Launched website: www.mhnewstart.com a collaboration between IDEA, 713.222.CARE, and 3 Memorial Hermann Hospitals.

Markets look good:

…and the coffee was already made when I got to my desk!

What more could a guy ask for on Monday….

This has happened more than once where my trackball will move any way but upward – I tried pulling out the ball (no-go) for the Tour, hard and soft reset, and plain hard scroll, but this method works best:

1.) Spray Windex on a paper towel and rub between your thumbs.

(Or)

2.) Score a wet nap from Buffalo Wild Wings

3.) Scroll with the paper/wet nap then your thumbs.

Should be good as new!!

In a busy team, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. If you feel under-appreciated and vulnerable, you’re not alone: the more you accomplish it seems like the higher expectations are set, and the more responsibilities you have.

Clean up your inbox
Your goal in the morning is to avoid making your e-mail inbox your main task list.
Why?
Trust me: your job isn’t the colored flags in your mailbox…e-mail doesn’t convey emotion or urgency, and certainly doesn’t replace phone calls. One phone call can save you from two days e-mailing back and forth, especially if both sender and responder are extremely busy.

• Do the smaller and quicker tasks first.
• Schedule regular housekeeping items to all take place on one day per week such as Friday or Monday. That way, there’s less of a chance of dropping the ball on anything.
• Set Outlook to check E-mail every 2 hours instead of every 15 minutes
• hold off on hiring interns until absolutely required. The management overhead can take away some of the productivity gains you receive. Its a tough spot trying to keep the intern busy if there’s downtime. Unlike you, they may not know what to do once the backlog is complete – in the meantime you’ll use your strategy mojo planning theiir day instead of yours.
• Try to leave for lunch. Your image takes a hit, but there’s a silver lining-in fact eat out at least twice a week at most 3 times. The creativity you need for management recharges when you’re not in work-processing mode. A byproduct of sacrificing a bit of productivity for being sane: People prefer working with humans rather than robots
• If someone else dropped the ball, give them a quick phone call instead of making a spectacle. Cover for your teammates, especially if they’re known to be high-strung. Seeing a teammate go down even if they’re not your favorite person doesn’t contribute to the overall effectiveness of your group which is where the rewards come in.
• Lastly, if you know someone is in danger of the ax, let the ax play its part unless they’re mission critical. In the moment, the endangered species is willing to take you with them-beware.

Nearly all workers feel burned out from time to time, and its your job to let your team know you need help with your load. Particularly, your bosses should be understanding since they’re graded on your happiness as well. Happier workers tend to produce better results and in time earn merits. not to say you should act happy, when you’re in fact miserable-honesty is something management will appreciate. If you’re extremely dissatisfied with the way things are run, vote with your two feet and start a business!

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Lastly, keep your resume.up-to-date…so that you can keep track of your accomplishments and purpose. It also helps you stay focused on your career goals….Just don’t leave printouts of it in the common printer area!

“In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are” -

Arnold H. Glasgow

Social media: the natural progression of web users to prefer personal and intimate communications as opposed to ads. Take a second to absorb and reflect your experiences on the internet over the last 10 or so years. Have our attention spans decreased a bit? and by how much.

Fallon Worldwide, the creator of BMW film shorts starring Clive Owen with directors John Woo & Ang Lee pioneered social media and defined it as an engaging process. As Pat Fallon explained, in Juicing the Orange, every campaign is composed of brand minutes where decisions are made.

Make your end goal solidifying the connection between the audience and a decision, whether it’s a personal agenda, product, idea, or brand. Mass media, on the other hand has a negative connotation – not because of the internet itself but because of commoditization….namely that of information. Are your campaigns based on Social media or Mass media?

Newsletters: create inlets to each part of your website. Keep your blasts regular, and be cautious of how often you do it!

Twitter: Personal twitter accounts are effective for getting no-b.s. feedback from potential customers. Let your personality shine through your post. Fight the urge to monetize every ‘brand minute’.

…and don’t forget to point people out to resources that will save you time later. Like Wiki’s or a knowledgebase!

10 highly interested candidates for your message are worth more than 10,000 mediocre ones. Pick your fights and your recipients!

Go deep!

Impact Fitness Center's website focuses on conversion

Alinea, Texas was host to the LPGA, where golf stars such as Stacy Lewis and Michelle Wie played a great game. In addition to hosting the LPGA, Alinea now also caters to elite fitness training and weight management such as at the all-new club, Impact Fitness Center,

Check it out: a luxury hybrid Corolla!

Excerpted from Pop Labs‘ Blog:

More often than not I tend to relate to, and indeed learn from the content of Godin’s amusing take on leadership, marketing and business. His latest blog post in particular, not only verified, but reinforced my perception of a certain topic close to my heart.

Get more of Pop Labs and Seth Godin here.

Two employees and their boss find a magic lamp outside the office. When they pick up the lamp and rub it, the boss takes the initiative and says ‘well, I suppose you all get the first shot.’ So the first employee says to the genie – ‘HELL YEAH, send me to hawaii with white sand and margaritas!!’ and disappears in a cloud of smoke. The second employee bursts ‘dude, send me to Aspen in a log cabin on the mountainside’ and he disappears as well.

Lastly, the boss with a smile on his face says to the genie: ‘I want those two back in my office before noon.’

The moral of the story: Always give your boss the first word!