Category Archives: Technology

Current Affairs, Executive, Leaders, Management, Social media, Technology

Beyond bookmarking: Sharing five articles I Stumbled, Google-read and stored

Leave a comment

One of the best aspects of living life digitally is being able to share what I read in a millisecond.  I remember copying, faxing and mailing articles to clients.  Then I remember emailing them.  The tools we have now are an article clipper's dream.

Today, I use StumbleUpon and Google Reader both to catalog my favorites and to share them with followers on those sites.  I'm starting to do more on Facebook and LinkedIn as well, mainly through a standing link from my Twitter feed to those networks.  My goal is to wean myself off saving things to my computer.

As part of this process, I'm attempting to share five articles, saved and shared to my various networks, here on the blog every week, too.  So here they are.

  1. The obituary of Edward Stobart in The Economist.
  2. How to hold attention, by the brilliant John Hagel, with John Seely Brown, on Harvard Business Review.
  3. Figuring out where your buyers are, from the blog by Content Marketing Institute.
  4. The backlash against the academic Mafia [my phrase!], in The Atlantic.
  5. Mitch Wagner's take on Don Tapscott's view of capitalism, on The CMO Site.
Books, Current Affairs, Executive, Management, Positioning, Social media, Startups, Technology

The seven business books I believe are right for right now

1 Comment

These books, which I've read or am reading, are works whose content can inform business life. 

The Power of Pull:  How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion.  John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, Lang Davison.  Aptly describes the change that is afoot and how anyone — and any business — can sustain relevance and connection.

Team of Rivals:  The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.  Doris Kearns Goodwin.  Shows how competitors can collaborate when their leader is clear about the objective and recognizes how their motives can help reach the goal.  [Side benefit:  I found the description of the actions of biased journalists soothing.  If this country survived a civil war and those reporters, it can survive anything.]

The Divine Comedy.  Dante Alighieri [The John Ciardi Translation].  Amazing that despite every other kind of growth, the human character really never changes.  Very useful.

I Hate People:  Kick Loose from the Overbearing and Underhanded Jerks at Work and Get What You Want Out of Your Job.  Jonathan Littman, Mark Hershon.  The authors do an outstanding job of categorizing every personality you can encounter in the workplace.  The psychology and the comedy of pathological behavior.

Delivering Happiness:  A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose.  Tony Hsieh.  Sometimes nice works. Here's how to do it and prosper without becoming a patsy.

Power:  Why Some People Have It — and Others Don't.  Jeffrey Pfeffer.  How to get comfortable with power and decide whether you want it.

Overlook Much, Correct a Little:  99 Sayings by John XXIII.  Hans-Peter Rothlin, editor.  The musings of an enlightened mind, these thoughts inspire action that benefits every stakeholder in an organization — most especially, oneself.

 

 

 

Executive, Management, Religion, Technology

Lessons from a leader who looked to heaven but kept his feet on the ground

Leave a comment

Last month, FAST COMPANY blogger David Gardner shared a memorial tribute to Paul L Locatelli, SJ, the president of Santa Clara University who passed away after a two-month illness.  Father Locatelli was something of a legend in Northern California; I had heard of his talents in management and fundraising, but this eloquent eulogy by Mr Gardner explored the qualities of Father Locatelli's style in a way I hadn't seen.  Please take a moment to read it.

Here are the basics of Father Locatelli's approach to leadership, as captured by Mr Gardner, that I took away and will keep in front of me.

  • Commit fully to your company, from vision, to strategy, to execution
  • Make commitments, not promises
  • Be relentless in pursuing your goals and don't lose heart
  • Keep speeches short and idle time shorter, all the while moving to the next thing
  • Make a list and get it done
  • Feed your physical, mental and spiritual selves equally
  • Pay attention to the people in your circles by engaging wholeheartedly with them; make time for them always
  • Listen intently
  • When someone asks for help, find a way to do it without hesitation
  • Emphasize the opportunities in life
  • Look for a value that serves others as well as yourself and honor it through optimal performance
Technology

Ada Lovelace: The pioneer we celebrate today

Leave a comment

As you can see from this post by Daniela Barbosa, Ada Lovelace still inspires women centuries beyond her time.  Lovelace, a pioneering technologist, led a life not so much in the shadows but shadowed by the restrictions of her time and place.  Now that many of the limits have faded, I hope that young women so inclined jump into technology, to enjoy the bounty of discovery.

Startups, Technology

Become a venture capitalist — play the Startup Bus game

Leave a comment

The South by Southwest [SXSW] conference/event/gathering is happening next week, and this year, there's a unique event that occurs on the way to Austin, Texas, where SXSW is held.  It's the Startup Bus.  Six teams are developing a startup idea while they ride the bus to Austin.  Regular folks can use virtual dollars to invest in the startup of their choice.

Daniela Barbosa, the information scientist and Dow Jones exec, writes about the competition on her blog.  Our colleague and recent transplant to the US, Elias Bizannes of vast.com, is the Brain Behind the Bus.  Visit the Startup Bus site.  Become an investor.  It's fun!