Talk with Tom
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Blogging Vs. Doing?
Another of the tompeterscompany! Brits joins in. Chris Nel introduces himself below. Welcome, Chris! And his offering:
As someone with a strong bias for action, I have orbited around the giant blogging hairball for some time. Provoked and convinced at the recent meeting of the potential value of blogging, I am now here!
Why 'orbited'? ... Well, my role in Tom's business is to coach/provoke my clients, clarify and catalyse the changes they must make in their businesses in order to thrive in the b%!~*y chaos we are all facing in our organisations. The main barrier I encounter in my client businesses is beautifully described by Jeffrey Pfeffer & Bob Sutton in their book The Knowing-Doing Gap as TALK SUBSTITUTES FOR ACTION. Endless circular discussions about how to proceed. What Tom would describe as "Ready, aim,aim,aim,aim ..." in an environment where survival requires a Ready.Fire!Aim. approach. AKA action.
So ... When we blog, how can we ensure that we are adding to the amount of action in the world rather than the amount of chattering? What advice would you give me as a new blogger for helping others to take action?
Comments
Good morning and welcome.
So you want your Blog to be actionable!
One suggestion:
Give us something to do and a way to report the results, which in turn will give others something to do and results to report.
With all of the content you have, ie: Tom's TIB list etc., you've got plenty of material to start with.
Ready - prep
Fire - take action based on the prep
Aim - step back, review, repeat
Just a quick thought as you begin.
";return a.childNodes.length!==1}())){a.iepp=a.iepp||{};var c=a.iepp,d=c.html5elements||"abbr|article|aside|audio|canvas|datalist|details|figcaption|figure|footer|header|hgroup|mark|meter|nav|output|progress|section|summary|time|video",e=d.split("|"),f=e.length,g=new RegExp("(^|\\s)("+d+")","gi"),h=new RegExp("<(/*)("+d+")","gi"),i=/^\s*[\{\}]\s*$/,j=new RegExp("(^|[^\\n]*?\\s)("+d+")([^\\n]*)({[\\n\\w\\W]*?})","gi"),k=b.createDocumentFragment(),l=b.documentElement,m=l.firstChild,n=b.createElement("body"),o=b.createElement("style"),p=/print|all/,q;c.getCSS=function(a,b){if(a+""===undefined)return"";var d=-1,e=a.length,f,g=[];while(++dPosted by Steve Shu at May 6, 2005 4:31 PM
I'm compelled to ask Dogan...if you think blogging is a waste of time...why are you - ahem - taking time to - um - blog? That said, a blog is like any other tool - it won't fit all needs and it's only as good as the wielder/user. People all at one time wondered why on earth anybody would use/need - the telegraph, telephony, fax, the personal computer and so on.
As to specifics re a blog, I most appreciate the ones that are brief, give me at least one relevant data point with link. I look to blogs such as this one for ideas, different ways of thinking, other places to look for information. Creativity is sparked by all kinds of things - not just direct "business" info.
(And, yes, it would be cool if Tom P. could drop back in once in a while.)
Posted by Mary Schmidt at May 6, 2005 5:46 PM
X: regarding your comment about Tom's wanting to secure his legacy through his absence from this site...I'd like to think that's the case, too. But if you look back through the archives, you'll see that he was posting several ESSAYS a day. Day after day. And it was awesome, to be sure. But do you know why he was blogging so much? Because he WANTED to.
Look, for example,at Tom's post from Feb 9, '05. After a brief absence from the blog, Tom's headline said, "I Am Not A Shirker!" and he went on to say,
"No, I've not deserted. I've been to Switzerland & Portugal & Thailand in the last 3 weeks ... and, truth be told (the whole point of Blogging, right?), I'm Bone Tired. But I'm back ... a little. Have 1-day (I hope) stomach flu—no details forthcoming. That doesn't help. (Also, I've been writing! 40,000 words in the last 2 weeks—now I have to Edit, Big Time!)"
These are words of apology/excuse from a guy who really missed the experience and felt compelled to let us know.
So what's going on with him now? Well, I'm no psychic, but here's my take on why he's not blogging: HE DOESN'T WANT TO. Legacy? Sure. Great thing for Tom to think about. But that doesn't really tell the story here. Tom does what he wants to do. And if he doesn't want to? Bye bye.
So, "truth be told (the whole point of blogging, right?)" he got burned out on blogging. Plain and simple. So, Tom, if you're still reading this site, I have a suggestion: try the once-a-week approach. That way we still get the benefit of your thinking, and you get to keep a significant, deep, meaningful relationship with us, your readers, fans and audience. Only if, of course, you want to.
Posted by tomfan at May 6, 2005 6:21 PM
A key to a blog that inspires action is this: keep it brief and to the point. Be succinct. Be brutally honest and realistic. And finally, continually repeat a call to action -- always emphasize the importance of ACTING, not just reading and responding.
Posted by Crawdaddy at May 6, 2005 7:05 PM
YOU ASKED:
What advice would you give me as a new blogger for helping others to take action?
I SUGGEST
1) Do exactly what you did. Ask a question that provokes answers.
and
2) Alternatively, tell people to try something specific (action) and ask for feedback on how it went, what would they do differently if they were to do it again, and if they did not do it, when why did they not?
Posted by jeff angus at May 6, 2005 10:12 PM
Two Questions:
1. If Tom is no longer blogging shouldn't this blog be renamed the Tom Peters Co Blog?
2. What happened to the 100 success tips?
Posted by Stuart Jones at May 7, 2005 2:12 AM
Hi Chris
As a fellow Brit I am delighted to see more Brits posting on this site.
You really are asking about outcomes from blogging I guess.
The answer in my view is - its up to you.
Frankly I see it as a brilliant way to create networks and take them on from there. Blogs in themselves do not generate business or revenue - they are simply a fabulous way to exchange thoughts and opinion - I love blogging.
As regards the ongoing debate about where is Tom I fired the same questions a few weeks ago and gave up. I also feel I made myself unpopular with the TP organisation by asking questions.
The thing that bugs me most about all this is that we don't know when Tom will be bloggng again.
I think Tom is the most fantastic person in the history of management theory - I love all his work and I read everyhing I can that he writes.
I guess the thing I get frustrated about is that the words and the actions don't always tie up.
I feel on this site that to criticise Tom is aways taken as a personal affront to the great man -as far as I am concerend nothing I have said is against the great man - and I repeat he is my management hero for God sake!
What we all need to know is simply - WILL TOM EVER POST AGAIN?
A positive answer to that simple question will keep me hooked into this site.
If the answer is no I will still visit the site - just less often!
Like all regular posters to this TP Blog I am getting heartily fed up with all this abut Tom anyway so I sugeest we need to hear from Tom personally.
WOW AM I PLEASED TO RANT THAT!!! - I will probably be censored off the site for giving my honest opinion!!
Trevor
Posted by Trevor Gay at May 7, 2005 5:23 AM
As another new blogger with a focus on value -- www.merceronvalue.com -- I'd suggest postings that develop a point or provoke a focused thought. Too little thought goes into too many blog posts.
Posted by Chris Mercer at May 7, 2005 11:03 AM
I think blogging allows one to enter their thoughts on a daily basis for all the world to hear. What this does for leaders and organizations is that it gives people the opportunity to know what a leader or organization is thinking on a daily basis. People would like to know what Bill Gates thought about when he woke up this morning. I wonder what Derek Jeter thinks about the Yankees and what they need to do from a player perspective. Blogging gives one insight into the thoughts of influential people.
Posted by David at May 7, 2005 12:34 PM
I found that a great way to get action is to talk on your blog. Then other people join in and make things happen.
Last Sunday I wrote about a "Team 99." A week later there are more than 20 newspaper stories about it.
Think that I won't turn my words into action? Yeah, right.
Like I said, be careful about what you blog about.
Posted by Robert Scoble at May 8, 2005 3:18 PM
I'm the guy who started this so ...Thank you all. For my p(function($) { $(document).ready( function() { $('.feature-slider a').click(function(e) { $('.featured-posts section.featured-post').css({ opacity: 0, visibility: 'hidden' }); $(this.hash).css({ opacity: 1, visibility: 'visible' }); $('.feature-slider a').removeClass('active'); $(this).addClass('active'); e.preventDefault(); }); }); })(jQuery);