Today is a big day in my career.  I did it.  I turned off the new email alert that pops up and fades out in the lower right hand corner of my computer display.  Microsoft Outlook will not distract my work concentration  again.  It feels as if  a large burden has been lifted from my shoulders and it has only been gone 24 hours.  Rather than the feeling of panic and fear coming from the constant piling of new work, I have been freed to focus on the task currently in progress.  There is, however, a larger issue that this situation has brought to light, my tendency to procrastinate.  I have been meaning to turn that alert off for well over a year.  What is something that you have been meaning to do for a while?  My charge to you today is get it done.  Who knew such a small thing could be  a huge encouragement.

GOOG411 might be my favorite Google services.  For absolutely FREE you can call 1-800-GOOG411 and get any business phone number or address in the country.  It is quick, automated, easy, and has made my life much easier on the go.  This service also proves to me that Google gets “it.”  Google understands that to be profitable you  do not have to charge for every product or service you offer, but that the services that you offer have to be valuable to those that use them.  Yeah, Google probably gets some residual data benefit from your call (i.e. phone number and research information, and voice data for their recognition research), but what they are really doing is building loyalty to their brand.  If you have not used it, Try it.

Is email really work?  This is a questions that I have been struggling with for a number of weeks.  After I have been out of the office and come back to answer the slew of  emails that have gathered I feel productive, but what have I really accomplished?.  The feeling of productivity and knowing that I have more pressing tasks to complete creates a unique tension.  One part of me says,” good work Branden, take a few minutes to relish this, you deserve it,” but the other part disagrees, “Dude, you just typed a note for like 20 seconds, get over it.”    I am not really sure that there is an answer to this questions because email often brings with it a number or additional retroactive responsibilities that translate to work.  My opinion for now is that email is a transporter.  It transports work from one place to another.  That said, however, I kind of see it as a parasite too.

Pepsi and Mountain Due are back….. way back. This is an interesting way to create a little buzz about  two of the biggest cola brands in America.  I am also a big fan of using natural products to produce goods.  Hope that the “Throwback” becomes the future.  What ever happened to Crystal Clear Pepsi?  They should bring that back too.

I remembered a short conversation that I had with a friend (Chris) several years ago during my lunch break today.  The chat dealt with the idea of maintenance and repair.  Chris’s thought is that it is always easier to maintain than to repair.  I agree with him.  While we were talking about a very specific problem at the time, it is an idea that can be applied to every area of life; work, relationships, fitness, and even lawn mowing.

Take a look at areas in your work and personal life that you want improved.  Are you maintaining them or do you wait until things are absolutely broken and then try to fix them.  As you can tell by the above video I have waited far too long to cut the grass in my yard and as a result it will take me about 7 hours to complete.  I will lose time and energy as a result.

There is always a larger cost associated with repair.  Relationships with Clients, Friends, and Your Lawn will be much better for it.

Is the free content model on news websites broken?  I would contend that it is not, for the user, but Rupert Murdoch suggests, “The current days of the Internet will soon be over.”  I cannot say that I agree with his perspective.  It seems like there will always be a way to get the same information for free on the web.  Read his thoughts here.

On my trip to Dallas last week a coworker introduced me to a product -  The Flip.  I purchased one this week.  This thing sure beats the 20 lb. beast of a camcorder your grandparents had 20 years ago.  It easily fits into your pocket and enables you  to shoot up to 60 minutes of video.  With a pretty humble price tag it no wonder that reporting, journalism, entertainment and the way that we consume information is changing so fast.

In addition, every time I hear the name of this camera I am reminded of the posted video.  Watch it through till the end….. “I’m the Motha’ Flippin’!”

Maybe you have played it, or maybe you have not, if you are in the latter group I recommend that you try it.  Ultimate is the best sport there is.  It is a good workout and a better way to meet really neat people.   It combines most skill sets from other sports, but trumps all with it’s ability to bring people together.  The New York Times published an article on the sport yesterday.  It is a nice piece.  Two quotes struck me most.

“While there are significantly fewer female players than male players, most people who play say that the community aspect of Ultimate is a large part of why they play.”  -Peri Kurshan

“At first I thought it was just something you did while in college, but not as a ‘grown-up.”  – - “But the eclectic, close-knit community was tough to leave behind”

We all desire friends and need community.  Where is yours?  If you do not have an answer go play a game of pick up ultimate.  You are sure to find both there.

A new friend of mine allowed me to borrow this movie a couple of nights ago.  I watched it with another friend last night.  This was my first experience with a martial arts movie not titled The Karate Kid.  Several minutes into the movie we were laughing hysterically.  Guillotine was nothing more than a poorly dubbed voiced over samurai film which carried a very loose plot line, held together by numerous fighting scenes and a slew of under developed character relationships.  I loved it.I am not sure how much Master of the Flying Guillotine made at the box office or if it even has a following, but it doesn’t really matter.  It represents more to me.  Every movie, every song, every product, and every service has an audience or a customer.  The challenge is to find who they are and get them to experience what you have.

Last week I was invited to a forum to discuss ways to improve the way our Company does business.  We talked for one and a half days about one questions – How can we do things better?  Discussion touched on an array of topics; business unit changes, procedural efficiency suggestions, and new business ventures are a few of them.  While all of these are relevant, a question that was asked in passing had the biggest impact on me – What are some things that you can do without asking permission from anyone?  After the question was asked, the gentleman posing the questions proceeded to ask for some feedback via his twitter account.  Within minutes he had a few responses.  I thought, “What can I do like that?”

Too often we are defeated by the prospect that the things that we want to change or the ideas that we have will not be permitted, but maybe we are looking at things in the wrong context.  There is always something that you can do without anyone’s permission, something that will affect the way that your business operates each day.  Find One!