Here is a short collection of very random links that may or may not be of interest. They are just various things that I've found interesting and wanted to share. Non-Profit Donations - Most people are involved in some type of non-profit organization. This post lists some of the options available for accepting donations online. The good news is that it is a lot easier than it used to be. The Thin Home - I'm not sure I'd want to live in a house this thin, but it sure makes efficient use of the space between two buildings. Throwing a tomahawk - I spent many hours trying to figure out how to do this with hatchets growing up. First and last shuttle launch - This is a picture of a … [Read more...] about Links of Interest
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Interview with Al Pittampalli
I recently wrote a review of Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli. It is a good book and well worth the money. Al was gracious enough to do an interview with us about his passion for creating better meetings. You may end up buying a bunch of extra copies to give to give out at the office. Also check out the Modern Meeting Standard website. Al used to work for Ernst & Young where he spent his working with a bunch of different companies. A good percentage of his time was spent in meetings, so he is in a good place to understand the problems with normal meetings. More importantly, he has some great ideas about how meetings should be used and how they should be … [Read more...] about Interview with Al Pittampalli
Being Wrong vs. Doing Nothing
It is easy to get so caught up in trying to make the best decision that we do nothing. Next time you find yourself struggling with this, re-read this quote: A person determined never to be wrong won't likely accomplish much. ~ Ken Wisdom Of course, that doesn't mean you should try to make bad decisions, but it does mean that lack of action is more harmful than occasionally making a mistake. At the very least, making a mistake means you are doing something and the chances of success when you are actually doing something is much greater than the chances of failure when you are unable to decide what to do next and do nothing. … [Read more...] about Being Wrong vs. Doing Nothing
Free Derek Sivers Video
AppSumo has some free videos of Derek Sivers talking about starting, running and selling CD Baby. Derek wrote the book Anything You Want which I highly recommend--except the cover, I hate the cover. The free deal only goes for the next 60 hours or so. You have to sign up for an AppSumo account, but it relatively painless and doesn't require a credit card because the cost is $0. If you are interested in starting a business or helping run a business, I'd highly recommend getting this. You can download the MP3, video or PDF of the talk. I haven't listened to all the videos yet, but I wanted to let readers know about it while there was still time to get it. If it is anything like the book … [Read more...] about Free Derek Sivers Video
Free Book – Read This Before Our Next Meeting
I just finished reading The Modern Meeting Standard - Read This Before Our Next Meeting. I was going to wait a few days to review it, but I wanted to tell you about it in time to take advantage of a special free give away. For a limited time you can get Read This Before Our Next Meeting Kindle Edition for free. (Don't forget you can read the Kindle Edition on most cell phones and computers even if you don't have a Kindle.) The book lays out a plan for more effective meetings with the following seven principles: Meet only to support a decision that has already been made. Move fast. End on schedule Limit the number of attendees. Reject the unprepared. Produce committed action … [Read more...] about Free Book – Read This Before Our Next Meeting
Is an MBA a Waste of Money?
Normally I've taken the position that an MBA can be well worth the money. Even my arguments that many employers overvalue MBA candidates suggests that the degree may be a very profitable career decision. My article Never Hire an MBA got a lot of attention. I was surprised at the number of people who missed the point of the article, thought I was saying that no one should get an MBA and tried to defend the degree. While there were some well thought out arguments, there were quite a few that were---well lets just say, less well reasoned. Take a look at them for yourself and you'll see what I mean. Also keep in mind that I moderated quite a few of the really … [Read more...] about Is an MBA a Waste of Money?
Anything You Want – Book Review
Anything You Want is a short book by Derek Sivers. Derek started CD Baby and eventually sold it to Disc Makers. CD Baby lets musicians sell their CDs online and grew out of Derek's frustration with trying to find a solution to sell his own CDs over the Internet. Usually when I review a book, I try to give enough information that Productivity501 readers can tell if they should invest in reading it for themselves. This is one of the few books where I feel I can safely say, "just go read it." It is an excellent book and I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't learn something from it. It took me a lot longer to review Anything You Want because I couldn't ever find the book in my house. It … [Read more...] about Anything You Want – Book Review
Gojee Recipes
Gojee is a web application that helps you find recipes. You can kind of think of it as a recipe search engine. You tell it what you crave, what you have and what you dislike. I told it I have peanut butter and meat. The results included several Asian recipes with different types of peanut sauces and a bunch of different types of deserts (without meat). When you find a recipe you like, Gojee gives you a link to the original recipe site. It is a nicely designed site and each recipe has a picture for people like me who have a hard time visualizing from a recipe. If you avoid trying new exotic recipes because you don't like buying a bunch of ingredients you don't already have, this is the … [Read more...] about Gojee Recipes
Effective Communication
Yesterday we talked about influence. One of the primary keys to influence is good communication. It doesn't matter how good your ideas are if you can't communicate them in a way that will connect with your audience and bring about change. In this post, we are going to look at three ways to communicate more effectively. 1. Be visual I once ran an IT department for a non-profit with about 200 employees. In the work room we had a large color and a large b&w printer. The cost on the color printer was about $0.15 per page. The cost of the b&w was $0.015 per page. I kept trying to ask people to use the b&w unless they had a compelling reason to print color. When you are … [Read more...] about Effective Communication
Beware of the Linen Cocktail Napkin
Beware of the Linen Cocktail Napkin is a brilliant post by Gretchen over at the Happiness Project. It talks about how we often buy things because of who we want to be instead of who we actually are. It is an excellent read and very worth your time. … [Read more...] about Beware of the Linen Cocktail Napkin