If you climbed a mountain to ask an ancient Zen master about the right approach to Facebook, what would he say? I don't think that David would make a claim to mastery, but Mindful Tech is the closest thing I've seen for a Zen response to technology. It's both fascinating and filled with common sense. Instead of directives on how to respond to email and social media requests, he examines how we relate to it on a daily basis. It was interesting to read this on the heels of Sherry Turkle's Reclaiming Conversation. In many ways, I think he picks up where she leaves off. There weren't many prescriptions for how to deal with the … [Read more...]
Hot, Flat, and Crowded – Thomas Friedman
This article was originally published on January 9th, 2009. The global situation hasn't gotten any better... Go read this book. Right now. Then we’ll talk about it. OK, now we can dive in. There are few books that I’ve read in recently that have affected me as strongly as this book. A few years ago, I read Thomas’s The World is Flat and found that it was thoroughly researched and its arguments relatively sound and well-presented. He does the same thing in Hot, Flat, and Crowded, and the topic is much more critical then just economic globalization. In the course of my lifetime (32 years) I’ve watched the idea of being “green” … [Read more...]
The Technology Yin and Yang of Millennial Networking
"Are different demographic groups better (or worse) than others at networking?" That was a question that was lobbed at me after a recent keynote on networking. OK, the actual question was, "Don't Millennials and other young professionals have an advantage in networking these days because they are so used to technology?" The person who asked it really wanted to validate her fears and concerns that because she wasn't young, and wasn't comfortable with technology, that her struggles with networking weren't her fault and she should just give up. It was a valid question, but there isn't a simple answer. I didn't let her off the hook, … [Read more...]
Technology Can’t Solve Any Business Problems Alone
Today, as you go through your work day, your goal is to solve as many problems as you can. For most of us, that is actually what our work consists of: solving challenges that pop up consistently through the day. Luckily, since our society has advanced a bit, the problems that we face aren't the dire ones that faced our ancestors, like mystery blights destroying our crops or hordes of marauding barbarians. For us, it might be finding prospective clients, balancing the books, or managing different personalities on a project. Technology is Just a Tool Just like our ancestors, we consistently look to technology to solve our problems. They … [Read more...]