Jim Seybert's Fool's Box has moved!

You should be automatically redirected in 10 seconds. If not, visit
http://jimseybert.com/blog-foolsbox
and update your bookmarks.

Everything that was here has been posted on the new site. Use the Search Feature to locate the post you're after.

1/29/2007

To PPT or not to PPT

Lots of blog talk today about the proper use of PowerPoint and Keynote - the ubiquitous presentation applications.

Seth Godin and Mike Hyatt both provided their own list of DOs and DON'Ts and they make good points -

But here's a thought -

Do you REALLY need presentation software?

Last year, I was faced with leading a retreat in a place where it was going to be impossible to use a projector.

OH MY I thought WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?

There's wasn't much I could do besides go to my notes and make the presentation SANS all the pretty graphics and other crap I'd taken so much time to develop.

And you know what? It was one of the best sessions I'd done in a long time.

I'm a good storyteller, so I used words to grab their attention. In a couple of instances I drew on a board to illustrate a point.

Since then, I've done a few more with nothing but my notes (and charming personality) - and the comments are always positive.

"He knows his stuff and doesn't get lost in PowerPoint slides."

My point is this - presentation software has it's place, but if you are a good storyteller and you know your stuff, take a deep breath and jump off the board without a projector to keep you afloat.

1/26/2007

Does this twist work?

The axiom "Less is More" makes sense on many levels.

So, I'm wodering if there are an equal number of situations where the opposite is also true.

Think about this.

Can you name situations when "More is Less" in your life or business?

1/19/2007

Fish where the fish aren't

The biggest fish are seldom swimming with the pack.

If you want average success, drop your hook where everyone else is fishing . . . but the trophy is out there swimming in uncharted waters.

Seth Godin makes a simple observation about the downside of "targeted marketing" in this entry from his blog.

1/18/2007

Much Ado About Idol?

Every commentary from Rosie to Keith was crying about the terrible treatment of a contestant by the judges on American Idol.

It was pretty brutal, but accoring to Toni Fitzgerald, writing for Media Life, the folks watching the show either weren't offended, or their remote controls were broken.

Idol's season opener scored 2 million more viewers than last year and was the second most watched episode, ever.

Will Someone Leave a Note for Our Loved Ones?

Reading this story about the Dooms Day Clock being pushed ahead two minutes, primarily because of climate change issues, I'm wondering if society isn't in a way committing suicide.

Unhappy thought, but certainly a call to each of us to do what we can invidually to beat the clock.

Mankind will adjust to changes, we always do. But, what if some of the changes are a result of our collective ignorance, indifference or arrogance?

If God put us here to take care of things (read Genesis), how are we doing with the task?

1/16/2007

Books I Read Every Year

There are always new books to read, but I have a short list of titles I re-read every year.

Who Moved My Cheese? - It takes 45 minutes and reminds me that change is not only inevitable, it's necessary.

Purple Cow - It is SO easy to allow my remarkableness to get soft.

Management Methods of Jesus - Hands down, the best of it's kind. Concise. Relevant. Thought provoking.

The Bible - I try to read the entire text every year. Different translations and reading guides.

Marketing Success Through Differentiation of Anything - Ted Levitt's 1980 paper on being different. Makes me proud to do what I do.

1/10/2007

iPhone? Eh, tell me something new

Hmm - full disclosure, I am a huge Mac fan.

So, what I'm about to say is almost blasphemous. What's up with the iPhone?

Oh yeah, it's probably going to be an incredible piece of gear. And given Apple's track record, it'll work a lot better than any similar device brought to market by anyone else.

So, what's the beef?

Well - It strikes me as ironic - Apple is such an innovative company that when they announce something that's going to have a major impact, people just shrug and say, "Oh, we expected something like this from Apple."

Has Apple reached a point where their own innovation is a commodity? If some other firm had rolled out the iPhone, people would be have been amazed and bedazzled. Apple does and folks yawn.

Oh, don't get me wrong. People will still buy the darn thing, because it'll work. But what will Steve Jobs and his team need to do to break the next ho-hum barrier?

1/03/2007

Redefining Resolutions

(Note - this appeared first as a monthly column emailed to subscribers).


The world has been consumed this past week, as it is every year at this time, by the theory and practice of setting resolutions. News broadcasters and print journalists have trotted out their annual story of peoples' desire to change something about themselves or their situation.

    "I want to quit smoking, lose weight, be a better person, take more time off, spend more time at work, get organized, be more relaxed."
In a few days, we'll hear and read a series of reports confirming what we already know, the majority of these goals are abandoned before the end of the month.

For a couple of weeks we seem to be obsessed with the idea of changing things. The status quo, that comfort zone of sameness we worship and struggle to maintain all year, is shuffled off to the corner for as long as it takes us to realize that change is difficult. We lay a problem on the table and no matter how resolved we are about fixing it, we either allow the resolution to quietly fade away or announce to ourselves and those who matter that we are no longer in the race.
    "I have decided that losing 50 pounds in a year is impossible, so I am going to stop trying."
These active decisions to stop fighting the status quo, or the gradual realization that we've failed, are usually met with a sense of unease. Human beings dislike change, but we like failure even less.

The dilemma of trying to change goes beyond your personal life. If your company is like most, there's a file cabinet somewhere labeled, "Things We've Tried to Change but Can't."

So, is it our destiny to set and fail at resolutions each year? Is this an unalterable path?

Let me suggest a road less taken.

Perhaps all we need do is to pronounce the word differently.

Instead of the conventional pronunciation - res-o-LU-tion - it might help if emphasis were placed on the first syllable, as in RE-solution.

REdesign, REthink, REposition - REsolution.

The whole process of resolving to change might take on new power and meaning if we look for new solutions to old problems. Rather than trying to fix today's problems with yesterday's answers, maybe what we need are RE-solutions.

This is much easier to write about than it is to do, so here's a little exercise I have used with some of my clients to help them begin the process of RE-solving old issues:

The problem with looking for new solutions is that the left side of your brain - the logical side - loves to follow patterns. When you ask it to think of solutions to problems, it goes through its file of "things that solve problems" and comes up with ideas that are, unfortunately, logical. The secret to finding new solutions is to bring the right side of your brain into the picture. I do this by tricking the left side into thinking we're just playing a game.

  1. Have a group of 4-6 people each tear a sheet of paper into 6 sections. On each slip of paper, have each person write a simple noun such as dog, tuna, hammer, kitchen, sky, book and pencil . Put the slips in a hat, bowl or box.
  2. Ask the group to suggest a couple of "problems" that need solutions. They should be somewhat simple things to start with, "My son is always late for school" or "My aunt is always changing her mind at a restaurant."
  3. Choose one of the problems, then pick a slip of paper from the pile and have the group offer up simple solutions using the chosen word as part of their suggestion. The solutions can be silly, in fact, I find that silliness helps. Encourage the group to fire ideas around the table, branching out to derivatives and synonyms of the word and then playing off other suggestions. Keep it going quickly and change to a new word as the momentum sags.
  4. After running this with a few simple problems, try something a bit more complex or more in touch with your corporate reality, perhaps "The staff doesn't seem to be engaged with our new product line."
  5. As with the simple issues, allow suggestions to start out silly and keep the pace up. You're doing this to fool your left brain into thinking it's "just a game." But, if you pay attention, somewhere along the way an idea will float up that can actually lead to a plausible RE-solution of the problem.

As your group becomes more adept with this exercise, you can add adjectives and other types of words to the pile. Some of my clients play similar games every time they get together, as a way of encouraging creativity. If this one strikes your fancy, I'd be happy to suggest others.

Here's to a great new year, filled to the brim with new ideas and successful RE-solutions.

1/02/2007

Stop trying to win the election

Wow - In this post from his blog, Seth Godin writes about elections and what it takes to win them, but read between the lines and hear what he says about the rest of us who aren't running for office.

I confess to being guilty of trying to win the election with a majority of votes. By doing so, I make my product far less remarkable (and valuable) to the minority of companies who actually find value in what I can do for them.

Unless you are running for political office, there's no need to please everyone. Doing so can actually work against you.