Anton Kimfors
Welcome to my blog, where I share my work, thoughts, and projects.
Why everyone should learn to code
I work a lot with Amazon, and therefore, I think a lot about the processes involved when selling on Amazon. I also think a lot about how different brands and their teams organize their work around this giant e-commerce site. I complained about it not existing any tools helping companies with “X” and “Y” to a college, who then answered – “That doesn’t exist because probably very few people who can code have seen the same things you have seen”.
This is why I think everyone should learn to code, at least the basics. Not because everyone should be able to build the next tech startup, but because when you can code, you can also see the possibilities. For example, I can code, so I will probably start to build the tool I need, and I have an idea about how I would do it. If I couldn’t code, I’m not sure if I would have thought about this idea and a possible solution from the start. Since I wouldn’t know how, for example, API:s or file sharing works, but now, when I know at least the basics, I can come up with the idea and start to build an MVP.
What consultants can learn from hamsters
Hamsters are always trying to have two different escape openings in whatever space they enter. Whether it is a nice looking, store-bought, hamster house, or just a hole in the ground.
This is of course especially important when the hamsters enter a new tunnel/space etc. But, they still do it in the different places where they might have lived for years.
I think you as a consultant should mimic this in your work. But instead of having escape openings in your tunnels, you should have ways of escaping unwanted clients.
You should, of course, do your research and make sure that the clients you are making deals with are the sort of clients you want to work with. But no matter how good research you do, some clients will just start to disrespect you, your time, and your work, and in does situations, it is important to have a way of escaping.
Don’t accept too long contract periods, don’t accept too long termination periods. If you make good and important work, your clients will want to keep you as a consultant, and as long as they value you and act with respect (and pay), you’ll probably want them as a client. You don’t need any longstanding contracts for that.
The minimalist notepad
In the last couple of weeks, I realized that that I write down a lot of notes, a lot of ideas etc. on both papers and my different notepad applications. I like writing down things, not only because you can save the notes for later, but also because it helps to develop my original thought or idea. However, not every note is a note worth saving.
A lot of the notes I write will never be read by anyone, not me or anyone else. But even though they won’t be read, they are there and becomes part of our life clutter. So here is an idea.
Why not develop a notepad or just a plugin to an already existing notepad, that will automatically delete all notes that aren’t actively saved to a specific folder or category in 30days from creating the note. This would allow you to stay uncluttered, instead of having to declutter every now and then (which you probably don’t do often enough).
An argument against using an application like this is that you probably would forget to save some of your notes. Here are two counterarguments – 1) Yes, but if the note were important enough, you probably would remember most of it without any note and 2) What about all the important notes that are now lost in the clutter of meaningless notes?
Is this my next code project? Probably not, but if anyone already has an application/plugin like this, let me know!
What is the different between being selfish and unselfish?
Most people acting unselfishly does act that way because it makes them feel good.
Most people acting selfishly does act that way because it makes them feel good.
Aren’t we all just selfish in different ways? And unselfishness is really just a way of being selfish.
Take pride in following a schedule
It is so easy to feel the need of putting in a couple of extra minutes here and there, and it is so easy to justify doing it. A lot of us feel pride in being able to put in a couple of extra hours per week in our work, and we feel pride in being the last one to leave the office. We feel pride in being “hard working”.
I’m not against working long hours really. But I’m against working long hours when you could perform the same result working shorter hours. Which most often is possible, at least when you look at it from a long term perspective.
Many times, working shorter hours will force you to come up with better and more effective solutions, which probably is even better in the long term. Not only that, but it will also allow you to live a healthier life which probably will make your work better long term than if you had been sitting at the office 12-16hrs a day.
So tomorrow, when your schedule says “Time to go home”, take pride in following the schedule and actually going home.
What to not leave out in a consulting contract/agreement
I’m running a consulting business and writing contracts and agreements is a boring but important part of that. At first, it wasn’t too important, but after time it has become more and more crucial.
One of the most important things to have in writing, I’ve understood over time, is how the communication should be done. Pretty much all of my clients want to manage communication in different ways. So make sure to have a clear and easy way for communication stated in your agreement before you start to work together. This will not only make your life easier, but it will also allow you to make better and more efficient work for your clients.
Admit mistakes – people who trust you will understand
The best way to handle mistakes is often admitting them, first for yourself, and then for the other people affected.
The only time this would cause any problem is when:
1 – You have made the same mistake over and over again.
2 – You haven’t yet made the other people affected by your misstake trust you enough. Therefore, they are not sure about this being a misstake or you just being careless/unskillful.
Brand advertising vs. Direct advertising (during a crisis)
When in crisis or just when seeing a decline in sales, you normally want to do something about it and increase the number of sales again. If you want to increase the sales of your brand you have many alternatives. One is advertising. This is probably the alternative most people would think of. However, even if you decide that advertising is the right choice moving forward, you have many alternatives when it comes to advertising.
One of those choices is the one between brand advertising and direct advertising. I’m not saying that one is better than the other, however, I believe from what I’ve seen that many people in this situation are going for brand advertising and I think this often is the wrong decision.
Why?
Direct advertising can be measured and you know if you have succeeded with it or not. This is most often not the case with brand advertising. Also, direct advertising benefits a lot from a higher number of data points, which brand advertising (if successful) often results in. So why not make sure that your direct marketing is on point before moving on with brand advertising (if at all)?
These are two reasons why I think a lot of companies do take the brand advertising route:
- It’s immeasurable. This should be a reason not to choose it, but this also makes the employee making the decision feel more secure. Since if something goes wrong, he or she can always say “It was impossible to know what this would result in, I made a bet on our brand and if the advertising didn’t work it is because of the brand, not me”.
- You might hit the jackpot. You know that direct marketing won’t just blow up from day one and make you millions. Nope, it is hard work and eventually, you can see the results. But with brand advertising, you might think and hope that the campaign will just explode, go viral, and result in millions and millions. Well… that is like putting your company money in the lottery. You can’t know if it will happen, and if it happens you are not sure about how to recreate the same success.