Some mornings, when the alarm on our phone chimes and it’s still dark outside, when the house is quiet, and the whole day stretches before us, well, honestly, things can look kinda grim. Jobs, international matters, the cost of living, politics, you know, all the things, they start rolling through your brain. It’s enough toContinue reading “Theme Song Thursdays: The Sun is Gonna’ Surely Shine!”
Civic Assembly: Why we should be paying attention to what’s happening in Akron, Ohio
What do you get when you bring together 165 residents of a single city, each randomly selected to reflect the demographics of their community, every member of city council, the mayor, an engaged community “super assembly”, 15 professional facilitators, and an organization dedicated to better public problem-solving? You get actionable, real-world answers to tough communityContinue reading “Civic Assembly: Why we should be paying attention to what’s happening in Akron, Ohio”
Theme Song Thursdays: Walk Right up into a Brand New Day! (Santa Monica)
You know, it seems the longer I write these posts, the worse things get. I don’t want to be a downer, but seriously, the cost of living and unemployment rates continue to climb, our day-to-day activities are riddled with enschitification, and more and more of the real connection and bonding that keeps us sane isContinue reading “Theme Song Thursdays: Walk Right up into a Brand New Day! (Santa Monica)”
BACon Recap
I had a great time at BACon, organized by IIBA in Columbus Ohio on Friday. Brian Link and I presented on The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Agile. Well, actually we did a bit of presenting and a lot of facilitating. Because the attendees at the conference had all sorts of interesting experiencesContinue reading “BACon Recap”
Theme Song Thursdays: Opposites Attract
Those moments are so uncomfortable. You know the ones. You’re trapped in a stuffy conference room, the pressure’s building because the team needs to commit to a plan, but you just can’t come to consensus. Baby seems we never ever agreeYou like the moviesAnd I like T.V. Whether you’re all in wildly different places orContinue reading “Theme Song Thursdays: Opposites Attract”
Join me at BACon in Columbus on Friday, March 6
I’ve had a last minute addition to my speaking schedule. Thanks to a generous offer from my colleague Brian Link, I’ll be co-presenting on “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Agile”. Join us as we uncover what’s working and what’s not in our shared experiences in agile working environments. Then stay on asContinue reading “Join me at BACon in Columbus on Friday, March 6”
Theme Song Thursdays: The Bare Necessities!
Last week I started a new (to me) book, Your Money or Your Life, by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez, and it seems that I’ve finally found something that explains what I’ve been trying to say about consumerism and our obsession with money for some time now. Special thanks goes to my new friend, TheresaContinue reading “Theme Song Thursdays: The Bare Necessities!”
Career Nirvana (& Life After Tech): Suggested Reading
Last week I recorded a podcast for ClueCon in which I discuss how to reinvent yourself in a new, more rewarding career. It goes live on the FreeSwitch YouTube channel on March 18th, but in the meantime, here is a bit of sneak peek. It’s a list of books and other resources you might findContinue reading “Career Nirvana (& Life After Tech): Suggested Reading”
Theme Song Thursdays: You Got Your Spell on me Baby (Black Magic Woman)
For generations now we’ve been teaching our youngsters that the key to success, the holy grail of the modern world, was to, above all else, get a good job with a big company. It’s become such an important story for recent generations that the state of Ohio has written it into the high school curriculum.Continue reading “Theme Song Thursdays: You Got Your Spell on me Baby (Black Magic Woman)”
On local business’ role in a thriving community
My reading list so far this year has been pretty heavy on community development and civic leadership topics. And it’s got me thinking. In the same way that those of us in the business advising space think of a business like an ecosystem, a collection of loosely coupled entities that all work together to createContinue reading “On local business’ role in a thriving community”