2009 will be a year of less for me.  Less consumption.  Less waste.  Less use.  Less.   This will be driven by two factors:  Consciousness and Reality.   First, reality.  We will all likely make less next year than this year, and costs will mostly stay the same (except for gas). There will be less …

Here's my next installment of "best of 2008" lists:  Gadgets.  I'm an electronic gadget kind-of guy. I love how a gadget can solve a problem. I'm a traveling man also, so gadgets are pretty important to me. I'll buy over a dozen a year. Some rock, others sputter.  Here are 3 gadgets that changed my …

There's too much stress associated with the holiday season.  The shame is that most of it is unnecessary. Almost every time I see a harried shopper or a maddened mother scurrying around town in mid-December, I see a people that have accepted unrealistic expectations of them. In other words, people expect you to do certain …

                My Christmas came a few days early with a Wall Street Journal article that features my new book, Saving The World At Work.   READ: Cultivating a Green Focus at the Office == WSJ  In this article, I give easy to follow tips for anyone that wants to …

2008 was a banner year for new music, especially independent rock.  I'd suspect that I've purchased at least six dozen CDs and downloaded a few hundreds tracks via iTunes on the road to my 2008 top albums list. The 80's,90's and 70s are all back this year (again), and a few newcomers have me really …

At work, one person can unleash the power of many.  Take toy drives for local charities:  By yourself, you can fill up a trunk.  Take your cause to work and you'll fill up a truck.  I was in Palo Alto on Weds to give a talk at Facebook. Several of the Facebookers were previous colleagues …

Here's an excerpt from one of my email training videos. It covers an important topic: Your bloated email database file.   Get more information, and find out how to bring email training to your company at EmailAtoZ. Drop a few pounds of email every 90 days on YouTube

Innovation is all about creative solutions to pressing problems.  During this economic environment, we need to innovate (cut costs without killing quality) to survive. Layoffs are an easy (non-innovative) way to do that.   But at what social, moral, financial and long-term cost?   Cari Tuna wrote an excellent article that shows how companies have …

Here's another trusty tip from my speech coach:  Rehearse your essentials.   I'm frequently booked to give a short talk about a long subject.  It can be nerve wracking, trying to figure our which points I'll cover and which ones I'll cut.  For years, I'd focus on developing an outline, then cutting out the fat …

I swear, digital video recorders have changed my life.  Take last night (Sunday).  I could go to KROQ's holiday party at the Gibson Amphitheatre and see The Killers, Death Cab, The Cure and Franz Ferdinand OR I could watch the Cowboys play the Giants.   I chose to do both.  I TIVO'd (the verb, not …