Author: Scott Berkun

From the mailbag: Best request ever for writing advice

Posted on in mailbag, Writing Wellby Scott Berkun

I get a lot of email, and sometimes lots of blog comments. Some of it is very nice, has feedback and useful criticism, or suggestions for things to write about, and I’m grateful for it. Some are requests for speaking engagements which I make a living on, also awesome. A good chunk are requests to read, review, or watch things other people have done, which is fine if it’s not a generic piece of PR spam. And then there’s a pile that’s is harder to classify: I’m being asked for something, but it’s not entirely clear what it is.

Here’s a recent favorite that appeared in the comments of my post on how to write a book:

I PUT MY ENTIRE COMMENT IN CAPS LOCK SO IT WILL GET YOUR ATTENTION. (please read this!!! and help!!!) OK. I’M A MINOR (14) AND I WROTE A BOOK. I STARTED WITH JUST A PEN AND PAPER AND I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN WITH A PUBLISHER. CAN PUBLISHERS STEAL IDEAS OF BOOKS? DO I NEED MY BOOK COPYRIGHTED? (please don’t think I’m stupid!) WHILE I WAS DOING RESEARCH, I READ THAT MINORS CAN’T GET BOOKS PUBLISHED AND I WANT A KNOWN PUBLISHER TO READ MY BOOK. MY BROTHER, WHO IS ALSO A MINOR, IS WRITING THE SEQUEL TO MY STORY. HOW DO I GET A PUBLISHER TO NOTICE ME? YOUR ARTICLE WAS DISCOURAGING, BUT IT WAS AN EGO DEFLATION THAT I REALLY NEEDED. PUBLISHING MY BOOK IS GOING TO BE HARD, AND I NEED ADVICE FROM SOMEONE LIKE YOU, SOMEONE WHO’S BEEN THERE, DONE THAT IN THE WRITING BUSINESS. (Sam)

Dear Sam:

First off, Caps lock BAD. Very BAD. Don’t do it. Yes, you want attention, but there is good attention and bad attention. Good attention, in this case, is to seem smart and like you’ve done your homework so I’ll want to give you advice. Bad attention is to seem crazy, annoying, helpless, confused and random (which writing in ALL CAPS make you seem). Luckily your comment was so funny and genuine, it outweighed the bad stuff.

And on to your questions:

You mentioned “I WROTE A BOOK”: Really? How long is it exactly? Most books are 50,000 words or more (roughly 200 pages). Of course there are many published books that are shorter, but if all you have are a few pages, as far as a publisher is concerned, you have a short story on your hands, not a novel or a book. But then again, if you can find your local kinkos, you can make a book of any size you’d like. If I were 14 I’d be my own publisher – it’s faster, easier, and probably more fun.

Can publishers steal ideas? This is so unlikely it’s not worth worrying about. Can’t think of a single instance of this actually happening. It’s more likely another writer will “steal” ideas, but that’s unlikely too. Provided you can prove when you wrote what you wrote, it’d be pretty hard for a publisher to get away with it anyway. I bet you a zillion dollars you should be worrying more about finishing your book, and writing well, than about your ideas being taken from you.

Minors and books: There is no law that says a minor can’t write or publish books. There have been plenty of young writers who have had books published (Paolini was a teenager when his first novel was published).

Sequels: I was quite impressed you’ve got your brother working on the sequel before the original is finished. Perhaps you can get your sister or cousin to work on the prequel?

How to get a publisher to notice you: Start by rereading my post. They don’t find you, you have to go and find them. Find publishers that makes the kinds of books you want to write, go to their website, and find their information on submissions. But don’t worry about publishers until your book is almost done.

The limits of leaked memos (Apple & Microsoft)

Posted on in harvard business, Managementby Scott Berkun

Another post at Harvard business is up – here’s an excerpt:

There is a difference between talk and action, and memos are 90% talk. We all know this. If a CEO at a 20,000+ person company wants to take action, he will, and most of those actions will surface through the executive chain. The corporate-wide memo is the most diffuse and overrated tool in an executive’s playbook, but since it’s the only play that most of the world sees, we naturally over-represent its significance. In every paragraph ask “Is this talk or action?” and you’ll see more clearly what the memo actually means, if anything at all.

Full post here.

Speaking in Milwaukee, WI, Fri Sept 19th

Posted on in On Tourby Scott Berkun

I’m a travel whore, I admit. If I can go somewhere i haven’t been, and on someone else’s dime, I’m a happy man. So when I had a chance to speak in Milwaukee and the dates lined up, I said yes. I’ve been to 41 of the 50 U.S. states and this trip will make it 42.

I’ll be doing my famous full day seminar, Making things happen, based on the bestselling book. It’s a bargain rate: $125 for the full day, ridiculously inexpensive for any kind of full day professional seminar. Here are the details:

When: Friday Sept 19th, 2008
Where: University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Description: Despite all the jargon, methodologies, and magic bullets, most software projects do not end well–certainly not as well as everyone hopes they will when they start. This interactive, practical, and fun workshop, based on the best selling O’Reilly book, explores the true reasons projects work. There are no trendy terms or magic bullets in this workshop. Instead, we talk about the tough situations that arise on every project, explore different ways great project managers have handled them, and nail down how to avoid the big mistakes even experienced leaders make. Bring your toughest situations, challenges, and experiences, and they’ll be worked into the workshop or discussed during breaks.

Registration and seminar outline here.

btw: I’m working out the details for a public talk on innovation in Chicago on Mon Sept 22nd. Stay tuned.

Speaking at User interface 13, October ’08, Cambridge, MA

Posted on in On Tourby Scott Berkun

I spoke last year at User interface 12, and I must have done something right. They’ve invited me back to do my full day seminar: How to lead breakthrough projects. It’s the only conference I know of that pays speakers based on performance, and it shows in the quality of speakers and workshops at the event.

When: October 13-16, 2008
Where: Cambridge, MA, USA

Other speakers include: Luke Wroblewski, Industry legend Bill Verplank, Peter Merholz, and more (full agenda).

Registration: For all four days is $2190, or pay by the day for $675. After August 14th, prices go up about 15%. Details here.

Discount: If you use my promotion code, berkun, you get $30 off each single day registration; if you sign up for all 4 days, you get a free limited-edition UI13 Flip Ultra video camcorder.

Wednesday linkfest

Posted on in linkfest, Uncategorizedby Scott Berkun

How not to set goals: Steve Ballmer, a case study

Posted on in Making things happen, Management, Microsoft, Uncategorizedby Scott Berkun

Recently Steve Ballmer’s FY ’09 Strategy email was leaked. Out of curiosity I read the thing – and it makes an excellent case study in goal setting (covered in Chp4 of Making things happen).

Is it any wonder things are slowing at Microsoft with goals like these?

Ballmer writes:

Therefore, my priorities are consistent with last year. In FY09 we must continue to:

1. Invest in the right opportunities;
2. Expand our presence with Windows, Office, and developers;
3. Drive end user excitement for our products;
4. Embrace software plus services; and
5. Focus on employee excellence.

These are the same goals Microsoft has had FOR A DECADE. It’d be impossible to know this was written in 2008 if the lead in sentence were removed. Consistency of leadership can be great, but be consistent in vision, not at the goal level.

Worse, #1 and #5 are wastes of goal space. A good goal makes decisions easier to make. How does it help any of Microsoft’s 80,000 employees for the CEO to say “Invest in the right opportunities”? As if there are hordes of managers running around trying to invest in the wrong ones? The #1 slot is the big gun, the first shot, the lead idea, and in this list it’s fired into the ground.

Here’s my take on the other 4 goals:

2. Expand our presence with Windows, Office, and developers;

Windows and Office have been market leaders for years. The big goal for ’09 is to expand presence? That’s the secret to the future of Microsoft? Getting the last .005 of market share left? First off, I don’t believe Microsoft executives truly believe this is the future, but they really don’t know what else to say. It is still a two horse company unwilling to confess, even inside the company, that all its attempts for a third horse have been qualified failures (MSN, Interactive TV, Mobile, XBOX, etc.) If they’d do a postmortem on these efforts and educate the company and what executives have learned from these efforts, the company would get 20% smarter (yes it’s a made up number), instantly. Microsoft has a ridiculous amount of untapped experience since they hide their failures internally and never share their big, expensive lessons (Bob, MSN, Search, etc.). If every VP and middle manager were forced to write a postmortem and publish it internally, Microsoft would instantly become a dramatically smarter company.

3. Drive end user excitement for our products

This is weird. It doesn’t say make great products. Nor does it say have amazing levels of customer satisfaction. It says drive excitement. If ever there were grounds for calling Microsoft products over-marketed and under-designed on purpose, this is it. Excitement for a thing can be generated in different ways, and only some of those are beneficial in the long term. How about “Make great products that drive end use excitement” or “Earn customer love through making people’s lives better” or some statement that connects a good cause with a good effect? That would clarify the valuable kinds of excitement from the fluffy kinds.

4. Embrace software plus services

Microsoft started talking about software as a service back in 2005, and years earlier internally. It was a big campaign back then and it led to the launch of Windows Update and similar services across the company. So what does it mean in 2008 to embrace software plus services? I don’t know. Haven’t they mostly been embraced already? And besides, an embrace isn’t the best verb to use in a goal. What effect do we want the embracing to have? That’d be a better goal. Any idiot can embrace something (a light post, a stuffed animal, etc.) but that’s not as impressive as doing something meaningful with it.

5. Focus on employee excellence.

Like Goal #1, this is a waste of goal space. Is there anyone actively focusing on employee incompetence? This goal, as written, suggests there is. And the verb, to focus, is not progressive. What if I’m already focused, should I be focusing more? A goal should be a horizon to chase. Words like improve, increase, grow, and develop are all stronger verbs.

If I were Ballmer’s editor, here’s the revision I’d offer of what I think is his message:

  1. Make smart investments and evangelize the lessons we learn
  2. Create great products that naturally generate end user excitement
  3. Combine software and services to provide great customer experiences

Three goals. No fluff. Strong verbs. Clearer direction.

Caveats

  • I’m not sure the above would be my leadership message if I were CEO. But it is an improved version of what i think he was trying to communicate in the goals.
  • $60 billion in revenue in FY08 is a ridiculous level of success by any metric. Hard to say how long this will last since it’s largely driven by the two horses (Office, Windows), but while it does you can’t pick too hard on Microsoft as a business.
  • Writing goals as a CEO for 80,000 company is quite different than writing goals for a 50 person software development project.

George Orwell & the future of blogs

Posted on in Writing Wellby Scott Berkun

I still have trouble with the use of the word blogging – Why can’t we just say writing? Sure, I agree that blogs have changed many things about how we communicate and what we expect from people who write online, but at the end of the day when someone puts words into sentences, and sentences into paragraphs, the skill is writing. I don’t care where those paragraphs end up, or what technologies are used – the biggest challenge is to write well.

So here’s a most interesting experiment: what would happen if you’d take the diaries of one of the centuries greatest writers and post them online, in a blog, one entry per day?

Well someone’s doing it with George Orwell’s diaries. Will his writing style work? Will we notice something missing given that he died a half century before the first blog? Head over there to find out.

I’m convinced the future of blogging depends most on what we can learn from great writers from the past – and Orwell is a excellent place to start. However, its his diary. Something I doubt he wrote with publication in mind – so who knows what we’ll find.

(Hat tip filmoculous)

I’m hiring: job opening for pmclinic

Posted on in PM-Clinicby Scott Berkun

Five years ago I started a simple little discussion list called pmclinic. The idea was simple: e-mail out a real world management situation on Monday, discuss it all week, write a summary on Friday.

Unlike most discussion lists, the idea created a surprisingly high signal to noise ratio. As the months went by, without any PR or much of a web presence, the list grew. Today the list has over 1000 members. We’ve covered hundreds of situations, and the list is still going strong.

There are dozens of things that need to be done, from making the list archives public, to getting the list out of the technology dark ages. And the best way for that to happen is to hand the reigns over to someone new.

This opportunity could be great for either a veteran who’s looking for something fun and different to work on with big networking opportunities, or even a rock star intern, college student, or journeyman who’s looking for experience and to build a reputation.

Job title: Project Manager

Project: PMCLINIC 2.0

Description: Lead the planning, brainstorming, organization and development of a new online community for the 1,000+ community of leaders, PMs and managers who reside on the legendary pmclinic. Objectives include taking the list out of the technological dark ages and onto the web, while retaining the stellar signal to noise ratio, and e-mail only options, subscribers cherish. It’s a huge opportunity to play a rare leadership role on a high visibility project in the tech-sector, software development and project management communities.

The current forum has a ghetto web home: https://scottberkun.com/pmclinic/.

What you will get:

  • Ridiculous amounts of autonomy and leadership opportunities
  • Use of Scott Berkun, or other select list personalities of your choice, as your top henchman & aides
  • Some funding for webhosting and other basic costs
  • Serious industry fame and acclaim
  • But no salary – this is a volunteer position

Skills required:

  • Ability to lead a small virtual volunteer team
  • Talent for recruiting, nagging, rewarding, and bribing volunteers
  • Willingness to work without immediate financial reward
  • Zero tolerance for bullshit / High standards for what you put your name on
  • Pride, Passion, Attention to detail, Sarcasm, Mind-control, Omnipotence (optional, but desired)
  • Skill with (at least some of ): web development, mailing list software, wikis, web design, mastering things you claim you know but really don’t until after you’re hired, networking with people who possess skills you do not

How to apply:

  1. Re-read the above, carefully this time.
  2. Send a brief note and a resume to info at scottberkun.com
  3. No specific experience required. Just need to convince me you’ll kick ass in this role.

Learning from The Wire

Posted on in Managementby Scott Berkun

I’m a big fan of the TV Show The Wire. They managed to capture something true about how systems work, and fail, and also how people, both good and bad, find ways to manipulate any system to their own ends. If you’re into crime or police drama, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

The reason I’m thinking about The Wire is this post by Stewart Freedman, Professor at the Wharton School. He identifies a few themes from the show folks can learn from. I have half a post of my own thoughts, but for now take a look at his.

Leadership on The Wire.

The books of ignorance

Posted on in Books, Philosophyby Scott Berkun

night countryI love wandering used bookstores, as there is always a magic tome back there, lying in waiting under layers of dust, that when found will blow my mind. There is a lack of pretension in old books that amps up their power in ways no NYTimes bestseller can ever match.

Nearly a decade ago I found a copy of Loren Eisley’s The Night Country: Reflections of a bone-hunting man, in a $1 stack. I had no idea who he was or what he was writing about, but the strange title and stranger cover drew me in. He’s an amazing writer. And he was one of the first to put my faith in writers who can transcend topics and genres and simply blow my mind with thoughts and words. You could have put Eisley in a cardboard box for an hour, and he’d have an essay that would change your mind about something important you’ve never even thought about before.

Another great find in the dark back used book racks was the Encyclopedia of Ignorance (EOI). Finally a tome about the infinity of things we do not know, that are never represented in books! A piece of my sanity was restored in this book, as I realized I wasn’t alone in feeling that we know much less about the universe and everything than we pretend we do.

Over on Kottke today, is mention of Wikipedia’s version of the EOI: The list of unsolved problems. This is great, except…it’s tiny! Ridiculously small! I’m hoping wikipedians will pick up the slack, but right now the EOI is my go to resource for things I don’t know.

The pleasure of turning things off

Posted on in Innovation, personal, rantby Scott Berkun

The irony of my writings about innovation is how little interest I have in the latest trends. Sure, I keep up enough to have meaningful commentary: it’s my job. But at the same time everyone I meet in the context of “innovation expert” is surprised I don’t own an i-phone, mostly use a 2003 model laptop, and often prefer writing on legal pads to word processors. I am a total throwback.

Despite my knowledge of how things work, I’m mostly useless in talk about the latest gadgets. Unless you show it to me so I can play with it, odds are I haven’t used it before. I’m a Luddite sympathizer. A technological skeptic. My passions lie in the timeless, things so deeply good they connect and re-connect with us for years, decades and lifetimes. I’m ridiculously happy about the pursuit of timeless things, and many of my favorite timeless things do not have on or off switches.

I’m not an old man, but I’m not young either. I’ve been fortunate to figure out what makes me happy and a good percentage are not electronic. I find my most memorable days involved less time spent in front of computers, rather than more.

The trap is much of the world, the world of my generation, spirals around the web and its various technologies – there is no choice but to spend daily hours in it. I love its conveniences but its burdens are almost as numerous. If I could swing it I’m convinced I’d be a happier man in a lifestyle where the majority of my interactions with people were in person, rather than online.

If I could conjure up my fantasy world, a world comprised of amusement parks, water parks, huge untouched forests, Greenwich village, joyous, funny, opinionated, passionate people, all on a safe tropical beach island, with basketball courts with great runs everywhere, all things digital would be a cute treat I’d taste every few days. The real world, when done right, kicks the virtual worlds ass. I mean, it’s not even close. Great websites and video games, as much as I enjoy them, don’t hold a candle to great meals with close friends and fantastic sex with passionate lovers.

Technology can enhance the real world. But little adds something good, without taking something good away. I score most gadgetry as a net loss.

I take pride in my willingness to turn things off. When on vacation I don’t long for the web or for checking e-mail. But as of late I’ve found myself victimized by my own choices: working alone, traveling often, as writers often do, makes in person interactions with close friends less frequent than I’d like. I meet many good people, which is an privilege, but spreading myself across many relationships can’t help but make those connections thinner than we admit. And as fond as I am of using online interactions to fill gaps, the gaps remains. I know no combination of IM, twitter, e-mail, blogs, or whatever the next communication thing we proclaim as our savior can fill it.

I can’t close this missive with a confident prescription – I know only who I am and not who you are. And I confess that often at parties, when I’ve been drinking, I comically ramble on about the above (I’m an entirely passionate, and philosophically comic, drunk) – and I know people think I’m nuts. Cute, charming maybe, but nuts. I don’t expect my advice to mean much, but it’s worth a shot.

Right now, turn at least one thing off. If you can, turn all your gadgets and beeping things off, and listen to the sound of the world without them. Then stop reading this, or whatever the web teases you with next and do something crazy like… go outside. Grab your favorite person within 500 feet of you (by definition, there is always one person you like the most of those available within 500 feet), and go for walk. Lie in the grass under the sun and split clouds with your mind. Spend more time and money than you should at lunch. Food becomes you, literally, so be mindful of it while you eat it. And talk to someone as your food becomes you, or at least watch and observe the waiters while they work, they do more than you usually notice. A long  break from digital things does wonders for the mind. And I bet when you return to whatever digital thing you felt you could not leave, you wont feel so dependent on it as you did before. And that’s a good feeling to have.

I’m blogging for Harvard Business

Posted on in Newsby Scott Berkun

Not sure how you feel, but my writing around here has gotten stale. I’m not writing as much, or as well, as I’d like. The best trick? Mix things up.

So when Katherine Bell, Senior Editor at Harvard Business Digital, offered a slot on their popular business blog, I said yes for 4 reasons.

  1. She’s cool (never pass up a chance to work with good people).
  2. It has been ages since I’ve been a regular columnist under someone else’s banner.
  3. I’ll be on the same roster as business heavyweights Gary Hammel, Fast Company co-founder Bill Taylor, and many others.
  4. And perhaps most interesting of all, is to find out how much trouble I can get into at Harvard :)

And you can help: What does the Harvard Business audience need to hear? What’s wrong with Harvard Business review? If you could have me write about anything over there, what would it be?

First post is up: Why innovation is over-rated.

I’m still blogging here, don’t worry. But there’s another twist coming. Stay tuned.

What I learned at FOO Camp 08

Posted on in On Tour, Teaching/Trainingby Scott Berkun

Background: Foo Camp is the legendary annual social/tech event O’Reilly Media runs for Friends of O‘reilly. Two things make the event an amazing experience: 1) high quality invite list (except myself of course) and 2) Everyone camps out on tents on the lawn. This drops pretension to near zero, and combined with a self-defined agenda, people are set up to have their minds opened. Put 1 & 2 together and crazy, funny, wild, open, smart, thought-provoking, unexpected conversations happen all on their own. FOO Camp is a true highlight of my many travels – and it puts in relief how limited most conference experiences are, despite how easily replicable the lessons of unconference style formats can be.

If you want a general write up on this year’s FOO Camp, read this piece on TechCrunch first, and I’ve written before about past FOO camps and unconferences here. Instead, what follows below is a sanitized list of notes from my moleskin.

  • High quality is good for the environment. One session by Make’s Arwen Oreilly was about luxury and nature, and how buying a $50 hairbrush that lasts 50 years isn’t a luxury, it’s actually better for the environment. Low price items often have low long term value (e.g. IKEA). Good quote “High-technology is what your parents did not use, and what your children will not use either” – Saul Griffith said it, but attributed it to someone else. How well designed can a cell-phone or laptop really be if it lasts 1/25th of a lifetime?
  • Zoe Keating is cool. Didn’t know who she was until after I’d chatted with her here and there, which is funny because had I known she was a musician I would have chatted with her about totally different things. Her stuff sounds amazing – from what I’ve heard so far it’s best described as kick-ass experimental, yet melodic, electronic chello – just downloaded from itunes. I wish someone had done a talk on “how composing music is like writing code”.
  • Why do adults stop making up games? As a kid in Queens we’d make up new games all the time, every day. A zillion variations of tag. Basketball with no traveling. On and on. Why not now? At FOO I played The lost game of Olympia, a crazy race game involving humming, blindfolds, mazes and lots of laughing. You can watch a video of my team playing at FOO here. Worked great to meet people, touch people, and focus on movement for awhile instead of thinking. If the world can be saved, I suspect gamemaster Jane McGonigal at AvantGame.com will have something to do with it.
  • Beekeeping is cool. Turns out there are quite few beekeepers in the tech elite, or at least people who have read The art and adventure of beekeeping which include two of my favorite people I’ve met at FOO – Brian Fitzpatrick and Nat Torkington (And Pathable’s Jordan Schwartz is a beekeeper too). I ordered a copy. The vibe of this session was the value of observation. How learning patience and skills of seeing leads to the insights people struggle to obtain.
  • Everyone has public speaking disaster stories. I ran a session where everyone told stories of their own public speaking horror stories. Turns out, everyone has a public speaking horror story. The only collection of public speaking disaster stories I know of is Mortification – I wish there were more collections like these.
  • I know the secret of happiness. I went to a session on happiness hacks (Run by HB Segel, Kim & Linda Stone), and the funny thing was how happy all the people who came seemed to be. Most of the advice are things I suspect most people know, and I found myself circling the same core idea over and over: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night follows day, thou cant not then be false to another man”. No one can follow all of these hacks. Every person will sort out what to try on their own, and the better people know themselves, the better their odds of choosing well. As fun as the session was, I want the same people in the room again for a session titled “How to know yourself”.
  • Related quote “Being happy is separating the difference between what I care about, and what I think I care about” – I’d been drinking and can barely read my handwriting (so the quote itself might be wrong), and I suspect it was said to me by Lane Becker of Get Satisfaction.