Even if you love your job, it’s possible to hit the inevitable slump from time to time. Perhaps for a period, you shifted your priorities to something going on in your personal life, and you’re finding it hard to re-engage with your work. Or maybe you feel like you’ve tapped out on your creative ideas and you are waiting for a miraculous brainstorm to reignite your brilliance. The point is, slumps, procrastination, and lack of motivation can hit all of us. And while we understand that, it’s critical not to have those few bad days or even weeks turn into months. Before you hit that downward spiral, check yourself.  

DIAGNOSE WHERE IT’S COMING FROM

It’s hard to address a challenge unless you understand its cause.  Of course, everyone has a bad day or week from time to time...but if it begins to impact your productivity, output, and overall impact seriously, it’s time to do some deep introspection about why you might not be living up to expectations. No one likes feeling like their productivity doesn’t match their ambition. If you don’t take a good hard look in the mirror and seek to understand why it’s happening in the first place, it can leave you feeling stressed out, guilty, and the lack of motivation can turn into emotional exhaustion.

Explore these potential reasons it might be happening so you can ultimately begin to dig yourself out and get back on track.

THE ISSUE:  I’m Really, Really Busy.

In today’s business world, it can be seen as a badge of honor to be able to claim how busy you are. By doing so, you are indicating you are in high demand and needed by others. And while this notion might feed your ego, never shutting down and being available to everyone 24/7 is just plain unhealthy. It can also backfire on your career; sometimes people perceive this as you simply can’t get your work done on time.

THE FIX: Prioritize.

The more responsibility you take on in your career, the longer your to-do list is going to get. It becomes virtually impossible to get it all done. Become ruthless with your time and prioritization. First step: eliminate or delegate your non-urgent tasks. Then really explore the few things that are an absolute priority for you to invest your time. I personally find survival by ensuring every morning when I get in. I carve out time to take this action. My to-do list is typically unrealistic and laughable, but I highlight the three most impactful items I must get done that day.  When I accomplish those, everything else is just gravy.

A couple of other helpful hints? Embrace the power of the word “no.” Most of us want to appear helpful and portray that “grab a shovel” team attitude. However, when you agree to help someone else when you can’t get your own work done, you aren’t really helping anyone. Another is shifting the dynamic of the words “have to” to “choose to.”  Sounds like a small semantic tweak, but when you tell yourself “I choose to go to this networking event tonight” instead of “I have to go to this networking event tonight,” it can make a great deal of difference in your motivation actually to attend and get the most out of it.

THE ISSUE:  Willpower Only Goes So Far.  

Sometimes when we have a lot of work in front of us, we rely on sheer willpower to get through it.  And yet, that strategy doesn’t always work. When gutting it out isn’t working for you, try editing your behavior to make success more of a probability.

THE FIX:  Break it Down.

Build your motivation by breaking your project into many small tasks and habits. The goal is to lower the barriers that are bound to get in your way of accomplishing your work. If you have a report to write, for example, focus on capturing the thesis statement first, rather than sweat writing the entire thing in one sitting. You might find once you write that first line, the anxiety that comes with that big task slowly chips away.

You might also find building habits you look forward to can aid you. Planning and scheduling your day can become something to look forward to if you equate it with that time of day you get to enjoy that special cup of coffee you picked up on your way in. Or perhaps you book fifteen minutes into your calendar every day to do nothing other than calm your mind and recenter.  

Ultimately, instead of relying on willpower to power you through your day, you’ll begin to build sustainable habits which will shift your mindset and productivity.

THE ISSUE:  I’m Emotionally Tapped Out.

Even if we love our work, a huge number of us can veer off course and feel emotionally disconnected at work. A significant contributor to our success at work can be based on our feelings of belonging and being needed. When these basic human needs are being met, it becomes far more comfortable to sustain our motivation at work for long periods of time.

Consider your current team and your manager...and effectively all the people you collaborate with. If your colleagues share trust, respect, and collaboration, they are likely to be more highly motivated and productive. There is safety in the notion that your team has your back, and that you are adding impact as a collective unit.

THE FIX:  Get a Little More Social.

I’m not suggesting everyone become a raging extrovert. Instead, find ways to introduce a little more social connection into your everyday work.  Show up early to a meeting and use those few minutes to catch up with a colleague. While it might feel like idle banter, these interactions aid in building deeper relationships.

If you are responsible for a team, take the time to recognize people for contributing back to the team goals, or acknowledging simple things like birthdays, successes, etc. Your job isn’t just to ensure the work gets done; it’s to help motivate and inspire your team to do their best possible work.

No one can be their absolute most productive 100% of the time.  However, if you are finding yourself feeling less motivated than it’s time to take the bull by the proverbial horns and dig yourself out. Reading an article with some potentially helpful hints might be a good start, but taking action is where real change is going to take place.

For this episode of The VentureFizz Podcast, I interviewed Adam Medros, President & COO of edX.

Adam is one of the most successful consumer web executives in the Boston area. As SVP of Global Product at TripAdvisor, he was one of the key members of the team that helped the company scale to a global, publicly traded company with 400 million monthly users and over $1.5 billion in annual revenue.

Adam joined edX last November in an executive leadership role for this organization that has an amazing social mission attached to it. Founded in 2012 by Harvard University and MIT, edX is an online learning destination and MOOC, which is an acronym that stands for a Massive Open Online Course provider. They offer high-quality courses from the world’s best universities and institutions to learners everywhere.

In this episode of our podcast, we cover:

• Adam’s background and his career path
• Advice for people who are considering business school
• Great stories behind the hypergrowth years at TripAdvisor
• Why he decided to join edX and the details on their platform
• His experience as a board member at WordStream, and advice on selecting board members for your company
• Plus, a lot more!

To make sure you receive future episodes, please subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, or Soundcloud. If you enjoyed our show, please consider writing us a 5-star review—it will definitely help us get the word out there!

Having grown up with a father who has three degrees from MIT, I realized at an early age I was rarely going to be the smartest person in the room. I suppose I could have managed that dynamic in a variety of ways. I could have quietly sat while I observed other “smarter” people changing the world. Instead, I opted to surround myself with amazingly bright and talented people with whom I could collaborate and learn. I also became really adept at asking questions. Not unlike The Elephant's Child in the famed Rudyard Kipling story, that curiosity has resulted significantly in my own growth and impact.

I’ve learned when one surrounds themselves with intelligent people. It’s notable that they all share one distinguishing characteristic; they are all insatiably curious. It’s as though each has made the word “Why?” their primary mantra in life and that learning and context fuels their understanding and intelligence. And that ability to ask “Why?” is something every single one of us has the power to do.  And yet, for some reason, many of us chose not to.

WHEN CURIOSITY IS SQUASHED IN CHILDHOOD

Children are born insatiably curious. They want to understand everything, and they absorb it like little human sponges. Somehow when children are small, we encourage them to ask their questions and cheer them on as they learn. By the time they reach school age, this previously rewarded behavior can begin to be stifled. Often parents lose patience for answering more sophisticated life questions. “Where do babies come from?” can result in a made up story, (did parents really think “the stork” was a reasonable explanation?) or avoidance of the question altogether. Overworked or unengaged teachers trudging through their curriculum will limit the time students can ask questions for fear of getting off course. Yes, some amazing parents and teachers encourage this question asking; those are the people who are fueling the education and learning. Consider Edward Land’s young daughter who launched the Polaroid instant camera with a simple question about why she couldn’t see a photograph as soon as it was taken. What other innovations are we squashing when we don’t encourage the “Why?”

WHEN YOU USE CURIOSITY TO BREAK DOWN WALLS

With the complex world we are all currently operating in, misunderstandings and misalignment are sure to follow. When we indulge our curiosity, we position ourselves to break down walls and silos. When we support the question asking, we can demystify even the most challenging of topics; and further, engage people in the process. Unlike our early childhood days when any question was fair game, we are socially conditioned to temper our question asking to avoid looking foolish. When we embrace the notion that there are no stupid questions, we further our ability to innovate and broaden our knowledge in a variety of areas.

WHEN CURIOSITY FUELS INNOVATION

It’s not essential if you are asking “Why?” or “Why not?” or “What would happen if…?” The bottom line is that questioning is the fuel of innovation and creativity. Also, when that acceptance of a diversity of mindset is embraced, collaborative and deeper relationships are more readily achievable. From there, anything is possible. Supporting this approach allows people to push boundaries rather than follow the status quo. And when that is done collaboratively, with people questioning each other in a productive, healthy way, amazing progress can be made. Albert Einstein was considered by many to be the smartest person in history. In commenting on his own intellectual horsepower, he shared, “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”

WHEN CURIOSITY HELPS US CONNECT WITH OTHERS

We know the business world is changing, as is the way in which humans are connecting socially. Our work lives today are radically different than those a few decades ago. With all of that change, some people are thriving, and some are retreating.  For those who are pulling back, we often see this exhibited by putting up walls, losing their curious nature, etc. This isn’t sustainable. While it might be understandable why people want to hide when things change, it’s a failing solution. We will survive and thrive in the changing world when we balance our smarts and skills with the ability to understand and work with others AND tap into our curious nature. Think about the best leaders you know. They likely have a healthy balance of these three components. Maybe they are very bright, and perhaps they are comfortable asking questions to get to the right solution. I’m betting they also balance that with an ability to understand other people’s points of view. Being curious about how others work, think, and understand is a core leadership capability.

The world is rapidly changing, and we can’t just be reliant on technology and the latest upgrades to keep us moving forward. Much of our own development and progress comes with a very simple action: just start asking questions. You will learn more. You will contribute more. And you will connect more.  

Christina Luconi is Chief People Officer for Rapid7. Follow her on Twitter: @peopleinnovator

For this episode of The VentureFizz Podcast, I interviewed Mike Sullivan, CEO of Acquia.

Mike is an entrepreneur who co-founded an early SaaS company called Steelpoint Technologies, a provider of high-end electronic discovery solutions that was later acquired.

If you are not familiar with Acquia, they are one of the anchor companies in the Boston tech scene, known for helping companies create digital experiences. They have a global presence with about 800 employees.

In this episode, we cover:

• The details on Steelpoint, and how the company moved from a services business to a productized solution
• His decision to join Acquia, and his partnership with Dries Buytaert, Acquia’s Chairman, CTO and Co-Founder
• The current state of Acquia, and their strategy moving forward (which could include making acquisitions)
• Advice for growing a bootstrapped business, as well as how to generate revenue on day one and get your first customers
• Plus, a lot more!

To make sure you receive future episodes, please subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, or Soundcloud. If you enjoyed our show, please consider writing us a 5-star review—it will definitely help us get the word out there!

Founded in 2012 by Joe Kinsella, Dan Phillips, and Dave Eicher, CloudHealth Technologies is a company that has created a cloud management and analytics platform for enterprise and MSPs. The company has grown substantially over the past six years to have just under 300 employees and have raised $85.7M to date.

The company also had two huge announcements to make this past week; they are moving into a new office on 100 Summer Street, and VMware has acquired them.

The usual ribbon-cutting ceremony that commemorates a new office did occur, but the event was a celebration of both the new global headquarters and the news surrounding the company’s purchase. They were also able to tell the audience and their employees some equally exciting news about the future of CloudHealth.

“The company will keep the brand, and will become an autonomous unit within VMware, ” said the company’s CFO Larry Begly, who had a hand in helping secure the deal. “They are willing to invest as much as we need and this is an interesting situation for us, that a $60 billion public company looks at CloudHealth as strategic to their new business model.”

Begly told us how VMWare wants to start utilizing cloud software within their platform and that CloudHealth will be providing just that for the dominant company.

When the ceremony began, CloudHealth CEO Tom Axbey and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker welcomed the employees and other guests, many of them tired from taking red-eye flights from Las Vegas from VMware’s recent conference. Axbey spoke about how impressive the company has grown and how they plan on making the best of their new office.

If you want to join CloudHealth’s expanding team, click here for the openings at this Boston tech company!

My fifteen-year-old daughter and I were playing a question game last night, and taking turns to answer random things about each other. It was all going well until she pulled a card that said, “What characteristic would you like to see me change?” Ugh, I thought. What am I going to share that she should know, without having her feel completely critiqued when we are in the middle of playing a fun game? As gracefully as I could, I shared “I’d love you to understand the world doesn’t totally revolve around you. There are other people, factors, etc.” I thought I’d need to explain it, but thankfully she understood. I don’t think she’s in the minority; anyone with teenagers could tell you this is part of their development.

However, it made me consider a series of work conversations I’ve had of late with some of our evolving leaders. The situation manifests itself in a different way, but it’s a development area for many. However, while not as critical in a growing teen, understanding how the larger system works is a core skill leaders need.

The concept of “systems thinking” means a variety of things to different people. It’s essentially a comprehensive approach to analysis that focuses on the way a system’s varying parts interrelate, work together, and within the context of larger systems. In the context of leadership, it’s not just important to understand; it’s critical to success. Why? Business leaders must be flexible and take disciplined risks to solve problems in a variety of ways and being able to think holistically is a major component of that. Ultimately, it’s the ability to think beyond your own swim lane and take into consideration the broader community.

Let’s explore a simple example. Pretend you are a stellar shooter, and your basketball team is down by one point with just seconds left in the game. You are just one three-pointer away from setting a personal record, and you’ve just been passed the ball. You power down the court, set your feet, shoot...and miss. Your team loses the game. Your coach is furious because two of your teammates were open, and each could have taken a two-point shot for the win. What went wrong? You were thinking myopically, and reducing the situation to elements that just applied to you. Your coach, on the other hand, was considering the overall system.

While this is a fairly basic anecdote, it often parallels business and leadership. It’s not uncommon for a manager to suggest an initiative that aims to forward the organization. It looks to be a good investment and appears to benefit the productivity of the team. Changes are made, but in the process, other teams and ultimately the customers respond negatively. While the project might have benefitted the individual team, it ultimately had an adverse impact on the company as a system because it failed to take into consideration all of the elements outside of the team that might have changed the approach and/or outcome.

Need some motivation to start thinking beyond your own world?  Systems thinking directly correlates to improved performance. How? By using competencies such as process, logic, the broader community, and sustainable success models. Our businesses have so many different contexts to them ( economic, social, technical, etc.) and each of those have their own systems. As a business scales, those interactions become even more complex. The ability to consider each piece of the overarching system will aid you in most effectively delivering impact in both the short-term and well as longer-term sustainable results.   

For whatever reason, we seem to be more inclined to break down a system and attack each piece separately. And while this might be beneficial to the sub-system, it’s not always optimal for the broader system. When we can begin thinking more broadly across the entire system, we can create benefits in both efficiency and productivity. Over time, those sustained improvements happen more organically through intentional partnering across the various disciplines within the broad system.

We expect this skill of systems thinking to exist within our most senior leaders, even if it doesn’t come naturally to them. To truly drive the organization forward, a core job requirement is a consideration of how their function interacts with the others within the organization. The really good leaders understand how to think beyond their function, and how to drive for the overall organization.  However, we don’t have to leave this up to senior leaders. This is a skill every single person can build, regardless of your current role. It’s one thing to drive massive results on your own team; it’s far more impressive when you can deliver more meaningful results by understanding how your work affects the other elements of the organization.

Christina Luconi is Chief People Officer for Rapid7. Follow her on Twitter: @peopleinnovator

For this episode of The VentureFizz Podcast, I interviewed Eric Horndahl, CEO & Co-Founder at Renoviso.

Eric was a major contributor to two successful web companies in the Boston area, that being FlipKey (which was acquired by TripAdvisor) and BuyerZone (which was acquired by Reed Business Information).

If you’ve ever had a major home improvement project like replacing your windows… it’s typically not a great experience, but Renoviso is looking to change that by disrupting the home improvement industry with a whole new approach through transparency, technology, and world-class customer service.

Renoviso’s investors are Corigin Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, FJ Labs, plus a who’s who list of angel investors. This interview is timely, as they just recently raised $7M in venture funding, so we had a lot to talk about.

In this episode, we cover:

• Eric’s background and his experience at BuyerZone, which includes so many great alumni
• His experience at FlipKey, where they built a vacation rental marketplace
• The aha moment behind Renoviso and their unique business model
• Advice for first-time founders raising capital
• Plus, a lot more!

Renoviso is hiring - click here for jobs.

To make sure you receive future episodes, please subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, or Soundcloud. If you enjoyed our show, please consider writing us a 5-star review—it will definitely help us get the word out there!

It’s hard to believe that this is our 40th episode! It’s been a blast interviewing so many great people in the tech industry. We have a great roster of guests coming up, but I want to make sure we’re giving our audience what they want. So, if there are any guests you’d like to hear the background story of, feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected]!

It is hard to believe that summer is already coming to an end. It always goes by too fast.

The good news is that it looks like several companies in the Boston tech scene took full advantage of the hot and humid weather. It's a prime opportunity to bring the company together for some time to bond and have some fun. 

We gathered a bunch of pictures from our BIZZpage companies. It looks like there was no shortage of fun: Thompson Island, BBQs, music performances, scavenger hunts, volunteering, and more!  We noticed that boat cruises was another popular theme for companies.

​Check out all the fun in the slideshow below! By the way, if you like what you see... all these companies are hiring!