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I haven’t written as frequently in this blog recently. I’m trying to prioritize, and since the deadline to file for financial aid for my daughter’s college is March 31, that’s a top priority. And to file the financial aid forms I have to do my taxes.
So, I’ve been having loads of fun discovering that somehow my withholding wasn’t right again this year and so I owe Uncle Sam big bucks, as well as learning that the formula the FAFSA uses to calculate Expected Family Contribution (EFC) assumes I have lots of money lying around (yet I sure haven’t seen it).
At least she is going to a state school so that helps, but it’s ironic that her total cost per year is Read the rest of this entry »
I have to plug a new blog, “The World Is My Oyster,” being written by one of my fellow Costa Rica travellers, Kimsan (aka, El Heuvito). It’s fun to read, but take it with a grain of salt, as my friend likes to tell a good story and doesn’t let little things like accuracy slow him down. That’s part of what makes it so much fun to read, after all.
Truly our trip to Costa Rica would not have been the same and surely would not have been as much fun without the light-hearted and adventure-loving Kimsan. His blog reflects those same qualities and I recommend it to you!
What do you think when good people leave your company? Of course, good people leave companies every day, and it’s well documented that career mobility is the norm now: my father’s lifetime career with one employer rarely happens anymore.
When one person leaves for sunnier shores, it’s something to applaud. “Good for you, and best of luck with your new opportunity!” That’s what I said to a direct report who took a new job recently, and I meant it. I’m struggling to replace her, but that’s the way the work world operates and I understand and support her advancing her career.
But, to use an overused term, where is the tipping point? When two people leave within a short period of time, do you assume it’s a coincidence? When three leave, perhaps it’s just a confluence of unrelated factors. So when do you start to question why you are still here when so many of the people you respect Read the rest of this entry »
If the election were based on whose supporters have created the best music videos, then it would be over by now. This new video is inspiring and fun to watch. Of course, I’ve already blogged about a hugely popular earlier video by Obama supporters, Michelle Obama Emailed Me this Video. Both are good, and I can’t say I have even heard of any such efforts from Clinton’s supporters. Game over!
David Pogue is one of my favorite technology columnists. I subscribe to his weekly newsletter, which is basically a post from his blog, and I often learn about cool and fun technology from him. And I also learn what technology to avoid, too, which is just as important.
Now, understanding the appeal of this machine will require you not just to open your mind, but to practically empty it. Because on paper, the Flip looks like a cheesy toy that no self-respecting geek would fool with, let alone a technology columnist.
A couple of days ago I let all of the negative bloggers and commenters get me discouraged about how Barack Obama’s stunning speech on race had been received. There was such a gulf between the message those negativists took from the speech and the inspiring message that I found in it that I wondered about this country’s capacity to heal our racial divide.
Personally, I found Obama’s speech to be an excellent articulation of many ideas I have long felt and always struggled to explain. I had a sense of recognition as I read and listened to his words: “yes, that’s it, that’s it, exactly!” As a former teacher, myself, I appreciate what an amazing teacher Obama is.
There are two op-ed pieces in the NYT this morning that are inspiring in their own right, and exhibit the kind of intelligent and thoughtful response that Obama’s speech on race merits. Nicolas Kristof’s “Obama and Race” digs into the speech directly, while Roger Cohen’s “Beyond America’s Original Sin” is a deeply personal account that connects with Obama’s speech on a different level.
Kristof starts off with a nifty insight on Obama’s speech: “It was not a sound bite, but a symphony.” His column explores the negative reactions that so discouraged me, and I like his analysis of them:
What’s happening, I think, is that the Obama campaign has led many white Americans to listen in for the first time to some of the black conversation — and they are thunderstruck.
So if you’re struggling with First Call Resolution in your center — whether to implement FCR, how to implement FCR, how to make sure what you track as FCR is meaningful — then you should be interested in ICMI’s latest Member Research Report on First Contact Resolution.
I guess I should have known better. I read and listened to Barack Obama’s speech on race and was impressed. As I wrote in my most recent post, I thought it exhibited real leadership.
Then I read the NYT account of the speech’s reactions among bloggers, and then I read the comments posted by readers about that article (there were 178 at that time, but I only made it through about 40). And now I feel depressed. For all of us — and there are many of us — who found Obama’s speech to be powerful and genuine, there are still many sad and bitter people who could only find negative things to say about it.
I could call them names, and many unflattering ones come to mind. But that’s not my point here. Read the rest of this entry »
I told a friend recently that Barack Obama needs to step up. He needs to grow as a candidate and rise to the challenges being put to him. If he can’t, then he’s not what his supporters believe him to be. And if he is, then he needs to prove it. For several weeks, he has not been doing enough to show it.
So I was excited to hear that he would be making a major speech on race today. This is the kind of step he needs to take, to show that he is, indeed, different, unique and worthy of the passionate following he has assembled.
I’ve just read the text of his speech, and I am listening now to the video of it. The written words alone spoke to me and pleased me: he’s doing exactly what he must. He’s not waffling or dissembling, he’s not dismissing the controversy about Reverend Wright’s inflammatory sermon, and he’s not throwing Wright under the bus, either, to save his candidacy.
Instead, he’s taking on one of the most emotional, divisive and politically dangerous subjects in American society: race. Read the rest of this entry »
Seth Godin’s blog should be on everyone’s blog reader who cares about marketing. Here’s a great post, in it’s entirety, because it is so short (many of his posts are this short, to-the-point and thought-provoking):
Persistence isn’t using the same tactics over and over. That’s just annoying. Persistence is having the same goal over and over.
Gotta love it. Cuts right through the usual thinking and offers new insight that’s so obvious I wonder why I didn’t think of it before I read it.
What do you think when good people leave your company? Of course, good people leave companies every day, and it’s well documented that career mobility is the norm now: my father’s lifetime career with one employer rarely happens anymore.
There are two op-ed pieces in the NYT this morning that are inspiring in their own right, and exhibit the kind of intelligent and thoughtful response that Obama’s speech on race merits. Nicolas Kristof’s “
