Give Credit. Take Blame.

StopSign-OldSeth Godin recently wrote of the importance of owning responsibility for your mistakes and sharing credit for successes. He focused on use of the pronouns “I”, “you” and “we,” and when each is most appropriate. Example: Instead of saying “I” when announcing a success, he suggests using “we.” Continue reading

Good Reads, Feb. 16-22, 2013

There’s a little bit of something for everyone in here this week. Lots of technology and marketing, of course – email tips, writing advice, great information on Google’s search algorithm for Google News – but there are some really good reads around bigger themes as well. Themes like innovation (new ways to think about association membership, and the direction technology will take in the near future, for example). Continue reading

Good Reads, Feb. 9-15, 2013

Australian Cattledog with a good bok (The Good Son)I love a week when I have a chance to read. I don’t mean books, because the truth is I almost always make time for them, no matter what. I’m talking here about articles, blog posts, the news – you know, the stuff that comes to you 24/7 via the Interwebs.

It’s been a good week for me in that regard. I’ve made time to look at my RSS reader and open a good percentage of my email newsletters. Now’s the time when you get to reap the benefit of that with me. Here are some of the best articles I came across this week. Continue reading

Take Time to Do it Right

… or…
Slow down; you’re moving too fast.

Christmas cookiesI love to cook.

I especially love to bake – a skill I picked up from my mom. I’m actually good at it, too. I’m the pie baker, cookie maker and cake provider for my extended family. If the occasion calls for dessert, nine times out of 10 I’m bringing it, and 99 times out of 100 it will be homemade.

But I’m also very distractable and have a hard time stopping myself from multi-tasking. If I’m not being fully challenged by a task, I sometimes let my mind drift forward to the next job. Given an opportunity, I look for another challenge. Continue reading

Asking for Help: A Generational Divide?

You know that old stereotype that says men will never stop to ask for directions? I’d like to posit another theory: Young people in the workplace may be less likely to ask for help than their older colleagues.

I was talking the other day with a friend who mentioned that two of her co-workers share what she perceives as a common short-coming: If they have a technology question, they don’t ask for help. They can get completely stalled by a problem and just sit alone at their desks for hours trying to work it out by themselves.

“Why don’t they ask for help?” she wondered. Why not call IT, or contact the software company’s customer support staff? Well, it turns out that both of these colleagues are younger than my friend. Both are, in fact, digital natives.

“Get used to it,” I told her. Continue reading