Month: May 2013

Sittin’ On the Dock of the Bay

swebmanLeave a comment

As summer is now upon us here in New England , there are a number of great tunes that just capture the moment.  Wanted to share a few with you.

Have an awesome weekend!

“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” is a song co-written by soul singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. It was first recorded by Otis Redding in 1967, just days before his death. It was released posthumously on Stax Records‘ Volt label in 1968, becoming the first posthumous single to top the charts in the US. It charted at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.

A modern version of the song goes global – Awesome.

The Grass Roots is an American rock band that charted between 1966 and 1975 that was originally the brainchild of songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri.  The Grass Roots achieved two gold albums, one gold single and charted singles a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they achieved Top 10 three times, Top 20 three times and Top 40 eight times. They have sold over twenty million records worldwide.

The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica), Pete Townshend (guitar, vocals, keyboards) and John Entwistle (bass, brass, vocals), and joined shortly after by Keith Moon (drums, vocals). They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction.The Who have sold about 100 million records and have charted 27 top forty singles in the United Kingdom and United States, as well as 17 top ten albums, with 18 Gold, 12 Platinum and 5 Multi-Platinum album awards in the United States alone.

Best band I ever saw live in concert.  And I have seen all the great ones except for the greatest band of all, The Beatles.

And one from the 70’s.

Mungo Jerry is a British rock group whose greatest success was in the early 1970s, though they have continued throughout the years with an ever-changing line-up, always fronted by Ray Dorset. They are remembered above all for their hit “In the Summertime“. It remains their most successful and most instantly recognizable song, and their only hit outside of the UK

Ah, the summer classics.

Webman

Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way

swebman2 Comments

With all of the talk, books, seminars, training and discussion about leadership, why is it so hard to find?  Do you work for a leader?  Someone that has passion, curiosity, compassion, daring, generosity, accountability and grit?  Or do you work for someone that is just looking out for numero uno, protecting his or her ass at all times?  No really, who do you work for?

Do you think about the person that you work for as a leader?  Do you come into work everyday and wonder what you will learn today?  Or think, I hope he/she spends some time with me today, because I want to learn something new?  I want to develop skills like them.  Well do you?

Who do you look up to in your company, in your life?  Who do you admire?  Where do you get your inspiration?  Is anyone out there that stirs your mind, your intellect, your curiosity, your passion?

A brief musical interlude………..

You might work for the greatest leader in the world, someone you respect and admire.  I hope you do.  Most of you do not.  You are subjected to bosses (Not leaders) that merely sit in the spot above you in the organization chart.  Someone that might have a bit more experience, someone who is resting on their accomplishments from years before, someone that has figured out how to work the system, someone that never does anything proactive for the business, you, your career or anyone other than themselves. Maybe you work for the dreaded “Insecure Manager”. (Blog on that next week)

Well if you are blessed with a great leader, what are you doing to learn the most you can?  If you are working for Sluggo, what are you doing to change it?  A recent Harvard Business Review article mentions the following attributes as true signs of a modern leader.  The leader that does not need authority to make a difference.  Do these describe you?

Seers — individuals who are living in the future, who possess a compelling vision of “what could be.” As human beings, we’re constantly looking forward, and we love to sign on with individuals who are already working on “the next big thing.”

Contrarians — free of the shackles of conventional wisdom and eager to help others stage a jailbreak. It’s exciting to be around these free-spirited thinkers who liberate us from the status quo and open our minds to new possibilities.

Architects — adept at building systems that elicit contribution and facilitate collaboration. They leverage social technologies in ways that amplify dissident voices, coalesce communities of passion and unleash the forces of change.

Mentors — rather than hoarding power, they give it away. They believe the primary job of a leader is to create more leaders. To this end, they coach, tutor, challenge and encourage.

Connectors — with a gift for spotting the “combinational chemistry” between ideas and individuals. They help others achieve their dreams by connecting them with sponsors, like-minded peers, and complementary resources.

Bushwhackers — they clear the trail for new ideas and initiatives by chopping away at the undergrowth of bureaucracy. They’re more committed to doing the right thing than to doing things right.

Guardians — vigilant defenders of core values and enemies of expediency. Their unflinching commitment to a higher purpose inspires others and encourages them to stand tall for their beliefs.

Citizens — true activists, their courage to challenge the status quo comes from their abiding commitment to doing as much good as possible for as many as possible. They are other-centered, not self-centered.

So who are you and what are you doing about leadership or lack there-of.

More details can be found at http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/05/how_to_lead_when_youre_not_in.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

Get moving.

Webman

In Honor Of…

swebmanLeave a comment

The men and women that serve our country and protect our freedom.  Memorial Day edition.

E-commerce, M-commerce, commerce, connected commerce, retail, brick and mortar, mobile payments, blow-out sales, Memorial Day spectaculars, Buy 1 Get 1 free, Buy 2 Get 1 free, free……..

We are bombarded but these terms with the intensity amped up around the major holidays on just how much money we can all save when we buy something, somewhere.  We have become so overwhelmed about the media messages as well as our hectic everyday lives we have lost sight of the true meaning of Memorial Day.  It is to celebrate the men and women that have given us the freedom to live in the most prosperous nation in the world; the United States of America.

Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service.

Take a moment to honor America and our heroes with this rendition of God Bless America by Ronan Tynan;

Following President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865, there were a variety of events of commemoration. The first well-known observance of a Memorial Day-type observance after the Civil War was in Charleston, South Carolina on May 1, 1865. During the war, Union soldiers who were prisoners of war had been held at the Charleston Race Course; at least 257 Union prisoners died there and were hastily buried in unmarked graves. Together with teachers and missionaries, black residents of Charleston organized a May Day ceremony in 1865. The freedmen cleaned up and landscaped the burial ground, building an enclosure and an arch labeled, “Martyrs of the Race Course.” Nearly ten thousand people, mostly freedmen, gathered on May 1 to commemorate the war dead. Involved were about 3,000 school children newly enrolled in freedmen’s schools, mutual aid societies, Union troops, black ministers, and white northern missionaries. Most brought flowers to lay on the burial field. Today the site is used as Hampton Park. Years later, the celebration would come to be called the “First Decoration Day” in the North.

On May 5, 1868, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, the veterans’ organization for Union Civil War veterans, General John A. Logan issued a proclamation calling for “Decoration Day” to be observed annually and nationwide. It was observed for the first time that year on May 30; the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of any particular battle.  According to the White House, the May 30 date was chosen as the optimal date for flowers to be in bloom.

To learn more about the history of Memorial Day, here is the link to the wikipedia page used to source the information – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

I hope that you enjoyed your day and value the true meaning of Memorial Day.

Webman

Livin on a Prayer – Free Gas Edition!

swebman1 Comment

Not sure if you have seen this but it is both funny and great 🙂

An interactive experience at the gas pump leads to 15 minutes of fame for him and his girl friend.

Some Bon Jovi and Eurthymics for you this morning – CC will love this 🙂

Enjoy the day.

Webman

Janie’s Got A Gun – And it Was Printed

swebman1 Comment

On her home computer with a 3D printer…..

So while America continues to debate what we should do about modifying the gun laws based on the recent tragedies in Colorado and Newtown just to name a few, technology now exists where you can just print your own gun at home on your 3D printer.

This is not a political blog.  I am making you aware of this as our laws and legal system continue to show just how far behind the technology growth curve they are.  Whether the topic is guns or my recent blog on Automatic Number Plate Recognition http://wp.me/p1WXuM-vm  our legal system can no longer keep up with technology to protect the people of this nation, either from physical harm or identity theft.  The rate of technology innovation has blown past the archaic process required to pass a law in our country and this will continue to get worse.

Can guns really be 3D-printed? The answer to that question is a simple yes. If you don’t believe it, just watch Cody Wilson, the man behind the world’s first 3D-printed gun, firing the weapon on video.

Following a test firing, documented by Forbes, in which a string was used to pull the trigger, Wilson now took the gun into his hands and successfully fired it. Neither him or the weapon suffered any visible damage (sans a cracked pin that used to hold the gun’s barrel in place) on that occasion, but the gun did misfire and explode in one of the test firings.

The weapon, called “the Liberator” — a homage to cheap pistols distributed by the Allies in France during World War II — is printed on a Stratasys Dimension SST 3D printer. It consists of 16 parts, 15 of which are 3D-printed. The last part — the firing pin — is a simple nail, found in any hardware store.

Wilson is the founder of the company behind the project, Defense Distributed. He claims the project is not about violence, but about freedom. “This is about enabling individuals to create their own sovereign space,” he told Forbes.

“I recognize that this tool might be used to harm people. That’s what it is — it’s a gun. But I don’t think that’s a reason to not put it out there. I think that liberty in the end is a better interest,” he said.

This is scary stuff.  Learn about it.

Webman

If You Have the Means!

swebmanLeave a comment

One of my favorite movies of all time is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  The film follows high school senior Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick), who decides to skip school and spend the day in downtown Chicago. Accompanied by his girlfriend Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara) and his best friend Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), he creatively avoids his school’s Dean of Students Edward Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), his resentful sister Jeanie (Jennifer Grey), and his parents. During the film, Bueller frequently speaks directly to the camera to explain to the audience his techniques and thoughts.

Well as Ferris says, “If you have the means”.  Well if I had the means, here is what I would be sporting around in this weekend.

Maserati  is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company’s headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident.

The Maserati brothers founded the company.  The Maserati Brothers were involved with automobiles from the beginning of the 20th century. All were born to Rodolfo Maserati and his wife Carolina in Voghera, Lombardy, Italy.  Alfieri, along with the other five brothers, Carlo, Bindo, Mario, Ettore and Ernesto, contributed to the sports luxury automobile manufacturer Maserati in one way or another.

Racing is what the Maserati’s did.  They created some of the most awesome vehicles.  In back-to-back wins in 1939 and 1940, a Maserati 8CTF won the Indianapolis 500, the only Italian manufacturer ever to do so.

I have never sat in a Maserati, but after seeing the pictures below of the 1956, it is now on the bucket list.  Check this out.  Even if you are not a big fan of cars, you will be of this one 🙂

maserati

maserati1

Sweet.  Love the Italians 🙂  Have a great weekend.

One more clip for you from Ferris.

Webman

Video Killed the Radio Star

swebmanLeave a comment

And our everyday work habits are killing productivity – more on that in a minute.

From Wikipedia – www.wikipedia.org

On August 1, 1981, at 12:01 a.m., MTV launched with the words “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll,” spoken by John Lack, and played over footage of the first Space Shuttle launch countdown of Columbia, which took place earlier that year, and of the launch of Apollo 11. Those words were immediately followed by the original MTV theme song. And then history was made with the airing of the first music video shown on MTV.  It was The Buggles‘ “Video Killed the Radio Star“, and the second music video shown was Pat Benatar‘s “You Better Run“.  Check it out:

Now onto today’s topic about productivity.  We all strive to get more into the day, be more productive, finding more efficiencies, thinking outside the box.  You know what I am talking about.  However many of us have fallen into some really bad habits that are so profound, it really does not matter what else you do until you can solve for these challenges.  A most awesome infographic outlines the Big 7 for productivity failure below.  Thanks to the folks at Column Five and Marketo.

Productivity

How many of these are you great at?  Time to get great at other things.

Webman

Spring Has Most Definitely Arrived

swebmanLeave a comment

A fine weather weekend in New England.  Spring is springing; all the bears (people) are starting to come out of hibernation; hardtops are coming off cars and overall everyone just seems happier.  Driving around this weekend, saw so many people with their roofs off just enjoying the sunshine.  Driving home on Friday night in my jeep with the roof off was quite chilly; had the heat on full blast though so I could enjoy the breeze, the moon, the stars and of course the attitude that comes with a bit more freedom.  Release the hounds!

The Lovin’ Spoonful had its roots in the folk music scene based in the Greenwich Village section of lower Manhattan during the early 1960s. John Sebastian, the bands leader grew up in contact with music and musicians, was the son of a much-recorded and highly technically accomplished classical harmonica player.  Sebastian was joined in the Spoonful by guitarist Zal Yanovsky from a bohemian folk group called The Mugwumps (two other members, Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, would later form half of the Mamas & the Papas), playing local coffee houses and small clubs. Drummer-vocalist Joe Butler and bassist Steve Boone rounded out the group.  They had a number of hits but only one hit number 1, numero uno 🙂

I learn something new every time I write a blog.  Never heard of the Mugwumps before 🙂

Convertibles are awesome at this time of the year.  Got me thinking about that ’79 Corvette I owned back in the 80’s.  A sweet ride indeed.  Have always loved the styling, especially the early versions.  Check them out:

EvolutionoftheCorvette

I am thinking about the 1960 or 1962.  Someday it will be a reality 🙂

Enjoy the  day and the freedom.

Webman