Every week we hear about someone who has an embarrassing social post come back to haunt them. Even worse, this can lead to a loss of employment or being “canceled”. You need to actively manage your social image and reputation at all times. Wait! We have freedom of speech! Yes, but that does not mean […]
20210527 Podcast: Planning for the unexpected with Columbus Brown
Whether in our professional or personal lives, we are challenged by unplanned setbacks, emergencies, or events. We don’t know the form they may take, but we can plan and overcome types of events when they happen. On this podcast, I’m joined by Columbus Brown who will share his tips and lessons from his professional career […]
Disaster preparedness, disaster recovery, Emergency preparedness, product owner20210521 Home hacks and lazy slacks
Looking for tips so simple, they can’t possibly work? Then you’ve come to the right place. In this episode, Amy and I will share our favorite home hacks and lazy slacks to make your life a little easier. Remember, please check with your spouse or partner before making any changes to their surroundings. Tune in […]
home hacks, home productivity, home tips, productivity tips20210513 When Plan A fails, and you have no Plan B with Coach Vic
Sometimes life seems to have a perfect path laid out for you. You know exactly where you are going and how to get there. And the, well life happens and throws us a curveball. Often we are so focused in our personal or professional lives on our “Plan A”, we’re lost when Plan A doesn’t […]
Intro to prepping series: How to get started, form a plan, and start becoming better prepared for undesirable events
Join Michael Bathurst and I as we discuss ways to become better prepared for disasters and unplanned events. We can’t be prepared for everything, but we’ll share pragmatic advice for how you can be a little better informed and ready when the next unfortunate event hits. This is not crazy, doomsday prepping, but rather a […]
20210407 Addicted to pursuing your purpose with Doc and Coach from the Purpose Addicts podcast
Ever have trouble figuring out your purpose? What if there was a podcast for not only following your purpose, but becoming addicted to fulfilling it? Join Victor Nichols II “Coach” and Shane ColquhouN, PhD “Doc” from the Purpose Addicts podcast where they share how they’ve turned their passion for helping others into a motivational podcast dedicated to […]
20210325 Living the RV life with AC Chan
Imagine downsizing your family to an RV and travelling North America. A.C. Chan and family made this transition well before it became popular during COVID. So what is it like to live and work when you can move your house? What prompted the change? AC will share his experiences and advice for anyone curious or interested in […]
20210223 Managing and marketing your webinars & broadcasts
Webinars and live broadcasts can help strengthen your brand and provide career development for your employees. Stacey Horricks and Carmi Levy will share their insights into developing a quality social media program, developing on-brand webinars, and providing opportunities to teammates to improve their presentation skills.
20210216 Building social influencers within your company
What is good for the teammate is often good for the team. Join Carmi Levy and me for a conversation on how to build the social reputation and exposure for your employees to strengthen everyone’s brand. We’ll also discuss some of the ways Info-Tech Research Group has provided speaking opportunities and coaching to help all […]
20210209 Public speaking, presenting, and networking with Amy and Leslie
Amy Ruddell, Leslie Hughes, and I discuss what it takes to be a great speaker, host amazing conferences, and how to network to build lifelong colleagues.
20210204 Empowering women in technology with Allison Straker
I had an amazing conversation with Allison Straker tonight on Better Tech Letter Living. Allison Straker talks about here career path from business analyst to conference speaking and how she’s used her experience to help empower Women in Technology.
20210202 Building your personal brand with Leslie Hughes
I was honored to talk with Leslie Hughes about LinkedIn, professional branding, and managing your social image. Leslie is a LinkedIn Profile Writer • Personal Branding Specialist • LinkedIn, Social Selling, Digital Marketing Lead Trainer • Author • Appeared on CTV’s “The Social and was called a “Social Media Guru” on CBC radio. Don’t miss […]
20210126 How agencies should have reported COVID data
We will be discussing Data, Analytics, and BI in the reporting of Covid-19. How news and agencies promoted unactionable stats that caused confusion and what they should have done instead.
Home video studio for webcasts and meetings
I’ve had a requests to share my home office and video studio setup. Part one covers the equipment I’m using or recommend. Part 2 will be the office setup. I focused on value and budget. If you have an unlimited budget, hire someone with video production to setup your dream studio. For everyone else, here […]
Preparing for the next spike in COVID Cases and extended WFH
A few thoughts on preparation for the next wave of outbreak and panic. If we have a large uptake in COVID cases, we will probably also see more hoarding. Buying a little extra each time will spread out spending and allow stores to restock. If an online store allows backordered purchases, you can always cancel […]
Quick Note: Office Closures
A couple of thoughts before and after the office closes. Feel free to share. Don’t panic, don’t panic, and please stop panicking. Make sure you have a spare power cord. Take your headset with if compatible with your home phone. If not, consider ordering a USB headset for your laptop. You can also use a […]
Emotional Fitness – A Quick Guide to Surviving a Crisis
After 9/11, a friend started struggling with high levels of stress and near panic attacks. Although they were not personally impacted by the events themselves, they fell victim to the never-ending barrage of 24 hour news reports, speculation, and fear. Everything in the news was so dark and negative that it took them along for […]
Prepping for the Zombie Apocalypse – or just being better prepared for disasters
If you are new to prepping and disasters, I extracted the appendix from my “Can the Zombie Apocalypse help you survive your IT projects?” presentation. It contains guidance on the stages of a disaster, 3 and 30 day survival kit lists, and references if you want to learn more.
How To Go From Average To AWESOME – 12 Tips from Real Men Real Style
Although this channel focuses on men, the advice in this video and article is universal. 12 tips that give you practical ways to become a Linchpin in your company as described by Seth Godin. Video embedded below. 12 Things That Separate Amazing From Average 0:36 – Tip #1 – Focus On What’s Truly Important 1:55 […]
Fighting the Fear of New
If Boyz 2 Men taught us anything, it’s hard to say goodbye. Any time we leave a team or company, we can’t help but feel some sadness. We leave behind what we’ve built, the relationships we formed, and the comfort of the familiar. Even when we leave our role by choice, we need to take […]
Men: Dressing for success and your body type
Part of your professional image is the way you dress. Here’s a great video I found by Real Men Real Style with tips for dressing for your body type. Did you know there were 5 different body types for men, and what works for one type is bad for another? Learn how in this 11 […]
The Lottery Dashboard
I’m writing this article from a beautiful tropical beach after an amazing seafood dinner. We’re living debt free. After checking email earlier today, I know that the few startup companies I funded are all ahead of schedule, and have provided amazing jobs to some of the people I respect the most. Sadly, all that is […]
Protecting yourself from company data breaches
First, a little background. There is no shortage in news on recent data breaches from Target to Anthem. Rather than repeat the background and risk for those incidents, I’ll provide some general information on why you need to be concerned. In the old days, thieves were happy tricking individuals out of personal information. They could […]
Guide to simplifying and automating processes
Conclusion: To be good at automating, you need to remove all the noise (waste and steps that don’t need a decision) between you and each action. A while ago, my colleague and mentor Dusty Rhodes asked me the following question, “How would you teach process improvement, automation and simplification to someone new to the concept?” […]
boredpanda: 23 Creative Ways To Hide The Eyesores In Your Home And Make It Look Better
boredpanda shares great ideas for hiding clutter around our homesfrom simple (using decorative boxed to hide electronics) to amazing (turning the space under your stairs into pull out drawers). Any ideas you’d add to the list? http://www.boredpanda.com/interior-design-life-hacks-hiding-eyesores/
Heartbleed OpenSSL Account Vulnerability
You’ve probably heard the news and panic over the Heartbleed vulnerability. Here are a few recommended articles to help you understand the risk, and how to protect your identity. How to protect yourself in Heartbleed’s aftershocks: http://www.zdnet.com/how-to-protect-yourself-in-heartbleeds-aftershocks-7000028311/ CNET News Video: Tips to protect yourself from Heartbleed: http://www.cnet.com/videos/tips-to-protect-yourself-from-heartbleed/ Heartbleed bug: Check which sites have been patched – CNET: https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.cnet.com/how-to/which-sites-have-patched-the-heartbleed-bug/&sa=U&ei=ffBHU93nF8q92gXl9YGABQ&ved=0CDUQFjAF&usg=AFQjCNGk1irLu2KRFTXbKuKOlvSCj5hHXA […]
Managing mail and bills
I admit I’m guilty of throwing mail on a pile and discovering too late that I missed something important. To help stop this, we developed a process that has greatly simplified our mail management and total time required. It is based on the OHIO principle: Only Handle It Once used by successful business executives. (thanks […]