I am often asked what equipment I use to produce my podcasts. It really isn’t much and what I am currently using is portable to I can record just about anywhere- including my car. So here you go, the podcast equipment I use.

Actual Equipment That I Have

Microphone – Samson C01U Pak – Recording / Podcasting Pack – The microphone that I have is great for podcasting on the go. It comes in a hard case and can be set up in under a minute. It just runs off the USB line of any computer and includes the mic stand and cords. It is a condenser mic so it picks up every little sound so you need to be careful about recording in a quiet place.

Computer – HP Pavilion g Series – Yes, believe it or not, I am running everything on a laptop computer. I don’t even have a desktop. And, the laptop I have isn’t very fancy, it’s pretty stock. Technology has come so far that even entry level models can handle most of the work that needs to be done. I do have my eyes set on a new system but the timing isn’t quite right.

Headphones – Beats Solo 2.0 Wired On-Ear Headphones (Black)– I love these headphones. The sound is so crisp and clear and they double as noise canceling so I can work in quiet concentration.

Digital Recorder – Roland R-05 Studio WAVE/MP3 Recorder – I recently picked up this piece of equipment and while I haven’t found a lot of use for it, I love it. I have used it to record interviews and the sound quality is great for a standalone piece. I am planning to get a lot more use our of it. It came highly recommended from some other podcasters that I follow. Eventually I want to get my mixer connected to it and record all of my podcasts directly to the recorder.

Equipment That I am Planning to Purchase

We all have wish lists right? Well my wish list includes a couple of items to take my podcasting and speaking to the next level. In the next year I’d like to pick up some (or all) of the following

Microphone – Heil PR40 Microphone w/Carrying Bag, Microphone Clip, Windscreen, XLR Cable, and Pop Filter – The BMW of podcasting mics is on my wish list. I plan to podcast for a long long time. I love it and so I want to make sure the sound quality is the best it can be.

Mixer – Mackie 402VLZ4, 4-channel Ultra Compact Mixer with High Quality Onyx Preamps – To improve the quality of my sound and filter out static from interviewees I would like to grab a new mixer. I haven’t decided if I want the 4 channel or 8 channel yet but like what I have heard about the Mackie.

Lavalier – Audio-Technica PRO-501/L Pro Series 5 Frequency-Agil​e Diversity UHF Wireless Lavalier System – I’d like to get my own wireless lapel mic so that when I speak I can trust and rely that the equipment will be good and do what I need it to.

Computer – iMac with Retina 5K display – why not?

Am I missing anything you think I should be using?

Over the last 10 years I have worked in the non-profit world, working with youth in my local community to teach moral and ethical decision making. Currently, we have 13,000 young people in the program but only 17 fulltime staff members.

How can we handle the sheer volume of participants with such a skeleton staff?

We have nearly 5000 adult volunteers that register and help run aspects of the program. The great thing, besides the fact that many hands make light work, is that each volunteer brings their own skill set and perspective to the organization. The youth learn from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and personalities. Because all of the volunteers are not compensated financially for their time and efforts, we are able to maintain a reasonable budget and add more impact to the program.

But volunteerism is not a one-sided opportunity where volunteers give and give and do not receive anything in return. In fact, volunteering holds a lot of benefits. Because of my position in the organization I get to spend most of my time working with our Board of Directors; 48 men and women who each come from various backgrounds and careers including lawyers, doctors, small business owners, developers, real estate brokers, bankers etc. We have elected officials and semi-retired individuals, multi millionaires and successful college dropouts. Each person on the board joins for different reasons and taking from the experience different benefits.

In working with this group I have found a few of the most impactful experiences to be:

1- Friendships- nothing builds camaraderie better than rolling up your sleeves and getting down in the trenches to solve a problem. Working as a team to brainstorm potential outcomes, developing responses and implementing strategic plans create friendships, often between unlikely individuals.

2- Joint Business Ventures- one great aspect of volunteering is being paired or grouped with those you do not normally associate. For example, if you work in real estate and are part of the local real estate forum you spend time with other folks in real estate. It can be good for learning best practices, but unfortunately doesn’t create much business. However, during volunteering, you may spend time with a banker who could be a source of referrals (note: you should not volunteer solely for the business rewards).

3- Different way to look at things- when you get a group of varied backgrounds working together on solving problems you are exposed to different lenses of approaching those problems. Some of the solutions translate into your current business practices. A problem you are struggling with in your professional life may find an answer in your service life.

4- A break from the routine- many of us have very demanding lives and trying to juggle work and home limits our opportunities to give back and recharge our batteries. Volunteering gets a change of pace onto your calendar and forces you to focus your efforts on something else for a little while.

5- Service- working with an organization that benefits those not as fortunate or as experienced as you gives you the opportunity to experience life through their eyes. Blessing others blesses you. As Jim Rohn taught, “giving begins the receiving process”.

There is growth in knowing you have made a difference.

The most successful person that I know, and he has multiple homes, cars, toys and trips, runs 5 different companies and is also the most generous person I have ever met; both with his time and with his money. In his home town everyone knows of his reputation of generosity and as a result, everyone wants to do business with him. He is successful because of his generosity which allows him to be more generous.

Question: Have you seen any unexpected benefits from your volunteerism? Leave your comments below or by clicking here.

If you haven’t read my new eBook 13 Life Lessons you can get a copy free by clicking here.

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What do you think is most important in your organization, high productivity or high morale? Don’t we all agree that having both is ideal? Finding a balance between the two is a worthy goal but which should be the focus of your organization?

This is a question that I am not sure I have a definitive answer for.

I work for a national 501(c)3 not for profit organization and like most non-profits we are always trying to do more with less (not sure this is exclusive to non-profits). We have way more work and needs than we have people to do the work. I know that I personally could work 100 hours a week with no watercooler time and still have 100 hours of work sitting on my desk the next morning. High productivity is needed.

My job and all the jobs in my company are very demanding and often require nights and weekends to be sacrificed. As people give up their personal and family time for the requirements of employment morale dips.

When morale dips, productivity dips.

We, like many companies, try to create opportunities for the team to bond but it doesn’t always produce the desired outcomes. Team bonding exercises can often eat into the bottom line financially with no noticeable benefit. Let me give you a couple of recent examples that my company tried. One was incredibly effective and the other only moderately.

1- Annually the entire staff takes 3 days for a staff planning conference and retreat. We drive about three hours away and get hotel rooms and plan breakout sessions, training sessions, brainstorming exercises and year reviews. One of the evenings we do something special for the staff, reserve a room at a nice restaurant and take the team out for socializing and fine food.

2- We contacted a local food truck and had them park in front of our building for a couple of hours and sell to any interested staff. We did not offer to provide any food or subsidy for the experience just arranged the truck.

On the surface you may think that experience number one had the most impact and positive effect on staff morale. You would be wrong. In the nearly 10 years I have worked with my company nothing has had the effect on morale that the food truck experience had. I think this happened for a few different reasons.

1- Required- The staff retreat was required for all to attend. Regardless of personal commitments and other family responsibilities each staff member was given enough notice and expected to participate. The food truck was 100% optional.

2- Money Outlay- At the staff conference the expenses were covered by the company. This was expected because the conference was mandatory. However, because the financial responsibility was on the company it wasn’t appreciated as much as something personally paid for.

3- Organic- This is probably the biggest factor contributing to the difference in the impact of the two experiences. The staff conference was planned, coordinated and felt forced. The food truck was natural and created a buzz around the office in anticipation. There was no expectation just natural excitement

4- Options- The staff conference was planned and coordinated during every hour. From the time you ate breakfast to the evening activities. Although many of the sessions were very well done, and some were fun, there was not chance to choose your own adventure. With the food truck you could go out when you pleased, split items with co-workers and even return multiple times. People congregated in front of the truck just to talk, laugh and see what was chosen.

5- Expectation- expecting employees to participate in any activity automatically separates those who will enjoy the activity and those who will criticize. It also sets the expectation that the experience will either live up to fail to live up to.

6- During Work Hours- People are very protective of their personal time. We spend so much time and focus on our work that when we do have time off we really want to enjoy it and use that time as we see fit. As important as staff conferences are they take personal time away from the employee which necessitates balance with family responsibilities etc. Activities that allow staff to bond but do so without eating into personal time are more powerful and create better morale building experiences.

There are a lot of reason we need to have our annual staff planning conference and the whole event is beneficial to staff, preparing each person for the upcoming year by setting expectations and defining roles. But, for all the time and financial investment it cannot compare to the power that an optional organic staff experience can have on employee morale and camaraderie. We should be doing both types of morale building exercises but shouldn’t be surprised if the returns on investments are different. We cannot do a food truck every week or it would become expected and just another distraction…it’d become a staff planning conference.

Question: What is your favorite organic staff morale experience? Leave your comments below or by clicking here.

If you haven’t read my new eBook 13 Life Lessons you can get a copy free by clicking here.

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What would you do if you won the lottery?

Lotteries are becoming a very popular topic these days. It seems every couple of months we can feel the momentum build as the jackpot rises past $100 million, to $200 million on its way to becoming the largest jackpot ever. Promising untold opportunities and all of your problems solved with the purchase of just one ticket.

In the most recent mega millions jackpot the winner purchased the ticket just a few miles from where I live. I was so close to winning; all I had to do was purchase a ticket. I didn’t. In fact I have never purchased a ticket before in my life.

Sure I would love to have millions with which to play and do whatever I want but “dumb luck” is not how I want to get it.

This morning I was thinking about what I would do if I did win the lottery, or better yet, what I would do if the company I have poured my heart and soul into took off and became so successful that money was no longer a thought. The reality is I think that I would continue to work; maybe not in the same way that I do now piling on the hours. And, I might be a little more selective in the clients I engage. But I wouldn’t (couldn’t) spend my days on the couch watching movies and eating chips and salsa.

I would love to do “some” travelling. There are many places in the world that I would like to visit and experience but I couldn’t spend the rest of my days just traveling. I would likely get a little bit bigger house, but who needs a “too big” house. Sure there are a lot of conveniences that having unlimited wealth would provide but “not working” would not be one of them for me.

 Why?

Because work is important – for many reasons:

1- Self-esteem– There is power in knowing who you are and the satisfaction of knowing that you have the power to complete, to grow, to become more and to get better. All are part of the self-esteem growth that comes from working.

2- Mental stimulation– Work gives you opportunities to use your mental problem solving skills. Your brain is a muscle and grows stronger with use. As you tackle day to day challenges you increase your mental ability and become able to tackle more and more challenging problems. Work gives your brain something to do.

3- Human interaction– Work can be very social. Even if your job is to sit behind a computer and write about the social benefits of working. When I put together an article I am thinking of you, my audience. I put my thoughts out there and hope that you will enjoy and engage. After I write I jump on social media and interact, answering questions and posing others. Then I have the opportunity to get out and speak to different groups on the things I write about. Even my computer job is social.

4- Sense of accomplishment– When I have a goal to accomplish I feel a sense of pride. Shooting for a target and hitting it makes you feel important and you have a chance to recognize your unique talents and use them to move your organization forward while developing personally.

5- Enjoyment– Work can be fun. It is not always fun but it should be mostly fun. As Confucius said, “choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life”

I do not dream about immediate wealth through lottery jackpots. I seek to find my success and fulfillment through hard work and continually growing and developing. I do not want to rob myself of the journey. I am who I am today because of the experiences that I have had and in the future I will be a better person because of the challenges that the future holds.

I am passing on this mega million lotto opportunity.

 Question: What would you do if you won the lottery? How would it change the way you live your life today? What is stopping you from living that life anyway? Leave your comments below or by clicking here.

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