Reviews | It's Worth Noting

Taming email to an hour or less a day

March 8, 2013

Have you heard of people declaring email bankruptcy, wiping out their mailbox and emailing everyone in their address book that they are starting over? Or what about the people who have boldly declared they are no longer using email? It is tempting. Both of these rather severe reactions seem somewhat reasonable given how much we have come to disdain managing the ever increasing flood and time demands of email. There are three tools I want to share with you that I use to manage all of my personal and business email in less than an hour a day. For those who have been following my blog for long, you know I am not interested in this to be a productivity or technology junkie. I try to be more productive and leverage the best technology so I have more time for the things ever increasing demands on our time crowd out: white…

ExcludeHome Reviews

Are you satisfied with your story?

October 3, 2012

Last Spring, my wife and I attended Donald Miller’s Storyline conference in Nashville, TN. After reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years together, we began to evaluate whether we were living a compelling story, one that reflected our Christian faith, intrigued us and would engage our children in the years ahead. More than any of the other life planning resource we had been through, Miller’s tale resonated with my wife and I in a way that really spurred reflection and action. Since reading the book almost two years ago and attending the conference this past Spring, we made a number of changes from a new vocational pursuit to moving houses and many other smaller adjustments along the way. Most recently, we finished up our life plans in the form of storylines, which we are now revising and working to merge (helpful when you are married). If your life was turned into…

Reviews

My Recommended Toolkit – products and resources

August 16, 2011

I have a lot of conversations about tools that I or others find useful, whether products, books, videos, sites or services. In an effort to condense and consolidate the recommendations I collect, I maintain a Toolkit page. The recommendations span the core topics I discuss on this blog including leadership, productivity and technology. Please take a moment to look around and comment if you find something useful or believe a must have is missing!

Leadership Reviews

Are you ready for the thank you economy?

March 15, 2011

I heard a talk yesterday by Gary Vaynerchuk about his new book: The Thank You Economy. His basic premise is that for companies to succeed in the coming decade they will have to genuinely care for their customers. By caring, he’s not talking about sending thank you notes or coupons to buy more. He advocates the need to care passionately and personally, to create a sticky experience focused on what’s best for the customer, not for you. While at the end of the day it’s business, you must humanize the interaction with customers to continue to win their business and maintain loyalty. He argues that if your caring baramoter is a Zappos, you’re aiming too low. You need to blow their customer care out of the water. What do you think? Are you planning on reading his new book? Are you evaluating how to revolutionize how you care for customers?

Reviews

A resolution reviewed to read 30 books

January 1, 2011

In 2010, I set out to read more than 30 books and share more of what I read with others. With 2010 behind me, I fell short of my goal. I finished the year reading 26. In 2011, I’m committed to crossing the 30 book hurdle. If you’re also interested in reading more, I thought I’d share some things that have helped me: 1: turning off the tv 2: getting a Kindle. I unquestionably read faster on a Kindle. Being able to control font size and thereby the amount of text on each page allows me to customize my reading experience. This is impossible with paper books. It’s also really convenient, which means I have fewer excusses not to read. I can effortlessly read multiple books at a time; it’s light, travels well and has a very long battery life; it lays flat and the new case with a light…

Leadership Productivity Reviews Technology

Using a Kindle or eReader as a leadership tool

September 13, 2010

You’ve heard that leaders read and readers lead. It’s an old axiom that’s as true today as it was when it was first spoken. What’s different today is that you can more easily share all the great content you’re consuming if you switch to an eReader like a Kindle, iPad or similar device.

Productivity Reviews Technology

How I pack my bag for business travel

May 25, 2010

If you’re like me and spend time traveling for business, you’re happy to find anything that makes the experience a little easier. This is especially true if you need to stay connected and take your technology along for the ride. I enjoy reading suggestions from other travelers and hope this brief list proves useful for you. Checkpoint friendly laptop bag: I like the Checkpoint Flyer from Tom Bihn. Design and construction of this bag are great and I enjoy the non-slip shoulder strap and file slip options. Checkpoint friendly backs like this let you sail through airport security by laying your bag flat on the x-ray belt instead of taking your laptop out. It’s quicker, less frustrating and you’re unlikely to forget your laptop on the belt. Organized Itinerary: If you’re still carrying a folder full of travel docs or trying to keep them in one email folder on your…

Leadership Reviews

Are you in business with the right people?

May 10, 2010

I’m finishing up People’s Tycoon, a biography on Henry Ford. The book details the story of three motor companies Ford helped start, the last being the only one we remember. What struck me about all three attempts was that in each instance, Ford found himself at odds with his key business partners, the guys with the money. The genesis of the conflict, at least regarding the business, was that Ford’s vision to provide mobility to the masses conflicted with his partners’ vision of selling higher margin luxury or performance cars (to be fair, Ford also seemed to lack some focus in the early years). The problem wasn’t that Ford’s vision was good and the others’ vision was bad. The problem was that they didn’t share the same vision or measure for success. If the people who run or own your organization have the same problem, debilitating conflict is inevitable. The…

Leadership Reviews

Do you provide good instructions?

December 26, 2009

Consumers will increasingly lean towards products and services that are easy to open, setup and assemble because their access to reviews and purchase options continue to expand. If you make the first use of your product or service unnecessarily challenging, consumers will find someone else to purchase from.