To return or not to return - that is the question.

For the first time in my life, I own an Apple product I'm not totally sold on.  Scarier yet: I'm sitting here on day 29 contemplating whether or not to return it to the ATT store.

Maybe this is the beginning of my disenfranchisement with Apple, but there are several things I've realized over the past few weeks as a result of my experience with this phone:

1. Apple could have done a much better job with the PR on the situation.
   
   I do approach this with a bit of a bias, as I studied PR as an undergrad.  I try to support companies that not only have good products, but communicate well with their constituencies.  In some cases, I'm even willing to pay more for their product as a result.
   
   Listen, I'm not one of those conspiracy theorists.  I don't think Apple was intentionally hiding anything.  Part of it is that it's a new product, and c'mon, let's face it - the press totally blew this one out of proportion.  The issue is that Apple didn't release a statement that said, "we are aware of the issue and are trying to collect more data to answer your concerns."  They told us that they'd actually been misrepresenting signal strength as a result of an "incorrect formula."
   
   The language they used in that release was nearly comical.  I could swear they called in Johnny Chimpo to do their dirty work.
   
   
2. ATT's service does actually suck.
   
   I don't know how I missed this for the last two years, but ATT's service on the iPhone is terrible.  Maybe my iPhone 3G was a freak of nature, but I swear the service wasn't as bad.
   
   I'm having people call me and the phone doesn't ring.  Calls don't drop, but people on the other end of the line can't hear me for 20-second spans.  Voicemails aren't delivered.  I'm standing in areas that used to be clear as a summer morn and now calls are garbled.
   
   The scary thing is this reminds me of my experience in Athens 6 years ago with (dare I say it) Garbelizon.
   
   Call me crazy, but my service wasn't this bad with the iPhone 3G.  At least then it would just drop the call.  It seemed more...honest.
   
   
3. I can't understand the people I'm calling.
   
   
   
   Yes.  It's like that.  The people I'm talking with sound like they have a sock over the mic.  I don't know if it's the noise-canceling mic at the top, but I fully expected the sound to be even better than it was on the iPhone 3G.  Each time I get done with a call, my hand's sore because I've been pressing it so hard into my ear (and yes, before you think it, I DO have the volume up all the way).
   
   
4. I'm already locked into the Apple ecosystem.
   
   Hate to say this, but I started to think about how difficult porting my information / apps / music will be.  As intrigued as I am by the Android system, I've heard connecting them to your Mac is maddening (and slow).
   
   
5. Other techy people I know that really like Apple products have taken their back.
   
   ...and I might be joining them.
   
   
6. I can't afford to wait for Apple to update the software or fix whatever bug is causing this.
   
   I don't have the time.  Normally, I don't mind being an early adopter and this wouldn't be a huge deal, but ATT's increased cancellation fee and not necessarily wanting to be locked into their service anymore are weighing heavily on me.
   
   I'm not sweating bullets yet, but I do only have 16 hours to figure this out...

What's a boy to do?

Gitomer and the power of positive thinking

I've been reading Gitomer's Little Red Book of Selling over the past few days.  It came highly recommended from my uncle, who has just started his own leadership consulting company.

I'm still early in the book, but one of the principles that has really hit home was the concept of staying positive and avoiding people who will 'poison' you.  We all know the ones - the ones for whom life is never good enough, things are always terrible, they're disenfranchised, tired, angry and always pointing blame at someone else.

Here's the scary part: I think I've been that person over the past few years.

Yesterday, I was having a conversation with a mentor and close friend, and I shared what I'd been thinking with him.  Yet we weren't even a few minutes into the conversation and we had already started to complain about a few challenging situations.  Before we knew it, we were on the slip-and-slide of doom.

I stopped him at one point and said, "So, tell me - what's been good lately?"

It's a question I'm going to be asking myself every day, and I challenge you to do the same.

Reaction: "enough"

(Note: if you haven't already read Godin's post I'm referring to, make sure you do so first)

Godin nailed it on the head - many of the people I have dealt with in fundraising have this exact fear.  They're afraid that there won't be a definable limit.  After all, what is enough?  How do you define it?

The simplest reaction to this "enough" ambiguity, especially in the realm of societal need, is to avert your eyes.  It's totally human, after all.

It's a fluffy example, but if you've ridden on Southwest Airlines you know it's true.  You've either been the averter or averted.  You know there's a need for seats; it's impossible to ignore.  It's just so...comfortable to wait on someone else to take that first step.  To make the ask.

As a fundraiser, the biggest challenge in my job is reaching the mid-level givers.  I know there's an intimidation factor that accompanies the "fundraiser" label; that's why people don't want to meet with them.  That's why they might hang up when asked for a donation.  It's another one of those people.

I've been wrestling with the best way to address this for the last two years, and while I have a few good principles I've used, I don't know that I've come up with a perfect solution yet.  More on that in a later post.

More broadly, the question of what's "enough" is going to be one universities and non-profits are going to have to help donors address soon.  But more than that, nonprofits are going to have to figure out themselves what enough is (and answer questions such as, "how much do we really need?").

There are now more than 1.2 million charities and foundations.  That means a growing number of nonprofits will be asking for help achieving their goals and addressing societal needs - and I wonder if donors will tire of it quickly.  According to George Rubanenko of Blackbaud, “After six solicitations a year, the likelihood for long-term loyalty diminishes significantly.”  

With more and more charities and foundations asking the same pool of people, how will donors react to six solicitations from different nonprofits?

Yes, "enough" is a tough thing to define, but nonprofits need to be asking themselves the same questions their prospects are wondering.

Wow

Seth Godin really nailed it on the head today with his post on philanthropy and "the ceiling" (how much is enough?).  Before I react, I'm going to stew on it for bit but will be sure to comment later today.

In the meantime, read his post: http://bit.ly/c7fSML

Working for...

Heard Loverboy's "Working for the Weekend" song this weekend, and it made me think: what if everybody was working for the week?

What would it look like if you were so excited and passionate about your work that you looked forward to the week instead of dreading it?

Running and Life Lessons: Part One

I follow a few RSS feeds, one of which happens to be the Runner's World daily feed.  Every once in a while a gem pops up - and yesterday was one of those days.

Mark Remy was writing about a casual run he had the other day - you know, the "everyday" 20-mile kind - that was incredibly difficult to get into.  I'll let Remy describe:

The run itself didn’t start very auspiciously, either. In short, I felt horrible. Whatever the opposite of warmed-up is, that’s how I felt. For those first few miles with the dog, I struggled. And labored. And doubted myself. Maybe I was sick? Not fully recovered from last weekend’s 20? Wait… was I dying? I had just felt a twinge in my brain. Most likely a tumor. That’s all I need. (Meantime, the dog looked great. )

But I wasn’t dying. I was just working out the kinks. 

Warren calls this run, the Long Hill Loop, his “punch-through run.” And now I know why. You just have to keep going. And punch through it. All those long, soul-sucking climbs? Punch through ‘em. Those lonely, rural miles past sleeping households and barren fields? Punch through ‘em. That final, long slog up the mile-long switchbacks on Second Street, then the twisting, mile-long descent down the other side? Punch through. Do what you’ve gotta do. 

And we did. Do what we had to do, that is. It’s amazing — after doing this for so many years, over so many miles — how easy it is to forget that one, vital truism: Things might be uncomfortable for a while. That’s OK. Punch through it. Move forward.

That line - punch through - really resonated with me.  How many times in life do things start out painfully, slowly even, only to work out in the end?

Maybe it's just because I've started to run more regularly or my tolerance has built up (thus, my endorphins take longer to kick in), but I've been having a lot of those runs lately.  They start out great, after a quarter mile they suck, and then three miles in I'm feeling good.  It's weird, I know.  But it's a regular reminder that in life, sometimes we just have to punch through.

Godin's Linchpin

Just finished reading Seth Godin's Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?.  Quick read, some great points, and it got me thinking more intentionally about how I approach my professional life.

Seth's main point is every action needs to center around how you can become indispensable.  The linchpin, if you will.  A seemingly small piece that is critical to the daily operation of the greater machine.

Here are my key takeaways:

1. Shoot for 5 minutes of brilliance.  
   
   No one is brilliant every moment of the day.  It's impossible, yet we all strive to do so.  We as humans need to focus on our 5 minutes of brilliance each day that justifies our existence on this planet.
   
   I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist, so I get down on myself when I don't live up to my own absurdly high expectations.  The goal here is not to settle on a lesser goal, but have more realistic expectations on how quickly you can achieve it and in what segments.  As mom always used to say, "Peel one potato at a time."
   
   
2. The lizard brain.
   
   This is the term Seth coined for the portion of our brains that controls our survival instincts.  It's the same 'brain' we share with lizards, and he argues that its existence in everyday life inhibits our ability to succeed.  It's the voice you hear in the back of your head that says things like "you can't do this" or "you're not smart enough."  It's the part of you that desires to stay comfortable, to stick with what you know, to survive.
   
   I realized I am extremely guilty of listening to the lizard brain too many times in my life.  I hear it when I run.  I hear it when I work.  I hear it in social settings with people I don't know.
   
   
3. Successful businesses are composed of linchpins.
   Organizations that consistently hire complacency kill any momentum they might have been gaining.  While it might be 'safe' to hire just another cog (he compares the modern-day workplace to an extension of the early assembly line - easily replaceable workers doing a single specialized task), ultimately you're going to slowly kill your company.  We need new thinkers, innovators, risk takers.
   
   I've been doing better in this area, but I need to focus my efforts further and define a niche area.  In tough times, good businesses hang on to the linchpins because they're critical to success.  Linchpins think with a forward perspective, and are prepared for and excited by the unknown.

I'd definitely pick up the book if you're looking for something to read.  Godin could have done a slightly better job with the length (some parts were pretty repetitive), but I understand his rationale (what's the key to learning? repetition, repetition, repetition).

Are you a linchpin?  Do you listen to your lizard brain too much?