Alright folks, I’m late with this post, but there’s still time for you to take action. Here’s the “sitch.” Ryan Stephen’s, awesome blogger and all around cool guy, rallies the online masses every month to vote for the Top 10 Gen Y blogs.
Not that I’m trying to influence the votes or anything…but you just might see a familiar blog listed in the 4th position of the 7th grouping of blogs listed…
Seriously though, take a look at the list. I follow many of the blogs which made the cut, and I’m sure there’s a couple worthy enough to be added to your reader as well!
60 hour work weeks is the phrase which best describes my May. I didn’t plan it this way (don’t think anyone ever does), but the projects all hit at the same time and I wanted rock it, kill it, crush it, pwn it, work it, make it, do it (this is where you sing “make us harder, better, faster…).
Seriously though, while many of you work much longer days and nights, I’m not used to running to the metro to catch the last train to Virginia…at least not because I was working all day in the office.
With the exception of a few essentials (eating, showering, Pandora, reading the express paper), everything non work related suffered during these last couple weeks. I neglected this blog, hadn’t spoken to family and friends, and let the DVR, email inbox and Google reader get out of control. BRACE YOURSELF: I even took a temporary leave of absence from twitter.
Even though I my general routine was upset a bit, I wasn’t miserable. Those late night metro rides gave me quiet time to ponder all sorts of things: “Why am I working so hard?” “Should I be working so hard?” “Is this what the next few years of my life has to offer?” “Is it worth it?” “If I’m gonna work this hard, maybe I should be doing it for myself..” When others were leaving and uttering those phrases we all hate to hear (”Are you still here?” “Go home” “I hope you’re not staying too late again!”), I just smiled and kept cranking because they were great projects and I wanted to crush them.
It wasn’t until after the end of the second week and a road trip to get this little guy that I arrived at the major conclusion of the month. I was hanging out with my best friend and he asked “so, you think you’ll stay there for a while?” I thought about it for a second and said “I don’t know.”
Probably not the answer you were anticipating, but it’s that lack of certainty that will probably keep me there for years to come. As long as the projects remain interesting and I continue to meet co-workers with amazing experiences and life stories, I’ll continue to say gimme more!
What can I do to be the most productive in what’s left of today’s cubicle time?
This Thursday was a little different in that I caught a tweet about Penelope Trunk’s podcast Career Considerations and decided to listen in around 330 or 4. In that episode, she was discussing a topic that I’ve been interested in for some time, whether or not it was worth it to get an MBA.
There is a lot of talk online about whether or not it’s smart to get an MBA in this economy, whether or not entrepreneurs need an MBA and whether or not people are getting MBAs for the right reasons (fear of or lack of career success, so automatic response is returning to school).
In the end, I think one of Penelope’s best arguments for not getting an MBA is that you come out of the other side with thousands of dollars in debt. That’s one argument you can’t dispute, but I have a rival feeling, the itch for learning.
While I was certainly not your 3.94 GPA student, I enjoyed college, learning in a group environment, so I was very excited when a former professor of mine extended an invitation to sit in on his class that night. A guy who many many would think of as a highly controversial lobbyist, in a Thank You For Smoking kind of way, was scheduled to speak. I couldn’t miss that, so I wrapped things up at 630pm, headed down to GW and tried to recreate the GW college experience I was beginning to miss.
I was missing my macbook and GW sweatshirt, but I figured that I’d survive.
Unfortunately, the speaker cancelled because of client issues, but I decided to stay for the lecture anyway. I was quickly reminded of why I enjoyed this class so much. In the 2 hrs spent discussing issues and image management, the professor touched on and included supporting video or online material on the evolution of Starbucks, Jack Bauer and 24, Shell Oil, SxSW, and Jet Blue.
One thing’s for sure, I’ve got the itch for learning. I scratched it just a bit last Thursday, and it felt great. Not sure how I’m going to afford it (pointers here are very welcome), but grad school is definitely in my future. Why? Because I’m confident that if I scratch that itch, it’ll take everything (career, dreams, hopes, thinking, accomplishments) to the next level.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama
On January 20th, I braved the cold at 6:45 am to go see the 56th Presidential Inauguration. Being the PR/Comms guy I am, I experienced several communication hiccups along the way and found myself wanting someone to tell me something good.
The weekend had already been great with a viewing of Notorious, witnessing people trying to write cheques to get into parties, impromtu 430am trips to Amsterdam Falafel and observing all the Obama wear, but I couldn’t avoid going out to see the day’s events myself.
After a quick stop at Starbucks (first time in my life I was glad GW has 4 on campus), we joined the sea of people walking down 18th street to the mall. Things were all clear til we cleared the Washington Monument. After seeing all the people already there (prob 250,000 at that point), we decided it would be best to head for the parade route. That’s when I got the inspiration to write this post.
We followed the instructions posted online and walked towards 12th St to enter the parade route. About 2 blocks away, we were caught in a major holdup. Hundreds of people were trying to enter the mall and left only a small opening along the gate for the equally large of people trying to get to the security gate for the parade.
Police officers around: Check yes. Effective police officers: Check no. They watched as the crowd tried to negotiate for themselves, and when things got to a standstill, they tried to turn everyone away claiming the entrance was now closed….only to reopen it 2 minutes later.
When people inquired about where else they could enter, the officers shook there head and said “honestly, I don’t know”. Really? You really don’t know? Disappointing. Clearly, the staff communication brief wasn’t effective or some officers missed it altogether.
Observing the situation, we went back, squeezed through the crowds and made our way along a chain link fence to the security gate at 12th street. Okay, lots of people here too (maybe 200), but we’ll be okay. It’s 8:30am.
Fast forward to 9:35am. We moved about 14.27 inches. At about 9:40, someone came to rescue us. Someone came to tell us something good. That someone was an Inaugural volunteer. They told us to go to 10th because it was much better. Not knowing if this was yet another run around, we anxiously checked it out, made it through security in 10 mins and got a great spot next to the NewsChannel4 booth. Hotness!
Actually… coldness because we stood there until about 5pm, but it all was worth it when we the parade started and Barack and Michelle got out and walked right past us waving happily. It was definitely an experience I’ll never forget. Freezing for hours, seeing the prez and first lady and jamming to tunes like this one by Chaka Khan and Rufus:
This week Harvard Business Review writer Rosabeth Moss Kanter posted a piece titled “Top 10 Ways Obama Can Change American Culture” which left me shaking my head. Kanter was off to a great start:
“In the transition to the Obama administration, I have been interviewed by old and new media about President-Elect Obama’s stimulus package, which I applaud for its focus on job creation through short-term infrastructure upgrades combined with longer term investments in technologies of the future.
But I think that what Barack Obama could really change is American culture – and with it, the work ethic and business norms that can support recovery and competitiveness.”
And then the fun began…Start stretching because you’ll probably be shaking your head too once we’re done here.
10. It will be cool to make jump shots AND do well in school.
9. Middle-of-the-night studying will replace middle-of-the-night prowling.
10 and 9, ok. Number 8 gets a little iffy, but the pgh to follow cleans things up a bit.
“8. Kansas will go cosmopolitan and develop children like Obama’s mother, with curiosity about other countries.
Obama’s Midwestern mother, Stanley Dunham, studied other cultures and took her son abroad. Will more Americans now understand how much there is to learn from other cultures, and how important that knowledge is for success in global marketplaces?”
I don’t really have any issues until we get to number 4:
“Foreigners will be the hot new date, because if marriage follows, the offspring could be over-achievers.
We’ll never know whether Obama’s genius genes came from his white mother or his black African father. Three cheers for diversity! Maybe more managers will look beyond race, gender, and ethnicity to find major talent.”
Wait…what? Forget race, ethnicity, skin shade or whatever may have been the categorization method of choice, hopefully dating a foreigner will become the next hot trend!! Why? Because American + Hot new foreigner = Over-achiever!
That’s probably not what Kanter meant, but that is how it came across, and the lines that follow do little to help: “Three cheers for diversity!” Are you joking or being serious? Neither option seems appropriate.
Harvard, the funny part is that this ad appeared as I was reading the post. I can definitely say that I read this in HBR, but when I think of the top minds in business, this doesn’t come to mind.
The words in this post may make me sound mad, but I’m not. I’m surprised. Ms. Kanter is an incredibly intelligent woman. Her bio speaks to that, but her words leave me shaking my head.
The Telegraph out of the UK posted a story today titled “Academics invent a mathematical equation for why people procrastinate.” In it, writer Urmee Khan reports on Prof Piers Steel, a Canadian academic who has spent over a decade looking into why people put off until tomorrow what they could do today. Acoording to Khan, Prof Steel believes that the notion that procrastinators are either perfectionists or just lazy is wrong. Steel may be on to something, but I don’t know if that something can be applied to PR people.
Steel breaks it down like this: ”The equation is U=EV/ID.
The ‘U’ stands for utility, or the desire to complete a given task. It is equal to the product of E, the expectation of success, and V the value of completion, divided by the product of I, the immediacy of the task, and D, the personal sensitivity to delay.
Prof Steel says procrastination is becoming a bigger issue because many more jobs are “self-structured”, with people setting their own schedules.
This means that people tend to postpone things with delayed rewards in favour of activities that offer immediate rewards.”
First, as a Gen-Y guy, I don’t think you’ll ever hear me say that having “self-structured” jobs where people can set their own schedules is a problem, but I do agree with the idea that people postpone things with delayed rewards in favor of immediate rewards.
I wonder how procrastination truly is viewed by others though. Is it anything that I could do right now but put off until later? Some would argue that the decision to do one thing instead of another is planning and making the best use of your time.
Lately, I’ve been focusing more on my offline life and neglecting my google reader, and as a result, neglecting you.
Between work and everything else, I spend a crazy amount of time online, so I am not sad about shifting focus, but the truth is that a lot of your posts and comments enhance my offline life when it comes to thoughts and discussion about PR, Marketing, Advertising, Politics, Volunteering, Health, being a Gen Y-er/Millenial, and just living in these times.
Today, I am renewing my vows to my reader, myself and you. If you’re linked here, you’re in my reader and I’m saying thank you, please keep writing! (And if you’re not linked here, and you think I would like your posts, include your blog address in a comment or email me james.walker@prprescriptions.com.)
I think everyone should write at least 1 book in their lifetime. For the last six months, I’ve really been thinking about getting my first book started.
My current focus on this has come from the slew of grad and law school essays that I’ve looked over for friends recently. I have known some of these people for 3, 4, 5 years and learned more about them from those 2-3 pgs than from any conversation that we had since we met. You could say that says something about the breadth and depth of our conversations, but I think it says something about society and how few of us really share our stories.
It may sound crazy, but I love people- meeting new people, engaging in conversation, people watching, trying to figure out what makes us do what we do, learning people’s stories and sharing my own. Being in PR in DC, I regularly go to a lot of media and tech networking events or meetups. Often when I meet people and we have not been formally introduced, I say: “What’s your story?”
Not everyone knows how to take this question. I blame my English 11 professor, who introduced me to my now favorite genre- biographies, for this gift/curse of a fascination. Aside from the typical DC “what’s your name, where do you work, what do you do,” I’m trying to learn your story, what makes you YOU?
At this point in my life, a lot of what makes me ME involves being a Gen-Yer, my transition into the real world, my thoughts about how things will work out, so I am not surprised that I came up with this video when Twenty Something Bloggers asked me this:
“Film yourself answering the following questions:
1. If you wrote an autobiography of your life in your 20s so far, what would the first chapter be called? What would the last chapter be called?”
When I first heard of Blog Action Day 2008, I knew I had to take part, but I didn’t know what I could do or if there was anything in particular that I could say regarding Poverty to really make a difference.
I spent a couple weeks thinking about it and ended up doing a self-evaluation, looking at who I am, what my passions are and actions I’ve taken to those ends. Going to see Call+Response definitely helped me along this path.
If anyone asked me to pick two topics that I’m extremely passionate about, without blinking, I’d say Health and Education. I was raised by a phenomenal woman who has spent 25+ years teaching in the NYC Dept of Education, and I had the true PRIVILEGE of getting a great education both in and out of the classroom. My education led me to the start of my career in health care communication, and though I have moved on, in no way have I left my passion for health behind.
We all have work to do when it comes to living in good health, but as always, those living in the poorest of conditions have the least access to information and resources which, depending on lifestyle, can be a formula for poor health. With an education, I believe we can empower the most disadvantaged person to improve their life and the lives of those around them overall.
What am I really getting at?
The thing that became apparent through my self-evaluation was that my passions and actions didn’t line up. In this blog, and in general, I’ve shared my passion for PR but not the other issues which are just as important to me. That’s going to change, both here and offline.
I’ve already begun to make some progress towards my goal by volunteering with Level Ten Leaders, an Education non-profit focused on closing the achievement gap, but it’s only the start. I have not got it completely planned out, but withinspiringbloggerslikethesepeople, I’ll find my way.
I encourage you to line up your passions and actions, and I hope you find your way as well!
As Twitter overflows with the many great Blog Action Day posts, I’ll update this post to share the links with you. Hopefully, they will inspire you to take action against poverty in the best way you know how.
Alright folks, I’m late with this post, but there’s still time for you to take action. Here’s the “sitch.” Ryan Stephen’s, awesome blogger and all around cool guy, rallies the online masses every month to vote for the Top 10 Gen Y blogs.
Posted by jaywalk1 
With the exception of a few essentials (eating, showering, Pandora, reading the express paper), everything non work related suffered during these last couple weeks. I neglected this blog, hadn’t spoken to family and friends, and let the DVR, email inbox and Google reader get out of control. BRACE YOURSELF: I even took a temporary leave of absence from twitter. 
Posted by jaywalk1 
Posted by jaywalk1 
Wait…what? Forget race, ethnicity, skin shade or whatever may have been the categorization method of choice, hopefully dating a foreigner will become the next hot trend!! Why? Because American + Hot new foreigner = Over-achiever! 
