Christina Bauer's Blog, page 88
December 10, 2013
Kicking Ass @Work: How to Tell Who’s Aligned With Whom
So without further ado, here’s how to accomplish one of the most critical tasks at work: finding out who’s aligned with whom…
Why should I care about this?
Being successful means building alliances. In Viking times, leaders did this by sharing treasure hauls from one of their raids on the unsuspecting English countryside. But in today’s typical office setting, you don’t have treasure hoards to share, so what’s the next best thing? In my experience, one of the most important (and critically rare!) currencies that you have is honesty. More specifically, honest information about what’s going on and what you think, especially if you’re pretty sure you’re right. Some examples:
I think XYZ product launch will fail unless ABC happens
Person PDQ isn’t trustworthy, be sure to document stuff
If you can work with Manager X, do it. They are awesome.
But being honest is a risk; suppose the other person has the opposite point of view? Now they’ll tell everyone that you hate PDQ, and that could make you enemies. But life is all about calculated risks, IMHO, so here are some things to take into consideration before deciding whether to trust or confide in someone.
Map out Power Structures in Your Organization
People typically sort themselves into tribes. Hey, we may have fancy office settings and cool clothes, but at the heart of things, we’re still hunter-gatherers, sorting ourselves into small groups around a leader. So, watch who has a title, what they say and—most importantly—how they say it. For example, let’s say the CFO in your company sends out a series of emails about watching expenses, and their big mantra is ‘the little things mean a lot.’ Knowing that, you’ll want to watch:
Who talks about cutting costs in meetings
If they do cover the topic, do they use the same language as the leader in question? Watch especially closely for catch phrases. For example, if someone uses the same language ‘little things mean a lot,’ then they are even more closely aligned
For obvious stuff, like if this person spends hours hanging with the CFO in their office or chatting by the water cooler
That will tell you if Person A is aligned with Leader B. Sure, you could check the org chart, but that won’t tell you much. Most often, at least a few subordinates are out to get their boss. If someone isn’t aligned to a particular leader, then you’ll notice that:
They may make snarky comments in meetings about ‘being obsessed with cutting costs at the expense of revenue.’
They mock the catch phrase. ‘Little things mean a-nothing’, for example
Obvious stuff like chilly encounters in meetings
When I first join an organization, I like to watch and listen until I create a kind of heat map of who’s aligned with whom. Folks with titles are the easiest to map first. If someone has balls and an opinion, then they’ll make friends and enemies. Once you know that, you can make informed decisions about whether you want to be aligned with them or not.
But what if I don’t want to be aligned with anyone?
This is a valid coping strategy, and a popular one. Personally, I can’t use it because it goes against my nature too much. That said, it’s super common, especially in large companies: do just enough work to get by, trying not to align or distance yourself from anyone. The positive side of this approach is that you can stay in the same job for a long time with relative stasis and security. The negative comes if you ever need to get something done and you don’t have any alliances to help you…Or if your company goes out of business and you’re ‘getting shizz done’ skills are rusty.
Now, assuming you want at least some alliances in case of trouble, then people who are alliance-neutral aren’t typically worth your time to invest in, one way or another. That said, if they have a good personality, they may be fun to have lunch with.
Finding hidden power
In virtually every organization, shit gets done at the worker-bee level. Then, within any group-o-bees, there are a handful who get 80% of stuff done for everybody. These folks are what I call ‘hidden power.’ They don’t have a title, but they still run the show. Sure, they’re a little harder to find, but once you detect them, they make for awesome friends and allies. Here’s what you do. Use the same steps as above, mapping out what the rank-and-file folks think and how they express those opinions. After that, track who’s parroting whom. If someone has enough followers, then they’re power in an organization, even if they don’t have a title.
What do I get out of a good alliance?
A lot of stuff, actually. A good alliance means that someone will:
Share information back with you
Someone who’ll go the extra mile to help you meet your goals (and vice versa)
Support your points of view in a meeting or outside it
Provide you with honest feedback on your ideas
All in all, building good alliances comes down to doing your homework: mapping out who’s aligned where, and then making smart decisions about investing your time, honesty and insight. It’s not necessarily glamorous stuff, but it is how ass gets kicked.
ALSO IN THIS SERIES:
3 Strikes and I Call Your Manager
Rule of the 3 Ps
Get anyone to back to fuck off
Work means never having to say ‘I’m sorry’
The post Kicking Ass @Work: How to Tell Who’s Aligned With Whom appeared first on Ink Monster.
December 6, 2013
On Writing: Why It’s Okay To Suck
And no, I am not kidding.
In fact, such awfulness is typical and, if handled properly, a sign of great things to come.
Still not kidding.
Here’s my story on this subject. I didn’t speak until about five, but once I started, I loved to tell stories about worlds in my head. My first was an elaborate multi-generational quest set in a world inspired by the game Candyland (the bad guy lived in a chocolate palace). Soon, I was sharing these stories at school—during class, unsolicited—to the point where the nuns had to set aside ‘special story time’ for me so I’d shut up for most of the day (yeah, I was that kid). Once I got the knack of writing, I compulsively penned my tales instead, much to the nun’s joy. Later, when it I hit upper grade school, English class was my personal bitch. Oh, how I thought I rocked.
And lo, Freshman year of High School arrived. With it came more nuns and my first big-girl High School English paper. Man, I worked hard on that sucker. I handed it in and waited with baited breath for the inevitable 100 to come back, the page littered with side notes on my awesomeness. Sure enough, the paper came back, but not with a 100 on the top.
I got a 67. Not a total failure, but pretty darned close. Whoa.
‘Devastated’ pretty much describes my reaction to this 67. My life was predicated on the concept that I rocked at writing. Now, this seemed no longer true. Even worse, there were kids in my very same class that got perfect 100′s on their first paper. Holy shit. They were better than I was. At. Writing.
This launched some major soul searching. I debated about never writing again, for reals. I felt mightily crushed and lied to…what were all those accolades in years gone by? What silly, torturous games were the nuns playing with me in grade school? This mope-fest went on until I eventually pulled up my big girl panties and went back at it, working hard for a better grade. This was Freshman year. I didn’t get a 100 on a writing essay until I hit Senior year of English. So there you go.
When I got to college, I had no problems getting good grades, but there were other shocks in store. I met some other writers who were so freaking amazing, it made me want to drop writing again. For example, one kid I met Freshman year wrote his essays in iambic pentameter because, well, he was bored. Bored, I tell you! And it was goooooooood stuff. Like, I could work for weeks and not come up with two lines that were half as lovely. I don’t know where that kid is now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he hit his own version of a ’67′ at some point, just like I did, and had to face the question: now that I have to work my ass off for this, is this still worth it?
Now, the ‘worth it’ conundrum isn’t really a question anyone can answer for you, especially when it comes to writing. That said, at the time, I think it might’ve helped moi to know that the cycle of sucking-to-getting-better is pretty typical. In fact, it’s a sign that your work is growing, and that’s not just okay, that’s amazing.
Today, I sincerely hope that every book I write kicks the ass of my last one. Because, at the end of the day, that kind of suck is awesome.
The post On Writing: Why It’s Okay To Suck appeared first on Ink Monster.
December 5, 2013
Book Review: Eternal Guardians Series
The post Book Review: Eternal Guardians Series appeared first on Ink Monster.
December 3, 2013
Thoughts on Lawrence of Arabia
For instance, Citizen Kane may be a seminal work, but there are still no small number of glitches. For example, I’m no fan of the random cockatoo shot:
Uhhh, wha?
Along the same vein, I’m a HUGE fan of Bridge on the River Kwai (a David Lean classic), but even there, you find the odd glitch, such as the litter bearers being hot Asian chicks. It feels forced (which it was, by the studio.) I love the press photo below, which was used to promote the picture. I’m guessing this little item was for the benefit of the potential female audience, since William Holden was the Hotty McHunkster of his day:
But Lawrence of Arabia? Simply perfect. I’ve watched it at least 100 times by now, and every time I pick up something new, especially from the brilliant script by Robert Bolt. Here are some of my favorites:
1. Opening Sequence
One of the big themes of the film is how Lawrence doesn’t know when to stop. He starts off fine, but in short order, he gets lost in his own myth of invulnerability—combined with a heavy dose of having an awesome time—and takes increasingly dumb-n-dumber risks. The first image of the movie gives the viewer a God-like perspective as we watch our hero carefully prep his motorcycle. Lawrence starts off his ride very carefully, but quickly gets caught up in the thrill, takes one chance too many, and winds up dead. By the time the movie’s over, you wonder why his luck didn’t run out earlier.
2. Who are you?
Some of the first dialogue in the movie (which takes place at the memorial service for Lawrence, see below) is a reporter asking the crowd what’s essentially the central question of the film: T.E. Lawrence, who are you? Is Lawrence a lion tamer, a clown, a statesman, a warrior, a shameless exhibitionist? The film poses this question over and over, and there are no easy answers.
In a beautiful bit of irony, General Allenby (the wonderful Jack Hawkins) answers the reporter’s question by saying: “I didn’t know him well, you know.” Lawrence manipulates all sorts of people throughout the film, but Allenby’s the only one who pulls Lawrence’s strings, getting him to re-enter the war after being tortured by the Turks. Didn’t know him well, indeed.
3. Hero versus Heroine’s journey
I wrote a long post on what makes the heroine’s journey, but to sum up: heroine’s journeys change the structure of society while hero’s journeys focus on one-time actions, such as a rescue. Lawrence struggles with these competing goals throughout the film. His heroine’s journey is to free Arabia, and in a happy bit of coincidence from the universe, he wears long feminine robes in this role. His hero’s journey is to aggrandize himself as a warrior, a leader, and eventually a God. To me, these are epitomized in his army uniform. In the scene below, he’s debating whether to follow the goals of the Arab revolt (change society) or kill Turks (avenge his own torture):
Revenge wins out, by the way, at least in this scene.
4. Greek Chorus
I love the trope of what I call a Greek Chorus in this film. There is a character, Howard Marion Crawford, that unknowingly follows Lawrence throughout the film. In the opening scene, Crawford defends Lawrence’s character as a great man, having given Lawrence’s hand a hearty shake at the officer’s club, “just to say I did it.” Later, after Lawrence takes over Damascus, Crawford screams at Lawrence in a hospital where the conditions are “outrageous!” At that point, Lawrence is wearing his Arab robes and is seen as a “bloody wog.” Lawrence recognizes the man and laughs his ass off. How can he be both a hero and outrageous? Indeed, how can we all? Le sigh. Damn, what a good movie.
And those are just four off the top of my head…There are at LEAST another half-dozen things that I LOVE about this film, but those will have to wait for another day. I have to get to work now. My day job calls!
The post Thoughts on Lawrence of Arabia appeared first on Ink Monster.
November 26, 2013
Armageddon The Poodle And Other Shit I Changed In Angelbound
1. Armageddon started off as a small pink poodle
No, I am not kidding. I actually thought it would be awesome to have the King of Hell be a small pink poodle that talked. You know, the ‘last demon that you would have expected’ type thing? And yes, it was funny. But no, it totally didn’t work. That said, I loved the name. This poster was one of the inspirations for the revised Armageddon:
Feel the chill in your bones, eh?
2. Lincoln started off as a run-of-the-mill new world thrax
New world thrax are demon hunters who embrace technology and live cloud-side in the US. Lincoln was part of an East Coast thrax community that was divided—and he was working to unify things—so that’s how the name Lincoln fitted in. But the more I kept writing, the more Lincoln kept having lots to do with the old world thrax, who were arguably cooler since they lived underground and were stuck in the middle ages. So finally, I gave in to the inevitable and moved him to the old world. After that, he was so cool and spicy-hawt, I felt like he wouldn’t just be some run-of-the-mill thrax, but one of the guys running the show. High Prince Lincoln was born. Let’s look at him again….ahhhhhhh:-)
Lincoln & Myla – Angelbound
3. Myla was originally named Monica
And the book was titled Demonica (har har har). Unfortunately, there’s a restaurant in Boston’s North End called Monica’s, and we lived near said restaurant for about ten years. I kept trying to write Myla as a badass fighter, and I kept seeing the Monica’s logo in my mind:
Needless to say, she got renamed Myla.
4. Walker was originally an agoraphobic fairy with a foul mouth
God DAMN, but I loved that foul-mouthed fairy. She did not belong in Myla’s story, but I kept her in there for the longest time anyway. Then, when I was rewriting the first chapter for the millionth time, Walker literally appeared. He wasn’t in my outline, but his portal materialized in the kitchen and out stepped my favorite ghoul. I haven’t given up on the potty-mouthed pixie, however. She’s slated for a future book in the Angelbound series.
So there you have it. Four colossally bad moves (except for Monica, which was more of a word-association issue). I’ll post more embarrassing-but-true almost-missteps as I think of them. TTFN!
The post Armageddon The Poodle And Other Shit I Changed In Angelbound appeared first on Ink Monster.
November 24, 2013
Reader Spotlight: Aneta Bak
The post Reader Spotlight: Aneta Bak appeared first on Ink Monster.
November 22, 2013
Kicking Ass @Work: 3 Strikes And I Call Your Manager
You’re in luck, friend. Because here’s my sure-fire, never-fail system: three strikes and I call your manager. But before I get into what you should do, I’ll cover what you shouldn’t. Because, hey, that’s more interesting.
DON’T:
Write a long email that has what you want buried three paragraphs in
Write a long email, period
Forget to have a clear deadline up-front and HIGHLIGHTED
Use a whiny, emotional tone and ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME
Send one email and then, a month later, send another one that freaks out that they didn’t respond
Send a short email that outlines your ask…But without the history of whatever you need them to do (and how many times you asked them to do it)
Copy their manager on everything
DO:
Send a short email with what you want—and when you want it—right up front. Example: “Please review the attached by Thursday, May 21st, close of business.” Highlight deadlines in yellow. If you must have a long email, separate out what you want them to do up-top. Call it something easy to understand, like “Call to Action” or “Action Item”
Try to keep emails short in general and put things into attachments. People look at long emails, groan, and set them aside for later
Use deadlines on everything until you know someone is reliable. Make them clear, up-front, and highlighted.
Use a professional, upbeat tone. I’m a big fan of humor.
Save caps for when you need it, like ACTION ITEM: or DEADLINE:
Right before the deadline (assuming the project is important) send an email that starts off: ‘as a gentle reminder, the deadline for folks to send feedback on this project is tom’w, May 21st, close of business.’
If the deadline passes without response, send another email. Start off with the words: second request, up-top and on its own line. Put in a new deadline that’s anywhere from 1 day to 1 week out (assuming you can. If the project is critical, you can go right to copying their manager.)
If THAT doesn’t work, send a third email, forwarding the entire string every time. Make sure the attachment of whatever you wanted reviewed is in there. Start off saying ‘third request.’ This is terrifying for some reason. Give them a day at this point to get back to you.
If they STILL don’t get back to you, they’ve hit three strikes…And they are OUT!!! Forward the email again, say forth request, and copy your manager and theirs. If their manager doesn’t respond, you can keep escalating.
Like most things in business, having the appearance of being very well organized shuts things down before they start. It’s rare that I have to escalate to someone’s manager after I send my ‘third request email.’ But it does happen. Mostly, it happens with people outside my company who don’t think I can track down their manager.
But they would be wrong. MWAH HAH HAH.
Here is my secret weapon: Data.com. You can go to this site, enter in the company name and get the email of every VP and C-level exec you want. It’s a buck a name, but I’m guessing if you’re going to Data.com, you’re pissed and don’t mind spending a dollar. If you don’t have a dollar, you can add a new name to their database and then you get one back, free.
Once you have your exec list in hand, forward your whole email string to them, saying:
That you’ve been waiting for bleeding ever (reference the email string you included)
WHAT you need and WHEN
How to contact you
Make sure the history of your failed exchanges in the email thread or attached. This never fails and often ends up with you getting a freebie. Woo hoo!
ALSO IN THIS SERIES:
Rule of the 3 Ps
Get anyone to back to fuck off
Work means never having to say ‘I’m sorry’
The post Kicking Ass @Work: 3 Strikes And I Call Your Manager appeared first on Ink Monster.
November 21, 2013
November 19, 2013
On Writing: Kickass Worldbuilding Articles from io9
And if you’re a writer too, then you’re also PLUM CRAZY. io9 has some of the best sci-fi and fantasy writing tips I’ve ever seen. Here are five of my favorites…
Number 5: What Elysium did wrong and right
I love the analysis here about the Elysium ‘super suit’ (not sure what else to call it.) It’s a great concept for worldbuilders to have technology trickle down to the masses, but in different forms.
Number 4: 7 Deadly Sins of Worldbuilding
I won’t spoil the article, but here’s one of my favorite worldbuilding deadly sins: Creating fictional versions of real-life human ethnic groups, that never go beyond one dimension. Deadly, am I right? It just gets better from there.
Number 3: Rules for Quick and Dirty Worldbuilding
These rules are spot-on, but I wouldn’t necessarily agree that you can ever make worldbuilding a quick and easy process. Still, how amazing is this advice: “Let’s say you’re whipping up a completely awful world like the one in Hellraiser or the post-apocalyptic Earth in the Terminator series. It’s great to show us a bunch of crushed skulls and people with pins in their faces, but nobody is going to stick around for a pure torture world unless they are Matthew Barney fans. There’s got to be something cool, fun, or intriguing about your universe.” Spot on, am I right?
Number 2: 12 Questions to Ask About the System of Magic in Your Fantasy Novel
Simply put, this article ROCKED MY WORLD. I want to have it tattooed on my upper arm, I use it so much.
Number 1: Secrets to Creating Unforgettable Supporting Characters
IMHO, rich supporting characters make or break a fantasy novel. This article has some great suggestions on how to create them.
Like these writing tips? Check out Aileen’s kickass series on STRUCTURE!
An Intro
Brainstorming
Beating it out
Fleshing it out
The post On Writing: Kickass Worldbuilding Articles from io9 appeared first on Ink Monster.
