Archive | April, 2010

Learning, Content Curators And The Politics Of Power

by on April 19, 2010 in Creative

I found this clip of Jeff Jarvis via Johnnie Moore’s blog. Contained within it are some rather provocative ideas. A few of them are spot on (like how our educational system still operates as if it’s an industrial world). A few of them might be bullshit but I’m still debating internally.

The awesomeness comes in the form of how we interact with learning. So much of our training tells us that an A is better than a C, that a glowing performance evaluation trumps one with negative marks, that perfection looks smarter than blunders. And our training is completely wrong. As Jarvis notes, mistakes must be the goal, the object of the lesson. Life is a beta. It’s messy and complex and in constant flux. We’re never absolved of our responsibility to learn and improve.

What did sort of put a twist in my knickers were Jarvis’s arguments that all the good ideas are taken and that the best we can hope to achieve now is “curator” status. I get where he’s coming from: Why recreate the wheel when great content already exists? Creating content is about the ego and when we get in front of someone – regardless of whether its on stage, in a classroom, or on a blog – we do so in a quest for validation.

What seems to go unsaid is that the audience, student, and reader are merely passive participants of the process. That’s a mistaken assumption. Instead, we should think of content creation as an ever evolving mashup of ideas and personal experience. But maybe this is where Jarvis was trying to lead us. Maybe his idea of a curator is someone who is able to collect diverse information, mash it up, and recreate new knowledge.

What I don’t want to see is a tiered order where curators are relegated to second-class beneath the creators. In such a system, creators maintain their elite status and govern it through the power to release information and knowledge. Okay, so maybe that won’t happen like that but power is an interesting construct. Those who possess it don’t often give it up willingly. So who has power right now? And who will have it tomorrow?

Python Thursdays: How Interesting Are You?

by on April 15, 2010 in Career

This week’s Python Thursday introduces some Interesting People.

Okay, so some of us might not be able to put bricks to sleep or are more interesting than a wet pussycat. But hopefully, you’re not invisible like Mr. Walters (3:00).

Thinking about hidden talents (or as Rosa Say calls them, sleeping talents), what makes you interesting and how do you use it to your advantage in jobhunting or in your work?

Mind The Motives In Getting Career Advice

by on April 14, 2010 in Career

“I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.” ~ G. K. Chesterton

Asking for and receiving career advice can always be a tricky proposition. We often ask for help when we’re stuck in the muck or otherwise when we’re most confused. And then when we start collecting advice from people we trust or believe to be fairly smart individuals and we only get more confused. It shouldn’t be surprising though…everyone has an opinion, right? But what complicates things is what sits behind those opinions: motives. These motives can be positive (think about a parent who wants their child to succeed or a spouse who wants their significant other to be happy or a manager who wants their employee to advance their skills). And we all know examples of people who express motives that aren’t quite so well-intentioned.

The problem is that motives are often more focused on the desires of the advice-giver than the advice-seeker. That’s just human nature. Anthony Balderrama at CareerBuilder.com writes:

Of surveyed advertising and marketing executives, 58 percent say co-workers gave them bad career advice. Bosses didn’t fare much better, as 54 percent blame them for bad career advice. Parents and relatives are better career counselors, but 35 percent of surveyed executives received unsatisfactory guidance from them. Thirty percent of spouses and significant others are blamed for bad advice (and probably had to sleep on the couch at some point). Mentors have the best record for dispensing advice, as only 21 percent have the finger pointed at them.

He goes on to introduce some tips from Donna Farrugia, Executive Director of The Creative Group, who notes that it’s important to always evaluate the motives of the advice giver.

In addition to those tips, I’d also suggest a couple of other ideas:

1. I think there’s some wisdom to Chesterton’s approach. If not actually doing the opposite, then at least contemplating whether there’s a potential solution there.

2. Even more importantly, we need to own our decision-making process. It’s okay to collect advice, but committed action needs to come from us. Deep down, we do know what we want.

What are your thoughts? Any experience in getting good (or bad) career advice?

photo credit: ambergris (via Flickr)

Let’s Love Experts Again

by on April 11, 2010 in Creative

Experts have been getting such a bum rap lately. It seems no one likes them and no one (at least who is reputable) wants to be considered one anymore. There are even some who believe they’re on their way to extinction.

It’s easy to understand why. Because they’re always in your face telling you how smart they are and how their way is the only way to do something. And all this bullshit is usually backed up with actual expertise that has about as much depth as a kiddie pool…or blasted at you by an ego roughly the size of the Grand Canyon. Never mind that they act like Moses just back from a tête-à-tête with God complete with stone tablet in hand.

But I’m here to preach a different gospel. I argue the true experts – the ones who know and value their own worth – will humbly submit what works fantastically for them and show others how they got their results. They don’t cast about with “should’s” and “must’s” and “do as I say’s.” Instead, they offer suggestions knowing that every situation varies and what works well in one place and time might not work nearly as well in another.

Put simply, it’s the difference between dragging and leading. A pseudo-expert feels they need to drag everyone to their truth. A true expert believes in their value and will lead anyone seeking new learning to their own experience.

Don’t be afraid to be an expert. Let’s show these pseudo-expert dimwads what true expertise looks like so maybe folks will trust and respect experts again.

Open Letter to Fellow Career Zigzaggers

by on April 9, 2010 in Career

Okay, here I go…out on the proverbial limb. For a while, I’ve been listening to a very persuasive voice within me that said, “Chris, you’re a marketer and that’s all you should be doing. Now go out and find marketing-related jobs.” Want to know something strange? I’m not really a marketer. Sure, I have a solid grounding in the profession and even have some experience doing it. However, In the end, I’m a mutt, a dabbler, a generalist. I’ve successfully tackled positions like customer service, sales, data processing, web design, and yes, marketing. I’ve worked in non-profits and for-profits. I’ve even tried launching my own businesses a couple of times.

My professional trajectory hasn’t been a straight line…more like a zigzag. This is both good and bad. The good? I possess a wealth of different experiences, skillsets, and knowledge. This diversity allows me to uncover patterns that many “straight line” professionals likely can’t see. The bad? Most organizations don’t value this eclectic background so much. They want straight-liners and set their hiring practices up to reward them.

So for many of us career zigzaggers, vocational searchers, and Renaissance Souls we tend to feel neglected and discarded and wonder what the hell we ever did wrong to find ourselves in such a world. We then do something that truly dishonors our selves and undermines our value: we try to emulate the straight-liner. We interview and market ourselves like the straight-liners, all the while downplaying our own richness, our own unique qualities. We try to cram our polygon peg into the square hole and then wonder why we’re so dumb because it doesn’t fit.

Does this sound familiar to you? If so, know you’re not alone. It’s time to acknowledge that we have tremendous value to give. It’s time to be bold and proudly profess our unique abilities. We’re quick learning, intensely creative, spectacularly curious professionals (to name just a few attributes). So here’s my call to action: Instead of hiding our light under a bushel basket, let’s not just uncover it – let’s throw kerosene on it and start a wildfire. Even if they don’t know it yet, employers need us. Business today is moving way too fast for the straight-liners and the specialists to keep up. Organizations truly need our broad skillsets, diversity of experiences, and ability to learn quickly.

If you find yourself identifying with the zigzagger ideal, come and share your experiences. What are your frustrations? Any tips for how you’ve overcome challenges and claimed your value?

Now go out there and set your fire today.

photo credit: marcelgermain (via Flickr)