cheesy stock photos. We all know that call centre staff are not supermodels.
  6. Bullet points must go. They have no place on a slide. Rather put your five points in five shapes.
  7. Font sizes need to be big. Size 10 font will convert your audience into a slumber party.
  8. Animations are just not necessary. It’s more a gimmick than value. No animation will improve a bad slide. They don’t suddenly make it all come together. You have to start with a good slide. Those ta-da moments after an animation are embarrassing.
  9. Avoid handing out prints of your slides. They just don’t work without you. Remember slides are there to work with you and not in isolation. If people want to see your slides be sure you are present to talk to them.

How to pimp your presentation slides from now on. What you need to do to.

I’ve pulled together what I think are the essential elements to slides that grab attention along with some links to serve as a toolkit.

1. Prepare

Know your subject. Be clear on what your message is. What’s the one, two or three things you want people to take away? What is the primary objective of your presentation? Remember, this is sales and marketing. If you believe in your idea, sell it.

“If you don't know what you want to achieve in your presentation your audience never will.” – Harvey Diamond

2. Use Quality Images

Amazing photos are not far away. Use the Internet to source some quality photos. Or take your own photos. Quality is essential. Small images that get stretched and pixelated are to be avoided. Use images that cover the whole slide or that work well with your shapes and or layout. Free quality images can be found at stock.xchng and at CompFight. Images from Google Image search are not good enough and copyrights could be an issue.

3. Use Beautiful Fonts.

Beautiful fonts are readily available for free these days so move away from the lame fonts you’ve inherited and check out the vast array of beautiful free fonts. Take a look at the cover of a magazine and note how they use fonts effectively. Your slides should have "magazine cover quality". One font I especially love is League Gothic. It’s highly recommended which will be no surprise once you use it.

Don’t go overboard. Stick with no more than 2-3 fonts per presentation. You are looking to create a consistent look and feel.

To get started try these 5 presentation grade free fonts: Bebas Neue, Museo, Sketch Rockwell, Chunk Five, League Gothic

Alternatively Google “free fonts for presentations” or browse dafont.com, fontsquirrel.com, fontspring.com and myfonts.com. In the social age there is an abundance to choose from.

4. Use Colour Themes

Colours are important and can set the emotional tone of your slides – sophisticated, happy, serious, creative, crazy, fun, etc. A mix of colours can create fantastic levels of contrast that make your theme and message stand out. Check out colourlovers.com and kuler.adobe.com for professional colour themes that look stunning.

5. Get Inspiration from others who know how to market themselves with presentations

In the social age relevant inspritation is never far away. Check out some online social slide sharing sites. SlideShare is fantastic but apply the 80/20 rule. There is a lot of rubbish but about 20% are truly worthwhile. Others to peruse are Note and Point and SpeakerDeck

Slide presentations you can learn from.

Take a 30 minute break and peruse these awesome slides and behold the type of slide that stands to set you apart in your next presentation.

  1. 7 Tips top Beautiful Slide Design
  2. Introduction to Slide Design
  3. 5 Big Tips to become a Presentation Jedi
  4. Slides that Rock!
  5. 7 Tips to Create Visual Presentations

How brilliant are they! I trust you’ve looked at them. Have you? Please don’t skip them - they are so well worth it. They are prime examples to set you on your way.

May your next presentation rock!

Presentations can be scary. You're not alone, but have faith. A good slide deck will go along away to support you. Now go make one that rocks.

There are only two types of speakers in the world. 1. The nervous and 2. Liars. – Mark Twain

Thanks for reading another WorkLikeAnArtist.com blog post. Are you subscribed? If not, you're welcome to subscribe here. What are your thoughts or experience on making presentation slides that rock? Pop a comment in the box and if you care to please share this post via your preferred social networks or forward it to a few friends. If you've created a cool slide please let me know.

Photo Credit: Karl Rohde

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I'm a big fan of connecting. Join me on Google+, Twitter (@krohde) and LinkedIn. If you have any questions on hacking work, comments, or just want to chat - feel free to drop me an email at karl [at] worklikeanartist.com.

Your Path To Becoming An Artist At Work Starts Here

Do you have an itch - something that gnaws at your soul? Is there a haunting feeling that you could do so much more than you currently do. Are you creatively stifled? Are you frustrated with the constraints of your workplace? Do you suffer from boredom? Do you feel like money, security and obligations are keeping you stuck. Are expectations for your work life going unfulfilled?

The path to becoming an artist begins when you question where you are and why you do what you do. Its when you think beyond trading your time for money and when you focus on being remarkable.

10 Identifying Marks Your Artist Journey Has Begun

  1. You want more from life and desire to do work that is meaningful. You reason that there must be more to work than doing what you’re doing now.
  2. You want to work with people who truly inspire you to greater levels of achievement.
  3. You initiate discussion around “what if” scenarios.
  4. You are hyper-sensitive to boredom and ongoing repetitive work.
  5. Money is not the primary objective when you think about career planning.
  6. You get frustrated with people who don’t question how or why they do what they do.
  7. The thought of doing things you don’t particularly like for the rest of your career is unbearable.
  8. Leaving a legacy is something you think about a lot.
  9. The thought of being stuck in a job interrupts your sleep.
  10. Entrepreneurial stories capture your imagination.

If some of these points resonate with you, I’m certain you are on the track to becoming an artist at work. Your journey has already begun. As we know, all great things start from nothing as thoughts before they become reality. I started WorkLikeAnArtist.com to explore and build on this with some practical work hacks and personal leadership strategies to drive creative change that befits the modern day artist worker – that’s you!

If you haven't already, subscribe to my weekly update and don't miss a thing.

I’ll leave you with this MUST WATCH video from Tragedy and Hope on scratching your itch. This is one video I can watch everyday. It's remarkable and testament to the wonders of social age we are now living in.

What’s your story? What eating you at work? How have you begun your journey? Pop a comment in the box and if you like this article please share on your favourite social networks or email it to a few friends. This really helps. Thanks for reading another WLAA article.

Thanks to all of you who left a comment and those who emailed me directly with ideas for future articles.

I'm a big fan of connecting. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to chat - feel free to drop me an email at karl [at] worklikeanartist.com or on Twitter at @krohde

Photo Credit: Karl Rohde

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How The Social Age Has Transformed How We Learn

The way we learn has been transformed and the social age is driving this change or making it possible, depending on how you look at it. Most significantly learning has gone way beyond institutions and organisations. Universities, colleges and school are still here providing education but learning now has a life of its own that transcends the education norms of the industrial age.

How Learning Has Changed

  • Learning is now on-demand in real-time. Thanks to the Internet, education is instantly available anywhere and it comes mostly free or for a nominal fee. Internet search has eliminated the need to remember things.
  • Learning has transcended the classroom. Learning can happen on a mobile phone, a tablet and even an iPod Touch.
  • Learning is no longer an entitlement. Everyone can learn no matter what.
  • Lessons are shared experiences - think SlideShare, Wikipedia, YouTube, blogs, podcasts and more.
  • Learning is personal. Your unique experience provides an additional teaching element that creates a richer learning experience.
  • We are teaching ourselves and each other. Everyday people are creating a democratised education system that has no barrier and almost always is at no cost. We are all teachers, or at least we all have the potential to be, but not in the traditional sense. If you have experience you can teach.
  • Learning is a constant. It’s something we do every day. With masses of information being imposed on us we are more aware of learning on-the-go in small increments.
  • Information is optimised for increased absorption and our waning attention spans. Shorter books, blog posts, audio snippets, video clips, whitepapers, slide presentations, and eBooks are all geared to faster consumption of information.

7 Education Delivery Mega Machines

  • We Google everything. Whatever we want to know we use the search giant and go from there.
  • The eReader has streamlined access to niche content. Despite the decline of the book store, accessibility to books is at its peak. It’s never been easier to find books. Amazon, along with its Kindle platform, has revolutionised reading in terms of ease, price and discovery. Digital reading has transformed how we consume books and publications. Additionally, now anyone can publish a book.

    Here's a tip. Read 10 pages a day and you'll quite easily read 12 books a year.

  • Social media platforms are in effect serving as education platforms. When a specialist you follow shares handpicked articles based on her niche you're getting tailored content. Podcasts have truly come of age. They can transform your daily commute into a classroom. If you don’t do podcasts check it out. Search a niche topic on iTunes, subscribe and be amazed what you can learn. I am amazed at the sheer mass of free information passionate people generate through podcasts. Video blogs and blogs are another stellar form of learning from people who are learning things through first-hand experience way beyond theory.
  • YouTube is simply amazing. Whatever you want to learn, there is a video you can learn from.
  • Webinars are now mega business. It’s a modern day classroom. For a small fee and often for free you can attend an online live lesson on almost anything.
  • Meetups/Events - it seems these days the world has gone conference crazy. When the digitally connected world converges conferences happen. Meetup.com is now a favourite career development facilitator where you can connect in person with your preferred focus group.
  • The Smartphone/Tablet has transformed accessibility to information and learning. In Australia, where I live, many schools are making the iPad a mandatory learning requirement for students.
So how are you capitalising on what the social age has done to education? Go on, let me know what you think. Pop a comment in the box and if you like this please share on your favourite social sites. Alternatively email it to a few friends.

I'm a big fan of connecting. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to chat - feel free to drop me an email at karl [at] worklikeanartist.com or on Twitter at @krohde

Thanks to Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan) at Human Business Works, who mentioned me on his killer podcast, I got a few new followers this week. If you are one of them I heartily welcome you and thank you for giving WorkLikeAnArtist a try.

4 Brave Ideas to Achieve More Than You Ever Thought You Could

I am always on the search for simple, yet profound council to drive personal value higher. Today was my lucky day.

If you want to achieve more than you ever thought you could Seth Godin, author and marketing guru, has some practical and personal advice. It’s remarkably simple and well worth reflection on how we hold ourselves back.

Seth has a track record of achievement that staggers my thinking and inspires action. Its why I started this blog.

In a recent episode in David Siteman Garland's "Rise to the Top" podcast Seth lays down 4 brave ideas that enables him to do so freakin much.

  • Never watch TV - this is a crazy one, but oh so relevant. The entire point of broadcast TV is to make you dissatisfied with your life so that you'll buy more stuff. Watching TV stops you from doing things that matter.
  • Avoid meetings - the problem with most, not all, meetings is that they encourage procrastination and delay people from doing meaningful work.
  • Always do what makes you scared - fear stops growth and any form of accomplishment dead. Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain. --Mark Twain
  • Never seek approval - doing work for yourself is where you start and do your best work. If you're doing it for someone else you'll find it easier to not do it at all for fear of being constantly judged.

What are your thoughts on achieving more? Who's advice resonates with you? Leave reply in the comments.

If you like this please email it to 5 friends or share on your social networks. This really matters.

I'm a big fan of connecting. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to chat - feel free to drop me an email at karl [at] worklikeanartist.com or on Twitter at @krohde

50 Invaluable Things I’ve Learnt As A Corporate Employee

  1. Growth is a choice. There is so much you can learn if you have an ongoing student mindset. (click to tweet)
  2. A corporate business will teach you the fundamentals of business: TO CREATE A CUSTOMER.
  3. You won’t clique with everyone but a few close people make it extremely worthwhile. Some people are a catalyst to being a better you. Be SUPER LOYAL to those.
  4. It’s taught me how to teach myself - free-style.  Corporations invest heavily in their staff. With little effort you can get education you could barely afford to pay for yourself.
  5. You’ll learn how to dominate in a business sector. If a corporate business has been around for decades there is a reason for this. Figure it out.
  6. I’ve learnt that strategy and continual improvement go hand in hand and that it’s just as applicable to personal development.
  7. Communication is critical. This is a mandatory art. You’ll get nowhere if you can’t talk appropriately with relevance to your audience. (click to tweet)
  8. I’ve learnt that while strategic planning is crucial to long term success it’s just as crucial to break strategy when unexpected change comes to town. There is a time for reaction, but keep it to a minimum.
  9. It’s taught me the fleeting nature of customers. Easy to lose and hard to get back, but you can get them back.
  10. I’ve learnt how business can be harsh – only the best survive.
  11. I’ve learnt when to let an investment go and when to go in for the kill.
  12. It’s taught me to continually reinvent myself just like a business needs to - to remain viable.
  13. It’s taught me how to eat humble pie especially when managing people.
  14. Managing people is like herding cats – get to know your people as individuals.
  15. It’s taught me that leadership starts with being able to lead oneself.
  16. I’ve learnt that creativity is not always welcome and subsequently that it’s always possible to be positively creative with a close-knit crew of progressive renegades.
  17. The only sustainable competitive advantage is people.
  18. There are benefits to having a bad boss. Understand this as there are plenty of bad bosses. (click to tweet)
  19. Relationships at work are everything. You can’t thrive in a vacuum.
  20. Brilliant people are best managed by leaving them alone, well mostly. (click to tweet)
  21. There is a time for reckless creative expression and a time for being boring, structured and controlled.
  22. You can achieve amazing things with someone else’s budget.
  23. You can be outrageous, but you have to choose your audience.
  24. There is a dark side when it comes to politics and mankind’s obsession with power.
  25. It’s taught me to be resilient and self-effacing while being impervious to ill motives and foul play.
  26. Business is not always pretty and that should not prevent one from being brilliant.
  27. A legacy at work is possible when you do the opposite of everyone else and focus on touching people’s lives. You won’t be remembered for working 80-hour weeks. (click to tweet)
  28. There is a place for process based rigor and that big things are possible when you work within a framework – think Six Sigma.
  29. It’s taught me to wise up and not let an organisation stop one from being more brilliant than the organisation would like.
  30. Tracking small improvements are crucial to personal marketing. All the small things that you do are easily overlooked. It’s your responsibility to track and report them.
  31. I’ve learnt to make something out of nothing - to take an idea and end up with a product.
  32. Understanding your values is a sure fire way to doing work you love.
  33. True passion is rare. Being passionate can be a lonely path.
  34. It can appear that the status quo is more important than change; this can be demoralising.
  35. Excessive cynicism gets in the way of opportunity and creativity.
  36. When pitching a new idea be prepared to pitch it more than once. (click to tweet)
  37. Beware: The safety of a routine pay check can stop you being the best you can be.
  38. ROI is the objective of business. You need to understand this.
  39. Building trust takes time and it’s the most important thing you can develop.
  40. Being your authentic self at work requires bravery. Without this your best work will struggle to make the light of day.
  41. You’ll do phenomenal work when your work embodies an entrepreneurial spirit.
  42. As much as it depends upon you be the bearer of good news. 
  43. Make your boss look good. This is a fundamental law of politics at work.
  44. Aim to be a person of value rather than a man of success – Albert Einstein.
  45. Accomplishments are everything. Always focus on TANGIBLE OUTCOMES. Your value hinges on you being able to convert time into tangible outcomes. (click to tweet)
  46. Despite their success corporations have a lot of faults; focusing too deeply on this is not the best use of your time.
  47. The best use of your time is to develop solutions, market them and speak publicly – in that order. This will hone your business nous.
  48. Your way is not always the best way. Accept the ideas of others gracefully.
  49. Having a personal brand is a supreme differentiator and it takes time.
  50. Discovering and utlising your UVP (unique value proposition) is an imperative.

What are your thoughts on lessons at work? I’d love to know. If you liked this article please please share. This helps a lot. 

I'm a big fan of connecting. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to chat - feel free to drop me an email at karl [at] worklikeanartist.com or on Twitter at @krohde