Comments on: No Pressure, No Diamonds. http://www.davidwmullen.com/2009/10/01/no-pressure-no-diamonds/ David Mullen on PR, Integrated Communications and Social Media Mon, 06 Jun 2011 03:58:50 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Keith Trivitt http://www.davidwmullen.com/2009/10/01/no-pressure-no-diamonds/#comment-3980 Keith Trivitt Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:44:39 +0000 http://www.davidwmullen.com/?p=1836#comment-3980 David - This quote is getting printed out right now and going up on my office bulletin board ... I absolutely love the simplicity, yet powerful truthfulness of that quote. Lately, I have noticed myself falling into a bad trap that I really work very hard to avoid, and that is the one you mention above, the "woe is me, how will I/we ever get out of this mess?" dilemma. I can't stand that for myself, personally, and I certainly can't stand that for those who work with me on projects. What I work really hard to do to avoid this and to overcome these immense obstacles is two things: 1. Take a walk. Unless it's a breaking crisis situation that requires the "all-hands on deck" immediate response from you and everyone on your team, I really thrive when I momentarily take myself out of a situation to find a better perspective on something. I'm a hyper person by nature, so on the flip side of this, stress and pressure tend to build up pretty quickly inside me. Therefore, walks are key for me to break a problem down, no matter how big it is, figure out the key components that need to be dealt with right away, and then try to piece together every part of our solution to ensure that no other major problems arise and that hopefully, we find a positive (in the end) out of this difficult situation. 2. Break the problem down. You simply have to do this, in my opinion. If you try to tackle a major problem, say a Web site for a big client launch isn't ready due to some coding glitch, even though it has been promised to the media and public for two weeks, you're simply going to get overwhelmed and never find a viable solution. Break it down. What needs to be done first to enact a chain of positive events to happen in order to piece together the solution and move forward? Who are the key people and contacts you will need throughout this situation to resolve the issue? Those are my tactics ... great subject, and definitely something I'm thinking about now! @KeithTrivitt David – This quote is getting printed out right now and going up on my office bulletin board … I absolutely love the simplicity, yet powerful truthfulness of that quote.

Lately, I have noticed myself falling into a bad trap that I really work very hard to avoid, and that is the one you mention above, the “woe is me, how will I/we ever get out of this mess?” dilemma. I can’t stand that for myself, personally, and I certainly can’t stand that for those who work with me on projects. What I work really hard to do to avoid this and to overcome these immense obstacles is two things:

1. Take a walk. Unless it’s a breaking crisis situation that requires the “all-hands on deck” immediate response from you and everyone on your team, I really thrive when I momentarily take myself out of a situation to find a better perspective on something. I’m a hyper person by nature, so on the flip side of this, stress and pressure tend to build up pretty quickly inside me. Therefore, walks are key for me to break a problem down, no matter how big it is, figure out the key components that need to be dealt with right away, and then try to piece together every part of our solution to ensure that no other major problems arise and that hopefully, we find a positive (in the end) out of this difficult situation.

2. Break the problem down. You simply have to do this, in my opinion. If you try to tackle a major problem, say a Web site for a big client launch isn’t ready due to some coding glitch, even though it has been promised to the media and public for two weeks, you’re simply going to get overwhelmed and never find a viable solution. Break it down. What needs to be done first to enact a chain of positive events to happen in order to piece together the solution and move forward? Who are the key people and contacts you will need throughout this situation to resolve the issue?

Those are my tactics … great subject, and definitely something I’m thinking about now!

@KeithTrivitt

]]> By: Gretchen Ramsey http://www.davidwmullen.com/2009/10/01/no-pressure-no-diamonds/#comment-3979 Gretchen Ramsey Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:43:52 +0000 http://www.davidwmullen.com/?p=1836#comment-3979 Diamonds are a girl's best friend. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.

]]> By: Bryna http://www.davidwmullen.com/2009/10/01/no-pressure-no-diamonds/#comment-3978 Bryna Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:21:38 +0000 http://www.davidwmullen.com/?p=1836#comment-3978 What a great maxim for both our professional and personal lives! I really enjoyed this post. Thanks for sharing. I needed it :) What a great maxim for both our professional and personal lives! I really enjoyed this post. Thanks for sharing. I needed it :)

]]> By: David Teicher @Aerocles http://www.davidwmullen.com/2009/10/01/no-pressure-no-diamonds/#comment-3977 David Teicher @Aerocles Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:34:32 +0000 http://www.davidwmullen.com/?p=1836#comment-3977 Love that phrase. I think an extension of it would be indicative of a problem I've been encountering when it comes to people's perceptions and expectations of social media. That is to say, there's this catch 22. Brands want 'Results' from social media investments. Yet, their hesitance to embrace the medium results in a 'Half-Assed' approach that all too often leads to poor return, confirming their initial suspicions, even though it was their own fault & beliefs that lead to the the actualization of this self-fulfilling prophecy. Confusing but true. While "No Pressure No Diamonds" is a mantra we can chant to help get us through the day and overcome impediments, I need a phrase that conveys this truism on a larger scale - without commitment, expenditure of respectable efforts, there will never be any reward. I need a phrase that condenses this message but nothing as kitchy or cliche as "No Pain No Gain" Can someone help me out here? Love that phrase. I think an extension of it would be indicative of a problem I’ve been encountering when it comes to people’s perceptions and expectations of social media. That is to say, there’s this catch 22. Brands want ‘Results’ from social media investments. Yet, their hesitance to embrace the medium results in a ‘Half-Assed’ approach that all too often leads to poor return, confirming their initial suspicions, even though it was their own fault & beliefs that lead to the the actualization of this self-fulfilling prophecy.

Confusing but true. While “No Pressure No Diamonds” is a mantra we can chant to help get us through the day and overcome impediments, I need a phrase that conveys this truism on a larger scale – without commitment, expenditure of respectable efforts, there will never be any reward. I need a phrase that condenses this message but nothing as kitchy or cliche as “No Pain No Gain”

Can someone help me out here?

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