At the Corner of Assertiveness & Cooperation: Collaboration
Let’s face it, conflict is part of life. It’s a necessary part of negotiation, relationship-building, learning and growth. But how much do accomplish when you sense a conflict? Do you put your gloves on, take out a scalpel, wave a white flag? This article from The Customer Collective describes the Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, a tool developed to measure... Read More
A Plug for p:ear
Your business can make a difference. p:ear is an innovative program for homeless youth in old town Portland that my business, friends and family support. This organization is in its seventh year of providing positive mentoring relationships for these valuable young people through education, art and recreation. p:ear’s vital work is made possible through the generous contributions... Read More
Carbon Neutral Small Biz!
The Oregon Environmental Council has outlined a process for small businesses who want to understand their energy use and begin saving dollars and watts. I can’t say how valuable of a resource this is for small businesses wanting to take a step in the green direction, but didn’t know where to start for metrics and calculations. The OEC provides resources (including financial... Read More
One Thing #7
Health. A healthy organization has healthy members and healthy leaders. Consider a biomimicry approach: at the core of nature’s success is health. Living, thriving, developing, changing, and adaptable life all depends on health as a measure of success. Consider your physical, mental and spiritual health, then consider the health of your organization. See one improvement that... Read More
Invisible Labor
The subject of work in fiction is the topic of Jennifer Schuelssler New York Times essay, “Take this Job and Write It.” The concern of the commentary is mostly that today’s work is missing in our writing. I’m adding this clip from Granta about their Work issue and am going to stay with this thought for a while before I publish any conjectures. Maybe just... Read More
Teaser: New Branding and Site Design
Here is a tiny little teaser of my up-coming branding and site design by Blue Window Creative. Some of my tasteful friends and followers have noticed that I’ve been inspired by Lisa DeJohn’s work. I am trying to achieve something organic, original and warm that reflects my style of work and the natural growth I want businesses to experience. I am not trying to compete... Read More
Accept Defeat: The Neuroscience of Screwing Up
I borrowed this Venn Diagram from Jonah Lehrer’s article “Accept Defeat: The Neuroscience of Screwing Up,” published on Wired.com. To save you time (it’s a lengthy article), I’ll post a quick quote: “The lesson is that not all data is created equal in our mind’s eye: When it comes to interpreting our experiments, we see what we want to see... Read More
Today’s Gadget Economics
Looks like the rest of the nation is purchasing the way I am, according to the Harvard Business Review. Except that I just bought an iPhone, which goes into the best and latest category. Suggestion: when it comes to technology, don’t forget the customer who likes the iPhone. Next suggestion: be the next Steve Jobs. Read More