Creative Mind Consulting

Twittering the (job) interview

One of the people that I'm following on Twitter apparently was interviewing a series of job applicants last week.

I say "apparently" because he was twittering all of the interviews. He let us know when the person arrived, some notes on attire (appropriate or not), and how the interview went overall.

Fascinating.

I'll bet the person who arrived 10 minutes late, with no apology, might be interested to learn that several hundred people now know about that fact! Now, the person I'm following did not disclose any names or other identifying aspects of the applicants - but you can see where this is leading, right?

On one hand, it would be great to have some form of immediate feedback (he likes me, he likes me not)...on the other, it could be pretty brutal (she likes me, she really likes me NOT).

Are you prepared to have your job, or consulting/freelance gig interview broadcast to the world? We live in interesting times!

Fabulous Web Freebies - Picnik

Ever wanted to upload a photo to the web, but you needed to make some tweaks...and you don't own an expensive photo-editing software tool?

A fabulous web freebie to the rescue!

Nothing to download, no need to register. Go to Picnik.com and click the "get started" button. In a flash you can upload a photo, edit, add cool visual effects, or create a collage.    

Need to resize a photo to make a Facebook or LinkedIn mug shot? A couple of clicks and you're done? Remove red eye from a close up? One click. Change the color cast of your snapshot, change it to black and white...even make it look like it was taken with an infra-red camera (I don't know why you'd want to do that, but some people must!). Click, click, click and your photo is ready for the big time. Collages, scrapbook pages, greeting cards. Super fast and super easy.

Save the photo back to your hard drive and you're ready to go.

When I need to make quick some adjustments to photos, Picnik is the way to go. They have premium memberships available if you need more features, for about $25.00 per year.

Tired of the job search? Solo-preneurs unleash their creativity

Great link on Twitter over the weekend - with a New York Times article about laid off workers around the country starting their own businesses.

PDF here: Www-nytimes-com_2009_03_14_technology_start-ups_14startup-html_n3jxa4az .

The best line of the whole article for me, came from  Mark V. Canice, executive director of the entrepreneurship program at the University of San Francisco.

Mark V. Cannice, executive director of the entrepreneurship program at the University of San Francisco, calls the phenomenon “forced entrepreneurship.”

“If there is a silver lining, the large-scale downsizing from major companies will release a lot of new entrepreneurial talent and ideas — scientists, engineers, business folks now looking to do other things,” Mr. Cannice said. “It’s a Darwinian unleashing of talent into the entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

I like it. "Unleashing talent" sounds so dynamic! That's what happens in a free market system, and we will all be better off for it.

 

A small gramatical rant...put "me" where it belongs...second, not first!

OK, I must vent.

Am I the only person left in the United States of America who understands that the proper use of "me" in a sentence is in second place??

I want to smack the next person I hear who says "...me and Bob...", or "...me and my friends are going to the movies ...." Or even worse (if possible) "...me and him." I'm going to crack a molar grinding my teeth trying not to snap back "Who? Who did you say was going?"

I hope every teacher in America stops their class dead in its tracks, embarrassing each and every student who opens their mouth to make such an ignorant comment.

It's on t.v., on the radio, in my kid's conversations with friends, with waiters and other service personnel...etc., etc. What used to be a sign of poor education (and pity) or poor taste is becoming mainstream. What is going on?!?

Is it a sign of the increase in "Me, Inc." we see in society? Is it a young person phenomena? More fabulous role-modeling by overpaid and under-talented entertainers? General 'cluelessness' about proper grammar and what might quaintly be called "good manners"?

If you're in line at your local take out place and you see the young person behind the counter snap their head back sharply, beware. I might have heard one "...me and her..." too many!

Fabulous Web Freebies - FreshBooks

Time for another Fabulous Web Freebie, and this one is very cool.

FreshBooks is an online time tracking and invoice management tool, and it is very easy to use.You can set up a list of clients and with a couple of clicks, create and email an invoice. The invoice templates are professional and make a small business look like a larger organization.

The service also allows you to track your time, which for many consultants, freelancers, solo-preneurs or small business people is a very valuable feature. Accurate time tracking helps you charge appropriately for your time, while also helping you improve your level of customer service to clients. You can validate any question they might have about your billing, as well as improve the accuracy of your records.

They have a free version, which limits you to 3 clients. For a micro-business that might work, but if you are in the business of continually getting a new stream of clients you'll probably need to upgrade. The next level of service allows 1 person to support up to 25 clients, for $14.00 per month.        

Another nice feature is that you can support subcontractors with this service. They can track time on client projects and submit their time to you as the project manager. 

If you've been struggling with finding an appropriate invoicing and time tracking tool, give FreshBooks a look.

Director of Interactive Communications

I'm honored to have been asked to join our local chapter of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD-TCC) in the newly created position of Director of Interactive Communications. This is a great opportunity to give back to an association that has done so much to help me personally and professionally.

I originally joined way back in 1990 when I lived in San Antonio and was just getting into the training biz as a Total Quality Management (TQM) consultant for the Air Force. I'm still friends with one of the people I met in that chapter and she's one of the most outgoing and dynamic presenters that I know.

The people in the Minneapolis-St. Paul chapter are equally professional. While I haven't been a member the last couple of years, it's great to see that much of the hard work undertaken by past presidents and board of directors continues today. This is a productive, polished team and I'm really looking forward to working with everyone.

Disney's Dreamer's Academy...creative leadership development at its best

I'm watching Food Network's "Dinner Impossible" and this episode is set at Disney in Orlando, FL. They are cooking for the Disney Dreamer's Academy - which I've never heard of before. It's a program designed to reach at-risk high school students from across the country, inspiring them to reach their dreams.

100 teens spend 3 days at Disney, hearing speakers, participating in career-development activities, and I'm sure...having lots of fun!

The kids helping the chefs cook the big dinner look like little sponges - they are soaking up every word of advice and encouragement. Several of them have expressed their continued desire to enter the culinary world despite a series of setbacks in the Disney kitchen. More power to them ~

I love watching a couple of them - this one young lady (Kayla, I believe her name is) is more poised then some adults I know! I hope she continues her career in cooking...I can just see her on some Food Network show in a few years.

Kudos to Disney and all of the folks involved in making this academy happen. What a way to creatively inspire these young people to pursue their career dreams.

The "Innovation Heat Map" and several implications

Found an interesting post on Twitter today - McKinsey & Company and the World Economic Forum recently produced an "innovation heat map" and it is fascinating.

The higher the circle and the further to the right, the more innovative the city/region/country. A key ingredient to their analysis is the number of patents issued. While not the sole indicator of innovation, it isn't a bad start.

The largest circle is labeled "Silicon Valley" and by all the calculations used by McKinsey it is the world leader in innovation. As noted by Om Malik from Gigaom yesterday, the conditions and intangibles that created Silicon Valley are quite unique.

He notes that "nowhere but in Silicon Valley is it O.K. to fail." So many successful start up team members have start up failures under their belts...that it becomes a condition of their success. Many of the rest of us not in Silicon Valley should take that message to heart!

Also - Silicon Valley isn't about government-provided jobs. While some grants may involved with some start-ups, for the most part it's actually about watching capitalistic wealth-creation in action.

If you want to see how dollars are created out of thin air (and hard work, and intelligence, and technology, and planning, and...well...you get the idea) become a student of the Valley.

It's nice to see our own Minneapolis-St Paul area not terribly far behind, and clustered with other U.S. cities like San Francisco and Boston. One of the reasons noted in the study for flourishing innovation is the wide availability of talented people. It is the single common factor across all innovative cities/regions/countries - and our metro area is well-known for the depth of talent available.

Another interesting observation - the next wave of innovative companies/products/services isn't coming from Europe. Look at the circles. Not only do they face the pressures of aging populations, for the most part they do not have governmental or regulatory structures that allow innovation to flourish.

The chart itself notes that the far right corner is considered the "dynamic ocean" and further states that this area consists of large and vibrant ecosystems with continuous creation and destruction of businesses large and small.

"Creation and destruction of businesses...." The heart of the free market economy. With all of the associated pain, heartache, frustration, unpaid bills, and risk.

Memo to the Obama administration - look at the chart. Please. In your haste to recreate the United States as a socialist paradise, you're forgetting a few things. Like, where is the money coming from to support all of your spending? You're in the process of trying to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Luckily, I don't think that the American people are going to follow the Administration too far down that path. Our country was born in rebellion and a desire to be free. It will take a while, but most of us like geese and golden eggs. We don't want all of yours...we just want the opportunity to earn a couple of our own!