Does your Dad’s voice stay in your head? Mine does. I hear him talking to me at least a couple of times a week even though we haven’t lived in the same house in 30 years. I think about my Dad a lot in business, actually.
May 21, 2015
Your dad might have been one of those tender dads who talked to you and went on long walks and read books. Some dads are like that.
My Dad worked 12 and 16 hour shifts in a tire factory. He smelled like rubber and sweat when he came home. He liked to go fishing and drink beer with Uncle Butch.
Maybe your dad talked to you. Mine didn’t talk much. He yelled sometimes and we listened. More of a command and control kind of guy. We didn’t discuss much. Discussing things wasn’t high on his priority list.
When I was 3 he caught some fish though and I begged him to let them go and he did. That was a good day with my Dad.
Later he taught me how to put a worm on the end of a hook and catch a fish. My sister and I would sit quietly until we would start aggravating each other. Then we would eat sandwiches from the picnic lunch and horse around and my mother would read a book. My Dad probably wished we were boys. We were always getting the lines tangled up and talking.
My Dad worked hard and often for years. He showed me what sacrificial love looks like. And he was a terrific gardener. He was smart with his money. He was inherently intelligent and good with tools. He always kept things neat and clean. He also has Elvis Presley hair. It always looks perfect. Even at night – even when he wakes up in the morning. I have no idea how he does it. He has better hair and more hair than most men that I know. Here’s a picture from last June to prove it.
See – perfect hair.
Anyway, when I was growing up, my Dad worked 6 days a week so he didn’t watch much TV but when he did, he watched re-runs of Star Trek and Planet of the Apes. I actually wanted to know my Dad better so sometimes I would watch these shows with him – always at a distance of at least 4 to 6 feet because he liked his space. Truth be told, I could have cared less about the shows but my Dad was a mystery to me so I would sit and study him. The Planet of the Apes show actually scared me and Spock – he scared me too.
But Captain Kirk was another story. Even as a little kid, I liked Scotty and I liked the engineer but honest to God, they didn’t hold my attention. It was Captain Kirk that had it going on.
Captain Kirk was in control. Danger was lurking in every corner of the galaxy but he was on a mission with his team to save the world and his crew on the Starship Enterprise. Do you remember the Captain’s Log that ended every episode? When I thought about how I would tell you about everything that’s happened in the first 21 days of #180in120, I thought it would be infinitely more interesting if I did it like Captain Kirk.
Captain’s Log -47634.44 – The Enterprise is preparing detailed charts of the new system. Although tedious, this is the first step towards mastering our universe. Traveling at warp speed, we are still five weeks away from charting new territory in sector 600. We are holding position and all main systems are at least temporarily restored.
See – much more fun. Just reading that, I felt my adrenaline increase. It’s like some sort of Star Trek endorphin rush. Did you feel it too? I love endorphin rushes especially when they don’t involve exercise. Words do that to me but then again, I’m wired that way.
I digress. Back to doing a 180 in 120 days. I’m sure a few of you wondered if maybe it was all smoke or mirrors. Or maybe not. Maybe you’re really trusting like me and you thought great things would happen. Well, they have!
Here’s what we have to show for our efforts so far:
Since May 1, 2015, we:
- Held an off site retreat.
- Invested 60 hours in staff time on planning and process improvement.
- Wrote and published 5 blog posts (including this one) documenting our journey and providing outside accountability. Time invested: 60 hours of staff time (writing, editing, proofing, publishing and distribution through all active channels.) I write fast. It helps and we’re content creators at Creative Company – built in “awesome” – that helps too.
- Identified Key Performance Indexes to Measure.
- Began using Kipfolio, a KPI measurement tool.
- Began working on sales/cost projections with various scenarios for the second half of fiscal 2015.
- Cut $5,600 in annual costs (Vendor, Online Subscription Service, Other Ancillary Services)
- Added two key code development resources to our arsenal as well as a photo and video studio in Chicago. Initial projects have all happened on time and on budget.
- Started to line up speeches on #180in120.
- Began a partnership with Madison College to help future solopreneurs in the arts be successful with a legendary creative guy creating a feature variable work force for the Agency AND helping others live the dream.
- Registered the trademarks for #180in120 for both books and consulting.
- Began the process of publishing through Amazon. Planned book release date: October 30, 2015.
- Finalized lease agreement and began planning with the general contractor.
- Increased Linked In Profile Views by 80% Week Over Week. Now in the top 4% within my personal connections of over 2,200 people.**
- Increased Linked In Profile Views 23% for the month. Now in the top 5% of professionals like me.**
- Engaged with over 20,000 viewers on the blog posts through E Mail, Facebook and Linked In with our target audience.
- Re-engaged with several clients who did Imagine Plan within the last decade and are, like me, ready to do it again.
Like Captain Kirk, I love a good mission. I haven’t felt this focused since I wrote and implemented a revised business plan in 2008. It feels really good to get up in the morning excited. I’m not sure how to measure excitement but I know the end result is better performance all across the board.
Somebody important said if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. Do you know who that was? I don’t know. Anyway, that’s so true. It’s amazing what can happen when you know where you’re going though.
If you want to watch the old episodes of Star Trek, you can find them on You Tube. I’ll post the link below. And if you have any lessons from Captain Kirk you care to share, I’d love to hear them. Here’s a few I know for sure:
- Know your mission.
- Pay attention to the risks.
- Get your team on board.
- Listen as if your life depends on it.
- Document your progress.
- Be courageous with your words, thoughts and actions.
- Wear the same clothes every day so you don’t have to waste time thinking about things that don’t matter.
- And if you can find a half-Vulcan, half-human to go along for the ride with, it will be infinitely more interesting.
Here’s to keeping it interesting.
#180in120.
Resources: Klipfolio.com – http://www.klipfolio.com/
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQXpTigEXek&w=430&h=323]