Slacker Manager
Being a Slacker Manager means actively working to create space in your organization or worklife. Space to think, space to be creative. That's slack — a workplace that isn't absolutely jam-packed every minute of every day with no room to breathe.
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ArchivesThe new whistleblower
August 29, 2006, 10:00 PM
Check out this WaPo article about a Lockheed Martin engineer who blew the whistle on a Coast Guard project by making a video and uploading it to YouTube ( here it is ) . That's pretty creative, and it ought to send chills down the spines of would-be Enron'ers. Whistleblowing is still hard work, but apparently YouTube just helped lessen the burden. I'm trying to imagine exactly how it would look if someone took this route in a corporate case. Instant lawsuit, for starters--irrespective of whether the allegations are true. This guy's scenario was a little different. According to WaPo, ...
How to find your stuff in Outlook
August 29, 2006, 9:20 PM
Note: this is basically a repost, but it bears repeating as long as this software still works... I don't use Outlook anymore, but I work with plenty of people who do, and sometimes I gotta help them find stuff. When I was using Outlook, one major gripe I had was that the built in search tool was really slow. And not so good at finding stuff. What good is never emptying out your inbox if you can't find anything? What you need is Lookout . It's free and Microsoft owns it. Maybe someday they'll ship Outlook with Lookout built ...
Decision roundup
August 29, 2006, 9:18 PM
I like reading about how other people make decisions. A reader, Dustin Walper, recently sent me a link to a post he wrote called " Fast Leadership - Stop Thinking and Start Deciding ." He basicallly advocates a Gladwellesque "Blink" style of decision making, which I think has merit in the right time and place. It's a good post, but one thing I thought was missing was some kind of feedback mechanism that allows you to take stock of how your decisions worked out over time. Rob wrote a good post on this and I think it makes a ton ...
Interview with Lisa Haneberg
August 28, 2006, 9:17 PM
Lisa Haneberg interviewed me for a podcast that she's got up on her site right now . We talked about all kinds of stuff, including managerial excellence, a little bit about MBA programs, etc. This was the second version we did--the first one had some glitches and apparently, if it were to be used, Lisa would've had to increase the volume for her to be heard, but then it would've been so loud that you could hear me breathing. Lisa said it was creepy. I'm okay with creepy. :-) ...
PDA showdown: Blackberry vs. Treo 700p
August 20, 2006, 10:01 PM
The Treo 700p wins. For me, at least. I've been a user of Palm OS since around 1999 or so. About 9 months ago, or so, I got a Blackberry . I tried real hard to find some love for the 'berry, but it was tough going. There are relatively few third party apps for the 'berry, which was a surprising letdown. On the other hand, the 'berry did what it was supposed to do pretty well. It was an okay phone, though I always felt dorky talking into it. And it was an okay calendar and organizer, though I ...
Diigo may replace del.icio.us for me
August 09, 2006, 9:23 PM
I've been a huge fan of del.icio.us and I've tried and rejected many of the potential replacements for the service. Recently I read about Diigo and I figured I'd give it a try. Turns out I love it very much. :-) I use del.icio.us in three primary ways. Straight up personal bookmarks, as a service to power the sidebar links on the blog, and as a kind of personal search engine (I conduct searches there to see what other people have found on a given topic, and I have various types of del.icio.us powered RSS feeds in my ...
Berkun seeks innovation insights
August 07, 2006, 4:36 PM
Scott Berkun, author of The Art of Project Management ( review ) is doing some interviews for his next book on how innovation happens. He's conducting online interviews and, in order to sweeten the deal, is offering a $150 Amazon gift certificate to one lucky interviewee. Not to mention the fact that you may be further interviewed and potentially quoted in the book. Full details on Scott's blog here .
Basecamp vs. activeCollab
August 01, 2006, 9:40 PM
I've preached the virtues of Basecamp here in the past, and I still dig it for my own lightweight project management needs. Earlier this month, like everyone else , I noted the release of activeCollab and made a mental note to try it out. I kept remembering to try it out, but never quite got around to doing the download-and-install dance. Today I noticed that Dreamhost has bundled up activeCollab as a "one click install." That was the final impetus to try it out. This post is my quick and dirty impressions and comparisons of the two ...
Book review: Management by Baseball
July 19, 2006, 8:15 PM
I mentioned a while back that I was reading this book and expected to review it soon. Well life intervened and it got lost in a pile until this past weekend. I've gotten back to the book and finally finished it off. What an interesting book! First, you've got to know that I'm not a baseball fan. It's not that I don't like baseball--I've got no beef with baseball, I just don't follow the game. Actually, I don't follow any organized sports, so a lot of those ...
Mindful management
July 18, 2006, 6:25 AM
I just got turned onto Zaadz.com , which is a social networking site. Zaadz is kinda the MySpace for thinkers interested in changing the world. It attracts a fair chunk of the treehugger contingent (I say that with love for my treehugging brothers and sisters) , but there are also a lot of straight up businesspeople interested in social justice, mindful living, etc. I've only been on the site for a day, but I'm really digging it. My page is at http://bren.zaadz.com and I've already started a "pod", which is basically a forum, for " Mindful Management ." If you ...
Latest Comments in Slacker Manager posts
very nice post ...
By: kavitha
on
Decision Making
I'm trying to do the same thing.
By: Rose
on
Make a calendar in Excel
That just blew my mind! I am now very interested in finding where this adventure is preception will lead.
By: Laura
on
The Secret Art of Managing Your Boss, part 1
I applaude DeKort's creativity and leadership. This was an ethical human being at his best. Taking the lead and standing up for what is right is both risky and often career ending. But DeKort felt a higher purpose to protect the public and did the right thing. Despirate times call for creative measures and he certainly rose to the challenge. He should be rewarded by the government and the public as a person who save them from potential danger and financial risk. I would hire this guy in a minute.
By: Debra Bannister, Performance Specialist
on
The new whistleblower
A colleague of mine who works at a non-profit sent that website to me: www.svn.org/imaginewhatsnext. I?m trying to start a non-profit myself and I can use all the help I can get! I thought I would pass it along if anyone were interested.
By: Brady
on
The new whistleblower
Yeah we don't need any Enroner's. What we need are more "socially responsible" business leaders. Since ?green? businesses are popping up left and right, I love that The Social Venture Network is holding a contest to reward business leaders of socially responsible companies! If you know a CEO or high-level person in such a company, please send them to the Social Venture Network site and look for the "Imagine Whats Next" contest.They are holding this contest to reward business leaders for starting or running socially responsible companies. This seems to be a growing trend, and a colleague of mine who works at a non-profit sent it to me.
By: Charles
on
The new whistleblower
This is an interesting study. Recently, I attended a Breakthrough Seminar Series and one session was titled, Breakthrough Innovation. The panelists were top execs in their respective companies and they shared with us breakthrough innovation that made a huge difference in their businesses. One thing I learned from their sharing though is that innovation is not a one-time thing. You have to constantly innovate to achieve success.
By: Meikah Delid
on
Berkun seeks innovation insights
Innovation is a thing which can not be done easily but its successful application captures the market. It is a good idea to interview the people on the net about their innovative ventures and how they came up with those ideas and how they worked. This interview is really interesting and will benefit a lot of businessmen managers. And the sum up of the interviews that is the book is most likely to be a best seller.
By: Razib Ahmed
on
Berkun seeks innovation insights
This week This week For Your Success published Paving A Pathway Of Success Through The Blogosphere . Your's was one of the featured sites. Congratulations. As you have an opportunity, we would like to invite you to visit. Any comments you may have would be appreciated. I will be returning to comment on specific posts in the near future. Should you wish to engage in a link exchange, let me know and we'll put it in place. Roy Fox, Administrator For Your Success www.ForYourSuccess.blogspot.com ...
By: The Success Coach
on
Book review: Management by Baseball
This week This week For Your Success published Paving A Pathway Of Success Through The Blogosphere . Your's was one of the featured sites. Congratulations. As you have an opportunity, we would like to invite you to visit. Any comments you may have would be appreciated. I will be returning to comment on specific posts in the near future. Should you wish to engage in a link exchange, let me know and we'll put it in place. Roy Fox, Administrator For Your Success www.ForYourSuccess.blogspot.com ...
By: The Success Coach
on
Book review: Management by Baseball
enjoyed reading ...
By: tom a
on
Decision Making
nice post ...
By: השכרת רכב
on
Decision Making
a Firefox extension for html text areas... uh ...
By: runescape money
on
Xinha here!
useful here, maybe have my own blog created ...
By: warcraft power leveling
on
Xinha here!
This is like a great Oddesy of finding a card holder and money wallet. For me, the sollution is quite simple- I keep cards in the pocket of my shirt while keep the money in the front pocket of my trouser.
By: Razib Ahmed
on
Best wallet ever
This is such a great resource! I'm so glad you posted it! Nettie H.
By: nettie hartsock
on
TED talks online!
Well Brandon I must admit I like this idea. Back up at the middle of the year. I agree that more than hundred percent. I had been through the painful process of lossing valuable assignments and downloaded materials (that I have saved in my Hard disk). It hurts very much! Please readers make a back up copy of your valuable data.
By: Razib Ahmed
on
Backup awareness month
Reminds me of a closing line I used to use when selling Insured AAA rated Muni bonds..., "Thats right mr X, AAA & Insured! Just like wearing a belt AND suspenders".... the old guys ate it up.....
By: Paul
on
Belts and suspenders?
haha - funny :P what should women in skirts who accidentally fall and expose their undies do? a solution? wear pants!
By: nikki
on
Belts and suspenders?
I am from china, and i am on behalf of the largest manufacturer of cast steel shot, ect.you are welcomed to our web:www.kai-tai.com.cn. fortunately i visit your blog, and here could you kindly introduce me some way to find the list of your country's companys. Could you help us to find an agent of your area.and it is a big opportunity to double-win. ths for your kindly reading my mail.and looking forward your reply. best regards , yours faithfully, george, tel:+86-543-4262157 ...
By: george
on
Hi! I'm not a Bzz Agent!
I am from china, and i am on behalf of the largest manufacturer of cast steel shot, ect.you are welcomed to our web:www.kai-tai.com.cn. fortunately i visit your blog, and here could you kindly introduce me some way to find the list of your country's companys. Could you help us to find an agent of your area.and it is a big opportunity to double-win. ths for your kindly reading my mail.and looking forward your reply. best regards , yours faithfully, george, tel:+86-543-4262157 ...
By: george
on
Hi! I'm not a Bzz Agent!
I completely agree with what you have expressed. This blog has some great information in it. Frank Gonzalez http://www.gatewaycomputer4less.com ...
By: Frank Gonzalez
on
Managing in a knowledge age
- Thanks for this great post. You've got some really good info in your blog. Mary Anne Martin http://www.mbaprogramsobserved.com ...
By: Mary Anne Martin
on
Is an MBA worth it?
NIce article. You have talked about something which is present in almost office. I think there should be frankness and also employees should feel that they are a part of the organizations and this way ofice politics ca reduce some.
By: Razib Ahmed
on
How to avoid office politics
Thanks for the link to the ebook, it seems to be good.
By: Erde
on
On motivation
Brilliant!!
By: Angela Highland
on
Fartlek Management™
2 months ago, I ordered 5 t-shirts on BustedTees. The order has not arrived yet. 1 month ago I emailed them and Sureship told me they were sending me a new one. Curiously, In Sureship told me there are no tracking numbers of the supossedly sent orders. Tomorrow I will be reporting fraud to the bank issuer of the card and to Mastercard. At Sureship they are only trying to delay telling me I must wait, wait and wait, no more solution provided... I advice you to not buy at BustedTees or at any site managed by SureShip. If I don't achieve refund of my money from my bank, I wil have lost 115 dollars. This way of course SureShip are making a great business.
By: J.Gomez
on
Busted Tees rocks
I am trying to figure out how to take a specific dates entered into a field in excel and place that date under the correct month in another field in excel. Any suggestions. Thank You ...
By: Joanne
on
Make a calendar in Excel
PERMIT ME TO INFORM YOU OF MY DESIRE OF GOING INTO BUSINES RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. I GOT YOUR NAME AND CONTACT FROM THE TOGOLAISE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY. I PRAYED OVER IT AND SELECTED YOUR NAME AMOUNG OTHER NAMES DUE TO IT'S ESTEEMING NATURE AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS GIVEN TO ME AS A REPUTABLE AND TRUSWORTHY PERSON I CAN DO BUSINESS WITH AND BY THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS I MUST NOT HESITATE TO CONFIDE IN YOU FOR THIS SIMPLE AND SINCERE BUSINESS. I AM HARRISON OMEAGO , THE SON OF LATE MR AND MRS. OMEAGO IHUOMA, MY FATHER WAS A VERY WEALTHY BUSINESS MERCHANT BASED IN LOME , THE ECONOMIC CAPITAL OF TOGO IN WEST AFRICA. BEFORE HE WAS POISONED TO DEATH BY HIS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES ON ONE OF THEIR OUTING TO DISCUSS ON A BUSINESS. WHEN OUR MOTHER DIED ON THE 21ST OCTOBER 1994, MY FATHER TOOK US SO SPECIAL BECAUSE WE ARE MOTHERLESS. BEFORE THE DEATH OF OUR FATHER ON 18TH APRIL 2002 IN A PRIVATE HOSPITAL HERE IN LOME . HE SECRETLY CALLED ME ON HIS BEDSIDE AND TOLD ME THAT HE HAS A SUM OF US$ 9,700,000.00 (NINE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND, UNITED STATES DOLLARS) LEFT IN A SUSPENCE ACCOUNT IN A SECURITY COMPANY HERE IN LOME. THAT HE USED MY NAME AS HIS FIRST ISSUE FOR THE NEXT OF KIN IN DEPOSIT OF THE FUND. HE ALSO EXPLAINED TO ME THAT IT WAS BECAUSE OF THIS WEALTH THAT HE WAS POISONED BY HIS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES. THAT I SHOULD SEEK FOR A FOREIGN PARTNER IN A COUNTRY OF MY CHOICE WHERE I WILL TRANSFER THIS MONEY WITH MY LITTLE SISTER AND USE IT FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSE, (SUCH AS REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT). SIR,WE HONOURABLY SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS. (1) TO SERVE AS THE GUARDIAN OF THIS FUND SINCE I AM A BOY OF 27 YEARS AND MY YOUNGER SISTER '' NANCY'' IS 18 (2) TO MAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR US TO COME OVER TO YOUR COUNTRY AFTER THE MONEY HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED TO YOU. MOREOVER, SIR,WE ARE WILLING TO OFFER YOU 20% OF THE TOTAL SUM AS COMPENSATION FOR YOUR EFFORT/INPUT AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSFER OF THIS FUND TO YOUR DESIGNETED DESTINATION OVERSEAS FURTHERMOIRE, YOU CAN INDICATE YOUR OPTION TOWARDS ASSISTING US AS WE BELIEVE THAT THIS TRANSACTION WOULD BE CONCLUDED WITHIN SEVEN (7) DAYS YOU SIGNIFY INTEREST TO ASSIST US. ANTICAIPTING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON. BEST REGARDS TO YOU HARRISON & NANCY OMEAGO ...
By: harriago
on
Hacking Flickr
PERMIT ME TO INFORM YOU OF MY DESIRE OF GOING INTO BUSINES RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. I GOT YOUR NAME AND CONTACT FROM THE TOGOLAISE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY. I PRAYED OVER IT AND SELECTED YOUR NAME AMOUNG OTHER NAMES DUE TO IT'S ESTEEMING NATURE AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS GIVEN TO ME AS A REPUTABLE AND TRUSWORTHY PERSON I CAN DO BUSINESS WITH AND BY THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS I MUST NOT HESITATE TO CONFIDE IN YOU FOR THIS SIMPLE AND SINCERE BUSINESS. I AM HARRISON OMEAGO , THE SON OF LATE MR AND MRS. OMEAGO IHUOMA, MY FATHER WAS A VERY WEALTHY BUSINESS MERCHANT BASED IN LOME , THE ECONOMIC CAPITAL OF TOGO IN WEST AFRICA. BEFORE HE WAS POISONED TO DEATH BY HIS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES ON ONE OF THEIR OUTING TO DISCUSS ON A BUSINESS. WHEN OUR MOTHER DIED ON THE 21ST OCTOBER 1994, MY FATHER TOOK US SO SPECIAL BECAUSE WE ARE MOTHERLESS. BEFORE THE DEATH OF OUR FATHER ON 18TH APRIL 2002 IN A PRIVATE HOSPITAL HERE IN LOME . HE SECRETLY CALLED ME ON HIS BEDSIDE AND TOLD ME THAT HE HAS A SUM OF US$ 9,700,000.00 (NINE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND, UNITED STATES DOLLARS) LEFT IN A SUSPENCE ACCOUNT IN A SECURITY COMPANY HERE IN LOME. THAT HE USED MY NAME AS HIS FIRST ISSUE FOR THE NEXT OF KIN IN DEPOSIT OF THE FUND. HE ALSO EXPLAINED TO ME THAT IT WAS BECAUSE OF THIS WEALTH THAT HE WAS POISONED BY HIS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES. THAT I SHOULD SEEK FOR A FOREIGN PARTNER IN A COUNTRY OF MY CHOICE WHERE I WILL TRANSFER THIS MONEY WITH MY LITTLE SISTER AND USE IT FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSE, (SUCH AS REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT). SIR,WE HONOURABLY SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS. (1) TO SERVE AS THE GUARDIAN OF THIS FUND SINCE I AM A BOY OF 27 YEARS AND MY YOUNGER SISTER '' NANCY'' IS 18 (2) TO MAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR US TO COME OVER TO YOUR COUNTRY AFTER THE MONEY HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED TO YOU. MOREOVER, SIR,WE ARE WILLING TO OFFER YOU 20% OF THE TOTAL SUM AS COMPENSATION FOR YOUR EFFORT/INPUT AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSFER OF THIS FUND TO YOUR DESIGNETED DESTINATION OVERSEAS FURTHERMOIRE, YOU CAN INDICATE YOUR OPTION TOWARDS ASSISTING US AS WE BELIEVE THAT THIS TRANSACTION WOULD BE CONCLUDED WITHIN SEVEN (7) DAYS YOU SIGNIFY INTEREST TO ASSIST US. ANTICAIPTING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON. BEST REGARDS TO YOU HARRISON & NANCY OMEAGO ...
By: harriago
on
Hacking Flickr
In my country, I cannot even think of a top business school. Anybody can get an MBA as long as you have your money. The MBAs I know so far do not impress me at all. As a matter of fact, one of them became intellectually and morally worse after she obtained her MBA from one of our fraudulent "business schools." If she and a couple of others I know who came out with this worthless certificate were to be benchmarks for my country's MBA, then I'd feel very sorry for our system of education. As far as I know, the MBA programme in my country makes no impact- it's simply not in tune with our economic realities.
By: yusuf danesi
on
Is an MBA worth it?
I love CafePress!!!
By: Chuck
on
Slackerlicious swag
suceesfull marketing is really creativity in action give me the wide explanation about it. thank u sir ...
By: kanakaraj
on
On creativity
Help, brain lapse, what amount does per K and per M = ???
By: Carol
on
See your desktop again
This blog posting is great. Your views are very true. Everyone should start thinking as you are doing. Matt Miller http://www.mbaprogramsobserved.com ...
By: Matt Miller
on
Is an MBA worth it?
complete Issue Tracking Software which incorporates advanced features in addition to all the features of Standard Edition.
By: Issue Tracking Software
on
Book Review: Danger Quicksand - Have a Nice Day
Thanks for the tip, I'm going to try this out now. I see this post is from almost a month ago, I wonder how I missed it the first time round. Keep 'em coming.
By: Raj Mandalia
on
DIY pull quotes
We would be honored if we could be added to this great blog. We are from http://www.worldbusinessforsale.com/ ...
By: Sale
on
Professional lubricant
Hi I'm a student at Briarcliffe College in NY. I'm studying in an Electronic Commerce class, and our topic of our lecture is business blogs. How is posting a business blog work for you? Do you get many responses? Is this a career or something you do on the side?
By: J.Rudolph
on
Management coaching with Aloha
I am interested in non-performing loans valuation,and I hear about DIV model(derived investment value),which was used by RTC to evaluate NPLs. But I can't find any document detailing DIV model. Could you tell me where I can get such document. I am looking forward to your reply. Thank you very much!
By: kunkunfish
on
Decision issue of HBR
Yeah man you are definitely correct this is the year of the big switch alright. Well about the post you have here its good to read.
By: Salesman
on
The year of the switch
On your site I found information I've searched! Good site, thanks.
By: Linda
on
Directing traffic (metablogging post)
Hey, thanks for the information i gained a lot coz of this post.
By: The Consultant
on
The year of the switch
My name is Ron Ridderhoff. I just like to say that your website is absoulutely brilliant and I know people keep on saying this but it really in truly is!
By: Ron Ridderhoff
on
Directing traffic (metablogging post)
Busted Tees sent me the wrong order. I emailed. No response. But tomorrow I'm calling SureShip, thanks to you all. It is sketchy that BT won't put a phone number on their website, though. I found it on my credit card statement: 212.625.0668.
By: Customer
on
Busted Tees rocks
I placed an order with busted tees and never got a shipment confirmation number and i was worried that i might not get it in time for christmas. I couldnt find a contact number and i found this here and called sureship and they are shipping it out 2nd day air. They really helped me out. Sureship is great to deal with.
By: James
on
Busted Tees rocks
The Lazy Way is my way) I'll check it ...
By: Alex Gold
on
My new best friend
re: Busted Tees Ordered 11/30. They charged my card 12/2. Started e-mailing on 12/12. and 12/14. and 12/15. No response. Pulled up your blog, and called SureShip. They're shipping my order 2nd day air for no extra charge, it was "lost in the system".
By: Leigh
on
Busted Tees rocks
Try Toc for Education (not just for high schools) ...
By: Rudi Burkhard
on
TOC in education?
My name is Ron Ridderhoff. I just like to say that your website is absoulutely brilliant and I know people keep on saying this but it really in truly is!
By: Ron Ridderhoff
on
Directing traffic (metablogging post)
Good morning, I am delighted to find your wonderful website online.
By: Katerina Vetlitzkaya
on
Directing traffic (metablogging post)
Thanks for the information! BTW, there is a new official website for the top MBA's in Canada. http://www.canadianmba.com Pretty interesting if you are thinking about doing an international MBA program!
By: Thomas
on
The New, Revised Personal MBA
Good morning, Id jus like 2 say that this website is an amazing idea and is really helpfull. Congratulations on this great website from Katia Kuban ...
By: Katia Kuban
on
Directing traffic (metablogging post)
Good morning, I am delighted to find your wonderful website online.
By: Katerina Vetlitzkaya
on
Directing traffic (metablogging post)
Never take anyone's word for granted! That's a big statement ? it's more relevant than ever in modern, fast paced workplaces where managers provide instructions to employees by word of mouth only. While asking someone to do something "verbally" can be initially considered to be rather efficient, from the busy manager's point of view, it can quickly turn to a nightmare for the "lucky" employee who has to deliver. The best way to know what the manager wants is to request written instructions. Ha! That'll never happen, you say! You might be right ; ) This is the way you should proceed if your manager isn't keen on writting down the instructions for the jobs he gives you: you write up something clear and concise, for him! Once you're satisfied with the job instructions, ask him to approve them, by E-mail or otherwise. Then, and only then, can you start working. What's the payoff? 1. You know, for sure, where the work starts and most importantly, where it ends; 2. The manager can't change his mind in the middle of things without giving you either more time or more credit for the "extra" workload. 3. At the end of your mandate (or in the course of it), it's über-easy for you to chart your progress and prove your value to the manager (or even better, -his- manager). I hope this helps you tackle another aspect of "trying not to become overworked"... at work ; ) ...
By: Claude Gelinas
on
Why you're overworked...
Hi Everybody! What a great site! I pleased. See you later ...
By: Christopher Adam
on
Directing traffic (metablogging post)
Next Monday, wake up and try smokin' a big bowl, buy the bum in that neighborhood you never drive through- a six pack; sit with him, help drink it. Go to Costco after that, stroll all the isles and don't buy anything. Next, walk into your nearest social workers' office, pull a number and ask the representative about the challenges of their job and what they did that day. Rules: No cell phone. Write down your experience like it was your last day on the planet. When you return to your desk job, now how do you feel? Yours Truely, RealEU ...
By: km
on
Motivation assassination
well i like the name akasha i dont know what it means but it sounds nice i also like dakota, laban dru and angel ...
By: deanna ~( dee)
on
The coolest name
The University of Utah's Executive MBA is a joke. Those paying the now inflated $44,000 for the phony degree are ignorant. The program's director, Brad Vierig is an incompetent idiot. I was in this program for more than a year before leaving Utah to pursue an authentic education. As a seasoned professional with a law degree, I am embarrassed to have been associated with such a worthless program. How the degree receives any accolades whatsoever, is beyond me. In my opinion, there must be some type of scheme involved? Do not waste your time! Do not waster your money! Do your research and earn a REAL degree rather than one based on deception.
By: John Doe
on
Is an MBA worth it?
Hmm; I'm in the Royal Navy and I would have to say the easiest way to do your shoes is to spend a an hour with parade glass and water when you first buy them; then before you wear them whip out your cloth, go over them once and they'll be good. I've been in the RN two years, joining at 16 and my boots have been like glass al the time, this is the pair I wear on duty I might add. There's girls in my mess who'll slack off and use this method only to have it faed with a few days and having to scrape their boots back down. Nothing beats the ol' spit polish.
By: Naomi
on
5-minute shoeshine
Cool formula. I was trying a similar one found at http://www.emailoffice.com/excel/arrays-bobumlas.html but I was not able to make that one work. Your formula works well. Replacing the now() with an input cell allows you to get the display of any month for any year.
By: Dan
on
Make a calendar in Excel
I agree with you the way you view the issue. I remember Jack London once said everything positive has a negative side; everything negative has positive side. It is also interesting to see different viewpoints & learn useful things in the discussion.
By: size genetics
on
The unspoken language of...
Our department is taking this as well. I've posted my results on my blog ( http://thethinslice.com). I'm usually skeptical about these sorts of things, but It was amazing how acurate they were for our group.
By: Chris
on
The strength of me
I guess he just forgot that you're not allowed to have opinions unless you shoot someone.
By: ...
on
The Four Hour Rule
If there is one thing that irritates people in your office its the one person who wears tennis shoes with their suit or they wear some old pair of scuffed semi-casual shoes that makes them look like they are still in college. When you wear a suit everyday your shoes become a very distuingishing feature. I recommend one great product, Quick Shine, just spray it on your shoes if you dont have time to polish or spray it on after polishing. Makes your shoes "freakin mirrors" in 2 seconds with no buffing. However if you don't like spending 30 bucks a month on shoe care products just get a rag, "polish", and a horse hair brush. After you use that rag to apply a dozen times you won't even need to apply polish anymore, just buff the dirty rag all over your shoes and it will shine them right up in a total of 30 seconds and add a little color also. Oh yeah, military boots aren't naturally that shiny, what they do is hold a lighter to the polish, melt a tin or 2 of polish all over the boots and buff and buff and buff and buff and buff and buff
You shouldn't even have to spend 5 minutes polishing your shoes until you scuff them on the curb.
By: dave
on
5-minute shoeshine
You shouldn't even have to spend 5 minutes polishing your shoes until you scuff them on the curb.
I wonder what military experience Slackaholic has. Oh yeah, none, STFU coward.
By: Army Veteran
on
The Four Hour Rule
umm who cares what 'the other people' think? you must work in a high school. just do your job and ask for time off when you need it.
By: phil
on
The Four Hour Rule
This is the oldest, most inane trick in the book. It would be a real treat to work with, or for, someone who pulled this "rule" on you.
Sonds like a GW Bush trick for handling his National Guard duty.
With such infantile advice, don't expect a book anytime soon.
How disappointing.
By: Slackaholic
on
The Four Hour Rule
Sonds like a GW Bush trick for handling his National Guard duty.
With such infantile advice, don't expect a book anytime soon.
How disappointing.
If you haven’t learned The Slacker Manager’s “Four Hour Rule” yet, check it out. Here’s the deal: early in the morning you make a call or email to your boss letting them know you won’t be in today. If you aren̵...
By: timmah!
on
The Four Hour Rule
Hey Brendon,
just thought you might want to check out Google's RSS Reader beta. While IG does not, Reader does support OPML. Available here: http://www.google.com/reader/
Enjoy.
By: Jon
on
Netvibes just thought you might want to check out Google's RSS Reader beta. While IG does not, Reader does support OPML. Available here: http://www.google.com/reader/
Enjoy.
As an added bonus, if you are salary, they can't dock your pay or vacation if you are only gone a half day. BONUS!
By: timmah!
on
The Four Hour Rule
Like the gentleman who uses a hPDA I have a low tech solution. I have trained a penguin to follow me around. When I need to make a note, list entry, etc, I use a 'sticky note' and place it on the bird. He squawks terribly if I don't remove all the notes from him each night.
Gruntie ...
By: Gruntwilligar T. Honkenoffski
on
Wiki on a stick
Gruntie ...
Netvibes it's somehow a copycat of www.start.com not of Google Personalized Homepage. And the fact that they have tooked the core ideea is not such a bad thing because they've gone way further :)
For example:
- podcast-Google/Start don't have it
- newspaper view
- webnotes
And...I am witing for flickr integration ...
By: Razvan Antonescu
on
Netvibes For example:
- podcast-Google/Start don't have it
- newspaper view
- webnotes
And...I am witing for flickr integration ...
This system is convenient for you, at least until your son gets more into negotiation prior to action, but seems counter-productive, as it may interfere with establishment of internalized codes of values and behaviors. I recall some educational research some years ago which concluded that rewarding children for academic accomplishment led to their interest atrophying. Their focus was on the external rewards, rather than developing their own self-rewards and enjoying what they did, or learning to do what was not enjoyable because it was necessary for some accepted goal (like graduating). The group rewarded in more conventional manner with praise and or grades did better, developing habits and interests that carried them through. I believe that both individual health and the existence of society do depend on people doing what they have been taught is right, even when?especially when?there is no one to see, perhaps no one will ever know. Children all have to transition into that mode or risk being sociopaths. (Please excuse such a harsh word; I am speaking theoretically here, not with reference to you and your son.)
My use of the term ?values? above reminded me to mention that you are teaching your son some values here too...I do things to get rewards; I can negotiate to increase rewards; and so on. No doubt you are using other systems too, teaching other things in other ways: teaching him empathy (wouldn?t you be sad if someone did that to you?) and rules for things he does outside of the reward system. So I don?t mean to imply that you?re using the chips as your total system! But if you are using it a lot, I think the points I?ve raised are worth considering.
Remember, we have evolved for at least a million years of social life, through use primarily of social acceptance to teach preferred behavior. The specific means have included rewarding with love and praise, disincentives of criticism or bad opinion, and more indirect means such as stories and verbal references embodying social ?good? and ?bad?. Storytelling is a powerful shaper of children?s attitudes, involving imagination, empathy, roleplaying (the child putting himself into the various characters and seeing how it feels), establishment of heroes or heroic actions which the child longs to emulate, etc. This has produced human beings who instantly react to give their lives for their children, or for their social group, when it is in danger; people who risk everything for an ideal, such as Christians who sheltered Jews in Europe during WW II, when none of their social group would know what they did?or their social group might actually have thought that their action was wrong, but they did it. This is getting a bit off track here, sorry!
What do you think?
Ccheney ...
By: ccheney
on
The pre-k economy
My use of the term ?values? above reminded me to mention that you are teaching your son some values here too...I do things to get rewards; I can negotiate to increase rewards; and so on. No doubt you are using other systems too, teaching other things in other ways: teaching him empathy (wouldn?t you be sad if someone did that to you?) and rules for things he does outside of the reward system. So I don?t mean to imply that you?re using the chips as your total system! But if you are using it a lot, I think the points I?ve raised are worth considering.
Remember, we have evolved for at least a million years of social life, through use primarily of social acceptance to teach preferred behavior. The specific means have included rewarding with love and praise, disincentives of criticism or bad opinion, and more indirect means such as stories and verbal references embodying social ?good? and ?bad?. Storytelling is a powerful shaper of children?s attitudes, involving imagination, empathy, roleplaying (the child putting himself into the various characters and seeing how it feels), establishment of heroes or heroic actions which the child longs to emulate, etc. This has produced human beings who instantly react to give their lives for their children, or for their social group, when it is in danger; people who risk everything for an ideal, such as Christians who sheltered Jews in Europe during WW II, when none of their social group would know what they did?or their social group might actually have thought that their action was wrong, but they did it. This is getting a bit off track here, sorry!
What do you think?
Ccheney ...
Perhaps you should also take a look at MSN's start.com, which was out before Google.com/ig. Netvibes is a lot more like start than Google's personalized search and all three are using Ajax.
By: Lee Odden
on
Netvibes If you do have to buy gas, I found a website that will give you the cheapest gas price in your area. www.mapgasprices.com ...
By: Richard
on
Buy gas
Great Gadget!! And two pages of Tic-Tac-Toe will keep my grandson and me occupied between events at a trade show.
...
By: Dave
on
Pocketmod
...
I agree wholeheartedley!!
By: Amateur
on
The healing power of donuts
bren,
google maps continues to amaze...smugmug, my photosharing site is allowing it's users to map their pics. i just mapped my travel photos from my trip through india...this stuff blows my mind.
...
By: pixie pix
on
Google maps rock times two
google maps continues to amaze...smugmug, my photosharing site is allowing it's users to map their pics. i just mapped my travel photos from my trip through india...this stuff blows my mind.
...
Brendon, this is the coolest idea ever!!! Your "business idea" was to come up with a business idea! An Open Source Business??? This is fantastic. I'm gonna check this out in more detail on the weekend. This will be big!
By: Tino Buntic
on
The Business Experiment
I f the situation is not time sensitive and is not within your authority, ask permission. If the decision is time sensitive, even if it is not within your authority, and you are the one "on scene", make the decision and then as soon as possible, inform the person up the chain who has normal authority over the situation. This does two things. 1. If the fact that you made a decision outside of your authority and it comes to the attention of the "big boss", then your immediate boss is knowledgable and does not get blind sided when higher asks him/her about the situation. 2. If you made a less than optimal decision the proper authority has time to initiate damage control if needed. You come off as having initiative, courage to make tough decisions, loyal to your boss by keeping them informed, and you take responsibility for your actions. One the other hand, someone who begs forgiveness all the time is a loose canon and someone who always asks permission is weak willed.
By: Don Kissler
on
Do you walk to work, or carry your lunch?
What if you have a ThinkPad without a Windows key?
By: Buzz Bruggeman
on
Append to text file v.4
I'm intrigued by the concept of this page. I'll have to poke around a bit.
Thanks,
Ken ...
By: Ken Flowers
on
New leadership blog
Thanks,
Ken ...
Couple of days ago we have posted a reader’s question on How to get started on Getting Things Done? and we received some great answers from our community. Brendon Connelly at Slacker Manager went one step forward and has written an article to a...
By:
on
GTD jumpstart
I, too, believe in the Power of Pastries.
In a sales meeting, I'd rather have an excellent pastry than an excellent PowerPoint presentation!
By: Laura
on
The healing power of donuts
In a sales meeting, I'd rather have an excellent pastry than an excellent PowerPoint presentation!
I must admit to being more impressed for it. I've even recommended it to all my friends.
By: Outlook Express repair
on
A little help here?
Congratulations on your new job! If they looked at the bigger picture of how you prepared and marketed yourself, they could really see how you would fit in. Have a stellar weekend!
By: Denise O'Berry
on
Full frontal personal marketing assault
Bren over at slacker Manager offered this excellent post called, The First 100 Days, which is about he approached his application and interview process for an internal promotion opportunity. I love how he has taken the bull (the interviewing process) b...
By:
on
The first 100 days
An Associated Press story (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8146820/) also mentioned another free real estate site where you can find homes for sale by mapping your search results on a Google Map: http://www.cytadia.com ...
By: Mark Wells
on
Google maps rock times two
I placed my second order this month after reading your site...thinking my last poor experience with busted tees was a fluke...Ordered 3 in stock on May 3rd...and they are telling me they shipped them on the 16th...buyer beware...no phone number for Busted tees to call...and if they ship the wrong size...tough luck...I love your site....but Busted Tees suck...
By: Penelope
on
Busted Tees rocks
Hey, it's great fun setting it up, just make sure your afternoon is free on sunday. It took me about 5 hours to sort through everything and give descriptions to posts (I also did all the html by hand, but that's because I've come down with Carpal Tunnel). You'll have a great time hosting, though, I'm sure of it.
By: Andrew Hughes
on
COTC
For anyone who may be interested in the "goal" of the site - it's bascially to experiment and figure out what kind of content people want in an audioblog or podcast. Everyone has jumped on the "let's figure out how to make money on podcasting" bandwagon, and I think it's too early. First we have to figure out what people like.
By: Rob
on
BusinessBlogCasting
I have a few Jenkins where I work. I just don't have the pictures to prove it!
By: Bert
on
Who is Jenkins?
Don't forgot the few, the proud, the Linux desktop users. Although I'm still struggling to bring myself to use GTDTiddlyWiki. I've gone the extreme lowtech route and use an hPDA for everything. Seems odd, being an "IT Professional" myself. Perhaps if I throw GTDTiddlyWiki on my personal server so I can share it from work and home. Otherwise I was just previously using a TODO text file on my home computer. But I'm admittedly new to GTD (only on chapter 7) so perhaps I'll come around yet. That was an incredibly incoherent paragraph.
By: Don Seiler
on
Wiki on a stick
Emacs users can try Planner-mode which is based on emacs-wiki. http://sacha.free.net.ph/notebook/wiki/PlannerMode.php ...
By: Dave Bauer
on
Wiki on a stick
I'ld like to throw in a third tool, one that I recently dropped EverNote for, ScrapBook Firefox Extension. I do like EverNote a lot and just like you, used it to collect bits and pieces off web pages. But I moved to ScrapBook because a) it is tightly integrated with Firefox (IE who?), b) allow me to develop an heirarcy, c) non-propriatery storage format. And it lets me key in my own notes. Find it at http://amb.vis.ne.jp/mozilla/scrapbook/.
By: Utter Doul
on
Wiki on a stick
Slacker Manager Brendon Connelly evaluates whether or not previously-mentioned Getting Things Done TiddlyWiki is better than his current notes solution, EverNote. While GTDTiddlyWiki's greatest strength is its portability (it's just one file opened by ...
By: Don Seiler
on
Wiki on a stick
Isn't it a rule that while you are in a school program you rip on it and gripe, and when you graduate you puff out your chest proudly and talk about how great the program was? I have worked in higher ed for over 10 years and rarely do I have a student come through my door with accolades and a thank you note while they are still in schoo: rather they have a beef. Thus, a blog by this standard would not be something a school would want to be involved in? Also, any blog that is "sponsored" violates the premise of blog does it not? I'm no blog expert, but I thought the whole point was to have no strings attached, to be able to write what you want without consequence. Do you really think a school administrator would like a "sponsored" blogger to rip on the curriculum or a professor? Just my cynical view . . .
By: Matt
on
MBA bloggers
Wharton has an excellent student blogging community ( http://64.78.45.16/Index.asp), which dominates the MBA blogging space by far. It has been going since I entered my first blog entry in October 2001. I wrote my blog in the form of a daily diary and now there are over 20 bloggers in one form or another blogging about the Wharton experience. The only thing I think they could change is the name from the Wharton Diaries to Wharton Blogs because that's really what it is.
By: Laura Bennett
on
MBA bloggers
Timely for me also. Yesterday was the first day of classes for me to start my MBA. And in fact I'm kind of thinking about blogging the process since I've been stumbling around for some blog direction for a while. It's interesting to see how others are doing it.
By: Jonathan
on
MBA bloggers
Hi Bren, My company delivers management training in the UK, offering vocational qualifications accredited through the Institute of Leadership & Management. I'm finding that our clients are preferring their managers and leaders to enrol on courses, such as those offered through oursleves and the ILM, as they focus less on the theory and more on the skills and competencies. Yes, the skills and competencies are contextualised by theory, but this is not tested, it is merely used as a foundation on which to build modern management and leadership techniques. We have built an online forum that we use as part of our blended learning, and that has proved so successful that I am now looking at encouraging our candidates to blog as they progress through the qualification, and build a blog community for our candidate's to share experiences etc. We have seen how candidates behaviours change using the forum, so it will be fascinating to see them interacting through blogging. Apologies for the length of the comment.
By: Richard
on
MBA bloggers
Bren: The problem with the George Fox student blogs isn't so much the layout or the approach, but that the students seem more like reporter of what's happening - you know, "just the facts" and less like bloggers. One, there's little tongue in cheek stuff going on. Two, there's no criticism or second guessing. Three, there's little "insider" information. These blogs read like a newspaper report of what's happening. Do these folks read other blogs, or do we just have an expectation of how a blog should read?
By: Jeffrey
on
MBA bloggers
I agree with Jeffrey above. The entries are all bland. There is no meat! I think the GFU bloggers would benefit from a trip to http://mbaleague.blogspot.com/ to check out what other MBA bloggers are saying. A little more information and personal touch would add a lot to the blogs as well as a more regular posting. Robert Barzler does a better job with this, but it still could be done better. I am by no means an expert, but I read a lot of MBA blogs (since I have one)and these traits seem to be common among the bloggers I enjoy most. The University of Minnesota provides an area for all students at http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ I know other Universities are starting to provide classes such as Success Blogging at Fordham ( http://www.successblogging.com/mba_course/index.html) and the University of Michigan ( http://steveshu.typepad.com/steve_shus_weblog/2005/04/top_business_sc.html) ...
By: Andy
on
MBA bloggers
I second Jeffery's opinion of the dryness of these blogs. I would also throw in the fact that they just aren't visually appealing. When looking at Dave Myerson's blog, it was hard to tell where one post stopped and another started. Also, the entire layout of the blogging section is way too corporate. A little splash of the "blog chrome" would help to enhance the fact that these are indeed blogs. On a more personal note, I'm looking at MBA programs with the expectation of enrolling within 2 years (fall '06 or fall '07). Would you be interested in answering a few questions or doing an interview "blog style" to address this topic?
By: Mike
on
MBA bloggers
Good read - I'm beginning the online program an Arizona State U. this fall, and am hoping to find at least a few other bloggers in the midst (I'd imagine being an online program, there would be more than a few). For my own plug, here's my blog where I'm chronicling my process, progress, and experiences: http://danielsmbaonline.blogspot.com/. I also second the recommendation to visit http://mbaleague.blogspot.com/ - not the easiest-to-view site, but it's rich in links to other MBA bloggers.
By: dforester
on
MBA bloggers
Maybe its just Monday, but these were so funny it hurt. I fair warning of what can happen when we try to organized too much. via Slacker Manager ...
By: Rob
on
"Sweet" lifehacks
Well said, Bren! What I've always liked about Kevin and his blog is that he's pretty much nailed the integration of the right/left brain thing, so his posts are just enough "touch" to balance the straight,practical, and noteworthy. Thanks for the great May Lei! Stacy ...
By: Stacy Brice
on
Kevin's blog
Interesting that I read this post just now, since I am planning to start an MBA (Still looking around for a good course), and blog about my experience... I will take a look at the above site.
By: Nenad Ristic
on
MBA bloggers
After reading part 3 of the series, now i feel i can understand and manage boss in particular and people in general, fairly better.
By: Vivek
on
The Secret Art of Managing Your Boss, part 3
My monthly Ho"ohana"?¢ was started back in August of 2003 when I left corporate life and decided to start my own business. It started as little more than an on-going personal update, for after years building up a professional network ...
By: Stacy Brice
on
Kevin's blog
I don't get it. Useful decision tool or pseudoscience? Hard to tell. I could use some reference on where it came from. I'd like to check the math...which on the surface looks wrong, dangerously oversimplified. Is there a book discussing it in more detail? And, of course, it doesn't solve more fundamental problems. You decide that CPA license is more important than reliability but you might be wrong. (How many executives have been burned because they promoted on the basis of domain talent rather than managerial skill? Their basic assumption was flawed there, not the decision process which flowed from those assumptions.) Or there might be a fifth factor you forgot entirely, on which everything actually hinges. And, what about the "none of these people are good enough, let's keep looking" option? How do you weigh that?
By: Jamie Fristrom
on
Decision Making
I too use Crimson Editor a bit. You mentioned "its secrets." Is this something worthy of a separate blog post? I'd love to learn some more things about it. Also, I commented a few months back about "GetPivotData" (GPD) in conjuction with Pivot Tables. If you havn't grasped that one yet, I could send you a sample file to demonstrate. To me GPD makes Pivot Tables 10 times more valuable! Thanks for the great list! If you were in my office meeting with me and my staff, you'd feel right at home!
By: Dan Robbins
on
The Context Agnostic Toolkit for Managers Big and Small
I just finished reading "Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fullfillment" by George Leonard , as recommended by ...
By: Steve Castellano
on
Personal mastery
Don't forget graph paper (also called "grid" or "quad"). I use this stuff constantly. It's not just for diagramming: it simplifies writing out an outline (as when planning or taking notes), it improves your handwriting (by helping you space out your words instead of runnningthemalltogether), and yes, it's perfect for whipping out a quick diagram, whatever that may mean for you.
By: Kyle
on
The Context Agnostic Toolkit for Managers Big and Small
Curious, I also use a fnacy smancy palm with wifi, but cannot keep the battery life up. Any suggestions? All apreciated. Do I need a new battery? Better battery? Is there some type of power mgmt I can run on it. Emails accepted with ideas. thanks ...
By: Jared
on
The Context Agnostic Toolkit for Managers Big and Small
Now that's technology I can understand! I gotta give some of these a try!
By: Rob
on
"Sweet" lifehacks
Today's dose of NIF - News, Interesting & Funny ... It's Friday!
By: Rob
on
"Sweet" lifehacks
Great post. Here are a few things that I follow: I subscribe to www.wordsmith.org, and I get to learn one new word everyday. It really adds to your vocabulary I also subscribe to www.investorwords.com, and you get to learn one new term everyday.
By: Venky Krishnamoorthy
on
The Context Agnostic Toolkit for Managers Big and Small
Figured I would take the opportunity to share an interesting conversation as well as solicit the help of the community to find some candidates interested in working for a cool company......
By:
on
The socially selective networker
Great topic. I would add three tools: Autoit: which is a basic scipting tool allows you to automate tasks in windows for any program or combination of programs. I use it to perform some basic recurring tasks. http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/ Taskline: complements GTD by scheduling all my to do items in my calendar based on their priority and due dates. www.taskline.com File, Print Fedex Kinkos: I hate to promote a "corporate" tool, however I live by this stuff and service. This application allows you to send print jobs to kinkos which can be picked up and/or fedexed. Now ricket sciende, but the product is very flexible and the service is GREAT. Xoff ...
By: xoff
on
The Context Agnostic Toolkit for Managers Big and Small
I'd add some related skills like typing and learning effective written communications. I see lots of hunt 'n' peck managers, and people who can't write a decent email. Very limiting these days.
By: Dwayne Melancon
on
The Context Agnostic Toolkit for Managers Big and Small
I just finished reading my SlackerManager friend's note on the Context Agnostic Toolkit for Managers, which lists some technology-related tools ...
By: Jeroen
on
The Context Agnostic Toolkit for Managers Big and Small