How's The View From Your Parking Spot?

Most people drive to work every day, park their car, grab their briefcase, start walking to their office, all while simultaneously firing up their smartphone to check email, voicemail, or facebook. If they're really on the ball, they'll take a quick glance to see if they parked on level 4, or near a lightpole, or in the orange section, so they can hopefully find their vehicle when the workday is done.

Humans will fight to the death for the closest parking spot to the building or exit or elevator. I've seen people wait six minutes for someone to pull out of a spot because it's more convenient to their destination, while others zoom around them, park their car, get to the office, and gulp down their first cup of coffee in the same amount of time. Convenience is relative, I guess.

Think about where you parked today. What's the view from your parking spot? Do you remember? Did you notice? Is it anything like this:

 

 

I can almost guarantee your parking spot didn't have a view like this. Know how I know this? Because my car was the only car on the roof this morning.

I park in the parking garage across from our building, and every day I park on the roof. I've done this for years. Whenever I have to park in a parking garage, I'll go straight to the top. Yes, I even do it when the garage is not full. It's not out of habit, either. I do it intentionally every single time. Here's why:

1. You can't beat the view. Where else in any city can you be several floors off the ground without a roof over your head? There is something inspiring and energizing about being that close to the sky...especially when the sun is out and the sky is bright blue. And you don't just get the view once. You get it twice! Once when you're arriving, and once when you're leaving.

Two of the best views of Columbus, Ohio, are from the roofs of two different hospital parking garages here in town: 1. The OSU Hospital parking garage has a view of the skyline that seems to rise magically from a city full of trees. 2. The Nationwide Children's Hospital parking garage features a view that makes you realize how exciting and vibrant Columbus really is.

2. I get more for my money. Most parking garages charge you, right? What are you buying? A tiny space in a dark, damp, dirty garage OR a space with an amazing view and a free dose of Vitamin D (a.k.a. sunshine)? 

3. There is always room at the top. This is true of life in general. Very few people travel the few extra minutes, make the little bit of extra effort that takes them to the top. Yes, I spend probably 5 minutes more each day to get up and down from the roof. But I NEVER have to hunt for a spot. And did I mention the view?

4. I never forget where I parked...ever. Enough said.

5. I get extra (much needed) exercise. I don't always take the stairs, but I often do. Going up eight stories of stairs is probably all the workout you ever need. Even going down eight stories of stairs is good exercise. And it's cheaper than a gym. If you take the stairs on your way into work, your brain gets extra oxygen to start the day. How cool is that?

6. It reminds me to take in the great moments of life more often. There's something really exciting to me when I pull out of the dark garage and onto the bright, open rooftop. It transforms my attitude. I use it as a daily reminder that there are so many amazing moments in life and at work and I need to pay more attention to them. When I'm totally preoccupied with productivity, efficiency, profit, busyness, paperwork, email, and the gazillion other things that take my attention every moment of every day, I generally feel like crap at the end of the day. 

But if I take a few extra moments here and there to appreciate the great work of a teammate, to realize how lucky I am to have the job I have, to actually enjoy my work, or to notice something super cool like the view from the top of the parking garage, I find myself much more happy and content at the end of the day.

I've actually toyed with the idea of throwing a folding table, a chair and a patio umbrella in my car and setting up a temporary office on the roof of the garage on really nice days. Don't laugh. I'm serious.

Right about now, you're coming up with excuses why you don't park on the roof.

- "It's a waste of time to drive the extra floors."

- "I'll have to wait in a long line to get out."

- "I don't trust the elevators in parking garages."

- "My car will get hot in the sun."

- "It's too far to walk and my foot hurts."

Wah, wah, wah. The truth is, it takes a tiny bit of extra effort that most people just won't take, even though the payoff is sooooo worth it. But then again, that's why there's always room at the top.

So, where are you going to park tomorrow?

Thanks for reading! See you next week.

 

 

BONUS VIDEO:

Just for fun, I whipped out my iPhone and created a little video from the top of the parking garage this morning to spark a little extra new thinking in your brain.

You can see more inspirational videos on our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/sparknewthinking

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I Bet You Hold Your Opinions Too Long

Do you ever develop an opinion of somebody and never let it go? No? Ok, let me throw a name at you: Bill Clinton. Oh, so you DO develop opinions about people and never let them go after all! Admit it, when you hear the name Bill Clinton you think one of two things: 1. Former President who had a sleazy affair with an intern. 2. Sleazeball who had an affair with an intern while he was President. Heck, even if you liked him, you still think one of these things! In any case, you've got an opinion of the man you've been holding onto for a long, long time. News of Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky broke in January of 1998. As of this writing, that's more than 13 years ago! I hope you don't hold opinions about me based on what I did 13 years ago. I'm a different person. I've hopefully grown into a smarter, kinder, more experienced, more positive, more collaborative, more generous guy. In other words, I'm not as stupid as I used to be. Doesn't mean I don't still make mistakes, but hopefully they are fewer and farther between. **Disclaimer** THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT. I'm not defending Bill Clinton. I'm not asking you to vote Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, or anything else (although I do think everyone should vote). Before you send me hate mail about pushing a political agenda in my newsletter, take a deep breath, open your mind, and listen to what I'm saying. **End of Disclaimer** Know why I'm writing this today? Because I heard two different preachers in the past two weeks mention Bill Clinton as an example of someone with a character flaw. Yeah, I said PREACHERS.  So, if our preachers -- who are supposed to model forgiveness and transformation -- hold on to their opinions of people for 13+ years, I know the rest of us do it, too. I have my own "Bill Clinton" in my work life. I worked with a woman (ironically 13 years ago) that I could not STAND. To but it bluntly, she was full of herself. She jockeyed and positioned herself as an "expert" in her area with nothing more than pure B.S. She was smart for sure, but she presented herself as far more knowledgable than she really was. And she really rubbed me the wrong way. I don't think she liked me much, either, because I made it a point to expose her fraudulent expertise every once in awhile. Like I said, I hope you don't judge me by how I acted 13 years ago. I haven't seen, heard from, or spoken to this woman in the past decade. But I have still complained about her, criticized her, and held my opinion of her all this time. I have no idea where she is or what she's doing now. But one thing I do know is that she's not the same person she was 13 years ago and I have been treating her as if she is. She likely has gained tons of experience and has contributed many great things to the world since I last saw her. So today, I changed my opinion of her. After hearing the two preachers use Bill Clinton as a negative example in their sermons, it made me wonder who I had been holding an unfair opinion of in my life. The woman I mentioned above came to mind immediately. I hate it when I have to admit my own flaws! Funny, I don't think either preacher meant for me or anyone else to have this particular "aha" moment from their sermons. Most people have no idea what Bill Clinton has been up to since he left office. I'll admit I didn't, either. I did Google him, though, and it turns out he's done some pretty admirable things as a former President.  Some of you may never let go of your opinion of Bill Clinton. I'm ok with that, because the point of this article is not to forgive Bill. It's to challenge you to examine how close-minded you might be and not even realize it.  It's also to encourage you to maybe give somebody a second chance. Don't be ruled by a "once bitten, twice shy" philosophy. When you do that, you end up alone in your rocker having afternoon tea with your twenty cats because they're the only ones who never let you down. Holding poor opinions of others is a sure-fire way to erode relationships, store up unnecessary negative mojo, and stunt your personal growth. Let it go.

Five Reasons Why Bells & Whistles Drive Me Nuts

Look at this calculator.

This is the calculator that our school district requires for fifth grade math. Looking at it makes my head hurt. It has 57 buttons. FIFTY SEVEN!

I was curious, so I asked my son how many buttons he actually used in fifth grade. He pointed to all the buttons they used. Total number? 22. TWENTY TWO!

Using just six of those buttons, I was able to calculate that the students only used 38.5% of the buttons on the device. That means 61.5% of the bells & whistles are completely unnecessary (I did that math in my head, no calculator necessary).

Here are five reasons why extra bells & whistles drive me nuts:

1. Bells & whistles are almost always added because your core product sucks. If you look at your product or service and think it's too basic, it needs more pizazz, or nobody will want it unless we add 61.5% more buttons, you've got a problem with your core product. All the bells & whistles on the planet ain't gonna change that.

2. Bells & whistles overcomplicate the product & intimidate the user. Even if my son's calculator is lying on the table in front of me, I will seek out our ancient, but simple calculator to do the tiny bit of math that's really required in my day to day life. His calculator scares me because it's obviously smarter than I am. I mean, just look at all those buttons! What if I push the wrong one? And what does THAT one do? Most products really shouldn't require a phonebook-sized manual, yet we insist on making everyday products more complicated than a dialysis machine. 

3. Bells & whistles are for the select few, not the masses. I'm sure some MIT brainiac would use every single button on my son's calculator, but for us mere mortals it's overkill. Last time I checked, the masses outspend the select few.

4. Very few companies maintain their bells & whistles well. Ever been to a hotel that had "extra touches" that they failed to keep up with? I recently visited a hotel that touted a "state of the art fitness center" (i.e., a very expensive set of bells & whistles). The machines were worn out, the carpet was stained and dirty, and there was one towel on the shelf that I'm sure contained at least thirty towels during the grand opening celebration. Didn't feel so "state of the art" anymore. More like state of "we really couldn't keep up with these bells & whistles."

5. Bells & whistles are only a competitive advantage for about a minute. Bigger, better, faster, more buttons, more features = the mantra of modern-day product and service providers. So we build it that way. We create a calculator with fifty seven buttons. And thirty seconds later our competition builds one with fifty eight. Dang!

So, what should you do instead?

Focus on your core product and make it the best in the world. Doesn't matter if you produce baby formula for millions of newborns every day or if you provide consulting services to ten companies a year. Your customers want a product that is amazing at it's core, not in its bells & whistles.

I was inspired to write this post after reading Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson of 37 signals. If I wrote a book about how I started my business and how I run it today, it would be almost a carbon copy of this book, especially where they talk about keeping your products simple, yet really well made.

It can be hard to take away a "feature" after you've designed it into your product. So how do you know what to take out and what to leave in? The advice Jason and David give is to ask yourself "Would our product or service still work great if we took away this feature?" If the answer is yes, take it out (or leave it out if you're designing from scratch).

Einstein has been attributed the quote, "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler." Einstein was a pretty smart dude. I'd listen to him if I were you. 

Keep your products and services as simple as possible. This includes processes, policies, and procedures. When you learn how to do this well, your customers will LOVE you for it. Your team will LOVE work more. And your business will be sooooo much easier to run.

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Do You Really Want That Opportunity?

We have a lot of flies in our house in the summer. With four kids (two canine and two human) there is always a door open to the outside somewhere. Ergo, the endless parade of flies.

Flies are funny. They zoom into the house the first chance they get, then spend the rest of their lives trying to get back out. Oh, sure, there's the occasional romp around the inside of a lampshade, but then they return to the nearest pane of glass to make sure the invisible force field is still there. They test this force field over and over by ramming their body into it, climbing on it, and buzzing all over it.

Our back door has a full-length glass window in it. There is almost always a fly bashing his head against the glass when I go to let the dogs out. 

I have noticed a strange phenomenon when I open the door. More often than not, the fly (who has, like a thousand eyes right?) refuses to notice the gigantic new opening, and instead keeps trying to break through the window. Even when I try to "shoo" the fly the right direction, it will almost always stay right where it is, creating a window-induced concussion, OR it will fly back into the house.

I'm always fascinated by this because the fly seems to want out of the house, and quite desperately at that. In reality, I believe they like the idea of getting out of the house more than actually getting out. When presented with the opportunity to escape, to change, to pursue new possibilities, they panic and either stay frozen where they are or retreat back into the safety of the house.

Oh-my-gosh! I AM EXACTLY LIKE THAT, AREN'T YOU?

We're always looking out the window, wishing we had a better job, or wishing the boss would give us more responsibility, wishing we had the freedom to pursue our passion, or simply wishing we were on the other side of that window.

Oh, we bash our head against that window, too. We keep trying the same old things we've tried before, and we even try harder, but nothing seems to even crack the glass. We buzz and complain about how unfair life is, about how we're not recognized & rewarded like so-and-so is, about how we'd live life differently if somebody would just give us a chance.

Then, suddenly, the door is opened. We feel the fresh air of new possibility rush in...and we freeze. We thought we wanted to change, but now we're not so sure. We thought we knew exactly what we'd do when that door opened, but now the larger world on the other side scares the bejeezus out of us. It is suddenly a lot more unknown than we predicted. And we humans don't deal very well with the unknown. Apparently we share this trait with flies.

So, we keep our blinders on and pretend to not notice the opportunity, even when people try to guide us toward the open door. We say things like "That's ok, I'm good right here." We really don't mean it, but we're too afraid to let go of the window and explore the strange and wonderful new world on the other side. Too many unknowns.

We like the idea of opportunity. We're just not mentally prepared or courageous enough to act on it when it presents itself. 

It's like watching kids jump off the high dive at the pool. That looks like so much fun...until you step to the end of the board yourself. Then it's terrifying. 

Here's what I tell myself when I've been bashing my head against a window and then somebody finally opens the door. I also recite this mantra when I step to the edge of the high dive.

Remember, this is what you asked for.

Crap. I did, didn't I? 

At this point, my fear of feeling like a schmuck usually takes over and forces me to peel myself off the window and fly out the door into the great unknown. You can't ask for something then say "No thanks, Universe" when it is finally given to you. If you do, you're asking for a cosmic smack down.

I also remind myself that the door won't be open forever, so if I truly want it, NOW is the time to act.

I will only spend a few seconds trying to help a fly take advantage of the open doorway. After that, I've got better things to do and he's pretty much out of luck. Now, he runs the risk of being swatted by a rolled up newspaper or being chomped by one of the dogs (they're surprisingly good at catching flies). Our opportunities act very much the same way. Use 'em or lose 'em.

Sometimes we don't see the opportunity because we're too busy bashing our head against the window. Stop bashing and just pay attention. If you allow yourself to stop complaining and stop feeling frustrated for a few moments, you might be surprised to see that there is an open door waiting for you.

Now, whether you choose to fly through it or not is entirely up to you.

Thanks for reading! See you next week.

 

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