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Where Are We Going?
Written on byIs your business ready for the post-pandemic future? Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been one very obvious question ahead of us: Where are we going? We’re clearly in the midst of tumultuous, “unprecedented times” (as every marketing email likes to remind me). The U.S. Federal Reserve has stepped in with a broad […]
Saving Money and the Planet
Written on byIn early August, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a virtual hearing on “The Devastating Health Impacts of Climate Change.” The purpose was to examine the health and economic impacts of climate change over the next century if we do not act immediately to limit global warming. Dr. Drew Shindell of Duke University […]
Distance Running and Sheltering-in-Place
Written on byI used to run half marathons. I’m not a good runner. I never ran a day in my life until I was 33, and in spite of several years of training I never got good at it. But as we get deep into sheltering in place for the long haul, I realize how much it […]
Shopping in the Time of Coronavirus
Written on by*Checks supplies * Hmm, I was so concerned with stockpiling non-perishable foods that I never thought to stock up on random things. *Goes online. Adds a random assortment of things to the cart. Excedrin. Aluminum foil. Deodorant. Toothpaste. Wasp spray.* Cart message: “Some of your items require a minimum order value.” Ok, fine. *Adds a […]
The Best Idea
Written on byEach year, I send handwritten Happy New Year/Thank You cards to my clients and colleagues. I think it’s important to make that personal connection, particularly since I rarely work on site with anyone. This year, I chose retro-design postcards from Anderson Design Group that highlight the U.S. National Park Service. They combine three things that […]
Freelance Skills
Written on byI’m often asked about the important skills that someone would need to start their own freelance business. The two that I’ll discuss today are “managing up” and “managing peers.” Freelancing has an odd dynamic. Unlike staff employment where your manager and peers are distinctly different, in freelance life your client is simultaneously your manager and […]
Sustainability, Content Strategy, and UX
Written on byIn my years of working with large, multinational corporations, I’ve observed a problem that is both universal and frustrating for all involved: the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. For one of my client companies — Global Widgets, Inc. (GWI) — there is a large and recurring blind spot between the […]
Bonuses and Sustainability Performance
Written on byInfluencing Decisions Can we change the planet by connecting executive bonuses and sustainability performance? I’ve been asking myself and my clients this question for years. Yesterday, the ASU School of Sustainability published an article about it in their newsletter. It seems like common sense to me. The best way to make global considerations personal is by tying it […]
Self-evaluation
Written on byGiving an Honest Self-Evaluation Recently, I posted about my mid-year self-evaluation on Twitter. I have to admit, I was surprised by how much traction it got in the threads and DMs. There was a lot of commiseration, but I also saw a lot of questions. What is a self-evaluation? How do you do it? What […]
Stepping Away From the Computer
Written on byGoing Offline Last year, I posted about my plan for going offline to explore new things in 2018. In hindsight, I’m not sure how much of this goal was about learning something new, and how much was about stepping away from the computer. Regardless, I set three goals: A colored pencil art class A pottery […]