These days, with 4G speeds and a sachet of gadgets including chargers and BlueTooth keyboards, I’ve been able to set up shop in the car at a traffic light when necessary. So, why do so many firms persist on requiring their staff in chairs at desks onsite? Is it so important to the perception of C-level executives to see their Plebeian forces spread across a cubemunity at headquarters? Or don’t these higher-level folks have the capacity to understand the reality of better productivity that comes from giving your employees a little flexibility in their jobs?

First off, what spurred this little discussion (you say diatribe, I say discussion) was the adult and enlightened comment from one of my clients that they didn’t need me in the office EVER, as long as I met deadlines and got my work done. This commentary was further spurred when a friend in Boston told me that his company had informed all salaried employees that there were no ‘agreed-upon’ hours during the work day. And that anyone who was hired as a salaried employee would have to work nights and weekends as part of their contract with the company.

Forgive me if I’m mistaken, but aren’t there employment and slave-labor laws in place to prevent attitudes and actions like this? And is the economy so bad that managers now feel they can ask more of employees without adding any compensation or even comp time?

Don’t get me started on the very real situation of some Massachusetts state jobs where employees have been forced to take successive pay CUTS the past few years because the union employees they work beside would not forgo their agreed-upon raises.

Ultimately, I wonder when we decided that work is all life is about. While I might not get Donut Tuesday at the office or the four paid holidays a year, I also don’t have calluses where the shackles have worn away my skin and my will to the point that all I am is a ‘resource’ that the company depends on to make money.

A few questions before I leave you. And heaven forbid you’re reading this at work…

Are you a free agent? Or are you working for the man? Can you run an errand during the day without having to work extra hours to make up the ‘lost’ productivity? Wouldn’t you rather we were like Europe and took a full month off a couple times a year to spend with family and friends? How do you think your outlook on life would be affected if we had a more open system?

© Jeff Cutler for Jeff Cutler - columns, essays and opinions, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: freelance, internet, legacy, off-site, remote, technology

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I decided to take a day – a day where I had a bunch of deadlines – and slip away from Twitter for a while. I still created tweet-length missives, but I saved them all in a text file (they’re pasted below) instead of putting them out in the ether.

The two folks that come to mind when I think of Twitter hater, unfollowers (who then follow Twitter again) are Ari Herzog and Robert Scoble.

Robert went over to FriendFeed for a bit and then came back – albeit a little less loquacious than before.

Ari went away and then came back and then went away and then came back. In the midst of all this he unfollowed everyone and then refollowed some folks. He has reasons and rhymes for all his moves. See those at his blog.

Enough blathering. here’s what I would have said had I been on Twitter today. I’ll be back on tonight in case you missed me.

Today’s the experiment day. Gonna collect my tweets in a .pages document and then post them all as a blog entry. Feel free to comment.

Why do so many shampoo manufacturers make paper labels to go on their product? Heads-up, these bottles are in a wet, paper-destroying environment.

Wearing my Breckenridge t-shirt today. Maybe people will think I’m from Colorado and ask me questions about the wild west.

Already got one comment on my announcement (of this experiment) @chucktanowitz wanted to know why. I say it’s good blog fodder and will keep me focused on work today.

@gradontripp This is amazing. I have had to remain vigilant not to open up Tweetdeck, Seismic, Tweetie or Twitter.

Worried about the #meatcats. @clownface3 hurt her back and can’t save them from danger, and I’m headed to Panera to do some work – might even chance Barnes & Noble cc: @chrisbrogan

Cooking waffles for breakfast. Not sure if I can Tumble my food today as I’m off of Twitter. Guess I’ll take photos and post them tomorrow. #wwjce

Cats are back in. I’m off to the satellite office. NOT THE Satellite Office, but Panera in Hingham.

@jetblue – we have a team of people from Boston going to SXSW in March. We’re all on the same flight on 3/12. We’d LOVE some drink tickets if you have any around. Thx!

Nearly freaked out when I realized March is MADNESS for me. 4th I’m in Wichita. 9th I’m in Chicago. 12-16 I’m in Austin. 26-27 I’m in Saratoga. Yikers. How do people like @peterkim @adamcohen and @schneidermike do it?

One project wrapped up. Now on to a couple others. Trying to breathe. Glad it’s not scooter weather yet. Would be major-league distracted.

My favorite blog right now is Tyson Goodridge’s – http://enterdialogue.com – it’s awesome when it comes to distilling intelligence. Good work!

Just cooked some Pot Stickers and was reprimanded by one of the people who lives in the house. She pointed out that the Pot Stickers were going to be part of dinner. It’s now 3:24 and we’re Pot Sticker destitute.

Now gobbling pretzels and waking up @clownface3 – She’s asked me to be quieter in my consumption. I told her that I was getting a fist for punching.* (see The Office)

Projects 62% done. VERY happy so far. Now on to some audio editing for a client. The fun doesn’t stop.

Seems like airlines are getting slammed on Twitter. First Southwest and now United. Sounds like some companies need to listen.

Just looked at @bostonmarketer and realized she’s about 1000 followers ahead of me. She deserves more. Great content and winning smile all the time.

Got any experiments you’re doing with Social Media? Share them in the comments!

Keep reading!

© Jeff Cutler for Jeff Cutler - columns, essays and opinions, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: ari herzog, Boston, deadlines, procrastination, robert scoble, scoble, twitter

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We have laws in place to help control discrimination in the workplace and we have societal norms to protect us from discrimination in other realms. That said, it’s not always that easy.

As humans, we can be predisposed to enjoy foods, occasions, even people, more than we do other options open to us. In fact, the terms discriminating shopper or discriminating audience are positive ones.

And because our minds aren’t open for all the world to see, we can nurture some of our choices/discriminating actions without repercussions or explanation. Like the person who created this breakfast poll. Only three choices are listed when clearly there were other options during the meal. And worse, no write-in option for people who didn’t have eggs, pancakes or french toast.

One of the best examples of discrimination takes place during the act of statistics gathering. Ask anyone who creates a survey or poll how many write-ins they get back on average when there are open questions. The answers will astound you. Unless a query has a finite number of answers or is simply yes or no, there’s always the chance a respondent might have an answer you didn’t anticipate.

Take for example a poll about animal names. When we were trying to name our cats, we crowdsourced the naming process and came up with a poll that had nearly 30 names on it. Guess what?! The cats ended up with names that were written in instead of any of the options provided to the voters. Crazy, huh?

At least we anticipated the possibility of write-ins. Some groups don’t even think of that option and leave respondents frustrated with no way to share their true feelings or votes with poll organizers. Some examples include online questionnaires from hotels or restaurants, follow-up polls from event organizers, and even post-purchase questions from businesses.

What situation have you encountered lately that might have benefited from a write-in box? I’d give you a few choices, but I’m human and would surely overlook something. Just write in your comments on this post.

Keep reading!

© Jeff Cutler for Jeff Cutler - columns, essays and opinions, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: discrimination, events, irrational, polls, questions, shopping

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Shut up already.

Hasn’t the proliferation of news online made it clear that we’re moving ever-faster to an environment – if not a world – where our information might remain the same but the delivery mechanism has become more portable?

I think so. And I’m not saying that as a guy with a vested interest in having you devour my words. I’m just as happy to have you read my slogan for Gulf Oil on a billboard as I am to have you snicker at my Worries blog posts.

For those of us with messages to share – or even longer pieces like books and manifestos – we’re just crafting the story or the article, not creating the medium.

Now that my little soapboxing is complete, let me tell you the real reason for this post. A friend of mine asked me about online publishing as a viable option for her mother’s book. I went off on a tangent about trying out Lulu or other services and about how fantastic it was that she was moving forward with her plan.

“STOP,” said my friend.

Her mother had already used an online publisher and my friend was asking about promoting and selling the book. There were already cases in the trunks of all her family members and they were struggling to get recognized by the box stores as a ‘real’ book.

Aha! That’s really the trouble. When you have an idea for a book, if you don’t go through the traditional channels you’re out in the cold. For now.

Doing things yourself isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…in most cases.

It’s different with news, opinion and shorter pieces, but books still maintain a special place in the publishing world and in our consciousness. The battle against the Kindle shows that people still want a book they can leave on an airplane and not freak out about. Once you’ve left two or three Kindles on planes you might start to rethink the device at $400 a pop.

Essentially, I told my friend that she could use some social media tools to spread the word, she could set up a fan page on Facebook and get her mother on LinkedIn to share some expertise about being an author and about her topic matter.

I added that there was no guarantee and that the books might remain unsold. But if you’re doing it alone, the best you can hope for is to get people talking and reading about the book. Then someone in a publishing house might notice. Then you might get a break. Then you might sell some books.

It’s a tough business. But for those who have a story to tell, a message that must be shared, the hurdles are worth it.

What do you think of self-publishing and our slow transition to reading everything online?

Keep reading! Please.

© Jeff Cutler for Jeff Cutler - columns, essays and opinions, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: books, kindle, Leo Laporte, lulu, publishing, self-publishing

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These events have been as distant and varied as SXSW, the #140Conf, CES and scooter rallies. The people have come from all professions, income strata and backgrounds. And I’m richer for the experience.

Today – using the word ‘richer’ as serious irony – I’m sitting at the keynote address at The Non-Profit Toolbox inaugural conference in Rockland, MA. Established by Reiko and Tom Beach, the NPTB is focused on delivering training and other resources for non-profit professionals in the metro-Boston area.

The event was publicized using social media and the organizers are seriously aware of how these tools can give a boost to traditional conference promotion and execution.

It’s not the first time social media was used in this way? Hardly.

You can’t watch Twitter for more than five minutes without seeing an appeal from a charity. And billboards, direct mail and other media are filled with messages asking us to empty our pockets.

There are groups like Social Media for Social Good and Social Media for Social Change already in this space. But connecting the traditional and new communities has been an ongoing challenge. NPTB seems – based on turnout – to have met this challenge with an interesting program and an unwritten promise to teach people how to raise money and communicate more clearly and effectively.

Seems like it might work. I’m not saying this by looking at results, but by perusing the ballroom and looking at today’s agenda.

From what I’ve learned so far, there are at least 50 people in this room who were willing to get up in the inky blackness to attend a conference at a Holiday Inn. Most faces are smiling and the chatter around me is spiked with anticipation and optimism.

The agenda is similarly spiked with forward-looking sessions and what look to be useful content for this audience. Here’s a brief overview…

Keynote – The Psychology of Fundraising

Business/Finance Track – Practical Accounting & Reporting Prep; Creating Powerful Organizations; Unraveling the Mystery of Grant Writing

Marketing/Promotional Track – Planning your way to Fundraising Success; Successful Design Tips; The Web: Your Greatest Resource & Tool

What else am I seeing? Some bumps in the presentation.

Sound wasn’t perfect – but we’re not born knowing how to use wireless microphones. No Wifi – but it’s not a tweetup, it’s a business conference and I’m pretty sure I’m the only one anxious to check my mail, read blogs, and search my RSS news feeds while spending time in conference sessions.

Otherwise, there is great food, plenty of table room and enthusiastic staff. According to Reiko, upcoming NPTB conferences will remain intimate, pay attention to important non-profit topics, and provide tools that attendees can use to find success in the non-profit world.

Is the Non-Profit Toolbox the end-all when it comes to the educational options non-profit-minded people? Hardly. But it’s a start.

What events have you been to lately that bring people together to learn and actually deliver? Is social media the best way Reiko and her team can alert the world to NPTB’s mission and conferences? What would be a better way? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Keep reading!

© Jeff Cutler for Jeff Cutler - columns, essays and opinions, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: conference, fundraising, non-profit toolbox, NPTB, reiko beach, rockland

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