Posts by Carol Ross
Delighting the Customer
A friend of mine bought a new car from a dealer showroom. He asked the floor manager for a bottom line price that included everything, including trade-in of his old car. The final price to take the car home. My friend negotiated a price that fit his budget. Yet when it came time to do…
Read MoreBetter Labels
Researcher, Michael Wolf, an assistant professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University, is working on the design of presciption bottle labels. His big question, "Why are we not phrasing things properly on bottles?" points to a pragmatism that most of us don’t associate with design. His example: Using the words "take at 8am and 5pm"…
Read MoreThree Years Ago
Three years ago, I was struggling to make a living. I had the mindset of a technician, looking for that next job, hoping for the phone to ring. I had been focused on learning the craft of coaching. After finishing my formal coaching training, there were no more goals on the horizon. I had no…
Read MoreNetworking, Time Off, and Doing What You Love
Marci Alboher interviews Herminia Ibarra, the author of one of my favorite books on career transition, Working Identity. The interview brings out some great points about networking and time off. It was from Ms. Ibarra’s book that I first realized the importance of building new networks when changing careers. And her idea of moving into…
Read MoreMalcolm Gladwell Fans
Just before going on vacation to Ouray, CO, I browsed iTunes for free, good stuff to download for the long car ride. I found The New Yorker Conference, in which Malcolm Gladwell interviews people who think differently about traditional fields—innovators in pharmaceutical research and development and music recommendation services. The series of talks also includes…
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