Why mulch?
The economy is not going well, but it is also not going away. There are opportunities floating around us like seeds in the wind waiting for a place to germinate and grow. These opportunities will pass over the dry ground of complacency and the shallow soil of laziness and will seek out good, rich soil. Our soil is simply what we do well. How do ensure our soil is ready? How do we amend our soil if it lacks some key nutrient? We apply mulch. The part of our minds that is intentional and curious is like a mulch pile–and like any good mulch pile–it takes a while to get going once started. In the gardening world mulching is easy: you combine two parts old brown leaves with one part fresh clippings. If we consider our experience as brown leaves and studying new subjects as green clippings; then that isn’t a bad ratio to aim at. Here is what my mulch pile looks like right now:
My brown leaves (experience):
- Project Management
- People Management
- Technical Writing
- Business Analysis
- Non-Profit and Higher Education
- Sales and Marketing
My green clippings (new areas of learning):
- Social Media
- Corporate Finance Principles
- Financial Analysis
- Photo Editing
- Cooking
Keep it active:
The next trick to a good mulch pile is turning it to ensure everything mixes together well. I do this by spending time with good people like my photographer buddy Bobby Alcott and along with having good time I manage to learn a thing or two. I stay active on twitter and talk with lots of marketing folks to learn how they think. This keeps me sharp. For the financial parts of the green clippings, I look to books, online research and business owners that I know well to answer my questions. The fellowship of good people, coupled with writing on this site, keeps my mulch in good supply and my soil rich and ready for new growth.
How’s your mulch?
- Are you aware of all your brown leaves? (Ideas: Update your CV or resume every three months. Start a professional blog. Join LinkedIn.)
- Have you planned to add any green clippings? (Ideas: Subscribe to RSS feeds from professional sites in your field (or prospective field). Get a certification. Become more proficient with computers and the internet)
- Are you ready for (as opposed to simply wishing for) new growth?
Doug Geiger 