You Know What Gets My Goat?

I’ll tell ya, if you’ll listen. The thing that gets my goat is when people you’re working with prolong on a project and make it far more complex than what it needs to be, not because they necessarily disagree, just b/c they think that’s part of their job.

Changing Jobs, Moving On

Life update.

I’m in the process of leaving the job I’ve worked at for the nearly 8 years, http://www.open.uoguelph.ca/.

Now, I’m on to other pastures, http://www.uoguelph.ca/tss/.

New focus, new people, new challenges, bigger windows…

I’ve been busying myself with winding up projects at my current job, and have to say that something like Brainpark would have a helpful way to capture and pass on some of what I’ve learned. As it is, I’ve got a handful of wiki pages and shared files.

Brainpark

I’ve been participating in design nights for a startup called Brainpark.

Brainpark is a peer-to-peer resource recommendation system that helps people become smarter and more productive at work. Brainpark utilizes the social intelligence of a network to recommend resources that will benefit the task you are working on.

They’re in pre-launch. Visit their website and have a look at the video. Sign up to receive updates. It might be just what you and your workplace need.

Imagineering

Another great portmanteau!

While I’m not the biggest fan of Disney, I gotta hand it to Walt and the team for the list of innovations over the years. And I think what’s behind all this success is the fact that they have a top-notch, well resourced and diverse research and development team of Imagineers. Imagineers come in from all walks of life; artists and writers, architects, designers, technicians, musicians, and a number of other professions.

Maybe we can learn from Disney. Maybe we need more imagineers in the workplace. Maybe we need to find ways to transform our current employees imagineers.

Whachootalkingabout?

If you don’t know what you’re talking about, don’t say anything, ok?

• When did people start using the term “portal” so damn much? Can you please stop? Call it what it is…a “website”, or rather a “set of webpages”.
• Why do people write like this “…six (6) core courses will be developed and offered as “web-based” online courses…”? Why “six (6)”? Is this a legal document? Why “‘web-based’ online’”? Heck, why not just say “stuff on the interweb-o-blogosphere”? It makes just as much sense!

It’s Time To Reinvent

dothingsdifferently.com

Work Differently

http://indoorplayground.ning.com/

Indoor Playground is a next generation coworking environment based in the downtown core of Toronto. It is a home away from home for the entrepreneur who needs an office space on occasion as well as a community centre for collaboration. It helps to solve the problem of having a place to work when you are on the road or when you just want out of the house. Indoor Playground provides a good-looking and creative space populated by other great people worth meeting. It is the perfect solution for new start-ups and independent innovators who are looking for a professional yet affordable way to scale their business.

Vote Differently

The Ontario Provincial Election and referendum on a Mixed Member Proportional voting system (MMP) is on October 10, 2007. For more information on the referendum, view the video below:

Joke Of The Day

A man flying a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”

The woman below replied, “You’re in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You’re between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.”

“You must be in IT,” said the balloonist.”

I am,” replied the woman, “How did you know?”

“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you told me is technically correct, but I’ve no idea what to make of your information and the fact is I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help at all. If anything, you’ve delayed my trip.”

The woman below responded, “You must be a Senior Manager .”

I am,” replied the balloonist, “but how did you know?”

“Well,” said the woman, “you don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You have risen to the position you are in due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you’ve no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my fault.”

Communication

Read this on XPLANE’s website. Worth thinking about:

Communication isn’t a message sent, it’s a message received.