My travelling desk
After the
Bill Gates interview that exploded the sale of flat screen monitors (because he had a triple screen setup on his desk), I thought I’d share a shot of my current desk. It’s compact, and neatly fits onto the drop down tray of most trains and commercial airliners.
Yes, I’ve been doing a lot of travelling over the past few days as the project steams towards launch. I promise a comprehensive update in a couple of days when the servers are up and running…
May UK retail sales good, and bad?
Two news headlines that have just popped up on my Google news bar have just grabbed my attention:
Rainy weather dampens UK retail sales in May after bumper April
Rainy weather dampened sales on the UK high street in May, in a dramatic slowdown after a bumper month in April, a key survey from the British Retail Consortium showed.
Like-for-like sales -- which strips out the impact of changes in floor space -- rose by 3.6 pct from the same month a year ago, down from the 4 year high of 6.8 pct in April.
Compared with:
Retail sales buoyant in May
UK retail sales grew at a heady annual pace of 6.2% in May, signalling a continuing bounce-back in consumer spending, as the dominant services sector continued to expand and recruit strongly.
Both talking about the UK, both talking about May, both talking about Retail sales. Who’s right? You decide.
Organisation for creative people
I’m a big fan of systems that boost productivity. You know the kind of thing – using lists, pda’s Outlook, wall-charts, folders. Being a creative person I tend to leave trails of junk behind me, so I try really hard to keep myself organised and productive using systems.
The general rule has it that I set up a new system which keeps me organised for around three weeks. I then only realise that my new system has failed when I stumble across a book, article or blog post on a new organisational system, which prompts me to repeat the cycle once again.
However, since January I’ve been much better that usual. I really think that, this time, I’ve found a system which suits me. It seems like a shameful plug, but the book which turned me around was
Organizing from the Right Side of the Brain : A Creative Approach to Getting OrganizedMy biggest problem has always been starting a new task before completing the last. With the help of the book, I figured out that the biggest contributor to this behaviour was phone calls. A phone call is something that demands immediate attention, and diverts your mind from one task to another. My second major failing was that, while on a call, I would promise to react immediately. This action seals the fate of the previous task, which has now been superseded by the new requirement.
So the first thing I needed to change was the way I dealt with calls. Firstly, if I am engaged in any task, I will not answer the phone to unarranged calls. I will glance at the caller display, but I will not answer. Please do not be offended if you’re trying to call me and I don’t answer. This is the way it MUST be, otherwise I simply won’t be able to cope with the workload I have. Of course there are about five numbers which I will always take the call – think my wife, Ava’s nursery, etc. I ask everyone else to leave a message. When I complete a task (or file it away for the day), I will listen to messages and respond accordingly.
Secondly, I have encouraged the use of email. Email for me is perfect, because I can respond in my own time. I do not use email as a form of chat system – as anyone will know that’s tried to have an email conversation with me. Also, I do not do instant messaging, which is just as disruptive as phone calls (plus I type too slowly!).
Third, I am more realistic in my promises. I now use Outlook to organise my day, and I can easily see what kind of turnaround I can give to a task. Of course if someone needs something urgently that’s fine, it just means I will have to reshuffle my other tasks.
I guess I could summarise my system into 4 main points:
1) I do not answer the telephone to unarranged calls
2) Email is my primary communication method
3) I use Outlook to schedule appointments and calls
4) I transfer the days Outlook tasks to an A4 hardback notebook in the form of a to-do list.
My aim is to clear this list every day, but uncompleted tasks either roll over to the next day, or a rescheduled in Outlook and crossed off the list.
This system is really working for me, but I can clearly see that it wouldn’t work for everyone. Most people probably have to answer calls, otherwise they might miss a sale or a business proposal. I guess the point is that you need to look at your own circumstances, identify you own weak points, and build a system to compensate for them.
Anyway, another day begins and I’m running 8 minutes late…
Calm before the storm
Knowing that the week ahead will be one of the most challenging of my life, I made the most of the warm weather over the weekend for some much needed family time.
Of course I didn’t escape work entirely, but I managed to set up office in the garden so it wasn’t too bad.
The week ahead will see most of the crucial deals completed on the project. By Friday we’ll have the hosting, the payment gateway, and the technology platform. From where I’m standing that feels a long way off, but I know that all the wheels are in motion and, like it or not, this thing will be ready for the following Monday.
Social entrepreneur?
I was selling the charity project on the phone earlier, and the guy I was talking to referred to me as a social entrepreneur. Ive never been called this before, and it got me thinking about entrepreneurship in general.
Being described as an entrepreneur has always been my label of choice. I certainly don't feel like a business man - they are far too dull, far too old, and they wear suits!
But what does being an entrepreneur mean to me? It certainly isn't about money. I really don't think that true entrepreneurial spirit is born out of the desire for riches. Hell, if I wanted money I'd have joined a graduate training program for a London bank (as if they'd have me!).
For me its about creating something. It's about rising to a challenge. It's about putting ideas out into the world, and not letting anything stop you from realising them. There is certainly an element of control about it. A desire to control your own world, and your own future. I've always rather recklessly believed that I have control over everything in my life.
If these are the primary drivers for entrepreneurialism, then the only difference between your average entrepreneur and a social entrepreneur is the end result. One is commercial gain, and the other is social gain. The creativity, the drive, the skills and the internal motivation remain the same.
Certainly for me, I feel no differently about this charity project than any other business I've started. They have all totally engaged me, fired me up and allowed me to challenge myself and the world around me. In my eyes there's no alternative - what else could possibly make you feel so alive?
Why MySpace is MyGrandmaSpace
I’ve been keeping a project blog on Myspace now for a few weeks, and I have to say that I just don’t get it.
My major issue is the lack of customisation possible, particularly on the blog pages. There are a few tiny tweaks that you can make, but they pale into insignificance when compared to blogger. The name implies that this is the place on the web that you can make your own, but it is no more my own space than my grandmother’s house!
So I’m going to have a re-jig. First, I’m going to move this website back onto the blogger servers, just so that I know it will cope should the charity project site send over a decent amount of traffic. Second, I’ll implant my blog posts from MySpace. Third, I’m going to apply a new template, and lastly I’ll change all of my links etc.
It’s 4am on Sunday morning and I can’t sleep. Hell, you’ve gotta find something to do!
Weekend sunshine
It's Friday afternoon and the sun is finally shining over the UK. In fact its such a beautiful afternoon that I'm packing it in for the day and getting outside. Normally I will work from 8am until 5pm, grab some food, do another stint until 9pm when I call it a day. But today I just cant resist that sunshine.
Of course it will be back to work tomorrow, particularly being so close to the project launch, but work always feels different over the weekend. Less pressure, fewer phone calls, more creativity and a much higher level of productivity.
Breakthrough
Today is our official launch, except, well, we haven't launched. In fairness, it was always going to be a soft launch, with a further three week period for testing and special guest sign-ups, but the fact remains that we haven't managed it!
The problems have stemmed from the donation gateway. To join the project all new members need to make a very small donation to one of our five partner charities. These charities are all international in nature, and cover some of the most important concerns facing our society today. At the last minute on Friday I was let down by our chosen payment gateway provider. Our backup plan swung into action, but that put us five weeks behind.
I've spent the last three days frantically searching for a quicker solution. It's been the usual think-outside-the-box stuff, looking at every possible alternative. Now I think Ive found it.
I've just had a chat with the MD of a company based here in the UK who has a possible solution. Fingers crossed well be able to reach a deal tomorrow, and all being well the gateway will be operational by mid next week. If that's the case, our new launch date will be June 12, just 12 days behind schedule. That's not bad, considering the technology weve developed to power this thing.
