Archive for Uncategorized

Gen Y Assistants are Awesome

May 13, 2010 Uncategorized No comments

I loved this article in Fast Company about Gen Y Assistants.  We really are amazing!
An excerpt:
1. She brings up things that never occur to me. As much as I study Gen Y and correspond with them frequently online, there’s something completely different about having a Gen Y-er physically in my presence. Since she’s fresh out of college, she brings a totally different perspective about my work and the world. By digging into her experiences and hearing those of her friends and peers, I widen my view of what’s important to her generation. For my business and many other businesses today, Gen Y is either our entire customer base or a large and ever-growing percentage of it. No matter what your business, gathering Gen Y input is not only a good idea; it’s become essential.

Advice on Landing a Job at a Non-Profit

April 8, 2010 Uncategorized No comments

Landing a job at a non-profit is quite different from landing one at a for-profit.
Willy Frazen was generous enough to let me guest-post on his blog, One Day One Job, a great resource for job seekers right out of college.   The post gives 5 pieces of advice about how to land a job at a non-profit, based on my experience.
Willy was frustrated with the job search process when he graduated, so he created One Day One Job to help other job seekers find organizations where they would be a great fit and could feel great about supporting.
On weekends, One Day One Job covers non-profit jobs exclusively, so you want to be sure to check it out.
Willy also created One Day One Internship, which can help you find a successful internship placement.

Shift Happens

March 5, 2010 Uncategorized No comments

Check out this Slideshare Preso:

Shift Happens
View more PowerPoint from Jeff Brenman

USAID Win!

February 12, 2010 Uncategorized No comments

Hans Rosling has another great video explaining how USAID’s efforts have been working.
He also makes the point that there is no longer the dichotomy developing world vs. developed world based on convincing data. 
Watch the video and let me know what you think.

The Surprising Science of Motivation

January 22, 2010 Uncategorized No comments

Check out Dan Pink’s (speech writer for Al Gore and author of A Whole New Mind and The Adventures of Johnny Bunko) TED Talk:  The Surprising Science of Motivation. 

He makes the case for management to incorporate intrinsic rewards for work:  autonomy, mastery, and purpose, to achieve results from workers.  More money doesn’t work anymore.

I Heart Nancy Lublin

December 4, 2009 Uncategorized No comments

Hi, I’d like to introduce you to Nancy Lublin.
She founded Dress for Success
She founded Do Something
She writes for Fast Company
Just start reading her Fast Company articles. 
If you don’t have an in-person mentor, her mentorship through her column will help you out until you can get one.

How Top Chef Teaches Leadership

November 6, 2009 Uncategorized No comments

I was inspired by Rick Bayless winning Top Chef Masters because, if you watched the show, you saw how he coached his the previous Top Chef contestants on his team to instill ownership over the meal they made under his direction.  Bayless was also passionate about Mexican food and had his own definition of success – it didn’t matter that he won the title, he was just pleased that he elevated Mexican food to the level of French and Italian cuisine and ended his exit interview with, “Viva El Mexico!”
Highly competitive reality shows like Top Chef and Project Runway teach you that leaders are able to persuade others to go along with their vision, no matter the obstacles and personality conflicts.  You have to have the skills to work with all kinds of people, especially other strong leaders, to make something great.  You get respect by showing respect to others.  Give first then get.

5 Easy Ways to Teach Social Media to Your Boss

October 1, 2009 Uncategorized No comments
Well, first you need to know it thoroughly yourself, so this assumes you are active on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogs.
  1. Show her people who are using these tools successfully.  I showed my boss Beth’s Blog,Beth’s Blog’s Facebook Fan Page, and Chris Brogan’s Trust Agents Fan Page.
  2. Show her how to grab RSS feeds and add them to Google Reader.
  3. Show her how to search for topics of her interest that blogs write about to get her used to blogs.  Do this by showing her how to use Technorati and Google Blog Search.
  4. Teach her how RTs, @ replies, shortened URLs, and advanced search work on Twitter.
  5. Give her Chris and Julien’s new book Trust Agents after you’ve finished it.

I’ve done all of these things with my boss, and it was a great success.  Now that he understands what social media can do, we can start brainstorming how to use it to meet our organization’s goals.  That’s going to be the hard part.