I now know I am not the only one who feels that everything — EVERYTHING — is moving too damn fast. Too many feeds. Too much info. Too much news. Too many celebrities. Too many companies. Too many opinions. Too much work to do. Too many expectations. Too fast. Too much.
Yes, it is exciting to live in such a dynamic marketplace, but the need to be "always on" in terms of monitoring and responding to this 24×7 world means that we are drained of the energy to be creative and proactive. It takes a Herculean effort to think outside the proverbial box if you feel as if you are always running on the proverbial hamster wheel.
We hired this clever blogger, Flackette. We hired her in large part because of her blogging prowess; we like her style; she "gets it." But she is immediately too bogged down with work (good exciting work, but work all the same) to blog! Too busy, Flackette? I sympathize.
I saw the (poorly named, by me) "Stowememe" rage on, and I was really quite baffled by the willful ignorance on display — not about "blogging" or about "markets as conversations" but about what good "Public Relations" can do for clients. (Hint: it’s not just about press releases. It’s not just about "ink.") Thank goodness, a PR professor finally weighed in. I hope anyone who reads Stowe Boyd’s rantings also reads Robert French’s belated-but-cogent response. Point is — speaking for myself — I was literally overwhelmed by the umpteen ways I wanted to respond to that meme, so I begged off. Too busy.
We’ve closed some really, really great accounts lately; each one more interesting and enriching than the one that came before it. But now we’re being forced to beg-off when new prospects call. Too busy. Our work is going to suffer if our teams are in continual "ramp up the new client" mode.
Am I happy? Yes! Very! All I’m wishin’ for is "more of the same" — but maybe with a bit of pacing.
It snowed yesterday in Boston. The snow turned to ice overnight. I spent this morning on my hands & knees, dusted with kitty-litter, sweating and straining to hoist my car out of an icy snow drift as my beautiful wife — in her boots and ducky PJs — gunned the engine. Afterwards, the slush-drenched roads made traffic miserable. I was well over an hour late to work.
Best morning I’ve had in months.
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Might I recommend the book “Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything” by James Gleick? (The paperback had “FSTR JMS GLCK” on the cover, because vowels are just too damned redundant.)
It’s been out a few years, but his micro-essays read more true today than when I picked up the book in 2001.
Todd:
Great post … it’s not always the time involved that gets me, but the mental strain of juggling multiple assignments and trying to be smart all the time.
Blogging requires the same type of mental commitment … that’s something we don’t realize when we start!
Thank you, Todd.
I was also overwhelmed with all the ways I wanted to respond. So, I waited, too.
The point about the broad scope of PR practice is the one I wish the enthusiasts and critics would bear in mind. The rant part was, of course, just me venting the frustration.
Probably a good thing I waited this long to post.
Todd - I posted on similar mental frustrations recently and feel there is a need for a way of coping with the non-linear multi-thinking that I want and need to do today. If you’ve any ideas - stop by my blog and let me know.
On the “strategic” PR front, I’m a fellow champion. The more we keep correcting those with “press release” mentalities the better. Thanks.
I am going to have to agree with you here. So much I have begged off of in order to just get my hands into my client work. I don’t know about you, but the work has never been more fulfilling, yet busy. I will join your chorus for pacing. That is what I have been trying to achieve, though it leaves me out of some great “conversations” from time to time.
The market is really popping right now. We are working flat out with many new biz proposals out for consideration. This is so much more fun than cold calling, don’t you agree?
Todd, great post — would have commented sooner, but I was too…well, you know what I mean
“Pacing”?
Fish while the fishin’s good, and hopefully you catch enough for when they ain’t a bitin’!
Mike
Yes, yes - we are fishing while the fishing is good, and making hay while the sun is shining, and saving for a rainy day.
My concern, in the post, is that we may be over-fishing the waters. If the net is always in the water, the tireless fishermen will start to make mistakes. And they might forget to stop (occasionally) to smell the flowers.
Even worse, Todd:
If you’re nets are always in the water, when will you patch them?