This post excerpt inspires me:
Stale. One thing that I never want to be.
We all have a tendency to learn up to a point, we get comfortable and keep chugging along rarely investing in our ongoing education.
I call it the slow but sure path to irrelevancy.
Let me share my prescription for avoiding irrelevancy: Try new things.
Simple right?
Read more here.
With Magoo like luck, I tried blogging in 2002. Fast forward to 2010. That sure as hell paid off.
So let's pay it forward. Whether it's just you or a band of co-workers, here are three fast to-do items for a little trend field study.
1) The Road Less Traveled: We get so used to things; we don't even feel our shirts hanging from our bodies. Ever get to work and not remember the commute? Take a new/different route to work. Try a meeting with no chairs in the room. Just don't ask anyone "hot enough for ya?"2) BE the Customer: This could be your client or your client's customers. Have you really walked a mile in their shoes? This can be tougher for BtoB with the average considered purchase costing six figures. But you get the idea. Figure out a way to be the customer for a transaction, for an entire day. Shadow an existing client/customer. Just bring mints.
3) Media Immersion: This is arguably similar to #1. But completely stop your current media consumption. Rebuild it from scratch. This is most helpful if you have RSS feeds. For one day, what do you miss? Build it back up (no bionics though Steve Austin) pulling out the waste you did not miss. Add in some new sources.
If this freaks you out, make a map of your current consumption before you do it so you're not totally screwed. The more modest way to do this is to pick three outlets you consumer now to stop following and follow three new ones -- for a week.
OR just head out to your nearest place of print media commerce (news stand, book store, corner joint with all the mags n papers and JOY!) Buy three mags that do NOT directly relate to your current interests, clients, field of career.
What Did You Learn?
The big thing I challenge you to do at the end of any of the above is to report back...to me, your blog, your coworkers...whatever. Pay it forward!
Thanks for the challenge, Kevin. After reading this blog on Monday, I realized I was "stale" when it came to my daily reading. I click on the same websites every day. Which is fine, but what am I missing?!
ReplyDeleteSo I opened it up to a group of my PR friends. Some work at an agency, some are in-house, and some work in public affairs. I asked what them to throw me a few links. And I got responses. Lots of 'em. And on Wednesday and Thursday this week, I checked these links out and my brain feels ALIVE! Some suggestions I knew about, others I didn't, and some are totally out of my normal reading material, my brain is on overdrive with ideas.
Next week I plan to change up my routine a bit. While I can't take a different route to work (unless I walked up the stairs to my home office backwards, which could prove dangerous), I plan to switch up my routine. Maybe I'll try drafting a press release while sitting on the exercise ball. Engaging my mind AND my core at the same time!
I hope other accepted your challenge. Here's to summer!
Good suggestions. Why do i feel compelled to read all of the New York Times?
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