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#accomplishing then maybe you need to rethink your tactics.)
oncillaphoenix · 2 years
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some people on here rlly treat having privilege like it’s a moral failing and not a circumstance you’re born into by luck
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internalsealpanic · 3 years
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Lesson Learned
summary: Pinning exercises are a lot easier when you ask nicely.
a/n: The backstory to this piece was that I went to the church part of our discord server and told people about me being thirsty about Slade and they collectively went: DO HIM. The reader does have a backstory which boils down to rich girl from a crime family is a little shit because I thought this would have a funny dynamic with Slade.  Special thanks to @batarella and @knightfall05x for proof reading and giving me ideas. Would this count as my one entry for kinktober? 
warnings:  This is straight up smut. Please read responsibly. Brat taming, strength kink, daddy kink, orgasm denial, and hinted size kink. (Hilariously half of these were by complete accident.) There is some injury mentioned but not too graphically. Both characters are assholes.   
masterlist
Slade was on the ground, his head was swimming even as the sharp shriek of sirens rang loud in his ears. His senses were at once too sharp and too unfocused. Whatever drug he'd been hit with had to have targeted the nerves in his muscles too. He couldn't move. Not substantially anyway. Not in a way that would actually help him.  Through the haze he hears the clicking of heels against the floor, then a sharp pain shoots through him when said heel dug into one of his still closing bullet wounds. 
 You stood above him, your shark's smile hidden behind your mask.  "Well old man, I didn't think you would be caught this easy. I might need to rethink this meeting." You hummed tapping your chin as you lean down your heel digging further into his flesh. It's a tactic your sister had taught you. People were less inclined to think clearly when in excruciating pain.  If Deathstroke was this easy to capture, was he really worth your money? 
 He was watching you, blue eyes looking defiant. You whistled low. You liked a hard negotiation. It kept things more interesting. The rapid footsteps of men drew you out of your contemplation much to your annoyance. You debated on just paying them to go away. It would make your life easier but there's a chance these men were truly loyal to the man you had just paid a visit to.
 You weigh your options. His reputation may be enough to keep your siblings away. Maybe just long enough 'til their petty little war is over. "I'm going to hire you-"
 "-this assumes I'm going to say yes"
 You snorted. He noted the confident roll in your shoulders, the kind of cocky self-assured gesture of someone who knows they're going to win.  Every movement, every angling of your form deliberately used to show a difference in power and lack of respect. In short, it made you very punchable.
 "Your statement assumes you have a choice." You chuckled tilting your head to the side in challenge. He scowled at you and you try to keep the sheer delight you feel out of your body language. You weren't sadistic by any means but for one, brutality was practically bred into you, and two, you are, what your darling eldest brother had so kindly put, a  little bitch.  "I'll tell you why you'll say yes to my proposal." You said stepping off of him and pirouetting towards your duffle bag. "One, I'm offering your more than a million dollars in cash for the simple job of training me-" You observed his face as it remains carefully impassive. You expected as much. You heft your bag into your arms and unzip it rummaging through the cache of weapons you had stored just in case plan A through F failed you. "Unless we're associated, I'm the only one walking out of here with any money for their troubles." You said tossing the severed head of his target in front of him. You gave him an all too pleased grin. 
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 You find yourself pinned down again in the span of 15 minutes, face squished against the training mat, your arms pinned behind you, and most annoyingly your ass raised while your bastard of an instructor laughs in your ear, his lips dangerously close to your ear. You hiss and bristle feeling the fibers in your muscles burn from the uncomfortable angle they've been forced into.  You squirm trying to buck him off but his strength rendered your efforts moot. His enhanced strength keeps your body firmly between the sweat-covered mat and his large, toned body which just made you bite your lip to keep anything vulgar from escaping you. 
 You were 110% sure he was fucking with you at this point but any smart remark you had was either smothered by the mat or died whenever you felt acutely aware of your skin against his.  
 "Get off of me, old man," You snarl, making a futile attempt to kick him off with one of your legs. He chuckles at your weak attempts, the reverberations from his chest pressing against your back sending a thrum of excitement rolling over you concentrating into more distracting areas. You can't see it but you know he's grinning smugly above you and you can't decide whether it's your horniness or your anger that will win out. You sincerely hope it's the latter. 
 "C'mon, kid, you can get out of this," He encourages but you don't miss the playful mockery dancing in his tone. You squirm and wriggle and sigh. "Just let me out," You demand, politely. He doesn't budge. You turn your head to pout petulantly at him. That doesn't do anything either. 
 You sigh again. You hated pinning exercises with a carefully cultivated passion which you would normally direct at whatever instructor was dumb enough to force it upon you. However, that wasn't really possible as of this moment. One of the reasons for this hatred was that you were never pinned down unless you wanted to be, even then they were usually too hesitant to follow through so you never really saw any practical use for the skill. That is until last week when you found yourself being pinned down by the Red Hood which was honestly a fantastic position if you weren't trying to get away from him. Apparently, the large man didn't take too kindly to being shot at even when your very professional self explained that you were in fact a decoy. After you were entirely unable to slip his hold, you begrudgingly agreed to let Slade teach you a few maneuvers. The other reason was that you liked being pinned down. Your body is far too enthusiastic about the feeling of being pinned down. You're pretty sure you've expended more energy into suppressing your thrilled shivers than you have trying to get out of any of the holds he's demonstrated so far.  The fact that he was an attractive asshole with no shirt did not help.    
 "Maybe if you ask nicely, princess" He drawls his teeth grazing your ear, beard bristling against the sensitive skin of your shoulder. You bite back a groan and stop the cant of your hips. "Or are you even capable of that?"
 "I am, sir" You grind out but it sounds too breathy to be threatening. You feel the curve of his lips against your shoulder.
 "Dunno, brat, I've never seen you do it," He taunts pressing closer to you. You're suddenly aware of just how close you two are. You hate how the way he called you brat sent thrills up your spine. You try to even your breath but you're entirely too feverish both body and mind. You had to think of something before you were lost in a haze.
 You nudge your arm one last time before an idea strikes. A familiar shark-like grin spreads like wildfire across your features. Pressing your ass against his crotch, you roll your hips, the movement slow and deliberate and painfully tempting. Sure, it was a dirty trick but 1) he never said anything about using your assets 2) you've been wanting to do that since the first hold. You feel his muscles tense and you can't help but radiate smugness.  Your smile vanishes, however, when he rolls his hips against yours giving you a feel of his hardened length through the thin fabric of your gym shorts. The slow, tantalizing friction against your core draws out a vulgar moan from you. 
 "Do you wanna run that by me again, brat?" He whispers low and husky emphasizing the last word with another grind of his hip. You pant, hips answering back with their own desperate movement. You want to let your hips keep moving, to make him move, to feel his cock against your core but pride flared in your chest. "Make me." You bite out. "I really should teach you some manners."You feel the low rumble of his answer in response seemingly amused by your continued resistance. He rocks his hips against yours drawing out another breathy moan from you. Out of spite you bite your bottom lip and rock your hips in tandem with his. What did you hope to accomplish from this? You don't know but it certainly felt good. Your skin feels hot and oversensitive as your bodies continue to move at this rhythm. The feel of his muscles rippling against you makes you arch your back. You wanted more but you had too much pride. As if spurred on by the movement, he presses a kiss on your shoulder and sucks at your flesh, a rough hand grips your waist tight enough to bruise. "Slade!" You choke out losing your composure.  The cry sounds more like a plea than you would like. You sound so small and needy beneath his ministrations. 
 Distilling your anger into your weakening limbs you try to buck him off again. You make a small noise of triumph when he budges but whine when his grip on you just gets tighter. "Not quite, princess,"  
 He flips you onto your back. A hand pins both your arms above your head as he situates himself between your legs. His lips capture yours in a rough kiss, the type where you feel two bodies fighting each other for dominance. His teeth bite lightly against your bottom lip asking for entrance. You open your lips less in concession and more of a challenge. The wet muscles of your tongues entangle. Your nose is filled with the musk of him. It was overwhelming. You moan into the kiss and you feel him smile into it. Another small victory. 
 Slade ends the kiss having undeniably won the match. You try to move your hand to punch the grin off his face but again your hands don't budge. You curse his enhanced strength halfheartedly as the feeling of the heat coiling in the pit of your stomach takes over. Instead of diving back in for another kiss as you expected, Slade trails kisses down your jawline, your throat, and your collar bone leaving very defined very visible hickeys. There was something oddly possessive in his actions.  The look in his eye was predatory. 
 You, foolishly, let your attention wander to your hands seeing what angle you could possibly force them into so you can slip his grip and maybe turn the tables. Your attention snaps back to him when the pressure around your chest loosens and the distinct sound of a zipper fills your ears. Your eyes widen as you watch as he unzips the front of your sports bra with his teeth. Your breath catches even as your chest fills with the lack of constriction. Your too hot skin is grazed by the training room's cold air. He places a kiss in the valley between your breasts but when you whimper and move slightly urging him to proceed. He moves on to your stomach. "Asshat" You seethe through gritted teeth. You let out a groan of frustration. You were going to kill him. You honestly don't care if you've just wasted half a billion dollars on this asshole. 
 His kisses drift down to your inner thigh drawing a moan from you. Slade chuckles seeing your desire seeping through the thin fabric of your shorts. He isn't entirely surprised considering how unsubtle you are about your interest. A rare moment of embarrassment blankets you. Your legs try to close but rough hands pry them apart placing them on his broad shoulders. You bite your lip when he plants a kiss on your inner thigh. Your lips are puffy and red at this point, looking delicious as you panted. Slade wonders how your lips would feel around his cock but he decides he'll save that for another time. He hooks his fingers on the waistband of your shorts and his eye widens momentarily when he doesn't feel a second layer of fabric underneath it. He looks at you incredulously.
 You shrug trying to keep the mischief off your face looking absolutely unapologetic. "It's laundry day-" You shrug a little amused that this is the detail that caught him off guard. "-I did tell you I had stuff to do~"He also supposedly had stuff to do but, apparently, you were stuff. He chuckled and without dignifying your comment with an actual response, he rips your shorts off with ease and tosses them somewhere behind him.  A complaint or a threat, you weren't entirely sure, died on your lips when his tongue gave your core a nice long lick. A loud, needy keen escapes you. Your hands now free from his grasp dig into his scalp.  Pleased with your reaction he continues. His skilled tongue exploring your core hitting spots you didn't even know were there. Your hips meet to match his pace as he fucks you with his tongue. You whine when he withdraws his tongue but mewl loud and wanton when you feel two rough fingers stretching your insides. His mouth latches onto your sensitive bud, fingers pumping in and out.  You throw your head back not being able to contain your moans.
 "Look at me, brat," The command is deep and resonant. Your whole body buzzes with excitement. Slade can see your eyes dilate as his voice drops an octave. 
 "Yes," Your breath hitches when he doesn't move. "Sir" You add as a concession hoping it was enough. You felt your pride waning from the small piece of power being given away. Thankfully, he rewards you with another long lick before you can dwell on it. Slade watches as your face twists in pleasure trying your best not to throw your head back. You see the smugness on his face even when half of his face is buried between your legs. You don't attempt a threat simply because you don't trust whatever comes out of your mouth to be coherent. You were so close. You rock your hips trying to chase your high. Your skin is flush and glistening with sweat. You were so close. He feels your walls tightening around his fingers. Another needy keen escapes you as you were about to tip over the edge. 
 The motherfucker pulls back. You snarl at him but it comes out sounding more like a needy croon than anything else. He chuckles at you even as he captures your lips for another kiss. His tongue is thick with the taste of you. Your hand tangles itself into his hair while the other tugs at the waistband of his sweatpants.  He pulls away giving your lips one last nip before his body is off of you. It's funny how just moments ago you wanted him off of you badly enough that you'd play any dirty trick you could think of but now your skin is burning for his touch.  He takes off his sweat pants and his engorged cock slaps against his abs. It takes every brain cell at your disposal not to drool at the sight of it. He was BIG. You wonder briefly if he would even fit.  
 He spits on his cock rubbing his head against your thoroughly soaked folds. You mewl. A playful look in his eye does not go unnoticed but you were far too preoccupied with other concerns. Thankfully, so did he. Slade eases into your pussy in slow shallow thrusts. You can physically feel your walls stretching inch by inch as he works his way into your tight pussy. He can feel every bit of resistance your pussy is putting up. It's his turn to hiss when he finally bottoms out. Your walls cling to his member trying to milk it for all its worth. You drag your nails down from his shoulder to his arms. You pout when his skin heals immediately. You wanted to mark him as he did you but apparently, his healing factor was not up to being kinky today.   
 He laughs at your little protest and gives you a quick kiss. He begins to thrust shallow and languid. Your lips are locked in, sensually nibbling at each other's lips. You arch your back pressing your chest against his musculature savoring every bit of stimulation you could get.   You cant your hips against his urging him to go faster. His large hand grips your hips and pins them down. The coil in your stomach grows tighter at the ease at which he stops you. You feel him grin against your hot skin. 
 "Didn't I say I would teach you some manners?" He pulls himself out leaving you feeling hollow and wanting. You're pretty sure if you weren't drunk on your arousal the look in your eyes would be nothing short of murder, however, this was not the case, Whatever venom you had in you vanished in a swirl of neediness that racked your body. Your cant your hips uselessly trying to find friction only to be met with cool air. 
 "Slade pleeeeaaase!"
 You gasp, as a sharp stinging sensation on your pussy knocks the breath out of you. Slade gives you an expectant look. 
 "Sir, plea-"
 Another slap. Your back arches.  You’re panting heavy, mind swirling and searching. 
 "Daddy please!" The words tumble from your lips thoughtlessly. You both freeze. Slade's face is unreadable making you want to shrink away and let the earth swallow you whole. Panic rises in your chest until you feel his hips slam against yours. The force is enough to knock the breath out of you. He manhandles your body to fuck you at a better angle. His grip on your thighs tight and bruising. You whimper when he dips his head down near yours pressing kisses to your jaw and the pulsating flesh of your neck leaving your mouth free to moan his name like a mantra.   A deep resonant growl rumbles in his chest sending thrills through your skin into your spine. Your hardened nipples drag against his chest as they bounce with his pace. His cock pumps in and out of you at an animalistic pace. You were absolutely going mad over his rough pace but it wasn't enough to push you over. You were both so close.
 "Daddy, please! I- I need-" Slade's cock twitches. His pace goes from animalistic to punishing in the space of a heartbeat. He growls into your ear as he reaches down to rub your clit with skilled, calloused fingers. Your walls tighten around him as you go over the edge.  Your orgasm hits you in a flurry of heat and electricity. He fucks you through it as he chases his own. He pulls out his cock. Ropes of cum covering your chest and your stomach. 
 He lays beside you pulling you close. You moan quietly still feeling the aftershocks of your orgasm. He nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck, planting an open-mouthed kiss. You ease into his hold and close your eyes. 
 "See how easy your life is when you're a good girl, princess," He whispers mockingly into your ear. You raise a middle finger at him too fucked out to care whether it actually conveyed as much venom as you wanted it to. 
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Thanks for reading! Next week will be our regularly scheduled fluff unless I get possessed by the thirst muses. 
tag list:  Tag list:  @batarella , @anothertimdrakestan , @lucy-roo , @multifandomgirl-us , @idkmanicantenglish ,@birdy-bat-writes ,  @boosyboo9206 , @americasmarauders , @l-horizondepeu , @arestorationofbalance  , @cloudie-skay , @knightfall05x
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thezodiaczone · 6 years
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June Forecast for Aquarius
June is off to a fiery start! Not only is the Sun traveling through Gemini and your playful, passionate fifth house until June 21, but ribald Mars is making its once-every-two-years visit to Aquarius. If you’re not feeling hot and vibrant, you’re not paying attention in cosmic class. ‘Tis the season for swagger, so ditch that false-modesty act and lead with confidence and charisma! Mars gives your mojo a booster shot, and if you suspect you’re turning more heads than usual, you’re probably right. People are responding to your life-force energy, which is sending out scintillating signals without you even trying.
Mars is in your sign from May 16 until August 12, an extended visit that’s getting you all revved up for new projects and plans. And with the Sun in your creative fifth house along with clever Mercury until June 12, it’s okay to prioritize those over practicalities. Mars could spark up romantic revivals and new love interests, though its placement in your independent first house has you craving room to roam. Clingy people can step to the left during this feisty, frisky phase! (At least until Mars tones it down a little and turns retrograde on June 26—more on that in a bit.)
The June 13 Gemini new moon kicks off an exciting moment for love and self-expression. As you naturally bubble over with excitement about whatever’s captured your fancy, you could draw some ardent admirers. Over the next six months, your talents and novel ideas could bring fame—you might even see your name in lights before the corresponding November 23 Gemini full moon. Cupid could also make a belated showing today. Chemistry that sparks now could turn into an exciting soul-friendship or summer fling. Most importantly, make a dedicated effort to get out of your head and lead with your heart—preferably with it stitched to your sleeve. Take a chance and tell someone how you feel and just let yourself be spontaneous. By following whims without getting all analytical, you naturally connect to this vibrant part of yourself.
Father’s Day is June 17, and if you’re celebrating a favorite father figure, some one-on-one time could be just the way to do it. With the moon in Leo and your dynamic-duo zone, quality time or a heartfelt conversation will help you feel connected. If you can’t pull him away from a family gathering, send a handwritten card or letter that acknowledges your unique bond.
On June 21, the Sun moves into Cancer and your orderly, fit sixth house. Hedonism will give way to healthy living, and practical matters will take top billing. The next four weeks are great for launching a summertime wellness plan, from adding more fresh produce and exercise into your world to doing a summer detox. Cancer season will also give you the urge to purge, so declutter everything from your kitchen cabinets to your closets to your office space.
The second half of the month takes a different tone as Neptune and Mars turn retrograde, bringing the total retrograde planet count to five. Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto have been in reverse since the spring, and with so many celestial slowdowns, plans could stall or sputter.
Hazy Neptune is the first to turn retrograde. It will backspin through Pisces and your second house of work, income and security from June 18 until November 24. If money matters have gotten muddled or your budget is a blur, use this time to retrace your steps and clear any financial fog. Neptune rules illusions, and it’s possible that a client or coworker could give mixed signals, perhaps ignoring your invoices or guilt-tripping you into doing their work. Nip any manipulative tactics in the bud and stay alert for passive-aggressive people who try to dump their responsibilities on you. Be extra careful about borrowing or lending money now—and if you do, spell out all the terms clearly (and in writing).
On June 26, action planet Mars joins the retrograde brigade, a biennial about-face that will last until August 27. Mars will spend the bulk of its backspin in Aquarius and your first house of self and identity (until August 12), which could prompt you to radically reevaluate everything from your appearance and style to how you spend your time and energy. With rash Mars gone rogue, rushing into changes is NOT advised. But do some soul-searching and start collecting ideas for any aesthetic overhauls. (Pinterest was made for moments like this.) Then, target September 10 to November 15 for any grand debuts or coming-outs, when Mars makes a rare second (and retrograde-free) trip through your sign.
Your first step, in fact, might be deciding what to let go of. You’ll have a clarifying moment of closure on June 28, when the annual Capricorn full moon illuminates your twelfth house of endings, surrender and healing. Use this time to boldly release a thought pattern, possessions or even relationships that no longer serve you. Do you have someone to forgive? Are you carrying around resentment that’s only dragging YOU down? Give it up to the universe, perhaps with a ritual like writing down what you don’t want in your life and burning it.
The twelfth house rules transitions, and since full moons already bring events to a turning point, this one is like a double-strength shot of this energy. With your subconscious activated, you could have vivid dreams or a potent gut feeling. Follow up on any signs and serendipities, as your psychic receptors are high now. If you’ve been avoiding a difficult conversation or facing painful emotions, there’s no better time in 2018 than now for a good air-clearing or a cleansing “ugly cry.” Get it out in the open—and don’t be attached to the outcome. You just never know where things will lead when you get emotionally raw and honest.
Love & Romance
Passionate Mars has been revving your libidinous engines ever since he blasted into your sign on May 16—a move that only happens every other year! The red planet will stay in your sign until August 12, granting you official head-turner status. With the lusty planet here, temptation will abound—particularly with someone who stokes your fires and is direct and upfront about their own desires. You could do something spontaneous, even for an Aquarius.
But when Mars turns retrograde for two months starting on June 26, take care where you aim those flirtatious high beams! Without intending to, you could land in a sticky situation or have second thoughts about something you sprinted into. With the confident, feisty planet in reverse, you might find yourself craving more independence yet lacking a bit in the self-esteem department. Don’t ignore these “signals”: Use them as a guide for productive soul-searching.
Venus will be touring compassionate Cancer and your sixth house of work, wellness and support until June 13. For the first half of the month, your “love language” will be “acts of service.” If you’re single, you could meet someone quite accidentally while engaged in healthy pursuits or through your job or a volunteering gig. Couples will enjoy working out together, whipping up healthy meals and maybe taking a partners’ massage workshop.
On June 13, Venus parades into Leo and your relationship realm until July 9, putting affairs of the heart front and center. But note that Venus will be opposing Mars in your sign on June 21. Part of you may be looking to lock down commitment while another side is chomping at the bit to run free. Check in with your deepest desires and remember that anything you say may be used against you unfairly in the heat of the moment. If you can’t have a productive dialogue today (and the cosmic odds ARE pretty stacked against you), put it off until another day.
Key Dates
June 14: Venus-Uranus Square It’s hard to make plans for the future when “the future” keeps on changing. Ease up on the pressure to lock down a guarantee or plan out the next ten years of your life together. How about just enjoying the next ten minutes? Carpe some diem and lighten up already. That said, if you’re certain someone’s stringing you along, it’s a good time to question why you keep spending your precious time with them. Under today’s impromptu stars, you could make a swift jailbreak!
Money & Career
Go, go, go! Your life has been moving at warp speed since May 16, when activator Mars came tearing into Aquarius, making its biannual visit until August 12. Having Mars in your sign can be like plugging into a charger, and if you’ve been using this jolt of electricity to start new projects and self-promote, good for you. The squeaky wheel gets the premium-grade oil with Mars in your assertive first house. Get busy exploring new ideas, putting the word out about your accomplishments and offerings and taking some bold risks on your own behalf.
Just make those power moves before Mars goes retrograde on June 26 (through August 27). With the red planet in reverse, you may need to slow down or rethink a few big solo ventures. An idea that seemed promising might need to be researched further, or else the timing for a grand debut just isn’t right. Hit pause to polish and perfect, then plan to make your splash after September 10, when Mars is in a much more favorable placement for you.
You’ll have an easier time buckling down and doing the behind-the-scenes work once the Sun moves into Cancer and your administrative sixth house for a month on June 21. Collect supporting data, put together budgets and presentations and delegate to capable specialists if you find yourself spinning your wheels. In need of a break? Take a rejuvenating timeout at the June 28 Capricorn full moon, which illuminates your restful twelfth house.
Key Dates
June 7: Sun-Neptune Square Pushing your agenda too forcefully is likely to backfire today, as nebulous Neptune can cast shadows across the sharpest logic. You might not be reading a situation clearly, or you’re reacting too emotionally. Clear out some cobwebs and get unstuck with some heart-pumping exercise or physical movement.
Love Days: 13, 17 Money Days: 23, 6 Luck Days: 21, 4 Off Days: 15, 19, 29
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winkdezignmadurai · 3 years
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Recent Content Marketing Strategies that Can Improve Your Business
Consistency in implementing optimal practices is the key to long-term success in a content marketing strategy. If you want to increase search traffic and build a successful online business, you need to rethink your content marketing strategy.
You may improve your search traffic by learning from other people's successes and errors. Here are the most recent content marketing tactics being used by digital marketers across the world.
Create a network of contributors
You may improve your content by hiring a wide range of contributors from both inside and outside your organization.
Look for sources that aren't immediately obvious: Maybe your logistics president can tell you how innovative sourcing has improved the product's consistency, availability, or pricing. In the human resources department, there may also be an amazing tale about diversity and inclusion. Never, ever they’re a dependable source of helpful information.
When you receive a contribution, be sure to acknowledge the person who made it. You should also publicly acknowledge them in order to motivate and attract individuals.
To extend your content network, keep your unique voice fresh. Guest authors, specialists in their fields, dignitaries, and celebrities are all viable possibilities. You'd be surprised at how many people are ready to provide content, especially if their work is highlighted. Current or past clients, business analysts, and even former workers or vendors might all contribute.
Focus on what people want to learn
The aim of content marketing is to write about what you want people to know about your brand, but it's also vital to resist the desire to write about everything. Instead, focus on what your audience need. This may be accomplished by discussing what you do and your unique perspective on quality and reputation.
There are several ways to communicate what people want to know. Search engines, for example, will inform you how popular specific topics are. Your website analytics will inform you where your visitors go and what they are already consuming on your site, providing you with insights.
Media scheduling software will show you industry trends, significant influencers' writings, and what your rivals consider essential. Finally, a customer service agency or support centre might provide a wealth of information.
Make a schedule for your articles.
If not done correctly, content marketing may be a hit-or-miss strategy for your company. Building an editorial calendar that defines the subjects that your firm wants to explore and develop is one way to go about it. This helps you to think about what information is more relevant to other business services in a strategic way.
The calendar typically creates internal deadlines and obligations, which are used to keep track of who is completing duties on time. An editorial calendar, in particular, helps the content marketing team leader engage with the rest of the company strategically and set reasonable goals.
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Why you should rethink your driver loft
Jin-Young Ko, the No. 1-ranked player at the LPGA Tour, swings the driving force almost 30 miles according to hour slower than Brooks Koepka, the No. 1 male player inside the world. Yet Ko makes use of a motive force with 9 degrees of loft—1.5 ranges much less than Koepka. What gives? Aren’t golfers with slower swing speeds supposed to use drivers with greater loft?
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That’s not always the case anymore.2 years ago, NiftyGolf supplied compelling evidence that average golfers needed to use drivers with more loft to maximize distance—occasionally as a whole lot as 12, 14 or 16 levels. But due to changing driving force designs and converting swings, the opposite is probably actual these days. In an distinctive Golf Digest look at accomplished along side Club Champion, the leading national clubfitting chain, players with swing speeds of eighty to a hundred miles according to hour continually hit the driving force farther when it had a lower loft, not a better one. (The common male-golfer swing pace is within the mid-90s.) Participants in our checks accomplished greater distance once they used drivers with less than 10 tiers of loft.
In fact, swings often got the maximum distance with driver lofts at 9 stages or much less. (It’s still real that golfers who swing much less than 80 mph could possibly benefit from the usage of drivers with 11 degrees of loft or higher.) Lower lofts can provide greater strength transfer at impact because there’s less of an oblique attitude. It’s why your 7-iron flies farther than your eight-iron.In our check, drivers with less loft consistently produced greater ball pace, even for low swing-speed golfers (three.2 mph greater in comparison to the 10.Five and 12-degree drivers).
What’s converting? One huge motive is the concept of assault angle, or the way the clubhead tactics the ball as it actions toward impact. With a barely upward angle of attack—in place of downward—a decrease-lofted motive force can produce higher consequences. Ko’s upward attitude of assault is standard of the LPGA Tour. According to TrackMan facts, the average attack attitude at the LPGA Tour is tremendously upward at +3 ranges. On the PGA Tour, it’s quite downward at -1.Three. This is why a few LPGA players ought to benefit from the lower-lofted drivers used by PGA Tour gamers swinging 20 or maybe 30 mph faster. A latest study by using TrackMan revealed that by using converting the attack perspective on your driving force swing from downward to noticeably upward, you could boost distance with the aid of 23 yards— and that’s not for a tour-stage swing; that’s at a exceptionally average velocity of 90 mph.
It’s the modern mystery to distance, says Nick Sherburne, founding father of Club Champion. “Even even though you need to continually get fi t, don’t count on if you’re an average golfer that lofting up is always better,” he says. “Golf balls and the middle of gravity on drivers have changed so much due to the fact 2003 that playing a better loft isn’t wanted anymore to create the perfect distance recipe of excessive launch and coffee spin. With the arrival of release video display units, players are mastering to hit up at the ball to maximise distance. Almost every institution within the test had a effective attack angle. Twenty years ago, even 10, we by no means noticed such a lot of nice assault angles.”
With an upward angle of attack, a participant creates greater dynamic loft at impact, or the manner the loft measures at impact compared to its static dimension. With less measured loft, an upward perspective of attack and greater dynamic loft, you’re creating the opportunity for high launch and less spin, a key metric for longer drives that hit the ground on a flatter angle, main to extra rollout.
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A excessive-swing-pace excursion participant like Koepka may not be optimizing distance along with his downward attitude of attack, however he in all likelihood doesn’t need to hit it farther to compete on the PGA Tour. But plenty of long-drive competition swing loads quicker than Koepka with upward angles of assault. They use very low-lofted drivers and hit it a soccer discipline farther than Koepka. Average golfers must assume extra like long drivers and get each closing little bit of distance they could locate.
“It would possibly make feel for tour players to focus on the bring distance with a driver, however for many common golfers, it’s wherein the ball ends up after it stops rolling,” says Tom Olsavsky, vice president of studies and development at Cobra Puma Golf. “That’s from time to time why less loft produces higher outcomes.”More dynamic loft isn’t continually the signal of a great swing (see sidebar, page 21), but less loft can still offer assist.
“Poll a hundred fitters, and ninety of them will let you know the most commonplace factor they see is the flip, causing high dynamic loft and main to launch or spin troubles,” Sherburne says. “That’s usually constant nowadays with decrease lofts.” What’s also helping is more forgiving driving force designs that locate the middle of gravity back and occasional. This clearly creates more dynamic loft and is why a decrease-loft perspective could gain a variety of golfers.
To be clean, much less loft isn’t the answer for every person, especially gamers who don’t have a tremendous attitude of assault. But that’s the advantage of going via a satisfactory motive force becoming with an experienced fitter and a release screen. The motive and impact of a trade in loft may be clear. Also, with an adjustable driver, you can play around with those modifications as your swing modifications, too.
“We now have so much more immediately get entry to to statistics,” Olsavsky says. “You can get tested on a release monitor and truely pinpoint what works on your swing.”
Which is how Ko ended up with a 9-diploma motive force. She said she spent a number of time checking out which launch situations have been great. Her hassle turned into launching the ball too excessive. “I wanted a bit bit lower trajectory, and especially with these publications being simply fi rm, less loft became higher to get the ball jogging,” she says.
It in reality labored. Ko averages 2.75 yards in line with mph of swing velocity. Not best is her wide variety higher than Koepka’s, it’s higher than each player on the PGA Tour.
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mostaforyou1 · 4 years
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15 Savvy Ways to show Bad Business Ideas Into Good Ideas
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1   Use Consensus to Correct Course
Instead of shutting down a nasty idea sort of a dictator, using the much more powerful method of consensus leadership to assist create a more collaborative decision on the thought. instead of giving the thought an up or down vote, help your team seek a group of solutions that everyone (or almost everybody) can drag.
"The group setting also takes the sting out of shooting down their idea, and communicates to them that it's not the well-liked strategy during a diplomatic manner," says Bobbi Rebell, author of the way to Be a Financial Grownup: Proven Advice from High Achievers on the way to Live Your Dreams and Have Financial Freedom. "Very often when the bulk of the group is occupation one direction on a project, the outlier will fall in line- albeit they perceive their idea as better."
This is neither trade-off nor unanimity, rather it's arising with an honest strategy by weaving together the entire group's key concerns and best opinions. meaning a bad idea will likely drop off, but may additionally be adapted into a bigger solution that benefits everyone.
2  Get Additional Opinions
On an identical note, it isn't impossible that what you deem a nasty idea could be a workable idea from someone else's perspective.
"Get second, third, and fourth opinions," suggests Ajay Prasad, founder, and president of digital marketing agency GMR Web Team. "Asking for feedback and advice of trusted colleagues or employees will provide you with different perspectives that you simply can take into consideration and make the simplest decision. It never hurts to succeed in out for help, especially once you are really unsure of what to try to to ."
Similar to consensus-building, this may help your workers move toward a far better solution as a team. And here's what America's fittest CEO has got to say about creating a healthy work environment.
3  Assign a Mentor
If a team member can't seem to understand what it's the group, or the organization as an entire is trying to accomplish, assigning a mentor could be the move.
"If it's not appropriate to form the project a team effort, assigning a mentor who can tactfully guide them is often helpful," says Rebell. "It's also an honest idea to need periodic check-ins to permit for course corrections before a project is complete."
The mentor ensures the guy arising with bad ideas understands the corporate culture and may offer advice and guidance to assist his protégé to rise up to hurry. Whether this is a short-term solution or a permanent program, it is a good way to urge those that are lagging to catch up. And here are some more great leadership strategies you ought to know.
4     Clarify the corporate Vision
Often a nasty idea is rooted during a basic misunderstanding of the company's or department's overall vision. This could be a failure on the employee's part, but it's going to even be thanks to company leadership failing to obviously outline that vision.
"Having a clear-cut vision and mission for the corporation will provide a framework upon which to check ideas out for effectiveness or ineffectiveness," says Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, owner of career consultancy CareerTrend. "If the thought doesn't strongly support the vision and mission, then it should be nixed." Now, if running a corporation possesses you stressed, here's the way to affect that at work.
5     Answer Their Questions
A bad idea can also be rooted during a lack of data on the part of the worker. If a member of your team suggests a stinker of a thought, it's going to work best to open up the ground to questions, and provides him the chance to ask more about what precisely the goals or details are for a specific project.
"Before sending them into retool mode, make certain to answer any questions the worker may have on why their idea wasn't a fit with the company's vision/mission and if needed, provide them with a transparent mission and vision in writing, from which to aim their idea," says Barrett-Poindexter. "Follow this with a goal time-frame to submit a refreshed idea with a strategic plan and outcome that's clearly focused on the mission, vision and resources budget." For more ways to run the simplest business possible, here's the way to find the right candidate for your next job opening.
6    Figure Out the Motive Behind the thought
On the opposite hand, it helps you because the boss asks questions and delves into where the bad idea is coming from. it's going to be a misunderstanding or it's going to be coming from an area of creative problem solving that you simply just had not been considering.
"Using a training approach together with your employees, colleagues or maybe your leader may be a good way to actually help people to think through their ideas and are available up with the simplest possible solution for the organization and its customers," says Carey-Ann Oestreicher, chief engagement officer for Potential Unlimited.
To understand the motive behind the thought, she suggests asking the worker the subsequent questions: "What is that the opportunity you've got identified within the idea?" "What are the pitfalls?" "What makes the danger well worth the reward?" "What other potential countermeasures did you think about if this concept fails?" "Why does one think this is often the proper idea to try?"
7     Come At It From a special Angle
"The best thanks to both determine the viability of thought and to correct course if it's a nasty idea is through questions," adds Michelle Tillis Lederman, author of Nail The Interview, Land the work. "Oftentimes once we tell someone why the thought is bad, they get discouraged and provide up. Instead, ask them how they might handle this aspect or issue that you simply realize may be a problem for his or her idea."
Instead, it'd be worthwhile to seek out how to return at the thought from a special direction. Maybe a suggestion doesn't work as a customer service strategy but might be effective as an indoor program. Or a thought that might likely fail as a long-term branding campaign, might actually work for a more short-term program. See if there's how to rethink a bad idea by coming at it from a special direction. And for more great leadership insights, here's some wisdom from some successful startup founders.
8      Simplify the answer
Sometimes, changing the thought isn't as important as changing its context. there's an honest chance that an employee suggesting a rotten idea is lost within the trees and can't see the forest. Reframe the matter you're trying to unravel and make it as simple as possible and that they should hopefully correct course within the process.
"Is the plan overly complicated? If so, it's probably a nasty plan," says Biren Bandara, CEO/founder of Leader School. "Overcomplicated plans with many moving parts have a better risk of failure, especially if the mechanic of the plan isn't clear."
9         Get Them to require the primary Few Steps Themselves
Often the simplest thanks to getting an individual to ascertain the error of his ways aren't to inform him it is a bad idea, but let him see it himself.
"Ask them to draft up plans, and enter deep detail of how the execution of their idea would work," says Valerie Streif, a senior advisor with career organization Mentat. "This allows them to understand on their own that it wasn't an honest idea without you wanting to be the person and shoot them down."
Ideally, they're going to see where they've made a logical mistake and readjust their thinking quickly. If not, Streif suggests: "Be upfront and honest about why it isn't an honest idea and explain your reasoning. this is often some time to teach!"
10  Turn it into a Teachable Moment
Speaking of teaching, a nasty idea is often a hugely valuable learning opportunity.
"Most people don't want to fail, and once they are putting forth a thought it's with the intention of being a productive a part of the team," says Irene Becker, founder, and chief success officer of Just Coach It-The 3Q Edge, who runs the 3Q Leadership Blog. "Fear shuts down cognitive ability, creates disengagement and a myriad of problems which will ultimately undermine results."
Instead of being annoyed at a bad idea, find how to embrace it as a flash to review the company's or projet's big-picture goals.
11    Find a Kernel of Goodness In It
We've already agreed that the phrase "there are not any bad ideas" is nonsense. But what's closer to the reality is that there are not any completely bad ideas. there is a good chance that even the dumbest-seeming idea has some merit if you probe it a touch.
"I recommend they assert, 'I'm unsure about the thought as an entire but there's an honest piece in there— I prefer X element of your suggestion. Let's work to expand thereon,'" says Frances Cole Jones, author of the way to Wow: Proven Strategies for Selling Your (Brilliant) Self in any Situation and president at Cole Media Management. "Or, 'I can't support your idea as an entire but you are doing have a legitimate criticism. does one have the other ideas regarding a possible solution?'"
12    Build On What Works
Once you've pulled out what actually works in a thought, find how to create thereon or take it in a completely different direction. That kernel of quality might help pave the thanks to something far more valuable for the organization.
"Unworkable and ineffective ideas might not add and of themselves, but, repeatedly are the precursor to making new and better ideas when brainstormed during a way that honors each and each person," says Jeannette Seibly, PXT Select Authorized, Partner with Wiley, Profiles International. "Always repose on ideas presented otherwise you will lose people and their 'good' ideas."
13      Make Dialog a part of the method
The strongest organizations are people who have incorporated a variety of ideas and where decisions are delayed for discussion and scrutiny.
"The best tactic to encourage staff to develop strong ideas is to form constructive dialogue and idea revision a building block of your organizational culture," says Rita Santelli, president of Savvy Inc., who also teaches Innovation Leadership at Georgetown University's School of continuous Studies. "Diversity of thought will help the team identify potential pitfalls and generate the needed fixes before the thought is implemented." Support and encourage your team to conceptualize together, and embrace a variety of various points of view.
14      Battle the "Idea Bubble"
Along an equivalent line, Santelli adds that "it can actually be very difficult to spot a nasty idea internally. once you are surrounded by your products, services, and coworkers all day, every day, you'll end up during a 'bubble of thought' where one perspective dominates. the simplest thanks to combating the "bubble" is to usher in the maximum amount diversity of thought as possible."
The bad idea may have grown out of 1 of those "idea bubbles."
15      Get More People Involved
On her blog, product discovery coach Teresa Torres offers her own suggestion for turning a nasty idea into an honest one: "The more you engage people within the idea generation and evaluation process, the more involved they're getting to be within the outcomes. They now have skin within the game. If you think that you've got a tough time wrangling feedback and requests now, this process will only increase that volume. Remember, it's worthwhile. More ideas, cause better ideas."
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Ways to improve your diversity recruiting strategy
Most recruiters and managers would agree that various teams help companies be more innovative, creative and achieve better results. You don’t even need to check out the stats (of which there are many) to understand intuitively that diversity recruiting contributes to a far better overall performance.
1. Audit your job ads
One of the simplest ways to recruit diverse candidates is to try an audit of your past recruitment ads and make changes to talk to a broader range of candidates. you'll notice that a number of the languages you employ are more geared toward a selected demographic of experience level. If this is often the case, find ways to be more inclusive in your language to appeal to candidates from different backgrounds.
Don’t be afraid to write down job ads with specific demographics in mind to spice up your diversity recruiting strategy. Let your target candidates know that you’re seeking them out, and explain why your company would make an excellent fit.
2. Target sources where diverse candidates congregate
A great thanks to making sure that your talent pool is filled with diverse candidates is to source your candidates from the spread of various places. Don’t believe an equivalent source over and once again when seeking out new candidates. Focusing on only the sources that you simply know best may result during a talent pool of comparable candidates and a scarcity of diversity.
Instead, hunt down opportunities to source diverse candidates where they typically hang around . for instance, there are many online and offline groups dedicated to women in technology. this might be an excellent source to satisfy and connect with high caliber female candidates directly, rather than expecting them to seek out you through platforms like Indeed. The more you're taking the initiative to seek out these channels, the more likely it's that your talent pools are going to be diverse.
3. Encourage your diverse employees to refer their connections
Members of your team will likely have networks of individuals with similar backgrounds to them. Creating a various candidate referral program may be a good way to both boost your diversity recruitment strategy, and showcase that your company values different backgrounds and concepts.
If you're looking to rent more of a selected group of individuals, reach bent a number of the workers already on your team who are a part of that demographic. Encourage them to share your job ads with their networks, and provides them the tools they have to market the corporate for you. Your employees and candidates will both feel that your company values their opinions and presence, which is astounding for overall team morale and engagement.
4. Offer internships to targeted groups
Many companies have started internal diversity programs that provide internship and co-op positions to candidates from specific backgrounds. this is often an excellent thanks to encouraging up and coming candidates in your industry to hitch your team and obtain experience.
To accomplish this, reach bent schools and community groups in your area to work out opportunities to form connections with students. Often, communities will have their programs to encourage growth, and teaming up with those initiatives may be a good way to offer back while also taking advantage of new and diverse talent.
5. Develop an employer brand that showcases your diversity
Perhaps the simplest thanks to boosting diversity in your candidate sourcing are to organically create an employer brand that values people and opinions from all walks of life. mention the advantages and importance of diversity together with your team, get their stock and ingrain those values into your company culture.
As you are doing this, you'll begin to develop an employer brand that's known for valuing diversity. Encourage employees to speak about this a part of your business. Record their stories, and incorporate that a part of your corporate personality into how you promote your employer brand. Diverse candidates will hunt down companies who truly value those ideals, and developing organically is that the only thanks to truly reap those benefits.
6. Create company policies that appeal to diverse candidates
It’s one thing to say that you simply value diverse recruiting strategies and teams, but it’s quite another to truly live those values daily. That’s why it’s so important to proactively implement company policies that appeal to diverse candidates.
Consider changing some time off and scheduling policies to incorporate more religious holidays, community events, and so on. Encourage flexible work hours which will allow candidates to continue being involved in their communities, and not require them to evolve to a cookie-cutter schedule in the least times.
It’s also important for management teams to encourage employees to talk up if they think certain policies are hindering diversity in any way. People’s individual biases will always be an element in how they perceive and navigate the workplace, so it’s important to encourage open and honest dialogue to make sure everyone feels welcome.
Having these policies in situ, and actively promoting them in your sourcing, maybe a good way to make sure your diversity recruiting strategy is running because it should be.
Increasing diversity in candidate screening
If you discover that your diversity recruiting strategy is bringing during a nice sort of candidates, but you’re struggling to eliminate bias in how you screen them, then you ought to consider a number of these tactics.
7. Use blind resumes
An increasingly popular technique recruiters are using to get rid of bias from how they screen candidates is to “blackout” any and every one personal information on resumes. Information like names, schools, date of birth, specific locations, then on can all contribute to a point during a biased assessment of the candidate, albeit it’s not done consciously.
8. Use blind interviews
Blind interviews use an equivalent principle as blacking out resumes to scale back bias, but apply this tactic to early conversations with the candidate. they will be accomplished by sending candidates text-based questions via text, or through your recruitment platform of choice. Candidates answer these questions anonymously and are asked to avoid providing personal information.
The goal here is to stay free from bias regarding who you select to interview further. It’s much tougher to get rid of all personality and bias when lecture candidates on the phone or face to face, so blind interviews are best early within the process.
9. Harness AI to review resumes
One way to make sure that you simply remove bias from your resume screening process entirely is to leverage AI technology in your ATS. Pre-program your platform to flag and filter for specific skills and knowledge, and let the AI technology analyze your candidate resumes for those parameters. this may provide you with a impartial shortlist, free from any kind of bias.
10. Rethink the factors that you simply screen
This tactic relates to your job ads audit where you rethought what you search for during a candidate and the way you ask them. A critical part of diversity recruiting is to always be questioning what traits you value most in candidates, why, and whether that’s supported your own bias.
11. Automate your shortlisting using an ATS
As mentioned above, your ATS is often wont to impartially whittle away your list to the foremost high-potential candidates. Use the screening tools included in your ATS to seek out candidates with the foremost potential and therefore the best resume of skills. this system allows you to completely remove personal opinions about specific candidates from the equation, and only specialize in the information that’s relevant to the work description. Shortlisting candidates who supported certain requirements will assist you to move towards increased diversity.
If your talent pool was diverse at the beginning of the method, then you ought to have a pleasant sort of candidate and background in your shortlist. If not, then the ultimate diversity recruiting tactic can inherit play.
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PROPERTY Buying - Ideas From THE PROFESSIONALS
Buying that fantasy home could be a thing that you observe as unachievable. If you have the right information, you as well can buy a home that fits your needs, gets to your dreams, and provides you a footing in life to be much more effective. This content will give you a few of that tips and maybe even a little bit more. If you need first months lease, last months lease and a deposit, in order to rent a house, ask the landlord about possibly paying the last a few months rent over time. With the addition of a few hundred dollars to each month's payment, you may get that new place, without needing to have all of the money up front.
For both retailers and buyers ensure that you always gather data about things. Look at the newspaper for the reason that area for things like foreclosed homes, current and historical median prices and in addition how long homes are staying out there. Also look up things like unemployment rate and crime rates for the area. Perform a sex offender search in the region of the house you are considering buying. Real estate agents are not necessary to disclose these details voluntarily, although many must answer honestly if directly asked. Parents specifically should be aware of this information before moving to a fresh area. Make sure to check the criminal offense at length, as not all offenders are necessarily dangerous. Choose a new home which has enough room if you anticipate beginning a family or already have kids. Keep safety in mind, as well, particularly if a house has a swimming pool or stairs. It might be safer to get a house that kids formerly lived in. Many parents childproof their waterfront homes Virginia Beach, so these homes are most likely already secure for your kids. When buying a home in an island, be sure you find out about flooding issues. Some areas on islands are extremely flood prone and flood whenever it so very much as rains. This can be vital information in the event that you plan to live there year-circular because you don't desire to be continuously flooded. Question how often the island floods, how many evacuation routes there are and how often those routes are used. To assist you buy or sell real estate you need to find an agent who specializes in your town or the ones you are looking at shopping for a property. Drive around the region and see whose name is usually on most of the signs. Then inquire further for referrals to others that they've helped. Consider your credit history and background before trying to get a home loan. If you discover that your rating is less than 620, you may want to rethink investing in a home at this time and focus on building that rating up to at least, 690. The better your credit score, the better interest rate you'll get on your own home. One important suggestion when it comes to property, is to ensure that you retain an in depth journal of everything that you carry out throughout the process. That is important as either the buyer or the seller, because it will make sure that not merely have you any idea how you are accomplishing your goals, but will also be an excellent record in the event you need proof, if an unforeseen circumstance arises. One important suggestion when it comes to real estate is to check the history of the area to see if there have been any normal disasters during the past. This can hopefully save from waterfront property in Virginia Beach va harm or lack of life together with your house choice. This mainly can be a tactic to use when moving to a new and unfamiliar territory. Such occurrences as flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes have a tendency to do it again in the same geographical areas. If you anticipate relocating your family to a fresh area and have children beneath the age of 18, perform a explore the National Sex Offender Community Registry. Realtors are not legally obligated to notify prospective buyers of sex offender info. The information within the data source can easily determine whether a particular home or community is the right place for you. When looking to buy a home, try not to focus an excessive amount of on one specific area. Be open to looking at property that's located fairly close to your target area because that may make much more options obtainable to you and increase your chances of getting something you prefer. Try to remain objective when attending an open house or viewing a model home. Focus on the home itself rather than the decor. Remember, you are purchasing the house, not really its contents. Concentrate on what's most significant: square footage, the ground plan, surfaces, windows, and doorways. This will allow you to regulate how well the house can accommodate YOUR decor and belongings. Your dream home exists looking forward to you. You need to seize the opportunities around you and make it happen. There is plenty of great advice here to help you be on the way in that objective. Keep looking and using the data you have to go away and discover it.
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socmedsean · 5 years
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10 Steps To Ensure That Your Blog Doesn’t Suck!
SocMedSean - Social.Media.Sean 10 Steps To Ensure That Your Blog Doesn’t Suck!
NOTE: I originally wrote this article back in 2011 and it helped some folks evaluate their blogging activities. I recently updated the post to ensure that it’s as applicable today as it was back then. If you have tips that you think would help others in their blogging activities, be sure to add them in a comment.
Let’s face it blogging sounds easy. Write some words, add some images, click the “Publish” button and it’s all good. In reality, though, the process of successfully blogging is actually quite difficult. It requires dedication, purpose, technological skills, patience, and resources.
While there are those who think of blogging as just writing a bunch of words, they often don’t understand that just to get a blog up and running takes money and technical skills. The ongoing maintenance requires an ability to generate new ideas, produce content, and promotional skills to ensure that you content is found by the right audience.
That misguided perception of ease has resulted in in the internet being polluted with abandoned blogs that seemed like a good idea at the time, but never came to fruition. I’m guilty of it…that great idea that I spent a weekend building a blog and then never published a single article.
They’re out there….I won’t tell you where, but they’re out there.
Luckily, Google does us all a big a favor by never indexing these blogs and pushing low-quality blogs to the bottom of the index.
The question is whether you want your blog to end up in that wasteland of crappy content or if you want to actually develop and audience and maybe make some extra money from your ideas. If you have been blogging for a while and you’re frustrated or if you’re an aspiring blogger who is just getting started…this article is a gut-check.
Based on my 10 years of experience blogging, these are some steps that I share with anyone who expresses and interest in joining the content economy. I hope they help.
Current Bloggers – You’re Blogging, But Not Making Progress
Does this sound like you?
You published 30 articles this year, but none of them have gone viral, you still only have 250 followers on Twitter (none of whom retweet you), and your organic traffic is virtually nothing.
To add insult to injury, your Google analytics show that you get about 25 visitors to your blog every day, and you’re pretty sure that you, your family, and the GoogleBot account for about half of those.
So, maybe it’s time to reconsider whether you’re actually going to make your first million in blogging. Maybe it’s time to rethink whether the you’ll be able to quit your job this year and wait for the advertising revenue from the blog to come rolling in.
Maybe it’s time to…well…quit.
Maybe not. Maybe it’s time to reset your expectations.
Here are a few things to consider before you throw in the towel.
NOTE: For a reference point, it took me 3 years of dedication to get SocMedSean.com to a level where it was earning more than it expended. On top of that, it took me 10 years to get the site to the point where I considered it to be a “second income”. It’ll probably take me another three years before it becomes my primary income.
If you have a blog and are off and running, great. It’s time to tune it up and start thinking about speed, growth, and content value.
New Bloggers – You’re Ready To Retire Using Blog Income
For those who are new to the world of blogging, but are also tired of seeing other writers make all the money from the content economy, these steps can help you take the first steps toward a successful blog.
Keep in mind that there is quite a bit more to blogging than just writing. Some additional skills that you may need to work on include:
Technical skills required to setup a content management system like WordPress. This includes the ability to understand how themes, plugins, and images can slow down your blog, potentially hurting your ability to generate organic traffic.
Social media engagement skills to manage and promote your content on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Email marketing skills to manage and grow your subscriber list.
Paid media management skills to place promotional ads on Facebook, Twitter, and other social channels.
Analytical analysis skills to use tools like Google Analytics to evaluate your success along the way.
Keyword analysis tools like AHrefs or SEMRush to help you identify under-served keywords and write content to embrace them.
Still excited about launching your blog? Then continue on and learn about the steps that can help you succeed.
The Steps To Successfully Blogging Require A Tactical Plan
Ever heard the quote “failing to plan is planning to fail.”? It holds true in the world of blogging, just like everywhere else. If you don’t have a plan for your blog then you’ll likely just flail about, wonder why no one is visiting, and eventually quit.
To avoid that, follow these 10 steps to develop a plan that can get you started on building or growing your blog.
Step 1 – Evaluate Your Commitment To The Cause
The first thing you need to think about is whether your blog is going to be a business or a hobby. If it’s a hobby, great. Treat it like one.
Hobbies come and go and they usually get pushed to the wayside when other issues at home or work come up. If it’s a hobby, let your focus on it come and go as needed. Enjoy it. Have fun with it.
If, other the other hand, you plan to eventually make money with your blog then treat it like a business. You don’t have to create an LLC or open a bank account, yet, because it’s likely going to be a while before you have any income. However, to get to the point when you do generate revenue, you need to treat your blogging activities like they are a second job.
If you’re ready to turn your slow-growing blog into a business, continue on.
Step 2 – Start By Setting Some Long-Term Goals
Successful bloggers (aka those that make money doing it) understand that blogging requires both long and short-term commitment and goals. You need to set an annual traffic target for this year, but also set weekly goals for the volume of content that you’re going to produce.
For instance, if you are starting from zero (or minimal) traffic, start with something realistic for your first year. Look out 12 months and work toward having 2,000 consistent monthly sessions by the end of your first year. That means you’re attracting ~66 people per day to your blog.
For someone just starting up, that’s a realistic goal if you’re actively publishing two high-quality posts per week and actively building an audience via your social networks.
I’m not saying 2,000 sessions needs to be your goal. You have to establish that for yourself. The goal needs to be reasonable, though. It needs to be something you can accomplish with hard work and dedication. If you exceed it, GREAT! If you don’t meet it, then it’ll be time for another re-evaluation.
Just for clarification, this 2,000 sessions goal means that by the end of your 12 month, your blog will be consistently seeing 2,000 sessions each month. It doesn’t mean that over the 12 months you get a sum total of 2,000 sessions.
If you are working hard and seeing a 20% month-over-month increase on your traffic then your monthly traffic for 12 months would look something like:
Before you started – 300 sessions per month (that’s just 10 people per day)
Month 1 – 360 sessions (that’s a 20% increase because of your hard work and commitment)
Month 2 – 432 sessions
Month 3 – 518 sessions
Month 4 – 622 sessions
Month 5 – 746 sessions
Month 6 – 895 sessions
Month 7 – 1074 sessions (Woohoo! You broke 1,000 sessions per month)
Month 8 – 1289 sessions
Month 9 – 1547 sessions
Month 10 – 1857 sessions
Month 11 – 2229 sessions (Check it out! More than 2,000 sessions per month)
Month 12 – 2675 sessions
If you work hard toward your goal, the growth curve of monthly sessions should look something like this.
Keep in mind that a 20% month-over-month goal is an aggressive, but achievable goal if you commit to it. Over time, that growth with slow and you’ll have to reset something more realistic, but in the early months of your blog you should be able to reach 20% growth.
Once you have identified your goal, write it down in the form of something like this sentence and post it somewhere you will see it each day.
By the end of     {month}         of              {year}                , I will see          {number}          of sessions to my blog on a monthly basis.
This will keep you grounded and remind you to keep working toward your goal.
Why Sessions As A Goal?
Why do I recommend sessions as your metric? Because sessions is what advertisers care about. If you want to eventually generate revenue from your blog through ad revenue, you’ll need to generate sessions. You can pick another metric if you’d like, but I recommend going with sessions.
My 2,000 sessions target is just a recommendation to start with. If you think you can commit more time and can create more content and promote it effectively (more on that below), then set a higher goal. Just like any goal, it needs to be personal to you and your blogging plan.
Step 3 – Follow That With A Set Of Short-Term Goals
Once you have your long-term goal set, the next step is to set a couple of long-term goals. I recommend two, in particular: Content and Promotion.
Set A Content Creation Goal That Will Give You Enough To Promote
Without unique content, your blog is dead-on-arrival. So, you need to set a goal of weekly or monthly articles that you can manage that will also get you to your long-term goal.
If you use the 2,000 sessions goal for your first year of rebuilding, then you need to also determine how many articles you need to publish in order to reach those content goals. Keep in mind that it’s probably going to take at least a year before you see some actual, meaning traffic increases from organic search.
That means you’re going to spend your first year developing content that will be promoted primarily through social media, email marketing, and paid media. Don’t expect Google to do the work in your first year…that work is all on you. If you work hard during your first year, Google will come in and help you out in year two.
To set a content goal, you need to be aggressive. There is no “magic number” that signals to Google that your blog is legit, but it’s a pretty common agreement among bloggers that you’ll need more than 50-60 posts to get Google’s attention. Don’t take my word for it, though, here are some good resources that promote the same idea:
How Many Blog Posts Does It Take to See Exponential Traffic Growth?
How Often Should Companies Blog? [New Benchmark Data]
Like I said, it’s not a science and it is possible that your very first blog could be the one the generates thousands of views. If it does, great. If it doesn’t, just keep on plugging on using good writing techniques, solving problems, and doing your research to find keyword opportunities.
To reach your goal, you are going to want to get to your 50 articles as quickly as possible. The sooner you have the articles published, the better.
So, set a goal like publishing 50 goals by the end of month 6. So, the schedule will look something like:
Before you started – 10 blog posts ( already have these, right?)
Month 1 – 8 blog posts (that’s 2 blog posts per week)
Month 2 – 8 blog posts
Month 3 – 5 blog posts (throttle it back to a little more than one per week)
Month 4 – 5 blog posts
Month 5 – 5 blog posts
Month 5 – 5 blog posts
Month 7 – 5 blog posts (Woot! 51 blog posts published!)
Month 8 – 5 blog posts
Month 9 – 5 blog posts
Month 10 – 5 blog posts
Month 11 – 5 blog posts
Month 12 – 5 blog posts (You end the year with 76 blog posts for Google to consume)
Again, this is an example of a content publication target that would get you to your target in a reasonable amount of time. If you want to get to 50 posts (or 100 posts for that matter), then create a more aggressive schedule. Just make sure your content is good (more on that below).
Create A Promotion Plan That Is Effective
Writing the content is just half the battle when it comes to attracting traffic. Bad bloggers follow the “write it and they will come” methodology. Then when no traffic shows up, they get frustrated and quit.
The reality is you have to drive traffic to your site and you do that through content promotion.
There are tons of ideas on how to promote your content on the Web, but here are 10 ideas that can get you started:
Create a Facebook page and post your content to your page.
Pay $25 to promote your blog post to a targeted group of people who haven’t liked your Facebook page, but might be interested in your content. This can have the double impact of also getting people to like your Facebook page.
Create a Twitter account and post your content to your feed.
Pay $25 to promote your blog post on Twitter, similar to Facebook.
Create a Pinterest account and post your content to a pin board.
Use Tailwind to promote your content to Pinterest Tribes that are related to your niche.
Be sure to allow people to sign up for your email marketing list (you have one, right?) and notify each of your list members of any new posts.
Pin your best post to the top of your Facebook page and Twitter feed so any new folks who check out your profile see that content first.
Mention any influencers that are included in your content when you tweet. That way, they might check out your article and share it with their audience.
Email those bloggers who you mentioned directly and thank them for their article and it’s contribution to your post.
Step 4 – Ensure You Have A Strong Content Strategy
If your content isn’t performing well, the problem might be your content. I know that sounds a bit silly, but maybe what you’re writing just isn’t interesting. Maybe the topic already has a ton of content, so your article is relegated to page 5 of Google. Maybe you just aren’t taking enough time to research and develop your content.
There are plenty of folks out there who say that writing a blog post should be quick and easy. It shouldn’t take too much effort and if you’re spending hours researching and writing your content, then you are overthinking it.
Bullshit.
That might have been true back in the days when fewer people were blogging because Google was hungry for every piece of content it could get its hands on. Now, there is fierce competition for the front page of the search results pages, so your content has to be better than everyone else’s. It has to be outstanding.
IT HAS TO STAND OUT.
Another myth is that in this mobile world, where everyone reads everything on their phone, your content needs to be short. I have heard marketers recommend articles of 500-600 words in length to their clients. I have also seen those articles fail miserably.
If you want to stand out to Google, you need to be thinking about writing articles in the 1,000 – 2,000 word range…and more toward the 2,000 word range.
Why? Because Google is currently focused on authority and value. They want to rank articles that are deep and definitive. Google doesn’t want brief…it wants detailed.
So take your time, research, write, add, extend.
Make every word valuable. If your readers find it valuable, they will stay on your site longer, they will share it with others, they will value it…and Google knows when that happens and rewards it.
Step 5 – Evaluate or Re-Evaluate Your Audience
Do you know who you want to read your articles? If the answer is “anyone”, then you need to re-evaluate.
Before you ever publish an article, you need to really think through who might be the target audience and ask yourself whether you are really meeting their needs.
For instance, when I first wrote this post, it was about 650 words and was targeted to those bloggers who had been publishing for 6 months or so, but hadn’t seen any traction. They are frustrated because they want to see their blog succeed, so they started Googling terms like:
Why isn’t my blog traffic growing?
What can I do to kickstart my blog traffic?
What are some good guidelines for blog content?
Are my blog posts too short for Google?
Should I give up on blogging?
The goal was to provide these folks with a little inspiration and some tips to help get them back on track.
When I decided to update the post, I thought to myself that the audience might be a bit too narrow. Maybe bloggers who are frustrated are asking similar questions to those new bloggers have. Those queries might be more like:
How do I get started blogging?
Can you really make money blogging and how do you do it?
How many blog articles do I have to write before I start seeing traffic?
How long does it take for my blog content to get indexed?
Where can I find tips for setting up a blog?
The questions might be a bit different, but both audiences benefit from the content. What this allows me to do is really think through the people who might be reading and expand the content to try to help them out.
Just like clearly stating your goals can help out, spelling out the details of your target audience can be beneficial. To do this, I create “persona statements” that following this pattern:
The target audience of this blog is          {description of the audience and their challenges/needs}       . My goal is to         {statement of the goals I want to achieve with the content}     .
In the case of this post, there are two audiences, so the persona statements look like this:
The target audience of this blog is          aspiring bloggers how have never run a blog, but are interested in learning some tips and tricks        . My goal is to         help them learn 10 actionable things that can help them get their blog off the ground, while also helping them understand the challenges and dedication required      .
and
The target audience of this blog is          experienced bloggers who aren’t seeing the traffic that they expected and want some help developing ideas for growth        . My goal is to         share experience that can help them fine tune their current blog, evaluate their past activities, and make forward progress toward success      .
Pretty simple, right? These statements help me ensure that my content is staying on track and is laser-targeted on helping meet the audience needs. In my experience, writing posts that help others solve problems will always draw traffic.
Step 6 – Identify Promotional Opportunities
As I mentioned previously, writing content is only half the equation when it comes to successful blogging. You can write the best article on the Web, but if no one knows about it, what value does it offer?
If you want to grow your blog, you HAVE to get comfortable with promoting your content. There are a lot of great resources out there to help you learn how to promote. I highly recommend these resources:
ProBlogger – Read every article you have time for. Darren has been doing this for a long time and there are a lot of great resources on his blog.
Neil Patel – Again, read everything you can. Neal knows what he’s talking about when it comes to promoting content and growing an audience. His content ranges from beginners to experts…everyone can benefit.
Backlinko – Brian has an amazing email list that he uses to share tips with his subscribers. Sign up and read every email Brian sends to you.
When it comes to promoting your content across channels, you need to really consider each channel and determine whether they will work for your content. Recently, I ran a pretty deep experiment to see whether Pinterest was a good channel to use to promote my content.
While the experiment is ongoing, the results aren’t very positive. After a few more months, I may just turn my time and energy to other, more productive channels. The time and energy required to successfully promote on Pinterest just isn’t worth it.
When considering which channels you might use in your promotion, here are some to think about:
Social media channels – Find the ones that your target audience uses and focus on those. DON’T try to be on every channel, you’ll overextend yourself and your results will suffer.
Email marketing – These are folks who voluntarily sign up to receive your content. This is your best audience, don’t forget about them.
Digital paid media – Yes, sometimes you might have to pay to receive some exposure for your articles. Try Facebook ads or Pinterest ads. Learn how to target an audience that matches your persona statements and see how the ads work.
Influencer engagement – Does your article mention some influencers in your industry? Mention them in a tweet and maybe they’ll share your post across their social network.
Find ways to reach your audience and let them know about your content. Make it easy for them to share the post with their network if/when they find value.
Step 7 – Continually Analyze The Technical Performance Of Your Blog
xxx
Step 8 – Analyze Your Internal And External Linking Strategy
xxx
Step 9 – Know When It’s Time To Monetize
AdSense or other networks
Step 10 – DON’T Be Tempted To Cheat
I saved this one for last and it is one of the most important.
I am well aware that there are plenty of hucksters out there who will attempt to sell you cheap traffic. There are Fiverr gigs, black hat promises, and all kinds of schemes to get traffic to your blog.
THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS TO SUCCESSFUL BLOGGING
There are no magic Fiverr gigs. There are no secret backlinks that will send you thousands of high-quality, qualified visitors. These are scams. They are designed to get your money and send you garbage bot traffic. Don’t fall for them.
At best, you will see your Google Analytics numbers rise for 30 days. Then, once the bot traffic is over, you’ll be left feeling depressed and sad.
At worst, you will earn yourself a Google penalty and potentially harm your blog reputation for a long time.
Don’t cheat. Work hard. Dedicate yourself.
Do that, and you’ll succeed.
Let me know how I can help by asking a question in the comments or via my contact form. Have a tip that you feel would help others in their blogging journey? Leave it as a comment!
Cheers!
–Sean
10 Steps To Ensure That Your Blog Doesn’t Suck! Sean R. Nicholson.
This post originally posted at SocMedSean.com - SocMedSean – Social.Media.Sean http://bit.ly/2Cdn1sh
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camplight-tales · 6 years
Text
Single Bus Factors
Looking at Camplight as an evolving system of people, we are at the stage where we’ve become aware of individuals who are the so-called single bus factors in the cooperative. A single bus factor is a person who, if they get hit by a bus and die, many people will experience severe discomfort (“severe discomfort” being a gentle way to talk about the consequences). We’re grateful we’ve never experienced the “severe discomfort” of a single bus factor, but we still have members in the organization who are the sole leaders of vital initiatives. Being an adaptive organisation that values progress, transparency, collaboration and freedom, we’re already tackling this core issue of ours, so in this post I’ll put some light on how we do it.
How do you tell a single bus factor?
First things first, if single bus factors are making an organization unsustainable, how can we spot them? I’ve managed to identify several criteria:
A single bus factor holds much of the information about an initiative / organization. If a team member doesn’t know something, they’ll usually consult the single bus factor about it. In turn this is going to generate more load on the leader.
A single bus factor is the main generator of improvements in an initiative / organization. If they go away, there’s high chance that things will start to decline or in the best case stay at a plateau.
A single bus factor can’t or fears to take a vacation. If you try to encourage them to rest, they’ll usually reply with “That’s impossible”.
A single bus factor has symptoms of burnout. You can spot that by the toxic environment in the team and the signs of fear, irritability and sarcasm.
Many team members depend on the single bus factor to do their job. Usually, if a team member doesn’t know how to do something, or doesn’t have the means to do it, they’ll wait until the single bus factor finds time to resolve the issue. Team members won’t take action on resolving issues, they’ll only report them.
The clients trust only the single bus factor for making decisions. Other team members’ opinions are politely disregarded.
A single bus factor is unaware of their condition.
In a given situation, there may be present only one, several or all of the criteria mentioned above. Also, they can vary in degree. For example, in Camplight we’ve had a single bus factor meeting criteria 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7. We’ve also had a single bus factor meeting criteria 2, 4, 6 and 7. In the first case, criteria 1 was only ephemeral -- most of the information was shared among the team, but the team couldn’t make themselves to use it. In the second case, criteria 2 was quite weakly held because there were other team members who helped generate improvements. Continuing the example, I currently feel as a single bus factor to a project and meet criteria 2 and 6. Of course, all of these assessments are subjective, but we may drive a study on the topic in the future.
What can happen if there’s a single bus factor?
Spotting the single bus factor is good, but if they’re actually harmless, one shouldn’t do anything about them. However, from my experience, there’s a plethora of things that can happen:
The single bus factor burnouts, rage quits and leaves the team helpless. Some teams can never recover from such a situation or it either takes them months (maybe years) to do it.
The single bus factor gets sick, depressed or dead and leaves the team helpless. Worse than leaving the team helpless, one can really hurt their well being. In the end, at Camplight we find the individual well being more important than whatever material goals one can or is obliged to accomplish.
The single bus factor makes a series of bad decisions. Bad decisions are bad. A series of them is even worse. This can hinder the success of whatever endeavor one has undertaken.
People start seeing the single bus factor as an authority and stop using their own minds. A team of executioners is good if you’re at a factory. Doing intellectual work requires using your own mind. An authority that helps you forget that is no good for a given initiative.
A lot of communication overhead gets generated because the single bus factor has the most information about the project. Communication overhead prevents the team from doing work that really matters. Instead, they’re bogged down with FOMO and lots of duplicated information.
Again, these things happen in varying degrees and combinations. I’m happy that I haven’t been in situations 3 and 4 and I hope to do the best to prevent any of the other situations from happening again. Even if Camplight was in most of the situations above, somehow they haven’t devastated the cooperative. Maybe that’s because we’re still small, or maybe that’s due to our company culture.
Symptoms and consequences of non-productive behavior are a good motivating factor for overcoming it. Of course, you need some tactics to do that effectively and efficiently. In the next three sections we’ll look at these tactics.
How can you prevent yourself from becoming a single bus factor?
If you are self-aware about your importance, you can easily develop a strategy to prevent the consequences of your situation. Even if you don’t think you are important, it’d be a good exercise to look at yourself for symptoms of a single bus factor and act accordingly. If you’ve acted on changing yourself, it’d be easier for you to change others. So here’s how you can change you:
Define your responsibilities and aim at distributing them among the team. This way you can be mindful about taking too much responsibility. Also, you’ll have a map of the things you’re valuable about. Having this map will help you know what responsibilities you can share and to whom.
Make sure all of the information you acquire is well documented, up-to-date and accessible. This way you’ll prevent the establishment of information silos and communication overhead that follows.
Communicate with the team actively and share your leadership. People shouldn’t feel isolated from your decisions and activities. Share these and openly seek distribution of your leadership.
If the clients ask you the tough questions, let other team members answer them. This way you can teach the clients to not only trust you, but also trust the other team members. Even more, you lower the chances of making a series of bad decisions.
Teach. Not everyone is a leader and not everyone knows the perils of being a single bus factor. Teach by example.
I currently try to do the 1st suggestion by sharing my responsibilities as a lean PM. If you’re wondering what these responsibilities are, there’s a high chance we’ll be sharing them in a future blog post :)
How can you help people to not become single bus factors?
Of course, sometimes there’s a need to prevent others from becoming way too important for the organization or initiative at hand. Even if they are aware of that possibility, it’s good to have a helping hand on the matter. Here’s a list of good actions you can take:
Participate in decisions for which you are competent. The more decisions and valuable actions a person makes, the more important they become. If you are part of the decisions for which you are competent, you help distribute the decision-making among the team.
If you’re not competent for a decision, involve other team members in it. Of course, it’s a bad idea to give advice on topics you’re incompetent of. On the other hand, it’s also a bad idea to leave the decision making to a single entity. Thus, if other team members shy away from decision making but know the matter at hand, it’d be good if you empower them to participate.
Be a generator of valuable improvements in the initiative / organization and empower others to do the same. This way many people will develop the mindset to improve and solve problems, instead of relying on somebody else to do it.
If someone in the team starts taking too much responsibility, talk them into sharing some of it with you and other team members.
Be empathetic and help people feel important. One of the reason single bus factors develop is because people like to feel important. If team members actively pursue and admire the reasons why every one of them is valuable to the project, chances are the importance would come without the need to be a single bus factor. Of course, if you can’t find value in someone of the team members, maybe their place is not in the organization or initiative at hand.
How to dethrone the single bus factor?
When shit hits the fan, you have to take action. Prevention is the best cure for a critical situation, but sometimes it’s too late for it. Here’s the last set of ideas about what to do if someone has already become a single bus factor:
Actively participate in finding all and acquiring some of the single bus factor’s responsibilities. This way you can offload valuable work from them.
Prove to the single bus factor that other team members can also do some of his work. This will help the single bus factor have more trust in you and the team.
After making sure the responsibilities are evenly distributed around the team, talk the single bus factor into taking a long vacation. This way they’ll rest and maybe have the time to rethink how they do work.
Be an active part of the client <-> team communication, so clients can start trusting not only the single bus factor. In client work, some of the pressure over the single bus factors comes from the client’s trust. If you manage to prove that there are other equally trustworthy team members, the clients will be happy to offload the stress from the single bus factor.
All in all, awareness, empathy and active communication usually diminish the need from the above actions and situations. But awareness, empathy and active communication are skills that take years to acquire, so they’re not at everyone’s disposal. Also, some of the above may not prove true in some contexts or situations, so tread carefully.
I’d be really happy to hear your experience on the topic. Just drop an email on [email protected] :)
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