The More I Write, The More I Learn

Happy Anniversary, sort of.  Today marks my 100th post.  I am not sure why that seems like an achievement to me, but it does.  When I started this blog, I did it on whim.  I had no expectations or goals.  For that matter, I also did not have any idea of how to run a blog.  I knew I wanted to write on the topic of management and I thought a blog might help to inspire me to be little more consistent in my writing.  It has.

What I could not have anticipated, is the amount of support that I have felt from people all over the world.  All of you reading this now have helped to literally change my life and I cannot thank you enough for that.  I am not being overly dramatic.  This blog has made me a better manager.  I strive hard to live up to all the suggestions that I make.  If I suggest that you should be sending thank you notes to your employees, then I better be doing it myself.  I think the blog has made me a better writer (you are probably in a better position to judge that).  Doing anything consistently should make you better at it.  Being a better manager and a better writer are certainly huge perks, but it is the friends that I have made along the way that have made this a truly wonderful experience.

To celebrate this grand occasion, I want to take a moment to recognize a few of the 100 posts that will always be near and dear to my heart:

My Absolute Favorite Post

Supermanager, Bad Friend – This was a post that I really felt like I needed to write for me.   I truly thought I would get one or two comments, but that most people would read it and fail to understand my point.  I was very wrong on that assumption.  I have never felt better about anything I have ever written, but the comments on this post were inspiring to me.  I wanted to believe that we were building a community here, but when I read the comments on this post I knew we had already accomplished that.  The lesson I learned here was to write from the heart, that is what people want to read.

My Least Favorite Post

Leading the Disney Way – This was back in my trying to understand SEO phase.  I wanted to post something that would be topical and would hopefully get picked up frequently on google searches.  I should have put a little more thought into the post and a little less into the marketing.  I took several unrelated topics and spun them into an argument on why Disney’s CEO Robert Iger did not deserve a 12.9% increase in his salary to $31.4 million dollars.  The argument was poorly thought out and not worthy of print.  If Mr. Iger happens to follow this blog then he has my sincere apologies.  However, I do feel it is important to note that my opinion has not changed.  I think his salary is borderline ridiculous.  I know this is the going rate for CEO’s in large publicly traded companies, but that does not make it right.  The lesson I learned here was write about what you know.  Clearly CEO compensation packages are not my area of expertise, so I will stay out of that arena on future posts.  Focus on writing good content and the audience will build slowly over time.

The People Have Spoken (post with the most comments)

Why I Will Never Be A Successful Blogger – I think the vast majority of my readers are also bloggers, so it stands to reason when I post something related to blogging then it will generate a lot of interest.  However, I have come to the conclusion that I cannot easily predict how many comments a post will generate.  It is generally the ones that I don’t expect comments on that seem to get everyone talking.  The lesson I have learned here is just write good content and stop worrying about how many people comment.  Some posts lend themselves to comments and some don’t .  The number of comments does not equate to the value of the post.

The People Have Clicked (post with the most likes)

Maybe I Can Set My Goals A Little Bit Higher – This was a pretty good post, and one that I liked as well.  It reinforced the lesson of writing about what you know.

If you had to pick a favorite post, which one would you pick and why?

It has only been 100 posts so far, but I have learned so much.  I can’t wait for the next 100 posts.  2012 is off to a fantastic start, it will be interesting to see where it ends up.

Thank you for your support.

It has not always been easy, but it has certainly been a worthwhile endeavor.

Photo courtesy of Istockphoto


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