Jeff Hilimire's Blog, page 5

I’ve had a podcast for about a month, and here’s what the data is telling me

I’ve found myself in the podcasting world for the first time, and I have to say…I kinda like it :)

What led me here, if I’m really being introspective, is the feeling that most of the things that I write about on this blog – time management, building a great culture, leadership, etc. – aren’t maybe the most important things to be writing about these days. Or maybe those subjects are just what some people need. I don’t know. But every time I sit down to write on those topics, I end up feeling like it’s just not the time.

Instead, I found myself looking forward to conversations with friends about a myriad of topics, including social justice, the responsibility of leadership during challenging times, and life purpose. These subjects just felt easier to talk about rather than write about, at least for me.

So I thought I’d try my hand at recording some of those conversations, and the idea of a podcast was born.

I’m now a bit more than a month into producing podcasts – some video and some audio-only – and here is what I’m finding:

No surprise here: 95% of my listeners are from the U.S., with 86% coming from Georgia. Florida ranks second at 3%

Everything I know about advisory boards

One of the best things we ever did at Spunlogic was to create an advisory board early on. (Never heard of my first company, Spunlogic? If not, you can check out the recent Spunmafia video series I’ve been doing with my co-founders.)

On my most recent podcast, I talk to Blair Brady, CEO of WITH/agency, about the do’s and don’ts of advisory boards.

Additionally, I’ve written a few posts in the past on the subject:

Mentors and advisory boardsAdvisory boards: How to choose the right people and run effective meetingsA close call that we avoided thanks to our advisory boardThe Pop-Up Advisory Board

If advisory boards have been successful for you, please let me know how and what advice you’d give!

Before you leave

As mentioned above, I run a weekly email newsletter where I share interesting articles and books I’m reading, productivity hacks, leadership lessons, and an update from that week’s blog posts. There is exclusive content that only comes out in the email!

If this sounds interesting, you can use this link to sign up!

The post Everything I know about advisory boards appeared first on Begin the Begin.

Let the writing on book 3 begin

We were meant to be in Verona, Italy this month.

First world problem coming in 3…2…1…

I was meant to be in Italy with my family right now – for the entire month of July. We had booked a small flat in the heart of Verona, a charming northern Italian town where, supposedly, Romeo and Juliet was meant to have taken place.

COVID-19 had other ideas. I remember when the first cases were traveling west across the world and Italy (northern Italy to be exact) was hit badly in February. For a brief moment, we actually wondered if we’d still be able to go on our trip given that it wasn’t until July.

How naive that feels now.

Lest we get too off point, my intent is not to make everyone sad that we can’t go on our big European trip. We’re fully aware that such things aren’t important, and we’re lucky to be safe and healthy at the moment.

I was going to use the time in Verona to write my next book, which would focus on building an undeniable company culture. My first book, The 5-Day Turnaround, focuses on leading like an entrepreneur, and while building a great culture is part of that, I have a lot more to say on the subject. (Actually, I wrote 5-Day while on our first month-long European trip, which was in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2018.)

Instead, a few weeks after we were quarantined (let’s call that early April), I decided instead to write The Crisis Turnaround, focusing on how to lead during a…well, you get it. Before COVID-19, this book was never on my radar.

So now I’m back to the original plan of writing a book in July, just in a less adventurous environment (though, truth be told, locked up in a house for over three months with five children is proving to be quite..adventurous?… on its own). I’ve been tinkering with The Culture Turnaround for a few months and have the high-level outline and about 15 pages written, and for the next 30 days I’ll push to get a decent first draft complete. My general goal is for the book to be around 50,000 words, or a little over 200 pages.

If I can average between 1,500 and 2,000 words a day, then it shouldn’t be too hard to make it happen. I’m much more productive in the mornings, so I’ve rearranged my schedule to allow for several hours of writing-time before noon.

In the meantime, I’ll continue blogging, producing my email newsletter, and creating podcasts and YouTube videos, which I’m thoroughly enjoying.

Ok, time to get to writing…

Before you leave

As mentioned above, I run a weekly email newsletter where I share interesting articles and books I’m reading, productivity hacks, leadership lessons, and an update from that week’s blog posts. There is exclusive content that only comes out in the email!

If this sounds interesting, you can use this link to sign up!

The post Let the writing on book 3 begin appeared first on Begin the Begin.

Prioritizing time and managing productivity during COVID-19

I’m not sure if I’ve ever felt more productive…or more unproductive. Maybe no one else is feeling this, but the swings in my motivation are, for me, unprecedented. And not in a good way.

Some days I wake up and I’m raring to go. And with the extra time I have from not having to commute to work, going to as many meetings, etc., I have more time to get things done during the ‘work day’ – whatever that means – than I ever have before.

And then other days, I just kinda feel…blah. Does that really need to get done today? I can do that another day, right? Maybe I’ll see what the kids are up to…

And then 6 pm comes and I’m left wondering if I really got anything done that day.

One thing that never fails to spark my productivity is talking with a friend about how they manage their time and get things done. I get an extra boost of, I’m guessing dopamine?, when I learn about someone else’s productivity routine.

And this is exactly what happened after I talked with a good friend, Drew Hawkins, on my podcast recently. On the episode, we go back and forth on how we’re managing our time these days, and I have to say, after talking with him I got a lot more done…for a few days :)

So, in order to give me another one of those bursts of productivity, I have to ask:

What is your advice to get more done these days?







Before you leave

As mentioned above, I run a weekly email newsletter where I share interesting articles and books I’m reading, productivity hacks, leadership lessons, and an update from that week’s blog posts. There is exclusive content that only comes out in the email!

If this sounds interesting, you can use this link to sign up!

The post Prioritizing time and managing productivity during COVID-19 appeared first on Begin the Begin.

Dragon Army’s commitment to Black Lives Matter

At Dragon Army, we are committed to our Purpose of Inspiring Happiness. And we recognize that unless we put the full weight of our company into doing our part to fight systematic racism and white supremacy, we can’t possibly expect to inspire much happiness.

We spent a great deal of time working on a plan that we believe will make an impact, leveraging what makes us unique as a company. The plan has big, long-term goals, as well as immediate action steps.

In putting the plan together, we debated and discussed internally, and also reached out to other leaders for input. And while we feel good about the statement we make today, we also know that it is only the actions we take from this point forward that are meaningful.

Simply put: enough talk, it’s time to act.

I’d love for you to read our commitment, and I hope you’ll feel free to share your thoughts, especially if they include ways that you would like to help us.

Click to read our commitment.

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Here’s the thing about my new podcast series

Me talking at a 48in48 event…it’s one of the few photos I have of me with a mic, and I thought it’d be fitting for this post even if it, technically, has nothing to do with it :)

Truth be told, this podcast thing just kinda happened.

As someone that produces content on a fairly consistent basis, I’ve always been interested in both video and audio. It’s why I’ve recently been producing more content on YouTube.

My natural state of content production is writing. I think of that in three buckets: blog posts (like this one), my email newsletter (which I send out weekly, and in which I write unique, more personal content*), and my books.

But audio allows for a different kind of connection. I find audio to be less formal, allowing me to share more personal thoughts and experiences. And I can use it as a forum to have conversations with friends and people I respect.

So I’m going to give it a try. Or rather, keep giving it a try, as there are a handful of podcasts on the channel currently.

My not-so-big podcast plan

I’m not going to commit to any kind of cadence with these podcasts. Not yet, anyway. I’ll likely share audio from YouTube content when appropriate, and when I have something that I think will lend itself better to spoken vs. written word, I’ll throw up a new podcast. And of course, if you should have suggestions of things you’d like me to talk about on the podcast, I’ll do that as well.

But the mistake I see people make when starting a new podcast is a) betting the farm on it, and b) committing to an unrealistic cadence. I’m fine if there isn’t a big audience that moves over to the podcast, and I won’t fall into the trap of over-committing to production of it.

So, you can subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform to check it out and get updates when I post something new. I’d love any feedback you might have, as I want this to be meaningful and add, rather than detract, from what I’m doing. Thanks!

* this past weekend I wrote a deeply personal post in my email newsletter, something that I thought I’d share first with my subscribers.

Before you leave

As mentioned above, I run a weekly email newsletter where I share interesting articles and books I’m reading, productivity hacks, leadership lessons, and an update from that week’s blog posts. There is exclusive content that only comes out in the email!

If this sounds interesting, you can use this link to sign up!

The post Here’s the thing about my new podcast series appeared first on Begin the Begin.

No longer silent

I can’t be silent anymore. Not with these turkeys depending on me.

Like many, I’ve struggled over the last several months to find my voice. What should I be saying? Do I have a right to say anything? What good could my voice do in the avalanche of people sharing their experiences, especially when I’ve never experienced the injustices that my black and brown friends have.

My inability to find the words has been due to some combination of a lack of courage, a lack of confidence, and an ability (because of my privilege) to not have to deal with it.

And so I’ve been relatively silent to date. Sure, I’ve shared a few things on Instagram, liked a few Facebook posts, and talked with a few friends privately. But mostly, I’ve been silent.

I had a conversation with a good friend last week – yes, a black friend – and just as I knew she would, she hit me with the truth: it’s not ok to be silent. She told me to share my experiences. Even though I’m not a person of color, she pushed me to share things from my past, like my Leadership Atlanta experience, and to continue to have dialogue, no matter how uncomfortable.

And so I’ll start sharing again. And hopefully we’ll have some good conversations, you and I. Here’s what’s cookin’:

At Dragon Army, we’re working on our commitment to Black Lives Matter. It will be thoughtful, it will be actionable, and it will be way, way past due. We will own that, but we will not let it stop us from taking action. I will be sharing that soon.

For me, here are some things I’ve working on:

More video content. Whether it’s the SpunMafia series where I talk to my old partners, book talks, conversations with friends on various topics, or just one-off videos, I’m going to lean more into video. I think it will also help me avoid being silent. Literally. I’m starting to write book #3. I started writing this book before COVID-19, at which point I shifted gears and wrote The Crisis Turnaround . This third book will be called, The Culture Turnaround, and it will dive deep into my process of building a killer culture within a company. 48in48 is putting on virtual events, and in fact, we have our second one coming up this weekend…there’s still room for you to volunteer!Ripples of Hope is continuing to meet (virtually, of course), and if you should find a way to help the nonprofits in some way/shape/form, please do: Central OAC, Synergies Works, Love Not Lost, College AIM. Like all businesses, and especially nonprofits, they are all struggling from COVID-19 and could use more support.

Ok, so that’s where things are. Again, sorry about the silence. I’m committed to continue sharing – both the fun stuff and the serious stuff – because silence is not an option.

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Half-stepping into video

Everything’s changing, amirite?

I think Bill Murray said it best while explaining the situation in New York in 1984 when the ghosts were let out of the…well, I don’t want to spoil it for you, let’s just say it led to this epic line:

Side note: is it just me or is there some weird acting going on by his partner in the background?

So yeah, things are nuts. Presumably some dogs and cats are living together, even. Not in my house; we’re a strict No Cats Zone due to allergies (plus they freak me out a little, truth be told), but our dogs are happier than they ever have been, so there’s that.

Among the many changes I’ve seen has been the use of video, both in terms of live zoom-like ‘conversations’ as well as video consumption overall.

Case in point, I had my first The Crisis Turnaround book talk (via Zoom), hosted by Tech Oregon last week. With The 5-Day Turnaround, my first book which came out almost a year ago, I did exactly zero Zoom/video book talks. I have several more coming up over the next few months, so this is a trend that I don’t see slowing down any time soon.

I was also excited to grab my old Spunlogic partners and record our first Spunmafia (that name will make sense when you watch the video) episode. I doubt I would have thought to do that if it weren’t for the current state of things.

On the video we discussed how we founded the company, the 10 years we spent growing it, and how/why we sold the company in 2008.

You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive updates when I post more videos. (If you’re into that kind of thing.)

Due to the reception of both of those videos, I’m going to take a half-step into creating more video content. It’s always been a medium that I’ve been interested in, and while I will most definitely still write, I plan to try my hand at recording things (with friends or by myself) to see if it’s a platform that has any stick to it.

So expect to see more videos from me, and don’t be scared when you see new my quarantineed look:

Me with one of those happy dogs I was talking about…

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Engaging with capitalism’s good side – my interview with Simply Buckhead

I find it funny that I’m being featured on the cover of Simply Buckhead, given that of my 20+ years in business I only worked in Buckhead for about 1.5 years. Granted, I loved those 1.5 years, as Dragon Army was posted up in the Atlanta Tech Village during it’s early days.

Either way, Simply Buckhead has always been good to me, and they’re a really well run publication, and jeez, they put me on the cover again, this time with Dominique! By the way, I did get to meet Nique (or maybe you prefer The Human Highlight) once at a charity race:

Side note: While his hands weren’t quite as big as Shaq’s (who I met in 2014), you can see from the photo they’re pretty dang huge.

I really like how the writer positioned the article, which they titled, “Engaging with Capitlism’s Good Side”.

You should check it out, but in case you’re a TL;DR kinda person, here are some of my favorite bits:

“I want Dragon Army to be a forever company because I really want people to see you can have great success while also focusing on doing good,” he says.

The firm aims to grow to 200 employees, allowing it to inspire more happiness, do more work with nonprofits and thus prove Hilimire’s belief in capitalism as a positive force.

“Once I found my personal purpose, I spent time thinking about the big, core areas of my life, and I was able to get those down to three,” says the married father of five. Anything he does must fit one or more of those areas: family, Dragon Army and doing good.

What from the past decade are you most proud of?

The success of 48in48. We’ve built well over 800 nonprofit websites in the last five years, which has helped all those nonprofits find more donors and volunteers. The impact of that I’ll never know.

Before you leave

I run a weekly email newsletter where I share interesting articles and books I’m reading, productivity hacks, leadership lessons, and an update from that week’s blog posts. There is exclusive content that only comes out in the email!

If this sounds interesting, you can use this link to sign up!

The post Engaging with capitalism’s good side – my interview with Simply Buckhead appeared first on Begin the Begin.

Struggling to write during COVID-19

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

I don’t know what to write about.

In this new now normal* I’m really struggling to find words that feel worthy to write. Words that are worthy of your time.

I sit down each morning and I want to write a blog post, but nothing rises to the surface that seems important.

People are sick and dying, thousands by the day. We are social distancing and lonely and scared. And a near record number of people are out of work – 14.7% in this country. For perspective:

Unemployment % by month over the last 10 years

The world’s a mess, and we’re bombarded with terrible news reminding us of just how bad it is. Here’s the ‘front page’ of The NY Times as I write this:

Every story is either about the virus specifically or the dire ramifications of it.

And I should write about…what? I have a blog post that I’ve started that shares my current iPad-focused desk setup (I’m only using the iPad right now). And another on my strategy for the platforms I write content on (this blog vs Medium vs email newsletter). I’ve wanted to write about how we give ourselves ‘permission to be kind’ at Dragon Army, and to take a stab at sharing a 100-year plan for that company.

I’ve thought about sharing the devastating (yet contained) impact that COVID-19 has had on 48in48, and how we’ve shifted the Ripples platform accordingly.

There are a couple of humorous posts I want to write (similar to the one I wrote years ago about the man that stood too close to me on the escalator). One shares a mock marketing meeting at Coca-Cola headquarters where ‘Jinx, you owe me a Coke’ was created, and another in the voice of a satirical leader who is doing all the wrong things. He’ll have a funny, ironic name and it’ll have an emperor-has-no-clothes kind of feel to it.

But are those things that are worth your time right now? Should I write hopeful, aspirational things? Or ignore that this is happening altogether?

Perhaps I was able to write The Crisis Turnaround last month because I felt it would be useful content, and I was inspired to do something – anything – to help during these times. But maybe that missed the mark, too. It’s still focused on what everything else is focused on: crisis, crisis, and more crisis.

I just…don’t know what to write about right now. I’m very open to suggestions, because I desperately don’t want to waste your time.

How would you guide me?







Before you leave

I run a weekly email newsletter where I share interesting articles and books I’m reading, productivity hacks, leadership lessons, and an update from that week’s blog posts. There is exclusive content that only comes out in the email!

If this sounds interesting, you can use this link to sign up!

* someone I know said we should call this our ‘now’ normal vs. ‘new’ normal

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