Office Space- Does Design Really Matter?

In the second paragraph of Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmul, Ed describes the offices of Pixar like this:  It has well thought-out patterns of entry and egress that encourage people to mingle, meet, and communicate.  Outside, there is a soccer field, a volleyball court, a swimming pool, and a six-hundred seat amphitheater. Sometimes visitors misunderstand the place, thinking it’s fancy for fancy’s sake. What they miss is that the unifying idea for this building isn’t luxury but community. Steve (Jobs) wanted the building to support our work by enhancing our ability to collaborate. In a whole book dedicated to explaining

Grown men in tank tops usually aren’t my jam, but… can they teach us something about leading?

Grown men in tank tops usually aren’t my jam. So when Pat McAfee made his appearance on Gameday this year to replace a former Georgia football player that looked really good in a suit (more my jam), I was like what the heck?  I watched him for a minute, determined he was there to sensationalize, pull in a different type of audience, and create some new dynamic I wasn’t into. I thought I’d lost a little bit of respect for the Saturday morning football institution, even if Corso is still there picking his favorite team, glorified mascot head and all. 

Mom, I’m Bored

“Mom, I’m bored,”  said one kid from the backseat after we told them NO MORE DEVICES on a road trip to kick off the summer.  You see, devices for them create the stimulation that makes them, well, crazy.  So after allowing them on the first leg of the trip without any constraints, we put a cease and desist order out on all devices and prayed we wouldn’t all kill each other over the course of the next hundreds of miles.  Our trip began with a desire for our kids to see all 50 states before our oldest leaves for college

6 Tips to Help You Unplug for Your Vacation

With 4th of July being the unspoken week of summer vacations, it’s time to consider- does anyone every really truly go on vacation now days? By a true vacation I mean no work is done. None. No emails, no voicemails, no finishing up a project, starting a project or even thinking (and therefore procrastinating) on a project. In a world of constant connectedness, I’d venture to guess most people don’t actually unplug completely from their work. According this article, more than half of Americans plan to work while on vacation. But if you are headed on vacation or on vacation

Space to Focus

    It has been a busy month. We call it Maycember, busy like December but without the gifts. Focusing during a busy month or busy season can be tricky. Not only is May a busy work month, wrapping up one big project to begin the next, it is also a busy season for me personally. My daughter’s high school graduation is tonight and focusing is something I’m struggling with right now. Juggling so much makes it difficult to focus. However, this isn’t my first rodeo with busy seasons. Working moms do this time and again. We are fortunate at