Pinoy Tech Scene

Now that I've shifted to wearing my consulting hat, I'll be giving more presentations and facilitating more workshop sessions on Web 2.0, collaboration, Generation Y, and other topics. I have a couple of sessions to prepare and deliver over the next two weeks. I thought I'd take some time to "sharpen the saw" by planning how I can do this more effectively.

I need to organize frequently-needed concepts. For example, I often talk about multi-generational workplaces. Organizing key messages, case studies, and other material will make it easy for me to see at a glance which points are relevant to an intended audience and customize the presentation accordingly. A mindmap or outline is one way to do that.

I need to scan what's going on. Most of the discussions and case studies for my areas of interest appear on blogs. Investing time in expanding my reading and organizing my notes will pay off later, when I can refer back to stories and examples I've seen. I can also analyze previous presentations and discussions to look for talking points and results.

I would like to organize my presentations more effectively. I often find interesting charts or explanations in other people's slides, and I sometimes reuse my slides as well. I would like a visual way to organize those slides so that I can easily include them in presentations Microsoft Sharepoint allows Powerpoint 2007 users to organize individual slides in a slide library, but I don't have access to that, and I may move to a Linux/Mac setup soon. One thing I can do is to build a master deck of slides (possibly broken down by topic), keeping track of the provenance of borrowed slides in the speaker's notes.

The ideal scenario would be: The team tells me about an upcoming workshop. I retrieve my notes about that industry, and I do a search for new information about the company. I select some basic talking points with screenshots and case studies that they might be interested in. I put together a brief presentation designed to be a conversation-starter. I deliver this presentation, and we brainstorm scenarios or ideas. I document the results and my notes afterwards.

Okay. Bringing it back to my two upcoming workshops… For the first workshop, my role is to help the client learn more about Generation Y. We have some material around this already thanks to our work with other clients, and there are some thoughts out there as well. For the second workshop, my role is to help the client learn more about incorporating Web 2.0 features (community, rich user interfaces, etc.) into a website. They're also somewhat interested in Generation Y.

For each workshop, I need to:

• perform an industry scan to find examples from their industry and related industries
• review past presentations to see if there are case studies, statistics, or talking points I can reuse
• review past discussions to find ideas
• brainstorm
• organize the presentation
• prepare the presentation

This will be fun!

Post from: sacha chua :: enterprise 2.0 consultant, storyteller, geek.
Check out my blog for tips on managing virtual assistants, Drupal, and other topics!

"How are you?" asked a client after the Canada Day holiday.

"Fantastic!" I replied.

She was surprised by that. Perhaps she expected me to say that the holiday was too short, or to wish that the weekend were here. So I told her about how I filled my holiday to the brim with wonderful hobbies, and how I was also happy to have another day to spend on work.

A day is a day. To spend the day wishing it was something else is to waste the potential of each moment.

When it's a holiday, I take time to explore other things and to reflect. When it's a work day, I work. I enjoy exploring my interests. I enjoy figuring things out for clients, the company, and myself.

Every day can be a terrific day when you aren't wishing it's something else.

Almost anything can be terrific when you aren't wishing it's something else.

I learned that the hard way by being homesick and confused. To be homesick is to be mis-placed – to be in the wrong place, to feel confused about where you want to be. I missed the Philippines when I was in Canada. I missed Canada when I was in the Philippines. When I stopped wishing I was someplace else and started really living wherever I was, it was easier to find the good things.

Same goes for days. If you're always wishing for the weekend, or for the end of the day, or for the start of the week so that you can tackle your pile of work, you'll find that time works against you. Time slows down when you're looking forward to something. Time speeds up when you're there–it's over too quickly.

Be in the moment.

=)

Post from: sacha chua :: enterprise 2.0 consultant, storyteller, geek.
Check out my blog for tips on managing virtual assistants, Drupal, and other topics!

I spent Canada Day indulging in hobbies that benefit from concentrated time. It was terrific!

I started the day by sewing a pajama set from the adorable penguin flannel I picked up last week. I modified Simplicity 3548 to make shorts instead of pants, and I tried to copy one of my existing pajama tops. The shorts turned out wonderfully. The top is a good first top, and I'm sure I'll make even better ones. I plan to take this set along on my next business trip – another little thing that'll make me smile.

Then I played the piano. The tricky bit in the middle of Send In The Clowns is starting to yield to practice. I'm also enjoying learning the second part of Fur Elise.

I spent some time in the garden, too. I filled all the empty containers with potting soil and planted seeds in them. Might as well enjoy the rest of the growing season, after all. I also weeded the garden, cultivated the soil, thinned the over-enthusiastic radishes , transplanted some basil, and rescued a tomato plant.

Photography was fun. I set up the lights, and the cats decided it was portrait day. Well, Luke sat for portraits, at least.

I broke the mini-USB connector on my camera, so I disassembled the camera and W- soldered the component back on. =D Everything still works–hooray!

Yes, I could've spent the day working, but going a little deeper on hobbies helps me develop a more interesting life. The more I know, the more I'll enjoy. =)

Great day!

Post from: sacha chua :: enterprise 2.0 consultant, storyteller, geek.
Check out my blog for tips on managing virtual assistants, Drupal, and other topics!

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Post from: sacha chua :: enterprise 2.0 consultant, storyteller, geek.
Check out my blog for tips on managing virtual assistants, Drupal, and other topics!

I usually spend the evening before a flight putting together a travel dossier. It includes:

• a map of the route from the airport to the hotel
• a map of the route from the hotel to the meeting center
• public transit routes for the airport to the hotel
• some events and background information

This is something a virtual assistant can easily prepare, and he or she can add more information too. I'd love to have:

• restaurants near the hotel, cross-referenced with reviews from Yelp or other sites
• pictures, names, bios and mobile numbers of people in the area who are interested in meeting up
• names and addresses of people in the area so that I can send postcards
• taxi companies and phone numbers

In addition, the VA could update my TripIt and Dopplr accounts, so I can start tracking these trips better.

So I'd give the VAs:

- my flight information
- my hotel information
- the location of the meeting

and they would prepare a document that contains:

1. The weather forecast, if available, including temperature in Celsius and whether to expect rain
2. The flight information (date and time, flight number, booking reference, terminal number if possible)
3. The hotel information (name, address, contact number, whether there's a courtesy shuttle from the airport, and what amenities are available)
4. A map of the route from the airport to the hotel, including a large map and small maps with driving directions for each step
5. A public transit version of that map (large map + text)
6. A map of the route from the hotel to the meeting place, including a large map and small maps with driving directions
7. A public transit version of that map (large map + text)
8. A list of taxi companies and phone numbers that serve the area. If the meeting place is in a different city, get me taxi companies for that city too
9. A list of restaurants near the hotel, ranked by their Yelp rating
10. A list of restaurants near the meeting venue, ranked by their Yelp rating
11. A list of my Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Dopplr, and Google contacts in that city, as a table with names, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and addresses (if from Google contacts), so that we can reach out to them and ask who's interested in meeting up (maybe a Facebook event + e-mail for those not on FB)

I can then print this document out easily, and keep a copy on my computer for backup.

When people have confirmed that they'll meet up, the VA can prepare a list of pictures, names, contact information, bios/interests, and blog URLs.

Sounds like an interesting idea!

Post from: sacha chua :: enterprise 2.0 consultant, storyteller, geek.
Check out my blog for tips on managing virtual assistants, Drupal, and other topics!