Welcome back! It's good to see you again. Please note that I am now publishing all new material at my hub site: In Context Blog

Steve Rubel points out part of the reason that the newspaper industry is getting hit so hard by the new media:

Newspapers have made it hard for readers to get what they want without jumping through hoops. For example, they syndicate story summaries in their RSS feeds (even to paid subscribers). This forces readers to visit the website for the full content, and when they do, they have to trip over interruptive ads and interstitials.

Make it easy for loyalists to get what they want, when they want it, and they will remain just that — loyal.

I trust that my feed and RSS e-mails are as complete and as informative as possible for you. If I can improve it, please let me know!

A while back I was reading Turning the Future into Revenue (Hiemstra) and I came across this paragraph:

“To be strategic is to move to integrate daily work with strategic work, so that over time they will become one and the same. If one is ‘being’ strategic, then virtually all work activity can be seen and is interpreted for how it contributes to the agreed upon strategic directions. Rather than strategic work being seen as an interruption of daily activity, daily work that is not strategic is seen as the interruption.”

I was so moved by the clarity of this statement that I had to put the book down and give that some more thought. I knew that I had written about making sure that your principles point toward your goals and that your actions should follow your principles.

I had also made a practice of using my Quarterly review to make sure that I planned and executed at least one thing toward achieving my Someday/Maybe goals during the next quarter.

This paragraph took that thinking to the next level. I decided to Tweet about it, and pare it down even further.

Note: Twitter is not an interruption, it is a good, quick easy way to share some ideas.

Put Strategic Practices to Work

Since the spring, I have been working diligently on executing a strategic plan for making this blog into a much larger business venture and community. I have been working with a few teams of people on some really cool projects, and it was all coming along nicely. Then this book inspired me to take that vision further, to be bold and take a risk. Hiemstra actually lists four ways that companies (even little ones like In Context MultiMedia) can experience fundamental, transformational change.

1. Be Future Oriented
2. Be Vision Driven
3. Be Collaborative
4. Be Strategic

There it was, my whole practice, sewed up into a neat little package. I had not seen it like this before. Mainly because I am one of those people that like to make things a little more complicated than they have to be! (the rest of you with ADD will understand)

Now I had that extra push that I needed. My “future-oriented vision” had reached its tipping point, and I knew exactly what to do.

Take it further than you think you should

I had been toying with the idea of using this platform strictly for my productivity and workflow writing, and moving the other topics that I am interested to other places, such as guest-posts on other blogs. You, as readers, seemed to like that idea, since you primarily come here for the workflow tips and learning simple practices for controlling your inputs. Several of you have communicated with me privately, indication that you just don’t like the non-productivity stuff.
Okay, you’ve got it.

Productivity in Context, the blog, will become part of the In Context MultiMedia network. Keep your eyes on the new universal portal for In Context MultiMedia, here [link]. As of today that is the new home for my writings on Blogging, on Leadership and Management, and on some new topics like Networking and Conversations. Please take a few minutes to check it out:

“This resource has been specifically created to teach you how to develop your small business and yourself, from the inside and out. This is not just another blog purporting to tell you about how to grow and strengthen your business and brand, I am doing it right now. I am living it right now.

And it is time for me to pay it forward and tell you what I did, show you the steps I took, and work with you as your business grows.”

Thank you all for putting up with the non-productivity related posts over the past two years. From now on, this blog will be strictly about productivity workflow and getting your tasks done. I do trust that many of you will be interested in the new blog as well, you can find out how to subscribe here [link].

Thanks again, I look forward to hearing from you. Leave a Comment!

This is a sneak peek at the new project:

www.InContextMultiMedia.com

I would love to hear about what you think.

OOps! This post somehow fell through the cracks, I originally wrote it the second week of May, but I believe that it is still worthwhile.

After being away from home for 5 days to attend SOBCon in Chicago, there was a little bit of catching up to do.The interesting thing is that all of my digital/online connections stayed on-track because I brought my new laptop, but my lovely bride has not quite figured out the In-box concept. My desk was piled high with un-processed notes and mail. Sigh.

The good news is that everything is back where it should be, the In-box is empty, and my writing desk is clear. Now I can finally share some of the productivity lessons I gained from that incredible conference:

It’s Good to Mix Business with Pleasure

While the point and theme of the conference was “Biz School for Bloggers” the social component was inescapable. You’re the same person at home and online, but now you get to meet these other folks face-to-face! It’s good to share information about your work and how you are building a business, but it is also important to build personal relationships.

Learning about each other’s interests and passions can spark life-long friendships, and inspire you to new business opportunities. I learned as much at this lunch gathering as I did at any of the presentations.

Step Away from the Laptop

When your schedule is packed with meetings and presentations, it’s easy to lose sight of your broader goals and responsibilities. Break away once in a while and talk about the weather. Or your kids. Or the new building that Donald Trump is putting up in Chicago. It’s the pause that refreshes.

Evaluate Your Approach

Whether you’re a scrap-of-paper person or a Circa fanatic, chances are you’ve developed your own way of organizing your calendar, tasks and contacts. Many of us have holes in our “buckets”. Things sometimes fall out. And while your system might be familiar, you should give it a tune-up from time to time. Look at what others are doing, and be prepared to learn from them.

The beauty of this approach is that once you’ve written everything down and gotten it off your mind you can relax and let your imagination soar. One of the attendees was creating Mind Maps during the presentations, capturing his thoughts and impressions as the speaker gave his presentation. This is something that I definitely need to learn. (More on mind-mapping shortly!!)

Define Your Mission

The conference room was set up to create small teams of people in Mini-Mastermind groups. After each presenter finished, we were given time to collaborate on how to best apply what we had just heard. We were able to bounce ideas for tasks and projects that led to a larger goal. Even if some of us were unsure of what that goal is, the time we set aside to think and talk about it was invaluable.

Everyone at my table was at a different point in their learning curve, and on a different mission. It allowed us to share these points of view, and look at our own opportunities in a different light.

I learned so much at this conference, I am only now getting my head around it all.

New Features and a New Direction

I will be making some changes here, and planting some new seeds in the near future, based on your comments and e-mails. I really appreciate the little community that we have here and I am looking forward to continuing to grow with you.