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The rules of gracious conversation, on Twitter and in real life

June 3, 2009 in Community, Work by Alice Bumgarner | 8 comments

tour_1Twitter is a genius tool for building your personal brand.

The downside, it seems, is that a whole mess of people can’t figure out what to say on it, which leads to a never-ending stream of articles on how to use the tool — which are then posted on Twitter.

Twitter users struggle with what sort of comment is OK (”Do I mention that my cat barfed on the sofa this morning? Or will that tarnish my professional image?”), how to get their tweets retweeted, how to manage a swelling Twitter feed, what to say, what not to say, and on and on.

A lot of the answers have their roots in the Rules of Real-Life Conversation. Just ask manners doyenne Letitia Baldrige.

Letitia Baldrige (courtesy of the J.F.K. Library)

Letitia Baldrige (courtesy of the J.F.K. Library)

I doubt Tish even knows what Twitter is, but recently she and I were having lunch at Four Seasons and talking about how to be gracious in real life, and we kept circling back to the fact that, ultimately, it’s mostly about connecting with your community. (And isn’t that what Twitter is about?)

A little background: Letitia is best known as Jackie Kennedy’s social secretary and chief of staff during the White House years. But she has also been a lot of other things, such as the first female executive at Tiffany & Co. and a special assistant to Ambassador Clare Boothe Luce in Rome.

So, what can we learn about using Twitter from someone who grew up during the Depression? As it turns out, plenty.

Here’s how to be conversationally gracious, whether you’re doing it on Twitter or IRL (in real life):

Invite someone over. On Twitter, it looks like this: Right now Kirtsy is inviting folks to come to their deliciously free Hands On Kirtsy sessions across the U.S. And Pamela Slim, author of Escape From Cubicle Nation is tweeting about a free coaching call she’s offering today.

In real life, obviously, you can simply invite someone to your home. “We don’t entertain enough,” Tish says. “Just having somebody over for a hamburger is a gift.

“I lived in a home where my parents had people over all the time — even in the ’30s when my father was a flat-broke, young lawyer, being paid in eggs and chickens.”

Give a compliment. Retweeting is an easy way to make someone feel fascinating. You also see Twitter users giving shout-outs to one another for great blog posts or other achievements.

In real life, Tish says, we should deliver unexpected, uplifting messages. And she realizes that most of us are going to do this via email, rather than in person. She suggests this as an example: “You didn’t see me, but I saw you on the street today. I’ve never seen anyone bounce back from an operation so beautifully. You looked terrific!”

“Those kind of messages — unexpected, undemanded — just make life worthwhile,” she says.

Make newcomers feel welcome. You see this all the time in Twitterland. “Welcome my friend @johndoe! He’s new to Twitter.”

Tish believes people used to be better at this in her day (the ’30s and ’40s). Her theory: Parents have gotten lax about teaching and enforcing manners. When she was a child, her parents made Tish and her two siblings sit in the room with the grownups who came over for cocktails, and to chit-chat with them for 30 minutes.

“In the beginning it was tiresome and horrible, and then we started to really look forward to it. Except for having to get dressed up properly.

“That’s graciousness. It’s the way of saying hello to people, the way of greeting them, the way of picking out of the room the person who’s alone and having a tough time, who is obviously shy and just hating every minute, and going over and saying a couple of sentences. That person will be able to get through the whole party because of that little gesture on the part of the person who feels secure at that moment.”

Listen. “We’ve got to start listening,” says Tish, and at this point she’s ranting over our salads at the Four Seasons. “Not to our iPods and our BlackBerrys and our Raspberrys and Blueberrys. But to each other. Be interested in something other than yourself.”

Social media should be two-way. Too many times, it sounds like a bunch of people shouting from their desktops. But gracious Twitter conversation is about taking time to weigh in, when someone asks a question or needs help, or simply commiserating with someone who’s having a tough day.

Here’s one of Tish’s “back in the day” stories that resonated with me:

“During World War II, I remember there was a widow in northwest Washington, who had two stars on the flag hanging in her front window. That means you’ve lost two children. Then one day there were three stars on the flag. And people noticed it, and they went up and rang the doorbell. I remember that time. This was just a lady in northwest Washington, a nobody in a row house. But the flag. They noticed the flag, the people who walked to work every day. So they went up to pay their condolences to an absolute stranger.

“That’s the way we were.”

[P.S. For the record, I just heard from a mutual friend that Tish does, in fact, know what Twitter is.]

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‘Doesn’t anyone care what I think?’

May 21, 2009 in Work by Alice Bumgarner | 1 comment

I write for a publication geared toward staff that isn’t calling the shots — the administrative assistants of the world. Recently I covered a workplace conundrum that many other workers have likely confronted at some point: the suspicion that no one’s listening to you.

31k43gtkq4l_sl500_aa280_jpgMaybe you’re not invited to a meeting. Or you’re invited to the meeting, but then everyone turns glassy-eyed when you offer your opinion. Or you’re not asked for your input, even when a decision will impact you. What do you do?

To many assistants, it feels like a power issue — if they had power, this wouldn’t be happening, and people would care about what they think.

“Unfortunately, those feelings are nothing new within the administrative field,” says Jennifer Webb, a consultant, trainer and coach.

Reasonable enough. But I think it’s also about how you good you are at getting your ideas across, regardless of how much power you have. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether you’re an assistant or a team leader or an executive. You still need to know how to talk, listen, persuade and rally support for your ideas up and down the ladder.

Advice for making your voice heard:

  • Check your underlying beliefs.You may be undermining yourself. Ask yourself, “Where did I first hear that my opinion wasn’t valuable?” Don’t stop with the first answer you come to. “It goes deeper than whether or not you’re in an administrative position,” says Webb. “Imagine what you’d say to a daughter if someone said her opinion didn’t matter. That’s what you should tell the younger version of you.”
  • Fake it. Could people be tuning you out because your body language reveals a lack of confidence? Even when you don’t feel confident, act as if you do. “Sometimes that helps us feel the way we believe we should be,” Webb says.
  • Stop assuming the worst. “How could they not know how I feel?” You may think your body language is loud and clear. But others may not have picked up on it. “No one’s a mind reader. You’re going to have to articulate,” Webb says.
  • Get past the title to speak like a true partner, says Webb. Forget that he’s the CEO. He’s just “Dan.”
  • Tell people what you need. A martyr says, “Oh, they didn’t include me.” That’s not going to get you anywhere. Instead, advises Webb, “Say what you feel and what you need. When you get into the practice of doing it, it’s very freeing and a smarter way to work with someone.”

For example, pick a smart time to approach your manager and say: “I know you didn’t realize it, but I felt overlooked when you didn’t include my thoughts on XYZ. In the future, I’d like to share my thoughts, because I have a unique perspective on this. What do you think?”

  • Make it about their success, not your hurt feelings. What’s important to the person you report to? Connect your inclusion to his goals.

For example, instead of saying, “I felt disappointed that I wasn’t included in the discussion,” say “You forgot to include me, but here’s why I need to be included next time: I have information about XYZ that others don’t, and I want our team to be as effective as possible.”

[Note: You can find the original article and more at www.businessmanagementdaily.com.]

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Two little words worth writing often

May 4, 2009 in Community, Work by Alice Bumgarner | 3 comments

My husband, Matt, spent 5 1/2 hours on Saturday working on the grounds of our daughter’s school. He and a robust group of about 15 parents moved an insane amount of mulch, installed bike racks and put in new plantings.

2004-detail-01The next morning, clipped to our mailbox, we found a sweet handwritten thank-you note from our friend Sabrina, who chairs the Grounds Committee for the school. Written on hefty card stock, with an impeccable hand, her note came as a welcome surprise. Who writes thank-you notes anymore? On actual note cards? And hand delivers them to your home? Within 24 hours of the thankable deed?

Matt volunteered his time because, to a certain extent, it’s his job as a parent to pitch in where he can. And the gratification came from knowing he’d made a difference to the school; we feel better about a place when it looks good. So he certainly didn’t expect or need an official thank you from the committee chair. Yet Sabrina’s gesture was so thoughtful and — frankly — uncommon in the age of email that you can bet Matt will sign up to help next time Sabrina asks for it.

Imagine that same scenario at the office. How many people get a handwritten “thank you” for doing the workplace equivalent of five hours of sweaty labor they didn’t have to do?

It’s high time we returned to the art of the handwritten note. Why?

  • It’s affordable. Budgets are strapped at work, so an old-fashioned thank-you note has become a low-cost retention tool for many managers trying to keep morale up. And handwriting a note works like a charm when you’re trying to stand apart, because practically no one does it.
  • It’s timeless. In the ’90s, I worked as an editor for etiquette expert Letitia Baldrige, who was Jackie Kennedy’s social secretary in the White House, and to her way of thinking, writing a thank you note and sending a bouquet of flowers were  crucial tools for one’s toolbox, then and now. Handwritten notes are not only gracious and de rigueur but a way of truly connecting with another human being — something she believes is slipping away in modern times.

I’m not sure I agree with her on that last part, but overall, I’d say she’s still completely right.

If you fear you don’t know how to pen a thank-you note, get a book, because concocting a good one does require a tiny bit of skill and effort. I have one called “On a Personal Note” that guides you through writing any kind of note you could possibly need. It’s like having a cheat sheet, since the authors even give you phrasing.

And invest in some decent cards. You can’t whip up a cake if you don’t have flour in the pantry, and you can’t send out a timely note if you don’t have cards. Pick out cards that are “you,” unless “you” is a photo of a kitten hanging from a branch.

Here’s further incentive: I just noticed that if you order cards from the so stylish Red Stamp, they send you free stationery with your order.

No need to send a thank-you note.

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Coaching yourself through barriers, like an elite athlete

April 28, 2009 in At Home, Uncategorized, Work, Writing by Alice Bumgarner | 2 comments

This gloomy economy has me feeling scattered. My ability to prioritize has flown right out the window because everything feels important, like it needs to be done today, right now.

My daily thought process sounds something like this: “What should I work on now — the stories due Friday? new story pitches? catch-up reading? my blog, so I can build my personal brand? something else that every other freelancer is doing but that I haven’t figured out yet?”

602px-cyclist_l_georget_loc_04379jpgToday my thoughts were in a whirl, when I saw that one of my interviews had gone up on a client’s site. It was an interview with Steve Owens, who runs a training program for elite, Tour de France-level athletes. The topic was overcoming barriers.

Reading it again made me realize that I’m hitting a barrier now. My vision and thinking are both stuck. I’m so worried about being a freelance writer in this economy that it’s getting in the way of prioritizing or rethinking what I’m doing, which requires stepping back and seeing the big picture.

But here’s what I think I can learn from Steve or any good coach: There’s always a way to overcome a barrier or become unstuck. Steve doesn’t believe in barriers. And it’s easy to see why — he’s constantly helping people break through them. The trick is in finding creative approaches to clearing the hurdles.

Steve does it with the help of sophisticated tools and one-on-one conversation. His elite clientele fly in to Colorado to use his training facility’s test bed, which is a stationery bike inside a wind tunnel. Three cameras film the cyclist from different perspectives as Steve is running the test, all the while capturing and measuring body angles — at the hip, knee, etc.

The more information he can collect on the athlete, the better. He can look at what an athlete’s drag is at any particular point of the ride, then help the athlete refine that baseline position to improve his speed. In the case of cycling, it’s all about overcoming wind resistance.

Here’s what I learned from Steve about overcoming any obstacles:

Exploring new ways of doing things requires confirming which things don’t work. Steve might ask a cyclist to hold his neck differently to see if that reduces wind resistance, or he might try a different stem for the bike. He’s constantly figuring out what doesn’t work.

I’ve tried some things lately that haven’t worked. For example, I thought that Elance.com and Guru.com would be a goldmine for freelance work. But after investing time in establishing my profile and clips on the sites, the results have been disappointing — too many low bids from the international market.

For a while, I allowed myself to wallow in that mini-failure. But it was just one experiment, and it didn’t work. Time to move on.

Let go of assumptions. Allow yourself to be surprised. For example, Steve says, “We train a guy who’s a world champion in the time trial. He puts his elbows pretty far apart on the handlebars, which is actually very counterintuitive. You’d think that would be slower. But we took the measurements, and it actually works for him. That’s just how his body is shaped. We can make assumptions about things, but they’re not always correct.”

Sometimes we assume we have to do things a certain way. If a world-class coach can assume wrong, it’s entirely possible that some of my assumptions are wrong too. That’s why exploring — bullet #1 — is important. Rigid assumptions are like shackles when you’re trying to find a new way of thinking or working.

To come up with groundbreaking ideas, you have to forget about the rules. If you’re a cyclist — and I’m not — you probably know  there are a lot of rules dictating what you can’t do within the sport. Steve says it’s important that his team not feel so confined by the rules that they’re unable create new ideas. A good way to do that is to bring in someone who doesn’t even know the rules. In the past, Steve has brought in the U.S. National Ski Team to work on a solution.

Your emotions are going to get in the way. They just are. In the middle of a brutal exam week, you’re going to feel the mental stress getting to you physically. It’s the same thing with cycling or writing. If you don’t factor in emotions, you’re going to expect too much from yourself. Steve asks his athletes to score their mental and emotional stress, to make sure the intensity of their training is a good fit. He may shorten a bike ride, if someone is feeling rough emotionally.

If you’re still running into barriers, you either have unfair expectations or you need to take a break. Here’s where I could use a good coach, like Steve, or a mentor. As a freelancer, I don’t have a boss or trusted co-worker, so there’s no one for me to do a temperature check with. Do I have unfair expectations or need a break?

Steve says that often people don’t have good, realistic goals. You want to run a marathon? It’s going to take some time to reach that goal, so set up some smaller goals along the way. He also says that when a person says she’s hit a barrier or a plateau, nine times out of 10 that person needs a rest. Lately, I’ve been resting. I stopped using Twitter (mostly) and avoided my blog for a month. And I feel much better now, thank you.

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What’d I miss? Tracking online conversations

April 2, 2009 in Work, Writing by Alice Bumgarner | No comments

I don’t know about you, but I’m having a hell of a time keeping up with all the conversations out there. I know, I know. I was just extolling the virtues of “the conversation” last month. And I still believe it’s important to follow what people are talking about. I just have no idea how to do it efficiently. I literally spend hours every day monitoring web sites, blogs, social-networking sites, Twitter — and it can be overwhelming.

As a writer, I need to keep up with trends in order to write about them. But I’m also easily seduced by a hundred links that I don’t really need to click. I’ve found it takes an enormous amount of willpower not to meander.

So I’ve been trying to find the right tools to track whatever I’m writing about, plus news and other relevant conversations — without becoming distracted and overwhelmed.

Here’s what I’m liking:

netvibes-ginger-main-72dpi1A dashboard like Netvibes to monitor it all. I heard about Netvibes from Dawn Foster of Web Worker Daily. It’s an RSS-based dashboard that gathers all your favorite online pieces together, so you can see everything at once. I’ve switched to this site vs. Google Reader, because visually, it’s in a whole different league.

What’s good: It’s easy to grab chunks of headlines and move them around the page or to different tabs. You can make stories appear as short headlines or “magazine-style” with subheads and photos. And you can easily share headlines via Facebook, Twitter or email.

Also, if you want to follow a headline to the story, you can usually click on the “Show Website” button to see the story within Netvibes, so you don’t end up visiting the site and frittering time away.

For now, I’ve got three different tabs set up — Daily Check, News and Work (for workplace topics). So, instead of visiting The New York Times, Daily Beast, Slate, and a few other sites I want to see first thing, I can see those streaming headlines on my Daily Check tab. That’s also where I follow Twitter. (Side note: I don’t track loads of people on Twitter, but if I did, I suspect this undifferentiated stream of tweets wouldn’t do.)

Alternately, MyAlltop is kinda the same thing. Alltop, on its own, gathers 31,000 of the best blogs and web sites on a range of topics. Set up a custom, no-frills MyAlltop page, and you can pinpoint the specific feeds that interest you. I like the way you can eavesdrop on the MyAlltop pages of web-world celebrities. But I prefer the prettiness of Netvibes.

tour_macjpgA digital scrapbook for storing everything. Now, once you’ve found something interesting online, how do you save it for later? Sure, you could bookmark the page within your browser or store it on Delicious. But that’s not working for me. I tend to use my bookmark list as a list of go-to sites, not as storage space. And I get completely sidetracked by the stuff on Delicious.

So I’m using Evernote, which I’ve written about before. You can save a web page or just a few words and put it in your Evernote “notebook,” which you can then easily organize however you want.

Actually, you don’t even need to organize your snippets. When you want to find, say, that interesting article you read about pea-green petticoats, simply search for “petticoats.” It can even scan for a word within images.

Know of an even better way to keep up? Share!

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Why having good conversations is more important than ever

March 5, 2009 in Work by abumgarner | 3 comments

I worked for a publisher in Washington, D.C., who almost always kept his office door closed. When he appeared in the doorway of my office, it was inevitably for one reason: to tell me I’d done something wrong.

You could find a lot of flaws with that management style, but I want to focus on just one: the way my boss closed himself off from conversation. It was a management gaffe then. But it would be an even bigger mistake now, in the Age of the Conversation.

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Regardless of what you do for a living, if you’re not out there asking questions, listening, seeking input, collaborating and taking part in the larger conversation, you’re going to have trouble rolling with change. Because here’s the thing: a new style of conversation is transforming the way we do business.

Here’s where I’ve seen it happening lately:

1. Even Obama is picking up the phone to talk. According to a New York Times article, he makes at least two dozen calls a day in an attempt to stay connected to — and glean information from — the outside world.

It’s no surprise that President Obama calls heads of state and high-ranking advisors. That’s a given. But he’s also tapping into a group of people outside “the bubble.” He’s using his spare moments (not something he has in spades) to stay connected to a larger, more-fluid-than-ever conversation, because that’s where he’ll hear reactions that are relevant, unpredictable, maybe even perspective-altering.

2. Inspired by Obama’s presidential campaign, nonprofits are getting in on the act of using social networks to rally people around a cause. The best fundraisers are leveraging social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. They’re using micro-conversations, rather than enormous campaigns.

One example: Last month’s Twestival was organized on Twitter and raised more than $250,000 for clean water in Africa and India. The Christian Science Monitor described the evolution of Twestival this way:

The Twestival, which wrapped on Feb. 12, had little trouble generating buzz. Only hours after founder Amanda Rose made public her plans for the campaign in January, the news went viral, spiraling out across hundreds of blogs and Twitter feeds. Soon, Ms. Rose had secured a small army of volunteers and a team of corporate partners including TipJoy, which allowed users to contribute directly online.

3. Smart business leaders have stopped frowning upon water-cooler conversation, and some (like biggies Cisco and Microsoft) fully embrace the collaboration that social networks spark.

I recently did an interview with Brad Brinegar, CEO of McKinney, an agency that propelled itself into the big league by taking innovative approaches to a business model that hasn’t changed much since the advent of television. At McKinney, they’re all about the conversation.

When you visit McKinney at their former-tobacco-factory offices, you’ll notice lots of gathering spaces. Brinegar says he spent a year planning a space that would force more collaboration and conversation between left- and right-brainers. It has 50 nooks and crannies to allow for “natural interactions,” Brinegar told me. The office is sprawled across one-and-a-half floors, instead of climbing vertically. There’s Wi-Fi throughout, a coffee bar, and no mail delivery — you have to pick it up yourself, which means you’ll likely bump into someone on your way there.

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Meeting rooms at McKinney

McKinney Cafe

McKinney Cafe

He also compressed office spaces to a quarter of the size of previous offices. Why? ”Creative people sometimes need to shut off the world and work. We made it private enough for them to have that space, but not enough to encourage them to perch there more than was natural,” Brinegar says.

Equally important, “it’s very easy to get to me,” he says. “I have glass walls, so people can always see me. My assistant has a heart attack because she can’t control the flow of people into my office.”

Initially, the new layout was so different from what they’d had before that a lot of people balked. “But from the morning we walked in,” he says, “the agency entirely changed the way it operated. People that I’d always asked to collaborate all of a sudden were. The structure of the space released people’s natural inclination to collaborate.”

Another thing about a good conversation? It’s usually free. Which makes this one workplace trend sure to thrive throughout 2009.

[Top image from Twitter; all others courtesy of McKinney]

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Could mascara make or break me?

February 17, 2009 in Work, Writing by abumgarner | No comments

Decor8 blogger Holly Becker doesn’t start her day without setting her hair in hot curlers (she is so my new idol) and applying some makeup (her current favorite: plum tones). French women won’t even open the door to the meter man if they aren’t put together. And Penelope Trunk believes a girl can’t be taken seriously unless she has proper makeup on.

Goal: Make like The Bloggess and try full-on personal grooming in the a.m.

Goal: Make like The Bloggess and try full-on personal grooming in the a.m.

Though I would truly love to be one of these women, I simply have not internalized the idea that a full-on morning beauty ritual will affect the outcome of my day.

My mornings are a whirl of lunchbox packing, little-girl dressing, coat (and hat and mitten) finding, and coffee drinking. Since I don’t have to dress for anyone but the parents I see at school drop-off and I’m already busy enough, I don’t worry much about my uniform: jeans and a ponytail.

And that’s the benefit of being a freelancer, right? You’re the boss. If you want to spend your day in fuzzy bedroom slippers, you’re entirely free to.

Mind you, I’m not working in my pajamas or anything. Right this moment, I’m completely dressed and my hair is brushed. But I think I may have a little spaghetti sauce on my sweater, and I’m noticeably sans lip gloss.

And I know this about myself: I have a tendency to forget about how I look when my head is fully engaged in freelance work. Before I was married, a roommate once had to stop me from dashing out of the apartment for lunch, wearing an ensemble that bordered on bag-lady chic. “Seriously, you can’t go out like that,” she said, god love her.

I wonder, would I be more successful if I curled my eyelashes before sitting down at the computer each morning?

For the rest of this week, an unscientific experiment: What tangible and intangible benefits might a freelance girl derive from stepping up her morning grooming habits?

How Sweet It Is

February 12, 2009 in At Home, Work by abumgarner | No comments

On Valentine’s Day, a box of chocolates is all well and good. But it doesn’t exactly inspire cartwheels, customer loyalty, passionate makeout sessions, or whatever it is you’re going for. So, a recommendation: Go with something that has more personality than a Whitman’s sampler.

Three jolts of sugary marvelousness to hit the sweet spot:

xox-imgSouth ‘n’ France, based in Wilmington, N.C., marries sweet Southern ingredients with classic French techniques. The result? Hand-chopped, hand-rolled, hand-dipped bon bons in six fab flavors, such as Peanut Buttah and Pistachio (shipped anywhere). C’est bon, y’all.

Daisy Cakes: Durham locals, you normally find them in the Airstream parked near the Durham Farmer’s Market on Saturdays. But this week, call ahead to order a special Valentine’s cupcake sampler, wrapped up with a sweet pink ribbon. They even throw in a heart-shaped cookie cutter and cookie recipe. Exquisite flavors include a Vanilla Bean Cupcake, with passion fruit cream and milk chocolate buttercream.

Sugardaddy’s: Perfect for an office delivery Monday, after the sugar high of the weekend has worn off. Opt for an order of dunkable Brownie Biscotti — essentially made from the “cut away” edges of the edgeless brownies and blondies.

What else is worthy of mention?

(Photo from www.sprinklescupcakes.com)

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Fare Thee Well to Buy. No, Wait. Don’t Buy

February 12, 2009 in Work by abumgarner | No comments

I’m not planning to go anywhere. But if spring travel is on your agenda, it occurs to me that you might want to know about Farecast, which I wrote about recently. According to these fortune tellers, now is a good time for snatching up cheap airfare and hotel rooms. Spring travel airfare is down 15% compared to last year. Now for the article:

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Park you in front of the sale rack and you’re in your element — able to discern at a glance which items are snatch-em-up-fast-even-if-it-means-prying-them-out-of-granny’s-hands. And which need to be nudged down the rack with a flick of the fingertips.

homearrowguideBut when it comes to shopping around for decent airfare rates, you may as well be staring at listings on the Tokyo stock exchange. (“What does it all mean? Is this one a good deal? Or will I be metaphorically slapping my forehead in two weeks when the price plunges?”)

That’s why Farecast is the shopping buddy you long for. Seriously.

Its “know when to buy” technology compares and filters information from many travel websites to tell you whether to buy the airline ticket now (fares are bound to go up soon) or wait a week (your patience will repay you tenfold, Grasshopper).

And it performs the same trick for hotel rates. Once you’ve found the price that’s right for you, the site sends you packing to the airline or hotel site, so you can book direct.

Because this buddy knows better than to get between a girl and her deals.

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It’s a new week. Who are you going to meet?

February 8, 2009 in Work, Writing by abumgarner | 1 comment

You’re stuck in a rut, and you want to jolt yourself out of it. One way to break free? Meet someone new.

Lisa Bodell of futurethink

Lisa Bodell of futurethink

The other day I interviewed Lisa Bodell, CEO of futurethink. She’s a hybrid — a cross between a futurist and an innovation consultant. She says that meeting new people is one of the best ways to spark new ideas. (And here’s a woman who has to come up with new ideas.)

She told me:

“I have to meet one new person a week who’s completely different from myself. In one week, I met the admiral of the Coast Guard, the head of the WHO, psychics, the head of a group of maids … Every perspective counts. It’s the wild card that’s going to be the next big thing.”

Even before I spoke with Lisa, I’d heard about this tactic. My friend Ellen, who is not a futurist, swears by it. (And since Ellen is one of my smartest friends, I tend to do what she says.)

A few years ago, when Ellen was feeling a little stagnant in her career as a video producer, she sent a message out to her friends: “If you’re going to an interesting event, let me know — even if you think it’s not up my alley — because I might want to join you.”

Ellen started going to all sorts of events that she’d never dreamed of going to, and she met all sorts of people. Some of them needed help with projects, and she offered help and advice whenever she could. A handful ended up becoming clients. Most importantly, though, meeting new people led her down new paths. She began doing work that more closely resembled documentary filmmaking — a long-simmering dream of hers.

Their point, Lisa’s and Ellen’s, is this: Meeting unexpected people can spark new ideas, or energize your career in unexpected ways. You can’t possibly know. So leave room on your calendar for it.

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