Because the Road to Hell Is Really Paved With Indecision*

“Everything I’ve done through my blog design is intentional,” Chris Brogan wrote the last time month.

This got me thinking about more than what he intended in that very fine post.

Can you make an unintentional choice? For that matter, isn’t indecision also intentional?

You may be in possession of unintended consequences, but if we’re clear beings then all our decisions—and decisions not-to-decide—are intentional.

As an Experience Designer, I help clients define their Purpose toward the beginning of a project.

(Read the full post about ‘Tip of the Week: Write Your Own Story. Start Now.’…)

In the sort of once was a surpassingly stable career, newspaper editors and boy-servant layout designers are finding that their careers may have being going the way of computer programmers and inbound customer service reps.

According to BusinessWeek,The Orange County Register is conducting a one month trial to see if every Indian visitor  Mindworks Global Media  can handle a portion of its editing and page layouts.

John Fabris is a deputy Editor at the Orange County Register

"This is a small-scale criterion, which will not touch our topical reporting or decision-making. Our own editors will oversee this work," Fabris said in each e-mail to The Associated Press.

(Read the full post about ‘Outsourcing Hits The Newspaper Industry’…)

My cousin Larry is spittin’ mad. Carnival Cruise Lines may think he’s mad about a charge of $4.89 for example being a bottle of water that Larry maintains he did not drink. Carnival Cruise Lines would be very wrong. Larry could care less about $4.89.

What Larry was originally mad about..what Carnival Cruise Lines still doesn’t come by in the pattern of numerous literature and phone calls…  is that Carnival Cruise chose not to believe him.   But that anger is chicken feed compared to the feelings he at once has for the cruise lines after their amateur and insulting customer service.

Some background.  While many of us live in a world of nuanced truths…in a world where it depends what the signification of "is" is, where telling convenient moiety -truths roll off the tongue without a blink or second thought,  where there is no shame in getting caught in a fib of sorts, my cousin Larry is not part of that world.

He is a person of his word.

(Read the full post about ‘Note To Carnival Cruise Lines: Is All This Bad Publicity Worth $4.89?’…)

My son Noah was born 24 years ago on a Monday afternoon. Noah and I stayed in the hospital until Thursday. During my free time in the hospital I finished ( on a yellow legal pad) a presentation for a financial institution. I was under deadline.  On Friday the nanny stopped by and for two hours I attended a convention onward the presentation I had completed during my hospital stay.

I did not take a orally transmitted maternity leave. I didn’t feel I needed it. I kept thinking of all those grandmothers who gave offspring and went back to work in the fields.

(Read the full post about ‘The not so bright future for Maternity Leaves’…)

5 Mindsets to Reshape Your Networking
121 Days Ago
–> Written by Samuel in Marketing

Does anyone besides cringe at the time that they hear the term “networking”? The term, when defined as “making social connections in the interest of your career,” is about as cold being of the kind which you can get. And yet, we all feel like this is something we’re supposed to be doing. “Never eat alone,” the business pundits take an account of us. It’s even worse when like networking is scheduled. You go to a conference and scheduled between the keynote rate and lunch are 45 minutes notable “Networking Time” (of process, you assume that the conference coordinators virtuous wanted one less speaker to pay). (Read the full post about ‘5 Mindsets to Reshape Your Networking’…)

Five Hard Truths About Blogging
112 Days Ago
–> Written by Samuel in Blogging

Although I’ve had my share of itinerant blogging in the past, about five months ago I decided to create a professional blog surrounding the efforts I’ve wearied over half my life studying and working in. Thus began Wake Up Later and it’s the first blog that I’ve found myself abundantly committed to. Although I am rather prosperous to see its solid progress, I’ve had to learn other hard truths about blogging along the way. Then again, if I knew these before, maybe I would have never begun in the first place. (Read the full post about ‘Five Hard Truths About Blogging’…)

1. Say No to more Credit and Store cards!
Did you know that the more cards you have the more likely you are to suffer from financial problems? Gone are the days when a credit or store card was a symbol of exclusivity, now they are practically throwing them at you. It’s easy to be lured in by promises of discounts, loyalty clubs and special introduction rates, but remember these rates usually go up. Shop around to find the best credit card deal and limit the amount you have.

2. Don’t keep up with the Joneses!
In such a consumer-based lifestyle, don’t get caught up in the mentality that you ’need’ the latest mobile phone, label brand clothes, and flashy car - you don’t. (Read the full post about ‘Tips for a cheaper living’…)

8 Web Design Mistakes That Developers Make
128 Days Ago
–> Written by Samuel in Website Building

An excellent website takes a particularly savvy blend of both great design and great code. Because of this, you often attain to designers having to figure out code and developers trying their hand at intention. Speaking of the same kind with a developer who spent his university years studying among other developers, I can safely say that programmers are not designers. Thankfully, we were graded rear then for having reusable code and proper OO methodology — not ever for our aesthetics. (Read the full post about ‘8 Web Design Mistakes That Developers Make’…)

Client Communication: The Most Important Part of Freelancing
94 Days Ago
–> Written by Samuel in Freelance Lessons

As a solo freelancer, the easiest and most conformable second nature to find work is to connect with design or marketing firms who are looking for trusty contractors. In truth, over half of my own clients are firms who appliance me as a website contractor. So over the years, I’ve had a good allotment of conversations through clients respecting their frustrations with other freelancers (usually resulting in more work for me). Interestingly enough, the most common problem these clients have with freelancers is not related to faculty or skill, but rather communication. (Read the full post about ‘Client Communication: The Most Important Part of Freelancing’…)

GroupThink: Your Favorite Productivity Tip
108 Days Ago
–> Written by means of Samuel in GroupThink

In the corporate world, there is sometimes a disengage between productivity and personal increase (i.e., a person who works two times as fast as his co-workers does not necessarily make twice to the degree that much or advance twice as fast). But when you’re working for yourself, whether part-time or full, productivity becomes your greatest asset and each little tip multiplies your fortunate hit. (Read the full post about ‘GroupThink: Your Favorite Productivity Tip’…)