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ben johnson & co.

the blog

This is our Super Bowl

11/23/2015

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There’s a few times in my work life that I call “my Super Bowl” - that one time of the year where everything needs to come together, where every little thing matters.

Remember in Super Bowl 49 when Malcolm Butler intercepted the last pass of the game to end the Seahawks season and win it all for New England?

That year no one ever ran that play on them, but they practiced it all year.

This week the Frontier team is hoping to raise $500,000 alongside the dedicated staff at Union Gospel Mission. No other week in our year compares to this one.

Check it out at match.ugm.ca. Please give to this great cause. ​
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If you’re working 40 hours a week (or more) you’re doing it wrong

11/22/2015

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If you do hourly work, this message isn’t for you, but I do believe it still applies. If you’re an artist or a writer, this definitely doesn’t apply to you.

What were the most remarkable days of your year this year?

If you’re like me, they stand out from the regular days like skyscrapers. They are profoundly more valuable days than the average.

Paradoxically, as I work fewer days (four instead of five or six years ago) and fewer hours per day (five instead of 8-9) the more valuable days grow.

Stop filling your time with fluff. Rest and recreation flow naturally into essential work time.

Stop relying on the small wins to make up for the lack of big ones.

When it’s clear what work you have to do you’re more likely to do it well.

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Guest Post! Old friends and new acquaintances With Cena Blézy-Rouzes

11/20/2015

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The following is one of a series of guest posts from wonderful people in my network who stepped up to write while I'm travelling (in this case spending the week with my kids). If you'd like to join the cadre of guest writers, send me an email at hello@benjohnson.co. 


I recently reconnected with an old friend. A friend with whom I shared many great memories of growing up in a small town here on Vancouver Island. Days turned into months, and months into years, and we eventually lost touch. Life gets busy, and you often forget to connect with friends even with the help of Facebook.

Recently my life has been about getting out there and meeting new people. I have tried to share a conversation with at least one new person a day. I love the adrenalin rush I get when I meet someone new. The idea that this stranger knows nothing about me, and I know nothing about them. That in that precise moment when conversation starts, I’m trusting myself to portray the right version of me. I love learning about what motivates people, what their passions are, what they do for work. The thrill of the conversation is exciting and I am eagerly scooping up their words like a fat kid in a candy store.

This has been my habit recently, so much so that I had forgotten what a gift it can be to communicate with an old friend. Someone who knew you before all the life-changing events of your 20s, and all the crazy adventures you’ve had since you moved away from that small town. Many years of life separated you, and so you spend time catching up and filling in the blanks.

At the end of the conversation, one of two things happens. The first possibility being that you both realize how completely different the two of you are and just how much you’ve grown apart. Thereafter casually scheduling a lunch date for sometime in the future, only to never follow through. The second possibility being the irrefutable feeling that although two of you have changed as people, your friendship has stayed the same. The feeling of comfort knowing that this person knows you. The ease of not having the choose the appropriate version of yourself to portray because this person has already seen your worst self. The fun retelling and reminiscing of stories has a remarkable way of reminding of all the wonderful people you have known throughout your life, and just how fortunate you are to still have old friends in your life. In this world of emails, tweets, Facebook, text messages, and chatting with strangers, nothing quite compares to the feeling of familiarity you get from sitting across the table from an old friend, and not having to choose which person you will be today.
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Cena is a multi talented globetrotter who enjoys bridging cultural gaps through meaningful educational experiences. Her research includes ecological food systems, environmentally sustainable development, urban planning, and alternative policy development.
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Celebrate your workplace Anniversaries

11/19/2015

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If you're working in an office that celebrates anniversaries at 5 years and beyond, you likely will also find few Millennials getting any recognition. 

What would it be like if you celebrated every year, especially the first? Could you imagine waiting until five years before celebrating a marriage? 

No wonder Millennials move on to better organizations quickly.

Similarly, working with clients takes constant courtship. Celebrating milestones and showing appreciation is a great way to keep the romance.

I have an excel sheet that tracks every every client by month and reminds me when milestones approach. It also reminds me how great it is to see a client work with us for months on end and how sad it is to see one go. 

If you incorporate these two concepts into your organization it stands a much greater chance of excellence than many other 'important' technical tasks. 
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Guest Post! Being Agile With Your Vision By Brady Josephson

11/18/2015

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The following is one of a series of guest posts from wonderful people in my network who stepped up to write while I'm travelling (in this case spending the week with my kids). If you'd like to join the cadre of guest writers, send me an email at hello@benjohnson.co. 

One of the things I loved about working for a technology company is being exposed to things like agile methodology, scrum, MVP and The Lean Startup. It’s helped a lot with how I (try to) plan work and build Shift. But it’s also had an influence on setting the vision.

Here’s what I mean. One of the characteristics of agile or lean product development is trying to solve one, real problem at a time. So while you may be trying to make charitable giving a part of everyday life - as was our vision at Chimp - that doesn’t really help you month to month, week to week and day to day. So you have to break down the vision into more management chunks and solve one problem at a time.

For me and Shift, I broke it down like this:

#1. Get work.
#2. Do great work.
#3. Make money by doing great work.

I didn’t get too bogged down by the financial model, what types of clients I wanted or even what types of services we could offer. I just tried to get work. Blogging for a technology company, retainer consulting, building a website and managing direct mail were some of the projects that I took on in the early days. Some turned out well. Others not as much. But goal #1 was get work and I was lucky to get some.

Then the challenge was to do great work. This is the phase I would say we are currently in. I’m constantly learning, and in some cases re-learning, what makes a good client and project, where my skills and passions are and how to best manage workflows. I’ms till not too concerned about the business model, profit margins and long-term viability because if I can’t get work (or keep getting work) and then do great work, I could have the best business model in the world it won’t matter.

We’re getting closer to producing great work on a consistent basis as well as figuring out where we can provide the most value to clients and how. And if we have better insights into those areas, I’ll be able to build a much better, more accurate and relevant business model than I could’ve 3 months ago sitting at my computer.

Being agile with your vision doesn’t mean not having a vision. It just means the distant future is just that - the distant future. But breaking down that bigger vision into more manageable chunks of mini-vision helps you stay focused and share that vision with those working with, for and around you.



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Brady is the Principal at shift - an agency that provides creative, fundraising and strategic services. He is also an adjunct professor at North Park University’s School of Business and Nonprofit Management, contributes to Huffington Post and manages his own blog at recharity.ca. You can follow him on Twitter @bradyjosephson.
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