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What’s Next on the Personal MBA

I really love the Personal MBA – and am starting to see myself as a real business woman for the first time in my life. If you had told me 6 years ago that I would be successfully running my own business at 28, I would have told you that you were crazy. But somehow life has brought me here – and although the ride hasn’t always been smooth – it’s definitely been an adventure. So what am I reading next on The Personal MBA? Next up is – The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker.

Sprint Again

I didn’t think it would be possible for Sprint to mess up my bill again – after what happened back in August. But – it looks like I’m still being charged for my night and weekend minutes. Ugh – let’s hope I don’t have to go through this again.

Finding a Doctor You Can Trust

I don’t like going to the Doctor – and I generally avoid it whenever possible. But since I had SmartLipo – which even though it is non-invasive – is still a surgery, I’ve been thinking about the different doctors I’ve had throughout the years. When I was in college and going to the campus “QuackShack” I used to have this really scary doctor. He would make a lot of jokes like a used car salesman – and was just very intense. Then I had a woman doctor for a couple of years who was very efficient and businesslike – but had absolutely no bedside manner. Plus – it was like she had me on a 5 minute time limit. Every time I went to visit her – she would speak to me for exactly 5 minutes before rushing off to see another patient.

Which is why this most recent experience has struck me as being so refreshing. I had my smart lipo procedure done at The Skin and Vein Laser Center by Dr. Bergeron. Dr. B (yes – he’s cool enough to have a nickname) – is the kind of doctor who can make you feel comfortable in the most embarrassing of situations (including standing nearly naked in front of him while he draws lines on your body). Plus – he’s never too busy to sit down and answer any questions I might have. So I thought I would make up a quick checklist for what to look for in the perfect doctor for you:

1. Know the kind of doctor you’ll jive with. Remember that Doctor I had back in College? Well – my mother (who attended college with me) – absolutely loved him. She thought he was the greatest doctor since sliced bread. Different personality types require a different approach. So start off by finding a doctor who fits your style.
2. Make sure he/she passes the Trust Test. Having a doctor who is open, honest, and genuine is critical to your health – and might even save your life one day. Ask lots of questions – and really listen to the answers.
3. Trust your own instincts. Use the same criteria for picking a doctor as you would with picking a friend. If something doesn’t feel right to you – than chances are this isn’t the right doctor for you.
4. Word-of-Mouth referrals and reputable online directory are a good place to start searching for your next doctor. Also – talk to patients in the waiting room and find out what they think of the doctor on your first visit.

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• Day 3 – Sprint Customer Service Woes, Time Management, & Errant Errands
• Day 29: Luck of Seven in Houston – AIR Dinner – Houston It’s Worth It Launch Party
• Day 28: What’s in Your Feeds? – If Wittgenstein Was Right…I’m In Trouble – Noel Arrives Tomorrow
• Day 27: A Tony Robbins Moment – Why Questions Matter – Transformational Vocabulary

Getting Things Done (For Real)

Chances are you’ve probably read David Allen’s Getting Things Done – The Art of Stress Free Productivity. I recently re-read GTD again as part of The Personal MBA Program. I think it’s an amazing system – but what I love most about GTD is the idea of getting everything that is blocking your creativity – out of your head – and into a trusted system. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to determine what that system should be for me. With my Clients at Peanut Butter Media I use BaseCamp and it’s great – but at the end of the day – as great as it is – it’s not the perfect “trusted system”. Enter Tracks.

Tracks

Tracks is a web-based application built in Ruby on Rails to help implement the GTD methodology. If you’re looking for the perfect online companion to GTD I couldn’t recommend anything more. The only real draw back to using Tracks is that it’s fairly complicated to install. I like to install it locally on my laptop so that I can use it with or without an internet connection – since my laptop usually goes with me everywhere. Here’s a screenshot of what the Tracks interface looks like:

As you can see from the Screenshots left – Tracks puts everything on your Next Action list into a specific context. This makes it really easy to focus on doing the Right Things at the Right Time.

Avenue Q

What did you do for Halloween this year? I went to see Avenue Q at the Hobby Center in Houston. All I can say is WOW! Of course the production was far racier than I ever would have imagined – but it was also perfectly timed. Robert Mcclure (pictured left) did a fabulous job playing multiple roles including one of the main characters Princeton – and Rod. Throughout the entire performance I was dying to meet him – he had an amazing energy. So – imagine my surprise when on exiting the theatre – I ran right into him and got to chat with him briefly (and shake his hand). It’s amazing how the universe will put you exactly where you would like to be.

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• Day 29: Luck of Seven in Houston – AIR Dinner – Houston It’s Worth It Launch Party
• Day 28: What’s in Your Feeds? – If Wittgenstein Was Right…I’m In Trouble – Noel Arrives Tomorrow
• Day 27: A Tony Robbins Moment – Why Questions Matter – Transformational Vocabulary

Personal MBA

As part of my ReinventingErica project I’m working my way through the Personal MBA program developed by Josh Kaufman. Today I spent time organizing my reading for the weeks ahead. Each book will be read in a 3-4 day period – and I’ll be posting reviews on 1-2 books here each week. If you’re in Houston and are interested in joining me on the Personal MBA program send me an email at: erica@reinventingerica.com and I’ll be sure to invite you to a bi-weekly meetup to discuss that weeks latest lessons in Business and Entrepreneurship.

Honoring Commitments

I’d like to make a confession. I procrastinate. Bad. And I’m not alone. You probably procrastinate too. One of the things I would most like to get a hold on in the next 90-days is finishing all current projects and closing all open loops. To help facilitate this – I will be publicly sharing my daily, weekly, and monthly To-Do Lists. I’ll also be asking for some gentle pressure from each of you – when you see that I’m not honoring my commitments – let me know by voicing your thoughts here on the site. Thanks in advance for your support.

GTD Revisited

GTD stands for Getting Things Done, and was popularized by David Allen’s book of the same name. GTD works by taking everything out of your head – and putting it into a trusted system. Feeling overwhelmed is one of the largest barriers to creativity. It’s nearly impossible to work if you have too much on your mind. Using GTD you can start cutting down on the “noise” in your life and start concentrating on what really matters. Over the next 3 days, I will be (re)implementing the GTD program in my life. Stay tuned for photos, details, and links to helpful GTD resources so that you can create your own system.

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Scheduling – and wondering why my dress has holes in it?

So I know it looks like I’ve taken on a lot for the next 90 days – which is why a detailed schedule is crucial for success. Like most of you – I have a real job (well real in the sense that there is work to be done). I don’t subscribe to the 8-5 mentality of the corporate world – so I generally end up doing the bulk of my work in the evenings. Which frees my mornings up for things like – sleep. Of course – if this little adventure is going to be a success – I’m gonna have to sleep in less and maybe even reset my circadian rhythms.

According to my calculations this little adventure ends on December 2nd. I’ve drawn up a rough map of what the next few weeks look like.

I decided that the most effective place to start would be with The Personal MBA. I have a printed copy of The Personal MBA Manifesto from Changethis.com. Apparently this is an old version – because the parent site currently has an updated and revised reading list and manifesto. So the question becomes – which program should I follow – The Original? The New & Improved? Or a Combination of Both?

Since I only have a limited amount of time – I’ve decided to pick 1-2 books from each category and try to get through as many of them as possible in 90-days. Mixing and matching from the new and old programs I have chosen the following books. Some because I’ve always wanted to read them – or in some cases re-read them. Others because I found myself resisting them – it’s good to do things we fear – even if it’s just reading a book.

Reading List

• Personal Effectiveness
  • Getting Things Done by David Allen
  • The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker
• Speak Your Mind
  • On Writing Well by William Zinsser
  • Flawless Consulting by Peter Block
• Do Your Own Thing
  • The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
  • The Bootstrapper’s Bible by Seth Godin
  • The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
• Rules & Morals
  • Law 101 by Jay M. Feinman
  • A Primer on Business Ethics by Tibor Machan & James Chesher
• Economics, Financing, & Accounting
  • Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
  • How to Read a Financial Report by John A. Tracy
  • The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Finance for Nonfinancial Managers
• Strategy
  • Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies by Nikos Mourkogiannis
  • Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
  • Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter
• Analyze This
  • The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
  • Principles of Statistics by M.G. Bulmer
• Commercialization
  • The Art of Project Management by Scott Berkun
  • Citizen Marketers by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba
• Applied Psychology
  • How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  • Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
• Management
  • Growing Great Employees by Erika Andersen
  • First, Break All The Rules by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
• Business History & Reference
  • The Books of Business Wisdom Series by Peter Krass
  • Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days by Jessica Livingston
  • Business: The Ultimate Resource (2nd Edition) from Basic Books

That’s a pretty decent list – I’m sure that I left off a few of the Greats – but I won’t quit after 90 Days – just to be sure we get to them all. It looks like I’m going to have somewhere on average of 3 days to read each of the books on this list. After the first week – I may go back and revise the list up or down depending on my progress.

I’ll start by re-reading Getting Things Done by David Allen – followed by The Effective Executive.

Health & Fitness

Tomorrow Morning I’ll be drawing up my fitness plan – including my gym schedule for the next two weeks. I’ll also be meeting with Natalie to discuss my diet and nutrition goals. This is a short week because I’ll be leaving Thursday Night for Austin – where I will be attending a 3-day seminar called The Landmark Forum.

I’ll also be researching SmartLipo and learning more about my different medical weight loss options. Oh – and coding up the Snazzy new design for my site – which Greg is working on now

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• Day 27: A Tony Robbins Moment – Why Questions Matter – Transformational Vocabulary
• Day 26: A Forgotten Art – On Writing – On Becoming A Writer
• Day 25: Media, Media, Everywhere – Seesmic: I Have Finally Arrived – Utterz: Be Herd