Get Flash
16-Jan-2010 - Political Ponderings in Early 2010
I have to say that I'm disappointed with Obama's presidency so far. While I likely align with his philosophical perspective and his deep regard for rigorous inquiry, I'm not thrilled with his executive leadership at this point.
Health Care reform right now is a joke and what I would expect from a good executive is for them to be direct about it. We can blame the leadership, Washington or whomever else we want but real reform isn't happening because fundamentally there isn't support by the people. What I would rather see Obama say right now about this is that congress should quit wasting their time on a bill that will be so convoluted that it creates as many issues as it attempts to solve. The responsibility of this at this point should be thrown back to the people.
07-24-2009 - Patriotism in the Time of Obama
Barry Bloom - the minister of Spiritual Life at Jefferson Unitarian Church is one of my favorite speakers. He always touches my heart and my conscience. In a recent sermon he engaged our hearts and minds around a definition of patriotism that calls out to liberal spirits everywhere. Here is link to the written text and a video or audio is coming soon.
Patriotism in the Time of Obama - by Rev. Barry Bloom
06-21-2009 - Architecting Business
I love the term 'Business Architecture'. I didn't use it prior to this year when I took a new position with that title, but now that I am living it, I have realized that it is what I have always done. And in fact, it is the value added service that my consulting, my software development and my business executive work has always included.
An ongoing inquiry for me is 'does the initiative create value?' If you cannot articulate the value, you cannot begin to architect the right solution. This is true when you are talking about a remodeling effort in your home and it is true when you are launching a new product for your company.
06-16-2009 - Making Connections
I used to think that I was not the sort of person who was very good at making connections. I was terrible at remembering names and faces and I was always terrified of coming across like I wanted something from someone. I guess growing up is a really good thing though - because these days I realize that making connections is just something that happens all around me and all I need to do is pay attention. One of the biggest differences in how I view it though is that the connection is valuable in and of itself - because the people are inherently interesting and really, so am I. (Oh, my gosh, did that sound arrogant?)
I'm very excited to be hosting at my home one of the artists from the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. For me it is an honor and a pleasure - I'm very excited to meet her. And I realize now that for her it is probably a very nice option as well. Not only will she be nearby the festival (we've almost always lived within a few miles of Cherry Creek), but I get the impression that she's looking forward to meeting me too. Her name is Brenna Busse and she does mixed media. Check out her website!
It is nice when the world is so balanced. I'm clear it was just my fear of people and the unknown that had my perspective be so skewed when I was younger.
06-15-2009 - Keeping it Simple
Have you ever seen a plan that was so complicated that you couldn't determine what the main objective was? That seems to be the direction that many managers today have taken with regards to measuring success. Instead of the old adage to 'keep the eye on the ball', we've come to think that it is possible to keep your eye on every detail.
This is especially evident if you look at how business is internally measured today. A typical dashboard for a given department or business group has so many distinct metrics with colors and displays cluttering up the page that it is sometimes difficult if not impossible to understand what the key targets really are.
The most successful people almost always focus on a few goals that can be attended to in tandem.
2-4-2009 - Generosity & Giving
I've been thinking a lot lately about generosity and giving - hence the links over to the left about it. Mostly it came up because I am chairing our annual stewardship campaign at Jefferson Unitarian Church this year. But really, it has been a topic in my house off and on for the past several years.
We do ok financially and if you look at it from a global perspective we are ridiculously affluent. Check out this cool link to see where you stack up: http://www.globalrichlist.com/
But it isn't as though we have much in the way of assets. That is difficult to do when have astronomical student loan debt. MORE...
Vacationing
I love making up new verbs!
July Fun: Camping and Rafting the Arkansas River outside of Buena Vista (pronounced totally wrong by the locals :)
September/October: 16 days in Madrid, Spain - Matthew and I are going to spend 2+ weeks in a wonderful apartment in central Madrid - near Sto.Domingo. Below you can see the edge of Retiro Park with Pueta de Alcala in the center.
