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On Multitasking

Posted by Daniel in Advice, Good Business, Jobs, Life, networking, Planning, Time, Uncategorized

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If you prioritize properly, there is no need to multitask. It is a symptom of “task creep” -doing more to feel productive while actually accomplishing less. To repeat: You should have, at most, two primary goals or tasks per day. Do them separately from start to finish without distraction. Divided attention will result in more frequent interruptions, lapses in concentration, poorer net results, and less gratification.

-Timothy Ferris, The Four Hour Work Week

Usually, I spend the last 15 minutes at work evaluating my day and making a list of what I plan to do the next day, but a few months ago it seemed that as I looked back at my day I didn’t have one tangible thing to show for it. I worked diligently, but at the end of the day I felt like all I did is juggle multiple balls without having the opportunity to catch one and put it away. To make matters worse, every once and a while, it felt like they all fall down on me at once causing an endless array of panic and stress.

Juggling, or multitasking, is a double edged sword. By multitasking all day we end up feeling busy and stressed but when we look back we realize we weren’t nearly as productive as we felt. I know for me it seems like all too often I find myself working harder and not smarter. I multi-task when I should single-task.

Focus on the task at hand. – My Mom

Many people think that single tasking is extremely dated and that business moves too fast to single task, a statement that I counter with, yes, but is the business still efficient?

100 years ago Henry Ford came up with the assembly line, and to this day it is still the fastest and best way to build something because when you are working on one thing, you find the efficiencies in doing that one thing so that you can do it better and faster. The assembly line is a series of single taskers being efficient.

Single tasking is not something to easily switch to, especially since most of us have been preconditioned to take on too many things at once but there are a few things you can do to help slow down and focus on one thing. First you have to cut out all things you’ve convinced yourself have to be taken care of immediately. For me this means that I have turned off the e-mail alerts popup on my computer (if they e-mailed it’s not that urgent), turn off your phone ringer (or set your status to busy), and give yourself a timeframe in which you want to accomplish something. Then devote yourself 100% to that task. These things combined allow me to focus all of my attention on the task at hand.

This expands to life too. When my son was born I realized my life was full of too many distractions (Facebook, TV Shows, various other time-suck areas), so I cut them out. I quit Facebook cold turkey and I stopped watching the handful of shows I wanted to stay caught up with. I don’t miss anything that I gave up, and the result has netted me more quality time with my family.

Next time you’re feeling pulled in too many directions…pick one, focus on it,  and make everything else fill in around it.

The Great Deal Story

Posted by Daniel in Bargains, Debt, haggling, Life, Stuff, Uncategorized

A year ago Mary was pregnant and we needed an SUV, so the perfectly good 13 year old Acura with 167,000 miles on it had to go. We searched and test drove numerous vehicles and found the perfect car for us: a Volvo XC90. Being the frugal couple we knew we only were interested in used vehicles and miraculously a 2007 XC90 V8 Sport showed up on Craigslist; big, safe, all wheel drive, luxurious, low miles, and every option we wanted (and then some!). The seller (private party) had lost his job, could no longer make his payments on it, and he had to get rid of it ASAP…that’s where we stepped in to negotiate an incredible deal. What happened was [SOUND OF RECORD SCRATCHING]…

Have you ever noticed that when it comes to big ticket items everyone seems to have a story? Their car purchase, their house purchase, or their engagement ring purchase. Ok, maybe guys don’t really have engagement ring stories, but they make up for it by having a “ring guy” (seriously, ask any guy in a serious relationship how many people have offered to give them the name of their ring guy). The common theme in all of these stories is the awesome deal they got.

Think of the last person you know who got a new car, they were probably just as excited to show you the new car as they were to tell you the story of how they got the new car. They want to share every detail of the tense moment in the salesman’s office as if it were the showdown at the OK corral, but after the trying 5 hours at the dealership exchanging numbers – they prevailed to get their incredible deal!

Yes, your friend has a huge smile on their face and appears to be in heaven; but this is what is really going through their head as they show off the car/tell you the story: ”Isn’t my story amazing? I got such an amazing deal, right?…right? Oh God. Please help me validate this huge purchase I just made. Just nod, smile, and tell me how good of a deal I got. I just spent a lot of money, but I could have spent more…I restrained myself from spending more. I took the hard line! I needed this car; I mean my other one was about to die and the dealer gave me SUCH a good deal on the trade-in.”

I know this thought process because I’ve gone through it, and I’ve told my car buying stories numerous times. It may have come off as if I was bragging about the great deal I got, but it was mostly me just going through the thought process I laid out above.

It’s not bragging; it’s coping with and trying to rationalize the amount of money spent when far outside of a comfort zone. (I am still having trouble rationalizing the car purchase I started sharing above).

Maybe that’s why we have “guys” and share stories…we’ve all shared a common experience that made us uncomfortable and question what we were doing, but using a friends “guy” adds a degree of comfort, and hearing the story of someone else helps us calm down and feel better about what we just did because someone else did it too.

Or..maybe the real question is why do we spend money out of our comfort zones? Why do we feel compelled to purchase a diamond to ask someone to marry us? And why do we perpetuate this problem by volunteering our “guy” or sharing our story?

I’m Not Dead…

Posted by Daniel in Jobs, Life, Stuff, Time, Uncategorized

Hi Internet,

It’s been about 14 months since my last blog post, so excuse me while I shake off some rust and update you about my life. About 14 months ago I announced to the world  my immediate friends and family that Mary and I were expecting a baby. See the video below for how we made the announcement.

This announcement on top of a few other things turned our lives upside down. You see as we made this announcement I changed jobs to go to accept a high risk/high reward opportunity that had me working 70 to 80 hour weeks for six months straight. Then my son was born in July, and I cut back to only working 60+ hour weeks. By October the company I was working for had turned further South and, right after I had to go close two of our sites and layoff 15 employees (not fun), I got laid off (after 9 months with the company). I was lucky and well networked enough that within 2 weeks I had an offer, and at 3 weeks I had another offer. I am now, once again, gainfully employed with a great and growing company.

Through my 14 month journey I’ve learned more than I ever thought possible. I’ve purchased a new (to us) car, dealt with incompetent hospital billing departments, had a showdown with a supervisor, painted a nursery, blown through an emergency fund, competed in a (sprint) triathlon, changed to a Paleo lifestyle, come to be an expert on cloth diapers, and those are only the things that might make a good blog post down the line.

So yeah…that’s a lot. And as a result I am officially ADMITTING FAILURE for the challenge concept, and will be working to change the site back to a blog on which I plan to continue my musings on being Young and Frugal.

I’m not dead…I’m Dad.

The Giving Pledge

Posted by Daniel in Charity, Corporations, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Good Business, Life, Uncategorized

Today I was inspired by my good friend Corey sending me a text message related to the latest news that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of facebook, had decided to become a part of “The Giving Pledge.” For those who are not aware of what the giving pledge is I will sum it up briefly for you: it’s a group of extremely wealthy people, formed by Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, in which everyone in the group agrees to give the majority of their wealth to charity by the end of their lives or at their death.

While the concept is noble, I’d like to look at the economics of a hypothetical question: What if each one of those billionaires, most of whom got their money by starting a business, used their money to start or fund other businesses; specifically a mission driven business?

Let’s say that one of these billionaires decided to not donate 15 billion dollars, but to start a privately held pharmaceutical company with the funds. I’m not talking about funding research, I’m talking about starting a for profit company built to compete with the likes of Novartis or Pfizer. By the company being privately held, it doesn’t have to appease shareholders but instead it can keep an altruistic mission, and that could be to reinvest ALL profits into curing cancer not just the vague “cancer research.” At the same time this new company stimulates the economy (and increases the tax base) by hiring an entirely new staff. By introducing a new competitor it helps push the cost of our every day drugs down, thereby reducing the amount the government needs to fund prescription assistance programs (allowing us to pay down the US deficit, or even continue our generous foreign aid program). Putting 15 billion dollars into funding something like this ensures greater than just a 15 billion dollar donation, it ensures employment, it ensures a vision is kept, and in the end it has the ability to have far more of a positive impact on the world through countless years of research, development, AND sales. (Note: I’m aware that this isn’t possible overnight, mainly due to strenuous FDA regulations, but what if?…)

What if instead of a pharmaceutical company, someone set up a $10 billion dollar venture fund with offices around the world for businesses aiming to make a change, with the stipulation that at least $100 million (or some arbitrary number) a year had to be invested in new companies trying to make a positive change? Encouraging investing in companies like TOMs shoes, where for every shoe you buy a pair gets donated to a child in a 3rd world country. Investing in a company like Adaptive Eyewear, the company that is creating glasses for 3rd world countries where the prescription of the lens can be changed by the person wearing it; they are LITERALLY giving sight to people who would otherwise not have it (watch this video on them). What if they took that fund and invested in small businesses throughout Africa? Spurring entrepreneurship and encouraging organic growth within the continent instead of constant reliance on foreign aid that is taken by corrupt politicians.

The bottom line is that the majority of people on the list have succeeded because of capitalism. They have the money they have because of capitalism, and they know the good that capitalism can bring to a country and to the world. They ARE the definitions of capitalists, and they know what it takes to fulfill a vision. They ought to also know that a business, set up with a good mission and vision, with hundreds or thousands of employees working towards the vision can do an immense amount of good for the world, probably more good than donations can…

What if?…

Have any other ideas? Share them below, I’d love to hear them.

The Importance Of Sports In Business

Posted by Daniel in Advice, Good Business, Jobs, Life, networking, Uncategorized

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When I was a child I played every sport because all of my friends were playing them; baseball, soccer, basketball, and flag football. While I was never particularly great at any of them, I was never bad. But as I grew, and sports became more competitive (and my asthma got progressively worse) I lost interest. I only played flag football for one year, basketball for 4 years, soccer for 4 years, and my true love, baseball, I gave up in the seventh grade.

Truth be told, I was never really a huge sports fan, but I admit to being a bandwagon fan for most of the local sports teams. I “loved” the Cowboys growing up, but then again, I grew up in Dallas in the 90s; I’m pretty sure the Dallas Cowboys were part of my school district’s curriculum. The Mavericks continually sucked until Mark Cuban bought them while I was in high school, I got swept up with Stanley Cup fever in the late ’90s when the Stars had their runs, and the one team I always loved, the Texas Rangers, well…they were the Rangers and you really couldn’t count on them for anything (I do have very high hopes for the future of the franchise though).

When I went to college in California I moved away from all of my home teams, and I didn’t follow professional sports. I didn’t care. I had convinced myself that the people who watched sports continually were the people who didn’t have anything better to do with their time, and I certainly had better things to be doing with my time. I was continually creating, learning, being active, and working. I could never relate to the guys who talked sports all the time, but if they wanted to talk business, politics, or even pop culture I could relate. I made it all the way through college that way. Soon after graduation (and marriage) I got a job and was whacked in the face with a new reality: pro sports are important in the real world.

In the real world most people won’t talk politics with you for fear of offending you (or someone else), not many people want to talk business because that’s what they do all day, and pop culture conversations are so trivial that no one cares; but sports were the gateway into the groups that I found myself most wanting to be a part of. Sports provide the venue for every type of talk from the business of sports, to the trivial items like who Tony Romo is dating. Sports gives you the level playing field (pun intended) to hold your own in a conversation with anyone from the CEO to the UPS guy. (Side note: All of the sports leagues know this and charge ticket prices in accordance).

Talking sports is about relationships. The emotional connection that forms between you and “your” team, the relationship that forms with your coworker because his team is your teams rival, and the relationship of feeling that if you can have a good conversation with someone about sports, you can have a good conversation with them about anything. On the contrary, when meeting someone who doesn’t follow sports it’s extremely difficult to break the ice and find a common ground.

Up to date knowledge of sports is a key part of business in today’s world because businesses are about relationships, and sports can be the key to developing strong relationships. It’s taken some time for me to get back up to speed in my sporting knowledge, but it has served invaluable thanks to my improved ability to network and build relationships.

Stay On Your Toes, Or You Might Get Knocked On Your Ass

Posted by Daniel in Advice, Entrepreneurship, Good Business, Life, Uncategorized

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On Black Friday I was roped into what I knew was going to be a horrible, horrible mistake, and that was going to the mall with my wife. But what I knew was going to be awful ended up being quite nice for a few reasons. Since we went at night the mall was not that packed (as witnessed by our easy to find parking space), and since we had a mission to get in and get out, it was fairly tolerable, but the most non-awful part about it was that I got inspired. I got inspired to write this post, and the photo below is the reason why.

Our sole purpose of the trip was to go to Lulu Lemon, a company known for their expensive, yet incredibly well designed workout clothes for women. For years (since she discovered them in Los Angeles) Mary has raved about how incredible the clothes are and how smart and creative they are in the design. For instance, the first piece of workout clothing I remember seeing with a built in iPod pocket it was a Lulu Lemon top that Mary got in 2005; and the first jacket I remember seeing with a thumbhole to keep the jacket sleeve from riding up was also a Lulu Lemon that Mary got. They are an extremely smart and innovative company, but I’m getting ahead of myself now.

During the 20 minutes we were there I did what I always do in retail establishments, look like the hopelessly lost husband and critique the finish out of the store. My critique was as follows:

First off, they claim to have the most comfortable couch in the Dallas Galleria, and having been a patron to many of those couches over the years, it lives up to the hype.

Second, the finish out of the store is incredible. It gives you the feel of open, earthy, and reclaimed materials (whether it is or isn’t reclaimed is a moot point, the feel of it is what sells) and all of the island displays and shelves in the store are on wheels so they can wheel them out for free group yoga classes (for which they are known). It is truly a beautiful store and comfortable store.

The final thing I critiqued is the purpose for this whole post. I wandered back to the dressing room area and found the chalk board pictured above. This is the place where they post consumer feedback and ideas on their design. As you can see they take their customer feedback very seriously. So seriously that they display it publicly for all to see.

You can tell that this company is working hard to stay on their toes and be foreword thinking to remain ahead of the competition. You can also see that they know the specific things they need in order to keep that edge: “Innovative, Specific, or Measurable” feedback. Maybe it was a customer that came up with the idea for an iPod Pocket? Maybe it was a customer that came up with the idea for a thumbhole in the sleeve of the jacket? Either way, what matters is that they are listening. They are listening because they know if they don’t stay on their toes, a more innovative and hungrier company is going to come around and knock them on their ass much like they did to everyone else in women’s sports apparel industry a few years back.

Why don’t more companies abide by this?

By posting this feedback publicly, other consumers can build on the ideas and help the company develop something even greater. If someone has a complaint, maybe another customer could help resolve that complaint? If a customer has a great idea, another customer can help validate the idea as someone who would purchase it. They are essentially crowd sourcing products and innovations!

I applaud you Lulu Lemon, and I accept the price of your clothing because I like the way you do business (this is a statement that I reserve for a very VERY select number of companies because accepting a price wouldn’t be too frugal of me).

Co-Brand With Your Employer

Posted by Daniel in Advice, Corporations, Gen-Y, Jobs, Life, Uncategorized

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I work for a company that has a great brand and a cool culture, and part of that brand and culture requires that I adhere to a strict dress code of jeans (or solid color shorts), tennis shoes, a belt, a company branded hat (optional), and an embroidered polo shirt. Some people love it, some hate it, but it’s our dress code and we stick to it.

As a result we are all extensions of the brand wherever we go. After work when we all go out to happy hour we are walking advertisements and representatives for the brand, and the way that we carry ourselves reflects back on the companies brand; if we slip up, have a few too many, or are rude it reflects back on the brand. We know that this is the case, so we all go above and beyond to act gracious when we get complimented outside of work (very frequently) or attentive and helpful if a customer has a concern. It is clear my employer views us as a physical extension of the brand.

This concept isn’t new, it’s proven, and works, but now is the time for companies to take it a step further.

It seems like everyday I read in the blogosphere about a personal brand and why you need to have a solid online identity which includes, but is definitely not limited to Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In. I always read pretty basic reasonings on why we all need a personal brand, mainly so companies can find you, you can control and own your online image, and so you can market yourself. I agree with all of these things, and I’m not here to offer any new advice on creating a personal brand; for that I recommend going to the master, Dan Schwabel.

What I am here to do is ask a question. Why don’t companies view their employees online personal brands as extensions of the companies brand?

Think about where you represent your company on the internet. Do you have your employer listed on Facebook or Linked In? Do you have a website that contains your resume?

These are primary places where we as individuals represent our employers in todays world. If you have an inappropriate photo on Facebook and your employer is listed, like it or not that photo reflects back on the company and the next time you are in a meeting with someone who has researched you, they might know about that picture of you doing body shots from your last vacation to Mexico. Yes, that is a poor example, but now let’s look at the other side; say you have a strong personal brand, you protect your online image, you blog, you tweet, you are active on Facebook and on great websites like Brazen Careerist; that online presence and your following is a fantastic venue for you to be a steward for the company, instantly adding more value to the company should you choose, or be allowed, to promote your employer.

“That sounds great! Promote us,” your employer might say, but wait…it’s a two way street.

Think of the way large conglomerates advertise their brands. Ziploc, Pledge, and OFF! are all S.C. Johnson Brands. When you look at each of those brands you know they are something different and individual, yet part of something bigger. Every time something good happens to the smaller brand, something good is happening to the bigger brand. If Ziploc has great sales, then that helps S.C. Johnson’s bottom line. On a box of Ziploc there is an S.C. Johnson logo, and on the S.C. Johnson website they feature Ziploc, even at the end of every commercial you hear “S.C. Johnson, a family company.”

Much like the conglomerates there is a mutually beneficial relationship online between an employee with a strong personal brand and their employer’s brand. If I put up on an “About Me” page laying out where I work and what I do in my day job with a logo and a link to the company, I can instantly help give credibility to my employer if you’ve never heard of them, and you might be more inclined to go visit the company. On the other side of the coin, if my employer has a link to me on a company page, it can instantly help give credibility to me as someone who is employed by a great company.

Zappos has a great start at just this, twitter.zappos.com provides realtime streaming of their employees on twitter, but I think it should go a step further. Why not promote employees with good personal brands? Photo, website link, and twitter feed, all on the companies website. Make employees comfortable being online ambassadors for the company by encouraging it and giving them the ability to reach out on the companies behalf even if it’s not their job. It’s even in the companies interest to help employees develop a personal brand online.

The best way to increase brand awareness online is being represented, and if you have a good relationship, what better people to represent you and give you presence than your employee or employer?

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