Here’s my first take after reading Good Business and Flow on how to design work to better facilitator flow.

Think back to when you were last in flow –when you were engaging in your favourite hobby, and time just flew and you felt like a new person after.

Set clear goals – from the objective (number of units inspected) to the emotive (feeling motivated and respected …

This is the shopfront of a large electrical retailer in central Sydney. Every time I walk pass this shop my first impression is always “oh, they’re shut.”

The blue strips are actually and intentional “design feature” - sticky vinyl applied onto the fixed glass panels. The shape of the holes and the regularity of the pattern strongly suggest a shut gate.

The actual doorway …

When a company has successfully built up a strong brand, it is understandable that they would want to leverage that brand with new products through line extension. Logical, but not necessarily a good idea. Especially when (a) the brand has little recognition in a foreign market, (b) the brand as a word or phrase means something totally different from the product.

I stumbled across a …

In the same spirit of open sharing that is wikipedia, wikihow is about collecting the how-tos of the planet. What knowledge can you contribute today?

Absolute and utter originality.
Inventing something never-before seen.
R&D or something technical or scientific.
Fashion or trend-following.
Being difference for its own sake.
Making shallow, façade- or appearance-based changes.
The addition of minor or frivolous features.

The Nice Factor Book: Are you too nice for your own good? By Robin Chandler and Jo Ellen Grzyb. ISBN 0-671-02948-7.

This book just leapt out of the shelves at me! I have been told I am often too nice and let some people walk all over me. I just had to read this book.

An entertaining and easy read. With tips to raise …

Cubicle Commando: Intrapreneurs, Innovation and Corporate Realities. By Lisa Messenger and Zern Liew. ISBN 0-9775519-0-3.

It may come across as a strange thing to do, but I am reading a book I had an intimate hand in writing. It is quite amazing how the disciplined writing process can capture and structure so many seemingly loose and unrelated thoughts gathered over years of business practice. …

Look beyond the social responsibility and feel-good of doing work for charities; they are actually great opportunities to seriously exercise your creative problem-solving skills.

Relative to most businesses and corporations, charities have huge limitations placed upon them. Funds and resources are obvious ones. There is also the established mentality and attitude – one of scarcity, limitations, and stifling compliance.

Working with a charity is the ultimate place to learn to …

I discovered how difficult it is to buy a simple room air freshener today.

I am thinking something plonko simple – a bottle of liquid or gel, and an opening to let the smell out. What I was faced with was a plethora of unnecessarily complicated, bitsy, and shamefully wasteful “innovative” air fresheners. Wind tunnel streamlined objects with multi-speed fans, batteries, springs, gears, electronics, timers, sensors, microchips, optional accessories, …

Completing the census last night required the reading and transcription of several 12-15 digit numbers. Breaking long numbers into sets of 3 digits will vastly improve the ease of handling, reduce stress, and transcription errors. Don’t believe me? Which of the following two would you rather transcribe: 782371643748344 or 782 371 643 748 344?

Software can easily be configured to display numbers longer than 5 digits in chunks of …