By now, if you've tapped into almost any media source, you've heard of how the Costa Concordia ran aground, sank, and created a world of mayhem for all involved.

The initial cause as I read about it in the media, is,"…made an unauthorized, unapproved deviation from its programmed course, a "human error" that led to the grounding of the vessel…," says the chief executive of the ship's Italian…

This morning I gave a presentation related to product management.  I enjoy giving this particular presentation as we explore topics like: product roadmaps; business plan; target markets, and managing scope (feature creep).

In discussing target markets, and knowing your customer, I use one slide in which I suggest they ask their customers, “What keeps you up at night?”

One of…

Three times this week, I have stumbled across discussions of ‘online tools’ in relation to product management.  And, in each

case, numerous software solutions were named, yet no one specifically discussed social media.  How’s that?

At first, I noticed that social media wasn’t being included by

virtue of, what seemed to me, a glaring omission.  After all, in today’s world, consumers can rip a company a ‘new one’ quite…

This book is for leaders and managers (aspiring leaders) continuing to look for ways to survive in our never ending, ever faster world.  In short: Good book. Enjoyed it.  Found it was inline with many of the issues contemporary business leaders increasingly face every day.

In The Anywhere Leader, Mike Thompson’s written a book that suggests, just possibly, he could pick up in the shoes of the late…

Remember?  You started that new job.  You were full of

enthusiasm.  Your curiosity was insatiable.  And, your drive led you to overcome seemingly incredible hurdles.  At the same time, you likely had periods of uncertainty, risk was everywhere, yet the exhilaration was almost like a narcotic.

Now, the clock has rolled forward a few years.  Your curiosity has waned. 

You know where all the road’s bumps are, so hurdles aren’t quite so high any…

You know what the worst thing about networking

is?  The word itself.  Really.  I would wager someone’s done a study, somewhere, with results like this:

Top 3 Things People Hate Doing:

Public Speaking

Dying

Networking *

It need not be that way.  The crux of the problem is many parents do not understand its importance and then teach it to their children.  For many, ‘networking’ means having 299 business cards in one…

“The Elephant In The Room”

By: Diana M. Smith

ISBN: 978-1-118-01542-1

Thoughtful business leadership requires skill in a great many areas. As we progress, we practice continually, learning and then succeeding each step along the way. One of the most important areas we need to succeed in, yet seems often ignored or overlooked, is relationships.

The Elephant in the Room is an excellent…

“The Naked Presenter: Delivering Powerful Presentations With or Without Slides”

by: Garr Reynolds

ISBN-10: 0-321-70445-2

ISBN-13: 978-0-321-70445-0

Building on his book, Prezentation Zen, Garr Reynolds has cemented himself as one of…

“Getting Things Done—The Art of Stress-Free Productivity”

by: David Allen

ISBN: 978-1-101-12849-7

Getting Things Done, or ‘GTD’ as adoptees like to refer to it, is indeed a productivity book. But it’s not about ‘time management,’ to-do lists, or other seemingly similar equivalents. Through GTD, Allen attempts to help the reader not only with their professional lives, but their personal lives as well.

Getting…

John Lynch (@DigitalMinister) raised this question recently, after having read, “Where should social media sit within your organization?”  This is a question I’m sure many of you may have as well.



The article is an interesting read. The article would be even better, if Cara’s (author) repeated negative biases of her work…

“Enchantment”

by: Guy Kawasaki

ISBN: 978-1-59184-379-5

Every once in a while, there comes a book you’re sorry to see come to an end. It’s not to say other books you’ve read were not tremendously enjoyable…just that they often come to an end about the time you’re ready for them to.  With Enchantment, I really…

It’s a question that we frequently ask ourselves, perhaps professionally, perhaps personally. As a motorcyclist, it is particularly true when someone raises the topic of motorcycle training. So it is, with the arrival of the latest California Superbike School newsletter and Spring around the corner, that these questions came forward in my…

Yep, if you haven’t heard it already, there’s new YASMAOT (Yet Another Social Media Acronym Out There) you may wish to pay attention to. 

Let’s start with ‘CRM’ itself.  Here’s  the long-form definition of CRM, or Customer Relationship Management.  For purposes here, the essence of CRM is essentially: (1) the…

A few friends are currently working on creating a new blog.  Within a week three asked me about using WordPress (WP) and which plugins (aka widgets) are worth considering.

A Short Word on WordPress .COM and WordPress .ORG