Something funny happened on the way to producing and writing two blogs. I discovered that I am only capable of managing one competently. Oh, and I’m certain there are at least a few management lessons here in my blogging misfire.
A little bit of background. My primary blog is Management Excellence, where I offer thoughts and ideas on best practices on a wide continuum of leadership and management content. And while I don’t pretend to have cracked the code on how to produce the world’s greatest business blog, I am confident that my three to four 700+ word essays per week offer readers some heart-felt and hard-won perspectives and ideas on improving their performance and the performance of their teams and organizations.
The flaw in my original plan here at the Building Better Leaders blog was to attempt to replicate the same format that I use at Management Excellence. And while I manage pretty effectively to never run out of ideas, I absolutely proved incapable of creating the time or mustering the creative energy needed to produce 6 or 7 full-length essays every week. Fast forward a few months with a busy training and teaching schedule…and a never-ending nagging guilt over a blog that was effectively frozen in time here at Building Better Leaders.
Blogging, Microblogging (Tweeting) and Mini-Blogging:
While business remains brisk (a good sign for the economy), I’ve managed to gain permission from my family to disappear for a few days and update both of my web sites..content, messaging and format, and also to rethink the proper use of the blog here at Building Better Leaders. My conclusion is to learn from experience and not attempt to trick myself into believing that I can redouble my efforts and pull off now what I was unable to sustain earlier. Instead, I am shifting the format to offer what I describe as a Mini-Blog…something that falls somewhere between a tweet and one of my full-fledged essays.
Leadership Tip(s) of the Day:
While I’m hopeful that I will come up with a far more compelling name than “Leadership Tip of the Day,” until such time as that creative brainstorm occurs, the blog here at Building Better Leaders will henceforth consist of a “Leadership Tip of the Day.” (Hey, how often do you get to use the word, “henceforth?”)
The notion of the “Tip” will constrain my usual desire to expand into a full-fledged essay, and the implication that a “tip” is something helpful and useful will push me on the quality front. I suspect that I may exceed the singular constraint of “Tip” by offering multiple suggestions, short-lists and other compound suggestions, but I will absolutely keep them short and sweet.
OK Enough…What’s Today’s “Tip,” Art?
See, it’s working already! OK, here goes…with an emphasis on my own lessons-learned in the process of attempting to bite off more than I could digest.
The First Post: 4 Lessons Learned from A Blogging Misfire that You Can Apply in Everyday Situations:
- Be mature and self-aware enough to recognize when you’ve made a mistake. In spite of my true desire to create and deliver two full-fledged blogs, I misfired on my ability to execute.
- Before changing course, consider alternative approaches to realizing your original goals. The intent and objectives might be good…and the execution the problem.
- Take action quickly to change direction once you’ve recognized your mistake. (Do as I say, not as I did!)
- Beware “escalation of commitment” issues, where in spite of evidence to the contrary, you stubbornly pursue your original path. It can be a soul-searching and difficult process to recognize whether you are on a fool’s errand. In these situations, it’s critical to have someone in your life that is comfortable telling you that your baby is ugly.
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Now, what should I do about that dual Twitter identity?
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