Archive for January, 2006

Craft a 30 second elevator pitch… for someone else

Jason Womack (GTD Coach, triathlete and all round good guy) joined Donna and me for dinner last night and we had a great time. Among other things, we talked about an improv principle that Johnnie Moore uses a lot: “make the other person look good.” Jason liked the idea, but suggested that it need not be limited to improv.

In fact, Jason has prepared a thirty second “elevator pitch” for each of his loved ones and colleagues. So now, when Jason talks about or introduces his wife, for example, he does so with a succint, positive “pitch.” A brilliant, and very generous idea.

If you are unfamiliar with the concept, Collegegrad.com provides a simple explanation of elevator pitching and a nice sample script , and there is a frighteningly thorough guide to personal elevator pitching at wikiHow (via Recruiting.com ). Those suggestions might seem a bit impersonal, especially for introducing a loved one, so be sure to play round with your pitch.

In How to distinguish yourself in a crowded marketplace , Michael Lovas advocates making elevator pitches relevant to the listener and introducing some kind of visual metaphor.

Probably best not to get too hung up on how - just prepare some good things to say about your nearest and dearest, then go out and make them look good.

Thanks, Jason. Have a good flight home.

1 comment January 28th, 2006

Now on WordPress 2.0

Wow, that was slick. I just upgraded from WordPress 1.5 to WordPress 2.0. The procedure goes like this:

  1. Back up your database (you do this regularly anyway, don’t you?)
  2. If you are especially cautious, like me, ensure you have an offline copy of all your WordPress 1.5 files
  3. Delete all WordPress files on the server, except those you have modified
  4. Meanwhile, edit the new wp-config.php file to show your database name and password
  5. Upload all WordPress 2.0 files, including the updated config file.
  6. Navigate to yourdomain/ wp-admin/upgrade.php
  7. Click the “upgrade Wordpress” link
  8. You are done

I know that some people haven’t found it to be this smooth, so I was a bit worried before I started, but without cause. That was fantastic. A huge “Well done, and thank you” to the WP developers. This WYSIWIG interface is pretty zippy too, although I may stay with Markdown and w.bloggar , regardless.

The new instal of WordPress - as opposed to upgrading - is similarly slick.

You can download WordPress 2.0 here .

PS Yes, this is my first post in ages, but I am not going to say much more at this stage. Ideally, I will be posting again regularly in the next few days.

9 comments January 19th, 2006