Several decades, maybe even centuries ago, people had personal connections with the proprietors of the businesses they frequently. They were loyal to those businesses because they knew those people and their stories personally. They would not get a haircut, or buy groceries, from anywhere or anyone else, no matter how cheap the alternative was.

Then mass production, the assembly line, the Industrial Revolution hit.

We became more efficient in our work. We found we could multiply our impact and make more money and have a better standard of living. We made huge technological and innovative advances that made the price of goods and services more affordable and more available.

But the result was …. we became less human to the people who bought from us.

In seeking to become better and to do more, we lost our face-to-face touch.

But in the last couple of months, I’ve been seeing a trend in business … that all kinds of businesses, especially the BIG ones, are seeking to become human again.

To be personalable and put a face on their company again.

Yes, the brands still exist and are powerful, but they also want you to know Sally who works in that big, faceless brand.

We started iThemesTV for this very reason. We wanted our customer community to meet the team behind the products they support with their money. (I repeat often this question: “When was the last time you bought a product and got to meet the people who created it?)

But we’re seeing some innovative uses of social media, in particular, Twitter, at companies, elsewhere.

I instantly think of @ComcastCares … a big huge, faceless company that uses Twitter to be human and respond in a unique, personal way to their customers. (See also: @HostGator and @HomeDepot)

Most of these companies have several people working to engage disgruntled customers, or make suggestions. Since they have several people running it, they initial their tweets. I love that touch. It endears me to them.

We’re doing the same @ithemes.

Here’s some of my thoughts on how we’re seeking to be human with our community and prospective community members ….

• I want them to see the passion in our voice as we talk about our work
• I want to share our expertise and experience in order to empower them in their own work
• I want them to know real people are answering their questions and to get to know them personally
• I want them to see photos of those real people who work hard for them
• I want to hear our customer’s stories …. their problems, frustrations, and celebrate in their successes
• I want to meet more of our customers in person so I can thank them for their support

As with everything, this is a work in progress. We’re not there, but we’re seeking to be more human in every thing we can.

How are you being human in your business?

I’ve been reading Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

I highly recommend it for most people, but in particular managers, leaders, marketers, programmers, designers … anyone wanting to create or foster the “in the zone” experiences that are commonly associated with sports for their business, products, and overall work (and even leisure time).

It’s a book, based on decades of academic research, about enjoyment and happiness.

As the author says: “The best moments in our lives … are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times — although such experiences can also be enjoyable, if we have worked hard to attain them. The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”

I read a lot because I want to apply and implement practical wisdom in my life and business.

I approached this book for two main reasons …

• To finetune my thoughts as a leader of how we create a work environment at iThemes that allows our team to have ‘optimal experiences’ through their work; and,
• To improve how we build tools and training for our customer community that free them to have optimal experiences with our work

Per Flow, here are the elements of enjoyment:

• A challenging activity that requires skills
• The merging of action and awareness
• Clear goals and feedback
• Concentration on the task at hand
• The paradox of control
• The loss of self-consciousness
• The transformation of time

Examples were given of star athletes, chess players and surgeons — those fully engaged in their task.

You’ve probably had numerous experiences like these elements of enjoyment or flow, where you were so engulfed in what you’re doing that you lost track of time. You felt in control, totally focused, and knew what you were doing was making some sort of impact. And even though it might have exhausted you physically or mentally, you thoroughly enjoyed whatever you were doing. You were in the moment.

As I’ve read deeper and deeper into Flow, I’ve been thinking how we filter these concepts through our work …

My leadership theory has always been that if someone loves what they do, meaning they are passionate and would do it if money didn’t matter and is working for a greater goal, together, as a team, then we will see the ultimate, highest-level, peak performance out of those team members.

I believe if you put good, quality people in an environment that gives them freedom of creativity and are empowered to do things and make decisions and chase ideas (autonomy), allow them to learn and grow (through teaching each other and providing opportunities like buying books or attending events), reward them fairly and publicly (the easiest thing I do is get excited about their projects and give them public credit for it), and continue to reinforce a greater purpose of working toward a common goal (this hasn’t always been easy) … then there’s no limit to what that team can do.

I know that’s the environment I’ve personally always wanted and craved. To chase my ideas. To be rewarded for my passion. To work toward a bigger, higher goal than simply for just myself.

So I set out to create one with and through my business.

OK, so here are some highlight recommendations on reading Flow ….

• The whole chapter 7 on Work as Flow …. this is why I bought the book – to apply it to our business.
• The Waste of Free Time (chapter 7) in particular … this hit home. I’ve always loved using my free time to read and explore and learn and grow, but sadly for most people that’s wasted. There’s a great quote by C.K. Brightbill that says, “The future will belong not only to the educated man, but to the man who is educated to use his leisure wisely.” How true.
• Chapter 10 on The Making of Meaning … the author and I have drastically different worldviews, but ultimately if you don’t have purpose and meaning and are just seeking “the moment” all the time then you’re going to be left an empty void. Flow can be abused.

We’ll be launching our latest venture – PluginBuddy – Thursday, March 4 (yes, that’s tomorrow!). I did this quick video overview to talk about the launch in preparation ….

Many people have asked about our business and what our three core brands do ….

• At iThemes, our main business, we produce WordPress themes (this was the brand that launched our company over 2 years ago)
• At WebDesign.com, our mega brand that we acquired last summer, we provide web design training centered on WordPress. Check out James’ recent announcement about what’s on the agenda at WebDesign.com.
• At PluginBuddy, we will be rolling out premium (and free) WordPress plugins. Our newest team member, Dustin Bolton, will be leading that effort. For backstory on why we are entering the premium WordPress plugin market, check out my post on this subject.

Any other questions? Please leave a comment … or signup for the launch of PluginBuddy (or follow PluginBuddy on Twitter) and be the first to know when we go live!

Here’s Part 2 of Matt Danner and I’s conversations from our recent Nashville trip that spilled over into a video post … in Part 1 we talk about the difference between free and premium products.

This one talks about using the right tool for the right job.

Matt Danner and I sat down to record a conversation we had over a recent business trip when I saw he was using a free and cool iPhone app that I saw being sold as a premium app a while back. It struck a cord with me and Matt had some great insight to share.

Check out the video on the iThemes blog ….

Just thinking about some experiences and attitudes I’ve witnessed in the past (not necessarily just as a boss), I starting thinking about what my dad taught me about work ethic.

He said, “If you agree to a job, give your best. Don’t shortchange your employer.”

What that means is … if you agree to a job, with a set salary or pay, then that employer has hired you and your best — not your second best, or mediocre effort.

Anything less is laziness and cheating. Some might call it fraud.

Maybe I’m being harsh because I’m a boss in a small business with a small team now and I take this personally … but I also think those who agree to terms, then decide they are really worth 25% more, let’s say, and consequently prorate their commitment, time, and skill based on their internal inventory of self-worth, are cheating everybody, including themselves.

Here’s what this type of work ethic results in …

1. People notice laziness - they remember it too. No one wants a teammate that they’ll have to overcompensate for to carry their weight.
2. No one wants to hire lazy, half-hearted people – that’s the easiest way to sink a business and morale on a team. You’ll get a terrible reputation and that cloud will follow you.
3. No one wants to be around lazy people - if you’re always thinking you got shortchanged for something, you’ll attract other lazy people in your life … and the hard working others will have left though.
4. It’s ego driven instead of value driven – it’s about your inflated ego and misguided expectations, and not the value that you’re providing for your team and employer.

Listen … I’ve seen a lot of people think they were worth more and decide to give less.

If you do that … trust me, you’ll never get anywhere in the world. The last time I checked, people just don’t come up and hand you money.

Well, wait, yeah, they do … it’s called charity.

The best way to get what you think you deserve is to PROVE IT BY EARNING IT … through hard work, commitment and personal growth that benefits your team and business … and ultimately, it’ll benefit yourself.

I’m extremely thankful my dad hammered that into me … because my family, those I work with and for, hopefully, have gotten more than they bargained for.

It was great career advice for me.

So morale of the story … if you agree to a job, be a person of your word … and fulfill your obligation, or move on. You aren’t doing anyone any favors by cheating.