5 by 5 Design

That Awkward Teenage Phase

I stumbled onto a cringeworthy gem in a photo box this week: Me, at 13, most definitely striking a pose: tight turquoise leggings, striped legwarmers, oversized fluorescent yellow shirt (& contrasting wide turquoise belt, of course). Farrah-esque feathered back hair and coke-bottle-lens glasses.

“Where’s the pic?” (You say, pruriently).

Hey, I’m just here guest posting! You don’t know me. Maybe it’s a healthy case of modern day vanity that prevents me from scanning & posting. (That image indexed on the web, coming up in Google searches, forever? Thanks, no, I’ll pass.) I bet your imagination is sufficient.

We’re judgmental creatures, even when we don’t intend to be. We jump to decisions within three seconds: a store we’re going to walk into (or not), a website we’re going to keep clicking through (or bounce out of). That guy at the bar who we’re going to casually chat with, or shift away from.

Through the web grapevine, I just heard that Craigslist may be getting a makeover. My judgment? It’s about time.

Yup, Craigslist is awesome. For years now (in stark contrast to the continual rounds of angst-filled, privacy-concern-raising changes of Facebook), Craigslist has been a bastion of everything that was awesome about the internet, combined with the stable predictability of “what we know.” I credit Craig Newmark for his focused purity of vision and spirit, not allowing his platform to be cannibalized by advertisers or investors. Its’ simple functionality was brilliance: no flashy graphics, no apologies, no artistic text, just good old blue on white, take it or leave it.

And suddenly, something changed. Almost overnight, Craigslist seems like a weird combination of the ‘green screen’ and the old print newspaper ads for garage sales. It looks old. And kind of sad (and honestly, a little sketchy, if you’re just starting on the internet today.) Consumers are constantly shifting. Expectations change. A beautiful, well designed, smoothly functioning website can be had for relatively little investment today. If you stumbled onto Craigslist for the first time today, you may think, “Who are these creeps who look like they’re selling stuff out of their van?”

In the blink of an internet eye, one of the most valued and vibrant interactive sites on the internet is hovering somewhere in that awkward teenage photo zone. They’ve grown up, but we can’t see it. And if we can’t see it … is it true?

Take a look in your closet (or on your website, or in your store).

Now, be honest: are YOU Craigslist?

Are you hovering in the zone between looking antiquated and irrelevant? Are you muddling through with 1980’s fashion, 1990s brand image, or 2000’s site functionality?

Sure, a part of me is still is that awkward, coke-bottle lensed, fluorescent-big-shirt wearing 13 year old. But I’d get a huge laugh (or sympathetic glances & whispers?) if I walked into a meeting today in that getup. I want you to know the person I am today, and design my “look” accordingly.

It’s a delicate balance, to be sure. Cultural whims are fickle, and I’m not advocating enslavement to trends. But visual makeovers—of clothes, of websites, of logos—are relatively inexpensive, in the grand scheme. We’re privileged to live in one of the most rapid and dynamic phases of cultural evolution in the history of mankind.

Keeping up means you need to keep up.
Kudos to Craigslist for making the decision to jettison their awkward teenage phase. Yes, change is hard, but far easier when you’ve got a great network: I hope they’ve chosen their professionals wisely, that they are still recognizable to those of us that love them after the makeover: their old selves, just better.

We all deserve that much: none of us are the same person or company that we were 30 (or even 5) years ago. Let’s stop looking like it.

Outside Your Comfort Zone

I recently met with a friend who was looking for some marketing advice to help her grow her business. She and I brainstormed all kinds of ideas to reach her potential customers. When we started evaluating the ideas, she quickly shot down several because they were outside her comfort zone. From public speaking to talking with media to trying something completely new—she just wasn’t willing to take risks outside of her normal routine. It occurred to me, that if you want to see change around you, you have to be willing to make change within yourself.

Welcome change
If we continue to do the same things, we are going to see the same results. If we want to grow—our business, our skill sets, our knowledge, our networks—we have to step outside our comfort zone and stretch ourselves. We know this from childhood. If you never tried to cross the monkey bars, you’d never master them. If you never took off your training wheels, you’d have given up riding a bike by now, because you’d just look too silly.

Sure, we may stumble and fall once in awhile, but we learn a lot from failure too.

Feel different
We all recognize when we’re outside our comfort zone. We get a little nervous. Maybe even excited. We think, “Wow, really, I’m going to do this?” and then we do. And it’s harder than our usual routine. Maybe we need to practice, or think, or prepare a bit more than usual. But that’s when the learning happens. That’s when we open ourselves up to becoming more than we were before.

Get results
So my advice is to look for a good challenge once in awhile. Don’t just coast through life doing the same things. Be open to the unknown and the uncomfortable. It’s in those spaces that you grow, change, and see new results.

Favorite Things: Ronald McDonald House Charities

This weekend my husband and I volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. It was a great experience. Over the course of four hours we cooked a meal, served it to dozens of families, and cleaned up the kitchen space in the house. That’s the measurable description of what we did. But the truly amazing part couldn’t be measured in hours or tasks.

I was taken back by the grateful faces, the tear-filled eyes of parents, and the power that a simple smile and a warm meal gave to individuals who are overwhelmed with the stress and fear that comes with having an ill child. I can’t imagine. As a mom, I don’t want to imagine. But I’m so grateful that I could do a small thing to help them in their day. It was uplifting and humbling.

Volunteer opportunities are always available. Find out how you can get involved at a Ronald McDonald House near you. You’ll be glad you did.

Selective Listening

As a mother of young children I know the power of selective listening.

If I whisper, “Do you want a cookie?” from the kitchen, two children will be at my feet within seconds. But if I ask for everyone to put on their shoes so we can get out of the house on time, I might as well be speaking French across town.

After struggling with this very scenario this morning, I started to think about why we listen to some things and not to others.

And I concluded that it's all about motivation. If I’m motivated by something, I’ll respond. If I’m not, I’ll tune it out. It’s simple really.

Listen up
So how do you motivate key audiences to perk up and hear you? You stop talking and do some listening of your own. What do your customers want to know, what do they care about, why do they care? These are the questions to ask and then deliver a message that speaks clearly to the wants of the audience—not what you want to tell them.

And with great tools like Twitter, Facebook, Google Analytics, and so many other simple ways in today’s marketplace to listen to your customers, paying attention has never been easier. So take time to listen before you communicate. You might be surprised what you’ll learn and how it will improve the chances of your message being heard by the right people at the right time. Which in the end is exactly the kind of selective behavior you want.

Writing with Zest: 7 Tips (and a Few Twists)

Too many adjectives. Not enough detail. Cliché. These are some of the most frequent editorial comments I make in my work with both beginning and experienced writers. The tips that follow address these and a few other word matters essential to good writing.

1. Trim the fat.
Delete all nonessential words. Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly (instead rely on strong nouns and verbs). Words like extremely, really, actually, which we use for emphasis in speech, weaken writing.

2. Cut to the chase.
Never start a sentence with a dependent clause. And don’t expect your reader to wait while you circle the airport looking for a place to land. Take readers into the action without delay or you will lose them.

3. Never apologize.
Eliminate all mamby pamby expressions like almost, nearly, it seems, perhaps. These polite and hedging modifiers undermine your authority.

4. Jilt that fancy man.
Never date a Latinate when an Anglo-Saxon is on the premises. Latinates tend to dither in abstraction. Anglo-Saxons are muscular and active. Do you expectorate or spit? Do you get fatigued or tired? Do you want the moon to illuminate your route or light your way?

5. Avoid clichés like the plague.
Like the cliché I just used. Like the plague is dead language. Yet, clichés are so ingrained we aren’t always aware we are using them. Be vigilant!

6. “Caress the divine detail.” (Nabokov)
That’s because it’s impossible to caress an abstraction. Details appeal to our senses and can be seen in the mind’s eye. One accurate, odd, or telling detail can have more effect than pages of lyrical description.

7. Listen to your writing.
Write for the ear as well as the eye. The sound your words make together in a line is as important as their meaning. It’s often the music of a sentence that captivates us, making us susceptible to its message

Favorite Things: Minnesota AIDS Walk

In the past I’ve spent a fair amount of time volunteering for the Minnesota AIDS Project. It’s a great organization that provides programs that help prevent new HIV infections and support people living with HIV.

I’ve done the walk a few times in the past and I’m doing it again this year. It’s a great opportunity to connect with old friends and see at a glance how many people are affected by this disease in one way or another. It’s a very powerful experience.

Join me in helping to provide education, outreach, and support. Or sign up for the walk yourself!

The Murky Waters of Social Media Trends

Don’t get caught in a whirlpool
It seems like every other day there is a new social media platform to try out. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google Buzz, Google Wave, Google Plus, Google Whatever. Some have staying power and some don’t. The lifecycle goes something like this: “Oooh, this is new, let’s try it out.” to “This is the best thing ever, it does what no other social media platform has ever done!” to “If you aren’t using X social media platform for your business, you’re losing money!” to “X social media platform? Meh, I used to be into that.” to “Remember when we used to be so excited about X social media platform? Ah, early 2012, such quaint times!”

Test the water
How do you deal with the overwhelming barrage of new things to try? We sometimes feel like we have to be everywhere at once. We don’t. Don’t get caught up in the hype and try to jump in head first to every platform out there. (Unless that is your job.) Test the water and find out which platforms work for your business. You have finite time each day. Spend it wisely.

Do keep up on what platforms are new and which ones people in the know are talking about, but pay attention to results. Ask yourself: Is it right for your business? Is it a place your customer would be? Does it offer a service your customer wants? Is your customer already using it? Are you seeing case studies or at least anecdotal evidence of the platform’s usefulness?

Dive in
Once you find a platform that fits your business and you know how it works, dive in. Put your resources into it. It won’t be successful unless you commit. Post on a regular basis. Have conversations with others. Be helpful.

The important thing is to not spread yourself too thin. You want to be doing the job well. Because if you aren’t, you are hurting your brand more than helping it. And you don’t want all your hard work going down the drain.

Apathy is the Enemy of Awesome

Over the past year, we've been working on a book. As we've written, re-written, edited, read, re-read and re-phrased every word, one of the lines we wrote has been sticking with us, “Apathy is the enemy of awesome.”

Think about it until you agree.

To do good work, especially good creative work, you must care. About the people you work with, the work that you're doing, and the people you're doing it for. If you don't, the work will suffer.

The key to caring (and in inspiring others to care about you, too) is really about developing a clear sense of emotional intelligence.

Don’t get defensive. Think about situations from the other person’s perspective. Listen. Really listen, and respond neutrally. Open dialogue leads to trust. It’s a short trip from trust to care.

Be aware of yourself, and your surroundings. This is also known as “reading the room.” Watch body language, be attentive to others’ responses and adjust your approach as needed.

Set clear expectations. Be clear about what you need. Allow others to be clear with you (see: Don’t get defensive). Don’t assume that others know what you expect.

Be trustworthy. Keep your promises. Deliver on what you have agreed to, or renegotiate the agreement. This is as important for lunch dates as it is for client contracts.

Acknowledge others. Offer credit to others before you take it for yourself. Do this both publicly and privately.

These kind of human-centered behaviors help create an environment in which good work, and not apathy, thrive.

Listening Takes Courage

When my son was 2½ he got really sick with flu-like symptoms. Things didn’t seem normal, so we took him to the ER. They put him on an IV and gave him something to stop the vomiting. The next day it all started again. We took him to his regular doctor, and hours later they called with test results reporting things looked normal. I was told to wait another day and he should get better. I said no.

I knew in my heart at that moment if I waited another day, my son wouldn’t make it.

He was almost lifeless when we arrived at the ER and he was immediately checked into the hospital. He had a severe case of rotavirus and we stayed for 3 days. I’ve always felt my decision to trust my gut saved his life.

Why’s it so hard?
So why do we find it so challenging to trust our instincts on most occasions? We’ve all been there. We hear that inner voice that tells us something is off or that another decision would be better. It happens in business, in relationships, in just about every aspect of life, and yet we often ignore it.

The problem is that listening to our instincts instead of the advice of experts or the logical information at hand takes courage. It means going against the grain and risking failure or embarrassment or just creating conflict (heaven forbid in Minnesota!)

How to pay attention
In our office, we’ve realized that our inner voice has a lot to offer. When something feels off in a relationship, it usually is. If it’s really hard to get a project with a new client, doing the work is usually even harder. If we don’t feel good about the situation/design/vendor/task/ (fill in the blank)… there’s usually a good reason that just isn’t at the surface yet.

We actively work at listening to our inner voice. When we sense these things, we talk about them and check in or make a change.

We pride ourselves as being good listeners. And sometimes that means listening to our guts, not just the words spoken in the room or written on the page.

Annual Reports and the Legacy Amendment

In recent years the importance of annual reports has seemed be in decline. However, there are many reasons for organizations to create a yearly summary, including effective stakeholder communication and the institutional discipline sparked by regular evaluation. Then there’s an incentive unique to Minnesota nonprofits: the Legacy Amendment.

As noted in a previous post, the influx of Legacy dollars has led to increased concern about transparency and accountability among those receiving the funds; check out just a sampling of coverage in the Star Tribune and on Minnesota Public Radio.

There’s also a lively debate about the ways Legacy funds are allegedly being used to shore up budgets depleted by state coffers sapped by years of economic downturn and political gridlock; see examples from the Twin Cities, Brainerd, and Mankato.

All of this means the Legacy Amendment offers Minnesota nonprofits a carrot—the enticement of seeing worthy projects funded—as well as a stick—the risk of criticism by citizens, legislators, and the media if goals and results are not carefully tracked and benefits to the public aren’t clearly demonstrated.

The good news is a document very similar to a basic annual report can be a perfect solution. Even better, there’s an online resource where you can see reports created by Legacy grantors and recipients (to view online, search on Legacy Reports, then click on the title of the report you’re interested in, and then on Minnesota Edocs archived version).

According to Matt Hill, Legacy Amendment manager for the Minnesota Historical Society, their report has garnered praise from legislators for its “concise summaries and easy-to-understand graphics.” In other words, the kind of concise presentation and effective design that has always been ideal for annual reports.