Archive for the ‘How We Work’ Category

Creating a Routine For Success (Part 2)

Sep 4th, 2010
Posted by Mitch Fanning in How We Work, Uncategorized

This is part two of a series, which outlines the systems, principles, strategies, and tools I’ve used over the past 10 years to fine-tune my routines to increase results and productivity.

In part one, I discussed the Entrepreneurial Time System (via The Strategic Coach). Now that you have a framework to work with, you can start creating and fine-tuning your routines. However, before you can fix routines and habits you need a focal point – something to work towards. In part two, I outline some principles and tools I use to decide what to focus on.

System Reset

I’ve been setting goals since I was 16 years old. However, up until recently, my goals were mostly financial or based on something I was driven to do. I also ended up taking on too many goals at once, which spread out my energy and focus and motivation.

One Goal

A few years ago, I found a solution. I started using the One Goal System after reading The Power Of Less by Leo Babauta. Simply put, you focus on one big goal (at a time). My deadline to achieving my one big goal is usually six months. Any longer, I lose focus and enthusiasm. Any shorter, it’s not worth my efforts. Incidentally, I do my goal setting on Buffer Days.

Bucket Thinking (focus areas)

With one goal in mind, you then create “buckets” or “focus areas” as filters for determining what projects and/or tasks to focus on. Any additional work that comes in is pushed through these filters.

In my case, my buckets or focus areas are:

  • Online Marketing Solutions
  • Online Publishing (blogging, writing, etc.)
  • New Media Education (Social Media Club)
  • Buffer (planning, clean-ups, new skills)

    Incidentally, the first three “buckets” are areas I work on during Focus Days with the exception of the “Buffer bucket” (always have a bucket for the stuff that has to get done, but isn’t directly related to producing results).

    Three Projects

    Using these buckets, you now have a way to separate what project and/or tasks to work on. As a rule, I never have more than three projects going at one time. I define “project” as anything that takes a day or more to complete. If you can do it in a few hours, you can add it to your list, but a project is typically something that takes several tasks to complete.

    Mind-Maps (Tool)

    I use mind-maps to keep track of project lists. I love mind-maps, because I can break out my thoughts by priority in a non-linear way. I use MindNode on my Mac, but there are tons of such apps, so pick one you like.

    Staying on Target

    To ensure you stick with a routine, first establish your one big goal – something you’re passionate about. From there, use a tool like mind-mapping to pick your top 3 projects and weekly priorities.

    Stay tuned for part three.

    About the Author:

    Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, an authorized member of Social Media Club, and founding member of Social Media Club Niagara. He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands to some of Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the PROFIT 100. Follow Mitch on his adventures in new media here at [mitchellfanning.com].

    Photo credit: flattop341

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    Creating a Routine For Success (Part 1)

    Sep 2nd, 2010
    Posted by Mitch Fanning in How We Work, Uncategorized

    Fall is upon us.

    Entrepreneurial Time System is a trademark of the Strategic Coach Inc.

    For kids, it’s back-to-school. For the rest of us, it’s a time to get back to work and settle into a routine. Some of my most rewarding achievements have come from establishing routines in an effort to become more productive.

    Perhaps it’s a result of being a former college athlete, but over the years, I’ve used many of the same routines and rituals I once used in sports – in business. For example, I split up my week into game days and practice days.

    What follows is part one of a series, outlining the time system I’ve used over the past 10 years to fine-tune both my weekly and daily routines. In part two, I’ll discuss the principles behind my routines along with the tools and how I put them into practice. Keep in mind, these are just guidelines, not hard and fast rules. What works for me may not work for you.

    The Entrepreneurial Time System (via the Strategic Coach)

    I was introduced to The Entrepreneurial Time System (created by Dan Sullivan and Babs Smith) in 2000 (as a member of the Strategic Coach). The system has given me a simple framework for developing effective weekly and daily routines. The system calls for dividing your days into three distinct types – Free Days, Focus Days, and Buffer Days.

    Free Days

    A Free Day is a 24-hour period, in which I don’t engage in any business-related activities. In my experience, to perform at your peak during your game days you must be rejuvenated. When you run out of energy, you don’t have the creativity to seize opportunities. You also become boring, having only one thing to talk about: work.

    Sundays are my default Free Day. During my free days, I spend time with family, close friends, watch movies, and read.

    Focus Days

    A Focus Day is a 24-hour period, in which I spend 80 percent of my time on the activities that create results. These are my game days. On Focus Days, you concentrate on your most important business-related activities, relationships, and opportunities. What should you do on your Focus Days? Think about what you do personally that makes the greatest contribution to your company’s bottom line. Imagine how productive you could be if you could spend a day attending to just these tasks, without interruption, and with full preparation and support.

    My focus day activities involve having meaningful conversations with clients about their business and writing (strategy documents, proposals, contracts, emails related to income generation, blog posts, online media). Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are my Focus Days.

    Buffer Days

    If Focus Days are game days, Buffer Days are my practice or rehearsal days. On Buffer Days, I handle all of the details that would otherwise distract my attention on a Focus Day. I use these days to catch up, clean up messes, delegate, do research, and learn new skills. Most importantly, I use them to do the necessary planning that will ensure that nothing intrudes on my Free Days & Focus Days.

    Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays are my Buffer Days.

    Putting into Practice

    This system might seem complicated, but in action, it’s fairly simple and straightforward. Over the next 90 days, put these concepts to work and watch both your level of rejuvenation and overall productivity sky-rocket.

    About the Author:

    Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, an authorized member of Social Media Club, and founding member of Social Media Club Niagara. He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands including NBC.com to Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the 2009 PROFIT 100. Follow Mitch on his adventures in new media at [mitchellfanning.com].

    Photo credit: Strategic Coach

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    Your future: only as good as your relationships

    Aug 20th, 2010
    Posted by Mitch Fanning in How We Work

    Someone once told me, “your future is only as good as the relationships you keep.”

    In business (and life), so much of our confidence and happiness comes from having the best possible relationships – those that are supportive, creative, productive, and satisfying.

    Having the personal autonomy to create value for others while surrounded by people with a positive outlook is very important to me. Everyone wants to feel important, valued, and receive honest appreciation (when it’s earned).  We all want to be in situations we enjoy and that energize us.  At Fruition, these values are also reflected in the type of relationships we strive to have with our clients.

    Recently, however, I found myself in a situation with a prospective client that was less than ideal.  As a result, after spending time and effort getting to know them as well as finalizing their plans to create a new web presence – we parted ways.  It’s unfortunate too, as I felt we really could have made a positive impact in their organization.

    Nobody likes to lose business.  Yet, how many of us slug through these similar situations?  My guess would be a lot.  Why?  What pot of gold at the end of the rainbow justifies the means?  Typically, these types of relationships create more work and stress.  In the long run, they do very little to improve your business or create referrals.

    Our biggest enemy is the belief that “we can’t afford to lose these relationships.”   In truth, what we need to say is there is no way we can afford to remain in this unsatisfying, energy-draining, and unprofitable situations.

    Like you, we strive to first establish a solid human relationship with our clients.  In my experience, if people don’t first value the human relationship, they won’t accept, trust, or see value in the solutions that go along with that relationship.

    About the Author:

    Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, an authorized member of Social Media Club, and founding member of Social Media Club Niagara. He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands including NBC.com to Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the 2009 PROFIT 100.  Follow Mitch on his adventures in new media at [mitchellfanning.com].

    Photo credit: hashmill

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    Video tutorial: working with Dynamic Content Gallery in your Wordpress blog

    Aug 6th, 2010
    Posted by kent in How We Work, Tutorials

    This tutorial shows you how to add content to the Dynamic Content Gallery feature of the Wordpress CMS.

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    We help you figure out the “Why”

    Jul 29th, 2010
    Posted by Mitch Fanning in How We Work, Interactive Strategy

    When I go to the doctor, which I try to avoid, he typically asks questions and perhaps even runs a couple of quick tests before he prescribes a custom solution to remedy my situation.

    I’ve never walked into his office expecting a prescription for something without his initial analysis.  In fact, I wouldn’t want it any other way.  When it comes to my health, I want to know “why” something is being prescribed before we get to the “what.”

    Is you experience similar?

    How We Work

    Over the years, I’ve often thought about this analogy is terms of how I work.  It’s also how Fruition Interactive begins any client engagement.  We like to ask a lot of questions before offering solutions.  We typically like to get a 360 degree look at someone’s business (or situation) before we recommend the “what.”  We wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it any other way.

    Why?

    Mainly, it’s because most people (not all, but many) don’t think about online marketing in the right context.  Sure, they know what they want (brand awareness, leads, sales), but they think tactics, not strategy.

    They ask the “what” questions:

    “What’s our web site (and blog) going to look like (do)?”

    “What can we do on Facebook and Twitter?”

    “What’s it all going to cost?”

    Start Asking Why

    Everyone gets so excited (and busy) about launching new sites and social media initiatives that sometimes they completely put aside strategy (the why).

    Instead of asking “what” ask “why”:

    “Why should people come to our web site?”

    “Why should we be on Facebook and/or Twitter?”

    When you understand the “why”, you’ll then know why people want to be a part of your community, buy from you, and tell others about you.  You’ll know what success looks like.

    This is what we help you do.

    We ask a lot of questions to help you figure out the “why” (before the what).

    So, when’s the last time you had a check-up?

    About the Author:

    Mitch Fanning is the VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive. He’s spent 10+ years (and put in his 10,000 hours) working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands to Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the PROFIT 100. At any given moment, Mitch can be brainstorming ideas for a client, writing for blogs he contributes to, or resting under a tree in a quiet vineyard with @treatqueendiva.

    Photo credit: anyjazz65

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    What does success look like?

    Jul 28th, 2010
    Posted by kent in How We Work, Interactive Strategy, Metrics and Measurement

    One of the questions we like to ask our clients when we start working with them on an engagement is “how are we measuring the success of this?” And often clients aren’t sure how to measure the success of their online marketing efforts. So we help them establish some Key Performance Indicators — important things to measure that drive the health and success of the business overall — and put in place analytics systems to measure those things.

    Recently we evolved that practice to include creating something we call an Online Marketing Dashboard. It’s a simple spreadsheet that we use to capture a birds-eye view of important online success measures on a month-to-month basis.

    So what does an Online Marketing Dashboard look like. Well, for us — Fruition uses one, of course — we identified 4 key things that online marketing does to build our bottom line as a company:

    • Creating awareness of our company
    • Engaging potential customers with our ideas and perspectives
    • Spreading the influence of our ideas
    • Generating leads

    And for each of those general categories, we  identified some measures that would indicate the extent to which we were being successful at doing each of those things. For us, our main online marketing vehicles are our Web site, our blog, Twitter and LinkedIn and our metrics reflect that.

    So, for instance, to measure the growing (we hope) awareness of our business, we track our Web and blog unique visitors and total visits, our Twitter + LinkedIn followers and our Google PageRank. To measure our success at creating engagement with our community, we track comments on our Blog and on our LinkedIn posts, Twitter ReTweets and mentions, average time spent by  visitors to our site and blog as well as  the number of page views per visit on our site and blog.

    It goes on like that, but I think you get the idea.

    To be truly effective, your Online Marketing Dashboard needs to be tailored to your business goals as well as to your specific online marketing activities.

    How about you? Are you measuring your online marketing success? How are you tracking your success? I’d love to hear your tips and insights, too.

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