It seems that each year at SXSW there are a handful of major themes, technology industry trends, or major product announcements that get the lion’s share of the attention. In 2009 it was the introduction of FourSquare. Two years earlier it was the then-recent introduction of Twitter that grabbed all the headlines and SXSW was a big part of Twitter gaining such rapid adoption.
SXSW Interactive Topics…And A Little Advice
I spent most of the last week at SXSW Interactive here in Austin and for those who have never attended the conference, I can’t recommend it more highly. Yes, it is huge and overwhelming, but the sheer energy of innovation and enthusiasm that permeates the event makes it compelling and addictive.
Great Seth Godin Post – Why Lie?
A great post from Seth Godin on why buyers prefer to lying rather than honestly telling you why they aren’t going to buy your product.
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/03/why-lie.html
Honoring The Virtual Team
For the last few years Epicom has worked with a contract WordPress developer who is located in Ecuador. I originally “met” Danilo Suput via Elance when Epicom was just me and I needed some help customizing a WordPress template. And though we have never met in person Danilo has continued to provide development and graphic design help to us ever since. Danilo went to college in the U.S. at the University of Alabama and then moved back to Ecuador where he plays in a band that tours around the country and does freelance development and graphic design.
Being Present
Every Wednesday at Epicom we assemble as a company for a weekly meeting. We start every team meeting with a ritual called “good news.” We go around the room and each person relates one piece of good news from his or her life. It could be business related or personal, something serious or something offbeat and funny. Its totally up each person to decide what good news to share.
Lead Qualification – Get To Know Your Prospect First
In most sales environments the first step to acquiring a new customer is qualification of the lead. We meet someone new at a conference, get referred by an existing customer, or receive contact information from a website visitor and we must pick-up the phone and determine if the new lead is a good potential customer or not.
What To Do When A Project Goes Bad
When a project gets off track and the customer is unhappy, there is a tendency for a small business owner to dive in and take over. After all, the owner is typically an expert in the field and got to the position of successful business ownership by being willing to roll up his sleeves to fix problems.
Fear And Regret
Lately I have been thinking a lot about fear and regret. Perhaps this is the result of writing about David Brooks’ “Life Reports” and thinking about how to build a life that I will look back on with pride rather than regret.
As I read these reports, many contain the same theme: regret felt late in life because of risks not taken early in life. Fear holds back so many of us from pursuing our dreams, whether personal or professional. It is only later in life, when the fear of embarrassment or failure is replaced by a confrontation with ones own mortality that a true and accurate perspective is attained. From the vantage point of old age all of those little fears that seemed so big at the time must appear trivial and regret replaces fear as we realize we can’t go back and confront those fears again.
The Life Reports
David Brooks, columnist for the New York Times, is undertaking a project he calls “Life Reports.” In late October, Brooks asked his readers over 70 years old to write reports about their lives, focusing on career, family, faith, community, and self-knowledge and then to give themselves a grade in each area. Since then he has been publishing some of the reports on his blog and has written several follow-up columns about the project.
Being Thankful
On Thanksgiving it is traditional to list the things for which one is most thankful. But as I think about those things, what strikes me most is how lucky I am. Lucky to be born of caring, supportive parents, lucky to be born in a part of the world that is economically and politically stable, lucky to be afforded an education before I was old enough to appreciate the value of an education.
Each of us can be proud of our accomplishments and our relationships, the things we have worked hardest for in our lives. But this Thanksgiving it seems appropriate to also honor luck and the role it plays in providing the circumstances we need to find success.
Today at the dinner table I will toast my good luck. Then I will hug my family, tell them how much I love them, and call all my friends and thank them for being a part of my life.
Here’s to good luck!
Happy Thanksgiving.
