Our new address!
www.BoundlessFlight.wordpress.com
Not too long ago, this blog (Blogger) had a run-in with the automatic robot team at Google. I mean that it was automatically flagged as a Spam-Blog. We waited about a month for the automatic robot Clean-Up team at Google to automatically run through its system to verify that we are real people behind the scenes at www.BoundlessFlight.blogspot.com .
In the meantime, another blog was created for Boundless Flight, Inc. That one can be found at www.BoundlessFlight.wordpress.com . I have gone into more detail on our experience and what I learned about URL redirection services and the effect they can have on blogs and other internet communications.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Why do we use social media?
People used to live in fear of the internet and the information that might be exploited by maleficent forces.
Those days are gone.
Step one was buying our computers, software, flowers, birthday gifts, hotel reservations and airline tickets over the internet EVERY DAY. That was actually a pretty smooth transition even through the .net bust. It slowed, but it never redirected nor ceased.
Step two is MUCH more exciting. Many of us have spent hours documenting who we are and connecting virtually every important person to us through LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, or Twitter. Our family members, friends, job histories, skills, recommendations, references, and even our management behavior profiles from PRADCO are displayed openly on LinkedIn. Our high school sweethearts from 30 years ago are there, the guy I ran over in the shopping center parking lot is there (so sorry, Scott!), and I even found my best drywall hanging partner ever in CA. NO one moved through the studs faster with a 12' sheet of 5/8" Firecode than me and Smedley. NO ONE! (;>)
If you can't figure out who I am through my profiles and dialogs on Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter...you aren't trying.
Why are we doing it? Because we enjoy knowing and being known by people who enhance or once enhanced our existence with their love, knowledge, energy, enthusiasm, and success. When we find ourselves surrounded by people who inspire us with their qualities, it is uplifting. That is why we worship movie stars; they are us on the screen - extended to levels of brilliance, strength, righteousness, and vision that we mere mortals can only pray for. We set aside who they are in real life and focus only on the character they have created on the screen.
I am connected with Marc Fleury because he is one of the most brilliant and simultaneously audacious technicians I have ever known. I am inspired by his
risk-taking and success. I am happy to have him in my movie.
I am connected with Gregory Morrison because he projects what all of us who went to Kellogg aspired to at the time - imminent professionalism, incredibly focused business savvy, and of boundless value to his company. Gregory is welcome anytime, anywhere.
I am connected to Celeste Murphy because I love her "fight", I am inspired that she is working SO hard to succeed, so unwilling to accept limitations and barriers to her own happiness. She is a winner.
My connections motivate me to be a better person, humble me frequently, inspire me when I am looking for extra breath, and keep me in my place. What a rich life.
Thank you, all.
It is a wonderful time to be alive,
- Baney!
Those days are gone.
Step one was buying our computers, software, flowers, birthday gifts, hotel reservations and airline tickets over the internet EVERY DAY. That was actually a pretty smooth transition even through the .net bust. It slowed, but it never redirected nor ceased.
Step two is MUCH more exciting. Many of us have spent hours documenting who we are and connecting virtually every important person to us through LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, or Twitter. Our family members, friends, job histories, skills, recommendations, references, and even our management behavior profiles from PRADCO are displayed openly on LinkedIn. Our high school sweethearts from 30 years ago are there, the guy I ran over in the shopping center parking lot is there (so sorry, Scott!), and I even found my best drywall hanging partner ever in CA. NO one moved through the studs faster with a 12' sheet of 5/8" Firecode than me and Smedley. NO ONE! (;>)
If you can't figure out who I am through my profiles and dialogs on Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter...you aren't trying.
Why are we doing it? Because we enjoy knowing and being known by people who enhance or once enhanced our existence with their love, knowledge, energy, enthusiasm, and success. When we find ourselves surrounded by people who inspire us with their qualities, it is uplifting. That is why we worship movie stars; they are us on the screen - extended to levels of brilliance, strength, righteousness, and vision that we mere mortals can only pray for. We set aside who they are in real life and focus only on the character they have created on the screen.
I am connected with Marc Fleury because he is one of the most brilliant and simultaneously audacious technicians I have ever known. I am inspired by his
risk-taking and success. I am happy to have him in my movie.
I am connected with Gregory Morrison because he projects what all of us who went to Kellogg aspired to at the time - imminent professionalism, incredibly focused business savvy, and of boundless value to his company. Gregory is welcome anytime, anywhere.
I am connected to Celeste Murphy because I love her "fight", I am inspired that she is working SO hard to succeed, so unwilling to accept limitations and barriers to her own happiness. She is a winner.
My connections motivate me to be a better person, humble me frequently, inspire me when I am looking for extra breath, and keep me in my place. What a rich life.
Thank you, all.
It is a wonderful time to be alive,
- Baney!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
What the remainder of 2009 will bring for Boundless Flight, Inc.
A well-known local executive related the following to me last week as we were talking about an upcoming engagement opportunity: "... please don't bring in a bunch of PMP's and expect that to be a magic bullet. I gave up on that a long time ago."
Boundless Flight, Inc. has been focused on developing a uniquely qualified team to provide the best project management support services centered around MS Project Server 2007 and MS Project Portfolio Server 2007. We have dedicated ourselves to these tools largely because we KNOW them well and they are available in a highly cost-effective SaaS model. Our sales in this area have been steadily growing for two years.
At the same time we dedicated ourselves to the Microsoft tools, we also dedicated ourselves to the Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute. We believe it can truly provide a measureable differentiator in the project management profession. But the executive's statement above is correct; a project manager's PMP does not guarantee excellent management skills.
That is why we have added a third leg to our PMO Support Services stool - PRADCO. PRADCO, located right here in Chagrin Falls, OH, provides a mature set of managerial behavior profiling tools and a team dedicated to the project management profession. The ability to profile behavior tendencies takes much of the guesswork out of the hiring, reduction, and restructuring processess so many corporations are finding themselves in these days. It is so much easier to, for example, move Stan onto the already-behind CRM software implementation team KNOWING he handles pressure well rather than relying on someone's sense or intuition regarding Stan's abilities.
Boundless Flight, Inc. now offers
Stay tuned - we have the solution for our executive friend.
Boundless Flight, Inc. has been focused on developing a uniquely qualified team to provide the best project management support services centered around MS Project Server 2007 and MS Project Portfolio Server 2007. We have dedicated ourselves to these tools largely because we KNOW them well and they are available in a highly cost-effective SaaS model. Our sales in this area have been steadily growing for two years.
At the same time we dedicated ourselves to the Microsoft tools, we also dedicated ourselves to the Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute. We believe it can truly provide a measureable differentiator in the project management profession. But the executive's statement above is correct; a project manager's PMP does not guarantee excellent management skills.
That is why we have added a third leg to our PMO Support Services stool - PRADCO. PRADCO, located right here in Chagrin Falls, OH, provides a mature set of managerial behavior profiling tools and a team dedicated to the project management profession. The ability to profile behavior tendencies takes much of the guesswork out of the hiring, reduction, and restructuring processess so many corporations are finding themselves in these days. It is so much easier to, for example, move Stan onto the already-behind CRM software implementation team KNOWING he handles pressure well rather than relying on someone's sense or intuition regarding Stan's abilities.
Boundless Flight, Inc. now offers
A complete suite of project management TOOLS centralized around Microsoft's core
The ability to design, develop, train, and implement project management PROCESSES, guides, tools, KPI's, information distribution flows
The ability to objectively assess the expected BEHAVIORS of project managers and coach them into increased project quality due to their improved management skills.
Stay tuned - we have the solution for our executive friend.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Cleveland TECHnic Summer Picnic - June 20, 2009
Boundless Flight, Inc.
and our friends at
BlueBridge Networks
Bring you TECHnic!
Your family, friends, fellow workers AND YOU are invited to join us in beautiful Parma, Ohio for TECHnic! The best chance in Cleveland to enjoy summer fun with the many technicians, developers, and other IT firms in Northeast Ohio.
Saturday, June 20, from 10am and into the evening!
Food and Beverage
Music and Merry
Fun and Frolic
Cowboy George, the Director of Deliciousness (DoD) will provide delectible sauces to enjoy with our picnic delights!
CowboyGeorge's
BlazeGourmet
Sauces&Rubs
BlazeGourmet
Sauces&Rubs
We will be there rain or shine, plenty of room for everyone under the HUGE pavilion.
Musical entertainment includes (but is not limited to) the famed Dan Shaw Trio playing the best jazz this side of Lake Erie AND Ted Wallingford, guitarist extraordinaire!
Modern facilities include full kitchen and bathrooms.
The picnic grounds have a sand volleyball court and a playground.
Musical entertainment includes (but is not limited to) the famed Dan Shaw Trio playing the best jazz this side of Lake Erie AND Ted Wallingford, guitarist extraordinaire!
Modern facilities include full kitchen and bathrooms.
The picnic grounds have a sand volleyball court and a playground.
Companies and organizations: Would you like to participate? Give us a call and we'll talk about ways to get you visibility!
Register at www.BoundlessFlight.com
Click on the 'Sign Up' button
Register at www.BoundlessFlight.com
Click on the 'Sign Up' button
St. Sava's Picnic Grove
2300 W Ridgewood Dr
Parma, OH 44129
Monday, April 6, 2009
April Java Users Group Meeting 4/8/09
Sun Microsystems and Boundless Flight, Inc.
proudly sponsor the
Cleveland Java Users Group Meeting
Next Meeting:
April 8, 2009
Check www.meetup.com/cleveland-java/ to RSVP!
Please note special location:
LeanDog Software
1151 N Marginal Rd
Cleveland, OH 44114
Agenda:
5:30pm – 6:00pm ~> Eat, Drink & Network
6:00pm – 6:15pm ~> Recap Previous Meeting & New Business
6:15pm - 8:00pm ~> Presentation on Test Driven Development & Refactoring
From Wikipedia: Test-driven development (TDD) is a software development technique that uses short development iterations based on pre-written test cases that define desired improvements or new functions. Each iteration produces code necessary to pass that iteration's tests. Finally, the programmer or team refactors the code to accommodate changes. A key TDD concept is that preparing tests before coding facilitates rapid feedback changes. Note that test-driven development is a software design method, not merely a method of testing.
The staff at LeanDog have several years of experience assisting Java development teams adopt agile practices, including TDD. In addition, LeanDog has taught TDD concepts and practices for the past five years for both Java and C++. This presentation will review some of the key concepts from their course and end with observations and experiences from coaching engagements.
Our Speaker, Jeff 'Cheezy' Morgan, says:
"For the past five years I have taught a 3 day TDD course for both Java and C++. I have recently worked with a local developer to create a C# version of this course as well. I also have years of experience helping Java development teams adopt agile practices including TDD. The presentation could take some of the key concepts from my course and then end with some of my observations from my coaching engagements."
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Prepare for Easter Dinner with a Wine Tasting on 4/2
Easter Dinner
Wine Pairing
April 2, 6 - 9pm
$15 per person
$25 per couple
Martin's Deli
20505 Detroit Rd.
Rocky River
Sample wines which are an excellent compliment to your April Holiday celebrations. We will be tasting the following wines along with hors d'oeuvres created from favorite Easter dinner selections.
Franciscan Chardonnay, Napa
Estancia Chardonnay, Monterey
Kenwood Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
Estancia Pinot Noir, Monterey
Bogle Riesling, California
ArsVitis Riesling, Germany
For wine tasting information email martinsdeli@gmail.com
or call the Rocky River store at 440-331-4410
www.Twitter.com/MartinsDeli
Martin's Deli thanks Boundless Flight for their generous support.
Martin's Deli thanks Boundless Flight for their generous support.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Congratulations go out to Roxy Giusca, GIS Principal, Boundless Flight
Boundless Flight is proud of our own Roxana Giusca, PhD, Geographical Information Systems (GIS). She is currently deployed to Pioneer Electric Cooperative in southwest Ohio.
In the February edition of the Pioneer EC Update Roxy was congratulated along with the rest of her team for the successful installation of the new tool.
In the February edition of the Pioneer EC Update Roxy was congratulated along with the rest of her team for the successful installation of the new tool.
Roxy developed this application from an idea provided by Tom Musick, Dir. of Operations at Pioneer.
This brief article was taken from Pioneer's internal newsletter:
Pioneer Electric Cooperative Update
Outage & Blinking Lights Tool
Tom Musick, Director of Operations, provided a demonstration of an exciting new tool that will enable Pioneer to pinpoint problem outage or blink areas before members (customers) call in. This, in combination with their Member Interactive Voice Response (IVR) automated calling unit, will give them the set of tools they can use to proactively communicate to members concerning their service issues. Member surveys say reliable electricity services are their number one priority. The better Pioneer communicates in this area the more satisfied the members will be.
Thanks to Roxy Giusca, Kris Johnson and Lynn Maniaci for their work with Tom Musick to make the new tool a working reality - great job!
Monday, March 9, 2009
March Meeting announcement for CJUG
Sun Microsystems and Boundless Flight, Inc.
proudly sponsor the
Cleveland Java Users Group
Next Meeting:March 11, 2009
3 Summit Park DriveLower Level Auditorium
Independence, OH 44131
Agenda
5:30pm – 6:00pm ~> Eat, Drink & Network
6:00pm – 6:15pm ~> Recap Previous Meeting & New Business
6:15pm - 8:00pm ~> Presentation on Groovy and Grails by Christopher Judd and Jim Shingler
Overview of Groovy and Grails
Java has become the dominate software development platform today. But unfortunately being over a decade old, the Java language and many of the associated web frameworks are starting to show their age. Organizations are finding it difficult to be agile and productive with these technologies. However with large infrastructure, process and training investments in the Java platform, organizations can’t justify start over from scratch with a new platform.
Enter Groovy and Grails. Groovy is a dynamic language built on top of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) with copy and paste compatibility with the Java language but also contains modern day language features like closures and properties. Grails is a web framework and development platform built on top of standard Java frameworks like Spring and Hibernate but simplifies them by using convention over configuration. This combination makes web development on the Java Platform extremely agile while leveraging current investments and the large Java ecosystem.
Overview of Groovy and Grails
Java has become the dominate software development platform today. But unfortunately being over a decade old, the Java language and many of the associated web frameworks are starting to show their age. Organizations are finding it difficult to be agile and productive with these technologies. However with large infrastructure, process and training investments in the Java platform, organizations can’t justify start over from scratch with a new platform.
Enter Groovy and Grails. Groovy is a dynamic language built on top of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) with copy and paste compatibility with the Java language but also contains modern day language features like closures and properties. Grails is a web framework and development platform built on top of standard Java frameworks like Spring and Hibernate but simplifies them by using convention over configuration. This combination makes web development on the Java Platform extremely agile while leveraging current investments and the large Java ecosystem.
Christopher M. Judd
Christopher Judd is the president and primary consultant for Judd Solutions, LLC, an international speaker, an open source evangelist, the Central Ohio Java Users Group leader, and the coauthor of Beginning Groovy and Grails (Apress 2008), Enterprise Java Development on a Budget (Apress, 2003). He has spent 12 years architecting and developing software for Fortune 500 companies in various industries, including insurance, retail, government, manufacturing, and transportation. His current focus is consulting, mentoring, and training with Java, Java EE, Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME), mobile technologies, and related technologies.
Jim Shingler
Jim Shingler is Lead Technical Architect for Big Lots, co-founder of open source project FallME, and co-author of "Beginning Groovy and Grails". The focus of his career has been using leading-edge technology to develop IT solutions for the insurance, financial services, and manufacturing industries. He has 11 years of large-scale Java experience and significant experience in distributed and relational technologies.
Christopher Judd is the president and primary consultant for Judd Solutions, LLC, an international speaker, an open source evangelist, the Central Ohio Java Users Group leader, and the coauthor of Beginning Groovy and Grails (Apress 2008), Enterprise Java Development on a Budget (Apress, 2003). He has spent 12 years architecting and developing software for Fortune 500 companies in various industries, including insurance, retail, government, manufacturing, and transportation. His current focus is consulting, mentoring, and training with Java, Java EE, Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME), mobile technologies, and related technologies.
Jim Shingler
Jim Shingler is Lead Technical Architect for Big Lots, co-founder of open source project FallME, and co-author of "Beginning Groovy and Grails". The focus of his career has been using leading-edge technology to develop IT solutions for the insurance, financial services, and manufacturing industries. He has 11 years of large-scale Java experience and significant experience in distributed and relational technologies.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Boundless Flight at Martin's Deli Wine Tasting : 2/12/09
Wine Tasting at Martin's Deli in
Rocky River, by the
Boundless Flight HQ
Martin's Deli - White Wine Tasting
February 12, 2009
E.J. - third generation
Martin's Deli chef/ operator
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Cleveland Java Users Group Meeting : February 11, 2009
I-Phone demonstration by Randy Beiter at the
February Meeting of the Cleveland Java User Group
Cleveland Java User Group Team Leader / Organizer
Scott Seighman gives updates on Java during CJUG meeting
Cleveland Java Users Group -Pizza, Beer & Java
- sadly, no pictures from the Winking Lizard on Rockside Road after party
Cleveland Java User Group Meeting
February 11, 2008 from 5:30 - 8:00pm
Heidi Hooper of Boundless Flight with John from Progressive of the great blue sweater
Gary Baney of Boundless Flight and Debbie Lincoff of IBM at the Cleveland C-JUG Meeting
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Cleveland Java Users Group Meeting : 2 -11 - 2009
Cleveland Java Users Group
Next meeting:
February 11, 2009, 5:30pm
3 Summit Park DriveLower Level Auditorium
Independence, OH 44131
With an increasing emphasis on mobility, IT organizations are developing and deploying more mobile applications than ever. With a broad range of mobile operating systems, application frameworks, and developer tools to choose from, the importance of defining and executing the right mobile applications strategy can’t be overstated. In this months session, we will explore developer's options, key issues for software developers and IT organizations who need to understand how best to create and deploy applications software for the exciting new generation of smart mobile devices. We will focus on two popular options, Java ME and iPhone environments.
Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME) is a collection of technologies and specifications to create a platform that fits the requirements for mobile devices such as consumer products, embedded devices, and advanced mobile devices.
Initially introduced in the United States on June 29, 2007, the iPhone has quickly become one of the hottest mobile devices on the market. Randy Beiter will review the iPhone development environment and discuss what you need to begin with the iPhone SDK, including the development tools, technologies and processes necessary to create and deploy applications for iPhone.
Randy Beiter is the Chief Software Engineer at iNomadics, Inc. A self-proclaimed “lifetime technologist,” Randy is the co-inventor of two patented software processes. In addition he is a Sun-certified Java developer who has served in multiple capacities throughout his 15 year career including technical expert, project leader and mentor. Prior to joining iNomadics, Randy se
rved as a Senior Software Engineer for Oracle Corporation, BEA Systems, and Flashline, Inc. and as a Systems Analyst for Book Stacks Unlimited which is recognized as the first online retail establishment. Randy graduated from Cleveland State University with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science.
Next meeting:
February 11, 2009, 5:30pm
3 Summit Park DriveLower Level Auditorium
Independence, OH 44131
Agenda
~~~~~~~~~
5:30pm – 6:00pm ~>
Eat, Drink & Network
6:00pm – 6:15pm ~>
Recap Previous Meeting & New Business
6:15pm - 8:00pm ~>
Java JME Mobile Development Presentation
Presentation by Randy Beiter
With an increasing emphasis on mobility, IT organizations are developing and deploying more mobile applications than ever. With a broad range of mobile operating systems, application frameworks, and developer tools to choose from, the importance of defining and executing the right mobile applications strategy can’t be overstated. In this months session, we will explore developer's options, key issues for software developers and IT organizations who need to understand how best to create and deploy applications software for the exciting new generation of smart mobile devices. We will focus on two popular options, Java ME and iPhone environments.
Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME) is a collection of technologies and specifications to create a platform that fits the requirements for mobile devices such as consumer products, embedded devices, and advanced mobile devices.
Initially introduced in the United States on June 29, 2007, the iPhone has quickly become one of the hottest mobile devices on the market. Randy Beiter will review the iPhone development environment and discuss what you need to begin with the iPhone SDK, including the development tools, technologies and processes necessary to create and deploy applications for iPhone.
Randy Beiter is the Chief Software Engineer at iNomadics, Inc. A self-proclaimed “lifetime technologist,” Randy is the co-inventor of two patented software processes. In addition he is a Sun-certified Java developer who has served in multiple capacities throughout his 15 year career including technical expert, project leader and mentor. Prior to joining iNomadics, Randy se
rved as a Senior Software Engineer for Oracle Corporation, BEA Systems, and Flashline, Inc. and as a Systems Analyst for Book Stacks Unlimited which is recognized as the first online retail establishment. Randy graduated from Cleveland State University with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science.Thursday, January 29, 2009
Why Cleveland has got to PLAY BALL
This short story begins when I was teaching a section of MIDS-411 at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve Univesity in 2003. I had asked Jennifer Thomas, now the director of the Civic Innovation Lab, to be a guest presenter to the class on the topic of "Why it is good to stay in Cleveland after graduation". Jennifer provided a wonderfully energetic view of Cleveland, recounted several very positive local trends and then, at the end of her presentation, asked the class (approx. 32 students) how many intended to stay in Cleveland after graduation.
ONE ...
ONE!
ONE ...
ONE!
One hand went up confidently and another two "kinda" went up but would not firmly commit. The one hand that went up, (Patrick) did indeed stay in Cleveland and remained employed by Case Western Reserve University for quite a while after graduation.
Jennifer and I lamented the response afterward. I spoke about it several times after the event, only to be assured I was misreading the trends and that my anecdotal experience was not indicative of the energy being invested. Ideas such as a revitalization of the Flats, the upcoming construction of our new convention center, the building of the Medical Mart, etc. Some of these mega-projects have indeed successfully come together such as IdeaStream, the Euclid Transit line, Browns stadium, Gateway ... but I sense the community almost universally undervalues the accomplishments because they have not truly improved the quality of life for any but a few. (What does a new stadium mean if we perpetually drop the ball???)
For many months, I have sat quietly by, building a tight technical community known as Boundless Flight, Inc. using technicians from Mobile, AL, Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, China, and even Romania. It has worked because we did not build an overdependence for either revenue nor talent on Cleveland. But lately, due to the national, regional, and local "doom and gloom" addiction, it has been tough to remain positive and emotionally energetic.
Enter Margaret Vandervort, a talent recruiter for the Cleveland Clinic.
Being innately irrationally optimistic at times, I am naturally attracted to energetic, positive people. Margaret started Twittering a few weeks ago about how great the Cleveland Clinic is and I hooked right in. With my daughter working as a nurse there, I am one of the Clinic's biggest fans. Margaret's Tweets are all about what a great place Cleveland is, how wonderful the theater district is, how marvelously diverse the restaurants are, how the Cleveland Clinic is one of the best places IN THE WORLD to work ... and she is right on. Margaret, for the past few weeks, has been a voice of consistent sunshine and warmth in a room of SO MANY gloomy streams of consciousness. Thank you, Margaret, for the encouragement you have brought. But yesterday reality once again shook me out of the lovely dream Margaret's energy and perspectives has rocked me into the past few weeks.
I was having an account review session with Bridget Ginley at the KoKo Bakery on Payne and east 37th. Bridget had been unable to get out that morning on account of the snowy weather and I had an interview with WCPN re: the governor's budget presentation (which, by the way, I was incredibly encouraged by!) so I swung over to her neighborhood to spend some time discussing the most recent activity from her accounts.
For many months, I have sat quietly by, building a tight technical community known as Boundless Flight, Inc. using technicians from Mobile, AL, Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, China, and even Romania. It has worked because we did not build an overdependence for either revenue nor talent on Cleveland. But lately, due to the national, regional, and local "doom and gloom" addiction, it has been tough to remain positive and emotionally energetic.
Enter Margaret Vandervort, a talent recruiter for the Cleveland Clinic.
Being innately irrationally optimistic at times, I am naturally attracted to energetic, positive people. Margaret started Twittering a few weeks ago about how great the Cleveland Clinic is and I hooked right in. With my daughter working as a nurse there, I am one of the Clinic's biggest fans. Margaret's Tweets are all about what a great place Cleveland is, how wonderful the theater district is, how marvelously diverse the restaurants are, how the Cleveland Clinic is one of the best places IN THE WORLD to work ... and she is right on. Margaret, for the past few weeks, has been a voice of consistent sunshine and warmth in a room of SO MANY gloomy streams of consciousness. Thank you, Margaret, for the encouragement you have brought. But yesterday reality once again shook me out of the lovely dream Margaret's energy and perspectives has rocked me into the past few weeks.
I was having an account review session with Bridget Ginley at the KoKo Bakery on Payne and east 37th. Bridget had been unable to get out that morning on account of the snowy weather and I had an interview with WCPN re: the governor's budget presentation (which, by the way, I was incredibly encouraged by!) so I swung over to her neighborhood to spend some time discussing the most recent activity from her accounts.
Sitting alone at the side of the bakery dining area was Brian. (No last name for fear of casting a shadow on his wife's situation - you will understand in a moment - but I have his card!) Brian was feverishly cutting away on his laptop and looked just "on the edge" enough to potentially be a resource for Boundless Flght, Inc. so ... I interjected Bridget and I into Brian's life and began a dialog. Brian is a Kent State grad (as is Bridget), lives in Painesville, and is generally very happy in Cleveland ... but no more than ten exchanges into the dialog, Brian (was he reading my mind??) informed me that he would soon be moving to Santa Clara, CA where he would be working at the corporate offices of his company AND that he would be taking his wife with him when he left. He told us his wife is of Chinese descent and works as a technician at the Cleveland Clinic. On one level, I immediately felt the loss of yet another excellent technician (why else would they invest to move him out to CA?) but on another level altogether I felt the COMBINED loss of not only Brian but his wife as well. What a ripple effect! As the technician achieves excellence, his value to the company he remotely works for increases to the point where they want him "at home" and along with him goes a second sharp, alert, energetic mind.
Ouch.
OUCH! Not only do Margaret and the other recruiters at the Clinic have to recruit people to fuel the organization's growth, but they also must recruit to backfill the ongoing regional talent depreciation. I am sure this is going on everywhere but as Cleveland is having one of its snowiest Januarys in recorded history, it is not hard to imagine Brian's wife WANTING to move to CA and very hard to imagine someone from Jacksonville, FL or Houston, TX, etc. WANTING to relocate to Cleveland.
Bottom line:
I am making it my DUTY to support, enable, and encourage the talent recruiters of Cleveland in 2009. When I find openings, I am going to distribute them to our network. When I hear of fatigue and discouragement in the ranks, I am going to pipe in an uplifting note. When I hear of frustration within the ranks, I will dedicate training on new tools. When I sense a lack of support INSIDE the recruiters' companies, I am going to contact their managers and supervisors and give them my encouragement to provide training, encouragement and support to those who daily make the pitch to "come here!" and who remind us how blessed we really are in Cleveland.
Bottom up, folks, bottom up. No matter what President Obama, our congress, Governor Strickland, and the leadership of Cleveland say, we will only pull out of this "slump" one pitch at a time. They may make the rules, set the ticket price, hire the umpires, and turn the lights on in the stadium ... but they aren't the ones running, throwing, hitting, and catching. We are.
Play ball,
Gary
Ouch.
OUCH! Not only do Margaret and the other recruiters at the Clinic have to recruit people to fuel the organization's growth, but they also must recruit to backfill the ongoing regional talent depreciation. I am sure this is going on everywhere but as Cleveland is having one of its snowiest Januarys in recorded history, it is not hard to imagine Brian's wife WANTING to move to CA and very hard to imagine someone from Jacksonville, FL or Houston, TX, etc. WANTING to relocate to Cleveland.
Bottom line:
I am making it my DUTY to support, enable, and encourage the talent recruiters of Cleveland in 2009. When I find openings, I am going to distribute them to our network. When I hear of fatigue and discouragement in the ranks, I am going to pipe in an uplifting note. When I hear of frustration within the ranks, I will dedicate training on new tools. When I sense a lack of support INSIDE the recruiters' companies, I am going to contact their managers and supervisors and give them my encouragement to provide training, encouragement and support to those who daily make the pitch to "come here!" and who remind us how blessed we really are in Cleveland.
Bottom up, folks, bottom up. No matter what President Obama, our congress, Governor Strickland, and the leadership of Cleveland say, we will only pull out of this "slump" one pitch at a time. They may make the rules, set the ticket price, hire the umpires, and turn the lights on in the stadium ... but they aren't the ones running, throwing, hitting, and catching. We are.
Play ball,
Gary
Monday, January 26, 2009
If you don't have anything nice to say.....
For the second time in recent memory, I have been assaulted without request by a stream of incredibly unprofessional verbiage in public by two professionals who should have known better. It the most recent occurrence, two attorneys were discussing the details of a case they are apparently working together, one using the first name of the client and the other the last name. Duh. Do they believe their involuntary audience at Starbucks can't put FN + LN together to get full name? I really, really had to fight the temptation to google the person and get the message to them that their case was being discussed in front of the whole world but I just can't bring myself to do that. Instead, I will relate the details of the first incident to the world (once again) and hopefully dissuade gracefully and elegantly.
The first incident happened a few months ago in a Panera on route 18, just north of Akron and east of route 77. I was returning from a CITe advisory board meeting at the University of Akron and stopped off for a quick bite with bandwidth. I had just gotten my sandwich and connection when my lunch was very crudely interrupted by two clowns who INSISTED on talking so loudly that everyone in the room could hear them.
They were two physicians and they had a most interesting topic. They were, in some way shape, or form, aligned against a third physician and were trapped in a sick cycle of "who can put the poor guy down with the most vicious language?" They used the third physician's full name, talked about his specialty, mentioned two or three times one of the hospitals he was associated with, and went on and on about the complaints that had been made against him, detailed his behaviors and medical practices that they were in disagreement with, and asked several rhetorical, subjective questions such as "How does his wife put up with him??"
Oblivious to their surroundings, they didn't even notice that the section of the room where they were lambasting physician "Jack" was clearing out rather rapidly. One mom took her daughter, gathered up their lunch items, and exited with a roll of the eyes to me as I was now one of only three or four tables that had stuck it out and weathered the storm.
This last departure motivated me to do something. I stood up, walked across the room, and positioned my self immediately next to the table where the two were sharing their opinions so raucously. It was a "high" table so even though they were seated, I was barely above either of them. It produced an opportunity for some GREAT eye contact. As I stood there, scanning first one and then the other physician, they kept talking!!!! I was no more than a foot away from either and for three or four exchanges, they were oblivious to me.
Suddenly the doc on my left broke rank, looked right at me and very harshly said
"What are you doing?".
As I had invaded their space, the irritation was understandable but I surprised him when I returned a simple smile, extended my hand and replied with, "I'm having lunch over at that table with the laptop hooked up. I and several of the other patrons have been enthralled that you would carry on such a conversation in a public place." He then became very aggressive and stood up and fired back "Just who are you?!?" to which I very calmly replied again "You don't know who I am. You have no idea who I might be representing and I advise you to be very, very certain of the information you are disseminating in public lest someone take offense and press charges."
The fellow who stood up to me suddenly went bland, backed into his chair, and sat down. No sooner had his butt hit the chair than his partner-in-debate had already gathered up his drink, his half-eaten sandwich, and was headed out the door, glancing ever so cautiously over his shoulder when outside to see if I was following. I remained standing for a moment next to the remaining physician just to make my point, turned and left. By the time I had traversed the seven or eight steps back to my table, he was also no where to be seen.
Whenever and wherever you are a enjoying public professional dialog, PLEASE be aware that the world is listening. There is NO SUCH THING as a private discourse over the internet. They may be able to encrypt President Obama's phone at the packet, device, and server levels, but I GUARANTEE you nor I enjoy such privacy.
Three simple rules I strongly encourage:
1. You know the old saying "If you don't have something good to say, don't say anything at all." This is the first and most powerful business lesson anyone can learn. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS position and pronounce your business advice in positive, non-aggressive tones and verbiage. NO matter how forcefully someone has just smacked you across the face, turn the other cheek. Remember the BLAST Fiennes got from the cute little brunette to start "The Constant Gardener"? It worked - he maintained the respect of his colleagues (who might otherwise have turned very critical for his lack luster fill-in performance) AND he got the chick! As it turns out, she may have been using the ruse to get next to enable her foray against the horribly evil drug company alliance but nonetheless, she fell in love with him and he became a better man for his composure.
2. Re-read, or have a trusted person read what you have written before you hit the enter key. I have two levels of "audit" before I post anything publically on our blog. They check my spelling, my grammar, my tone, and my content for blips. Thank goodness. Nikki D. taught me the value of this in a previous life, Craig K. reinforced it enormously, and I will be committed to the structure ever since. This has saved me and my company SO many headaches I have lost count.
3. Remember that when you are in public, you have no control over your audience. You do not know who is sitting "out there" so be very temperate, controlled, and private in your discussions. Even if you are on the cell phone and believe that no one will care about a one-sided conversation - BE CAREFUL. These are some of the most dangerous as the imaginations of what someone is saying on the other end of the line can be even more dangerous than the facts! You are not alone, you ARE being listened to, and you have no idea where your comments, your reports, or your spirit will land. If this saves even one of you from a career ending mistake, I count my investment to write this worthwhile. If it gives you the courage to confront someone the next time you see them making the mistake, likewise. Local, remote, and virtual integrity is the foundation for who we become to all our audiences. Stand tall at all times and in all domains.
The first incident happened a few months ago in a Panera on route 18, just north of Akron and east of route 77. I was returning from a CITe advisory board meeting at the University of Akron and stopped off for a quick bite with bandwidth. I had just gotten my sandwich and connection when my lunch was very crudely interrupted by two clowns who INSISTED on talking so loudly that everyone in the room could hear them.
They were two physicians and they had a most interesting topic. They were, in some way shape, or form, aligned against a third physician and were trapped in a sick cycle of "who can put the poor guy down with the most vicious language?" They used the third physician's full name, talked about his specialty, mentioned two or three times one of the hospitals he was associated with, and went on and on about the complaints that had been made against him, detailed his behaviors and medical practices that they were in disagreement with, and asked several rhetorical, subjective questions such as "How does his wife put up with him??"
Oblivious to their surroundings, they didn't even notice that the section of the room where they were lambasting physician "Jack" was clearing out rather rapidly. One mom took her daughter, gathered up their lunch items, and exited with a roll of the eyes to me as I was now one of only three or four tables that had stuck it out and weathered the storm.
This last departure motivated me to do something. I stood up, walked across the room, and positioned my self immediately next to the table where the two were sharing their opinions so raucously. It was a "high" table so even though they were seated, I was barely above either of them. It produced an opportunity for some GREAT eye contact. As I stood there, scanning first one and then the other physician, they kept talking!!!! I was no more than a foot away from either and for three or four exchanges, they were oblivious to me.
Suddenly the doc on my left broke rank, looked right at me and very harshly said
"What are you doing?".
As I had invaded their space, the irritation was understandable but I surprised him when I returned a simple smile, extended my hand and replied with, "I'm having lunch over at that table with the laptop hooked up. I and several of the other patrons have been enthralled that you would carry on such a conversation in a public place." He then became very aggressive and stood up and fired back "Just who are you?!?" to which I very calmly replied again "You don't know who I am. You have no idea who I might be representing and I advise you to be very, very certain of the information you are disseminating in public lest someone take offense and press charges."
The fellow who stood up to me suddenly went bland, backed into his chair, and sat down. No sooner had his butt hit the chair than his partner-in-debate had already gathered up his drink, his half-eaten sandwich, and was headed out the door, glancing ever so cautiously over his shoulder when outside to see if I was following. I remained standing for a moment next to the remaining physician just to make my point, turned and left. By the time I had traversed the seven or eight steps back to my table, he was also no where to be seen.
Whenever and wherever you are a enjoying public professional dialog, PLEASE be aware that the world is listening. There is NO SUCH THING as a private discourse over the internet. They may be able to encrypt President Obama's phone at the packet, device, and server levels, but I GUARANTEE you nor I enjoy such privacy.
Three simple rules I strongly encourage:
1. You know the old saying "If you don't have something good to say, don't say anything at all." This is the first and most powerful business lesson anyone can learn. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS position and pronounce your business advice in positive, non-aggressive tones and verbiage. NO matter how forcefully someone has just smacked you across the face, turn the other cheek. Remember the BLAST Fiennes got from the cute little brunette to start "The Constant Gardener"? It worked - he maintained the respect of his colleagues (who might otherwise have turned very critical for his lack luster fill-in performance) AND he got the chick! As it turns out, she may have been using the ruse to get next to enable her foray against the horribly evil drug company alliance but nonetheless, she fell in love with him and he became a better man for his composure.
2. Re-read, or have a trusted person read what you have written before you hit the enter key. I have two levels of "audit" before I post anything publically on our blog. They check my spelling, my grammar, my tone, and my content for blips. Thank goodness. Nikki D. taught me the value of this in a previous life, Craig K. reinforced it enormously, and I will be committed to the structure ever since. This has saved me and my company SO many headaches I have lost count.
3. Remember that when you are in public, you have no control over your audience. You do not know who is sitting "out there" so be very temperate, controlled, and private in your discussions. Even if you are on the cell phone and believe that no one will care about a one-sided conversation - BE CAREFUL. These are some of the most dangerous as the imaginations of what someone is saying on the other end of the line can be even more dangerous than the facts! You are not alone, you ARE being listened to, and you have no idea where your comments, your reports, or your spirit will land. If this saves even one of you from a career ending mistake, I count my investment to write this worthwhile. If it gives you the courage to confront someone the next time you see them making the mistake, likewise. Local, remote, and virtual integrity is the foundation for who we become to all our audiences. Stand tall at all times and in all domains.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
February Java User Group Meeting
Feb. 11, 2009, 5:30pm
3 Summit Park Drive
Lower Level Auditorium
Independence, OH 44131
Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME) is a collection of technologies and specifications to create a platform that fits the requirements for mobile devices such as consumer products, embedded devices, and advanced mobile devices.
Initially introduced in the United States on June 29, 2007, the iPhone has quickly become one of the hottest mobile devices on the market. Randy Beiter will review the iPhone development environment and discuss what you need to begin with the iPhone SDK, including the development tools, technologies and processes necessary to create and deploy applications for iPhone.
Randy's Bio:
Feb. 11, 2009, 5:30pm
3 Summit Park Drive
Lower Level Auditorium
Independence, OH 44131
With an increasing emphasis on mobility, IT organizations are developing and deploying more mobile applications than ever. With a broad range of mobile operating systems, application frameworks, and developer tools to choose from, the importance of defining and executing the right mobile applications strategy can’t be overstated. In this months session, we will explore developer's options, key issues for software developers and IT organizations who need to understand how best to create and deploy applications software for the exciting new generation of smart mobile devices. We will focus on two popular options, Java ME and iPhone environments.
Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME) is a collection of technologies and specifications to create a platform that fits the requirements for mobile devices such as consumer products, embedded devices, and advanced mobile devices.
Initially introduced in the United States on June 29, 2007, the iPhone has quickly become one of the hottest mobile devices on the market. Randy Beiter will review the iPhone development environment and discuss what you need to begin with the iPhone SDK, including the development tools, technologies and processes necessary to create and deploy applications for iPhone.
Randy's Bio:
Randy Beiter is the Chief Software Engineer at iNomadics, Inc. A self-proclaimed “lifetime technologist,” Randy is the co-inventor of two patented software processes. In addition he is a Sun-certified Java developer who has served in multiple capacities throughout his 15 year career including technical expert, project leader and mentor. Prior to joining iNomadics, Randy served as a Senior Software Engineer for Oracle Corporation, BEA Systems, and Flashline, Inc. and as a Systems Analyst for Book Stacks Unlimited which is recognized as the first online retail establishment. Randy graduated from Cleveland State University with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science.
The agenda:
Eat, Drink, Network (5:30-6:00 PM)
Previous Meeting Recap, New Business (6:00-6:15PM)
Mobile Development (6:15PM)
>Mobile Landscape Overview
>Java ME
>iPhone
Friday, January 9, 2009
‘Human Flesh Search Engines’ Set Their Sights on Official Misbehavior
I find it fascinating, as described in the following blog from the Wall Street Journal, the cultural differences of netizens (citizens of the internet) in China than what we are familiar with here in the US.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2008/12/29/human-flesh-search-engines-set-their-sights-on-official-misbehavior/
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2008/12/29/human-flesh-search-engines-set-their-sights-on-official-misbehavior/
Monday, January 5, 2009
How to Generate Low Customer Satisfaction Case Study : The Winking Lizard
Gary's Winking Lizard Story:
Let me start this with a short note highlighting how much I and my company enjoy participating in the Winking Lizard Beer Tour every year. We enjoy it so much that in some years (2004 for sure), we have even finished two tours. We use the Beer Tour as a great reason to bring together friends and business acquaintances that otherwise would never have met and many of these relationships have lasted several years.
That being said, all is not well in Lizard Land.
On December 6 of this past year, I was heading back from a business trip to Columbus, OH. We had just attended a 6-hour demonstration of the
Rover Ink product (http://www.roverusa.com/) at the
Platform Lab facility (http://www.platformlab.org/)
and after a 2-hour drive, we were ready for a bite to eat. We pulled off 71 in Brunswick and returned to the Winking Lizard restaurant where we had opened our original card #5769. That evening, we asked our waitress to pull our current tour list, and we started to go down the list to identify delicious candidates to move us closer to our goal of tour completion. Just a few days before, I had been to the Lizard on Rockside Road with a couple of friends and we had knocked three or four beers off the tour that I KNEW we had polished of at least six or seven beers that were still on our list of beers to yet be consumed. I mentioned it to our server in Brunswick and was told that :
"this happens all the time, you should keep all your receipts so you can show which ones you have checked off the list".
I didn't think a great deal about this as I was sure we would have enough business activity between December 6th and the end of the year to make up for the discrepancy.
On Decemember 20th, I went to the Winking Lizard in Lakewood. There I had dinner with a friend and picked up a 6-pack of the outstanding brands to take to my daughter's place for our Christmas dinner on the 25th. With the words of the server ringing in my ears, I made sure I kept everything, the detailed list of what we consumed, the charge receipt, and even the place mat that we used to mark off the 9 beers we had purchased.
On December 27th, I returned to the Lakewood Lizard knock a few more off the tour. At this point, there should have been eight or so left on the "to do" list. To my surprise, there were still 18 listed. I encouraged my server that there must be some mistake because I had been in that same restaurant only a week before, had wonderful service, chatted with the server about our tour being "almost done", and had knocked several off the list. She got the manager who told me she couldn't do anything unless I had the receipts. No more. I got back in my car, drove back to my office to pick up the paperwork, and brought it all to the manager who then made sure the list was properly deducted from the tally. Had I not made that trip, I am sure to this day that the manager that evening would have thought I was just trying to get a few knocked off for free and that there really was no problem. On the side, while I was picking up the paperwork, one server told my friend that "this happens all the time" and apologized profusely for the inconvenience.
On December 31, I went back to Lakewood to finish the tour. On this trip, Jim Elliot, the manager, came out to meet me and extend his personal apologies for the prior incident. He was honestly sorry for the situation and offered the following explaination, "When the server closed out your bill, they must "release" your tour number of the credit never occurs."
I explained to Jim that I own a software development firm, that we have supported POS systems and database systems for many companies such as his and that it CAN'T be that tough a problem to be occurring so many times ... and please, W.L. management, don't blame the servers. It is your system that is broke when the problem occurs over and over and over.
I will go to the Tour Party at Browns Stadium and remain enthusiastic as we obtain our 2009 tour card. I won't let my other 12 jackets be orphaned from their '09 brother by my frustrations. But I hate to think how many people have decided not to pursue the tour due to their similar frustrations and I hate even more to think how the morale of servers have been dinged by such a poorly designed system. Any system that pits a restaurant's servers against their MOST LOYAL customers
Get on it, Lizard managers, we look forward to much better from you in 2009.
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