Posts by Carol Ross
Academic Boundary Crossing
If I were twenty years younger, I would go back to school. I would return to my alma mater, Northwestern University, and enroll in the engineering school again (yes, again!), so I could learn about design and complex networks and product development. I was probably the only reader of the recent magazine for engineering alumni…
Read MoreBranding Lessons from BMW and Salvation Army
To attract kindred spirits to your community, it's important to know your brand. Earlier this year, BMW had a hefty poster-size insert in the Wall Street Journal, with photos of their cars and this text: We do not make cars. We are the creators of emotion. We are the keepers of thrill. We are the…
Read MoreFinding Inspiration in New Places
Inspiration is most appreciated when you least expect it. Waking up this morning, after three days of travel for work, my mind was foggy and my body a bit sore. (Sitting on airplanes and lifting suitcases into overhead bins will do that.) But in going through my inbox, I found two things that immediately got…
Read MoreThe Impact of Good Intentions
Recently, a participant from a program that I delivered several years ago emailed me, saying how much she enjoyed my ezine. In the process of re-connecting, I asked her how she had fared in the recession as a small business owner. What she told me not only surprised me, it delighted me. While financially it…
Read MoreOnline Video, One Year Later
Over a year ago, I decided it was time to learn about online video, not as a consumer but as a creator, to understand how I could make use of this medium. I bought a Flip camcorder because of its portability (it's about the size of a deck of cards) and ease of use, in…
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