Mark Denham Blog

The Art of War… and Leadership

Mark — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 05:01:17 +0000

The Art of War has been regarded as THE book on strategy of the last century. The U.S. Marine Corps actually recommends the small book as part of its Professional ReadingProgram for the rank of Captain and above. This book is also a must read for any decision maker in the business world. Forbes recently published an article with some of the top leadership lessons to take away from the book, here are some of my favorites.

Lesson #1 Don’t Underestimate Your Importance As A Leader

commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and strictness. (Chapter I, 9)

You should feel the weight of the responsibility that comes with leadership. Every leader is responsible for setting the highest standards of which anyone on your team can aspire to live/work by.

The principle on which to manage an army is to set up a standard of courage which all must reach. (XI, 32)

Lesson #2 Know The Difference Between Authority and Power

The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger. (I, 5-6)

The need for power suggests that you’ve already lost your authority. Your team should follow you without needing fear as a motivator. That doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t respect the authority you do have.

Lesson #3 Pause, Think, Act Decisively

Though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been associated with long delays. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. (II)

The basic lesson is to not act without putting thought into your decision, but to not wait so long that you miss the opportunity. Your team is relying on you to make those decisions when they need to be made. Missed opportunities lead to a loss of faith in your ability to lead.

Lesson #4 Adapt

by attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier’s minds. (III, 14)

Don’t use the “Scratch it Till It Bleeds” technique. Adapt to your circumstances. This includes the environment, the people you’re working with and the final goal you hope to achieve. The methods to use to manage your sales team might not work for your marketing department.

Have you read The Art Of War? Leave your thoughts in the comment box below or on Facebook and Twitter.

How To Make Your Creative People More Productive

Mark — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 05:21:38 +0000

It’s barely 2013 and I can already tell that the business world is focused on harnessing two very valuable attributes, creativity and productivity. Though the two don’t always go hand in hand, they can blend together to help create the best and most efficient work from just about anyone. Essentially everyone CEO’s dream combination for every employee at their company.

Most creatives will tell you, “Creativity takes time.” That’s not as true as we have been lead to believe. Creativity is most beneficial when it comes to ideas and some of the most important ideas in the world hit with less than a seconds notice. Once that idea hits you then have the balance the creativity with productivity to ensure optimal execution. Below are a few ways to get all of those great ideas moving.

Create a priority list. This seems like the obvious answer but when creative people see how much work needs to be done and which projects take priority and deserve the most time they will figure out a process to work through everything. Without a hierarchy in their work it’s easy to lose focus and feel overwhelmed.

Give them some wiggle room but not too much. Make sure the main goals are very clear. Tell them they can approach those goals from several different directions but to stay on those goals. Creative people come up with ideas faster than you would believe. Just because it is a good idea doesn’t mean it is the idea you need right then. If you give them a very specific target it will help them to find the amazing idea that you need instead of 20 great ideas that you don’t.

Give them a little more direction. This does not mean you need to micromanage them. That will get you nowhere. You can however meet with them to check up on the high priority projects. Sometimes it is better to be more involved in the entire development process instead of just telling them what needs to be changed at the end of it. Set up meetings so you know what direction they are going and so you can make sure that it is the right one. This will help keep them on track and going in the right direction. The biggest problem a creative person has when it comes to being productive is having too many ideas. The best thing you can do is to help identify the ideas that you want.

By helping your team stay on the right track you will see a drastic increase in their overall productivity. Most creatives are fast and efficient workers once they get the right idea locked in, it is the developmental stages where they can get sidetracked. Remember creative people aren’t only in a creative department. These ideas can be helpful when it comes to managing any creative thinker in any department you have.

Modern Marketing Insights For 2013

Mark — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 16:05:02 +0000

It’s never been more important for a marketing team to be on top of changes, trends and data. It seems like every day something new comes out that should change the way any brand markets to their audiences. Unfortunately, many companies find themselves sticking to what they know worked last time and then waiting to see the numbers at the end of the year.

I’m the kind of guy that always likes to have a head start on anything and I’m guessing most of you feel the same. That’s why I thought it would be handy to share some pretty powerful modern marketing insights from a data visualization project put together by a company called Eloqua. Feel free to click on any of the images below to share on Twitter.

The rise of Big Data provides marketers with an unprecedented level of insight. But too often, it’s easy to get buried by the data. We put together 40 Must-See Charts for Modern Marketers, offering analysis and intelligence today’s marketers need to know across a range of disciplines – from email marketing and lead management to social media and events.

Click here to find the other 35 insights put together for this project.

9 Quotes (and one tool) That Will Change Your Life

Mark — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:21:49 +0000

There are some things that will never be said better than they already have been. Sometimes these are exactly what you need to put things in perspective, motivate you or spark the idea that you’ve been waiting for. Below are 10 quotes that I always find myself going back to for life or work.

On a side note, I found a cool tool called ClicktoTweet.com that allows you to pre-write a tweet and then link it to anything so that when it’s clicked on it will automatically prompt the clicker to tweet your message. I really like it because it makes it so much easier to share thoughts as a reader. Click on any of the quotes below to tweet them.

“Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

“Leave other people’s mistakes where they lie.” Marcus Aurelias

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” Voltaire

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” Henry David Thoreau

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” Muhammad Ali

“Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” Dr. Seuss

”A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” Bruce Lee

and one of my favorites…

“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” Oscar Wilde

If you’re looking for more great tools check out this article from Baseline21 on Thinglink.

Telling Stories To Win Wars

Mark — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:40:39 +0000

I recently finished an incredible book called “Winning The Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will RUle The Future” by Jonah Sachs. It’s not just a book about the power of storytelling as a tool for communication, but a guide on how to do it. The author has dedicated his life to telling stories for causes that could change the world and now he lends out his advice to anyone and everyone who will listen. I just came across a few great videos summarizing a couple of the big ideas from the book and thought that this would be the most interesting, and quickest, way to get you all hooked.

The Myth Gap

The Hero’s Journey

Overcome Being Overwhelmed

Mark — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 13:13:40 +0000

There’s always so much to think about and it usually feels like we’ll never have enough time to do everything on our ever-growing list. Instead of being motivated by an overwhelming amount of work we sometimes become paralyzed or, at the very least, we procrastinate. This is usually the worst possible thing that can happen in those situations but based on experience it seems inevitable. Here are a few ways to make sure you get over your workload and stop procrastinating.

Step 1 – Break each project down into smaller tasks. Once you start seeing the smaller pieces come together to form the big picture you’ll feel a lot better about the progress you’re making.

Step 2 – Change your perspective. Instead of thinking, “I have to do this today,” try, “I’d like to get this done today.” This takes a lot of pressure off of you and makes the whole process a little more fun.

Step 3 – Stop trying to be perfect. As we all know by now, nothing is ever perfect. This doesn’t mean you should settle for “good enough” but just try to put it in perspective. Often times we end up focussing on the details that no one else would notice or understand.

4 Ways You’re Wasting Time And How To Stop Now

Mark — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:15:00 +0000

Let’s be honest, people today are busier than we ever have been. We are in constant communication with people and brands through text, e-mail and social media which really means we’re never not doing something or talking to someone. This means that none of us really have time to spare, yet we develop habits that waste our time on a daily basis. The worst part of all? We don’t even realize we’re doing it. That stops today! Here’s what you’re doing to waste time and how to stop it.

1. You’re trying to handle all of your administrative work. - You know what you’re good at and chances are this isn’t it. If you spend three hours trying to get some bank statement settled you’re wasting your time. If this happens on a regular basis, consider hiring the job out to someone else. Your time is best spent doing what you’re best at.

2. You let the little things build up - If you can pay a bill or schedule an appointment in a few short minutes than do it! If you put the little things off they will stack up and grow into one master to-do list that will never get done. If you can finish the task in 10 minutes or less go ahead and do it so you don’t risk forgetting about it later.

3. You’re a micromanager – You spend all of your time watching other people do their jobs instead of doing yours. You hired your employees to take some of the work off of your plate, not to give you more work to do. Let them do their job so you can do yours.

4. You let daily ordeals slow you down – You spend all of your time reacting to what’s happening in the current moment instead of focusing on the future, which is where your attention needs to be. Problems will arise throughout the day that need your attention but not all of them require you to drop everything else immediately. Block out chunks of time to solely focus on big picture projects and actions.

Unlocking Social Productivity [Infographic]

Mark — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 17:16:56 +0000

There are plenty of people out there who say that social networks and tools slow productivity. There are also a significant number of people who say that these can be used as tools to increase productivity. The infographic below makes a strong case for the latter group’s perspective. Let me know what you think in the comment box below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Making Time Through Smarter Marketing

Mark — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:04:59 +0000

If you run a business you know that there is no such thing as free time. There’s always something that needs to be done or at least something you should be doing. At this point we’ve learned to accept this to be one of the fair prices you pay when becoming an entrepreneur or taking a leadership role. Accepting it, however, doesn’t mean that we can’t do something about it.

Marketing is one of the biggest time-suckers in business. If you can find ways to be more efficient without sacrificing any of your effectiveness you will become a hero to business people all over the world. Luckily I put together a list of things that helped me redirect some of my marketing time into other important areas of my business.

#1. Pay Attention

Analyze everything you do so you can figure out what works and what doesn’t. This especially true when it comes to any content you’re sharing with your customers, whether it be via e-mail or social media. Look closely at the content and the media that your following are engaging with most and make an effort to focus on that moving forward.

#2. Divide and Conquer

Instead of blocking out a huge chunk on time for marketing try working in 15-minute chunks. This works for brainstorming your projects and publishing content. Use this short chunk of time to focus on one task like engaging on Twitter or coming up with ideas for your next newsletter.

#3. Don’t Talk To Walls

You don’t need to be using EVERY social network. Do a little hands-on research to find out which social media channels are popular with your customers and focus your efforts there. You will save a lot of time and yield much better results by focusing on the channels that matter.

#4. Recruit Your Fans

Develop campaigns that encourage your customers and fans to talk about your business in the social space. Don’t make it seem like an attempt to buy your customers help, but instead make your offers and campaigns worthy of their attention. If you can do that they will want to share you with all of their friends.

We Are All Designers

Mark — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 18:52:39 +0000

It’s been a while since I shared a TED Talks with everyone. This talk covers something that I’ve learned over the years, everyone is a designer. Design isn’t just shapes and colors. It isn’t just visual aesthetics. You design everything from how you do your job to how you live your life. Check out the video below to gain a different perspective on design and life.

Journalist John Hockenberry tells a personal story inspired by a pair of flashy wheels in a wheelchair-parts catalogue — and how they showed him the value of designing a life of intent.

What are your thoughts on design? Share with me in the comment box below or via Facebook and Twitter.