John Saddington

Archives For John

I was asked the other day by Seth via Twitter if I had ever written anything specifically on how one can recover emotionally from project failure.

My assumption is that his question was a personal one and that he was looking for advice on how to move on to the next big thing. A quick scan reveals that I’ve shared a few things here and there about “failure”:

Those are just a few that have elements of me mentioning failure – but I do not believe that I’ve tackled the topic head-on so I’ll do my best Seth to answer what I believe is your explicit question and then any underlying questions as well.

Posted on May 22, 2013 In Coaching

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I answered a few questions over at Blogging Nerds recently.

Posted on May 21, 2013 In Tips

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I bet my calendar is prettier than yours. I bet that I have a “lighter” and “more clear” weekly calendar than most of you.

And therein lies one of my secret weapons of productivity. You see, I hate meetings. I. Fucking. Hate. Meetings.

People ask me how I get so much done and although there may be a few tricks here and there the “magic” is pretty simple – I don’t waste time all my time talking to people.

I shared this gem of an idea at a conference keynote last week (I’m not sure I’ll be invited back) which was counter-intuitive and a bit contrarian, especially since the event’s theme was collaboration and connecting with others to get stuff done:

Posted on May 20, 2013 In Tips

10 Comments

Glimpse Chrome Extension

May 19, 2013 — 4 Comments

Killer Chrome Extension here. Quickly see what the “mobile view” of any website.

I like.

In Tools

Just like the fact that there appears to be an app for everything these days there’s also a timing for everything as well.

Not all apps will be wildly successful; sometimes it’s more of a timing issue than functional one.

Posted on May 18, 2013 In Community

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It’s tough being a parent and it’s getting more difficult every single year.

The biggest challenge right now is trying to identify the numerous interests that both of our girls have and being able to match those with activities that will engage and challenge them without imposing the dreaded your-parents-love-this-and-you-should-do-it-too syndrome.

Like all parents we want to give our children everything that we can to provide a solid foundation of learning that consistency feeds their curiosity that may eventually become part of their long-term vocation. At times it seems impossible to know which interests are worth pursuing and which ones are worth investing in (financially) for camps, after-school programs, and such.

The pressure, on a bad day, feels like we’re trying to help create life-plans for them and if we fail then our childs’ life is ruined!

Posted on May 17, 2013 In Coaching

2 Comments

Entrepreneurship is so meta – you can call yourself an entrepreneur and never actually have to do anything with it. Being an entrepreneur is as easy as adding it to you LinkedIn bio and listing it as a “skill” or hashtagging yourself on Twitter.

Then there are those that say you aren’t a real entrepreneur until someone else calls you that. I don’t get that either because that doesn’t really matter much more than self-referencing yourself for anything you’d like.

Personally, call yourself whatever you want – the only titles that will last longer than your own life are probably going to be the ones on your tombstone – think about that for a moment if you will. Can you imagine that?

Posted on May 16, 2013 In Startups

5 Comments

It’s neat to pursue one’s dreams but not all of them are businesses. In the same way, not all businesses fully realize one’s so-called dreams.

And although I’m sad to break that to you it’s simply the truth. Many of the organizations and businesses that I’ve created in the past were not fulfilling some long-held dream or vision for my life. They were fulfilling and doing exactly what they were meant to do: Be a business.

Again, I hate to be the bearer of bad news and I’m sorry if I’m the first person who’s every told you that your dream might suck as a business. It may even feel a bit crippling, but far better to be aware of the reality than to be blinded by illogical and wishful thinking.

Sure, anything is possible so I don’t count it completely out but if you blindly believe that converting a dream into a business and vice versa is the only real possibility you’re considering then, sadly, be prepared for a very rude awakening.

Posted on May 15, 2013 In Startups

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Since reading is an essential part of not only leadership and entrepreneurship but also my very life I am constantly amazed at the stories that I read and how successful some of these individuals are.

Naturally, since I’m reading this book, their story, their biography, they have achieved a level of success that warrants my attention, so I shouldn’t be surprised, but what intrigues me the most is how common many of them really are.

It’s like my Sunday School teacher shared with me when I was little:

You’re unique, just like everyone else.

Their achievements were fantastic and have impacted many of our lives, their philosophies and perspectives now shape the very core of our own thinking, and yet they were all deeply flawed people, flesh and blood, just like you and I.

Posted on May 14, 2013 In Startups

6 Comments

A friend, Peter Pollock, just recently published his book, Web Hosting for Dummies, via Wiley Publishers and I’m proud to be a part of this publication as the Technical Editor.

Posted on May 13, 2013 In Tools

5 Comments

TentBlogger

Archives For John

Glimpse Chrome Extension