tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:53:33 +0000http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/blog.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)Blogger317125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-5556926127640417759Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:46:00 +00002008-06-23T20:53:33.779-04:00recommendationsHere's my idea: you use a face-to-face LinkedIn gathering to do "speed-befriending." Just like in "speed-dating," you go from table to table and talk to someone for a few minutes and determine whether there is a match, based on stuff like location, interests, activities and all that. There would have to be a series of rules in place to help keep us from, you know, using the event for dating or http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/06/how-do-you-do-speed-friending.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-7984137241793166506Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:18:00 +00002008-06-12T23:19:39.695-04:00young entrepreneursI have for some time been planning to take up podcasting. Now I have several scripts ready to go, more ideas to follow, the recording software, and I'm ready to record -- except no music. Maybe someone in the group can offer suggestions. Here is what I am looking for:Local artists -- meaning local to the Philly/Central NJ region.Willing to share original music with a guy too poor to pay, but http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/06/podcast-background-music-sought.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-1831456303031246787Mon, 19 May 2008 18:16:00 +00002008-05-19T14:33:03.731-04:00recommendationshistoryThe book is called "RenGen," by Patricia Martin. Her thesis is that we are in general, and the USA in particular, on the edge of a new Renaissance. That many of the social signs marking the onset of the first Renaissance are in place today. One of the highlights of a Renaissance is the emergence of droves of creative people. Creative people demand collaboration rather than top-down managementhttp://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/05/teamwork-v-collaboration-per-patricia.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-3737495261359374889Sat, 17 May 2008 17:29:00 +00002008-05-19T13:57:23.725-04:00office spaceI once knew someone who referred to the IT staff in my workplace as being "experts on computers." Now, the qualifications of someone who is "expert on computers" include knowledge of the contents of enough books to fill my living room. LOL For the person I mention here when one of us doesn't know instantly how to solve a (normally poorly-phrased) problem, we hear something like "and you're http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/05/how-do-you-become-expert-on-computers.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-9073653082500501782Fri, 16 May 2008 02:52:00 +00002008-05-19T12:28:43.435-04:00recommendationsinternetMost people haven't thought about this, because we've asked questions all our lives. It's how we learn. But the fact is that we aren't very good at it, and because we're not very good at it, we don't usually get the answers we're really looking for. So now here we are in the age of blogging and social networking, and in these environments we ask questions the same way we ask our best friend http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/05/how-to-ask-question.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-4948731347637250305Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:10:00 +00002008-04-21T15:24:40.400-04:00rhetoricengineeringTo the best of my knowledge, systems analysis is what was practiced by Richard Riehle in Office Space. I deal with the god damn customers so the engineers don't have to. I have people skills; I am good at dealing with people. Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people? But we have to make sure we don't get the wrong idea about systems analysis from this movie. LOL Enterhttp://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/04/rod-bell-explains-systems-analysis.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-459015444211905711Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:45:00 +00002008-04-21T13:56:03.060-04:00educationMy current employer has students very interested in learning podcasting and coming to have their own voices on the Internet. I have long wanted this for myself, so we are all learning podcasting together. I hope within the next couple weeks we will finally start putting some stuff up there. We're fortunate to have a guy like Jason van Orden out there, putting up loads of podcast smarts -- http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/04/dr-ron-gets-his-first-lesson-in.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-948572199887977135Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:00:00 +00002008-04-19T16:15:07.239-04:00recommendationsI'm out to get a personal brand. This is the result of my reading of Casnocha's My Start-Up Life -- see what happens? But I've got a gig coming up -- I wrote a paper for the Trenton Computer Festival and have to present it a week from today -- and I want to have a brand more-or-less in place by then. Turns out people have heard about this paper, a comparison of MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/04/search-for-personal-brand.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-6502014035654499042Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:40:00 +00002008-04-19T16:08:56.916-04:00young entrepreneursI finally finished off this book. (It's hard to get through a book while school is in, but I'm making a commitment not to stop reading any more.) I think it's brilliant. Before I go into the details, let me give the caveat: I think it's a shame that, regardless of how hard Ben Casnocha had to work to find funding, support, and customers for his start-up, he still found those things more easilyhttp://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/04/casnochas-my-start-up-life.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-1265502763685454168Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:10:00 +00002008-03-12T00:07:27.567-04:00characteryoung entrepreneursPatricia Martin has coined (or at any rate, likes to use) the term "RenGen," a condensation of "Renaissance Generation." It is her belief that humankind, or US society at any rate, is on the edge of a cultural renaissance rivaling the original, that it has been on the edge for some time now, and that our marketing, production, and business values should reflect this phenomenon. (I am not sure Ihttp://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/03/look-out-its-rengen.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-7544259692131438165Tue, 04 Mar 2008 03:46:00 +00002008-03-03T22:46:31.179-05:00engineeringLet's face it: many companies TALK like "our people are our most valuable resource," but they ACT like money is more important than people or things. It therefore should come as no surprise to any engineer that those who bring the money in (the marketers) and those who parcel out the money (the finance guys) are more highly paid and valued than those who deal with people (like human resources) http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/03/engineering-meditations.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-3176642242459933617Sun, 02 Mar 2008 04:47:00 +00002008-03-02T00:17:54.604-05:00young entrepreneursI've had a chance to pitch in with getting the new coaching organization Sky Scrapers Academy get off the ground in India. I don't know much about executive coaching -- yet -- because the field appears to be fairly young. But it's growing in a hurry, and Shalini Verma has positioned herself to get a piece of this growth. Let's take a look at coaching, compared to other types of advice: http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/03/sky-scrapers-academy-destined-for.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-4481322810363234327Wed, 27 Feb 2008 04:13:00 +00002008-02-26T23:23:00.255-05:00recommendationsI used LinkedIn to seek out further information about PowerPoint above and beyond what is in the Rhetoric for Engineers lecture notes. Christopher Huntley I use PowerPoint all the time for documenting items like administrative tasks which require screen shots and some bullet points for step by step performance. I like it because it flows easily through many processes. When using it for a http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/02/further-notes-on-powerpoint.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-8842523737570387327Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:20:00 +00002008-02-20T16:24:42.866-05:00recommendationsThese are summarized from a discussion, kicked off by Yogesh Jain on LinkedIn two months ago. There were some outstanding answers, and I may have picked too many of them as is! Jeff Goodell – there is a great opportunity for upward mobility within the company, that is, there is a great possibility for transitioning into roles of greater responsibility and at a greater pace. Joy Jennings – - http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/02/how-does-small-company-attract-and.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-8182403352684428340Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:28:00 +00002008-04-21T15:28:55.805-04:00educationengineeringMary Anne Bitetto was assigned the following question in her management class: discuss why the manufacturing sector in the US has been losing jobs to other nations. Her answer, which I thought showed some insight, follows:So far, a lot of the focus in this discussion has been on medium-sized to larger companies. Some primary goals for these corporations have been established: cutting costs and http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/02/bitetto-on-small-manufacturers-using.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-6250133249713467376Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:29:00 +00002008-02-15T14:54:33.084-05:00diversionsOn LinkedIn I asked the question, "what's the worst break-room behavior you've seen?" Here's a summary of the answers. I love hearing stories like this.A view of someone's ugly bare-naked feet on a counter -- please understand that it is a common area!Someone late at night randomly distributed chicken throughout the office in the potted plants, desk drawers, light fixtures etc.One of my bosses http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/02/break-room-nightmares.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-3321208193062950826Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:18:00 +00002008-02-19T22:42:25.441-05:00educationThis note came in from TCNJ about the Get-It Card, a rechargeable mini-credit card that also gave TCNJ students discounts from local merchants. Looks like canceling the program was a responsible business decision. It is our ultimate desire to offer services that are efficient, successful, and more importantly, mutually beneficial to students, faculty and staff, the Ewing community, and the http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/01/tcnj-axes-get-it-card.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-3736176585998964879Tue, 15 Jan 2008 03:34:00 +00002008-01-14T22:45:00.414-05:00characterI believe there’s a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams.It's from Spider-Man 2. I never, ever get tired of hearing this one. Maybe a little contrarian for an entrepreneur, though: you'd think the entrepreneur's http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/01/inspirational-words-of-aunt-may.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-1478230467722676153Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:31:00 +00002008-02-20T16:27:34.510-05:00internetI ran across a blogger named Scott Bradley who has thought long and hard about first contact in the social networking Web sites. Here's a summary of some of his most critical points:Of course, he starts off by sending the friend requests.But he follows up with a personal message. This is of course possible with the major social networking engines (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace):When sending http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/01/making-new-friends-via-social.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-4147233169359187590Sat, 12 Jan 2008 04:33:00 +00002008-01-11T23:46:26.915-05:00recommendations I weighed in on LinkedIn not long ago, and I admit I was hasty in my assessment there. I'm gonna do up a new one. But now I want to address MySpace. It's absolutely terrible for most entrepreneurs. The biggest weakness you can see in this conversation I had with my daughter about it:Ron: myspace question. Ron: how can i search for keywords in a profile? Ron: if i do a people search for a http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/01/many-weaknesses-of-myspace.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-4631220741042814453Sat, 12 Jan 2008 04:06:00 +00002008-01-11T23:44:12.034-05:00recommendationsA guy wrote me frustrated about being unable to get giant companies to advertise on his Web site. The exchange went something like this:It's apparent the big manufacturers shield their marketing divisions from the real world... well it at least appears that way. So, how does a new corporation pierce those shields and get in contact with the decision makers? Take PepsiCola... I would love to http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/01/sentinel-at-gate-of-success.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-3103987706057081337Fri, 11 Jan 2008 04:58:00 +00002008-01-11T23:43:02.755-05:00young entrepreneursBen Casnocha writes this in My Start-Up Life:Contrary to the typical media fantasy of yacht-cruising millionaires wheeling and dealing their way to the next big technology fortune, most entrepreneurship happens in quite ordinary circumstances. Dorm rooms, garages, kitchens, cafes... even bedrooms. Ordinary people, ordinary circumstances, ordinary conversations. But unusual passion.I have not http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2008/01/finally-someone-understands.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-1691961679457909802Thu, 27 Dec 2007 04:27:00 +00002007-12-26T23:43:52.797-05:00recommendationsThis snippet was published by Peter Nguyen of careerknowledge.net on LinkedIn. Clearly I am going to have to rethink my previous position on LinkedIn, which was made in needless haste."Entrepreneurship" is a big word that tends to scare many people. But it's quite simple: It's about creating a product that you own. Once you've created it, you can sell it to thousands of people and make lots ofhttp://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2007/12/maybe-best-impromptu-comment-on.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-1927696591751176839Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:23:00 +00002007-12-13T14:34:22.486-05:00diversionsNormally, I don't give in to forwarding stuff that must be traveling all around the Internet. But this one is just too good. Dear Employees: It has been brought to management's attention that some individuals throughout the company have been using foul language during the course of normal conversation with their co-workers. Due to complaints received from some employees who may be easily http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2007/12/avoiding-abusive-language-in-workplace.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6399543.post-7665449778671993164Mon, 10 Dec 2007 03:08:00 +00002007-12-10T15:03:28.807-05:00characterI'm willing to believe that I can learn something about life in the workplace by observing the way I am treated by evangelical Christians and atheists. My major point is this: they are polar opposites in belief but not in action. WARNING: this is a generalization, and I'm doing it on purpose. I have run into this -- not every time -- but far too many times. http://www.tcnj.edu/~rgraham/2007/12/evangelicals-v-atheists.phpnoreply@blogger.com (Ron)