Jason Toney

My 2011 Personal Operating Plan

"There's something in your heart and it's in your eyes. It's the fire, inside you, it burns. You don't say 'good luck'. You say, 'don't give up.' The fire. Let it burn." - The Roots, The Fire

I did this last year and am happy with the results so let's do it again.

Broad Strategic Goals

In everything I do this year, the goal is to Provide Value. In my personal life, I will be more deliberate with my Kindness and Compassion. I will also Love Harder. Health and Wellness will be a priority. Professionally and creatively, I will embrace Breaking Some Eggs, Breaking Some Rules, and Challenging the Status Quo. 

Health and Wellness

As I said last year, 

Five years from now, I plan to visit a doctor for regular checkups four times a year, the dentist twice a year, and the eye doctor at least once a year. I will be staring down my 40th birthday and I plan to live a long, happy, and healthy life. That includes regular visits to smart medical practitioners.

Well, one year has passed since then and while this is true, the fact of the matter is, five years from now I will be 40 years old and I want to be much healthier than I am now. Of these things, the only thing I do consistently is see my eye doctor once a year.

This year, I'm focusing on two things with health and wellness. First, take full advantage of my really great employer provided health benefits and start my regular doctor and dentist visits. In January, I will find new medical and dental providers that I will be happy with and excited about partnering on my future well-being. The requirements are that they take advantage of the latest medical and dental knowledge and tools, are personable and compassionate, and convenient to visit (meaning close to home or work).

Second, embrace this whole Body Integration concept. One of the running themes in my reverb 10 posts was this desire to get my eating right, working out, personal care stuff all happening at the same time. I plan to do that this year beginning this coming week. I joined health month and daily mile and will use those to track my adhering to my simple goals—eating right, working out regularly, taking my vitamins, and following my morning rituals around mental focus. I want to be at a healthy BMI within the first 6 months of the year and then set new goals at that time.

Financial

I want Tiffany and I to be without any legacy debts that either of us bring into our union by the end of 2011. I want to have saved a considerable amount (still TBD) and I plan to have a small portfolio of personal investment in progressive companies and companies, projects or individuals that I have a vested interest in seeing do well.

I also want to significantly increase my charitable giving. I did that this year without missing the dollars. Let's do more of that.

Career

Provide value. Instill values. Showcase and Celebrate that value.

Me and my team will provide significant meaningful value to our guests and the Company. We will be passionate product managers, producers, and page owners who focus on creating the best guest experiences possible, plussing our existing experiences, and advocating for the right thing, always.

I will drive forward the values, goals, and mission that I believe are critical for our success. We will be data-driven, solution-oriented, efficient, and forward-thinking. We will not be bogged down by our legacy. We will transition fully from being order-takers to storytellers. We will push our areas of the business forward and take advantage of the smart work of the rest of the teams in our organization.

We will tell our own stories internally. We will celebrate the projects we are proud of, the ones that perform well, and showcase the value and the values we bring to the Company. We will not be sheepish about our success.

Creativity and Learning

This year, I want to renew my love affair with Los Angeles and California as a whole. Tiffany is here now with fresh eyes and I want to really expand my awareness of the city and state we call home by learning and experiencing much more of it. I did a lot of book learning about Los Angeles in 2010, now it's about going out and seeing more of it in action.

Creatively, I want to get more deliberate about what I write here and what I post around the web. Writing is my outlet but there are areas that I am passionate about that I don't spend as much time as I would like writing about. I want to write more about the relationship I have with music and pop culture and how it impacts and motivates me in my career and private life. I want to spend more time writing about black folks and technology. And I want to write some fiction this year.

This is scary and I'm just now thinking about this as I'm writing this but why not make it a goal - 6 short stories by the end of 2011.

Whoa.

Okay, I'm scared.

And thrilled.

Travel

This is the year of international travel. Trust. The honeymoon must be outside of the United States. Boom!

I also want to visit more of the northwestern U.S. and get to New York, the Yay Area and New Orleans as often as humanly and financially possible.

Friends and Family

I want to see my sister more. This ties in with trips to New York since that is now her home but that's real. I love the person she's become and want more time with that chick.

Now that Tiffany and I share the same space, I want to entertain more at home. The much talked about Supper Club should finally come to be this year and I can see rotating dinners with my folks at each other's homes. 

Also, a weekly residency at The Library Bar with our classy drinking friends should be the right way to kick off the New Year.

So, the goal here is being in the same physical space with my favorite people on the planet on a regular, committed basis.

Love

In the abstract, the goal is to love harder. As we transition from the Long Distance thing to the See Each Other Every Day thing, I don't want to get complacent. I want to be excited and passionate and emotional and meaningful every day. Even though we've been together for nearly 2 and half years, this is really new for us and I want to enjoy it and take advantage of it to show to her and to myself that our love continues to grow and blossom and delight.

I also want us to find a space that better suits us in size and function.

Oh, and come May 14th, we'll be throwing the best damn party we can to celebrate that love. In New Orleans. With some of the best food and drink you will ever put in your face. And we'll help rebuild and renew the city.

Oh, and we'll get married, too.

Just that little thing.

The Mantra For The Year?

Move. Get up, get out, and do something!

Let's go!!

 

2010 Personal Operating Plan Performance Report

"Can't even last one day without your love." - Teena Marie, Can't Last A Day

Seth Godin posted today about what he shipped in 2010 and that seems like a good enough reason for me to look at what I had planned for 2010, what I accomplished (both planned and unplanned), and where I fell short.

This was my overarching strategy for the year:

Broad Strategic Goals

In my career and in my personal life, I will Take More Risks. Creatively and professionally, I will be focused on Telling More Stories. In all things, I will be inclined to Fail Better and Succeed Faster. It is my 35th year on earth this go round and time's a wastin'.

Overall, I think I held true to this. Just off the top of the dome, these are the things I "shipped" this year:

• Got engaged to Tiffany
• Participated in Disney Way 1
• Launched the Producer Toolkit (including 3 successful follow up releases)
• Launched a home page redesign
• Launched three category redesigns
• Launched a new category
• Launched two new product catalogs
• Launched a holiday stunt
• Got promoted
• Helped move Tiffany west
• Two days of volunteer work in New Orleans
• Two trips to New Orleans
• One trip to San Francisco
• Attended the FITC conference
• One trip to Minneapolis
• Set a Wedding Date
• Saved 90% of the original wedding budget target
• Increased my savings contribution by more than 33%
• I increased my blog and tumblr output significantly

All of this falls into taking risks, telling stories, and moving faster. In 2010, I was moving ahead.

Now to the specifics

Health and Wellness

This is where I was weakest. I didn't succeed in any of my goals in this category this year.

Financial

I followed through on all my goals here this year, to my surprise. Personal finance has never been a strong suit but I was able to be more deliberate and focused on this this year without it becoming a burden. I'm actually ahead of where I expected to be.

Career

This was a very strong professional year for me. I participated in Disney Way 1 which was amazing. I embraced product management and it's tenets and saw great success in my work this year, work that I am very much proud of, and it lead to recognition...I got promoted. And, yes, I am taking advantage of alternative work models as well, working away from the office when it merits and pushing on the constraints and challenging the status quo as often as possible.

Creativity and Learning

I totally forgot about these goals but achieved them anyway. I read an awful lot about New Orleans and Los Angeles this year. I took several development classes at work and on my own. I've been very happy with what this blog has turned into and how my tumblr is shaking out. I'm even happy with the lifestream that my facebook profile has become.

Travel

I didn't travel internationally this year but travel was a big part of my year. Read about it here.

Friends & Family

That calling thing just doesn't seem to be in the cards. I did talk with my family more often this year than in the past and email and facebook and texting has helped with my connectivity. There were a whole host of Disneyland trips this year but the great sandwich search and supper club never came to pass.

Love

If y'all don't know what's happened here you just haven't been paying attention. This was a huge year for love and it has ended completely different from where it started. Big wins all around.

We were shipping big time in 2010. Now it's time to think about what's next for 2011.

Top Posts of 2010 (by traffic)

"I'm insecure but I can't help it." - Erykah Badu, Green Eyes

These are the most trafficked posts of 2010 on this here blog.

1. The 2010 Hip Hop Workout Playlist
2. The iPad Review I Didn't Plan on Writing
3. Black (Twitter) Power
4. She + Me Situation
5. Song Of The Week - Loving You Is Killing Me
6. The Fix Up, Look Sharp Workout Playlist
7. The One Where I Got Promoted
8. The Addicted to Insanity Workout Playlist
9. The Good Friday Workout Playlist
10. The Cult of the Marrieds

The Last One With Two Cities

"Are you ready for the city? Is the city ready for you?" - The Futureheads, The City Is Here for You to Use

Tiffany moved west this week and a few things have become immediately apparent to me. First, this apartment is too small. We can survive in it just fine for awhile but there's not enough room. We'll probably add a few more pieces of furniture in the coming weeks and it'll get even more cramped. She doesn't have a good place from which to work. This is a problem considering her new gig has her mostly working from home.

Second, I've known this from before the move but our sleep patterns are really different. In comparison to me, she goes to bed early. I'm not sure what the adaption will look like but the last few days have either been her going to bed and me arriving a few hours later or me going to bed with her and then waking up in the middle of the night (like today...hello 3:30am) ready to start my day. I'm not sure what the adaptation to this will look like yet. I'm guessing I'll naturally adjust to going to bed at the same time but waking up much earlier. This is probably good for me. I can get a lot done in the mornings and my days go better when I have time to clear my busy mind before getting to work.

Third, there are things (big things, actually) that are already different in a hugely positive way for me: having someone to eat with (and who cooks and enjoys cooking) means I'm eating much healthier. On a typical Sunday, it's not uncommon for me to have Chipotle for lunch and then go out to dinner. And maybe brunch it out, too. Today, however, I made breakfast at home. I made lunch. She made dinner. I don't imagine I had more than 1500 calories today and I had a good portion of fruits and veggies mixed in to the day as well. This is amazing. If I make the switch to spending way more on groceries than restaurants (which has been the reality of the last 4 days) then I'm well on the path to the full body transformation I want in 2011 and Tiffany's habits should help with that. I mean, damnit, we had mussels for dinner. At home. She rocks.

Also, I'm much more aware of the state of the home than I have been. Sharing a space with someone means I clean way more. My kitchen has never stayed this pristine this consistently since I moved in here 5 years ago. The bathroom too (mostly). Being responsible to someone else feels good and I like doing for her. For the both of us, really.

But fourth, I think it's going to take awhile for us to truly understand that things have changed. She still talks like she's in Atlanta. I keep acting like she's on vacation. I'm sure it will balance itself out—I go back to work today; she'll start driving herself around town this week—but, at the moment, it still feels weird. Two years in a long distance relationship and you get into your own rhythms. There are set times for conversing. There is a lot more long term planning about the next trip, the big move, the big changes. Now we're moving in to the minutiae. What's for dinner? What's on TV? Where's the best store for spices, black hair care products, etc.? That will take some getting used to.

I keep expecting having to take her to the airport and preparing for the sadness that comes with that. But she's not going anywhere. Los Angeles is now home for both of us. There is still lots of big stuff on the horizon. We've still got a wedding this Spring. We've still got to find a new place to live. She's still got a new job to start and a new city to try to learn and love. I've still got big responsibilities at work. But we've also got meals to plan and coffee to make and new morning rituals and learning the little idiosyncrasies of living together.

We've spent the last two years learning how to love each other. This is just the next chapter in that story.

We started last week being of two cities. We begin this one trying to be from one.

• The Best Thing I Saw This Week: I've started watching Breaking Bad. AMC is currently replaying the series from the beginning. I don't know that I love it yet but I'm very intrigued by it. It's become my middle of the night TV friend.
• The Best Thing I Heard This Week: Le Sigh. Rick Ross's Teflon Don has been top of mind lately. I won't go nearly as far as The New York Times which named it album of the year but I must admit that I really like that album. Damnit, Rozay. Ya got me.
• The Best Thing I Read This Week: I finished Decoded last weekend. I picked up both The 4 Hour Body (which my mom also got from my dad for Christmas) and The Big Payback. Both are pretty good.
• The Thing I Read This Week That Most Resonated:

Busy-ness might feel good (like checking your email on Christmas weekend) but business means producing things of actual value. Often, the two are completely unrelated. What if you spent a day totally unbusy, and instead confronted the fear-filled tasks you’ve been putting off that will actually produce value once shipped?

Why? Because the one thought I've had about work while I've been away is that I need to focus some serious energy on, for lack of a better word yet, "un-fucking" some things. That means clearing away all the non-essential tasks and focusing on what I know will provide real value. I need to challenge my team to do the same. I've spent the last three months getting a sense of the landscape. Now, it's time to get to doing.

Business not busy-ness.

Let's go!

2010 Planet Money Episodes I Will Listen To Strictly For the Music: A List

1. Ranking Corruption (Jan 4): Mayer Hawthorne's "The Ills"
2. Your Friendly Neighborhood Bill Collector (Jan 11): Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings' "I'm Not Gonna Cry"
3. Taxing Health Care (Jan 20): Youngbloodz' "Cadillac Pimpin"
4. Yo!' Planet Money Raps (Jan 25): Sugar Hill Gang's "Rappers Delight"
5. An Economist Gets Stoned (Jan 27): Rick James' "Mary Jane"
6. Why GDP Matters For Schoolkids (Mar 2): Swell Season's "Low Rising”
7. Athens And The Bond Kings Of Newport Beach (May 11): The Black Keys' "Tighten Up"
8. We See Angelina's Bottom Line (May 14): Lupe Fiasco's "Superstar"
9. Why A Dead Shark Costs $12 Million (Jun 25): Sia's "Clap Your Hands"
10. The Pain-In-The-Butt Index (Jul 6): Lil Wayne's "Dr. Carter"
11. What The Finance Bill Doesn't Tell Us (Jul 13): Arcade Fire's "Ready To Start"
12. Grandmother vs. Grandson, Steel-Cage Match (Jul 20): Mumford & Sons' "Little Lion Man"
13. Monopoly, A Dangerous Game? (Aug 6): Peter Bjorn and John's "Young Folks"
14. Would You Rather Be Rich In 1900, Or Middle-Class Now? (Oct 12): Miike Snow's "Black & Blue"
15. The Price Of Lettuce In Brooklyn (Oct 22): The Clash's "Lost In The Supermarket"
16. Stealing Our Way To A T-Shirt (Oct 26): Avett Brothers' "Kick Drum Heart"

Derived from As Heard on Planet Money

Song For the Day - DJ Yoda's 5 Minute Christmas Lesson

Dj Yoda - Five Minute Lesson by Dj Yoda  
Download now or listen on posterous

5 Minute Christmas Mini-Mix.mp3 (12699 KB)

Posted via email from The Pensieve

Your Future Self #reverb10

"We are singing you this message through our music reaching for a better brighter..." - De La Soul, The Future

December 21 – Future Self.
Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead? (Bonus: Write a note to yourself 10 years ago. What would you tell your younger self?)
(Author: Jenny Blake)

Dear 35-Year-Old Me,

You are entering 2011 with a future of amazing possibility. The question I ask of you is simply this: are you ready to go for it? I mean really ready because it involves you taking more risks, going bigger, pushing others, and not being bogged down by the past. Yesterday is gone, my friend. Trust me, I know.

So push. I mean, you're doing fine at 35, sure. Professionally, you're at the height of your career, making more, doing more, being responsible for a good portion of one of the most visited websites in the world but I don't think you're where you want to be. I think you want to change the game. So, change it. There are ideas running around in your head right now aren't there? Try them. What are you waiting for? Of course, some of them will fail. Of course, some of them won't even get out of the starting blocks. That's not the point. The point is you have ideas, good ideas, and you'll never know if some of them are great ideas until you get them out of your head and in the world.

Love harder. Look at that woman in your life. She has uprooted her entire world in no small part to spend the rest of her life with you. Make it count. Make sure she knows she is loved intensely, passionately, meaningfully every day. Love is about showing not telling. Follow through with your commitments. Do the tasks that aren't asked for but might be needed. Listen. Support. Do for her beyond what you would do for yourself. Build. You already know how amazing partnership can be. Now that you're embarking on the next chapter of your life together, why not make it truly spectacular?

And, I know this is harder for you, buddy, but the same is true for your family and friends. Give more to those you love. More of your time and attention. That's what matters.

Do right. Hey, I know this isn't a big challenge but it's always a good reminder, we like leading an ethical, righteous life. Continue to invest in the right way of doing things. Continue to think about what is fair. Continue to do for others. And then? Do more.

Do you see the theme, 35-year-old Jason? There is more. More of the world for you to see and more of you to put in the world. Make a difference in everything you do.

Now, 25-year-old Jason, all I want to say to you is...Thanks. You got us here, kid. If we had it to do all over again, I only have three notes for you:

1. Remember what Queen B tells you - Some relationships are forever, some seem that way but aren't, and some are brief. All, however, are valuable to you. Be thankful for all of them and for the time, however long, you have with the people in your life. 
2. Trust your heart and your instincts - You know what's right. Do it. There is one moment in the 2000s when you followed the weakness of some friends (friends who, by the way, won't be in your life much longer) instead of standing with a forever friend and her family when they most needed you. It will be the first (and maybe only so far) real regret of your life.
3. Get familiar with more leafy greens - Your middle expands my man. Broccoli and Spinach should've become your homeboys in the year 2000.

Other than that, though, I have no quarrels with the life you've led. Every experience has gotten us to this point and this point? We've got love. We can provide for ourself and others. We laugh way more than we cry. We dance. And we still wake up excited every day about the opportunities, surprises, and challenges to come.

2015 is looking forward to seeing you.

Let's Go!!

Cheers,

The 40-Year-Old Jason

 

 

Travel #reverb10

"I was a piano player in my last lifetime." - Common, Time Travelin' (A Tribute To Fela)

December 22 – Travel
How did you travel in 2010? How and/or where would you like to travel next year?
(Author: Tara Hunt)

One of the reasons I use Tripit is so that I can keep track of all this data. It came in handy this morning, otherwise I would've forgotten one of the many trips I took to Atlanta this year.

Here are the hard numbers:

1. Atlanta, GA (6 times)
2. New Orleans, LA (twice)
3. Minneapolis, MN
4. Greensboro, NC
5. San Francisco, CA

The big news this year was that I flew enough miles to become a Silver Medallion Sky Miles member on Delta. I'm very excited about this. Got that bump from zone four to zone two boarding. I get to check two bags for free (which doesn't mean much to me but was super important for Tiffany's move to Los Angeles yesterday). I also automagically get put on the upgrade list. I loves my status. With the end of the Long Distance Relationship thing (we're now co-habitants happily living in sin for a few months), I'm going to find more excuses to fly. My sister may see me in New York a lot more often just so I don't lose that status (and, you know, cuz I love her, too, or something).

As Tiffany noted, travel this year has been all about family, friendship, and fellowship. Every trip was about matters of the heart. Included in those trips were weddings and anniversaries (both of the same sex variety by the way. You didn't ask but I'm tellin'), birthdays and holidays, volunteer work and medical and dental visits. And good hard cries. And good hard laughs. And warm smiles and soft eyes. And surprises.

And you. In the end, it was about all the "you's" I was going to get to see after I touched down.

This final trip of the year, though, was the most unique. It was the first time Tiffany and I have traveled on a flight together. It's the first time in eons that I've gotten to sit next to someone I knew. It's the first time I've ordered a town car. It's the first flight I booked less than a week before take off. 

It's the first time when we both could say we were coming home.

I always like coming back to Los Angeles but this was the first time I was truly excited by the prospect. Excited by the travel itself. It didn't disappoint. We, with our matching ipads, danced in our chairs to different music, silently judged some of the passengers around us, and gave each other nervous looks with the rough turbulence on the way in. 

Next year I expect more of that but hopefully expanding our adventures beyond the contiguous United States and maybe some new domestic cities together too.

I'd guarantee at least a trip or two to SF. I know we'll be in Austin and Nola again. But what about Portland? How about visiting Grandma in Omaha?

And internationally? Iceland and Argentina probably top my list for Honeymoon destinations but I'm open. I've never left the States (beyond brief visits to Mexico and Canada. Also Alaska and Hawaii which might as well be foreign lands) so anything that isn't part of the good ol' U S of A will be exciting.

 

Beyond Avoidance #reverb10

"Looking in a mirror but I don't see much." - Rick Ross, Tears of Joy

December 20 – Beyond Avoidance
What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?)
(Author: Jake Nickell)

I should've gone to the doctor (and the dentist) but didn't. This is lame but I have to admit that I have fears here. The dentist one is reasonable. The last two times I went to the dentist, I left feeling like I'd been in fights with Mike Tyson. I had a crack tooth removed and it was a difficult one. I have good strong teeth (always have) and I don't go to the dentist mostly because it's easy to forget that I should. I've prioritized it down.

The doctor, however, I guess I have to admit I have a lot of anxiety about my health. I've talked about how I don't feel like I'm taking care of myself and that plays out in avoiding the doctor's office too. I think about check-ups and physicals like I thought about report cards in school. I don't want bad grades and I know I haven't put in the work to deserve more than a C and maybe much worse. So even though I had put some pretty specific goals in place in my personal operating plan for 2010, including taking advantage of my very nice employer provided health benefits, I haven't (besides my annual visit to the eye doctor and some sweet new glasses).

This has to change in 2011. I'm reading The 4 Hour Body and Tim Ferriss makes the point that we need the data to set goals and track improvements. I know that's true from when I was doing The Instinct Diet. I was obsessed with the numbers (calories, weight, portion sizes, etc.) and as I plan to get serious about my health and wellness in just a few days, I need accurate data points to chart my progress on what I know are my current health risk factors (high blood pressure, high cholesterol).

The silly part of all this is that if I know I'm going to get bad grades, why wouldn't I just go get the results and know for sure? It's because I don't want to disappoint the doctor. It's because I like the possibility, however remote, that I'm healthier than I think I am. It provides a feeble out to make bad choices.

It's a bargaining chip that I pull out of my back pocket way too often.

No more.

In 2011, knowledge is power.

And avoiding my own demons is going out with this old year.

Try #reverb10

"Keep on movin' and you get a little further. You keep on trustin' and you keep on hoping. Keep on facing your fears just to keep on going." - Bugge Wesseltoft and Sidsel Endresen, Try

December 18 – Try.
What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for it?
(Author: Kaileen Elise)

Next year, I want to try international travel. I've never left North America except for the Pacific Islands and I'd love to explore more of the world.

I can't really talk about what I got the chance to try this year but it was work related. It happened back in January and all I know is it was one of the best 15 minute segments of my life with clothes on...even if my pants kept falling down.