Foundations from Bret Simmons on Vimeo.
I’ve been wanting to experiment with using video at my website for some time now, but I put it off because frankly the thought of seeing myself in video is scary to me! I’d much rather get up in front of an audience of several hundred and speak impromptu than sit in a room alone in front of a video camera. Let’s hope it gets better.
So for my first video I want to go back to the foundation of my very first post and talk about what matters at work and how managing behavior helps us get what matters. The foundation for me is that the behavior we observe in ourselves and others will always be a function of person and environment factors. My strong belief is that the environment, or systems, are the strongest drivers of behavior at work. To me, the leverage lies in partnering with people to improve crappy systems, which is why we need to understand a lot about attitudes, personalities, values, and others things internal to the person.
For all you that actually sit through this video, if you have any suggestions for improvement I would love to hear them!
Related posts:
Why do people do the things they do?
The importance of understanding personalities and attitudes
You should follow me on twitter here.
Hi Bret.
Keep them coming…I’m looking forward to the next one! ~Christine
I’m really pleased to see that you made your first video! Great job! Getting through the first one is half the battle I am sure. The content was spot on as usual. My only suggestion for your next video is to choose a different background. You are such a dynamic speaker and I think you deserve a more exciting environment.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 7:16 am
Thanks for the feedback! I will indeed have to find a better background. The office is so convenient. Thanks! Bret
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Hey Brett-
I thought the video was great! Good for you to take the lead…and jump in to something new.
W/re: to video on blogs as a concept:
I have often wondered what/when/where video is better than writing…I like to scan writing, and also to clip it, and I can do neither very easily with video. Also, I’m impatient– I want to get to the heart of the matter right away when I’m at a blog. So the format in general is a challenge for me.
In addition to the format, I wonder what is better “said” than “written”– when is it useful to hear your voice out loud vs. on paper?
I know that I’m a better talker than a writer when I’m trying to figure out an idea…but who wants to hear me thrash about in a video? On the other hand, if I have all the points aligned and arranged, why speak them (or read from a script)when bullet points might be more useful?
Ideally, video seems most useful when you need to persuade someone or demonstrate something visually… Yet, all told, I struggle to see where video really fits in– despite it’s being the next big blogging thing.
That said, this particular video is pretty charming. It feels like I’m sitting in the front row in a conference room (not quite across the desk).
I think you hit your stride at around 1:55-2:10, where ‘you’ really seemed to come through. It happened again at around 3:05 — these were peaks in an already strong presence.
The set designer in me says to tell you to get the thumbtack out of the wall by your left ear, and to put some books on that top shelf, to fill things out a bit. You could of course do more set ‘decoration’, but I don’t think it’s necessary and might risk looking too staged. [[Just my $.02 ... it's not as though the view of my office over my shoulders is that great!]] Finally, the lighting and sound are good. Overall really great quality and terrific performance.
You make it look *really* easy.
hooray!
cv
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Thanks for the feedback, CV! I have to be honest it was like pulling teeth for me to make that video. I’ve gotten a lot of great tips from folks here and other places and I will incorporate them next time. I want to get up the learning curve on this.
I’m doing them because not too many folks that blog on what we do are, so I see that as an opportunity. And there are some things that I can say better than I can write. I also like the personal connection. I personally don’t like podcasts, but I don’t mind watching a short video.
Got a lot to learn!! Thanks!! Bret
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As a first video, I’ll say good job on this. I think its a brave attempt and I know you’ll get much better at this. You always do.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Appreciate the feedback, Nitin. I plan on doing my best to get better. Thanks! Bret
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