The Web Does Wonderful Things, But…

Garth Beyer

The web is like a shortcut, a way to streamline any process, a method of simplifying the complex, leaving the hard work still needing to be done.

Anyone can now do anything with the web. I can collect programmers to mimic nearly any site available which makes that site less valuable. It’s a crumbling collection of incredible infrastructure and design.

If a blog, a website, an online service is all that you have to offer, there’s a very low life expectancy for you.

Remember that the hard work can’t be accomplished online. You can get by for a time, but with how swift laypeople are at creating online content, it won’t be long until someone mimics your original idea and adds their human, offline, personal touch to it.

 

Stay Positive & The Web Gives You Freedom, But There’s Still Competition

Garth E. Beyer

The Disengaged

Garth Beyer

They are everywhere waiting for you to connect with them, give them a rubik’s cube they want (and can) figure out, and a reward for completing it.

Go start, anywhere, with anyone. Connect. Challenge. Reward.

 

Stay Positive & Note: Reward Is Not The Most Important

Garth E. Beyer

Soaring Price Of Milk Reflection Of Economy

Garth Beyer

Had a little laugh out of this.

This is the attitude I love that Krugman has. It’s difficult to argue a concept when the facts supporting it are in fact, not facts.

Price of milk is soaring. NOT

Morning Stream Of Awesome Better Than Coffee

Garth Beyer

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Checking Facebook when you first wake up can be a good thing. I’ve read articles that suggest you shouldn’t check your phone right away (FB,email, texts,etc,.), that you should wake up on your own schedule, enjoy life a bit, and deal with all the work that your phone is blinking at you at a later time. But then, ignoring these suggestions, this morning I read the following on Facebook,

“All artists should be treated with respect I always see many people getting put down at doing what they love and lose confidence to making music,making art, dancing , and whatever you do, keep your head up and chase your dreams, because every person out there has the capability to do anything in life!”

This is as livening as a cup of coffee, if not more.

Those suggesting you don’t check your phone right away are half right. I am all for staying unplugged a couple of mornings a week to take a walk down to the lake or do a workout without any distractions, but what people fail to recognize is our need to evaluate what calls our attention in the morning.

There are negative consequences to checking our phone as soon as we wake up when we read a Facebook feed filled with complaints, an RSS feed of the days most negative news, our work email instead of our personal email.

Give yourself a morning stream of awesome on your phone and I don’t see a problem with checking it before we all get out of bed.

 

Stay Positive & Combine It With Coffee, You’ll Be Set To Go All Day

Garth E. Beyer

Photo credit

Death Of Spectating In Sports

Garth Beyer

Quickly, don’t be confused. I didn’t say death of “spectator sports.”

1010648_10201588067809783_1465580148_nLast night at Miller Park I watched the Brewers shut out the Cubs. Victory for the Brewers meant that the Cubs are officially the worst team in the league right now. Given that they were tied with the Brewers for that title before the game, victory was not as great to the Brewers as, say, it was to the Chicago Blackhawks.

What I realized though, was that the sport itself didn’t make the game. My great experience was not fueled by the talent and flare of the players. Heck, I could have watched a little league baseball game and been more impressed. That aside, place me in any stadium, field, or rink and what makes it remarkable is everyone in the stands.

Previously called “spectators,” that’s a dying phrase in sports.

A spectator is someone who looks on or watches. Simple as that. But when I scan the stands, I don’t see any spectators. (Worth noting, to be a spectator also implies being silent, taking it all in. It’s difficult to be a spectator when you are texting someone the score, high-fiving those behind you, making noise, and shouting “Let’s Go Brewers.”)

What I see is people connecting, relaxing, cheering, and making the most of their ballgame experience, not just the ballgame. “This spectator sport” and “that spectator sport” are simply categories for people to meet up with like-minded people, not to watch players pitch a ball or hit a puck.

The reason for this post is to note that it is easy to turn a business into a baseball game. The part oft forgotten is that you still need to build a stadium that certain types of people go to. This may mean that there’s a seating limit, certain concessions, and a place for people to purchase matching clothes.

The players/clients don’t make the game/business,                                                                          the game/business makes the players/clients.

BallParkFood for thought: Maybe we don’t go to sporting events to watch them play. Maybe they play sports to get us (the audience/fans/families/superfans) to go crazy, interact with each other, and connect on what I consider a personal level.

 

Stay Positive & Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Garth E. Beyer

Time, Trust, Respect

Garth Beyer

Time

Showing up on time has its perks, but you rely on other factors being in the right place to benefit you. You can show up early, but if no one is there… now what? blog?

The times of showing up early and benefiting from it are slowly passing. We’re entering an era that every meeting, conference, and think-tank coordinator has a tight schedule.

All the while, others (primarily the millennials – guilty) are making the most out of every moment. They are continuously asking themselves if they are getting more out of “this” than they could be if they went to “that.” Options infinitum.

Being there early doesn’t create trust. Being there on time does.

Respect is attached to time and not only respect for those whose time you are using, but your own time. In the connected world, we can monitor where various events, groups, friends, meetings, and coworkers are. We owe it to ourselves to be respecting our own time as we are respecting others.

Sometimes that means leaving “this” for “that.”

 

Stay Positive & Spread Your Time

Garth E. Beyer

Photo credit

“Tip or Die”

Garth Beyer

An ongoing argument, making its presence with the New York Times, is one worth riffing on real quick. Should restaurants do away with tipping?

I’ve written posts about tipping. The reason there are so few is because tipping is very cut and dry with me. Why go on arguing it? Oh, because

you can argue that tipping is not capitalism, or that a greedy goal ruins the process, or that it’s withering good character. But the truth of it all is that tipping is just like giving someone a tip.

I can give you writing tips, or tips on battling fear, or tips on relationships, but I only give them because I care, because I want to, because I know it makes you happy or benefits you in some way. It has nothing to do with any service you have provided me.

(The people who get talked about, give others something worth talking about. The people who get tipped, give others a reason to tip them. It’s not rocket science.)

Sure, we could simplify this and cut tipping in restaurants and other services, but let’s keep all the good and bad of tipping and simplify the why and how people tip. Businesses don’t need a lesson on whether they should keep tipping or not, people need a lesson on tipping.

Lesson one: Did you connect with those who served you? Was it personal? Did they help you? Did they go the extra mile? Were they happy, fun, energetic people who read you like a book? Did they bring a drink before you were finished? Did they memorize what you desired? Were they perfect?

Lesson two: Forget lesson one and tip big.

Either they were exceptional or they need a sign to show them that they are exceptional.

 

Stay Positive & Will You Be There For Them?*

Garth E. Beyer

Worth mentioning is that I view tipping as my charity. While I freely give my time and resources to those in need (sort of my passion), I rarely donate money to charities. I decided early on to focus my charitable giving on something that means a lot to me. Just so happens, that it means as much to the baristas, servers, and caretakers of the world as it does the recipients of your giving through other organizations, non-profits, or charities. Keep an open mind to who you will give an open heart.