Coaching: Understanding Perfect “i...

I was thinking about Pat Head Summit, the ladies basketball coach for University of Tennessee, this afternoon and how her goal of the team is perfect execution of the plays. And you’re welcome for stating the obvious, but this really sank in today in a very different way than ever before. I view coaches as motivators, recruiters, promoters, but I have never really thought of them as visionaries of perfect execution. In this sense, the coach may think “if only…player A runs down the left side of the court and player B dribbles to the defender and player C...

Cultivator of Hope...

Last night my “original family unit” had dinner together in preparation for my dad, the Lewster’s, surgery. It just so happened that no spouses or children came, so we had a nice time, reminiscent of similar dinners from my childhood–big jokes despite the circumstances, thin edge of sarcasm, and my dad striking up conversations with random people. At one point in the evening, as my sister was furiously framing the perfect photograph, he began chatting with a couple at the table immediately next to us. The youngish fella at the table was handsome,...

Consultants, Freelancers, Lend Me Your E...

Do you ever read something that seems to haunt you? I woke up in the middle of the night in cold sweats thinking about this one. I read a Seth Godin post over the weekend, and, as usual, his words struck a chord. This time, however, I could not just post a tweet and go on about my business. I was struck by this one line: Employees and freelancers that produce more than they cost are worth hiring. Too often, it seems, that we can hide behind rationalizations for what we do. We paint these pictures with huge self-congratulation, but at the end of the day, are we producing...

Jeremy Floyd on Hallerin Hilton Hill...

In case you missed it, Hallerin Hilton Hill had me on the show to talk about Twitter. The experience was a lot of fun, but I think he may have exaggerated the magnitude of my abilities–just a little. Hallerin even endorsed @jfloyd for the East Tennessee’s Best Tweeter award. For your convenience, you can vote for East Tennessee’s Best Tweeter here. Share the...

Planting Vision...

For the past four weeks I have spent Weekends working long hours in the yard. After, as the wife says, neglecting the yard for several years, I am interested and excited in transforming dirt into something beautiful. While laboring away under the hot sun with the assistance of a few fine friends (kids aged 7 and 2), I have reflected on the fun torture that was working with my dad in the yard when I was young. In particular, I remember one event where my dad had created a raised bed in front of their house. My job was to create a “custom” edging around the...

Get the Tip...

Why do we tip 15% and not 10%? 20% instead of 15%? Sure, it is some sort of ransom “to insure prompt service,” but really we tip based upon our expectations. If we expect lousy service and they exceed the expectations, we generously tip. If we expect Class A service but are delivered a Waffle House experience, we stroke some appalling number on the credit card slip as to make sure they “get the message.” At lunch yesterday, the poor waiters were terribly short-staffed. Two tuckered table jockeys were tirelessly running full pace to underwhelm the...

Business Advice from American Idol: Pick...

Adam has some great business advice–Lambert, not Smith, that is. When given the choice, do you look for the “long shot” or the “sure bet?” This guy’s voice gets on my nerves, and I am generally not a fan. However, he consistently picks the sure bet. Within every genre, he has selected the song that turns the judges into bobble heads. Sure, he has a good voice, but out of the 50,000 contestants these finalists all have good voices.  Plus, they practice 8 hours a day, but before spending any time practicing, Adam spends time thinking and...

Jing: Screen Captures Directly to Flickr...

Occasionally, I have the good fortune of finding tools that truly simplify my life. I waste away the other twenty-some-odd hours of the day playing with the non-productive tools. It is a sick cycle, but there is a balance in there somewhere. When writing a blog post and taking a few screen captures the captures, file save, upload process can be cumbersome and time consuming. Enter Jing, which is available for Windows or Mac. 1. Enter a keyboard shortcut to start the screen clipping service. For the mac, I am using Command+Shift+1. The crosshairs appear, and you can select...

Twitter Follow Friday (without duplicati...

If you are new to Twitter, you may scratch your head with all of the #followfriday tweets. This is an organic tradition where you list the people that you enjoy following and want to share with others. You can track everyone’s suggestions, by using this Twitter search. In addition, you can make the search more sophisticated with advanced search. For example, in this search, I am looking for all suggestions in Knoxville. More importantly, whenever I want to make #followfriday suggestions, I often forget if I have suggested someone before. SO, I run this simple...

Are Twitter and Facebook Replacing Searc...

Sorry. All of that emphasis on page one SERPs of Google may not be the funky cold medina after all. Search Engine Optimization, which is a profession that didn’t exist a few years ago may not exist in a few years. Thus, the modern era of the Internet: professions that don’t exist today may be the top job in 3 years. [check this video for an interesting communication of this phenomena] In a recent  article, ClickZ likens the current environment to early paid search in  Social Media 2009 = Search 2002 If you’ve been in the interactive advertising business...