Unlock creativity by taking direction
Working on something with actionable tasks, and tangible outcomes can be highly rewarding for the creative mind. The trick is to realize the need to back away from a roadblock and do something that helps you get past it. Turning to a task that someone else has given you, or that you’ve taken up responsibility for can sometimes be the ticket you’re looking for. So go ahead, do something else for a day, a week, a month or more. Let the experience help generate new ideas, and rekindle that creative soul lurking inside.
Read MoreDefining Your Role
I want you to succeed. Whatever it is you’re passionate about and want to do – I want you to succeed. For many of us it’s our career. You know that 9 to 5, Monday through Friday effort that allows us to support our families and obtain our dreams. Yeah, that one. There is something that I wanted to share on that front, and hopefully it’ll help a bit. I want you to define your role. Define your role in your department, and in the organization as a whole. It could be in the company you work at today or the one you want to work for...
Read MoreSocial Media and the 40 Hour Work Week
One of the more frequent questions I hear about social media, is around how much time should a person allocate towards it. The answer is a lot simpler than it seems: lots. For those looking at moving into a social media role, whether its a community manager, specialist, analyst, or strategist (hmm… lots of –ists in there) expect to spend quite a bit of time. Each of these jobs consist of a lot of hours, mainly because you’re dealing with a platform that never turns off: the Internet. The speed of the Internet really has an influence on the time you need and...
Read MorePressure… it doesn’t work
I have to take a minute and talk about the atmosphere that I’ve been working in as a consultant for the last eight months. It’s been an unbelievable stressful environment. Why have I stuck with it? Guess I’ve fallen into that rut of feeling like I need to be “responsible†and keep the nose to the grindstone – or something like that. The reality, of course, is that this particular contract has taken more of my time, energy, and attention to participate in this environment. More than I would like to admit to friends and...
Read MoreChange And The Generational Gap
We had an interesting discussion around the lunch table the other day regarding many aspects of the current economy. From the mounting job purges of too many large companies and what it all means to us the average person. Really the discussion came around to how the traditional exercise of searching for a job is changing. There were three of us at lunch today and, not surprisingly, there were three different perspectives and understanding of the process in an environment that we all find ourselves in. Here is where the differences in age come into play. Among the three of...
Read MoreStatus Update – Nov. 2008
Hi! Sorry I’m not posting as frequently as I had been. I’m working on that, but am a bit sidetracked with my current client in Minneapolis. Its funny how some clients can take up not just time, but more importantly energy from your normal pursuits. Sometimes it’s hard to work at client sites, where you don’t have the connectivity, or freedom, or time to keep up with the daily routine. Other times it’s just a rollercoaster of energy absorption that the client takes up so I don’t have any left for personal endeavors. Its a really frustrating...
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About Me
Rick Mahn is the Founder of SMBMSP, and Principal of Rick Mahn & Associates. With two decades in Information Technologies and Social Media Architect, Rick connects people & organizations by helping them embrace open interaction and renewed commitment to each other.Learn more about Rick.
