Boundary Crossing as an Asset

Sometimes, individuals know that they have interests in disparate areas but aren’t sure what to do about it. Is it an asset or a liability?  I prefer to think of it as an asset. Here’s how to make boundary crossing work for you: Create a "slash" life that includes more than one area. Look to…

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Thoughts on Leadership

Cleaning out my office files, I ran across an email discussion with one of my favorite managers during my corporate career. My manager’s questions: What would our leadership team need to be like for it to inspire your confidence in our ability to succeed in the business?  Are there specific things you are looking for?…

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Signs of the Long Tail

I have not read Chris Anderson’s book, The Long Tail. As editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, Anderson is exposed to new ideas all the time and his own thinking influences a lot of people. From what I’ve heard about the book, his message is that specialized niches will continue to proliferate based on our technology to…

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Oscar Mayer Wienermobile

On a trip to pick up my kids from a friend’s house, I noticed the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile in the parking lot of a local Wal-Mart. It’s hard to miss, even when speeding by at 60 miles per hour. I couldn’t help myself from stopping on the way back home. After pulling into the parking…

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How NOT to Become a Commodity

As a small biz owner, I’m always on the lookout for new services that help me run my business, inexpensively.  I’m lucky in that the last ten years have yielded a bonanza for the consumer of long distance phone service, personal computers, and internet service—all things necessary to set up shop in a home office.…

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