I’m using the phrase “productivity hacks” because it sounds a lot sexier than saying “tools I found online to help me do my job a little better or a little easier.” And, yes, my best hacking days (such that they exist) are ahead of me. This edition is all about design...
Are you doing right by your organization or by your customers? These should be the same thing. An "and" not an "or." The answer should be "both." What improves the business should also improve the people the business serves. I don't care if you're selling widgets,...
Livestreaming has arrived. In my last post, I talked about dark social, one of the two seemingly diametrical evolving trends in the digital space. Now I want to talk about live everywhere. Don't confuse the livestream with video. Video has been a hot trend on...
How much is your work worth? This isn't an idle question. We all want to be recognized and compensated for the value we bring to the table and the results we generate for our bosses (or our own businesses). It's about value. And money. I've written before about how...
Sometimes I think the Borg have arrived. In case you're not a Star Trek fan, the Borg are a race of cybernetic organisms with a hive mind and a nasty habit of saying "resistance is futile." Then they assimilate you. Facebook is getting to feel a bit like that. I don't...
Welcome to the era of brainbelts. A brainbelt is a term coined by Antoine van Agtmael and Fred Bakker to talk about the transformation of traditional rustbelt cities in the U.S. and Europe into centers of global innovation. van Agtmael said in remarks at the Brookings...
The #OscarsSoWhite discussion once again put the topic of diversity front and center. The focus of the Oscars was on the nominations. However, as The Guardian pointed out, "it is not the Academy that is cheating minorities, it is the film industry itself." The...
Who are the millennial entrepreneurs? That's a question the Business Journals sought to explore in a report released late last year entitled, Millennial Business Owners: Optimism Abounds. The report surveyed over 1,300 millennial and boomer business owners and...
There's been an ongoing discussion in one of my private Facebook groups around who should speak for your organization. Public relations? Social media? Customer service? Someone else? The discussion isn't about the formal reporting chain -- identifying the spokesperson...
It's a new year (happy new year!), and I'm not going to start by talking about trends. Instead, I'm going to talk about goals and expectations. This isn't about deep thoughts -- or trite inspirational quotes. I'm not a maker of new year's resolutions. That said, a...