Let me share with you the type of voice mail messages that irritate me:

1. Today is Thursday, March 27. In the morning I will be out of the office visiting with a client and in the afternoon I am traveling to another client …


2. Please stop and listen carefully as these menu options may have changed …


3. This call may be monitored for quality control …

When I call and get a voice mail, I simply want to leave a brief message and in the fastest way possible. I know that since I got the voice mail this person is either out of the office, away from their desk or on another call. I do not need to be told the day it is – I have my own calendar, or what this person’s schedule is – I truly don’t care, or learn new menu options – I have other more interesting things to learn, or the fact that my voice may be recorded.

My favorite message would probably be: “I am out, leave a message now.” But since we all want to probably sound professional and polite, here is mine: “Hi, This is Chad at extension 112. Please leave your message and I will get back with you as soon as I can. Thank You.”

The only reason I record my extension is to make it easier for the caller to get a hold of me next time they call.

Since I am already on this topic, when leaving messages why not make them pithy and succinct?

Organizing your reading and writing.

A question was asked today on one of the online forums I help implement and moderate:

“How do you organize potential book commentary, blog posts relevant to an upcoming article, news stories that could be adapted to a speech, etc. so you can find them when you’re ready for them?”

I find my organized digital world much more efficient and faster to search than my paper world. To solve this challenge I created multiple folders on my disk drive. Here are a few to help me better organize myself:

Chad’s Publishing – Is my resource folder for my writing ideas. It contains a word document labeled “Titles” with the headlines of future articles I would like to write. Each time I think of an idea for an article or a blog post, I add it to this document. In this document you will find titles such as: “How and when to fire your web master”, “What they haven’t alerted you about Google alerts”, “Why technologies fail and what to do about it”, which are all articles, blog posts or Podcasts I am planning on doing in the future.

When I read interesting articles on the Internet, I copy and paste each one (and only the important sections) into a word document and I assign it the appropriate title I choose. Assigning it the proper title when saving the document is the most critical step as it allows me to quickly find the resource I am looking for in the future. Inside each document is the content with the date and attribution information. So if I just read three articles about three different subjects such as: disaster recovery, Internet marketing and security, I would name my articles starting with these words and followed by more identifying information in the title. When reading Books, magazines and other publications, I summarize interesting things I read and use the same concept as above. When writing my articles, if I wish to quote another source, I quickly scan my folder and use the proper article with the proper attribution.

Review Articles – This folder contains web articles I copy and paste into that I did not have the time to read yet but I feel they may be of interest to me in the future. I review this folder when I have time and either purge the document if I have no interest or rename it and place it in the “Chad’s Publishing” folder for future resource.

Process Visuals – This folder contains the charts I find or create to be used in my future writing.

Screen Shots – This folder contains the screen capture of various web sites I visited (good and bad) that I plan on writing about.

Stories – This folder contains stories I like to use in my speeches and my writing.

I know all about Google Reader, Internet browser’s favorites, social bookmarking sites, making hard copies and cutting out articles from newspapers and magazines and other methods. Although they have their place and benefit, when it comes to organizing my writing, I find them to be ineffective and a big waste of my time. The system I outline above keeps my writing organized with the proper resources available when I need them. Occam’s Razor – “All other things being equal, the simplest solution is usually the best.”

I received several great emails and suggestions about my last Blog post, which has triggered some of my additional points:

1. Technology for technology sake makes no sense – Why purchase a faster processor when the old one is just fast enough? Why upgrade immediately to the latest software version when you are barely still using 5% of the functions of your current software? Why get the latest and “hottest” gadget when it is still not tested enough or has enough technology and integration acceptance? For technology to make sense, it must increase the following: Usefulness, productiveness, efficiency, and fun.


2. Learn to exploit your technology – Imagine how much fun and success you main gain if frequently you learn to implement one new idea with your software and hardware. Imagine if you implemented several.


3. Get an expert – If you find yourself aggravated figuring out new technologies or stagnant for a while, consider contacting an expert and let them help you gain the knowledge you need in a short time.

Here are some fun and productive ideas to get you started:

1. Listen to books digitally and download them to your iPod or a CD and listen in your car, plane ride or during your power walk.


2. Subscribe to your podcasts of interest and download to your iPod and enjoy listening while learning new concepts.


3. Implement software to better organize your ideas, projects and calendar.


4. Learn how to better search the Internet for the information you need.


5. Explore the digital world of video or audio recording and share your favorite events with your family or clients.


6. Better plan and forecast your future with simple spreadsheet calculations.


7. Use your computer for video conferencing so you may talk and see your family.

I suggest you don’t just purchase technologies because it’s the cool thing to do. Make sure it also makes personal and business sense to do so. Once you do get it, learn to leverage your investment and gain the most out of it. And remember, the cool stuff you get today will anyways be old news in a short time clearing the way for newer and cooler technologies to take its place.

Isn’t innovation great?

The Wall Street Journal had a brief remembrance for the editor of Forbes magazine, James W. Michaels, 1921 – 2007. After he took over the magazine, circulation more than doubled. He was contrarian in life as in editing. He rarely socialized with publishing professionals. He distrusted electric typewriter and loved word processing and the Internet which allowed him to easily send his editing from his home while claiming that he could shorten any story by 15%. At age 73 he took up scuba diving.

Alright, alright now. Before you go and dismiss surveys as a needed interpretation tool (because I told you so in my previous post) check this out as also reported in the wsj:

A study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research and prepared by Duke University professors found that teachers with master degrees had no impact on students performance regarding their math and reading year-end standardized exams. The factors that had impact were: experience in classroom, attending competitive undergraduate institutions and higher scores on licensing exams.

They therefore concluded that teachers with strong credentials should work with students who most need them.

So what does that mean and what do you think:

• Should these teachers work with the slower student or the most gifted?


• Shouldn’t we give more thoughts to what makes a superior teacher and invest in this?


• Next time teachers flaunt their master degree accomplishment, what would cross your mind?

See, and I told you to be careful with interpreting surveys results.

p.s. The study above examined teachers’ credentials alongside the scores of 75% of its students in grades 3 – 5 from 1994 – 2003.

TravelPost.com has a great guide on their web site listing WiFi spots in over 200 airports in the US and almost 100 international airports. Click here to view the actual guide.

I am always astonished to discover great innovation and genius wisdom. Upon my recent visit to Las Vegas where I got to deliver my Internet presentation, I also had the opportunity of visiting The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art where I got to see the photographs of the great Ansel Adams. It is absolutely amazing what he was able to accomplish with the early cameras of early 20th century.

With today’s advance technology and great minds, what are you doing in your organization to promote genius moments?

Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California, 1960

Oak Tree, Snowstorm, Yosemite National Park, California, 1948

Aspens, Dawn, Autumn, Dolores River Canyon, Colorado, 1937

I love my Bose QuietComfort2 Headphones product and won’t use anything else in first class due to peer pressure. :~)

When I first broke it about a year ago, the local store immediately exchanged it for a new headset – no questions asked. When breaking this new headset again several weeks ago, I had to send it to Bose Corporation since the local store did not have them in stock. I just received my brand new headphones from Bose, no questions asked.