Do what you are “best at” for happiness and fulfillment

Photo by Liz Cezat.

The end of a year and beginning of a New Year is often a time of reflection and resolutions. When thinking about what to write for this special blog post, I had no inspirational magic bullet. Yet, lately I’ve been thinking about Ed King and his practical yet profound advice to small business owners such as myself.

King is a retired Wayne State University Small Business adviser who remains a mentor and champion for multitudes of small business owners. I took an evening course of his and it has guided me for years. During the course, he insisted that we, as entrepreneurs, spend the majority of our time at work doing what we are best at. He used an example: Dr. Michael DeBakey, the famed heart surgeon who invented a device that led to the heart-lung machine, which paved the way for open-heart surgery, and who was a pioneer in heart transplantation – to name a few of his Texas-sized accomplishments.

What King found most impressive about the late Dr. DeBakey was that he went into surgery and only performed the portion of the surgery that he did best. He had directed other surgeons – associates or residents - to do other parts of the surgery, such as opening and closing the surgical site. This permitted Dr. DeBakey to perform thousands more surgeries. In the process, he saved many lives.

In the business world, King related this example to that of a coffee shop owner who worked best in her coffee shop interacting with customers and creating new coffee blends. Over time, she became immersed in the ancillary tasks, such as running errands and schlepping big bags of coffee beans. As a result, the business suffered and she wasn’t finding personal fulfillment either. The reason: she wasn’t doing what she was best at. She needed to direct her employees to do the heavy lifting so she could spend the bulk of her time interacting with customers and making great coffee.

Think about how this relates to you and your life. Are you doing the things that you are "best at" in your work world – whether you own a business or work as a director, manager or employee? If you’re not doing what you love to do and do well, think about transitioning in the next year to work that you love. It might even mean reorganizing your work to spend more time doing what you like and delegating what you aren’t so good at – preferably to someone who is good at the task and enjoys doing it. See the win-win here?

What I love to do and do best is to write, conduct interviews and do the project management – whether it’s for print, the web or presentations. This versatile skill set is well suited to marketing, public relations, fund raising and sales. This year, I’ve discovered it’s also good for sharing knowledge with others by being a trainer. I plan to do more training in the New Year.

In recent months, I’ve been working with a collaborative team on an Internet project. There’s a real need for a good writer who can organize a website, write snappy headlines and succinct copy, and keep tabs on all the moving parts and the people – working together to create new programs. The driving force for me is not only to work with creative professionals who are doing what they are “best at,” it’s also knowing how the end product will be used.

What I’m discovering is that maybe it’s not enough to do what you are “best at” but also to find the reason behind your desire for using that skill. You might find that there is a person or people behind your drive - because that’s often the true motivator for wanting to use one’s best talents to bring new things to light.

For Dr. DeBakey, it was saving patients' lives. For the coffee shop owner, it was sharing her knowledge and love of coffee with customers. For Ed King, it was helping business owners become successful. For me, it’s about communicating effectively to inspire, teach, influence and motivate people to take actions that will either improve their lives or the lives of others.

As we roll into a New Year, I have a sense of pride about my professional skills and my ability to deploy these skills to make a good living. Here’s something for you to think about: if you are doing work that you love, how can you make it even better? If you’re not doing what you love, isn’t it time to head in that direction?   

Punctuation – when to use a semi-colon

While discussing punctuation isn’t a sexy topic, knowing how to apply commas, exclamation points (hint: rarely), single quotes or double quotes, and the ever challenging semi-colon can make your copy read better. It also lends a halo effect to your topic. The wrong punctuation casts a shadow over your writing and confuses readers.

Don’t feel bad if you don’t know all the proper grammar - it is easy to learn. As a journalism student, I got my wake-up call while working as an intern at the former Dearborn Press and Guide newspaper. The society editor (Remember those ladies who liked to lunch and knew everyone in town?) told me that my copy was full of errors. Being a young, impetuous writer, I thought that correcting poor grammar was the job of an editor. But from that point forward, I started to pay more attention to the nuances of the English language – learning how to spell words correctly and how to punctuate. My guides were “The Associated Press Stylebook” and “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White.

Correct punctuation isn't as riveting as spring flowers
on a cactus, but it still makes a great impression. (Photo: Liz Cezat)

The best way to learn how to punctuate a sentence correctly is to read books or esteemed news magazines: “The Economist,” “Time,” and the “New York Times” to cite some of the best. You can no longer rely on newspaper articles since they cut the editing staff. I hate to call them out, but The Huffington Post has “shake your head” poor editing. Often times, when reading an article in HP or another online news source, you may need to change a “by” to a “my” because it appeared correct in spell-check (good technical cross-check) but neither the writer nor the editor bothered to proofread and correct the error.

Mistakes will be made; no doubt about it. But learning from your grammatical errors will build your knowledge base. I was working on editing the resume of a University of Michigan graduate and she didn’t know some basic grammar. I said to her, “Look, you need to commit this to memory. You can’t keep making the same mistakes.” Smart, educated people need to learn the basic grammar rules and apply them. 

After all this harping about getting it right, I’m going to provide five tips to keep you as sharp as an exclamation point.

1.     Commas – use them in a series (Example: She needed bananas, walnuts and flour for the bread recipe.) A comma is needed before “and” if the sequence of items is followed by  another sequence. (Example: He wanted to buy an umbrella, boots and a raincoat, and he also needed to get books, pencils and a calculator for his daughter.) Also use a comma if the sentence could be confusing without it or you want readers to pause. (Example: It was a fun, tasteful and successful event, and one that our supporters will surely remember.)

2.     Use of single quotes – Consider them to be interior quotes that are used within a quoted sentence. Example: Sue said, “I am so excited about the new iPhone that I told my father, ‘I would pay $1,000 for it.’” (Here, I ended with the standard quote mark after the single quote so it actually looks like three quote marks. If it was an indirect quote, it could be stated: “I am so excited about the new iPhone that I told my father I would pay $1,000 for it.”)

3.     The apostrophe (‘) – Use this for all contractions: they are= they’re; it is=it’s; we are=we’re; you have=you’ve; you are=you’re (… there are many more examples)

4.     Semi-colon – When two sentences are closely linked together, you can either make it two sentences or one sentence, joined by a semi-colon. It also signals the end of a series of items or a sequence of name/title attributions. (Example: He gave written copies of the report to Michael Mulligan, VP of Finance; Carol Spasek, Chief Information Officer; and Dick Black, VP of Human Resources.) (Example: The audits were impeccably completed; not a decimal point was out of place. It could also read: The audits were impeccably completed. Not a decimal point was out of place.)

5.   Exclamation point – Typically let the words do the talking (Joy. Peace. Love. These values are all that we need to be happy.) Compare that to: (Joy! Peace! Love! These values are all that we need to be happy.) It sounds hyper, doesn’t it? If you feel like you must use an exclamation point, use it only when it adds emphasis. (Example: Lucy’s gift of a trip around the world made her parents so excited!) Basically, it’s a once in a lifetime event to use an exclamation point. Only slightly kidding.

This blog post is only intended to cover the most common errors and bring some levity to the topic.
There are many online grammar sites that address the thousands of usage questions in more detail. Here is a sampling:

Commonly confused words (great guide, with examples of usage too):  http://grammar.about.com/od/words/a/UsageGlossary.htm

http://www.writingcentre.uottawa.ca/hypergrammar/pronouns.html

When to use commas: http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/commas.asp.

I welcome your stories about how improving your grammar has made a difference in your career.

At the crossroads

Being a business owner is a lonely profession at times. When it’s busy, it’s a breeze. Just do the work. When it’s time to get new business or change direction, I often freeze. I don’t like making cold calls – although I’m getting better at it. Networking tends to be an effort that generates business down the road – sometimes way down the road.

A road in northwest Washington state. Photo by Liz Cezat

What’s a business owner to do? There’s LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. While I have landed a few projects from those venues, I find social media to be more valuable in terms of learning new information; forming new ideas; connecting to new friends, associates or clients; and just having fun by posting and viewing people’s comments. I like to read inspirational blogs and quotes for a motivational kick.

Before change can take root, it seems like chaos must first occur. It’s time to implement my second quarter strategy, which is to add some training engagements while continuing to write for business and nonprofits. For this service, I will start contacting human resource departments, associations and nonprofits. I aim to expand my base of work rather than shift it entirely. I love to work with my graphic designers on annual reports, newsletters, brochures and websites for business and nonprofits. But, it’s vital to get out of the office and interact with others.

I’m reviving my seminar/training offerings with a session on “How to write better e-mails.” My expertise comes from being a communicator and writer. I want to share my knowledge with employees and others who have difficulty writing e-mails. Next week, I am meeting with a prospective client who has been talking with me about this program for about a year now. I trust that we will move forward.

Then, I need to set up my new iMac, upgrade the software and get ready to ride a speedy machine. That will be a beauty.

I find that envisioning my desired result is often the “kick in the pants” that is needed to move forward and try new things. Wish me luck – which is another way of saying, “Do the hard work of focusing. Take the right action steps. Make great people connections. And, above all, stay confident and positive.”

“The business of small business is no easy feat.” You can quote me on that.

Feel free to add your comments about how you handle being at the crossroads and deciding what action steps to take.

After the speech ... lead with the news

Get more mileage out of speeches by writing them "news style" for newsletters and press releases. (Photo by Liz Cezat)

Leading with the news is one of the best ways to get a reader’s attention. When it comes to reporting on an executive’s speech, many corporate publications and association newsletters write a lead only telling who spoke and where they spoke – rather than what was said.  Then, the writer may throw in a bunch of background information, such as the audience included members of an ad hoc committee that is working on shoring up quality standards in the industry. (ho hum).

Who wants to sift through a bunch of corporate-speak before getting to the meat of the article? If written news style (typically how journalists write for print media and corporate newsletters), the lead sentences should contain the elements of “who, what, when and where” – “why” is optional.  

The “what” would be the most important take-away from the speech. Any good speech typically has one to three main points that the speaker wants the audience to know. The other main points can be elaborated on further down in the article. But they too should come before a wordy explanation of what the ad hoc committee does.

Think of an inverted pyramid, with the most important information at the widest point (or at the beginning of an article), supported by details as you read on. The very end of the article – the tip of the pyramid – should contain the background information that is nice to have but not essential to the story. That way, if readers don’t finish the article, they still have the main take-away points.

The beauty of using a freelance writer, such as myself, is that I know how to structure the article (or press release) to get the key concepts across in an informative and engaging manner. Too often, the staff writer may actually only be wearing that hat in addition to performing HR functions. Or, the staff writer may be too immersed in industry jargon to deliver the news from the speech in a fresh, reader-friendly manner.

Take a look at your company's press releases regarding speeches and see what approach is taken. Is it "corporate speak" or news style?

13 ways to make life better in 2013

Irma Thomas, Soul Queen of New Orleans, performed rousing spirituals at Noel Night in Detroit. 

Photo by Liz Cezat.

These “daily living tips” can apply to both your personal and professional life. I’m a bit rusty practicing some of these, but know they have the power to keep me grounded and also soar. I debated about whether to put this on my professional or personal blog, but decided on the former to give you a sense of who I am aside from being a writer and marketing consultant.

May this be a great year for you and those you are closest to. Here are my top 13 tips:

1.     Love. It’s the most important thing in life.

2.     Fix things that are broken. (Your relationship. Your car. Your computer. Your house. Your clothing. Your skis. You get the picture.) The more things are left broken, the harder they are to repair or replace – cost-wise and psychologically.

3.     Find your strengths and skills and apply them daily. It will give you a sense of accomplishment.

4.     Eat vegetables. It helps ward off disease.

5.     Find a sport or exercise that you like and do it regularly. I’ve been swimming three miles a week for nearly 30 years. A woman that I met at the fitness center has been running 20 miles a week for 25 years. Your exercise regimen doesn’t have to impress anyone, it just needs to make you feel good & stay fit.

6.     Pay attention to your money. I’m reading Suze Orman books so I don’t fear money management.

7.     When things get rough for you, help someone else. Let people know you are having a setback, so they can give you some support.

8.     Smile at a stranger. It will make you feel better, especially if they smile back.

9.     Motivate one another. A compliment. An attaboy. It empowers us to do our best. I’m writing this blog post because I was inspired by Scott Frangos, who gave me an endorsement for social media on LinkedIn.

10. Organize your office, your home, your closets, your car. You can find things faster and get rid of things that bog down your life.

11.  Plan something.  A party. A vacation. Lunch with a business associate. A seminar. It gives you something to look forward to.

12. Don’t over think anything. Perform an action that puts into practice what you are thinking.

13. Find a spiritual outlet. For me, it’s God. But it’s also nature. I pray the rosary for those who are sick or in need of prayers.

Let me know what you think of these and feel free to add some of your own.

Time for a grammar tune-up?

I’m dismayed at the number of blogs, news articles and reviews that contain bad grammar. It’s not rocket science, yet many educated people (yes, even those with Master’s degrees and PhDs) often get tangled up in the proper use of the English language. Here is a quick primer:

Their (refers to people) vs. there (refers to a place)

They’re (contraction for “they are”) vs. there, which refers to a place (noted above)

It’s (means “it is”) vs. its,  a pronoun that shows possession (e.g.: its passage)
Proper usage: It’s cold outside. Let’s see if we can find its master. (referring to a dog’s owner)

Here’s a quick test to check if contractions are used correctly. Use the real words to see if the sentence still makes sense. For example, in the above sentence, it doesn’t make sense to say, “it’s master,” which translates to “it is master.”

To clarify, a contraction substitutes an apostrophe (‘) for part of the word. Why? Perhaps to save space. Maybe it was an early adaptation of texting – condensing two words into one.

Moving on then…

To (expressing motion or direction toward a point, person, place) vs. too (means excessive: too many, too much). Improper usage: “I had to much to eat.” (first “to” should be “too”; second “to” is correct)

When you see a red or green squiggly line under copy, something is wrong. Do a spell-check in Word or cut and paste the word into Dictionary.com to verify the spelling and/or usage.

Even Hollywood knows the importance of good communication. You may recall a classic line from the cops and robbers’ movie “Heat” set in L.A. in the ‘90s. Police lieutenant Vincent Hanna (played by Al Pacino) was a superb communicator. Early on, he was arguing with his wife Justine, played by the amazing Diane Venora, over how much he worked.*

He intoned, “I say what I mean and do what I say.”

Diane did not exactly melt at the statement but she took notice. Vincent's credibility was ratcheted up among viewers, who could see that he was a man of his word. I know this line wasn’t original to Mr. Pacino but he gets credit for making it stick. He did a great service to English teachers and consultants who work tirelessly to communicate well and help others do so.

If your associates or employees need more in-depth help than this blog can provide, contact me about conducting an on-site seminar. I will discuss common mistakes made in writing; how to shorten and clarify e-mails; the need to proof and reread copy (reports, articles, e-mails) before submitting; and how to become a better communicator through effective writing. Check it out here: http://www.cezatcreative.com/expertise.html (Click on the PDF “presentations” attachment at the bottom of the Expertise page.)

I much prefer writing to editing, but need to share my pet peeves in the hope that these mistakes will never occur again!

Please report back on your success of changing bad grammar as well as glaring errors that you’ve seen. Measurement is a critical component of success.

*This is how I remembered it, without re-watching the movie.

Image: Maggie Smith / FreeDigitalPhotos.net