Work, in Plain English

Small Is the New Big is now available in bookstores, but before I could decide whether I’d buy a copy here in Atlanta or wait until we got to California, the folks at BzzAgent decided to send me one of the 250 signed copies they’ve reserved for BzzAgents whose BzzReport (where we write in and tell them what we did to spread the word) is particularly “intelligent, articulate and enthusiastic.”

Well, I’m one step closer to my Pulitzer!

In the meantime, I’m procrastinating on packing for the Big Move long enough to bring you more Seth Godin:

Enthusiasts
This chapter entreats us to get otaku, by which I assume he means “passionate enthusiasm” [for the products/services we are selling], although the word is packed with quite a bit more meaning than that. Maybe there are some readers who will respond the way I did: I’ve got plenty of otaku—probably more than I need. But what if I consciously defined it, and then sought customers who share my passions…?

Brand My Car
Godin talks about “one of the great tragedies of our profession”—that we have created a connection between ourselves and our choice of car that is so emotional, so personal, that the only way out of our present oil and smog problems is to just-as-successfully “brand” some solutions. I agree, and in fact wrote a letter to the governor of Georgia suggesting exactly that (and I offered to help, provided exciting examples. He passed me on to the Georgia DOT, who invited me to tell them more). Personally, I wonder if this chapter should have been titled “Brand my Earth-Friendly Lifestyle” (or something like that).

Branding is Dead
“You shouldn’t aim to be someone who does branding”: Rife with the usual abundance of annoyingly accurate Godinisms, this chapter didn’t do the other definitive Godin thing (which usually more than makes up for having annoyed me): It didn’t send me on my way with a provocation I felt I could act on. What do you think?

Purchased at a thrift store when I first arrived in Atlanta four years ago, this chair has handled my ridiculously-long computer stints and my son’s insatiable urges to spin and spin and spin.

But now, as my friends look at the list of bargain furniture I am leaving behind, everyone winces at the words, “bubble-gum pink”.

Not in my house, they say.

Well, I can’t take it with me, so back to the thrift store it will go. Someone must appreciate bubble-gum pink office chairs as much as I do.

We are turned upside-down here at the moment, with the imminent move to a new world (anyone who has relocated between the Southeast and Western United States will appreciate my calling it a new world, and may insist I call it a new planet).

A couple of weeks ago, it occurred to me to start a Big Fat List for the move, and that has been a tremendous help!

West coast clients have been inundating me with their own Lists—of work expected, hopefully within the two weeks I have left to pack and plan. East coast clients are easing off, but only because they know I am religiously attending to their timelines, and will call for copy and assets the instant my feet touch California soil.

In the meantime, it’s nice to know that Work, in Plain English has been mentioned on two great blogs, well worth visiting for insights and info:

• A Girl’s Guide to Managing Projects, a down-to-earth, real-world, up-close-and-personal look at project management
• The Viral Garden, a sparky and well-written marketing blog that is as excited about Word of Mouth as I am

What an honor!

BTW, project managers and others may want to check out SharedPlan’s Home Move Example Plan for an upcoming move. Use it within the free OpenPlanning software, adapt it to your own planning tools, or as a basis for a simple to-do list.

Both of these are extremely short, but provocative… I hope you’re inspired:

Do the Never

Oh my gosh. This one, you just have to read (it’s cute):
Visualizing the Satin Pillow