Category: Uncategorized

Skip has some great thoughts on what leadership means when you reach the VP or C-levels in an organization. [here]
What does a true leader do?

So, I began to delegate by better defining the roles of people, provide them with the right level of responsibility and accountability, and make sure I was available for any questions that was a result of lack of clear direction. I, on the other hand, needed to ensure that each person has what they needed to get the job done (equipment, training, skills, communication, etc) and then get out of their way and let them do it!

The worst managers and VPs I have ever encountered were those who could not delegate. These managers failed because the did not, would not, could not admit that their job, and their only job, was to be a conciliator, facilitator, negotiator, reporter, and mentor.
A leader is great by not trying to do the job. A leader’s job is to ensure that the job gets done by the team best able to do it.
Leadership is a Zen Koan: Being, not doing, shows leadership.
Read it.

TECHNORATI: Management, Leadership, Organization, Workplace, Business

A Tri-Boot Powerbook: MacOSX, Windows, AND LINUX!
Or a QUAD BOOT Powerbook: MacOSX, Windows, Linux and FreeBSD.
The mind boggles.

TECHNORATI: Apple, Intel, Steve Jobs, Powerbook, Linux, FreeBSD

As many have said now, Apple may have committed a serious marketing and sales error by announcing the move to Intel for 2006-2007. Ppersonally, I would have no problem buying a PowerPC Powerbook right now, especially if Apple is forced to lower the price to reduce stock or drive sales.
We will have to see how that plays out. There must be something else going on. Maybe there will be a G5 Powerbook…and an Intel Powerbook. That would be a tough choice.
If Apple lives that long.

TECHNORATI: Apple, Intel, Steve Jobs, Powerbook,
PowerPC

It appears that over the weekend, this blog reached a tipping point of sorts. Traffic hasn’t skyrocketed, but over the weekend, there wasn’t the usual drop-off.
I have started using Technorati tags on posts where they are relevant, but based on an analysis of the traffic, it’s not one or two posts that is increasing traffic. It is the volume of total posts on topics that people are searching for.
So, it goes to show that if you don’t have a specific topic, but you do post frequently and often, eventually you will begin to attract a wide-range of readers, some of whom may actually stay for the show.
Not getting rich, but there is a certain happy feeling to see traffic stats going up, not down.

How much of a hint do I have to drop? I will do ANYTHING for a Powerbook.
I know some of you have been meaning to get me one; maybe this is a good time!

TECHNORATI: Apple, Intel, Steve Jobs, Powerbook

From MacRumoursLive:

Catch up – two major challenges – making OS X think on intel procs. Every release of OS has been compiled for intel x86 for the last 5 years – cross platform by design.

Wow. Wish I could have snuck out those binaries.

TECHNORATI: Apple, Intel, Steve Jobs, Powerbook

Apple goes to Intel. But which chip? I can’t see getting a dual-boot Powerbook.
More info! Now!

TECHNORATI: Apple, Intel, Steve Jobs, Powerbook

Being a gardening geek in charge of watering in my spare time, I appreciated this post on automated drip systems.
I do it manually right now, because for me, watering is a Zen-like therapy. However, my mother-in-law’s garden is extensively dripped due to the scale and density of the plantings, and the fact that they want to spend more time gardening than watering.
Go forth and be lustful of this system!

TECHNORATI: Gardening, Gardens, Drip Irrigation, gadgets

Jeffrey Philllips has a GREAT post on how to make your meetings more effective. [here]
I had already started applying these instinctively, but to see it codified gives me hope that we can pound this into a few people’s skulls. It is a serious contributing factor to people failing at GTD.
When you start to actually analyze the meetings you attend, ask yourself some basic questions:

• Was the organizer prepared?
• Was it clear who the organizer was?
• Did this meeting actually require your attandance?
• Were you expected to take a next action?
• Is another meeting necessary to report on your next action, or can it be done informally?
• Do you consider the meeting a success?

If you pass along your comments to the meeting organizer, or simply talk to that person informally, you may be able to evolve meetings in your organization into useful activities.

TECHNORATI: GTD, Meetings, Lifehacks, Organization

37Signals’ Backpack is the current darling of the GTD crowd. The praise and joy is flooding through the universe as the influencers and blogerati espouse this new saviour. One example here.
Maybe I still don’t get it. Maybe I never will.
It’s a ToDo list. Electronic ToDo lists don’t do it for me. I think I live a very digital life. But electronic organizing tools have never helped me get organized. I have to go through the act of writing the task or action down in a physical format for it to be real.
When I look at something like BackPack, I realize that my HipsterPDA is far better at helping me be organized.
Turning on my laptop or PDA to see my ToDo list? No. That is not getting things done. I see that as letting the tool get in the way of the next action.
This is how I get organized. Others obviously find BackPack useful.
For me, GTD is about freeing myself from the burden of my digital life, not tying myself to it more and more. And in order to do that, all I need is deck of blank 3X5 index cards and a Moleskine (Ok, a large supply of both!).

TECHNORATI: GTD, BackPack, Hipster PDA, Index Cards, Moleskine