Business Lessons from Return to Hogwarts
If you’ve been on social media at all in the last week, you likely are aware that HBO Max released a new special, "Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts,” commemorating the 20th anniversary of the premiere of the first movie in the series. The special...
Focusing on the Positive with Personal Annual Reports
2018 Sucked – The Internet Said So I’m sure you’ve noticed the memes. The last few years in December the internet has buzzed with how bad the current year was and how great it will be to leave it all behind and move on with the next year. 2018 HAD to be better than...
Communications Lessons from Anthony Bourdain
In February I finished reading Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. It had been on my "to read" list for years. So, when I stumbled across a used copy at a local independent bookstore as I restocked reading materials for the...
What I’m Listening To: Podcasts
This year I discovered the magic of podcasts. Sure, I've listened to them before. I mean, I had to check out Serial when everyone was talking about it, so I could see what the fuss was about. But this was the year I became obsessed. For those who aren't familiar,...
Targeted Monitoring Using Social Media
The Benefits of Social Media Conversations One of the most valuable benefits of social media is that it allows for conversation. From a user perspective, this is useful for entertainment and information gathering. For example, you might follow along with others...
SXSW 2016 Sketchnotes
SXSW was four months ago. I recapped my takeaways from the sessions I attended in a previous post. I mentioned at the time that I typically try to catch more of the sessions on demand, using either the SXSW YouTube channel or their SoundCloud channel. It has now been...
Mid-Year Check-In: Productivity Tool Recommendations
If you're like me and your office operates on a July to June fiscal year, it's crunch time! Our office is busy filing forms, making sure our accounting is finalized, and closing out old files. Unfortunately, the rest of the world works on a calendar year. So while...
Don’t Tap Out: 4 Life Lessons from Savion Glover
For many Americans, last night's appearance on the new Maya & Marty variety show may have been the first time they'd seen Savion Glover perform (although if you've seen Happy Feet you've heard him perform). Savion is a world-renowned tap dancer, and the television...
Career Hack: The Power of a Personal Planning Retreat
Yesterday my team at the office held our annual off-site planning retreat. It is a great tactic to force us to step aside from the day-to-day hustle and really spend some time strategizing for the upcoming year. Many organizations do this in some form, but why not do...
SXSW 2016: Recapping the Sessions
This year marked my fourth consecutive year attending the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive conference in Austin, Texas. This year was quite different for me than years past. Before I've attended sessions solo, or at most with one other person. This year there...
SXSW 101 – Tips for First Timers
I often get asked about SXSW, so I thought I would share some answers to the most frequently asked questions.
Confab Higher Ed Conference Recap
Last week I had the pleasure of attending Confab Higher Ed (#ConfabEDU) in New Orleans. The conference was held in the heart of New Orleans, the French Quarter, at the Hotel Monteleone. I opted to attend the day of intensive workshops on Wednesday, which occurred...