question of the day

How do I take my team from ‘reporting’ to me (or not reporting at all), to a creative, energized group who brainstorms, throws out ideas, and is an active participant in the company culture? No more sterile meetings with people just staring at me as I pass out information–how do we get past that? How do we go from them interacting with me one on one, to interacting with each other? Have I put my foot down too many times? Is it because I say it has to be done ‘my way’? Do I say it has to be done ‘my way’ because I’ve made bad hires?

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the who + what

If I was to honestly describe myself, the mirror would reveal a collection of dichotomies. One part shabby chic, one part mid century modern; one part beach house, one part hollywood regency; one part traditional American, one part French roccoco. My house is full of sea grass and oriental rugs, chenille and leather, quilts and cashmere. Most of it is inherited, all of it is a collection, a story of my life.

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to do, have done

It seems that every year after May, life comes to a screeching halt. Life goes from being a hectic hell to almost nothing. Case in point: I worked Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week, drove down to big D, and spent yesterday doing close to nothing, and today I’m finishing up wedding thank you notes. And I’ve spent a touch of time on the press issue, getting final paperwork together and trying to decide what form of lease we should go with.

So, I decided to look back at old sent emails, as to clues for what I SHOULD be working on right now. I really need to keep a daily diary of what I have done each day, what I should do on that day next year. I know years change over time, especially as business changes, but I feel like I should be keeping a better record of life.

So, what I did today last year: worked on PR stuff, some legal HR issues, went to an awards lunch at the Skirvin, worked out at the gym, and met a friend for drinks in the evening. I would say it was a profitable day–I earned my keep. The year before that, we had family photos taken by a professional photographer.

What I should be doing: blogging, digging up PR, writing an operations manual, writing a branding manual, organizing the books for taxes. Oh, and there is a design ‘to do’ list in front of me that has to do with exclusives for a random assortment of people.

I guess the good news is that it’s 1:30 on Friday, and there isn’t much more that will happen today, so I can use the rest of the afternoon to play catch up.

And then have a glass of wine. :)

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Whitney English Kolb and team have been known to successfully and exceptionally handle multiple digital and graphics communications projects, from branding and corporate graphics, to textile and surface design. We are experts in stationery, invitations and supporting printing methods, social media and we've dabbled in photography and web development. We specialize in design and consulting services.