Maurilio Amorim

Month: July 2012

  • We Must Pull The Band-Aid Before We Can Heal

    Often the anticipation of the pain is far greater than going ahead and “pulling” the proverbial band-aid. We all have been there…the sense of dread, the knot in the pit of the stomach, the worry about the fall-out.

    ripping band aids

    I have seen organizations and individuals go through a season of angst due to an impending decision that keeps getting postpone time and time again because the decision maker fears the confrontation and whatever consequence that might come from it.

    Years ago I remember postponing letting a team member go because of the knowledge base that person had on a lot of different projects within our company. The longer I delayed, the inevitable the worst things got with clients and the rest of the team.

    In the same way, I remember being in angst for weeks over a difficult conversation I knew I had to have with someone close but didn’t want to deal with the potential pain associated with it. The conversation was difficult but it began the healing process. The days getting there were torturous.

    And much like a child who doesn’t want his wounds dressed for fear of feeling even more pain, I lived in discomfort, worry, and anxiety every postponed moment–every wasted opportunity I had to make things right—to speak my heart…to right a wrong.

    Perhaps there’s a band-aid in your life that’s long overdue to be removed, and you have postponed it for way too long.

    What would it take for you to finally do it?

     

  • What Should Your Online Identity Be?

    I was listening to a discussion today about people’s online identity. Years ago it was taboo, and even considered unsafe to have your own name in forums and chat rooms–the precursors of today’s social media. And a lot of people still create user names that allow them to be anonymous. I’m looking at my Twitter feed right now and see names such as “Shoemoney” and “Angelcollector.” Creating pseudonyms online is web 1.o thinking.

    Intuitively I have always used my first and often last name in chat rooms, forums, and now Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and whatever comes next. The main reason I use my real name online is because, for me, the web is not a place where I go to hide, but I place where I go to connect,  share my voice, and engage clients and potential clients. It’s a place where what I do and who I am intersect in new and exciting ways. My holistic online existence allows me to write about my 10-year old son’s lack of “confidence” in his toilet after an unfortunate overflow incident, share pictures of great food I experience all over the globe,  as well as write about the new technology my company developed for TWR.org…a ministry that reaches into 169 countries in 202 different languages.

    My online identity is the closest to the sum total of who I am. I share thoughts, pictures, and video as an ever-growing collage of, well, myself. My online friends–people I’ve only met through my online persona, often say to me “I feel like I really know you.” And, if they follow me on Twitter or Facebook, they probably do. Some might feel I share too much personal information, while others appreciate my transparency. However, my personal brand continues to grow and get exposure to people all over the globe. I could have been “Brazilio” or “LatinMan” if I were using the web for nefarious reasons.

    Tom Peters was right: individuals are the brands of the future and not corporations. It would be interesting to find out what happens to Apple now that Steve is gone.

    How intentional are you about your online identity? How transparent are you with your posts?

  • Embracing the New Normal

    “I am waiting for things to get back to normal.” That’s an expression we often use when the unexpected happens…when life throws us a curve ball…when the rules of the game change mid-season and we are forced to adapt. But lately I have come to the realization that very little in life, if anything, ever goes “back to normal.”

    new-normal-sign

    The problem with the idea of wanting the expected and familiar is that it forces us to look backwards. And by now we all know that life only moves forward. It’s the equivalent of the proverbial “letting the cat out of the bag.” Regardless of our futile attempts of holding on to the past, we are eventually forced to let it go and embrace the new normal.

    Whether we are dealing with fractured relationships, changing businesses environments, or even aging issues, we have to ultimately come to grips with the new normal, realizing that even today’s normal might become passé sooner than we want.

    So instead of wishing for my world to get back to normal, I have decided to embrace the new normal…understand its new dynamics, new rules, new expectations…and retool my life to work with where I am today because I suspect things will never get back to normal.

     Are you dealing with a “new normal” in your life?

  • In Memory of Billy Williams My Great Friend

    His name was Billy, not William. He was a great friend. I had hoped we’d grow old together, but he left earth too soon. These are the words I shared at his memorial service yesterday:

    I met Billy almost 20 years ago in the early days of Bellevue Community Church, now Hope Park. I came in late to the church’s tiny office where Billy was painting. He heard my accent and thought I was the tile man. That’s before he realized I have absolutely zero handy man skills.

    We became great and unlikely friends. We travelled together, served together, even owned a business together.  Billy and I were opposites in many ways, but our differences made our friendship more interesting and fun.

    He could design and build just about anything. I was always amazed by his talent and skill. He loved beauty and both my home and office have Billy’s touch.

    He had impeccable comedic timing. And I loved laughing at his jokes, even the ones I’ve heard repeatedly for as long as I’ve known him. They never got old. Well, they did, but Billy said them with such enthusiasm that you couldn’t help but laugh, again.  There are so many Billyisms, but two stick out over the years:

    When the subject of vegetarianism would come up, Billy would say: “If God didn’t want us to eat the animals, He wouldn’t have made them out of meat.”

    When someone would get on him for not returning a phone call, instead of apologizing, Billy said: “Love me for who I am; not who you want  me to be.”

    He loved God. We talked so often about faith, our journey, and God’s plan for our lives. He was a deep thinker and could be very introspective, even in the midst of cutting up.

    He loved people. A few minutes with the man and you felt you just met your best friend.  He even hated letting people down. When the economy tumbled and we needed to downsize our cabinet business, he called me in. He introduced me as “the evil foreign investor.” And as I told some of the guys we couldn’t keep them anymore, Billy cried. Some of the men who were losing their jobs, ended up consoling him.

    He hated the sun, sand, and water, which made it interesting for some of our beach vacations. I would be out for about 8 hours and Billy would join me for 30 minutes under an umbrella before giving it up for the air-conditioned condo.

    He loved me. I never once questioned Billy’s motives and his unwavering friendship. I know I could count on him for anything at anytime. Whether it was helping me do stuff around the house that I couldn’t do—which happens to be anything more skilled than taking out the trash, or listening to my plans on a major career move, Billy was there for me.

    I already miss him like crazy. But I know that because of him, I am a better man and that I have a better life. His impact on me and my memories of life with Billy will stay with me until I see him again in heaven.

    Right now I want to text him, as I often did: “answer the damn phone” and as always, see him text back “love me for who I am.”

    Billy, we have always loved you for who you are, and always will.  I know that in your moments of absolute clarity you knew it.

     

     

  • The Best Business Advice I Have Ever Gotten

    When I first started The A Group, we were mostly a marketing agency focused on design, print, and some web work. Today, we are two strong divisions: a marketing agency and a technology company. Throughout our 10 years in business I got a lot of advice from friends and mentors, but one tip has paid off more than any of the others, and it has helped grow my company even in times where a lot of similar businesses have struggled.

    key to success

    I remember telling my friend Mike Miller that I used my organizational and leadership knowledge skills as a valued added for my clients who were buying marketing services from us. His reaction was unexpected: “you’re doing this upside down! The strategy is what matters the most. Anyone can come up with design. Your consulting is what you should be charging for.”

    He was right. And that day I began to put a value on what I did best: my ability to understand a situation, figure out an outcome and, intuitively know what the next steps should be. From the strategy, my team has a clear road map to the execution. To date, our best marketing and technology work has come from the strategic services we provided our clients prior to production.

    What was the best business advice you’ve ever gotten? 

  • There Are No Small Customers, Only Small Invoices

    As an entrepreneur I had to learn this lesson the hard way. It took me a while, but I finally came to the conclusion that “there are no small customers, only small invoices,” as Shannon Litton, The A Group’s President so eloquently says. As a business owner, the sooner you learn that, the better off your organization will be.

    Here are a few things I’ve learned about the “small customer”:

    • They can barely afford your services, so it’s a big investment for them and their expectations are extremely high.
    • They are not appreciative of the “extra” effort or discount you might be giving them.
    • They lack growth potential for your business.
    • The time you spend with them could be spent in a much more profitable way, and/or with a growth potential account.

    What else have you learned about the small customer?

  • Making Your Best Choice

    Transition is inevitable. Sometimes we choose to make a move and sometimes we are thrust against our will into a completely new timeline, not of our choosing. But during the times we choose to make a move and to transition, whether it be a job or a relationship, I find that too often we run from something or someone into something or someone else.

    Too often I find people, myself included, exchange one set of problems for another…one pattern of bad behaviors for another, sometimes with even more dire consequences. Why do we do that? Why do we escape from the fire into the frying pan?

    Making the best choice transtioning

    I’m not a psychologist, but a bit of introspection lately gave me a hint. If I don’t know what I want, I cannot make a clear choice. I cannot say “no” to a mediocre offer or to another difficult relationship unless I know what I really want.

    It’s easy to say “no” to something good when there’s a deeper “yes” within.

    And to know what I want, I have to come to grips with who I am or whom I want to become. Yes, more existential than most posts, but I believe that unless we can frame our choices on the basis of what’s important to us, our worldview, then we’ll continue to move from job to job, from failed relationship to failed relationship.

    Big question: Do you know what you want?

  • How Do You Deal With the Email Bully?

    The email bully is my nemesis. Even though you might not have heard this term before, I’m sure you have run into her before.  This is different than the hard-to-deal-with-person who is always difficult or unpleasant. Email bullies are often engaging and charming in person and over the phone; however, they use terse language and are quite demanding through their email communication.

    email bully

    When I see a case of EB come across my screen, my first instinct is to give the person the benefit of a doubt since it’s virtually impossible to attribute “tone” to a short email message. But then there’s the inevitable second and third emails. Then the case is confirmed: email bullying. Here are the symptoms:

    Every situation is an out-of-control crisis.

    Everyone gets copied on the email.

    Rampant usage of ALL CAPS.

    Long and extremely verbose language.

    It’s interesting that the same person who comes across so harsh on an email, often will be cordial and professional on the phone and quite pleasant when you talk with them face-to-face.

    So here’s my question:

    How do you deal with the Email Bully who is charming and cordial in any other form of communication when you don’t have a close relationship with them?

  • How to Choose Your Color

    Finding colors that work best on you is an important fashion foundation. Knowing what colors help you and what colors hinder you will help you look your best. While every rule has an exception, with color shades in the mix, exceptions abound. But here are a few color rules that generally work for most of us.

    If you have dark hair and complexion: Black, white, and jewel-tone (deep) colors work well for you. Stay away from pastels, deep green, and most browns.

    If you have light hair and fair skin: Black, pinks, some pastels like pale blue can look really good on you. Be careful with white because it can wash you out. If you’re very blond, stay away from yellows or you risk the danger of looking like a giant banana.

    If you have red hair and features: Hunter green, dark browns, plums, and some deep blues are good choices. You might want to avoid pinks and bright colors such as bright reds. After all, you don’t want to look like you’re on fire.

    Black usually works for most everyone and it also “hides a multitude of sins.” White is tricky. It can wash you out if your skin is very fair, and if you’re carrying extra weight, a white t-shirt can hug things you don’t want hugged, a.k.a. “moobs” (as in “man boobs”).

    Zac efron what's my color male
    Zac Efron in deep blue looks great. Well, honestly, Zac looks good even wearing a mustard green suit.
    David Beckham blonde pale blue
    David Beckham in pale blue. Pastels usually work best on people with lighter hair and skin.
    red headed male model hunter green
    Deep greens and blues and red hair go well together.

    What is/are your best color/s?

  • The First Christian Tablet Hits the Market

    No more sinful iPad or secular Kindle, now Christians have our own tablet device, and, no it’s not the stone kind that Moses sported around the desert . You’ve read it correctly: the first Christian Tablet, the Edifi.

    The world's first Christian tablet.

    The tablet is more than a e-reader, according to a post on Foxnews.com:

     It also comes with movie-watching capabilities, Christian radio stations, and even a web browser with built-in “safe search,” so the tablet is safe for the whole family. “We put that on there just in case it was given as a gift to a child, so they wouldn’t have access to things they shouldn’t have access to,” said [Brian Honorable, a technology supervisor at Family Christian, the group that sells the tablet]. “We definitely had to tailor it to our customers.” Read more here

    I’m still scratching my head on this one. I thought it was a joke at first, but it is not. What’s your take?

    Do Christians really need our own tablet?