The Secret Power of a Free Slice of Pie

One thing you will learn about me by subscribing to this blog is I have had many jobs in my life. I love sharing stories about them, like fending off jerks at gas stations. I have also worked at many bars and restaurants over the years. This story is about a lesson I learned as a server that you can apply to your business. 

I once worked for a restaurant/folk bar / Jewish buffet/club in Toronto called Free Times Café (still going strong). Like many restaurants and bars in T.O., this one is in an old home. It is decorated with funky lamps and mismatched tables and chairs. It has a cool, eclectic, artsy vibe. 

Nights for me were filled with folk music and serving beer; Sundays had live Klezmer bands and enough latkes and blintzes to make anyone cry, "Oy!". I also had busy weekday lunches, serving neighboring office workers and college students. At Free Times, I learned the secret power of a free slice of pie. 

The Secret Power of a Free Slice of Pie

One weekday, I was serving a table of four women over lunch. One of the women was annoyed because her meal came out much later than the other three. The kitchen was backed up, a mistake was made with her order, and she had to wait and eat after her friends had dug into their dishes. 

As a server, you have only a few things to get right to serve people. Getting the orders correct and high-quality is essential to ensuring customers are happy. In addition, smiling and remembering names always helps. Going that extra mile in any way possible will ensure a nice tip. 

The hungry woman was angry about the situation. I couldn't blame her. There she sat, salivating, as her colleagues pigged out. I knew the secret to making everything good again - the pie. 

We usually had two different cakes or pies each day of the week. The server's job was to pretty up the plate and up-sell them to customers. A slice of pie already looks nice, but add a little syrup, whipping cream, and a dusting of cinnamon or chocolate powder, and boom! That's a fine-looking dish. 

One dollar earned us a lifelong customer.

After clearing the woman's plate, I delivered a delicious-looking pie plate. I apologized for the mix-up in the kitchen and exclaimed dessert was on me. Her anger changed to joy as her eyes lit up in elated delight. Her companions all burst out with a supportive laugh. All was good in the world again. The event made the lunch a positive and memorable experience. 

Not only did the lady leave happy, but she returned several times each month for lunch with friends. One of her colleagues returned for lunch soon after. She sheepishly admitted she had hoped I would mess up her order so she could get the free pie, too. 

One free slice of pie cost the restaurant about $1.00. One dollar earned us a lifelong customer. I would say it was worth every cent.

What can you offer your disgruntled customers to make things great again? It probably won't cost you as much as you think. 

50 Takeaways From Blue Ocean Strategy

We have challenged one another in the NBN Club to read two books each month for the year. You may scoff at the simple quest of reading twenty-four books in a year, but to me it is a challenge. What can I say? I am a slow reader. 

My first book of the new year is Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim. Blue Ocean Strategy presents a systematic approach to making the competition irrelevant and outlines principles and tools any company can use to create and capture their own blue oceans. Cirque du Soleil and Curves are two such companies that have created their own blue ocean businesses. As I read the book, I pictured Julien Smith's Breather as a great example as a company that found a blue ocean.  

The following are fifty takeaways from the book. I recommend reading the book in its entirety to fully grasp each point. The takeaways include points and questions you should consider regarding your own business. It definitely made me rethink some aspects of my digital marketing consulting business, Futureforth.

50 Takeaways From Blue Ocean Strategy

1. The only way to beat the competition is to stop trying to beat the competition.
2. Value innovation occurs only when companies align innovation with utility, price, and cost positions.
3. …those that seek to create blue oceans pursue differentiation low cost simultaneously. 
4. the creation of blue oceans is about driving costs down while simultaneously driving value up for buyers. 
5. Effective blue ocean strategy should be about risk minimization and not risk taking.
6. …you must begin by reorienting your strategic focus from competitors to alternatives, and from customers to non-customers of the industry.
7. Every great strategy has focus, and a company’s strategic profile, or value curve, should clearly show it. 
8. By applying the four actions of eliminating, reducing, raising, and creating, they differentiate their profiles from the industry’s average profile.
9. A good tagline must not only deliver a clear message but also advertise an offering truthfully, or else customers will lose trust and interest. 
10. …companies must understand how to read value curves. 
11. Rarely do sellers think consciously about how their customers make trade-offs across alternative industries.
12. What are the alternative industries to your industry?
13. By looking across buyer groups, companies can gain new insights into how to redesign their value curves to focus on a previously overlooked set of buyers. 
14. What is the context in which your product or service is used? What happens before, during, and after? Can you identify the pain points? How can you eliminate these pain points through a complementary product or service offering?
15. If you compete on emotional appearance, what elements can you strip out to make it functional? If you compete on functionality, what elements can be added to make it emotional?
16. The process of discovering and creating blue oceans is not about predicting or preempting industry trends. 
17. Focus on the big picture, not the numbers.
18. …the strategic profile with high blue ocean potential has three complementary qualities: focus, divergence, and a compelling tagline. If a company’s strategic profile does not clearly reveal those qualities, its strategy will likely be muddled, undifferentiated, and hard to communicate. 
19. A company should never outsource its eyes.
20. A company’s pioneers are the businesses that offer unprecedented value.
21. They should use innovation because, without it, companies are stuck in the trap of competitive improvements.
22. Reach beyond existing demand.
23. Do you seek out key commonalities in which buyers value?
24. Non-customers tend to offer far more insight into how to unlock and grow a blue ocean than do relatively content existing customers. 
25. What are the key reasons first-tier non-customers want to jump ship and leave your industry?
26. Harboring within refusing non-customers, however, is an ocean of untapped demand waiting to be released. 
27. …by looking to second-tier non-customers and focusing on the key commonalities that turned the away from the industry.
28. What are the key reasons second-tier non-customers refuse to use the products or services of your industry?
29. …explore whether there are overlapping commonalities across all three tiers of non-customers. 
30. …retrain existing customers and seeking further segmentation opportunities.companies need to build their blue ocean strategy in the sequence of buyer utility, price, cost, and adoption.
31. Does your offering unlock exceptional utility? Is there a compelling reason for the mass of people to buy it?
32. Is your offering priced to attract the mass of target buyers so that they have a compelling ability to pay for your offering?
33. Can you produce your offering at the target cost and still earn a healthy profit margin?
34. The last step is to address adoption hurdles. What are the adoption hurdles in rolling out your idea?
35. Yet it did so many different tasks that people count t not understand how to use it. 
36. Unless the technology makes buyers’ lives dramatically simpler, more convenient, more productive, less risky, or more and fashionable, it will not attract the masses no matter how many awards it wins. 
37. Create a strategic profile that passes the initial litmus test of being focused, being divergent, and having a compelling tagline that speaks to buyers. 
38. To secure a strong revenue stream for your offering, you must set the right strategic price.
39. It is increasingly important, however, to know from the start what price will quickly capture the mass of target buyers. 
40. People will not buy a product or service when it is used by few others. 
41. …the strategic price you set for your offering must not only attract buyers in large numbers but also help you to retain them… an offering’s reputation must be earned on day one, because brand building increasingly relies heavily on word-of-mouth recommendations spreading rapidly through our networked society. Start with an offer that buyers can’t refuse.
42. They key here is not to pursue pricing against the competition within an industry but rather to pursue pricing against substitutes and alternatives across industries and non industries. 
43. To hit the cost target, companies have three principal levers. 
44. Partnering, however, provides a way for companies to secure needed capabilities fast and effectively while dropping their cost structure. 
45. A business model built in the sequence of exceptional utility, strategic pricing, and target costing produces value innovation.
46. In every organization, there are people, acts, and activities that excretes a disproportionate influence on performance.
47. People remember and respond most effectively to what they see and experience: “Seeing is believing”.
48. Numbers are disputable and uninspiring.
49. Showing the worst reality to your superiors can also shift their mindset fast. 
50. You must create a culture of trust and commitment that motivates people to execute the agreed strategy - not to the letter, but to the spirit. 

Have you read Blue Ocean Strategy? Did it make you rethink your business? 

I'm always on the lookout for my next books to read this year. Please leave a comment with your favorite business books. 

8 Steps to Increasing Your Willpower

When Heather and I lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, we used to frequent a small fitness club located in the Caledonian Hotel. Each day after work we would meet to visit the club on our way home. We were very dedicated to getting healthy because it was January, that's when we all have health on our minds. 

Many nights would be spent at the pub. We shared a flat with eight wonderful people, but it was tight quarters, so the pub was a nice escape. We would usually pig out on fish and chips along the walk home after the pub. A not-so-healthy choice. 

I can't remember exactly when it was in our fitness club foray when we discovered that our passes gave us access to the hot tub, but we were elated when we realized this. We would often hit the weights and cardio machines first, then we would hop into the hot tub and soak our troubles away. 

At some point things changed. We would skip the weights, do the cardio, and use the hot tub. Then we started skipping the cardio and we would just soak in the hot tub. It was probably early February when we would meet at the pub first and then go to the hot tub. You can see where this is going, right? 

Needless to say, we decided not to renew our health club memberships. We were shameful and disappointed that we didn't stick to our healthy New Year resolutions.

It's now getting to that time that many of us who made resolutions are slipping or have given up entirely. Here are some ways to improve your willpower to get back on the horse. 

8 Steps to Increase Willpower

I came across a fantastic article from the Guardian about willpower by Will Storr. In it, he writes about Walter Mischell's book, The Marshmellow Test. Mischell shares how to improve your willpower in seven steps. Here they are from the article:

1. Transform the meaning of stimuli "It sounds like a heavy phrase but what does it mean?" says Walter Mischel. "I have coeliac disease. When I eat gluten, I get a burning itch. So when I look at pasta, I don't think of it as yummy, delicious and great, I think of it as poisonous, connected to the itch."

2. Distance yourself Look at yourself as if you're a fly on the wall. Describe yourself to yourself as if you were another person. A simple thing such as referring to yourself by your name rather than "I, me" gives you an advantage.

3. Make the object of your desire abstract Pretend it's not really there. Put a frame around it in your head and make believe it's only a picture.

4. Eat chocolate If you need a momentary boost, scoff sugar. (This tip is less successful for dieters).

5. One thing at a time Willpower is like a muscle that gets fatigued. If you're dieting, don't try to give up smoking at the same time.

6. Practice small Willpower can be strengthened by regular practice, according to Roy Baumeister, who claims that even things as simple as making sure you're always sitting up straight and speaking in complete sentences can build up your power of self-control, which will improve in other areas.

7. Eat well Evidence suggests that self-control draws disproportionately on blood glucose, which is a fuel for the brain. Sleeping well and eating food that provides a long, slow release of sugar helps.

8. The 'If, Then' technique Tell yourself, "If I see pie on the menu, then I'll order the tuna salad." It has to be highly specific and practiced until automatic.

Have you tried these before? Did they work for you? 

I'm giving them a try now, even though we just ordered Girl Scout cookies from Ella. How evil is it of the Girl Scouts to be canvassing for cookies in January?! 

I am excited to test my willpower when those deliciously fattening cookies appear on our doorstep. Tagalongs are like kryptonite to my willpower, but I will stay true and stick to resisting them!

If I fail, follow the cookie crumbs right to the hot tub.

I Am Glad I...

I wrote yesterday about a regret I have. We all have regrets. Don't lie and say you don't. I have been thinking about this lately because I sometimes compare myself to others I admire. Once again, something I shouldn't do, but I do - you do it too. 

Heather has girlfriends she gets together with once a year who she met in college. I always hear stories from friends about their college days. I get envious and I wish I had done the same thing, but I didn't. 

I Wish Had...

Fill in the blank, I wish I had ________________________________________________. Now replace "I wish had" with "I am glad I". 

I Am Glad I...

I am glad I went to university for night classes and on weekends because I approached it in a much more mature way. I built relationships with faculty who I am still in touch with today. I excelled in my classes because I took them so much more seriously than I would have out of high school. I did it while I worked during the day and while Heather was pregnant. I remember it fondly. 

I wish I had become a speaker, so I would be in as much demand as some of my peers like Scott Stratten, Mitch Joel, and Chris Brogan. 

I am glad I waited to become a speaker until later because I am much more rehearsed and knowledgeable about the topics I speak on now. I am glad I didn't speak before studying improv with Second City, because I know how to read an audience and deliver content that leaves them thinking, inspired and laughing. 

What about you? 

I Wish Had... 

I Am Glad I...

Don't Make This Workplace Mistake

We all make mistakes at work. Hopefully, they are never serious enough to get you fired. I made my share of mistakes at the companies I have worked for. Thankfully never anything big enough to get me fired (or even reprimanded - much). My biggest mistake had nothing to do with the work. 

My friends will be surprised to learn that I'm more introverted than I let on. People know me as an outgoing guy, usually high-energy, and fun-loving. This is true, mainly around people I know, or when I'm in a situation where people want to speak with me. It is probably part of the reason why I absolutely love to speak at conferences and corporate events.

I regret this...

My mistake when I worked with people was I would choose to eat alone. Heck, Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz even wrote a killer networking book entitled, "Never Eat Alone". The truth is that I did too often, and I regret this. 

“Wherever you are in life right now, and whatever you know, is a result of the ideas, experiences, and people you have interacted with in your life,” - Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz. 

When I would eat solo it would usually be in my car, hidden on a residential street where nobody would find me. I would gobble down my lunch listening to a podcast, reading a book, and writing in my journal. I clearly remember reading Chris Guillabeau's "The Art of Non-Conformity" over Publix sushi in my old Subaru Forester. His book helped me as I moved on to work for myself. 

When I did eat lunch with my co-workers, I would always enjoy their company. We would have plenty of laughs and it would be fun, but I didn't do it enough. Do you?

Your Lunch Challenge

Ask your colleagues to lunch tomorrow. Do this because you want to get to know them better. You probably have more in common than you know. You might find an opportunity to help them with a work-related project. You may even become friends outside of the office, so when you leave the company (and most of us eventually do) you can still keep in touch. Maybe you will meet up over lunch.

Procrastination Through Education

I just need to read this ebook before I get started. I'm waiting until next month for the webinar before I launch. I need to take this online course before I do it. Enough is enough!

It's procrastination through education

I had a laugh this morning over coffee, bacon and eggs with the talented Angus Nelson. Angus and I were gabbing away, when we both fell into the trap of recommending educational resources to help us achieve something for our businesses. Even when we had what we needed to get it done.

Illustration from Flickr by Kars Alfrink

It was hilarious because I just wrote a post about the fact that we need to stop learning and start doing. I'm not poo-pooing education specifically, I'm saying that we distract ourselves from doing the work by telling ourselves we have to learn more before we can get started.

Angus was laughing too because he just covered this topic on his podcast, Up In Your Business. In it, he said learning can be like breathing. If we spend too much time inhaling, we will eventually pass out. I love that!

Act on your knowledge. Act on what you already know.

It's fine to seek answers and to improve ourselves with new information. Just don't let the quest for more info become a distraction from getting the job done, when you already know you have what you need.

I was recently a guest on Angus' show. You can listen to that episode below. If you like it, I encourage you to subscribe to Up In Your Business in iTunes. 

5 Reasons to Leave Comments on Blogs

Do you leave comments on blogs? This post was inspired by Mack Collier's BlogChat community. 

I enjoyed spending time in Mack Collier's BlogChat last night. Every Sunday night at 8 pm CST, bloggers take to Twitter to participate in Mack's chat about all things blogging. If you partake in Twitter chats, I recommend using TweetChat on desktop. It helps to handle the flow of incoming messages from the Twittersphere. 

I was curious how often everyone comments on other people's blogs. The answers were interesting. Most people claim they leave comments frequently while a few honestly answered that they need to do so more often. I also need to do this more often.

Bloggers (and podcasters) love to receive comments. Comments are from the humans (unless they are spam-bots) behind the analytical data. Comments are from the people who take the time to actually read your posts. I sincerely appreciate those who take the time to comment here. 

@davedelaney Yesterday. I comment regularly on the blogs I follow.

— Leigh Kramer (@hopefulleigh) January 11, 2016

@havertyj @davedelaney for sure, it's a great way to gain attention and reciprocation. Who doesn't love comments!? #blogchat

— Chris Rice (@ChrisRiceCo) January 11, 2016

@havertyj @davedelaney I agree I need to comment more. #blogchat

— Marc Miller (@CareerPivot) January 11, 2016

@havertyj @davedelaney I left a comment a few days ago - on our very own @MackCollier's #blog! #BlogChat

— Steve Case (@JoeBugBuster) January 11, 2016

@davedelaney I do not recall the last time I left comment. Need to change that if I want comments on my blog. #blogchat

— John Haverty (@havertyj) January 11, 2016

@davedelaney I am constantly commenting on blogs, I find it often inspires my writing to write to others. #blogchat

— Kyah Skavinski (@kyskav) January 11, 2016

@davedelaney tuesday

— Mike McAllen (@mmcallen) January 11, 2016

@davedelaney About 45 minutes ago. #blogchat

— Charles G Hill (@dustbury) January 11, 2016

I'd say it has been about a week. Anytime I read a blog, I try to leave a comment. #blogchat https://t.co/68VSF7PAHr

— Brandon (@therookiedad) January 11, 2016

@davedelaney Month back #blogchat

— Abhishek Deshpande (@Fitehal) January 11, 2016

5 Reasons to Leave Comments on Blogs

1. Relationships - by leaving a comment on a blog you get on the radar of the author, more so than simply using social media to share the posts. As I mentioned above, authors are always appreciative of thoughtful comments. 

2. Education - you can learn more if you ask questions about articles in the comments. You can also answer other questions from fellow commenters to help them.

3. Reciprocity - the author may come to your blog to see what you write about and leave comments too. 

4. Conversation - by leaving a comment you can stir conversation with the other readers and author. Perhaps you have something to add or a counter argument to the topic. 

5. Give Thanks - a comment is a simple way to say thank you to the author for writing the post. Favorite blogs die, so take a moment to let the author know you enjoy what she writes. 

I always encourage my clients to have their blog comments turned on. They are sometimes nervous that readers will come and bash their company, product or services. People will bash you online if they choose to anyway. Why not have them do it on your blog, where you can address their comments in the open?  

In order to make yourself leave comments more often, set a goal. For example, you can choose to leave three comments for every single blog post you publish. You could also plan to leave three comments each day of the week as a goal. 

Do you leave comments on blogs (your answer is "yes", if you answer this)?

Do you have a goal for yourself? What makes you stop to leave a comment?

The Best Way to Listen

I was laughing the other day as I listened to Ken Bole's Baby Sally podcast. I was chuckling because what he said rang true for me too.  We need to shut up more.

Here's the scenario. You are at a function, and you find yourself speaking with a few people. You are excitedly sharing an entertaining tale when something happens. 

As you are about to share the ending of your story, another person approaches and joins your group. The other people turn away from you and welcome him. Suddenly, they are talking with the new guy. Your story has become a cliff-hanger, but nobody cares.

I laughed at Ken's telling of his story because it has happened to me too. Has this happened to you?

Have a listen below, but be warned of strong language. ;)

Back at the Party...

Miffed, you rush to ruminate on how you can share the conclusion of your riveting story with your disconnected audience. It's usually too late. 

The moral of the story is to ferme la bouche. Instead, be the one who asks for their stories. Become a better listener. The quieter you become the more you hear. 

This animation is featured in The ROI of Nice keynote presentation.

How to Train Your Brain to Be Smarter

We are all seeking ways to become smarter. At least, I hope we are. We should be.

Today, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Question of the Day. In each episode hosts, James Altucher and Stephen J. Dubner choose a question from Quora and answer it. This week the question was, "What are ways to train your brain to be smarter?"

I feverishly took notes on my iPhone as I walked Max. Remember, when you write down what you learn, you retain the information. Transcribing my notes in this blog post will help me remember what I learned even better. Win, win. :) 

How to Train Your Brain to be Smarter

Read a lot.

I don't read enough books (I read plenty of articles and blog posts), so I've challenged myself to read two books a month this year. I'm sharing how this goes in the NBN Club, where members are also participating. I will share my notes here about each book as I complete it.

Hang out with people who are not like you. 

By expanding your circles, you will broaden your knowledge. Take a look at a site like MeetUp.com, to find upcoming groups you can join.

Don't spend so much time pursuing things that are not important to you.

Dubner quoted Arthur Conan Doyle. 

“I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.” ― Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet.

Don't go with the flow.

Don't worry so much about the conventional wisdom. Don't worry about what everyone is thinking, doing and drinking. Use your brain to be original. Dubner said, "A little bit of truly original thinking can get you so much further than just learning how to parrot all of the seemingly smart things everyone around you says."

Sleep a lot. 

Altucher explained that if you want to be smarter you should sleep a lot. This gives your brain time to build upon the facts that you learn. 

Exercise your Idea Muscle.

I love the concept of your "idea muscle" from Altucher. He wrote about this in depth in his outstanding book, Choose Yourself. I've written about his book here before.

Write ten ideas every day. Share the best ideas with those who can benefit from them. Don't worry if the ideas are silly, the purpose is to get your brain moving to come up with those ideas. I also loved the idea that execution is a subset of ideas. 

Try Warren Buffet's Method.

Warren Buffet has an exercise he recommends people do to find their interests and passions. Simply write a list of 25 things you are interested in. Keep the top five and discard the others. The others will distract you from focusing on the top five, which are obviously the most important since you listed them first. 

Be sure to listen to the whole episode of Question of the Day, to hear about understanding mental shortcuts and more. 

I encourage you to subscribe to Question of the Day in iTunes. 

What are ways you train your brain to be smarter?

This #KillerCalendar Will Save Your Life

Ok, maybe not save your life, but it will greatly improve it. This isn't a productivity blog, and yet I keep finding myself writing about the topic. I suppose it's because it is the new year. Everyone (including myself) is pumped about improving their lives. As for productivity, be sure you are following smart people like Mike Vardy, Erik J. Fisher, David Allen, and Michael Hyatt (whose calendar idea I borrowed for this version). 

My Killer Calendar

I want to introduce you to an idea that is working for me to stay focused. It's also helping me to reevaluate how I am spending my time. The idea is my Killer Calendar. Don't worry, nobody dies. 

I balance many different projects at once. I have incredible consulting and coaching clients at any given time. I also need time to write content here and in the Nice Maker. I also carpool to get the kids to school, gymnastics, clubs, etc. And then there is Max at my side, who seems to always be anxiously ready to head outside for a pee.

My Killer Calendar has helped me to stay focused by dividing my time into specific chunks dedicated to different topics such as, Client Work, Business Development, Family.

3 Steps to Create Your Killer Calendar

1. Along the left side of the Google Calendar interface, you will see My calendars and Other calendars that you are subscribed to. Turn them all off by clicking the box next to each one. Your calendar should be blank.

2. Create a new calendar and call it  "My Killer Calendar". 

2. Add general daily areas of work you need to do, these should seldom change. This isn't a to do list, for that, grab my daily goals worksheet. Carve out blocks of time for each item. You could have sections like, Gym, Team Meeting, Client Work, Personal Development, etc.

Tip: It helps to make these reoccurring in the calendar, so you don't have to create a new item for each day manually.

Here's my Killer Calendar for weekday mornings. 

3. Along the left side of the Google Calendar interface you can select different calendars. Turn your regular calendar back on, so you see how your work week compares to your Killer Calendar. Moving forward, you will adjust your regular calendar to be sure it fits your Killer Calendar template.

The Killer Calendar will help you know what you should and shouldn't be doing each day. It will also help you realize how you can adjust your life to make up more time in a day.

I have decided to shorten my walks with Max on days I drive the kids to school from 60 minutes to 30 minutes. I also now eat breakfast with my kids, and I shower as they are getting ready. This saved me another 30 minutes. I have adjusted my Killer Calendar to reflect this, and now have an extra hour to work on my clients on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Win!

I recommend you print your Killer Calendar, so you can review it through the day to be sure you are staying focused. Mine is taped to my wall over my desk. I aways find printing items helps me get the work done, which is why I made my Daily Goals worksheet for you. 

Do you do this too? If you try it, let me know how it works for you.

Improv Changed My Life

I had the great opportunity to reveal a new presentation at Hubspots' Inbound Conference last year. It was a thrill to attend and speak at such a stellar marketing conference with 13,000 attendees (not all at my session, Maron!). My presentation was a 12-minute (TEDx-style) talk about how my life has improved with improv. 

As I put my deck together, I realized the story was too good to just share with the amazing audience in Boston. The lessons I learned studying improv with Second City in Toronto, and performing regularly in a troupe in Ireland, helped me in so many ways. So I decided to write a short ebook.

Improve with Improv breaks down the three key lessons I learned from improv: acceptance, listening better and not to fear failure. My friend, Daniele Rossi, did the wonderful illustrations. Call it a coincidence, but he is now a recent graduate from Second City too. 

I sincerely hope you pick up a copy of Improve with Improv. It's a quick read with some valuable lessons inside. Let me know what you think of it, please. 

GRAB YOUR COPY NOW TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE WITH IMPROV. 

Test the Communication

Like you, I have been IT support for my parents for as long as they have owned computers. I recalled a rather trying incident today from several years ago with my dad. This story will make you scream out in frustration. 

It was a cold, grey January evening like tonight was. My phone rang and my dad was on the other end. He was distraught. The dialogue went something like this.

“Hello?”
“David?” 
“Oh hey, dad.”
“I can’t get the computer to print.”

It seemed like a simple request. My dad couldn’t get his printer to print. This can happen to all of us. It could have been a paper jam, or a loose cable, or a driver that needed updating (damn you, Windows). No, the trouble was more confusing and infuriating than you can imagine.

I asked my dad if the power was on. He told me that the light was on. I asked if it had paper in it. He answered that it did, but that wasn't causing the problem. 

Thirty minutes passed, soon after it was sixty minutes. I went through every step to rectify his technological issue, but it still would not print. My dad shared every swear word he knew - multiple times. Even Jesus was likely disappointed with him due to his numerous exclamations of blasphemy. 

The answer will surprise you!

I was exhausted. I was perplexed. What the hell did I miss through this? Why couldn’t I get his printer working? The answer will surprise you. 

“Dad, the printer has paper?”
“Yes!”
“Does it have the power on?”
“Yes. The thing under the desk?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not talking about the goddamned thing that prints on paper!”
“What?”
“The screen. When I type the words don’t print on the screen! What's wrong with you, David?” 

That’s right, it was the monitor all along. My dad meant the words on the screen weren’t printing when he typed on the keyboard. Yep, he never turned on the monitor. THE MONITOR.

My dad has infuriated me before, he has delighted and disappointed me too. He’s a good man, a solid guy, but not always easy to deal with. This was one of those times. I was proud to have helped him find his solution, but I felt completely exhausted and defeated. I was also on the cusp of going postal had we continued the call much longer after the solution was discovered.

How about you?

The problem you are facing could have a clear solution. Test your communication before you begin troubleshooting. And don't ever answer your phone if my dad calls for tech support.

5 Ways Airplane Mode Can Make You Productive

When we think of airplane mode on an iPhone or iPad, we think of air travel. That glorious switch on our device shuts down all communication, which surely saves us from falling from the sky. Thank God for airplane mode! 

Down here on the ground, airplane mode can be used in ways to help us become less distracted and more productive. Here are five reasons airplane mode can help you get more done. I love the button on my phone and you should too.

1. No calls. It is seldom that I get an urgent call that can't wait. Since the inception of the cell phone, we carry our devices everywhere just in case. The truth is few of us ever receive an emergency call. Note how many emergency calls you get this week. Do you see what I mean?

2. No notifications. Admit it, you have promised yourself to review your notifications and adjust the settings countless times. Yet you are still interrupted by that annoying game your kid put on your phone. It pokes you with reminders to gain more coins, gems, or to feed your virtual kitten. Yes, you can turn off all of the notifications, but most people don’t because what if someone tags you on Facebook today?

3. No browsing. What’s the weather going to be like tomorrow? What’s the latest breaking news? Has anyone shared my latest blog post? It doesn’t matter which browser you use on your phone, Chrome, Safari, Atomic, iCab… each leads you right back online. You can’t access them without an internet connection. 

4. No Siri interruptions. I was once on a live webinar with hundreds of people, when suddenly Siri replied to me out of the blue. One second I was rocking my way through a presentation, the next I was looking at my phone exclaiming, “Not now, Siri!” Shut that woman (or Australian man if you are Heather) down while you are working.

5. No text messages. Both my kids got an iPod touch for Christmas. Both haven’t stopped texting me ever since. This is fine, I love to hear from my kids, but small talk can be distracting when you are working. Think of the time you are spending in airplane mode as time you are making money to help put your kids through college. They will thank you for ignoring them later. 

Two Bonus Airplane Mode Tips

Stop a text message from sending. Not quite a productivity tip but this one can help you. If you are sending a text message (especially a multi-media message), you can quickly switch your phone to airplane mode to stop the message from being sent. Once you switch it back off, the message will say it was undelivered. Thanks to Matt Elliott from CNET for saving us from potential embarrassment.  

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Queue Instagram photos. I avoid oversharing on Instagram. If you share too many photos in a row you will annoy your followers. Instead, you should queue photos for Instagram using airplane mode. Just do everything as you normally would. When you are ready, switch the phone to airplane mode, and upload the photo to Instagram. It will give you a failed message. When you switch off airplane mode the photo will still be there waiting for you to try again. Hit the round, refresh arrow and your photo will be uploaded. This is handy if you are saving a photo for #throwbackthursday, but today is Monday. 

If you want to be productive this year be generous with how often you use airplane mode on your phone. It’s the next best thing to moving to Cuba.

Practice What You Preach

I just released my 2016 version of my daily goals document, to help you (and me) stay focused on our priorities. I started a new personal blog here that is supposed to be daily, and yet I didn't commit myself to sticking to it through the holidays. 

I didn't practice what I preached. Starting anything during December isn't the best move in my humble opinion. Especially when you work from home and have family visiting and your kids home from school. It's seasonal chaos that distracts you from the work you need to do for yourself. That said, I wouldn't have it any other way. My kids had an amazing Christmas, that's all I care about in December, that and my clients are happy of course. 

Writing here has to be daily

This blog is called Dave Delaney Daily for a reason. I'm supposed to be writing here each day. It's a project to force me to write more and exercise my brain. Maybe I should call it Dave Delaney, Except December. I could also rethink it into a daily blog except on Sundays. Like a Chick-fil-A without the delicious fried chicken and pickle sandwiches and homophobia. 

No, I'm back at it. It has to be daily. The alliteration of the name just sounds right. Don't you think? If you want to start writing daily check out Jeff Goins' blog post on the topic. 

My mum (not a typo, she's British) returned to Toronto on the 29th. Heather gets back to work tomorrow (God bless her), and my kids get back to school this Wednesday. Things are getting back to normal. 

I love the holidays (God bless Amazon), but when you work for yourself, getting back to work is greatly anticipated.

I have the house to myself for a couple of hours, so I thought I would write this for you now. In case you were thinking I got hit by a reindeer or I choked to death on a turkey bone. I did almost pass out from egg nog, but I don't want to bore you with that lesson. 

It's time to practice what I preach. I'm printing out my daily goals documents for this week. I'm writing it all out. I'm planning 2016 like crazy. You should too. Expect daily blog posts from me with alacrity moving forward! 

What are you working on? Are you trying to make writing a habit in 2016? Is it already a habit? I'd love to hear about your experiences. What works for you?  

A Christmas Story

I’m not sure what year it was, but we were north of Toronto near my cottage. We were deep in a forest, surrounded by fluffy white snow everywhere. I was a young kid, wrapped up to my head in winter wear. I looked like a Canadian ninja, dressed in a blue, snowflake patterned toque, positioned just above my eyes. My Toronto Maple Leafs scarf was over my mouth and nose to the bottom of my eyes. Hundreds of fraser, balsam fir, scotch pine, and spruce trees surrounded us. The dusk sun was on the cusp of setting, and the snow reflected the dark blue from the sky above. Santa was up there somewhere, getting ready to visit us soon.

On the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree

My step-brother, Andy, was there, along with my brother, Mike, and my Dad. We were hunting for the perfect Christmas tree to return to the cottage and decorate for St. Nick himself. As we wandered through the snow-covered tree farm, we reached a crossroads. A large path split the forest in half. We stood there together, frozen for a moment, anticipating something.

Suddenly, a pack of barking, snorting dogs appeared out of the darkness. They sprinted toward us along the path, huffing and puffing. One large cloud of carbon dioxide floated above the dogs as they exhaled quick breaths. Behind the dogs stood a large man with a guttural voice who commanded the dogs to halt. The sleigh came to a complete stop right in front of us. We were all dumbfounded.

Two beautiful brown gems happily glared back to us.

The man behind the sled smiled. His eight huskies stood anxiously awaiting further instruction. The musher looked at us and asked if we liked his dogs. He assured us that it was OK to go over to pet them. One particular dog instantly drew us in like a magical magnet. He had the thick white, and gray fur one would expect from a Siberian Husky. However, his eyes were both hazel brown. The breed is best known for its piercing blue eyes. Some huskies have one blue and one brown eye, but not this one. Two beautiful brown gems happily glared back at us.

His eyes seemed to smile as we all gathered around to pet him while the dog runner glanced down and noted our fondness for the individual dog. “It sure looks like they like that one, eh?” he said to our father. My dad replied in agreement, “They sure do. He’s one hell of a good-looking dog.”

“You guys want him?” The musher asked. The freezing wind abruptly stopped. The forest became silent. My siblings and I stared from the dog up to my dad. We had never owned a dog before. The man unzipped his parka and reached into his pocket for a business card. “If you want him, give me a call. That one is for sale.”

Before my dad could answer him, he yelled, “Mush! Hike! All right! Let’s go!” The dogs jumped up and were off like lightning. They left the scene so quickly that it felt like the whole thing had been a winter dream. We stood there staring into the distance as the dog sled disappeared. The snow fell faster from the heavens.

Photo from Flickr by Peggy2012CREATIVELENZ

I have no recollection of selecting a tree, cutting it down, strapping it to the roof, or any monetary exchange for the tree. No, all I remember is what happened next. The snow fell silently into the windshield as we drove through the night. The ride was quiet as millions of flakes endlessly flew toward us. It was as if the snow had hypnotized my dad. He turned from glaring at his headlights on the dark road and asked, “Do you guys want a dog?” 

"I was going to kill him next week."

A few days later, we drove up the long driveway of the musher’s home. We were shocked to see so many dog houses surrounded by fencing. The volume of the barking dogs was ear-piercing as we trudged through the slush and brown, muddy snow to the front door. The man greeted us, and we entered his rustic home. My dad and the man sat at his kitchen table. We looked around at the dogs, searching for the one we had found that night at the tree farm.

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My dad made the check out for $500 as the man left to retrieve our first dog. The musher smiled as we departed and put his hand on my dad’s shoulder. “You know, I’m glad you bought that one… I was going to kill him next week.”

As it turns out, Teddy wasn’t the best sled dog, which would be his fate. Luckily (for him and us), he was the best first dog a family could own. I have no recollection of what Christmas gifts I received that year. I don’t even remember what the tree looked like. All I remember is that was the year Teddy joined our family. We had many great years with him. Now he’s up there somewhere, beyond the North Pole, above the snow and the clouds, in the sky, far over that tree farm.

Thanks for being here. Merry Christmas, Teddy. Happy Holidays to you too.

How to Slow Time

The phenomenon of time zipping past us faster as we get older is nothing new. This is something I’ve been interested in for years. I once read that the feeling of time going by quickly is thought to be brought on by our repetitive lives.

Why does time fly by?

We all have that summer we remember, the one where we had our first kiss or did something else taboo. That summer seemed to last forever. Did I just quote Don Henley?

It is believed that when we first do something new, it makes time stand still. As we get older, we do the same things over and over, and time goes by faster because of this repetitiveness. This should encourage you to try something new, like attend a networking event you’ve never been to, take a class on something new, travel, or start a blog.

Last year, I interviewed Ronni Bennett, a retired television producer who produced classic TV shows like Barbara Walters specials and “20/20.” She even launched CBSNews.com as their first managing editor in 1995. Ronni blogs all about issues and topics related to aging at Time Goes By.

Timeless Networking Tips

It is by blogging for years about age that Bennett has built a network of loyal readers. She has even organized meetups where she has been able to meet her readers in person. In the hustle and bustle of business use of social media (especially this time of the year), it’s easy to forget about truly connecting with people online. Instead, we want our content to be seen by as many eyeballs as possible. Bennett reminded me of the importance of building relationships, and she has done just this by creating a community of like-minded individuals with an interest in aging.

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Bennett also spoke about how she networked her way to an impressive career in broadcasting from the 1970s to the 1990s. She got to know so many people by attending dinners. Each person would often bring a guest to the dinners, and her network would grow from these encounters. She arrived at CBSNews.com because she helped a person in her network. The executive producer of CBS needed to learn about the Internet. Bennett offered to help and ended up being offered the job as the first managing editor.

Here are three main things I learned from our thought-provoking and often hilarious conversation:

1. Try new things to slow time down, but know the speed of time never really changes.

2. Be selfless and helpful to people in your network. This landed Bennett a position as a pioneer of the Internet. She was the first person to connect text with images in online news.

3. Attend and/or organize events. Getting out from behind the computer and meeting new people or your online friends in person is always a healthy move to grow your network.

Take some time now to listen to my original interview with Ronni Bennett. I promise you will be laughing and thinking about age in a new way. 

Is time going by quickly for you too? Have you figured your own way to make it slow?

10 Tips to Choose Yourself from James Altucher

One of my favorite people (who I have never met) is James Altucher. James is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has had big wins and plenty of failures throughout his career. I like his somewhat kooky approach to life. I’m somewhat kooky too, so he appeals to me that way. He’s a big fan of comedy, I am too. He writes from the heart, I do too. He’s had some dark days in his life, moi aussi. 

James’ blog is prolific and his podcasts are always enjoyable. I enjoy listening to his amateur sounding interviews with his stellar guests and amazing questions. You can tell he listens intently and truly gets excited by his guests. I don’t mean amateur in a negative way. I mean that he comes across sincere, with a voice unlike professional broadcasters. That’s what podcasting is all about. 

James has written several amazing books, but the one that has impressed me the most is Choose Yourself. The following are ten takeaways that stuck with me from the book. Consider each point for your own life.

10 Takeaways From Choose Yourself

1. Every second, you have to choose yourself to succeed.

2. Rejection - and the fear of rejection - is the biggest impediment we face to choosing ourselves. 

3. Only think about the people you enjoy. Only read the books you enjoy, that make you happy to be human. Only go to the events that actually make you laugh or fall in love. Only deal with the people who love you back, who are winners and want you to win too.

4. The past and future don’t exist. They are memories and speculation, neither of which you have any control over.

5. What does purpose mean when we are dead? We might as well choose to be happy now.

6. Think of two people in your network who don’t know each other but you think can add value to each other’s lives (I added this idea to my daily goals document). 

7. All you have to do is stay in the present. When you catch yourself upset about the past or worried about the future, say to yourself, “Ah, I’m time traveling,” then STOP.

8. If you don’t promote yourself, nobody else will. 

9. We only ever remember the things we are passionate about.

10. We never learn when we are talking. We only learn when we are listening.

Bonus: Pretend everyone was sent to this planet to teach you.

I recommend you pick up a copy of Choose Yourself today. Get started.

What book have you read this year that left you inspired? Leave a comment, I would love to learn more about the books that mean something to you. 

Six must-know tips to work from home

Part of the purpose of this blog is for me to share things I have learned about being an entrepreneur who works alone. While I’m not a huge fan of the word “solopreneur,” it does encapsulate my work life. I also work from home, so if you do, too, this post is for you. 

Six tips for people who work from home - people like you. 

1. Your couch is dangerous.

Ella was sick, she was home from school with me for a few days recently. She spent the day on the couch watching tv, reading, and resting. I spent the day next to her on my computer. When she returned to school, I worked for two more days from the couch. My back was aching, and I felt much less productive. The couch is a symbol of laziness and procrastination. 

If you work from home, you must carve out your corner. Set up an ergonomic workspace that is distraction-free. Avoid the couch at all costs (unless it’s to console your sick kiddo). I’m back in my office now and feeling much better. 

2. Schedule time daily to use social media to connect with people.

I’ll be the first to admit that social media can distract from getting the work done. However, if you are genuinely being social, it’s not a bad place to pop into. If you work alone, you need interaction throughout your day. People need people. Allocate a little time through your day to log into Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to say hello. See what your friends are up to and meet some new people. Use an app like Freedom to switch off access to social networks when your time is up. 

3. Beware of the kitchen. 

When you work from home, your fridge is close - too close. Making snacks is a form of procrastination. Your kitchen equals lost time and gained weight. If you must stretch your legs (and you should), pop into your kitchen for a quick glass of water instead. Staying hydrated is essential, and your increased bathroom breaks will get you up for a stretch. 

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4. Stretch!

https://spinecenterbr.com/simple-stretches-to-relieve-back-pain/

Take breaks every hour to stretch. Reach for the sky, reach down to your toes, and get up! The best thing about working from home is nobody hears your grunts as you get into the downward dog position on the floor.  

5. Find a professional lunch or breakfast group you can join or start your own. 

Find a good group of professionals who you can network with. I wrote all about this in my book, New Business Networking. Getting out of your house to meet people is a positive way to spend some time each week or two. If you can’t find a group to join, consider starting your own. 

6. Reward yourself.

When you work for a decent company, rewards are given for meeting milestones. Do the same for yourself. Set your goals and get to them. If you meet your monthly goal, reward yourself with a movie or a hike. Do something for the fun of it because you deserve it. 

Working from home isn’t always easy. Staying productive is vital. Time is your most precious commodity and a terrible thing to waste. 

FREE DOWNLOAD: The Daily Goals Worksheet

It feels like it is impossible to stay focused when you work online. We get distracted by social media, email, and cat videos all of the time. When my computer isn't distracting me my iPhone is. I expect you get distracted too. I found a simple productivity tool that works, which I have made available to you here. It's the new and improved, Daily Goals Worksheet. Prepare to conquer your to do list, rock your goal setting, and achieve your personal goals and business goals.

I have used countless apps and software to help me get the work done, but I fail too often. The main problem is each time I have to open an app, I get distracted by something else on the device. I'll see a notification, status update, or my mind will wander and force me to open Reddit.

Last year, I came up with a solution to help me stay focused. It involves three ingenious innovations: paper, pen, and coffee (coffee is optional). 

My Daily Goals worksheet is simple. You print a copy for each day of the week from Monday to Friday and use a slight variation for Saturday. Print it, fill it out, and keep it in front of you all day. That's the most important part (next to filling it out) - keep it where you can see it. 

How to use the Daily Goals

8 Steps to Your Daily Goals Worksheet.

1. Sunday night decide what you need to achieve by the end of the week. Fill in this main goal for each day. This should be the same thing on each page. 

2. Decide what your main goal is for the end of the month. Keep this the same, so you can be laser focused.

3. Add each day of the week. The main document is for Monday - Friday, the other is just for Saturdays. 

4. Add a dollar sign in the box on the left if this item will earn you money. This helps you stay focused on what feeds your family (and buys you coffee).

5. Notice the "P"? The P stands for "personal". Each day of the week, add two personal goals. For example: exercise for thirty minutes, read for one hour, play soccer with junior, write a chapter, cook dinner.

6. Try to introduce two people in your network each day. Everybody knows someone who is looking for a job or is hiring. Perhaps these are people who should know one another because of similar interests. Look at your email and LinkedIn for ideas.  

7. The "B" stands for "business". Each day of the week, add six business goals. For example; follow up with John Doe, update expense report, review analytics. 

8. The tick boxes on the right are for ticking off what you get done. Feel the complete satisfaction of using a pen to check mark this area when you get the work done. You will get the work done.

On the Saturday page you will notice a slight variation. There are two business goals and six personal goals. Focus Saturdays on yourself. There is no page for Sunday. Go outside and play, get to a new movie, watch football. You have earned your free Sundays.

I know we all get interrupted. Distraction happens even with a printed daily goals worksheet in front of you all day. When you do get distracted, look back down on your desk, or up to your whiteboard or mirror (or wherever you stick your daily goals worksheet). Focus on your goals and get back to work. 

Let's make this year your most productive year yet. If you find this helpful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. 

Now go download your daily goals worksheet to get started. 

I'm a Sucker for Nostalgia

I fondly recall Ireland every time I'm out in a misty rain, listening to Planxty, or sipping a creamy pint of Guinness (Zero). I have many reasons to long for Ireland. Galway is where I met my best friend and wife, Heather.

I miss sitting in Neachtains with Heather on a relaxed Saturday afternoon, playing cards by the peat fire. I miss taking seaside strolls along the Salt Hill promenade during the warm days. I loved Thursday nights upstairs with friends at The Crane. We would sit, listening to the finest Irish traditional music in the world. It's also where Heather and I had our first date.

There's much I miss about Galway and my adventures hitchhiking across Ireland. The truth is that I miss the feeling of the time; I'm a sucker for nostalgia. Ireland was carefree freedom. Before meeting Heather, I didn't even care for myself. She taught me how. She gave me a reason to. That's the part I don't think about enough.

We choose our memories to dwell on. I don't consider the loneliness, the hangovers, the poverty, and the dreadful weather. I miss Ireland and our friends, but I know it's the freedom I miss most.

The Freedom Still Exists

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I'm a husband, father, and consultant, I can't run away to find freedom again. Instead, I need to realize that freedom still exists. I work for myself; I make my own hours. And on a rainy day like when I wrote this when the nostalgia has kicked back in, I'm free to slip away to my local pub for a pint of the black stuff.

Savor your recollections, but don't let your selective memory fool you. It was never all roses (or four-leaf clovers). Take a deep breath and be thankful for what you have. 

May the best day of your past be the worst day of your future.