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What I Learned From

What I Learned on the Internet, Writing Edition

by Drew on December 18, 2009 in What I Learned From
photo by christgr

photo by christgr

In many businesses, the most effective way to get something done is to put it in writing.  Business writing helps drive clarity and accountability, and gets things done.  Below are some tips from around ‘net to improve your writing.

Note: This is part of the What I Learned on the Internet Series.

  1. Write Efficiently – Get through email quickly by writing only three sentences.
  2. Write to Speak Well – Great speeches start from great writing.
  3. Skip Technology – Consider not using spell-checker to be more careful.
  4. Be Funny – Engage the reader through humor writing.
  5. Learn What’s Good – Take a course to find out what is good writing.
  6. Avoid the Mistakes – Know and avoid some of writing’s dumbest mistakes.
  7. Know the Value – Understand what makes writing so important.

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What I Learned on the Internet, Motivation Edition

by Drew on December 4, 2009 in What I Learned From
photo by falconaxe

photo by falconaxe

Motivation can be hard to find at times, so when you find you are in need of being motivated, check out some of these links.

Note: This is part of the What I Learned on the Internet Series.

  1. Find the Peak - Accomplish more by working at your peak times of day.
  2. Be Worthy of Remark - Make the decision to be remarkable.
  3. Be Excuse Free - Accept no excuses when trying to get something done.
  4. Don’t Think Big - Get started by following the little rules.
  5. Future Think - Ask yourself, “what will I remember when I am 90?“
  6. Get Scientific – Understand the science of motivation.
  7. Find Your Trigger - Identify what motivates and de-motivates you.
Find the Peak:

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Awesome Ideas from the Applied Improvisation Network

by Drew on November 28, 2009 in What I Learned From

This year’s Applied Improvisation Network Conference was an incredible experience filled with some amazing ideas.

ain-conference-2009
Below are some excerpts that stuck out to me from the workshops I attended:

From This Is Your Brain on Improv (Rich Cox & Janet Crawford):

Laughter is one of the brain’s natural responses to get back in sync with someone.

From The Deeper, Funner Facilitation Cookbook (Julie Huffaker & Gary Hirsch):

You have to know what a person cares about first before you can influence them. The best way to find out what they care about is to ask them.

From Creating a Playback Theater Performance (Christopher Ellinger, Zhaleh Almaee, Anne Ellinger)

Listening is so important. To show understanding, it’s important to playback what it is you heard them saying.

From Touching the Heart: Exploring Core Values through Personal Storytelling (Nick Owen)

Being fearless doesn’t mean to deny fear, but to face it.

and

Form, action and innovation lies within the tension between structure and chaos.

From Improvisation and Biomimicry (Belina Raffy):

Nature is sustainable and we can learn from it.  Nature: recycles everything, rewards cooperation, demands local expertise, and curbs excesses from within.

From Adventures in Micro-fiction (Denzil Meyers)

To spur writing, the design is to give you as little stimulus as possible, and let the mind fill in the gaps.

From Open Space Rules (lead by Chris Corrigan):

The Law of Two Feet: if you are somewhere and you aren’t learning, then use your two feet to get to somewhere you can be.

From Wiley Vets (Bard Braende, Sue Walden, Alieke van der Wijk)

Never make it about the sale, make it about the relationship.

From Talking to the CEO (Bard Braende, Maxine Shapiro)

The maximum capacity for a “tribe” is 150 people.  After that it becomes too large to manage and should be split into two separate groups.

There were far too many great nuggets of knowledge to list them all here, but to read more about the entire event, check out the AIN Portland Conference 09 Wrap-up.

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What I Learned on the Internet, Productivity Edition

by Drew on October 2, 2009 in What I Learned From
photo by shadowkill

photo by shadowkill

The Internet is full of sites that can help you procrastinate, but it’s also filled with tips on how to be more productive.  The articles below can help you get things done better, faster, or in some cases not at all.

Note: This is part of the What I Learned on the Internet Series.

  1. The quickest way to get something off your to-do list is to just delete it.
  2. Want shorter meetings? Require dancing while giving updates.
  3. Beat procrastination to be productive.
  4. No matter how busy you are, you can always make room for brilliance.
  5. Tempted to stray away from work? Distract yourself with manageable tasks.
  6. Combine improv and GTD for uber-productivity.
  7. Work at your peak times to accomplish more.

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