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A Few Words From The DOD

Via a post from Bob Sutton comes a New Zealand consulting company with the clever name The Department of Doing (motto: “Consider it Done”) dedicated to the wildly and radically innovative idea that there’s enough talk in this world – sometimes ya gotta just kick the ol’ butt and DO something. (At least, that’s how we would say it here in Texas.)

Although the web site is a bit sparse on information, there is a manifesto of sorts called The Directives of Doing which outlines their “self-imposed code of conduct”. An interesting marketing approach, to say the least.

A quick read through the Directives reveals a pragmatic, tell-it-like-it is, both-feet-on-the-ground approach to consulting that I find missing from most consultants’ websites. And, to their credit, at least they have a sense of humor – most consulting firms seem afraid to show that they have one, as if they think business should be all work and no fun. I particularly like Directive 5:

As Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams, once said, “We have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them.”

It’s Like Buttah

Now for an example of someone simply doing something rather than just talking it to death, I ran across this story from Influx Insights (as summarized by Dan Pink).

“The tale in brief is this: Seven years ago, Diane St. Clair didn’t know boo about making butter. But she wanted to learn so she taught herself the trade via the Internet and some books. Soon she cadged a “small-scale pasteurizer and got a license to go into production.” And with one Jersey cow, she went into business. She called her operation, based in rural Orwell, Vermont – wait for it – Animal Farm. One day she sent her butter to John Keller, an all-star chef.Today, St. Clair’s one-woman operation has six cows and continues to produce butter for the best restaurants in the country. Now she’s contemplating starting a butter-of-the-month club that will offer subscribers a pound of butter a month for ten months for a subscription price of $750. That’s $75 a pound!”

(Interpretation may be required here. In case you don’t know, “boo” means “doodley squat”, and “cadged” means “scrounged”.)

As Ed Brenegar points out, all it takes is initiative; something that delivers the ol’ kick in the butt. Inspiration is not enough, we need initiative as well, plus commitment to stop talking and finally do something.

[Updated 2-17-07 with corrected link to Ed Brenegar @ Leading Questions]

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