Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Book 46 of 52 -- 7 Measures of Success
In an effort to always improve myself and the work that I do, I read 7 Measures of Success -- a book about applying the Good to Great principle of Jim Collins to association management.
7 Measures of Success: What Remarkable Associations Do That Others Don't follows the matched-pair research techniques used in the Jim Collin's book Good to Great and applies this methodology to associations.
Over several years, a team of association professionals undertook extensive research and on site visits examining the differences between the study group and comparison associations.
With Jim Collin's mentorship, they defined seven key elements that characterize the most successful associations.
These measures are: a customer service culture, alignment of products and services with mission, data-driven strategies, dialogue and engagement, CEO as a broker of ideas, organizational adaptability, and alliance building.
The book is a quick read, but should be foundational for all interested in association management.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Saturday, September 08, 2007
20 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity
20 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity
1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.
2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.
3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.
4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label it "In".
5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.
6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write " For Smuggling Diamonds".
7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy".
8. Don't use any punctuation.
9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.
10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.
11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go".
12. Sing Along At The Opera.
13. Go To A Poetry Recital. And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme?
14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area and Play tropical Sounds All Day.
15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because
You're Not In the Mood.
16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.
17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream ! "I Won! I Won!"
18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!"
19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."
20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity ..
1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.
2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.
3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.
4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label it "In".
5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.
6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write " For Smuggling Diamonds".
7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy".
8. Don't use any punctuation.
9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.
10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.
11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go".
12. Sing Along At The Opera.
13. Go To A Poetry Recital. And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme?
14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area and Play tropical Sounds All Day.
15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because
You're Not In the Mood.
16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.
17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream ! "I Won! I Won!"
18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!"
19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."
20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity ..
Friday, September 07, 2007
Rutgers vs Navy Tonight!
My seats this game aren't as good as the seats I had against Buffalo, but it should still be a great day and game.
Since I am a child... I wanted to share with you a real picture I took at the last game.
You can also see that his arm is broken... so that makes him a Broken Hyman.
Mwah ha ha ha ha ha
Book 45 of 52 -- Ted Bell's The Spy
To finish off the short series of Ted Bell books, I labored through The Spy.
The Spy is essentially bringing back the same characters from the first three books to fight the latest absurdish combination of bad guys.
Throw in a bunch of Arab terrorists and have them attack the United States through Mexico with a bunch of Mexican nationalists who want to take the southern staes back and you have yourself an interesting recipe for mediocrity and absurdity.
The writing is good ... if not safe and predictable.
IT is another long and enjoyable read, but I can't help but wonder if there is another formula in the world besides this one.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Rest Stops on Our Trip to Maine – A Retrospective
On our trip to Maine, I was amazed to see how incredibly different the rest stops in the six differing states were.
New Jersey rest stops amaze me. They incorporate food, rest rooms, tourist information, and sometimes stores. For the most part, they are clean and modern. I actually enjoy stopping at the rest stops (insert McGreevey joke here) when the need is there.
Next… we stopped at a New York rest stop. We have stopped at a few of them in the past few weeks. New York has a similar philosophy as New Jersey. It combines all the necessary food, store and restroom facilities.
Now… we move on to Connecticut, which drove me incredibly nuts. We stopped at two in a row, out of necessity, and neither had an operational toilet. Vending machines that barely took our crumpled dollars were the food and if you were lucky, there was a brochure on camp grounds. Yeah… dirty and unpleasant.
Massachusetts was abysmal as well. We stopped at one and the lack of food and clean facilities made the stop about as appealing as having to rake my own eyeballs out with a plunger.
Rhode Island was cool. The rest stop was humungous and clean. It had two really nice employees who gave out information to anyone who asked nicely. There weren’t any food facilities, but hey… beggars can’t be choosers when the place was gorgeous.
Maine took the cake. Stuck in the middle of a coniferous forest, the rest stop is large, has friendly tourist personnel, and even has signs all around the parking lot teaching entrants how to stretch their legs. It was extremely user friendly.
On an 8 hour trip, we peed a couple times and bought some refreshments. We let Tucker pee and poop as well when he needed and we listened to music on the iPod.
It was a great trip.
New Jersey rest stops amaze me. They incorporate food, rest rooms, tourist information, and sometimes stores. For the most part, they are clean and modern. I actually enjoy stopping at the rest stops (insert McGreevey joke here) when the need is there.
Next… we stopped at a New York rest stop. We have stopped at a few of them in the past few weeks. New York has a similar philosophy as New Jersey. It combines all the necessary food, store and restroom facilities.
Now… we move on to Connecticut, which drove me incredibly nuts. We stopped at two in a row, out of necessity, and neither had an operational toilet. Vending machines that barely took our crumpled dollars were the food and if you were lucky, there was a brochure on camp grounds. Yeah… dirty and unpleasant.
Massachusetts was abysmal as well. We stopped at one and the lack of food and clean facilities made the stop about as appealing as having to rake my own eyeballs out with a plunger.
Rhode Island was cool. The rest stop was humungous and clean. It had two really nice employees who gave out information to anyone who asked nicely. There weren’t any food facilities, but hey… beggars can’t be choosers when the place was gorgeous.
Maine took the cake. Stuck in the middle of a coniferous forest, the rest stop is large, has friendly tourist personnel, and even has signs all around the parking lot teaching entrants how to stretch their legs. It was extremely user friendly.
On an 8 hour trip, we peed a couple times and bought some refreshments. We let Tucker pee and poop as well when he needed and we listened to music on the iPod.
It was a great trip.
Look! She Made It!
And doesn't look a day older than 23 -- the day I met her.
Still beautiful sweetie... still beautiful.
Still beautiful sweetie... still beautiful.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Now This IS Breaking News
-- AP: Rep. Paul Gillmor, R-Ohio, was found dead in his apartment Wednesday, a Republican leadership aide says.
Book 44 of 52 -- Haruki Murakami's After Dark
I finished Haruki Murakami's After Dark in a relatively short period of time.
The dialogue was great... but... ummm.... WHAT?
I am going to let Mercimek review the book for me...
It's just easier that way... it really is.
Click here.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Book 43 of 52 -- Ted Bell's Pirate
oooooohhhh...
I have been waiting for someone to write about what China is going to do with the rest of the world when it feels ready to act.
Pirate sets up a fantastic premise where China and France create an alliance and work to mutually promote their own agendas in the oil market while France steps up its activities with a descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte who thrives on his ancestory to create nationalist fervor with the peeps of Frenchydom.
The plot is absolutely insane yet somehow makes sense when it is all said and done.
Give it a shot... if you are looking for a good time.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Happy Labor Day
Go labor something.
Seriously... go do it...
I am sure something needs to be done around the house... and all you are doing is farting around the house.
Seriously... go do it...
I am sure something needs to be done around the house... and all you are doing is farting around the house.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Saturday, September 01, 2007
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