This is Your Life

In this episode, I’ll be talking about e-mail, particularly e-mail etiquette. If you’re at all like me, most of your communication—most of your work!—involves composing and reading e-mail.

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And, if you’re also like me, there are probably things other people do in their e-mail messages that drive you crazy. Well—news flash—there might be things you are doing that drive others crazy too!

I usually get about two hundred emails a day. You might get even more than that. Dealing with email can take a lot of time that would be better spent pursuing the creative aspect of our work.

In this episode, I share eighteen guidelines that I believe will help you make e-mail a more civilized and effective form of communication.

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Just a quick reminder that tickets for the Platform Conference 2013 will go fast. We are already sold out of Master Level tickets, but we still have Signature and Connector tickets available. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to take your platform to the next level.

Suggestion 1: Understand the difference between the “To” and the “CC” fields.

Suggestion 2: Keep messages brief and to the point.

Suggestion 3: Don’t discuss multiple subjects in a single message.

Suggestion 4: Reply in a timely manner.

Suggestion 5: Be mindful of your tone.

Suggestion 6: Don’t use e-mail to criticize others.

Suggestion 7: Don’t reply in anger.

Suggestion 8: Don’t overuse “reply to all.”

Suggestion 9: Don’t forward chain letters.

Suggestion 10: Don’t “copy up” as a means of coercion.

Suggestion 11: Don’t overuse the “high priority” flag.

Suggestion 12: Don’t write in ALL CAPS.

Suggestion 13: Don’t send or forward emails containing libelous, defamatory, offensive, racist, or obscene remarks.

Suggestion 14: Remember that company e-mail isn’t private.

Suggestion 15: Use a signature with your contact information.

Suggestion 16: Provide “if-then” options.

Suggestion 17: Use your spell-checker.

Suggestion 18: Re-read your e-mail before you send it.

Listener Questions

Becky Caldwell asked, “Where is the line between projecting fun and still being professional?”

Bobby Zaki asked, “How can you reduce your e-mail processing time?”

Kieley Best asked, “Do I need to notify my clients when I have completed a task?”

Tehila Gonen asked, “What is the best way to emphasize a word in an e-mail? bold? all caps? underline?”

Tom Dickson asked, “Isn’t it sometimes more productive to forget e-mail and just go have a conversation?”

Special Announcements

I am speaking at the F&M Bank Mortgage Group in Tulsa, OK on Tuesday, December 4th. My topic will be “Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World,” and especially how building a platform can be helpful to loan originators and realtors.

On Wednesday, December 5th, I will be speaking for Strata Leadership at an event they call Stratagy [sic] Circle. My topic will be “Shift: Leading Well in Challenging Times.”

On Thursday, I’m attending a board meeting for

I get lots of voice mail questions every week. Many of them don’t neatly fit into a single topic, so I thought I’d deal with them in this episode. I have grouped them around my standard categories: platform, personal development, publishing, and leadership.

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I start this episode with a very exciting announcement: Beginning today, we are taking registrations for the Platform Conference which will be held in Nashville February 11–13, 2013. We only have 135 seats available. They will go quickly.

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If you are a public speaker, blogger, recording artist, business owner, entrepreneur, sales person, mortgage broker, pastor, or corporate brand manager, this conference is for you!

We have a terrific line up of speakers, including Ken Davis, Pat Flynn, Jeff Goins, Stu McLaren, Cliff Ravenscraft, John Saddington, Carrie Wilkerson, Andrew Buckman, and Michele Cushatt. (See the bios here.)

The venue for the conference will be the the famous Sound Kitchen music studio in Nashville, regarded by many to be the best recording studio in Nashville. It will provide an incredible atmosphere of professionalism and intimacy.

Again, these tickets will go fast. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to take your platform to the next level. You can find the details on the Platform Conference website.

Listener Questions

As I mentioned I have grouped these questions around my major topics.

Alex Ferrero asked, “What are some of the hobbies you enjoy?”

Aaron Meyers asked, “How important is networking with other bloggers for growing a blog platform?

Brad Blackman asked, “What were the deciding factors in changing from one subject matter focus to another?”

David Specht asked, “How did you stay motivated to keep blogging in the early days?”

Emily Ryan asked, “Is it better to blog with others and reach as many people as possible, build a brand with your own name, or pursue a third option?”

Jason Gardner asked, “How do I get people to my site?

Scott Moore asked, “What advice do you have for people who want to build a platform but are stuck in the corporate world?”

Chelsea asked, “Where should my boyfriend fit into my life plan priorities?”

Jen McDonough asked, “Who do you let speak into your life? Who are some of your favorite podcasters, authors, etc.?”

Keven Quinley asked, “Would I consider doing an end-of-day ritual podcast?”

Otis Henderson asked, “What recommendation do you have for a self-leadership plan for someone who is not a...

As you may know, I wrote an e-book called, Creating Your Personal Life Plan. It has been downloaded more than 170,000 times. In this episode, I share what a life plan is, why you need one, and how to begin creating one.

As a result of my book, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, and my speaking, I get a lot of e-mail about blogging. People want to know what I advise about getting started. In this episode of the podcast, I answer this question.

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In my book, I share a social media framework. It consists of three parts:

Home base. This is a place in cyberspace that you own and control. For most people, this will be a blog. It could also be a podcast or a video podcast. It is a place where you have 100 percent control of the design and the content—in other words, the branding and the message.

Embassies. These are places in cyberspace you don’t own and control, but where you have a presence. Examples would include Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, etc. Don’t confuse these with a home base. You don’t want to use these as the primary means of delivering your content to the marketplace.

Outposts. These are places in cyberspace you monitor using a tool like Google Alerts.

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So, for most people wanting to build a platform, a blog will be their homebase. It is the foundation of everything else they do.

But how do you get started? You can launch a successful blog by taking eight steps.

Determine your blog’s focus. For example:

My blog is about intentional leadership.

My friend, John Saddington, has a blog about entrepreneurship and startups.

My daughter, Mary Crimmins, has a blog about fresh, seasonal, and local food.

My friends at Gap International have a blog about exceptional business performance and growth.

Before determining your focus, answer these two questions:

Can you generate high-quality content with this focus on a regular basis. By “regular” I mean at least once a week. (This is the minimum standard.)

Will your content attract a loyal and growing audience?

Select a service. There are scores of options—WordPress, TypePad, Blogger—but I only recommend WordPress. However, it comes in two flavors:

WordPress.com—the hosted version

WordPress.org—the self-hosted version

To decide which one, answer these questions:

What is your ultimate goal? Is this just a hobby or will this be the basis of your personal or professional platform? If the former, choose WordPress.com. If the latter, choose WordPress.org.

How much control do you want? Self-hosted WordPress provides an unlimited number of themes and plugins. Hosted WordPress provides a more limited set of options.

What is your level of technical proficiency? If you are technologically challenged, choose WordPress.com. If you are a bit of a power-user, choose WordPress.org. Note: You don’t have to be a Geek or a programmer.

If in doubt, start with WordPress.com. You can always upgrade later.

I have attended hundreds of meetings—maybe a few thousand—and led a few hundred, too. Often, meetings seem like a waste of time.

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There have been some notable exceptions, and in this episode I talk about what made these meetings different.

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The good news is that most meetings can be improved. Here is my list of nine rules for leading more productive meetings.

Rule 1: Be fully engaged.

Rule 2: Establish hard edges.

Rule 3: Create a written agenda.

Rule 4: State the desired outcome.

Rule 5: Lead the conversation.

Rule 6: Review the minutes and action items.

Rule 7: Take written minutes.

Rule 8: Clarify action items.

Start each action item with a verb.

Specify the deliverable.

Assign a single owner to each action.

Agree on a due date.

Rule 9: Determine the next meeting date.

Look, improving the quality of meetings takes work. Meetings don’t get better or more productive on their own. Every once in a while we need to step back from the meeting itself and ask, “How can we make our time together more productive?”

We need to be honest. Meetings consume a lot of resources. The more efficient they are, the better the return on our investment.

Listener Questions

Chris Pilon asked, “How can I make conference calls with my team more productive?”

Eric Rheam, “How do I get out of meetings I should not attend?”

Jayson Feltner, “What kind of system do you use for note-taking in meetings?”

John Wilkerson, “What do you do when you are scheduled at the end of a meeting and nothing before really applies?”

Ryan Parker, “How do I hear people but keep the meeting from turning into one long gripe session?”

Scott Reynolds, “How do you take good meetings notes? and How do you process those notes when you get back to your desk?”

Chris Jeub asked, “Is there any progress on your WordPress theme?”

Special Announcements

I created My Tools page in response to the numerous questions I get every week about what hardware, software, and other tools I use to do specific tasks. It is a comprehensive resource page with links to all my tools. If nothing else, it might just stimulate your thinking process.

My next podcast will be on the topic of “My Advice to Beginning Bloggers.” If you have a question about this topic—and want a chance to get on the show—leave me a voicemail message. This is a terrific way to cross-promote YOUR blog or website, because I will link to it, just like I did with the callers in this episode.

Episode Resources

In this episode I mentioned several resources, including:

Screencast: How to Launch a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog in 20 Minutes or Less

Podcast: “

Whether you are a professional speaker or someone who only makes the occasional presentation, you could be more effective with better slides. In this podcast, I share my seven rules for better presentations.

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I have sat through hundreds of slide presentations, maybe thousands. Some of them were stunning; most of them mind-numbing. I will also share with you from my experience as a professional speaker, who doesn’t have it all figured out but who is committed to never-ending improvement.

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I originally created slideshows the old-fashioned way—with cardboard-framed, 35mm slides inserted into a slide carousel. In May 1990, Microsoft revolutionized the business world by releasing PowerPoint. It totally changed the way presentations were made.

In 2004, my friend, Joel Smith of Comprehensive Media, first introduced me to Apple’s Keynote program, a competitor to PowerPoint. I was blown away.

But unfortunately, slide presentation software has not improved the quality of speeches. In fact, often it gets in the way.

In this episode I share my seven rules for making your slide presentations more effective.

Make sure you start with a solid presentation.

Don’t give your presentation center stage.

Use big, compelling images.

Stick to one point per slide.

Make your slides readable.

Eliminate clutter.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said. “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Have a backup plan.

Listener Questions

DJ Wade-O asked, “Do you believe there should be a correlation between the length of your presentation and the length of your slide deck?” He also asked, “Do you think you should use the same background and design for every slide deck?”

Dwayne Morris, “Do you agree with Guy Kawasaki that decks should be five slides or less?”

Matt McMoore, “How do you handle main points and sub points?”

Mike Hansen, “What does a bad slide look like?”

Ryan Parker, “What do you use for Skype interviews?”

Scott Kantner, “What kind of pre-flight checklist do you use to address the technical details?”

Special Announcements

I am excited to announce the publication of my new audio course entitled, “Everything You Need to Know to Get Published.” If you have ever thought about writing a book (or even if you have written a book) this course is for you.

In 21 audio sessions, I cover everything I have learned about publishing in my thirty-plus years in the industry as a publisher, former literary agent, and two-time New York Times bestselling author.

I am offering a special $100 discount to my blog readers and podcast listeners. If you order now, I’ll also throw in four FREE bonus products worth more than $150.00.

Click here to find out more.

In this episode of my podcast, I explore how you can reengineer your morning ritual to become more productive and set yourself up for success.

If you’re like me, you have a tough time saying, “No.” As a recovering people-pleaser, I want to be helpful to people. I just hate disappointing them.

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In this episode, I share some practical strategies I’ve learned—and am learning—for saying, “No,” in away that honors the person making the request and keeps me free to focus on what matters most.

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If we are going to accomplish our goals, we must learn to say no to those requests that threaten to take us off task and consume our resources.

If we don’t get better at saying, “No,” here’s what we risk:

Other people’s priorities will take precedence over ours.

Mere acquaintances—people we barely know!—will crowd out time with family and close friends.

We will not have the time we need for rest and recovery.

We will end up frustrated and stressed.

We won’t be able to say, “Yes,” to the really important things.

I recently heard Andy Stanley talking about this topic on his leadership podcast. He said,

The harsh reality of leadership is that the more successful we are, the less accessible we become. As things grow and as more people become involved, a leader can’t be equally accessible to all people. So then we are faced with the dilemma of who gets my time and who doesn’t, when do they get it, and and how much of it do they get.”

Your time is a zero sum game. When you say yes to one thing, you are simultaneously saying no to something else. The more successful you get, the more difficult this becomes. You find yourself saying no to good things—worthy things—in order to say yes to your most important priorities.

Here are eight practical suggestions for saying no without feeling guilty:

Acknowledge your resources are finite.

Determine who needs access to you and who doesn’t.

Take practical steps to limit your accessibility.

Make a list of common requests.

Adopt a strategy for responding to these requests.

William Ury outlines four strategies in his book, The Power of a Positive No:

Accommodation: We say Yes when we want to say No. This happens when we value the relationship of the person making the request above the importance of our own interests.

Attack: We say no poorly. This is a result of valuing our own interests above the importance of the relationship. Sometimes we are fearful or resentful of the request and overreact to the person asking.

Avoidance: We say nothing at all. Because we are afraid of offending the other party, we say nothing, hoping the problem will go away. It rarely does.

Affirmation: We use a formula of “Yes-No-Yes.” This is contrast to the ordinary “No” which begins with a No and ends with a No. A positive No begins with a “Yes” and ends with a “Yes.”

Use e-mail templates to say no with grace.

Delegate to people you trust.

Accept the fact that you will be misunderstood.

Listener Questions

Kevin Quinley asked, “How do you say no without coming across as a prima donna or doing something that is career-limiting like saying no to the boss or a key client?”

Michele Cushatt asked,

It’s no secret that the last four or five years have been challenging from an economic, technological, and global perspective. In this episode, I discuss five actions leaders must take in order to lead well in turbulent times.

When I speak publicly on this topic, I call this presentation, “Shift: Leading in Turbulent Times.” I use the word “shift” for two reasons:

The world seems to be shifting under our feet.

We must also shift if we are going to lead well.

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While I was the CEO of Thomas Nelson (2005–2011), we experienced three significant changes:

Change #1: The Great Recession

Change #2: The Digital Revolution

Change #3: The Social Media Revolution

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Your industry has probably gone through massive change as well. Over the last few months, I have spoken to a variety of groups representing several different industries:

The Telecommunications Industry has gone through a massive shift to smart phones and wireless communications.

The Mortgage Industry has gone through a massive shift in federal regulation and lending practices.

The Media Industry has gone through a massive shift to digital delivery and direct-to-consumer marketing.

And, of course, the phenomenon of social media has impacted every industry. And, if that weren’t enough, you are probably experiencing massive change in your own life.

Maybe you’re going through a tough time in your marriage or dealing with the aftermath of a divorce or even the death of a spouse.

Maybe you’ve been laid off and are struggling to find work. Perhaps you are under-employed or just launching a business.

Maybe you had a health crisis and are dealing with the impact on your family and career.

Or maybe it's not quite so massive but still change—perhaps you are newly married, just had a baby, or received a promotion. Regardless, we are living in a world of unprecedented change. To lead well in this kind of environment, you must take five specific actions.

Action #1: Shift your perception. You must acknowledge reality. This is the new normal. We’re not going back. At the same time, you must remain confident that you will ultimately prevail. In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins refers to this as “The Stockdale Paradox.”

Action #2: Shift your intention. You can’t resist change; you must embrace it. This means taking the initiative—going first—and leaning into it. How you approach change as a leader will determine how your organization approaches it.

Action #3: Shift your direction. In turbulent times, it is easy to lose your vision. You just stop talking about the future. However, your people need to know there is a future and their actions matter.

Action #4: Shift your acceleration. You must recover a sense of urgency. Your responsiveness can be a competitive advantage, particularly if you are a small organization with big competitors.

Action #5: Shift your allocation. Unlike the federal government, you can’t fund new programs without defunding old ones. You have to shift your resources away from unprofitable programs to profitable ones.

Real leaders thrive in turbulent times. They come alive. Why? Because it requires them to grow. They discover abilities and resources they never knew they had.

Listener Questions

Tom Eggebrecht asked, ”How do you lead people who don’t want to be led?

In this episode, I discuss what you can do to build a successful, long-term marriage. I’ve been married for thirty-four years, and this is something I care about deeply.

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This last week, Gail and I spent four days in the Rocky Mountains with a handful of friends. We have done this every year for the last nine years. All of us have been married a long time. In fact, one couple—Scott and Jill Bolinder—were celebrating their fortieth anniversary. It is obvious they are still in love.

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But then we came back home to learn that another friend’s marriage was crumbling. His wife had just asked for a divorce, catching him totally off guard. It made me very, very sad.

I knew I had to talk about marriage in this episode. There is just so much at stake.

And, by the way, your marriage has everything to do with your effectiveness as a leader. Whether you realize it or not, as people observe your marriage and make several inferences about you and your leadership:

They learn about your priorities and what matters most.

They learn how you treat the people who are closest to you.

They learn whether it’s all about you or you are a team player.

If your marriage is going to survive—and thrive—you will need to be intentional about it. Great marriages don’t just happen. They are created. In order to build a successful, long-term marriage, you need to make four commitments.

Commit to continuing education.

You can do this in four ways:

Become a student of your spouse.

Read marriage books.

Attend marriage conferences.

Get marriage counseling.

Commit to spending time together.

Commit to following a specific set of boundaries.

Here are mine:

I will not go out to eat alone with someone of the opposite sex.

I will not travel alone with someone of the opposite sex.

I will not flirt with someone of the opposite sex.

Commit to speaking well of your spouse.

This is important for at least five reasons.

You get more of what you affirm.

Affirmation shifts your attitude toward your spouse.

Affirmation helps strengthen your spouse’s best qualities.

Affirmation wards off the temptation of adultery.

Affirmation provides a model to those you lead.

Listener Questions

An anonymous female caller asked, “What do you suggest doing when your husband would rather do e-mail and read blogs than talk to his wife?”

Erik Fischer asked, “How did you and your wife make sure that you found time for just talking with each other?”

Imaj asked, “What protective measures are there for single people who are in a serious relationship for the first time?”

Special Announcements

If you are ready to get serious about building your platform and taking your blogging to the next level, you can’t do better than launching a self-hosted WordPress blog. That’s what nearly all professional bloggers use. That’s what I use at MichaelHyatt.com. However, if you are a little technically-challenged and have been afraid to try and install WordPress, I have great news.

A few weeks ago, I produced a free screencast called “How to Setup a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog in 20 Mi...