I make my living by identifying patterns. Whether it’s making sense of consumer needs, looking at what’s going on in the world of commerce to identify trends or opportunities, or helping a colleague get better at what they do, it all follows a similar logic: These are some things we’ve seen a few times. Here’s [...]
Archive for September, 2008
Patterns vs. Instances
Posted in Decision Making, tagged analysis, discipline on September 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Tuesday Home Office Tips: Get outside!
Posted in The Practice of Life, tagged working from home on September 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
In Philly, the first signs of fall are in the air. I love the crisp air and that indescribable smell that reminds me of little league football games. And it reminds me that I need to get outside while I can.
Folks who commute to offices have to get outside – at least as long as [...]
Primates are indeed close relatives
Posted in The Practice of Life on September 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Every time I visit the Philadelphia Zoo, I can’t help but stare at the squirrel monkeys. They remind me of what goes on in my house. I’m the big fat one, sitting on the branch. The ones jumping around like maniacs, eating their own feet and each other’s heads, well, you can guess who they remind [...]
Getting out of whine country: how to engineer a change in behavior
Posted in Managing Talent, tagged discipline, leading, management, parenting on September 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Last week we were living in Whine Country. All week the monkeys were super whiny, and they’d freak out over basic issues.
One day they came home from school bawling. I sat with them on the couch and tried to talk to them about what happened. “Daddy ripped my fig bar,” was all I could [...]
Tuesday Home Office Tips: Ignore the Lure of the Telephone Ringing
Posted in Career Satisfaction, tagged interruptions on September 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I can’t believe it’s Tuesday again already. It’s been hard for me to blog about anything given that instead of working from home, I’ve been trying to work from various airports.
That said, I’ve got a good quick tip for today. Don’t pick up your office phone after ‘business hours.’ Those hours can be whatever you [...]
Tuesday Home Office Tips: Make Dinner During Lunch
Posted in Uncategorized on September 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Often, when I’m working from home, I don’t take a long lunch break in the middle of the day. Instead, I take several short breaks throughout the day.
But sometimes, I need to shift into a different kind of activity to take my mind off a hairy problem and enable insights to emerge. (More on this idea [...]
Is it meditation if you’re multitasking?
Posted in The Practice of Life, tagged bedtime, meditation, multitasking on September 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve become interested in meditation and am reading Wherever You Go There You Areby Jon Kabat-Zinn. I’m disregarding his recommendations already by writing about it, but no one is perfect.
I’ve been reading the book for a few weeks now but haven’t actually tried meditating. Until tonight.
This week I’ve come to terms with the fact that I [...]
