What most people think of as lonely people hiding behind computer screens will soon be a new world order. And it’ll soon be a powerful business advantage in all industries, not just among web professionals. Or it will be a huge disadvantage if you’re a late-adopter.

The texting teens, tweeting twits and pimply-faced nerd stereotypes will soon be upgraded to mansion-owners and Ferrari-drivers when more of those same folks become Presidents, PhDs and CEOs. And those that still use fax machines are going to be left in the dust.

The “nerds” — a positive term, I think, for a group of which I proudly consider myself a neophyte member — are winning because of three distinct advantages: asynchronous communication; the productive, personal nature of text; and most importantly, knowing when to use what. Continue reading →

Sooner or later, something fundamental in your business world will change.

We live in an age in which the pace of technological change is pulsating ever faster, causing waves that spread outward toward all industries. This increased rate of change will have an impact on you, no matter what you do for a living. It will bring new competition from new ways of doing things, from corners that you don’t expect.

It doesn’t matter where you live. Long distances used to be a moat that both insulated and isolated people from workers on the other side of the world. But every day, technology narrows that moat inch by inch. Every person in the world is on the verge of becoming both a coworker and a competitor to every one of us, much the same as our colleagues down the hall of the same office building are. Technological change is going to reach out and sooner or later change something fundamental in your business world.

— Andrew S. Grove, former President & CEO of Intel, from his book Only the Paranoid Survive (preface) 

For the past week, I’ve been sticking to a rigid work schedule. I decided to try it out because, for the previous six months, I had been working “until I was finished”.

Of course, “finished” never came, the quality of my work decreased as the hours increased, and I was starting to get burnt out. I even started to fantasize about going to a beach.

The main problem was not the number of hours, but with so much time allocated to work, I didn’t have to be selective about which tasks I concentrated on. Without constraints, I wasn’t forced to pick and choose the most important things out from amidst the fluff. The result was that I got a lot of things done, but not the right things.

To combat the situation, I did two things: I stuck to a rigid work schedule and, even more importantly, I kept a work journal. From those two practices came three immediate benefits: increased urgency, much-improved focus and a refined selection of tasks. Continue reading →

This question has been burning up cycles in my head for more than a week. A post on one of my favorite blogs started the thought process. 

Initially, I thought the question was ludicrous. Especially when posed to another person. Can’t he answer that himself? My gut-level response last week was, “As many as it takes.”

However, I’ve been burning the candle at both ends for over six months now, and it’s starting to suck. 

Often enough, working until a task or project is complete is a necessary and beneficial experience, sometimes mandatory. And there’s a lot to be learned from a mandatory-to-completion environment.

But most workplace tasks and projects, admittedly, do not fall into that category unless horribly planned or pathetically procrastinated.

The question still remains: “How many hours should I work?” Continue reading →

Last July, I justifiably blasted a book called Why Work Sucks & What to Do About It. The authors, trying to sell more of their consulting services, gave a shiny-happy, absent-of-detail description of what it’s like to work in a Results-Only Work Environment. Since that time, and with no help from the aforementioned book, we at our office have successfully adopted a work environment free of a defined schedule and by being entirely results-focused.

But today’s the day that I give it a pragmatic, grown-up name. I call it “Working on the F.A.R.M.” Continue reading →

Thanks to Guido Neitzer for the photos!

We’ve been sponsoring a whole lot of events this year. Here’s some feedback:

“Thank you very much Scott for all those beautiful hats.  Since I was also a volunteer I was permitted to pick one. My daughter and I had a fun time looking through all those hats. We wished we were still a little younger and could fit some of those very cute ones. I dropped them of with people attending the races so I am not sure how they will distribute them. Everybody was very impressed with your generous donation and word had spread quickly about it with the club members. I understand my timing was very fortunate but you can be sure that we will hit you up again next year! 

With sincere gratitude,
Vita”

I am disappointed to announce that we must issue a recall for our kids’ Erwin and Poseidon beanies. We have discovered that — despite being damn cute — a batch of these two hats were made with insecurely attached parts. If these parts come loose, they may present a choking hazard.

Please click here to review the attached recall notice. Please return or modify any affected product accordingly.

For help in identifying the affected product and/or for instructions to return, please contact Ambler by email at returns@amblermw.com. More information can also be found on the Health Canada website.

My sincere apologies to our customers who have purchased these beanies. If you need any other information, please email me at scott@amblermw.com.