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Variety is the Spice of Work
Years later, I visited that company, and took Claudette to lunch. I thanked her for being an amazing supervisor, and for being understanding and patient with me, and for allowing me to stretch…
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A Constant Gardener
This is a picture of our lawn after not being mowed and edged for a little over a week, because the gardener couldn’t come over on Wednesday because it rained. I saw the…
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Editing, Design, and the Details
If you ask people that love the original Star Wars movies, they’ll tell you it’s because they were fun escapism, full of amazing special effects and spaceships. But the professionals in the movie…
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Do You Realize How NOT Super Easy WordPress is to Admin?
Do you know the difference between pages and posts? Do you know the difference between the control panel and the CUSTOMIZE area? Do you realize that that simple top menu could be changed…
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Reductive Design is Butter!
I spent a couple hours tonight helping a colleague stress test the user interface for a web hosting control panel, using cPanel. Amazing how my product design/methodology schooling came on like Spidey-sense. Some…
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Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Rejection
Q & A: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Rejection * A buddy of mine who’s much younger than me asked this question: Have you found any way to quell the nerves that come…
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Learning, Absorption, Implementation, Perfection (LAIP)
I’ve been thinking about why, at a certain point of learning a new app or software, it actually becomes FUN, and I realize that I’ve learned enough to want to freestyle, just like…
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You Are Not Your Day Planner
Twenty years ago, I thought that the THINGS that I owned were absolutely necessary for me to do my work. My Palm 7 device, Franklin Planner, Plantronics headset, and the latest “pro” version…
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Falling Off the Humble Wagon
One of my colleagues had a saying, “Finish it first, and then tell everyone else about it.” It goes against everything that my ego wants me to do, but in the long run…
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Sports and the SWOT Analysis
I’m currently watching the Golden State Warriors play at Houston against the Rockets. Whenever a basketball team I’m following is behind around halfway through the game, I look at the score, but I…
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How Are You A Great Detective During Client Meetings?
My story: After more than two decades of countless client meetings, I often don’t stick to the same checklist of questions that I used to. Totally true–one of the latest questions I asked…
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Lock and Load: What to Bring to a Business Meeting, Guy Version
In addition to what you’re SUPPOSED to bring to a business meeting, here are some things that I carry just in case. BREATH MINTS AND SUGAR-FREE GUM. Why both? The breath mints are…
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Designing Compassion, Part 2: Legos, Locks and Land Mines
I just finished a text conversation with my business partner regarding the Apple music player, which for some reason won’t allow songs on her playlists to play in sequence, like a jukebox, and…
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Designing Compassion, Part 1: How Are You?
How do you include kindness in business? Is it by design, or a conscious thing, or a little of both? Be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle. The lead mechanic for…
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Methodology Exercise – Selling Collectible Magazines on eBay
A mylar bag, backing board, 5 sheets of chip board, and a 9″ x 12″ envelope costs roughly 60 cents, to protect a magazine for mailing. The whole package weighs 12 ounces. Using…
