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Why the big teams can’t hit the right notes

July 28th, 2005 | Comments Off | Posted in Project management

“Joel hits a high note himself documenting the 1:10 productivity difference between crap and rock star programmers in Hitting the High Notes. But what’s even more interesting about his argument is the thesis that its not just about productivity, it’s about making a different class of software. The best programmers don’t just make the same software faster, they make a different kind of software…”

Please Use If You Wish

July 28th, 2005 | Comments Off | Posted in Business

“In my older years, I have decided to ‘give away as much as I can.’ My new Web site features lots of my Fast Company columns, articles, interviews, audios and even lots of free video. Please feel free to download, copy, send and use anything from my site. Please feel free to use with anyone in your corporation. Even better, please feel free to use with your church, charity or non-profit. If you need any permissions, please just send me an email and I will send you permission.”

Managing for Creativity

July 26th, 2005 | Comments Off | Posted in Leadership

“Over many years, the leaders of SAS Institute have distilled a set of principles for getting peak performance from creative people. Among them: Value the work over the tools, reward excellence with challenges, and minimize hassles.”

The rarity of passion-driven teams

July 26th, 2005 | Comments Off | Posted in Project management

“The concept of teams is not new. Although a ‘teaming’ revival has been zinging around the globe for several decades now, the concept has been around since before men worked in teams to hunt mammoth. Yet most teams today are nowhere near as effective as they could be. The reasons are many; lack of structure, lack of well-defined roles and responsibilities, and lack of communication, to name a few. But one reason overrides all the rest — a lack of passion. Passion is strongest when it exudes from a natural source, such as identifying and working within your true vocation — that career for which you are best suited.”

How to learn from your mistakes

July 25th, 2005 | Comments Off | Posted in Life

“You can only learn from a mistake after you admit you’ve made it. As soon as you start blaming other people (or the universe itself) you distance yourself from any possible lesson. But if you courageously stand up and honestly say ‘This is my mistake and I am responsible’ the possibilities for learning will move towards you.”

Branding, Experience and Story

July 25th, 2005 | Comments Off | Posted in Business

“Branding shouldn’t be solely about your visual identity, although it’s important. It should be about your voice, your face, your humanity and your story. It’s should be real. In an experience economy it’s the experience that matters. To illustrate that, I’ve got a story about one of my favorite brands and the supplier of some of my favorite experiences: The Majestic Bay Theatre.”

4 Things Your Clients Want From Your Company

July 25th, 2005 | Comments Off | Posted in Customers

“Sure, all clients are different. They have different kinds of strengths, weaknesses, cultures and goals. Even what blocks their efficiency and growth (blind spots) is different. Davis, Kingsley & Company has conducted hundreds of interviews and there are four strong themes that always emerge.”

On Being and Deliciousness, with Wil Shipley

July 22nd, 2005 | Comments Off | Posted in Business

“My feeling was (and is): You don’t adopt the mannerisms of big, successful companies when you’re small, because those mannerisms aren’t what made the companies successful. They’re actually symptoms of what is killing the company, because it’s become too big. It’s like if you meet an really old, really rich guy covered in liver spots and breathing with an oxygen tank, and you say, ‘I want to be rich, too, so I’m going to start walking with a cane and I’m going to act crotchety and I’m going to get liver disease.’”

Words, words, words

July 22nd, 2005 | Comments Off | Posted in Marketing

“Like most of us, Don Watson hates corporate jargon. But Watson, a former speechwriter for the Australian prime minister, is trying to do something about it — this year, he published Death Sentences: How Cliches, Weasel Words and Management-Speak are Strangling Public Language, a witty and incendiary attack on the jargonization of everyday life.”

Print Promotion

July 22nd, 2005 | Comments Off | Posted in Marketing

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