“The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.” – John Burroughs
Who Really Cares if the Boss is Gay?
The impetus might have been the convergence of former BP CEO John Browne’s new book on his life as a closeted exec with the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
Or maybe it was simply bad form, like mentioning someone’s cancer prognosis or divorce when the news isn’t public.
While it wasn’t news to some in Silicon Valley, CNBC correspondent’s Simon Hobbs outing of one Fortune 500 CEO went over, as my dad would have said, “like someone loudly passing gas in church.… Read the rest
[Work Space] Glad I Bumped into You . . . .
Little things count; they frequently count very big.
A recent post spoke to the smarts behind picking the right time zones for multiple locations that optimize work.
This post extends that thought to how workplace shapes individual and organizational performance.
While the Yahoo (and to degree, HP) move to eliminate telecommuting by remote workers was an interesting step, it misses the bigger point.… Read the rest
[Work Locations] Hit the Sweet Spot
It’s not Flo Rida, but like a lot of little things that add up to make a huge difference, where you put offices and people is critical for all sorts of reasons.
You want to hit the sweet spot.
Time zones, for example.
A recent call with a colleague left me chuckling as she walked me through the logic of her Shanghai-headquartered company putting their US marketing and sales office in New Jersey.… Read the rest
[Life Back West] December 2013 – What Would Agnes Do?
She has been dead for over a decade and I still remember the first time we met as if it was yesterday.
Over 70, she summoned me from across Liberty Street with a wave of her hand as I wondered what a stranger was doing motioning to me. Newly moved from Chicago, it was definitely not something that would happen in the Windy City unless the person was psychotic.… Read the rest
The Startup: Why Build the Extra Plumbing if You’re Going to Sell?
Jack Hawley, one of the smartest OD people I’ve ever known, once shared the Native American saying that “to travel fast 
you have to travel light.”
It applies to people (whether it’s actual luggage or their own personal baggage) but it also applies to startups and any other organizations.
The fact is that it’s hard to be nimble when you’re big, or small with lots of extra stuff that you’re carrying around.… Read the rest