Today marked the end of my twelfth week of working exclusively from home. Here is my takeaway from week twelve:

• Focus – We’re experiencing troubling times as a nation. It took a big toll on me. I was distracted and struggled to focus. Talking through this with others helped a lot.  

Week twelve was a rough week. Ironically, it had nothing to do with working from home. My big takeaway: Understanding each other will lead us to appreciate each other.

I’ll continue to learn from this unique situation, adjust as necessary, and share my experience.

In an earlier post, I shared my views on the power of listening to understand. I’ve continued to think about how we can help each other through this turmoil.

As CCAW grew, our team grew. I was no longer involved in every decision or even aware of every initiative. An empowered team making decisions without me was my goal. Inevitably, some decisions didn’t result in the desired outcome. Translation: things blew up sometimes.

No one is perfect, and my team members had good intentions. We were all in it together, working to build a great company. Naturally, we sometimes had different ideas about how to do it. Our different perspectives were valuable and often lead to amazing outcomes. But sometimes they caused us to miss the mark.

By the time something reached my desk, it usually meant a decision had worked out poorly. Instead of beating a dead horse, I learned to focus on the reasons for the decision. Why did you do it that way? Why was that the chosen path? What led up to you making that decision? Asking these questions was far more valuable than casting blame. I listened with the intent to understand, and ultimately, I did—I understood their why. Then I was able to work with them to develop solutions that supported their why.

Understanding why begets perspective. More importantly, it gives insight into the other person’s perspective. Understanding why someone makes the choices they do is a building block in (or even the foundation of) the positive working relationship required to achieve a common goal.

We’re all in this together, but that doesn’t mean we all see things the same way. Consider listening to understand why. When you do, you can begin to see things from a different perspective.

You might be interested in this short video about Colin Kaepernick's and Army veteran Nate Boyer’s desire to understand one another. It led Nate to “understand that we’re not that different, and we probably want the same things at the end of the day” and to a compromise that incorporated both perspectives.

Be part of the solution. Understand why.

Today I had the pleasure of teaching an Atlanta Tech Village (ATV) Startup Summer School course over Zoom. It was the first Intro to Entrepreneurship course. The turnout was great—kudos to the ATV staff for organizing everything.

I enjoyed the experience, and I’m appreciative of the opportunity. Here are some of my takeaways:

• Zoom – It felt weird not seeing the audience as I presented. I wasn’t able to gauge whether it was going well. Based on the questions at the end, I think it did, but I was flying blind before that.
• Gaps – Entrepreneurship is fraught with unknowns. Courses like this one can accelerate your trajectory by filling your knowledge and relational gaps.
• Flashbacks – I was in their shoes years ago, but I’d forgotten how helpful it is when fundamental questions are answered. It connect the dots. Sometimes the little things make a big difference.  I was reminded of my aha! moments as I learned from more experienced entrepreneurs.
• Focus – Preparing the material, I realized how much information is out there for new entrepreneurs. I tried to help them focus on the things that matter most at this early stage.  
• Interest – I was surprised by the number of attendees. Apparently, many people want to become entrepreneurs, which is great.
• Nervousness – I was nervous before I started talking, which felt odd. After a while I settled in and relaxed as I spoke from experience.
• Hindsight – The things I discussed seem simple, looking back, but to new entrepreneurs they feel hard if not impossible. The view is different from the top of the mountain—something to look forward to!

I was pleased with how the course turned out, and I hope the information was useful. Without others helping me early on, I would have failed. With that in mind, I want to continue helping rising entrepreneurs and giving back.  

Startup Summer School is a nine-week bootcamp with weekly courses taught by instructors who volunteer their time. Check out the ATV schedule and sign up if you’re interested.

I’ve been thinking deeply about what’s needed to see us through these troubling times. I shared some things I’ve learned in yesterday’s post. Today, as I sorted through my thoughts, I read a quote that resonated with me:

Try to understand men. If you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.

                                                                ~ John Steinbeck

The best way to understand someone is to listen to them—to not just hear their words, but to pay attention to what they believe and what they feel. When we understand each other, we can relate to each other. When we relate to each other, we can appreciate our differences and love each other. If we don’t listen, or we let their words flow by while we formulate our rebuttal, or we mindlessly dismiss them, we will not understand them (and we will give them no chance to understand us).

So where do we start? No one knows what the solution looks like. That makes it hard to know what to do. As an entrepreneur, I’ve learned the power of taking a step in the right direction even when the path is nearly invisible. Often, I had no idea what I was doing, but I sorted it out as I went along. Always, I kept my eye on the outcome I hoped for. I see our current state of affairs as no different.

If you want to take that first step, here’s my suggestion:

Reach out to someone with a background different than yours—someone with a perspective on life that you might not understand. Ask them if they’re OK and if they want to talk. If they say yes, just listen.

This act is simple but powerful. Anyone can do it. You might be interested in this short video about one person who did it and how it affected the person he struck up a conversation with. If many of us do it, we will open lines of communication that will lead to what we sorely need: an understanding of each other.

Be part of the solution.

Friday marked the end of my eleventh week of working exclusively from home. Here are my takeaways from week eleven:

• Memorial Day – I took a day off, but I didn’t go back to work recharged. Connecting with others is what I like most about holidays. Less socializing diminished the holiday joy.
• New work normal – I’m thinking of testing working in a private office in a smaller building with fewer people. I think I’d be more comfortable doing that than going back to my former crowded office. I’ll research spaces and explore subleasing.
• Macro – Lots of granular things are happening daily. It’s noisy and distracting. And it makes it difficult to understand what’s occurred from a macro perspective. I decided to start focusing on the forest more than the trees. I want to identify where things are headed.

Week eleven was a short but good week. My big takeaway: Get away from the noisy details and look at things from fifty thousand feet.  

I’ll continue to learn from this unique situation, adjust as necessary, and share my experience.

I read and have been thinking about Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal, which is an excellent book. I enjoy reading detailed accounts of the journeys of impactful people and companies. Twitter’s impact has been profound and the journey to create the company was full of twists and turns. Here are a few takeaways:

• Pivot – Great things can come from pivoting a company. Twitter is a prime example.
• Politics – As organizations become large, politics can take a toll on them. Building and reinforcing a strong culture is critical as you scale.
• Founders – Founders’ relationships aren’t always pretty and in fact can get downright ugly. The severity of Twitter’s founders’ issues surprised me.
• Values – Morals and values matter. Be sure to include them in your evaluation criteria when you’re considering co-founders and early key team members.

I don’t know how accurate Hatching Twitter is, but it’s a great read. It offers a much-needed dose of realism about what building something great is like: It’s difficult. It’s full of emotional highs and lows. Conflicts are unavoidable and must be overcome. But when people do it for the right reasons and persevere, the impact on society can be huge.

Today marked the end of my tenth week of working exclusively from home. Here are my takeaways from week ten:

• New work normal – I’ve been thinking about what this will mean for me. Working exclusively from home probably isn’t sustainable. I want to start experimenting with new ways of getting things done that feel safe over the next few weeks.
• Video – Video has been great, but I’m beginning to wonder if there’s another communication method.
• In-person meetings – Someone proposed meeting outside with proper social distancing. Not sure how I feel about that yet.
• Productivity – I’ve found that can be productive at home, but my productivity isn’t as consistent as when I’m working in an office. I have more off days.

Week ten was a positive week. My big takeaway: think more about what my new normal for work will be.

I’ll continue to learn from this unique situation, adjust as necessary, and share my experience.

I’ve begun testing a website builder. Webflow allows you to build beautiful websites without knowing how to code. Historically, creating a website required at least two skills: designing its look and feel and making it functional. For both, coding was a must. Now, though, user-friendly tools can help you create a great website without knowing the first thing about code. Webflow, Weebly, and Squarespace are just a few of them.

Here are my takeaways:

• Power – Webflow is extremely powerful. The possibilities feel endless.
• Learning curve – The product is dense because of all its capabilities. It’s intuitive once you understand the building blocks of the system, but it’s no iPhone. You can’t just start using it with no training or study. There is a learning curve.
• Webflow University – This resource is well thought out and user friendly. There’s lots of easy-to-digest content with great videos. An engaged user community helps you get answers to your situation-specific questions.
• Comparison – I played with WordPress and Webflow simultaneously. I liked Webflow better. Its educational resources were higher quality and more concise. I got the impression that Webflow has more native functionality, whereas WordPress requires plugins to accomplish some of the same tasks.
• Migrating – It appears that it could be challenging to migrate from Webflow to another platform, depending on the specifics of your site.
• Templates – The library of templates is impressive and a great starting point. Webflow doesn’t have as many as WordPress, but they are higher quality (in my opinion).
• Design – The platform isn’t a silver bullet and won’t save you if design isn’t your forte.

I’ll continue to play with Webflow and come up with a final verdict on it, but so far so good.

I remember, when I started CCAW, having conversations with teams of people to create simple brochure websites. The sums I paid back then for those simple projects are laughable now. With Webflow, the same things can be done by an entrepreneur in a weekend or, even if you want to use a good designer, for a fraction of their former cost.

I love how the no-code movement is allowing entrepreneurs to do more with fewer skills and resources. Reducing startup costs lowers barriers to entry and makes entrepreneurship a reality for more people.

If you want to start a company but are discouraged by limited resources or skills, see if a no-code solution is available. You probably aren’t the only person facing your challenge. Worst-case scenario, someone has documented their journey to the solution of the problem and you can follow their lead. Best-case scenario, there’s a no-code solution that can solve your problem quickly and inexpensively.

Today marked the end of my eighth week of working exclusively from home. Here are my takeaways from week eight:

• Virtual learning – I took advantage of a few virtual learning opportunities, which I enjoyed. I’ll be doing this again.
• Change of scene? – Eight weeks of the same environment is getting a bit old. I miss the variety that coming and going entails. I’ve been debating whether to go somewhere else for the next month or so, and I’ll get some feedback and continue to mull this over.
• Relationships – Maintaining professional relationships may be harder in the medium term, so I started using a new tool that should help. I’m excited to play with my new toy and see how it helps my relationships.
• No meetings – For the first time in a long time, I had two days without meetings. With no interruption looming, I was focused and productive. However, I did miss the professional interaction.

Week eight was a good one. I was productive and in a good rhythm. No epiphanies this week—just an awareness that it’s been two months.

I’ll continue to learn from this unique situation, adjust as necessary, and share my experience.

Today I had the pleasure of being taken on a digital deep dive by a mentor. The content—social media marketing strategy—was prepared by VaynerMedia, so its quality was extremely high. Here are some of my takeaways:

• Platforms – Each should be viewed as serving a different purpose and targeting a different audience (usually). Knowing how to use the features of each platform is critical.
• Amazon – Marketers now see Amazon as a marketing platform. I hadn’t thought of it in that light.  
• Strategy – Without a defined strategy, your efforts probably won’t be effective. It should be tied to the organization’s larger objective. Having a strategic leader with social media experience is important.
• Team – Proper staffing and budgeting is a requirement. Treat digital marketing on social media like any other critical function.
• Outsourcing –It’s difficult for agencies to know what resonates with your customer. In-house is more effective—hire an internal team.
• GaryVee – There’s a serious machine behind his personal brand. It’s well thought-out and well funded. What the public sees is the result of a ton of behind-the-scenes effort.
• Perception – It’s everything, even if it isn’t reality.

Full disclosure: I’m awful at marketing. I’m just not wired to think that way.

I was extremely impressed by the thoroughness of the content. The way the strategy component was explained connected the dots for me. It’s like a light bulb clicked on. I now look at social media differently and have immense respect for its marketing value. Social media and marketing are rapidly changing and I’ll be excited to see how technical evolution affects their trajectories.