It’s all about the tools

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I had heard that the Manager Tools podcast won best podcast in the People’s Choice category in this years Podcast Awards. Being a new manager, I decided I should check it out. Boy, am I glad I did!

If you are a new manager like me you must listen to at least a few of the episodes. Even if you are, as they say, an “individual contributor,” you would benefit from the education. They cover topics including decision making, professional etiquette, interviewing, and even packing for business travel. I’ve only had the opportunity to listen to a few but will be working my way through their Manager Tools “Basics” which represent their best of geared for new managers as well as hilights of their library of episodes.

A quickie on compliments

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I just received a compliment from a colleague (a customer) at work today and it made me realize that they are always appreciated. To prove my point, let me ask you a few questions. If you ever got a written compliment at work did you save it (or them)? Would it take much effort to remember one? Might you remember them all?

I hope I don’t sound “whiney” but working in Information Technology is largely a thankless job, though I suppose that can be said for many vocations. If things are working, everyone is happy, but if something goes wrong, you’ll be sure to hear from all sorts of people.

I challenge you to make note of someone who regularly serves you and let them know you appreciate the service they provide. Better yet, let their boss know. Want a radical (albeit Christian) idea? How can you serve them?

A nice addition to my home theater

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A friend at work that knows that I have a Mac-based home theater, offered an invite to the in-development software/service, Boxee. It is a very well-designed piece of software currently for OS X and Linux that presents not only your own library of music, videos, and pictures, but also can present web services like Hulu, YouTube, Flickr, Last.fm, and others. Hopefully, it’ll add support for EyeTV so I can watch recorded shows in the same interface.


quick intro to boxee from boxee on Vimeo.

While it is considered alpha, the amount of function and polish is quite significant. There’s social aspects like seeing the things your friends have listened to or watched. The service is invite only currently, so if you’re interested, please let me know.