“Over on Lifehack.org someone asked about how to get started with ‘Getting Things Done.’ I’ll throw my hat in the ring…shoots, I’ve gotten started lots of times! There are just two things to be clear about before we begin. Thing one: read the book. I get frustrated when people say, ‘I’m planning on buying the book, but until then how do I…’ Crikey…”

“I’m collecting quotes and references here to get an overview of who’s saying what about design thinking as applied to intangible business problems such as process and organization design. The idea is still young and in development; it seems we’re only now reaching the conversation stage that leads to differing points of view.”

“They’d do it for free. They don’t get discouraged by the inevitable hassles — at least not for long. Four of our favorites tell you how to get a dream job, grow with one, and make it your own.”

“Christopher Rhoads lobs some harmless questions at Motorola’s CEO Ed Zander ($) in today’s WSJ. Luckily Zander steps up and honestly assesses the company’s challenges, shortcomings and approach.”

“Ten years ago this week, Amazon.com made its Internet premiere when Mr. Bezos opened a Web site he audaciously called ‘Earth’s Biggest Bookstore.’ Amazon sold only a half-million dollars’ worth of books in the first six months, but was soon posting the kind of gaudy growth rates that impress Wall Street: sales hit $15.7 million in 1996 and $147.8 million in 1997. Yet the more familiar story of Amazon in the second half of the 1990’s was the rate at which it burned through cash. In 1999, for example, its revenue hit $1.6 billion, but it still lost $719 million.”

“Performance evaluations are not the favorite tasks of most managers. Evaluations can be a real pain, especially with the work required to complete an evaluation using one of today’s formal systems. A formal evaluation system may work well in a large organization that has a human resources department, but what about the person who manages without HR support?”

“If you are a working stiff like me, you probably have to travel, and travel a lot. And unless you travel by private jet — a treat I had again last week — you probably suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous travel fortune: long lines; maddening, foot-tapping fellow passengers; hotel rooms that smell like gymnasiums; noisy neighbors; hard-to-find taxis; meals that leave you clutching your abdomen at 3 in the morning.”

“This week marks Amazon.com’s 10th anniversary. Profit was down in the first quarter, and the stock price, after soaring to $60 a share last year, has slipped to a plateau of about half that. USA TODAY’s Byron Acohido asked company founder and CEO Jeff Bezos about competing more directly against Google and Microsoft, impatient shareholders and what’s ahead for e-commerce.”

“How did Lou Gerstner from IBM turn a $5 billion loss into a $8 billion profit in just 9 years, or Carlos Ghosn turn Nissan around by $10 billion — they both formed cross-functional teams to lead their revival plans. The only way that you can restructure people’s mindsets is via team building and training.”

“The three big powers on the Internet now are Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft. Average age of their founders: 24. So it is pretty well established now that grad students can start successful companies. And if grad students can do it, why not undergrads?”

“As promised, here is the audio recording (39Mo, mp3) of the panel I had the pleasure to moderate with David Weinberger and Richard Edelman on corporate blogging. I apologize if the sound is a bit weak, I did it with a simple ipod. David’s slides are here (pdf, 4,5Mo).”

“Bank of America announced [last week] that it will acquire the biggest credit card company in the country, MBNA, for $35 billion. After details of the proposed merger were made public, the companies’ stock prices went in opposite directions…”

“Stever Robbins (one of my favorite authors) wrote an article entitled The Pull Leadership Manifesto, in describing the difference between push and pull leadership he says: ‘Maybe it’s because we use a whacked-out definition of leadership. ‘Leader’ has become code for ‘rich guy with an impressive title who orders others around.’ But leading by giving orders left and right with no accountability doesn’t work. We’re living in a world of low loyalty, high mobility, and extreme uncertainty. “Push” leadership will push people right out the door. We need leaders who inspire others to follow, who engender loyalty. We need leaders who practice ‘pull’ leadership.’”

“At SXSW, our Bright Corner business cards were received pretty well by everyone. After being inspired by Andy Budd’s What’s in a Name post, I thought I’d show off our cards. It’s not about bragging about the great ideas of my coworkers so much as showing our way of getting around titles.”

“There’s never been a better time to be an entrepreneur because it’s never been cheaper to be one. Here’s one example. Excite.com took $3,000,000 to get from idea to launch. JotSpot took $100,000. Why on earth is there a 30X difference? There’s probably a lot of reasons, but here are my top four. I’m interested in hearing about what other people think are factors as well.”