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January 20, 2010

the end of the office... and the future of work

Excerpt from an article in the Boston Globe:

"This shift has begun to trigger a more fundamental examination of what a job is and what we expect to get from it. Despite the vast diversity of the work people do, the traditional notion of a job has tended to be a standard bundle of responsibilities, roles, and benefits: We do our work for an employer to whom we owe our primary professional allegiance, and that employer pays us and provides us health insurance and a sense of professional identity. In the United States, many of the laws that shape health insurance, retirement, and tax policy are structured around this model.

But in a few realms, people have begun to unpack that bundle and reassemble it in new, surprising, and potentially very important ways. As it becomes easier for companies to plug in on the fly to the constantly shifting network of freelance labor, freelance workers have begun to think not in terms of having a job, but of having a collection of different jobs at any one time."

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Filed under  //   life   technology  

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January 19, 2010

pictures of Haiti

Before and after satellite pictures from Google here.

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Filed under  //   life   save the world  

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December 29, 2009

15 years

2 universities.
1 together.
16 countries visited. 
9 together. 
lived in 5 cities.
montreal 5 months. 
fort collins 6 months. 
pune india 1 year. 
san francisco 2 years. 
denver otherwise.
6 apartments. 
1 condo. 
3 homes.
1 month without the money to pay rent.
127 arm punches.
3 children. 
beautiful children. 
each 5 years apart.
134 to 130 - our bowling scores yesterday.
2 games won at air hockey. just saying.
11 jobs. 
5 were her's.
number of times he slept on the couch: 1. 
number of times she did: 1. 
number of times it was his fault: 2.
10 cars.
4 fender benders. 
2 in our driveway.
unknown number of moving violations.
0 motorcycles.
4.5 years of dating.
2 times engaged.
15 years of marriage.
a lot of life. 
a lot of forgiveness. 
a lot of love.

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December 28, 2009

the known universe

Watch in HD. Full screen. 

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December 21, 2009

waving goodbye to 2009

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December 10, 2009

simply live

“There comes a time when it is no longer important to prove one’s point, but simply to live, to surrender to God and to love.”

-Thomas Merton

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Filed under  //   life   read  

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November 29, 2009

refreshing perspective from Joel Salatin

“I have no desire to scale up or get bigger. My desire is to produce the best food in the world. And if in doing so, more people come to our corner and want stuff, then heaven help me figure out how to meet the need without compromising the integrity.

As soon as you grasp for that growth, you’re gonna view your customer differently, you’re gonna view your product differently, you’re gonna view your business differently. Everything that is the most important – you’re going to view that differently.”

Joel Salatin, Polyface Farms owner by way of 37Signals

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November 19, 2009

compromise is for sissies

Sometimes.

Super hero Seth Godin posted this today. He argues that the lifetime value of a customer is worth a lot. Time and money is often better spent mind-blowing current customers than it is looking for the next customer.

I recently had this dilemma. We had a real shot at winning new work with a new customer. We knew what to do and our approach was a terrific option for them. They had a deadline for a proposal response that was not flexible.

Meanwhile, we had a customer that required significant attention to get a system live. They had invested a lot of money with us and we needed a final push that would consume significant time.

We couldn't attack both. If we chased the first, we would likely fall short on the second. The first deal was potentially worth over three times more in direct revenue than the second. We chose the second. Yes, because it was the right thing to do. Yes, because it was a wise investment.

Do it well
or don't do it
because if you can't
you won't for long.

Sometimes not compromising is really hard. Sometimes compromise is for sissies.

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November 13, 2009

naked with a brush

For a long time, governments believed they had all the power. Big walls. Big military. Big guns.
For a long time, churches believed they had all the power. Big walls. Big authority. Big hats.
For a long time, corporations believed they had all the power. Big walls. Big lawyers. Big money.

Not anymore.

The world flipped. Did you notice?

We now believe we have all the power. We are the center. You are the center.

Maybe.

Careful.


photo credit: http://smokeandsassafrass.tumblr.com/post/235656444/art-class-1972

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November 8, 2009

the power of brains, guts and determination

This story reminded me of a lesson I once learned. I led a team of people to the inner city of Chicago to serve an organization that was helping people in need of better health services. Our job was to gut an old building that would be used as a clinic. The building had been known as "the murder building" because of the frequency of that event in and around it. This organization was redeeming it.

Our team had one wheelbarrow to haul out pieces of wall, floor and other debris. In the early afternoon of the first day, the tire went flat. I was inclined to stop work and head to the store to find a replacement. Those that I was leading had a different idea. Our work was too important and the time we had was too short. Rather than quit, they kept going - carrying the wheelbarrow rather than rolling it. There were no excuses. There was no quit. They showed me the power of grit, determination and ingenuity. 

We never have all the right tools - except we usually do. I'll take brains, guts and determination over money and resources any day.

There aren't enough people like this.

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