Are You Ready?

“It's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.” Hugh Laurie 

The second anniversary is not far off. It was the day we heard the phrase - Global Pandemic. It began somewhere far away and quickly became something every human on the planet deals with every day. The coronavirus, Covid-19, variants, vaccines, masks, protests, economies, it's all been too much and we're not out of the woods.

Are We Ready? 

When I was a kid, my parents would try and tell me to enjoy life and not get too caught up in the minutiae. I was always close to my mom, but during the last few years of her life, we had even better conversations about her life, my life, and life in general. This is a woman who put me, my sister, and my dad on her back and somehow got us through. She worked from the age of 14 until she retired at 71. She passed away in August 2020 mere months after this global crisis began. She was born during the second world war and died during the worst human crisis in over a century. 

If I had told mom I wanted to be a clown in a rodeo, she would have told me to be the best clown any rodeo has ever had with no judgement. The pandemic has made me more reflective and I put my words to actions late last year when I took another leap in my professional life. I took a shot at something I'd never done before and so far so good. In fact, it's been excellent. Mom was right; don't worry about what others think.

Let's Stop Comparing 

One of the most overused cliches is that no one will wish they had spent more time at the office as they take their last breath. How do we know that? And if we replaced the phrase "at the office" with "going for it", that's a more powerful statement. As Mr. Laurie says, why wait until we're ready to do anything because we'll never be ready. The world has forever changed and normal left the building in March 2020. So let's take the leap.

If we're waiting for a sign, it's right in front of us. Change your career, get out of that crappy relationship, buy the damn car, if you like the hat then wear the hat, eat the cookie, stop overthinking everything. If you want that relationship, go for it. If you want to try that new job, don't wait for an invitation. Put the mobile device or laptop down and do it before you are ready. 

If we're never ready, then why are we waiting?

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What are Your Thoughts?

The late Princeton philosopher and author Walter Kaufmann coined the phrase decidophobia to describe those who would rather leave the deciding to some authority. Kaufmann opined that once a decidophobe relinquishes, they will accept anything argued by that authority. We can call it "the boss is always right" syndrome.

She's a thought leader; he's a thinker; they're the idea team. All crutches we create to stop us from contributing to the process. We all have ideas that are valuable and if you are in a leadership role, open the doors a little wider and let those ideas in because there's brilliance waiting to be seen. Maybe we all can be decidophobes?

Two hundred years ago there was no Internet. A century ago we didn't have interactive technology built into the steering wheels of cars. And unless you share it, we will never enjoy what you have been thinking about which could change the world.

Let’s do big and stop over thinking.
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Big Ideas

We all have big ideas yet often we don’t know what to do with them or we fold our hand the moment we get negative feedback. Most of this is self-inflicted conditioning.

It's common to get stuck on that fearful part rather than to keep working no matter how much resistance we face. We may not be able to visualize the final solution so we give up. We may be making it more complicated than necessary.

What If It Doesn't Work?

It can be scary to share our ideas and often we make the early decision to keep them to ourselves. Shoulda coulda woulda replaces why not and what do we have to lose.

The late Princeton philosopher and author Walter Kaufmann coined the phrase decidophobia to describe those who would rather leave the deciding to some authority. Kaufmann opined once the decidophobe has relinquished they will accept anything argued by that authority. I call it "boss is always right" syndrome.

Let Someone Else Decide?

She's a thought leader, he's a thinker, they're the idea team. All crutches we create to stop us from contributing to the process. We all have ideas that are valuable and if you are in a leadership role, open the doors a little wider and let those ideas in because there's brilliance waiting to be seen.

Two hundred years ago there was no Internet. A century ago we didn't have interactive technology built into the steering wheels of cars. And unless you share it, we will never enjoy what you have been thinking about which could change the world.

Let’s think big and stop over thinking.
__________________________________________________________________

What if it Doesn't Work?

We all have big ideas yet often we don’t know what to do with them or we fold our hand the moment we get negative feedback. Most of this is self-inflicted conditioning.

It's common to get stuck on that fearful part rather than to keep working no matter how much resistance we face. We may not be able to visualize the final solution so we give up. We may be making it more complicated than necessary.

Share it. Like it.

It can be scary to share our ideas and often we make the early decision to keep them to ourselves. Shoulda coulda woulda replaces why not and what do we have to lose.

The late Princeton philosopher and author Walter Kaufmann coined the phrase decidophobia to describe those who would rather leave the deciding to some authority. Kaufmann opined once the decidophobe has relinquished they will accept anything argued by that authority. I call it "boss is always right" syndrome.

Let someone else decide?

She's a thought leader, he's a thinker, they're the idea team. All crutches we create to stop us from contributing to the process. We all have ideas that are valuable and if you are in a leadership role, open the doors a little wider and let those ideas in because there's brilliance waiting to be seen.

Two hundred years ago there was no Internet. A century ago we didn't have interactive technology built into the steering wheels of cars. And unless you share it, we will never enjoy what you have been thinking about which could change the world.

Let’s think big and stop over thinking.
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Kneale Mann | Leadership and Culture strategist, writer, speaker, executive coach engaging leaders, collaborative teams, and strong business results.

istock

Planting Our Big Ideas

We all have big ideas yet often we don’t know what to do with them or we fold our hand the moment we get negative feedback. Most of this is self-inflicted conditioning.

It's common to get stuck on that fearful part rather than to keep working no matter how much resistance we face. We may not be able to visualize the final solution so we give up. We may be making it more complicated than necessary.

What If It Doesn't Work?

It can be scary to share our ideas and often we make the early decision to keep them to ourselves. Shoulda coulda woulda replaces why not and what do we have to lose.

The late Princeton philosopher and author Walter Kaufmann coined the phrase decidophobia to describe those who would rather leave the deciding to some authority. Kaufmann opined once the decidophobe has relinquished they will accept anything argued by that authority. I call it "boss is always right" syndrome.

Let Someone Else Decide?

She's a thought leader, he's a thinker, they're the idea team. All crutches we create to stop us from contributing to the process. We all have ideas that are valuable and if you are in a leadership role, open the doors a little wider and let those ideas in because there's brilliance waiting to be seen.

Two hundred years ago there was no Internet. A century ago we didn't have interactive technology built into the steering wheels of cars. And unless you share it, we will never enjoy what you have been thinking about which could change the world.

Let’s think big and stop over thinking.

Kneale Mann

gbengaawomodu

Sharing in a Narcissistic World

We are connected by no more than six degrees of separation. You may know someone who knows someone who knows me, done. And with close to seven billion of us walking the earth, that remains a fascinating reality.

Johannes Gutenberg was the person most attribute to the invention of the printing press around 1439. It revolutionized the world and allowed ideas to be spread faster between people across vast distances.

Connected by Thumbs

Depending on who you ask, the Internet is somewhere around forty years old. The look, feel and ease we see today began in the early 90’s. The ever expanding electronic web has revolutionized the world. It has allowed ideas to spread in an instant through computers and mobile devices. The digital world is more social. Or is it?

Mitch Joel has been studying the digital space and human behavior for more than two decades. He is the president of Twist Image - an award winning digital marketing firm in Toronto and Montreal and in his spare time he speaks all over the world, writes one of the best marketing blogs in the world and has a podcast and a book of the same name - Six Pixels of Separation. Mitch suggests we may not be as social as all the chatter suggests. He explained during his recent keynote at TEDx Concordia in Montreal.



Kneale Mann

video credit: TEDx Concordia

Changing Education Paradigms

One of the most popular speakers to ever speak at TED is Sir Ken Robinson. He is clearly smart and very funny. He cares deeply about education. Here, he shares some of his thoughts on some of the most controversial learning topics today.



knealemann | email

video credit: TED | RSA Animate

Predicting The Future

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." 
Bill Gates (1981)

"The Japanese auto industry isn’t likely to carve out a big share of the market for itself." Business Week (1968)

"$100 million dollars is way too much to pay for Microsoft." IBM (1982)

"It's just a fad, a passing fancy." Phil Wrigley, Chicago Cubs owner, on the introduction of night baseball. (1935)

"Everyone acquainted with the subject will recognize it as a conspicuous failure." Henry Morton, Stevens Institute of Technology commenting 
on Thomas Edison's light bulb (1880)

"Guitar groups are on their way out."

Dick Rowe, Decca Records passing on signing The Beatles (1957)

"Democracy will be dead by 1950" John Landon-Davies (1936)

"There is no reason for any individual to have a computer 
in their home." Ken Olsen, President of Digital Equipment Corporation (1977)

Got any predictions?

knealemann | email

image credit: delta

New Ain’t New No More

Archeologists found the earliest evidence of dentist drills dating back 9,000 years in Pakistan. These primitive hand drills were the earliest found implements which performed cavity repair. Dentists now employ motorized drills that spin at half a million RPM and can solve virtually any dental issue.

The cute portable music playing device that revolutionized music consumption was first introduced in 1997. The iPod is one of the most influential inventions in decades. Sony owned the portable cassette market, Apple is the overwhelming leader in mp3 players.


Beer was first invented in the 6th millennium BC in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Today, beer is a $300 Billion a year industry and it is consumed in almost every country on earth.

In the 1960’s, computers were behemoth mechanical creatures that filled rooms to perform basic mathematical problems. The computer installed on the Saturn V rocket which propelled the crew toward the first moon landing was slower than the later model known as the 286. The portable computer was first mass produced in the 1980’s. Today it is a mind that can carry out complex audio and visual tasks simultaneously.

An instrument we use every day was named after the Latin term fura or pitchfork. Forks have been used since 2nd century Rome.



In the last decade, scientists all over the world have finally mapped the human genome - the entire gene pool of human makeup.

As close as historians can guess, the first wheelbarrow dates back to around 400BC in ancient Greece. Medieval Europe and China have had their stake in its evolution. It is almost inconceivable that a home owner would not own one today.


What we now know as the Internet was first conceived in the mid 1950’s as a way for U.S. government officials to share and send information over long distances. It was known as the Arpanet. Although near impossible to predict, in 2009 there are hundreds of millions of websites, social media communities and you can do or find anything you can possibly fathom, online.




As soon as something is invented, creative minds get to work on improving it. Once we are introduced to something new in our lives, we somehow seem to find a need for it or seamlessly adapt to its existence.

Got any ideas?

@knealemann

photo credits:
thomasedison.com | kscience.co.uk | wikimedia.org | apple.com

From Cave Walls to FriendFeed

How old is social media?

At the core of social networking is connection. It has been going on for about the last 100,000 years or so.

People used to write stories about their lives through pictures on cave walls.

Juan Pablo Bonet first introduced a new way of communication for the deaf and today millions converse through sign language.

Can you hear me now?

In 1836, Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail developed an electronic telegraph machine that sent a series of electric currents which made markings on tape. An alphabet was devised and long distance two-way communication was made possible with basic equipment.

Ancient Greece is the place where the earliest form of shorthand was documented. As early as 400BC, shortened versions of full words were carved on to marble using mostly vowels with slight variations to indicate consonants.

Rocket ships and email

In the late fifties during the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. This event caused the Americans to quickly get to work on the Advanced Research Projects Agency or ARPA which later became ARPA Network or ARPANET. Today, you and I know it as The Internet.

Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the mid 1400’s. His creation revolutionized communication. A&E named him the most influential person of the 20th century.

Shawn Fanning turned the music industry on its head with his invention of computer code and later Napster which allowed people to electronically share songs.

What does all of this have to do with Social Media?

In short, everything.

This is not about LinkedIn or Facebook, MySpace or Bebo, Twitter or FriendFeed.

Morse code, the Internet, hieroglyphs, the printing press, mp3s, shorthand and many other magnificent inventions have immeasurably helped us better connect with each other while sharing stories, knowledge and experiences.

But can any of this ever replace in-person interaction?

km

Are You Average or Universal?

It was bound to happen but its arrival was no less difficult. I began getting a warning message a week ago that the AC adaptor on one of my laptops didn’t have enough something and the plug wasn’t something else. No idea, I ignored the warning.

Important: One issue I learned long ago - the wrong way - was to always back up your data.

Step One: Assume I did something wrong. I ruled that out. I oversee productions and develop projects, but trust me – no one lets me get too close to the gear!

Step Two: Jiggle the handle or reboot. That didn't work.

Step Three: Accept that equipment breaks, breaks down, and often needs to be replaced.

Step Four: Look for a replacement adaptor through the manufacturer and retail sites.

A colleague suggested that I purchase at a universal unit. It’s one-size-fits-all option for all computers - in theory. A buddy chimed in later in the day to remind me that his television “universal” remote has never worked properly. Great!

Does One Size Fit All?
Have you seen the commercial for The Snuggie? It’s a blanket and a sweater. Apparently it’s fun for the whole family.

Take a moment and think of the smallest person in your life. Now think of the largest person in your life. Now imagine both wearing the same sized garment. Quite a sight, isn’t it?

The key for an Acura won’t fit in a Toyota, and apparently there are 865,917 different laptop adaptors on the market! I just wonder if there are ways to merge the one-size-fits-all model with the too much choice model. Perhaps I'm dreaming.

How Does It Apply To You?
This isn’t about computer cables or cozy couch wear. Look at your business, your service, and most importantly you.
° How are you different?
° How do your customers interact with your offerings?
° How easily can customers understand what you offer?
° How easily can they find it?

One size does not fit all. And when there is choice it must be clear and concise. The company that made my laptop has 50 AC adaptors for their own computers. That makes sense.

I'm sure there is a technical reason and I don't care. It's silly.

Make it as easy as possible for your customers to interact with your products and services. Choice can be good. Choice can be bad.

Now what is the model number on my laptop again?

km

The Plot Is In The Story

In a world of content, product placement, infomercials, advertorials, and other integrated models,
perhaps it's time to get back to simply telling stories.

Every year, one of the big stories surrounding the Super Bowl is how much it costs to buy a 30 commercial during the game. Last year, the price was $2.7 Million. Think about that. Think about your company. Can you or your company afford over two and a half million dollars for a 30-second event? That doesn’t include production costs so lob a few extra bucks on the tab.

Glorida Goodale writes in a recent blog post that we need to “forget product placement – that's so 20th century. Even product integration is passé. Advertisers these days want to do far more than just place BMWs, Manolo Blahnik shoes, and other luxury items within reach of favorite TV and movie characters. They want to create entire worlds of consumption.”

You may remember receiving a copy of the “banned” 90 second X-Box commercial a few years ago. I received it seven times in a two day period. It was shocking how broadcasters had refused to air this and the community seemed outraged. They were so outraged that the “banned” commercial was shared amongst millions of people. These people watched the “banned” commercial on their computers and portable devices instead of their television screens.

How dare those broadcasters ban such a thing and we all rallied around the floundering Seattle software firm to “fight the man”. It was not a staged or calculated event, nah.

YouTube is consistently in the top five most visited websites on the face of the earth. This space is jammed with material that doesn’t see the traditional light of day. Shocking.

BMW has been the sole underwriter of one of the most wonderful visits in cyberspace – TED.com – and they do it through wickedly cool visuals (not “commercials”) that compliment the content, not interrupt it.

Goodale talks about product plots – another concept that has been going on for years but only now starting to gain traction amongst content providers, producers and companies like BMW, TED, and Microsoft.

What’s important is you must have a story before you dive in the deep end of storytelling. This is not about plunking your product into some backdrop and calling it a plot. Go back to making commercials or another traditional concept route until you can utilize this wonderful integrated option.

Goodale cites this as; “the heady days of brand integration and immersive commercial environments.”

When you are embracing what seems like a new idea, you can’t expect everyone to nod their heads and join in. But that is not enough of a reason to stop.

Mass traditional media has its place and there is audience for it. But we are building swiftly, evolving rapidly, consuming wildly, and multi-platforming constantly. And this is not a specific demographic issue.

Anyone toiling in content generation, marketing, production, advertising or promotion who thinks the “we’ll be right back after this” model will not continue to erode should be prepared to one day utter the phrase;

“What happened!?!”

km

Misguided Talent

I was at a coffee shop drive-thru and in the parking lot next to the place was a mechanic’s garage with a half-full parking lot of vehicles in various conditions.

On a large cube van, there was some very well done graffiti that simply said “Liar”. I’d love to know the story behind that artwork! But it got me thinking about something that pops in my head whenever I get a piece of junk email.

Just imagine if someone discovered that graffiti artist? Who knows, he or she may be the next Jackson Pollack?!

There are those who find joy in writing computer code which will turn in to a virus which will mess up computers all over the world. There is no glory; we don’t often find the author. Who knows, he or she may be the next Steve Jobs?!

And finally there is a large group of the population who seem to spend a vast amount of energy toiling away in cubicles and offices all over the world. These are well dressed people with hopes and dreams – in some cases dreams that have been dashed by the mother corp. They show up and swipe their card and eat their lunch at 12:30 and keep their head down and get that report done in time. How many are there in your organization?

There are those who enjoy defacing others’ property or writing computer viruses but for the most part there is a lot of untapped talent out there right in front of us. Look around at who you work with, he or she may have next great idea.

km