Wandering through cyber space I found the following on a site by Ken Lauher:

We have a tendency to make assumptions about everything. The problem with making assumptions is that we BELIEVE they are the truth.  We make assumptions about what others are doing or thinking, we take it personally, and then we blame them and react by sending emotional poison with our word.

We only see what we want to see and hear what we want to hear. We don’t perceive things the way they are; we literally dream things up in our imagination. Because we are afraid to ask for clarification, we make assumptions that we believe are right, then we defend our assumptions and try to make others wrong.

In the photo industry there are people who have taken assumption drawing to an art form. I’ve heard stories about major companies in trouble, cameras being discontinued, even people being let go. I’ve heard stories so severe that had they been more widespread, the companies involved would have actually seen a drop in sales.  

Then there are the personal stories that run through our industry.  Assumptions are drawn over why somebody left a company, why a new product was late for introduction, why a policy was changed and the list goes on and on. Assumptions are drawn, then they hit the rumor mill and suddenly they’re FACT - and not once does anybody along the way stop and simply call the people involved for verification.

Well, to everyone who draws assumptions, and we’re all guilty. The earlier quote is from The FourAgreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and his closing paragraph on the topic hits the nail right on the head:

The way to keep yourself from making assumptions is to ask questions. Make sure the communication is clear. If you don’t understand, ask. Have the courage to ask questions until you are as clear as you can be. Once you hear the answer, you will not have to make assumptions because you will know the truth.

I’ve often said that the best part of this industry has NOTHING to do with photography, but the friendships that grow out of everyone’s mutual love for the craft!  I’m so thankful for so many of you being in my life!

Since Thanksgiving is a day to give “thanks”, where would I be without my partner Scott Bourne?   He’s brought me kicking and screaming into the world of social media, shared his never-ending expertise in photography and been a partner in GoingPro,  co-author for the book, GoingPro and now PWSPI…there are no words that can really express my appreciation!

Last but not least, this is a very special Thanksgiving for me and Sheila, now celebrating almost five months of marriage!  There are so many aspects of my business that I just wouldn’t have fun doing if it wasn’t for her encouragement!  Now, if I can only get the recipe right for my mother’s sweet potato casserole later today, I might just make Husband of the Year!

So, making this officially the most sappy blog I’ve ever written, which some will criticize and say is unprofessional, I want to wish all of you a happy, healthy and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!  I’m going to skip a day of blogging and do what I hope so many of you can do, take tomorrow off and just enjoy the family.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Every year there are more and more new photographers coming into the market.    At the same time there are new managers coming up through the ranks.  Every time I meet somebody new I’m becoming aware my hair is grayer than anybody else’s in the room, but I worked hard to get these gray guys and I’m proud of the challenges each one represents!

So, in an effort to save you from being as gray as I am at a far earlier age, it seems time for me to finally blog my own version of “The Rules of Engagement”.  See if they work for you – and let me know if I left out any biggies!  There are too many to put into one blog so, Part Deux is tomorrow and brings in more of the biz of photography!

1) Smile more bitch less.  It’s that simple.  Everybody has challenges and there will always be somebody who can top your story about being miserable.   Even more important – if you’re miserable then start thinking about a plan to change whatever it is that’s dragging you down.

2) Don’t be a troll. There’s nothing wrong with disagreeing with people, but Internet trolls serve absolutely no purpose, but to accelerate the aging process.  Most of the time they have too much time on their hands and hide behind the anonymity of their computer screens.  Often they don’t even know they’re trolls, but that doesn’t change their persistent harping on a point, long after the issue has been resolved.

3) Surround yourself with people you respect.  Photography and business are just like playing tennis with somebody better than you.  Your game gets better as well.  Look for people to bring into your network who compliment your weaknesses.  It’ll give you a stronger “game”.

4) Follow-through.  Okay, Stephen Covey probably hit on it first, but that doesn’t change the importance of it being on my list.  In short, I’m tired of people and groups who promise us one thing and then never follow-through.  We’re all guilty now and then, but there are definitely a few people out there who just don’t stay focused.  There’s a big difference between just forgetting to do something and never following through on what you promised.

5) Stay focused!  You know how to focus your camera, but unfortunately there is no auto-focus button for your career, or life for that matter.  You’ve got to stay with your plan and make the necessary adjustments along the way.

6) Call people back! If somebody has left you a voicemail then they deserve a response.  Even better, use your phone now and then instead of email!  It’s called my back to your roots plan. I’ve blogged about it in the past, but a phone call to a client has an amazing effect.   

7) Never use the word “fail”.  Don’t be afraid to admit you screwed up, but  the truth is “fail”, “failure” and “failed” are all self-fulfilling negative words.  You’re dead meat the minute you use them! If you tried something and it didn’t work – all that happened was that it didn’t work.  If you hadn’t tried anything at all, then you’d be a failure.  So, strike the word from your vocabulary and get your internal spell-check going so that all derivatives of the word fail are simply removed from your memory bank.

8) Recognize when you’re on overload.   Anybody with kids knows the signs of a sugar-low.  As adults we’re no different, we never really outgrow that sugar-low mood swing.  What does change is that as we get older, we’re not only susceptible to a real sugar-low, but we react the same way when we’ve just got too much going on.  You’ve got to take a break now and then and stay grounded with those things most important in your life.

“I’m convinced that we can write and live our own scripts more than most people will acknowledge. I also know the price that must be paid. It’s a real struggle to do it. It requires visualization and affirmation. It involves living a life of integrity, starting with making and keeping promises, until the whole human personality the senses, the thinking, the feeling, and the intuition are ultimately integrated and harmonized.”  Stephen Covey

See you tomorrow with Part Deux!  Make it a great Wednesday!

Quality:  They don’t do anything halfway.  From their images and the products they deliver to their clients, there is never a compromise, but the word quality runs so much deeper.  In a presentation they keep us in our seats.  Their slides, if they’re doing PowerPoint, are dead on target with the theme of their workshop.  In their friendships and support to the industry – everything they do is done with quality!

Involvement:  They’re involved, not just in the photographic community, but their own.  You’ll often hear about them doing a program with a charitable tie-in, something they believe in that gives back.  They give more than they take!

Enthusiasm!  Ever seen a depressed icon?  Okay, everybody is human, so we know they have their private moments, but their persona when we see them just makes us smile.  They’re always upbeat and they’re always excited about something new.

Early Adopters:  They’re the trend setters.  Often it’s as if they’re sitting in their offices waiting for technology to throw something new out there.  They’re pioneers at adapting new ideas and picking up on the trends that set the pace for the rest of us.  In fact, many of them are responsible for the key components in the way photographers shoot today, especially when it comes to work-flow.

Confidence:  When it comes to the craft, they know it cold!   Put anything in their hands that “takes a picture” and they can shoot with it.  They understand film, digital and now many of them are adapting and jumping on video with Fusion Technology.  There’s no hesitation, they know exactly what an image looks like with every focal length in their bag and you’ll never see them “chimp”.  But, like quality, confidence also runs deeper.  They’re confident when they share with us.  They’re confident when they’re working to convince us to change.  They believe in themselves and what they’re sharing with us.

Exceeding Expectations:  Whether it’s with their clients or any of us in the audience, they always exceed expectations.  They deliver more than we expect.  Now translate that into working with a client and it becomes one of the strongest reasons for their success in business – they give their customers more than they ask for!  They make themselves habit-forming!

Optimistic and Happy!  Okay, it’s the closer – they’re just plain happy.  They smile a lot and they absolutely believe in laughter and having fun!  Remember fun?  It’s one of those words lost in business today and we all tend to lose it now and then.  We become so wrapped up in trying to second-guess the economy that we forget to have fun!  Isn’t that why you got into photography in the first place?   It’s that zest for life that only comes when you’ve got a camera in your hands and you’re sharing what you do best with a client, a friend or a member of your family.

We all attend the workshops and programs taught by our favorite icons, but, at least for me, what I learn from each of them at every program is about their outlook on life – they simply love it!  

And from theologian, Howard Thurman:

Don’t ask what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive!

As trite as it sounds, things always do work out for the better.  But, following yesterday’s blog on “Who’s on your team?” inspired by Scott Bourne the day before, there are still a few points to make:

1) Listen to every person you respect when they’re giving you advice, but in the end, only you can make the decisions that affect the path you choose to follow. 

2) Believe in yourself, no matter what your decision.  Trust your gut!

3) Surround yourself with positive people.  Dane Sanders talks about not allowing “grumpies” into his programs.  I’m not as polite as Dane – positive attitudes trump trolls.

4) As you make the decisions for which path to take next, do an inventory of everything in your skill set.   Don’t just look at the things you do well, but consider the things you love to do most.  When you love doing something you’ll do it well, no matter what the degree of difficulty.

5) Do an inventory of your network!  Yeah, that’s right – who’s in your network?  Who are the key players who you’ve worked with, spoken with and respect who can be your sounding board on new ideas going forward.

6) Don’t “should” on yourself!  It doesn’t do any good to look back and reflect, “You know what I “should” have done?”  It’s a waste of time and energy.  Instead put your energy into thinking about what you want to do next and how to get started down the next path.

7) Last but not least, keep one special person in the loop of everything going through your head.  That’s probably going to be a spouse, a boy friend or girl friend or your best friend – or, maybe they’re all one in the same.  This person is the core of that special support team Scott and I both talked about over the last two days.

I’ve told this story before, but it’s such a good “blog closer”…

Don Blair was once asked, “What’s the best picture you’ve ever taken?”  His answer, “I don’t know I haven’t taken it yet!”

If I’ve learned nothing else over the past year it’s that life is an adventure.  There are no failures and disappointments are just speed bumps.  So, we all need to appreciate life, our accomplishments and our setbacks and especially the friends who stand by us, no matter what!  There really is no industry like photography!

It was my start in photography and involved some of the greatest people I’ve ever worked with.  I can’t help but wonder where they all are today…Charlie, Ron, Frank, Joe, Joey, Willy, Smitty, Big Gene, Ronnie – the list goes on and on.  Polaroid at that time had 23,000 employees world wide and Ali McGraw was the celebrity in their TV commercials for the Polaroid Swinger.    

• Polaroid was incredibly healthy.  They made a whole series of different films, all of them peel apart.
• Kodak was the only brand  of non-instant film anybody seriously considered.   In fact, their colors were so saturated, we used to say “Kodak makes your vacation look better than it really was!”
• Bell-bottoms, platform shoes and an Afro were all the look for yours truly.  I looked like I should have been in the cast of “Hair” – not working in a research lab.
• Photography was hot, but I was more excited about my Super 8 movie camera!
• Anybody really interested in photography dreamed about owning a Leica or a Hasselblad.
• When we got married we got an album of 25 8×10s and for $65 the photographer sold me the proofs.  The album is filled with special effects, especially the starburst filter in front of a candle or two.
• I remember a gas crisis in the early 70s and one of the guys I worked with waiting in line at the pump for over an hour before realizing he was in the line for a funeral procession – NOT the line for the gas station.

Times might have been different, but the enthusiasm we all had for life, our jobs, our families was the same.  While I’d like to think of them as the “good old days” I’m having too much fun right now.  That leads me to think that the “good old days” are whenever you take the time to appreciate them.  I know that years from now I’m going to look back and the “good old days” are going to be 2010 or maybe they haven’t happened yet.

It reminds me of Don Blair and I’ve used this quote before – when asked what the best photograph he’d ever taken was, answered, “I don’t know I haven’t taken it yet!”   So, in answer to somebody asking me, “So, when were the good old days?”  My answer has to be,  ”I don’t know, they’re still happening!”

Enjoy today – hug your family – appreciate the fact that no matter how tough your business is right now you have the power to make it whatever you want it to be – not without work and not without the risk of disappointment and change- but still within your power!   The good old days might just be this weekend!

Happy Saturday everybody!