Missing you.

Ever since visiting the doctor's office a couple of weeks ago - I became appalled at how much I had allowed my weight to slip over the winter. We often forget that the cupcake leads to the chocolate leads to the pot roast leads to the stuffing...and it all adds up. But we're still the same person inside. Which is why, I love this. So much...

What I miss from 35 Lbs Ago - Pt. 3

Maybe because I was painfully aware of my size, I cultivated an awareness of all of my life. A deep knowing. A way of sensing and trusting and believing that others won’t, or can’t, know as well. Maybe I feel deeper. More purely and intensely.

Maybe when I learned to, finally, love just being alone with myself, I fell harder in love than others ever will.

Maybe my present is more precious.

Maybe because my heart has ripped, and lost pieces, and still has visible stretch marks and sewn seams, my character will be ultimately more resilient.

The thing is, it’s easy to find the bad. I’m cynical. Pessimistic and realistic, too weathered to seem breezy. I can, and do, look at situations in pros and cons. But what I’ve come to know as true, in the last twenty-six years is that I am everything I’ve ever been.

Detail Oriented does not equal Anal Retentive

Today has started as a clusterfuck, and it's only 5 to 11am.

Which is why, you guys should start reading Unclutterer!

Especially, THIS ARTICLE.

I'll need it soon...

Pin it to me.

Holy crap...this many uses for dryer sheets? I'm getting some more STAT! Esp. cleaning the soap scum off of shower doors? Does this just mean that the Mr. Clean miracle sponges are compressed dryer sheets?

Thanks ApartmentTherapy!

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I've spent a lot of 2012 clicking on things in Pinterest. And I've definitely noticed that the women on these boards

a) spend a ton of time fantasizing and they all fall into about 6-7 categories

about what you ask?

1) Gloriously fatty foods. Cheese heavy casseroles, bacon laden dishes, bread, cookies, pies, cakes - all so temptingly delicious with about a million calories each

2) Conversely: model thin clothing and outfits

3) Confusingly: work out photos and healthy recipes for weight loss, some bordering on anorexic

4) WEDDINGS - unrealistic, expensive dresses, overdecorated table settings, just picture poofy, white and antique looking (like everything got passed through an Instagram app)

5) BABIES - chubby, adorable, gap mouthed, wide eyed babies. Nobody is posting pictures of colicky ones, ones throwing up or ones crying til 4am. Somehow those aren't getting in there.

6) HOUSES - huge ones, with oversized light fixtures, incomprehensible color schemes (white couches!), exposed beam ceilings...mortgage payments til 3012!

7) Vacations: mostly with water involved. Women really love beaches and water for some reason. There just aren't many vacation photos involving deserts or mountains.

The things that Pinterest is great for:

1) Cleaning/Household tips - I love the one about the 20 uses for dryer sheets or showing you how to fill a bucket from an indoor sink using a dustpan. Good stuff!

2) Crafty ideas - just like IkeaHackers - I love how Pinterest shows how people can be such clever and creative entities all the time.

A couple of months ago, The Dude's brother was on the phone and sarcastically asked why women were so into Pinterest. At the time, I hadn't even gotten an invite and applied twice. I was bitter, and at the same time, completely jealous. But I gave him this response:

Women are traditionally, genetically geared towards being gatherers. Pinterest creates a forum for us to have access to a lot of different graphics all at once; and for us to create collections. It's in our nature to want to gather.

It was like I had cured cancer.

So the next time you use Pinterest, remember, it's all about your genetics.

It's a helluva town!

I am, quite honestly, one of the luckiest girls on the face of the planet.

And I love my town

Bourdain on SF

Be ok with being wrong

10 New Year's Resolutions for Designers

or creative people

or everyone.

Take your pick. My favorite is the one that people have been posting up all over Tumblr

Blow a deadline? Miss a requirement? It happens. Raise your hand. Let everyone know it’s your fault. The sooner you take responsibility for something the sooner you can start fixing it. Excuses help no one. Everyone respects the person who can admit their mistakes. No one respects the weasel trying to pin the blame on their teammates.

This year, everything will be your fault. It’ll feel good.

Back of the line, front of the mind.

So yesterday, we talked about how to reach your employees/ie manage your team of volunteers that is honest and secure. Using REAL TALK or being as honest and upfront with people as possible in a way that creates constructive results is often times the best management style.

Today, we talk about WHY it's important to manage your audience in a way that is totally different than your staff.

Audiences are mainly using shows as forms of pleasurable entertainment. And the more pleasurable the experience, the more likely they are to return. In order to maintain that sensation of effortless entertainment, your team needs to flow correctly. Think of it this way, your House Manager can't provide a sustainable response to someone needing an extra ticket or directions to the nearest bathroom, if they're worried about something else.

Real talk is just a tool in order to get to FLOW. Real Talk bridges the gap between the House Manager telling the Box Office Manager that printing out lists or taking up additional space can hinder mob management. Audience members can feel when there is tension among staff, or if they are moving as a cohesive, communicative unit that most importantly, likes one another.

In other words, your employees need to be given the right amount of space, time, objectives and incentives to serve your real customer; the AUDIENCE MEMBER.

Your Frontline Employees ARE Your Brand

“You can worry about the reach and frequency of your ad dollars, but they will never rival your employees as the most pervasive and valuable asset for your brand. Or the single greatest liability.”

By the way, keep on reading FastCoDesign, for amazing new products and information available on the web. It's a great site.

Real Talk

Christina Tosi:
In our kitchen, REAL TALK, means we break it down for you. Good bye niceties; just cold, hard truths is what real talk is all about. When one of us is not doing the right thing, copping a bad attitude, feeling sorry for him- or herself, being lazy or underperforming (we're all human), we all know what's needed to get each other back on track. Real talk.

I recently described my favorite flow moment when I'm running a show. It's when I can look over at one of my fellow producers or managers and nod to a customer, and not only do they know exactly what the issue is (the customer is drunk, about to sit on an expensive glass table, can't find their ass end from their top, is hitting on another cast member, needs the bathroom) but they also handle the issue with ease and competence. Yeah, it's a little Jedi Master, but that's what a team is and should be. We should be in each other's shit so much that we can read eye and hand signals like they're our own.

We should be able to tell when someone walks in the room that they're having a bad day. Or had a great night. When someone asks a question, we should know who the best person is to answer it. We should be able to tell someone they're full of shit - for them to receive in the best way possible.

This is a lot of "shoulds"

In the past I have not been a big fan of the word "should" - but I also recently read somewhere that the least effective managers do not raise nor outline expectations. Because to do so, would be taking a hard stance on the results that one anticipates. But a good manager, gets to know their people and therefore knows what he or she can expect. And a good manager needs to lead by example. So if you work hard, others around you know what attitude they're going to be adopting. When you treat customers with respect, humility and graciousness - they're going to remember it. When you are efficient at your job and still take the time out to appreciate the small things; people will notice.

Real Talk also applies to your actions. If your piss and wind don't match your actions, check yourself at the door and see if you're not living up to some unrealistic ideal, or if you're just being lazy. Do you want people to fear you or respect you? Real talk means you lead by example.

Children will listen. Adults will follow.

Tomorrow: The importance of empowerment or If Your Customers are Unhappy, Take a Look at Your Staff.