Would you willingly take on a project that had all the signs of being a real pain in the tookus? That’s the question fellow Texan and business blogger Laura Spencer asked not long ago in her post, Should You Accept an “Ugly Duckling” Project?

The questions struck a chord for me (sound of F^# major-minor augmented chord) – because I once did exactly that.

You know how, especially during warm summer months – when you see the clouds building, and the breeze freshens up rather suddenly, and off in the distance you can hear the rolling thunder – well, you know pretty soon there’s gonna be a humdinger of a storm, right? Yeah, it was like that.

When my manager and I first heard about this particular project (it was only a potential project at that time), we both recognized immediately there would be serious challenges in store for whoever took it on. If I recall correctly, I think our initial conclusions went something like this: a) it’ll never finish on schedule, b) it’ll go way over budget, c) it’s critical to plant operations (increasing the risk), and what’s more, d) it’s sure to be a high-profile project.

Well as it turned out, a) it didn’t, b) it did, c) it was and d) yes-a-rooni!

The irony (which as you know means made entirely of iron) goes even farther, too. I asked for the project. Yep, sometimes I’m crazy like that.

Now, of Laura’s five reasons to prove your insanity take on an ugly duckling project, that second one, “Your chance to shine” is why I asked for it. I recognized right off it would be an opportunity to manage a “stand out” project. And Bubba, stand out it did!

Warning Signs

Now, it wasn’t a particularly complex project or anything. No new technology, or even anything fancy. At its most basic, it was simply an equipment replacement. But here’s the four main reasons why it was so significant:

Budget – Normally, our particular group managed what’s termed “small projects” – usually up to about $5 million in total installed cost. However, in this case the equipment being replaced was rather expensive, making the estimate at nearly 4 times that amount. Although it was unusual for us to handle one of this size, it said something about the client’s confidence in our capabilities, and we had no intention of letting them down. (In fact, our company handled any-size projects, including multi-billion-dollar ones; it’s just that my particular group focused on these small projects only.)

Schedule – Typically, every project undergoes a scheduling process that first determines its duration, then coordinates a start date with all the other projects going on (usually 60-75 at a time). Sometimes, though, one comes along with a fixed “need date” much earlier than normal, hence the name: “fast track”. Alas, this particular project was not only on the fast track – it was an LGV high-speed express train at that (sound of terrified scream)!

Criticality – One thing that determines the need for a fast track schedule is the criticality of the project. In this case, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, this one was almost an 11! That usually means the existing equipment is about to fail at any moment. The bad news: if it does, the plant shuts down (resulting in several hundred thousand $$$ per day in lost revenues). Needless to say, they needed the new installation, and they needed it now! (Never mind that it should have been started a year or two earlier. But it’s OK; I’m over it now.)

Scrutiny – We handled so many project at any given time, it was unusual for any specific one to be singled out for special attention. Ordinarily the only ones they discussed in the Manager’s meetings were projects that varied from expectations in some shape or form (exceeded budget by a specified percentage, critical delays, etc.; that sort of thing). But this one had a guaranteed front-row seat at every meeting, thanks to its huge size and compressed schedule. Translation: they were watching it – and me – like a flock of hawks at a groundhog convention!

OK, now you know the score; you’re probably wondering how it worked out, right? Uh, right? (Either that or you’ve already moved on to the next blog in your RSS reader.)

The Best Laid Plans…

Well, as I indicated earlier, things didn’t… quite… go as the client had hoped. Sometimes even the best laid plans aren’t worth, as they say in East Texas, a hill o’ beans. I’m telling ya, we swooshed by their original deadline like the Silver Streak on steroids. And the budget – well, suffice it to say their initial estimates turned out to be several years old by the time we got actual, you know, real world pricing.

What kept the local antacid distribution company in business, though, was the onset of winter (the project was located in a north central U.S. state). The old equipment was in pretty bad shape, with a very real possibility that accumulating ice might cause the existing equipment to collapse.

Hey, we did our best, but unfortunately there wasn’t much we could do to speed things up much; at the time, most contractors were pretty much operating at full capacity already. (You know all that faldera you hear on the news about the economy being so terrible? Not true; just look at production - it’s off the charts!)

As things turned out, though, the key to success wasn’t a matter of managing the project. Hey, we had that part pretty well covered, if I do say so myself. I mean, project management is what we do, you know?

The REAL Challenge

No, the real challenge (and what most contributed to that suave, debonair “silver-haired” look you see in my photo) was managing the client’s expectations.

See, the biggest issue was the ridiculously abbreviated schedule. Everyone on the client’s side seemed to think that just because you could make it work on paper, then hey, it’s a done deal. But as we all know, the real world has a way of jumping up and biting you on the, er, brains, you know?

Believe me, the real world had a lot to say! There were unusually heavy rains, for instance, that literally flooded the entire area for several days. (I’m not kidding; it was so deep, the construction crews threw together an impromptu dock for Noah’s Ark, just in case.)

And, as winter deepened, ice accumulations often hindered foundation work as well as material deliveries. (Our contractors even tried to send a special team to northern Canada to see if they could find a few Inuit looking for work. Just kidding; they couldn’t find a dog sled going in the right direction.)

Then there were financing issues. It takes time to release that much money from most companies’ tight little fists, you know. Several times they had to essentially shut down the project until money could be released for the next stage of construction. Sheesh, if I had been a partaker of alcoholic beverages (gave it up 30 years ago), I’d have been a goner!

But still, no matter how capricious Mother Nature acted, the client still seemed to operate on a “perfect world” scenario. Oh, well; that’s how it goes sometimes.

Amazingly enough (and to everyone’s happy surprise) the old installation did NOT fall down under the weight of ice that winter. Spring arrived, and construction finally finished, leaving only the start-up and certification tasks to be completed. After everything was said and done, the project finally managed to creak its way into operation (around the beginning of Summer).

As for me, I managed to get a kudo or two in my record for having had to manage such a difficult project. Even though we didn’t even come close to hitting the original budget or schedule (because they were so unrealistic – and it was acknowledged by the client), it still got chalked up as a success for me personally.

For example, one of our performance indicators is the Total Dollar Value of all projects managed. In my case, this one project alone pushed my tracking numbers way up there; higher than anyone else’s at the time. So, even though the project had its share of difficulties, I was given high marks just for having this project on my record.

And so it went.

So What About You?

But enough about me; let’s talk about you!

Ever faced this kind of problem challenge experience? Yup; I dare say most of us have. Perhaps it’s inevitable that, sooner or later, we’ll all have to have to learn how to deal with unreasonable expectations from a client. (And for the sake of discussion, client can also be interpreted as: boss, spouse, friend, offspring, pet – hey, fill in as appropriate here.) So here’s today’s questions:

When did you last encounter issues with client expectations? Did you end up praying for a miracle, or was there some specific way you managed them? What’s your favorite technique for managing them? How did it turn out? Any techniques that work better than others? In what circumstances are they best? Got any good tips for us here – and care to share ‘em with the rest of us?

Great news, y’all!

Finally, and after much sweat, tears, anguish and gnashing of teeth (yuck; who comes up with these disgusting metaphors, anyway?), the final 2008 Age of Conversation author list has finally been finalized! What’s more, it’s going to be even bigger and better than last year’s version: there are 237 of us this time (as opposed to 103 in the original 2007 edition).

Do yourself a favor and check these folks’ blogs out. You might be surprised and impressed by what you find:

Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

Now, unlike some authors (I won’t mention any *ahem* names), I will NOT give you a sneak preview of the chapter I wrote. Nope; you’ll have to buy the book (hey, it’s for Charity, after all).

On the other hand, I can’t very well leave you hangin’ now, can I? So for your edification, I’ll let you see it as a Wordle image:

Actually, this post serves as something of a Public Service Announcement. (You know, one of those things you see on TV or hear on the radio where people or organizations publicly demonstrate they’re watching out for your welfare.)

So consider this post as fair warning: You folks up in the Chicago area (laughingly known to us Texans as “the frozen north”) – well, you’d better hide the silverware! Yep, that’s right; I’m on my way to Chicago on May 2 for the Next Big Thing – SOBCon08 (sound of women and children screaming in fear crowd cheering)!

Liz Strauss, Terry Starbucker, and the whole gang have really gone all-out to make this year’s edition of SOBCon a huge success, and believe you me, it shows! Dubbed as a “Biz School for Bloggers”, it promises to once again be the keystone event of the year:

Whether for love or money, if you blog for readers or community, you’re in the business of blogging. This conference can help you achieve your goals, faster with more confidence, and more predictably.

I must admit, I spent a lot of time trying to decide whether or not SOBCon08 was right for me or not. After all, the Middle Zone isn’t a business (it’s really more of a state of mind), and I don’t monetize it in any way, shape or form – other than the priceless currency of your readership and good fellowship. But that’s not really what caused me to hesitate.

To tell you the truth, I didn’t understand the value proposition. I mean, when you get right down to it, what is it about SOBCon08 that justifies the not insignificant cost? To put it bluntly, what’s in it for me? (C’mon, admit it; if you’re still unsure about going then you’re probably thinking the same thing.) Naturally, being the pragmatic fellow that I am, I started to wonder – just what are the benefits?

After all, even though I don’t monetize the Middle Zone, that doesn’t mean I won’t try to make money from blogging someday, right? After all, as more and more businesses turn to blogging to get closer to their customers (and quite a few other reasons), the chances are pretty good that I’ll need to better understand the business of blogging, right? Besides, we’re not necessarily talking here about hard cash, you know.

So, if you’re like me (and if you are, I offer my sincere condolences), in no particular order allow me to count the ways…

Knowledge – Like I said, knowing how to do something is never a bad thing, even if you don’t actually, you know, do it. Besides, you never know when you might be able to synthesize that knowledge into some other endeavor, right? Like my old scoutmaster always used to say, “Be prepared.”

Ideas – There’s nothing like being with a large, like-minded (yet still diverse) group of folks to stir up the ol’ creative juices! Not only will you get to hear from 200+ others, at some point we’ll be working in teams to help each other build business plans, action plans, and maybe plain old share an idea or two – whacky or otherwise – that could be useful to us and our customers. This could be worth the price of admission all by itself.

Relationships – It’s a chance to meet up with the folks we may only know electronically. At the last SOBCon, I was still relatively new at it, and didn’t really know too many people. Since then, however, I’ve forged some wonderful relationships – many of whom (or is it who?) will actually be there too. What a great way to strengthen the bonds of friendship! For me, this is probably the biggest immediate benefit. But who knows where it can lead?

Show Off – I know this sounds a bit odd, but the fact is, many of us have grown considerably during the last year. Hey, here’s a chance to demonstrate your own expertise. C’mon; take a bow, why don’t you – there’s nothing wrong with that! After all, we make money off our expertise every day, right? Besides, it gives the rest of us a chance to celebrate and encourage each other, too.

Networking – I’m tellin’ ya, ever since I realized the value of networking for life, I’ve tried never to miss the opportunity. Although in person I tend to be rather shy and retiring (no, really!), it’s something I’ve made myself do because, well, we all benefit from knowing as many people as possible. And I don’t mean just their names, either.

Hey, there’s plenty more than these few things I just listed, but I didn’t want to hog ‘em all. If you’re still sittin’ on the fence, though – well Bubba, why not take a moment to consider these five thoughts. Heck, add your own reasons, why don’cha!

I can tell you this – SOBCon08 promises to add up to one exciting event! Do yourself a favor and drop by the site and sign up. Hey, if you do decide to come, then by all means, drop me a note and let me know. And be sure and tap me on the shoulder (just look for the hat); I’d be downright honored to meet you. I’ll be staying at the Hotel 71 around the corner, so I’ll be close by.

In the meantime, to you folks in Chicago… like I said, you’d better hide the silverware!

See ya!

Instead of a regular post, today I’d like to take a moment and acknowledge those of you kind enough to respond to my question from last Monday (Busy, Busy, Busy…). In case you missed, forgot, or otherwise ignored it, I asked the question:

What do you do when you haven’t read your RSS feed for a week, and there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of entries? Do you…

• Mark them all ‘read’ and start fresh
• Painstakingly read, or at least glance, at every one
• Only read your favorites and dump the rest
• ______________ (fill in the blank)

Now ordinarily, I prefer to give every comment its own individual reply; it makes the conversation far more personal, don’t you think? Besides, you guys are worth the extra effort! Er, unless I’m swamped, in which case I usually aggregate my responses into a single comment or two.

Alas and darn; last week, as I mentioned Friday, I was suffering from a combination of factors, a sortof “perfect storm” of things that just pulled me completely under for awhile. It’s a poor excuse for not responding, I know, but there it is.

But I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you – I wasn’t! But as your responses began to accumulate, I decided to acknowledge your contributions in a formal post instead of just the comment box. Hence this post.

I suppose one of those little poll thingies would have provided a more formal survey, but I freely admit it just seemed like waaaaaay too much work at the time… Anyhoo; I truly appreciate your contributions, and many thanks to those of you who took the time to comment!

Here are your comments (and in an experiment with color, here are my responses):

Brad Shorr – Painstakingly read, etc. Not a pleasant task, but I just can’t bring my self to ignore anything.

I must admit to being a bit, well, anal about this, too – at least, normally. But I’m simply not able to keep it up when there are this many posts to keep up with *sigh*.

Hey, Brad, do you live in my computer like Liz does? The ink on my post was barely dry when your comment showed up! Sheesh!

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Chip Camden – Skim your favorites and mark the rest “read”. Give yourself a break.

Gee, Chip, that sounds nice – ‘give myself a break’. Actually, that’s more-or-less what I ended up doing. But I can’t help feeling a bit guilty. Sad, I know.

___________________

Mike DeWitt – I’m with Chip. Triage, baby! Life only lasts so long…

Well, that’s two for triage. Good way to think of it, too – thanks, Mike!

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Ellen Weber – Bob, you just named a problem that the busy folks out here all share! That’s why – the onus is on you to get it right. Why so?

If you sit and read a week’s worth of feeds – the rest of us will feel the guilt when we too travel with work.

If you race through the feed to get through endless posts your brain will fill with cortisol and you be cranky with family and friends you really care about!

If you be good to you – and move past the long list (skimming briefly for vital messages) … you’ll continue to be the leader you are … to laugh at the little things … and to inspire the rest of us to do the same.

Everybody’s approach will be different – but I suspect you’ll know the best one for you! Your friends are the same ones around on the other side of such dilemmas:-)

My 2-bits – but others may have better ideas:-) Stay well, friend:-)

Ellen, I can always count on you to see through the falderah and focus like a laser on the nub of the gist! Thanks for the sound advice. As you can no doubt tell, you’ve lots of company! Thank goodness friends remain friends, no matter what, though!

___________________

Joanna Young – I have a top 10 list of blogs (which MZM is on of course) that I visit as well as read. So if I’ve got behind I’d still try and pop in and visit them but mark everything else as read. Even then if you’re pushed, mark it all as read. If there was something you were ‘meant’ to read or know you’ll find it in another way.

Of course this doesn’t apply to my blog! If you’re short of time here’s one piece to read, and if you do have a spare 5 minutes, share your 4 x 4 sources of writing inspiration (by midnight Friday). I’m sure it would make a good read

Group Writing Project: 4 x 4 sources of writing inspiration

End of shameless plug!

Methinks I see a trend developing here.

Don’t worry, Joanna; Confident Writing is at the top of my “must-read” list! And I can take a hint (not to mention a club on the back of the head!) I’m sure by now you’ve seen my 4 x 4 contribution(s) – one serious, and one just for fun.

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William Tully – I’m with Joanna – have your top 10 list that are worth reading at all times, regardless of just how far behind you are. Then pick the few that you want to read out of the rest (likely the few who are #11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 on the top 10 list). The rest? Scroll baby, scroll! I just trust the brain to know when it sees something worth investigating – most goes by in a blurr, but every now and then the brain says “STOP!” simply because it noticed something good. Trust the brain… Trust the brain!!!

I hear ya, Tully – spoken like a true ‘internet twin’! Alas, that “trust the brain” thing will only work if the brain is trustworthy, and last week mine was fried! But like I said, I hear ya!

___________________

Scott – Just the faves man, just the faves.

Hey, thanks for stopping by and joining the fray, Scott. Looks like you’re in a very firm majority here!

___________________

Mother Earth – I am a just the faves kindof person and I also trust the skimming process – universe calls to attention what I need to know.

PS – I really wish I didn’t garage sale all my son’s dinosaurs…

Howdy, Karen! Gee, I can’t believe it took this long for someone to comment on that photo of me an’ the boys up there!

___________________

Ria Kennedy – I look at the titles. If something pops out, I skim the first paragraph. If it seems good, I put it aside to read later. I go through everything and just keep what I’m interested in. LATER, I put time aside to read, either a little every day or a lot at once just a few times until done.

I don’t feel guilty if I don’t read, I feel I might miss something valuable. So whatever you think might be valuable is what I would look for if I were you.

Thanks for the advice, Ria; sortof the “glance at every one” school of thought. I’ll do it if I have time, but otherwise, it’s just the “mark all as read” routine, I’m afraid. But inside, I’m sad.

___________________

Well, there you have it, folks! A great conversation, if’n I do say so myself (and you know; I think I just did!)

By the way, if you’d still like to weigh in with an opinion – be my guest! Might be enlightening to see just how many of us do the same things…

Just a quick sidestep here…

Brad Shorr is hosting a contest for a brand spankin’ new iPod Nano (or is that a ‘nono’, Brad? Bwa-ha-ha-ha!), and if you’d like to enter, well Bubba, you’d better hurry! Just drop by this post for instructions, then write your own post inspired by the cartoon. (Brad has extended the deadline to March 13th at 5 pm CST so there’s still plenty of time!)

Hey, waitaminit - I just realized that if too many of you enter then it actually reduces my chances of winning! So, here’s what we’re goin’ to do. Please; only one, or at most, two of you enter. No! NO WAIT! NOT EVERONE! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! (Sound of heartfelt sobbing…)

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring you this news flash…

Last year Drew McClellan and Gavin Heaton made publishing history, producing the first-ever e-book of its kind, The Age of Conversation. Having been accidentally mistaken for a marketer, I was privileged to be one of 103 authors who contributed a chapter. (Limited to 400 words! Can you imagine me limiting myself to 400 words on anything?)

Now a hard copy of AoC sits proudly on my bookshelf, gathering admiring glances from the Beautiful, the Powerful, and the Glitterati who come to visit.

I’m tellin’ ya, it required an incredible amount of behind-the-scenes work, herding over 100 writers into line (sorta like herding cats, no doubt), cutting, pasting, editing, pulling hair, sobbing uncontrollably at the drop of a hat… But I think all would agree Drew and Gavin did a great job (even though SOMEbody changed my chapter title! *sob*).

The end result was spectacular. Not only has the book gained international attention, sales of the book at lulu.com (and hopefully, soon to be available at Amazon.com) have to date earned over $10,000 for Variety, a children’s charity. Now there’s something to be proud of!

Well, the news just broke this week, and unbelievably, these two crazy people nut jobs fine upstanding fellows want to do it again! (Sound of crowd going wild with excitement!)

And YOU are invited to help. How, you ask? Simple!

Go to this website and read all about it. And in the spirit of an election year, you even get to vote!

Kudos to my buddy and multiple WILF participant GL Hoffman over at What Would Dad Say with what may be THE definitive Entrepreneur’s list of all time (well, at least up until now, GL): A Complete List of 100 Attributes of People Who Start Companies: How You Can Be One of America’s Entrepreneurs.

[UPDATE: Thanks to a timely comment from my friend Karin, I should mention that I MEANT to say it was the "definitive list of Entrepreneurial Attributes of all time". - Thanks for keeping me on my toes, my friend!]

Although he admits up front it’s probably not necessarily, as advertised, “complete” – still, ya gotta admire this thing as a true labor of love.

And now, just for the fun of it, he’s tacked on a challenge to anyone and everyone: The Entrepreneur’s Meme!

Here are the details, straight from the post:

The Entrepreneur Meme: Deadline, Friday, December 28, 2007.

Step 1. Write a post “Another characteristic or attribute of an entrepreneur…” You can make it a short burst or comment on one of my characteristics (there are 100 of them, you must agree on at least one!!), write one yourself that I missed (lots of them) or relate a personal story that illustrates how an entrepreneur did something great. For example, when you read through my list did you think about to a specific similar thing that happened to you. Tell us about it.

Step 2. Tell your visitors what you are doing. Please put a link back to this post so they can see what you are doing. Or email me at gl@jobdig.com to let me know you have participated.

Step 3. For every link I get back, I will donate $1 to charity, up to $500. If there are not 500 links, I will round up to the nearest 100 and donate that amount.

Step 4. Tell all your friends too. Put links to them at the bottom of your posting, maybe they will join in this cause to help entrepreneurs and a charity too. Email them this posting and your own so they know what we are doing and that it is for two good causes.

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To make it easier to peruse the list, I copied the entire thing to a Word file. I’m warnin’ ya now, it’s a bit long (16 pages!) so be prepared to spend some time reading through it. But believe me, it’s worth it! Even if you’re not interested in entrepreneurship, these are great skills to have or develop.

I’ve already narrowed my choices down to about three or four, and will choose one and write a *cough*cough* witty and brilliant illustration “real soon now”. But in the meantime, I invite you to join the party – and don’t forget to tell your friends, too!

Pssst; by the way, GL; it sure sounds like the makings of a really terrific e-book (hint, hint).