Category Archives: Misc

Urgency and Prioritization

Life, Misc, , ,

For the last two years or so, I’ve been playing with a prioritization trick I picked up somewhere: choose 3 top priorities (I’ve seen and used this both in a weekly and daily context), and don’t do anything else until you have done those.

It’s been reasonably successful, until now. Now, it is very successful. Why? Because now I have 2-7 weeks until my child is born and I take weeks of paternity leave. So literally, I may only have two weeks to finish whatever I’m going to do this quarter and develop my plan for the next. Suddenly, the idea of only accomplishing top tasks is not simply academic. It’s very, very literal.

This has made things that I thought were important seem pointless. If I got these done in the next two weeks and then took leave, it wouldn’t really matter. Sure, I want to review employee engagement results with my team…but that pales in comparison to addressing the overwork a few of them are dealing with. Sure, we need to map out a commitment curve for our community…but not more than I need to send out our monthly communication with them. Sure, I want to create an orientation doc for new hires…but if I don’t get those hires approved it won’t matter.

Certainly, those things still should probably get done. Some, like the onboarding, I clearly must delegate. Some, like the commitment curve, will hopefully bubble back up if they’re important (and I should probably schedule some time when I return to mull on big ideas like this). Some, like the survey results, just won’t happen. And it won’t ruin anything.

I have found myself incredibly productive and engaged knowing that I have two weeks to accomplish these things, and these are the things, and nothing else are the things. It’s an attitude I hope to bring back with me once I return to work. The new most important thing will be my kid, so prioritization will be more important than ever.

My month of giving back

Misc

Creating a conference means asking a lot of favors. Over this past year I’ve asked people to speak, asked people for introductions, asked people to volunteer, even asked people to join me in a crazy marching band. Thankfully, I have an amazing network of fantastic colleagues, friends, and even relative strangers who helped me create two wonderful conference experiences this year.

So now it’s time for me to give back.

Since it’s the season of giving, I’m giving you all as much of my attention as possible this month. Want to grab a coffee or hop on Google Hangouts to discuss your challenges as a community professional? Done. Want to get my advice on how to use community to drive your business to the next level? Let’s schedule some time. Need an extra hand (or a weird marching band) at your event? Sign me up.Need a connection to someone? I’ll do my best. Feeling totally burnt out and stressed and concerned about the future? I’m super-good at listening, let’s talk.

I rely on my network, so I now want to make sure I’m giving back to you. Whether we know each other well, haven’t spoken in years, or are even complete strangers, I’m here for you.

Drop me a line at evan at evanhamilton dot com and let’s connect!

The Secret Structure of Great Talks

Misc, Tech,

Like most good advice, Nancy Duarte’s TEDx presentation on how to give a great talk is both obvious and enlightening.

In short: talk about the status quo, then the possibility of the future. Repeat as much as possible. End with the new status quo that you’re proposing.

The repetition is very key, and her example of the classic Martin Luther King Jr speech is especially relevant: pastors know how to use repetition!

I know that I too often I build presentations with the three-act model; I state the current situation, what I’d like to change, and what the results will be. I’ll be keeping this in mind next time.

I also  love her point about making the audience the hero. It’s easy to make yourself the hero…but as a community manager, I should know that you’ll get a lot farther making someone else feel special!

 

 

Moving On

Community, Misc

I’m extremely excited to announce that I’m leaving my position as Head of Community at UserVoice to join ZOZI as Director of Community and Customer Loyalty! There are a lot of reasons I made this hard decision, but here are the top 3.

1) Customer obsession.

I give a shit about my customersZOZI is obsessed with their customers. They’ve realized what I’ve been preaching all these years: keeping your customers happy is the most effective way to make money. Retention is easier and cheaper than acquisition, generates it’s own word-of-mouth acquisition, and lets you sleep better at night.

ZOZI is showing their commitment to this concept by doing something else I’ve been pitching for years: building a whole department dedicated to Community and customer service with it’s own director (that’s me).

The ZOZI team has a ton of ideas (as do I) and I can’t wait to start trying things out. It’s a great opportunity for me to put my money where my mouth is and implement a lot of the concepts I’ve been blogging about for years, both here and on UserCentered. Taking on this role is not going to be easy, but that’s exactly why I think it’s a good move for me. Risk is good, and I need some risk right now.

ZOZI screenshot

2) Beyond technology, into the real world.

Very few modern startups pique my interest. There’s far too many startups making tools for other startups, unnecessary flashy tech, and  more ways to avoid interacting with real people in the real world. I love technology and the web will always be a home to me but I also love to get outside, have adventures, and talk about subjects other than tech. ZOZI is all about that. They help people – especially those who wouldn’t necessarily call themselves “adventurers” – try new things and discover the amazing world around them. That’s something I can get behind.

3) Amazing Culture.

ZOZI has a fantastic culture, and their staff truly seem to live it. They’re all about exploring the world, creating positivity, and making people’s lives more fun & adventurous. A few examples? The company buys happy hour drinks for the staff jogging club. People self-organize to go rock climbing. Someone from Finance might send out a video of an Engineering coworker’s trip around the world.

This is true of their user-centricity as well. During my interviews I spoke with a lead engineer, who told me that he wanders the hallways sometimes so that he can be accessible for the rest of the team. People will come up and tell him about frustrating parts of the product…and then he’ll fix them. While I may look to put a more formal process in place, it was conversations like this that convinced me that ZOZI is going to be a truly amazing culture to be part of.

That said, it’s with great sadness that I leave UserVoice. I spent three years & change at the company and was able to accomplish an immense amount, which I’m extremely proud of. I still fully believe in UserVoice’s mission and product, and will continue to follow them closely. UserConf badge

I’ve also gotten to meet a lot of amazing people during my time at UserVoice. In addition to the fantastic UserVoice staff, I’ve had the opportunity to reach out to tremendously talented community managers, product managers, and customer support folks as part of my job. That’s an incredible treat, and I fully intend to stay in contact with all of you. I’m leaving UserVoice the company, but I’m really looking forward to continuing to be an active member of the community we’ve built. I won’t be running it (whew!) but I sure as hell will be at UserConf!

Thank you to everyone who has helped me succeed these last three years. I hope I was able to bring at least half as much greatness to your world as you did to mine. Please keep in touch with me on Twitter and subscribe to this blog to get regular updates, thoughts, and stories. Onward and upwards!

-Evan

Why I wear headphones at work

Misc

cat headphonesInterruptions are bad.

Interruptions are also common.

If you don’t want to be interrupted, too bad. It’s going to happen. There’s no way people can avoid interrupting you for the whole day.

But what you can do is indicate when you’re deep in work. When you’re doing the sort of work that requires intense concentration and will take 15 minutes to get back to.

For me this is headphones. I put on music and focus, and my coworkers know not to bug me unless it’s important.

Find your headphones. Whether it’s actual headphones (you can always put them on without any music playing if that’s what you prefer) or just some sort of indicator. Be cute about it! Put up a “recording in progress” sign or a mailbox flag.

Let people know you’re focused. Otherwise you can’t really complain when they interrupt you.

Cat photo courtesy of James Lee.