Raise Your Cups To Johnny and Laura: A W...

I have a tradition. Since my wedding in 2000, I take time to write a unique wedding blessing for each couple whose ceremony we attend. I usually write it in a card, and a few times I have even read the blessing at rehearsal dinners. Last weekend one of my best friends and college roommate John married his beautiful and dear fiance, Laura. As the best man, I had the good fortune of being the first to toast their marriage. Here is the text of the blessing: John and Laura, May you be blessed before God and this company, May you be blessed with the riches of your hands and...

Shark Teeth...

I guess I’m suffering from a vacation hangover. As I drove to work this morning, I shouted “punchbug” with no kids to echo the VW sighting. Sitting at my desk, images of the long days on the beach are flashing on my monitor. In honor of the R&R, I had a vacation observation that I thought I would post for you. People do all types of things on the beach: they play corn hole, ladder ball, paddle ball, frisbee, swim, surf, sing, and sleep. Some curious folks spend hours combing the sand with metal detectors to turn up a few buried treasures. Still others...

I’m Sorry....

Wow. I said it, I’m sorry. Despite a little hit to my ego and the fraction of a second it takes to type or utter these two words, it doesn’t really cost anything to say, “I’m sorry.” Not saying them, however, can cost thousands even millions of dollars, split up marriages, drive wedges in families, and result in years of litigation. It seems to me that as a culture we’ve adopted a hard stance against the two words, and when someone humbly utters them it’s newsworthy. Last week Jim Joyce made headlines when he apologized to Armando...

Goodbye, Hello...

Goodbye to the old. Hello to the new. After using the same theme for several years, I couldn’t maintain the swagger of “Now With 20% More Attitude.” Please make welcome “between you and me.” My blog started as “Discovering Community,” and after a bit of a hiatus for me to think about myself, I am back to community and conversation, between you and me. As always, feedback is welcome. Share the...

Work for Your Worth...

I hear people tell me that they aren’t paid what they are worth. All too often, I think they are worried about getting paid to the level that they work, and not “I am working at the level that I expect to get paid.” I remember a great leader that I once worked for at Lowe’s. Dale was the COO of the store where I worked in college, and he went on to have a hugely successful retail career. He recounted his quick rise through management to me one day. Dale was hired as “the lot guy.” He was at the bottom of the leadership hierarchy, but as...

Working Without Vision…...

Working without vision can leave you with a jacked up crapper and a pissed off wife. Trust me on this one. About a year ago, I set out with a crowbar, a sledgehammer, and an idea. What a nasty recipe. I knocked out some sheet rock, removed a few studs, and created a fine mess. The next weekend I walked into the bathroom and fiddled with a few things, but I knew and the bathroom knew that I didn’t have the vision to complete the project. Worked piled up and the thought of the bathroom slipped out of my mind. I had torn the walls out of the bathroom and erected walls...

Business Seem Overwhelming? Lean Into It...

Sometimes business is completely out of control. Deadlines, emails, telephone calls, meetings, proposals, and then you actually have the work that you are supposed to deliver. In addition, competitors seek to take the next deal from you, you must keep your clients happy, and oh yeah, the economy is at an all time low. You are powerless against the external factors, so you might as well just lean into it. We’ve seen tidal waves decimate villages, flood cities, and kill hundreds of thousands, but big wave surfers still seek to drop into these monsters for the ride of a...

Foursquaranoid....

I am paranoid. I can say it with clarity and without guilt or shame, but turning through the pages of You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto by Jaron Lanier forces me to be down right skeptical. I hope a bit more mature as a technologist. So, with this preface, I approach what is being dubbed as The Next Twitter, Foursquare. photo by @zerok The basic premise to the game/network is to opt-in by registering your mobile device and adding friends by mining your networks Twitter, Facebook, Address Books, etc. Then, when you’re on the go, you broadcast your location for...

My Company, Eluminare, is Merging with B...

In 2008, I started a Marketing company, Eluminare, that initially focused on internet marketing and lead generation. The success of the company has exceeded my expectations and those of my clients. It has grown from Internet marketing into virtualized marketing executive consultancy, and most recently it has focused on “growth” consulting with clients. Now, only two years later, it is my great pleasure to announce the merger of Eluminare with Bluegill Creative. So, what’s a Bluegill you may ask? On their website you’ll see: …Bluegill is an...

Let it Snow...

Something happens to me when the 5 day forecast suggests the possibility of snow, a little boy springs up with excitement and a little hope. As the promise of the white draws closer, the childlike anticipation manifests into something that is seldom experienced as an adult–snow day. Image used under creative commons license by skycaptaintwo Of course, I live in the south, so the soft white snow doesn’t stick around long enough to turn into the road-muck, black of northern towns. The winter storm rolls through and softens the sharp angular edges of our world...