chrisbrogan.com - Latest Comments in How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

justinlevy — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:56:59 -0000

I think it's great that you're already planning for 2009. For the past 2 weeks I have been planning on where I want to take the restaurant next year, what mistakes were made this year, etc. I have to extend that '09 planning to my other professional responsibilities and then work on melding them all together.

Just a thought, I saw that you mentioned needing to hire an assistant/intern. Have you given any consideration to hiring a virtual assistant(s)? I have had great success using a small team of assistants that allow me to focus on other interests. You know where to find me if you want to discuss more :)

Looking forward to seeing what amazing stuff you come up with next year! Here's to success in 2009!

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Dave Lutz — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:11:11 -0000

Chris, great post! You're way ahead of most of us with your 2009 planning. As a next step, you should consider putting together a monthly budget. Estimating your revenue, expenses and cash flow and then tracking actualization against those estimates will definitely improve your accountability (and hopefully keep you stay clear of cash flow surprises). Additionally, it will force you to quantify your goals to ensure that they not only feel right, but also have potential to contribute to the CB retirement fund.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Corey Graham 2.0 — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:01:12 -0000

I am totally with you here, 2009 goals need to be formulated now so that by the turn of the year you are ready to hit the ground running. Its very important to set some rules and allow yourself to succeed at it.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

PodChicks — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:01:45 -0000

I like your last bullet point under big goals for 2009. I saw an infomercial yesterday about P90X, this fitness program that is supposed to get you in tip top shape in 90 days in an hour a day. I'm thinking about purchasing it because it made sense, although when it comes to fitness, it always do better when working in conjunction with others. Anyone interested in doing this program or propose another one we could do?? Might be a fun way to get into shape and tweet about our experiences along the way, especially as we enter this wonderful holiday season.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

John P Kreiss — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:52:56 -0000

Putting goals in writing is the first step towards fulfilling those goals. Including boundaries and contraints is great because it's important to understand the potential roadblocks that could get in the way.

Nice post, Chris. You may want to consider executive coaching if you ever get tired of social media. You have a clear sense of the need for work-life balance and I think you'd be good at it.

John P.Kreiss
MorganSullivan, Inc.
http://www.johnpkreiss.com

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Robert_Worstell — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:34:19 -0000

Plan your work, work your plan - analyze your life in small boxes...

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Invoice Factoring Blog — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:27:43 -0000

You said:
* More business acumen. This past month, I crippled myself * by putting out too much travel budget in one big pop. It * left me broke for several weeks. Small businesses need to * manage their cash flow, and I’m now much more aware of * * how this works.

Answer:

Need a quick Finance 101? McGraw "Finance for Non Financial Managers" (Robert A. Cooke) is very easy to read, relatively free of obscure jargon and extremely good. This will also help you understand your small business customers much better.

--Marco, who deserted Technology for Finance

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Beth Kanter — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:36:40 -0000

Thanks for sharing your goals. How are you managing your deadlines and commitments on spreadsheets? I'm trying to do this myself - slow myself down to get it into a system so I can be proactive with my time.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

ccseed — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:09:38 -0000

It seems that only through the mis-takes, I get redirected on the 'way'...

This post gets to the heart of a question I put to you a few weeks back. While I was thinking web measures, you have brought it back to the personal, where all our endeavors need to be rooted.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

kathy elkins — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:03:02 -0000

Another helpful post Chris, thanks. In the midsts of this process as well for our business. Trying to be more structured and purposeful and your post will defintely provide some guidance.

I have never used a virtual assistant, but other folks I trust have had great luck with them. However you choose to get the help you need, the most important thing is that you (a) realize you need it and (b) are going to do something about it. It's easy to fall into the "I can do it all myself" trap.

Hope you do provide progress reports as you go - I think we'll all learn from them.

Kathy

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Dennis Fassett — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:41:07 -0000

I like the framework that you set out in your blog post. It has the elegance of simplicity which means it's usable.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Jim Canterucci — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:57:15 -0000

Chris, a critical guiding factor for a creative and hopefully innovative person (there is a difference) is congruence. You're exhibiting this in your plan.

Are there multiple leverage points for your goals in each activity? Does doing A push forward progress on B and also, maybe M and P as well?

I draw and review a congruity map regularly to see that all the activities are connected. This defines the box. Interestingly others may not see the connections. That's OK. The congruency map is for you. I learned this from my mentor Nido Qubein.

Jim

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Darren Daz Cox — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:56:00 -0000

you can be two or more things such as a pilot and a chef, and be good at both, but have a separate business card for both.

When someone calls for the chef, that's who you are etc.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Susan Murphy — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:43:13 -0000

The good thing about taking on only what you can and passing the rest on to other people is that a) it's not really saying "no"; it's being helpful, and b) it's a good karma move.

I've passed work on to others (only people I absolutely trust!), and I've found that usually it ends up coming back in another way (be it a more developed project or new connections, etc.). Usually by the time it comes back around to me, it's a better fit and I have the time, and the project becomes more beneficial not only to me but to the people I'm helping.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Danilo Bogdanovic — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:17:10 -0000

Reading your post left me thinking, "I really need to prioritize things moving forward!" - thanks for the wake-up call.

Your post and the comments left by readers has pointed me in the right direction as well. I'll be sitting down putting together goals and an action plan not only for 2009, but for the rest of the year.

Thank you for sharing this with everyone!

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

cletch — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:16:46 -0000

Initially I didn't agree with your article - which is very unusual! You were referring to creating a niche market that played to a skill and as I read further I realized you also meant that organizing our abilities and goals into small boxes allows us to see the big picture.

You CAN be a web designer and a CPA. It will serve you well if you design web sites specifically for CPA's. You'd understand issues and find resolutions that the average designer might not.

I have many different work experiences and seemingly unrelated skills. It all combines into a unique amalgamation of services that aren't offered by any other VA I am aware of. That's my niche market... or my small box.

The one commonality?

I get great pleasure out of helping my clients succeed while making their life easier for them in the process. This philosophy has allowed me to choose my clients my entire career and I've never been bored with my job.

I too have been thinking about goals for 2009.

So... when I saw you were in need of an assistant, I almost threw my hat in the ring because I would be excited and honored to work with you, but then I realized, you don't quite fit into any of my boxes. Boundaries are the most difficult skill to acquire when you're a creative/social type who loves to learn and experience new things.

Thanks for another awesome article Chris... I always seem to come away with lots of good information that leads to further thinking. You deserve the Oscar of blogging.

Best wishes for a successful, yet constrained, 2009.

Pat Williams
CyberCletch LLC
Pat@CyberCletch.com
www.RealHomeSense.com
Twitter: cletch

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Steve Garfield — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 08:21:01 -0000

Hi Chris,
Good post.

You're planning like it's 2009.
--Steve

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Mark wallace — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:54:24 -0000

Chris- I use a process called vital factors to manage my priorities. My former CEO turned me onto it and it works well. It keeps me really focused and helps me plan, track, and analyze how I am doing toward
my objectives.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Matthew Bibby — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:12:12 -0000

Thank you for sharing your goals Chris.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

SusieBlackmon — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:07:07 -0000

I can help virtually, with references... very experienced in a multitude of aspects. See profile/blog on my site and also on Active Rain.

Seriously. And I love your daily emails.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Nicky — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:05:38 -0000

Chris.. does it make sense... yes, but the important thing is that it makes sense to you. I might do some things differently and some the same. For example I start with listing my goals for the year, such as the revenue I want to make, #of clients, etc then prioritise. Then I plan the actions and the steps I will need to take, the measures and the resources I'll need. I use a combination of whiteboarding, mind-mapping and project planning tools including my trusty Moleskine.
I find the HOW is very important, as well as regular review and tweaking for the unexpected...

I definitely would suggest looking into getting a virtual assistant/s and outsource everything that's isn't the best of your time. All administrative tasks for starters. VAs are a great resource. I use 2 right now. I have a business colleague who uses 3, each for a different aspect of their business.

Many SB's fail to grow because they fail to delegate and try to do everything themselves, instead of focusing their time on their core business.

Great post...thanks for sharing.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

David Poon — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:05:19 -0000

Thanks for sharing that Chris. Loved the way you chose the word "Constraints" instead of the usual "resolutions". In design, constraints are the catalyst for creative thinking, and I see how your sharing of your "constraints" not only aligns your goals with your personal believes, but opens it up for crowd-sourcing and education as well.

I'm hoping that you'd develop this idea of constraints further, even as the reality of social media shows that like every thing else in life, the only irreplaceable resource is Time.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Saravanan Sahadevan — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:58:15 -0000

Chris.. Always willing to help :)

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Aaron F Stanton — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:39:55 -0000

Scrum. It gets attention in software development, but it can be applied to many forms of project management.

Re: How Small Boxes Help You Succeed

Erica Ross-Krieger — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:37:54 -0000

Thanks for sharing the components of your framework, Chris. I like how you think and since I'm just now turning my focus to 2009 Q1 plans, this is right on time. It would be great to get a quarterly update from you on this so we can see how you do and how you course correct along the way. And btw, on the "improve my physical health" goal, you might want to consider engaging a wellness coach that works by phone long-distance:)

All the best.
Erica