I used to inadvertently frustrate other people with my verbosity.

A client would ask me a question, and I would give them a 10 sentence background, because I assumed this would be helpful.

“Why do I have 3 printers when there are only 6 staff?” was a question posed to me on my first office setup project by the country manager.

I immediately launched into a technical description of the features of the printers.  A cliche but common mistake.

What I failed to realise back then, is distilled to it’s most base level, he is simply asking “Are you wasting my money here?”

A perfect, succinct response would have been :

“The fax/copier/printer/scanner is for faxing and scanning.  Otherwise, it becomes a dangerous single point of failure. The black and white is for daily printing since it’s cheaper than colour. These printers also support your staff growth forecasts.”

He would have nodded his head, and walked away satisfied about his investment, and feeling better about me as a consultant.

Instead, I was half-way through a long explanation about something he didn’t care about, and my monologue was not addressing his core concern.

After enduring a few roastings, my sense of self-preservation set-in, and I began actively seeking to respond to the core issue.   This improved my relationship with my clients, and built trust since I was communicating directly to their questions or concerns.

The most gifted communicators I’ve seen over the years are masters of this.  There is an incredible amount of power in being able to process a large amount of information, and being able to succinctly communicate complex concepts in a simple fashion.

I had a tendency built up over years in IT to make the point fuzzier to try to cover every possible scenario.  This wall of ‘fuzzy’ can give you a buffer of error.  It’s comforting, but it’s a safety blanket barrier between you and the point.

Client : “Will this USB drive be compatible with my 4 year old Dell computer?”

X “Well, most of the time USB drives use a standard set of drivers, so even without drivers you should be able to use it.  If you try to plug it in and you get an error, there might be a problem with the drive. Or maybe, you might be using an older operating system, which might not have drivers for that drive.  If theres an error, I recommend checking the manufacture website to see if you can download suitable drivers.”

O “Yes.”

Client : “Are you able to provide project management services?”

X “Well, it depends on the type of project.  We don’t do much software project management, of course, but we’ve got much more experience in doing things like IT infrastructure projects, or server projects.  We’re pretty skilled at most kinds of projects for a wide range of company sizes.  We can manage general office IT projects.”

O “We’re experts on IT infrastructure and new office and office move projects.”

Throw away the fuzziness.

Harness the power of simple and direct communication. Don’t make people wait through a speech.  Get to the point first.

200 meters…

100 meters…

“Good job, that was your longest workout yet!” Lance Armstrong warmly congratulated me as I collapsed against the wall trying to find my breath.

I’m not leaving Webnet to train for the next Tour de France with Lance Armstrong.  I’m using Nike+ iPod, a tool that will make a big difference in your life if you have trouble finding time to exercise. And if you have any iPod nano or a 2nd generation iPod touch, it could be available to you immediately for as little as 2,100 yen ($21).

All of this came from a lunch about 3 months ago with a Webnet staff member.  He was telling me about his goal, to be able to run a full 42 kilometer marathon in Sydney, Australia.   I listened to him talk about his training schedule, and how he’s managed to train himself up to run 10 kilometers at an ever increasing pace.

“Until I could run 10 kilometers, I could never understand the real joy of running.  It’s incredible,” he said, shaking his head at the difficulty in putting his feelings about running into words.

A short time later, I began a crunch period at work.  I was working early mornings and late nights, sometimes 18+ hours a day.  Any gym time, exercise or sports that I’d previously enjoyed were gobbled up by a series of important projects.  It didn’t take long for me to feel the effects of this work schedule.  Without regular exercise and a chance to decompress, I began to feel restless and on-edge.  Worst of all, my productivity started dropping.

About a month after this period began, I I wandered into the Apple section of a computer hardware store, and noticed a product with a picture of a sensor and a shoe.  I went back to the office and did a web search on “Nike+”.

Technology powered running.  Created by Apple.  Retail cost 3,400 yen.  Mental flashback to my colleague talking passionately about the joy of running.

I was instantly sold.   I’ve been using Nike+ for around a week now.  Let me take you through it.

How To Use It

• Get an iPod nano, or a 2nd generation iPod touch.  If you have an old iPod nano that you haven’t used for a while, like I did, you will need to update it to the latest firmware version.  This firmware update is automatic upon connection to iTunes.
• Purchase the Nike+ iPod sports kit. Retail is 3,400 yen, but I picked mine up on Yahoo Auction Japan for 2,100 yen.



• Purchase Nike+ running shoes that include a slot for the sensor (available from 7,900 yen), or simply strap the sensor to your shoe.  The results are identical, but make sure the sensor is firmly attached, and is facing up.  If you go for the Nike+ shoes, look for this Nike+ logo.  This indicates that there is a hole inside the shoe where the red sensor goes.



• Create an account at the Nike+ website. You can also create goals at this point, such as “I want to run 5 times in 2 weeks”, or “I want to burn 1000 calories”.  You can even create a little jogging avatar of yourself in the style of Nintendo Wii.  You can then display this guy on your blog or on Facebook.  Heres my attempt at me :



• Activate Nike+iPod before your workout by either distance, time, calories or basic (just running without a specific limiter), and listen to your chosen play list during your workout.
• Connect your iPod to your PC.  It then immediately synchronises your workout information, and makes it available on your profile.  You have the option of making this profile public, as I have done.

Screenshots and Pictures

The sensor goes into your shoe like so :

And the interface on the iPod Nano looks like this :

Thanks Dexigner for these clear and easy to understand images showing the function of the Nike+ iPod.

Here are some images that I created.  These are screen captures of the Nike+ Flash Interface.  You can view my Nike+ profile at this link.

Verbal Feedback

On top of this, if you activate you workout by distance, time or calories, a voice gives you helpful and motivating updates during your workout, such as :

Distance Based Workout : “1 kilometer completed.” and “Halfway point.  3 kilometers to go.”

Time Based Workout : “20 minutes completed.”

Calorie Based Workout : “300 calories burned”

Status report : If you press the center button while you’re running, you get a status report : “12 minutes, 13 seconds completed.  Distance : 2.4 kilomeres.  Current pace, 5 minutes 45 seconds per kilometer”

Summary

I set this up last week, and its a perfect example of taking technology and implementing it in a creative ways to make an impact on your life.  At its most basic level, the Nike+ is a glorified pedometer.  However I’ve found this to be the perfect tool for getting me to go out and exercise for the following reasons :

• I can go for a run at any time of the day or night.  No matter how busy you are, you should be able to find 30 minutes every 2 days to escape
• It’s completely free once you get the initial equipment (although after 1000 active hours, you may need to buy another inexpensive sensor)
• The distance and speed are surprising accurate, which gives me a good idea of how I’m going and whether or not I’m improving
• I can see all of my runs in easy to understand graphs which are a pleasure to use
• I can even make a link to my recent runs in the sidebar of this blog.  Check it out, its on the left hand side.
• I now have accountability that everyone can see my profile and my graph!

I can’t recommend this product enough for busy people who need to be regularly exercising, or for people who want greater insight, motivation and information about their training programs.