2012: The Year of Less...

Tweet As resolutions go, the loftier, more aspirational the more likely we are to proclaim them. So, here goes. Image used via CC license from @atmosphera After reading this book and watching this documentary in the past few weeks, it sends home the message that I’ve been thinking for a few months: we are a culture of excess. According to this NY Times article, Americans throw away 96 billion pounds of food per year; our hard drives are filled with terabytes of information; (remember, Bill Gates said...

Ain’t No Fat Boy’s Gonna Tel...

Tweet Have you ever had one of those moments when against all odds, you defiantly trudged forth to victory? Photo used via CC License from @miggiddymatt This morning a situation came up, and I blurted out these mythological words, “Ain’t No Fat Boy’s Gonna Tell Me I Can’t Climb This Mountain!!” Thankfully, no one was around; thankfully, I wasn’t on a mountain, and most importantly, I was the only fat boy in ear shot. It’s funny how life’s little events can...

All Hallow’s Eve: A Rant...

Tweet Between cops and robbers, super heroes and super villains, and good and evil, the imagination of my youth was filled with the tension between right and wrong. I was raised in a church that fundamentally opposed the festivities of Halloween. It was the celebration of evil that, in theory, involved pentagrams, human sacrifice, and unadulterated evil. The reality, however, is far less exciting. I donned my costume and paraded about the neighborhood accepting bribes in lieu of retribution–trick or...

Truth and Perspective: We Can Save A Lif...

Tweet A few minutes ago, I popped open my twitter feed and read a numbing tweet from Jack Harvey. A “Pennington” search confirmed my worst fears; Trey succumbed to the darkest of human conditions–hopelessness. Trey was a man of faith. He was a family man, and if you ever had a conversation with him, you likely had a sense that he was grounded. He was. Depression is not a respecter of education, class, faith, family, fame, or “happiness.” It strikes like a viper and speaks...

Steve Jobs & The Legacy of Innovati...

Tweet You remember the playground tease, “when they look up _______ in the dictionary, there’s a picture of you.” What an inspiration for a legacy. Steve Jobs means many things to the world. Loved and sometimes hated, at the helm of Apple he has innovated, he has shipped on time, and he has brought amazing vision while maintaining focus to a talented company. Yesterday’s announcement that he will be stepping aside as CEO has been a lingering “when” not “if”...

The Power of Words...

Tweet We are moving. There. I said it. For the last month we were selling our house. Then for the last few weeks, we were buying our house, but now…we are moving. Big deal, huh? People move everyday, and I can recant a thousand reasons why it is a great thing: It’s tough to sell a house in this market. The kids are going to “love” the neighborhood. It’s a great place to raise a family. The house has a POOL! But the one thing missing makes the whole list fall apart. You see,...

Who do You Think You’re TalkinR...

Tweet You have no idea who you’re talking to. When you blog, tweet, post, share, chat, huddle, etc., you may think you are talking to your friends that interact with you. The reality is nearly 70% of the people that participate in social media are lurkers. Forrester has a nicer name for these folks; in Groundswell, they call them “Spectators,” but personally I think “lurkers” is apropos. (See the Social Technographics Ladder below.) Lurkers out themselves. On a regular basis, I...

Why You Should NOT Participate in Social...

Tweet I was browsing around my about.me page this morning and came across this seminar that I gave to the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce earlier this year. It’s always fun to listen to yourself talk. ...

Are Your Metrics Giving a Map to a Blind...

Tweet Sometimes I hear people share metrics that are like giving a map to a blind man that is lost in the desert at night. “Great we’re lost as hell, and you’ve given us no idea how to get back on track.” So, the question is how can you share information that helps people: Know the destination Measure progress toward the destination Stay on track Metrics are only helpful when they are related to your destination. In an information-rich world, it is so easy to focus on the wrong...

Cut Your Own Grass, Make a Million Bucks...

Tweet It’s Saturday morning. Lawn tractors all over the country are in high gear (except for the fact that every last blade is scorched in heat wave ’11). If you listen carefully, you can hear something over the hum of the over-horsepowered engines–it’s ideation in high gear. How many times have you heard someone say, “I had a great idea in the shower this morning” or even “when I was on the mower, I had a thought?” On the other hand, when have you heard...