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April 28, 2006

The Great Escape

Pardon me for being so late to weigh in; not sure where I was when Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott announced he'd be taking a four-week vacation.

Oh, right: I was working.

Let's ignore for a moment the ensuing flap over whether the CEO of the world's largest retailer should be leaving the store for so long--though to my mind, it's a sign that he's doing something right.

My question is this: What would it take for you to take a four-week vacation?

Here at Fast Company world headquarters, it's become increasingly rare for anyone to take even two weeks off at a time, despite company policy that, on paper, let's us take as much as we want. With regular deadlines and a lean staff, it just seems hard to abandon work and colleagues for that long. One of our staffers just shoehorned a vacation to Vietnam into a one-week window, when just getting there takes nearly a day.

Yet we all understand that a one-week break doesn't really cut it. It takes that long just to unwind, to really relax. Two weeks, three weeks--that's when the restorative powers of vacations really start to kick in.

We haven't read much about how Lee Scott is managing his break--except that he's taking his Blackberry along when he goes fishing. It may just be that a CEO, whose job should be to focus on the long-term, is just better placed to take a longer vacation than the rest of us.

Posted by Keith Hammonds at 3:26 PM | 9 Comments

April 27, 2006

What's in a Game Name?

Naming a product is an art unto itself. Every company pours money into choosing the right label, one that will grab the public. Nintendo, the venerable gaming giant, announced today that its new console, codenamed "Revolution" to reflect its goal of changing the video-game game, was going to be called "Wii." That's pronounced "we."

Give it a moment. Here comes the awkward silence, followed by snickering, and then the jokes -- "Lets go home and play with your Wii." Or, "You should see my Wii."

Did Nintendo make a marketing blunder with the wii-erd new name? Or will the name catch on?

Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at 5:54 PM | 10 Comments

Support Teamwork

While it was nice to see Jonathan Schwartz's blog entry sharing his appreciation for outgoing Sun chief Scott McNealy earlier this week, it was even nicer to see the first-person piece by Tom Hanks in the New York Times Styles section.

In the essay, Hanks celebrates his long-time makeup man, Dan Striepeke. And the article is notable for several reasons:

• It's awesome to see someone who's so high profile thank a member of their support staff so publicly
• Hanks' comments on the importance of developing a posse -- not an entourage -- that follows you from project to project
• If you can, choose to work with only the best
• It's OK to make fun of flop projects

Who consistently helps you succeed? When was the last time you thanked them?

(For the record, I liked "That Thing You Do.")

Posted by Heath Row at 3:27 PM | 2 Comments

Work Space

I adore alternative work spaces. And while they don't always succeed, they're always worth trying. Eventually, someone will crack the code.

The newest entrant to hit my radar is the Work Factory in Richmond, Virginia. Equal parts shared office space, meeting venue, and networking organization, the Work Factory piggybacks on space already used by the publishers of a regional business magazine.

To accommodate those with a part-time need for office space and a full-time need to connect with other entrepreneurs, The Work Factory provides member businesses with a place to meet clients, state-of-the-art work stations that can be accessed from home computers around the clock, high-speed wireless internet access, and printer/copier amenities as well as an array of services ranging from technology support to accounting advice.

The model is similar to that of Gate 3, once based in northern California. There, the space also was adjacent to already rented and in-use office and work space. It'll be interesting to see how the Work Factory improves on the model!

Have any Richmond-area Fast Company readers gone to the Work Factory? Share your stories here.

Posted by Heath Row at 2:41 PM | 1 Comment

Green Apples

A recent Apple announcement went largely under the radar. The company announced that it is expanding its recycling program to include free recycling of old computers and iPods for customers who buy new machines at the company's online and retail stores.

Apple's not the only computer company going more green. Dell has taken good steps in this direction too. And last week the two were recognized as being among the ten most environmentally aggressive companies by the Sierra Club. The others included Bank of America, eBay, Google, HP, McGraw-Hill, Starbucks, Wells Fargo, and Whole Foods. With energy prices going up, global warming in the news, and social responsibility becoming a larger part of business, more companies are engaging in environmentally friendly practices.

What does your company do to be green?

Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at 2:34 PM | 1 Comment

April 26, 2006

Don't Touch That Dial!

Alyssa makes a good point in her blog about TV-Turnoff Week - if you don't want to turn it off, why not support better programming? Me, I'd like to support the cause for better commercials. Like Alyssa, the only cable I have is the one running from the bunny ears on the top of my TV to the plug in the back. Four channels. (Five, if the weather's right and the Brooklyn-based Asian shopping channel comes in.) So I see a lot of the same commercials. Over and over. And over. Mostly, I make fun of them.

Among the lot are the American Express spots (My Life! My Card!) featuring Seinfeld, DeNiro, M. Night Shyamalan, etc. All great, creative folks. But I can never shake the feeling that the creative impresarios in Amex's manicured, on-brand commercials are sell outs. Despite the fun personal touches, each celebrity sounds like he (or she, Ellen DeGeneres) is reading from the same script. (My token schtick! Amex's repetitive script!) Even when a new one debuts, you've pretty much already seen it.

That was how I felt until I saw this spot, with Wes Anderson. It's smart, irreverent and totally entertaining. More Anderson than Amex. Granted, I'm bias: I own every Anderson film. His eye for detail and off-beat pacing is unmistakable. So it shouldn't surprise me that he put his own stamp on the Amex brand. Nice work, Wes. And to the creative directors over at Amex, smart move letting Anderson blend his directorial skills into the format.

And, lo and behold, he's not the only one...

Continue reading "Don't Touch That Dial!"

Posted by Lucas Conley at 5:54 PM | 2 Comments

Turning off the Tube

This week (now that it's half over) is TV-Turnoff Week. The news not only came too late for me to even ponder the white dot, but I hadn't heard of a specific week dedicated to this before. No doubt it's better to read a book, than, say, watch this. I probably do watch too much useless fluff on the tube, but it's hard for me to imagine never watching TV again. To be fair, I admit that my TV doesn't have cable, which makes it far likelier that I'll land on Public Television. PBS has taught me quite a bit over the years: how to count in Spanish, the history of baseball, the history of jazz...not to mention this addicting series. Giving up PBS as part of TV-Turnoff week seems counter-intuitive. Instead of avoiding television, why not campaign to make TV better, more educational? There have already been steps in that direction, including LazyTown.

So, as a compromise, how about quality TV in moderation week? I'm sure most of us could agree on that, especially since there's a new house series starting Monday on PBS.

Posted by Alyssa Danigelis at 4:24 PM | 5 Comments

What's the Alternative?

If high prices at the pump have made you more curious about alternative fuels, Popular Mechanics compares a variety of options this month. Given that gas prices may only get worse in the summer, it is an interesting primer for anyone filling up the tank--and anyone concerned about our energy situation.

Which alternative fuels hold the most promise for you? For your company? And, given the talk of oil price manipulation and a "windfall profits" tax, what role must business play in creating a sensible energy policy?

Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at 3:03 PM | 1 Comment

The Coming Smackdown Over International News

In the coming war for the hearts and minds of international news junkies, the BBC Worldservice just launched a pre-emptive strike.

This week it announced that it has hired BBDO New York to handle the advertising promoting its new 24 hour news channel scheduled to launch at the end of this month. The channel will be available to Cablevision subscribers in the New York market.

That can't be good news for Al Jazeera International, which had hoped to launch its own 24 hour English language news channel at the end of May, but is struggling to find a US distributor willing to take on the controversial brand.

On one level, the channel's problem is not unique: US cable distributors have little space for new entrants, so finding a home is tough whether you're Al Gore or Al Jazeera. Additionally, the channel wants to be able to stream simultaneously over the Internet, a proposition which doesn't seem to bother folks in other countries, but is a sticking point in the US. Then, of course, there's the channel's Arabic pedigree, and the dicey issue in the States of offering a channel whose sibling has a reputation of being Osama's favorite news outlet.

Finally, there's a more fundamental issue: do Americans have an appetite for interntional news, or do they just want to know the latest on Tomkat's baby, or the Duke lacrosse team? Whatever their poltical persuasions, cable operators agree on one thing: they want their offerings to make money. If that's all poker, all the time, fine. If it's international news, that's cool too. As long as it's green, it's keen.

But Americans haven't been known for their thirst for news from Sao Paolo or Sri Lanka.

Still, the BBC thinks there's a market here. Seema Kotecha, BBC World's head of marketing, said: "Our research shows that there's an increasing demand from US viewers for an international news agenda and our unique news service will offer them an impartial, global perspective on world events."

Do you think that's true, or is that wishful thinking on the part of news providers, whether they're British, Arabic, or American?

Posted by Linda Tischler at 1:11 PM | 8 Comments

April 25, 2006

Sun Up

Jennifer's right that the departure of McNealy from Sun comes at a time when the company sorely needs reinvention and redirection. It's been interesting to read the coverage of his changing roles at Sun. Some articles are relatively dark and dire, focusing on Sun's stock performance, missteps, and so on.

And some are understandably hopeful, almost, well, sunny. I think that it is absolutely awesome that McNealy is being succeeded by Jonathan Schwartz. Schwartz is equal parts public face for the company, informed evangelist for its technology, and everyday role model for its employees. I don't think Sun's powers that be could have picked a better successor.

Besides, in his blog today, Schwartz shares some insights on his work relationship with McNealy, passion for the company, and appreciation for McNealy's work as a leader.

When you move on, what will people say about you? I've never seen such a strong endorsement -- approaching love letter status -- for a leader at a company like Sun before. And that says something.

Posted by Heath Row at 2:30 PM | 1 Comment

How to Stay Awake in Boring Meetings

This just popped up in my inbox...
___

Do you keep falling asleep in meetings and seminars? What about those long and boring conference calls? Here's a way to change all of that.

1. Before (or during) the next meeting, seminar, or conference call, prepare yourself by drawing a square. I find that 5" x 5" is a good size. Divide the card into columns-five across and five down. That will give you 25 one-inch blocks.

2. Write one of the following words/phrases in each block:
Synergy, strategic fit, core competencies, best practice, bottom line, revisit, expeditious, to tell you the truth (or "the truth is), 24/7, out of the loop, benchmark, value-added, proactive, win-win, think outside the box, fast track, result-driven, knowledge base, at the end of the day, touch base, mindset, client focus(ed), paradigm, game plan, leverage.

3. Now check off the appropriate block when you hear one of those words/phrases.

4. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally stand up and shout "BULLSHIT!"
___

"Real Testimonials" from satisfied players, after the jump...

Continue reading "How to Stay Awake in Boring Meetings"

Posted by Lucas Conley at 11:26 AM | 25 Comments

Sun Down

Yesterday, one of the longest tenures in the tech space came to an end when Scott McNealy, one of the co-founders of Sun Microsystems and for the last 21 years its CEO, announced he was stepping down (subscription required). The company has been struggling for years to extricate itself from the double whammy of the rise of Linux and the fall of dot-coms. We called it back in July of last year in our now-defunct CEO See-Ya at a time when McNealy insisted he wasn't going anywhere.

But even McNealy saw the writing on the wall, it appears. Sometimes organizations simply need new blood to convince shareholders and employees alike that they're serious about change. New CEO Jonathan Schwartz has already impressed a lot of people with his openness and passion for Sun's offerings. But can he fill the shoes of the charismatic man who helped shape our networked world?

Posted by Jennifer Reingold at 10:25 AM | 1 Comment

Don't Call Them Phones

Call any of his new models a cell phone and Anssi Vanjoki will fix you with a stare as icy as the plunge pools he and fellow Finns take after a sauna. But the trio of devices unveiled here this morning in Berlin take Nokia another step towards convincing sceptics that they’re now in the business of making MCs – multimedia computers.

The N93 takes DVD-like quality video at 30 frames a second with Carl Zeiss optics, while the N73 comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera. And for the more design-conscious user, there’s the N72 (a Steinway piano was the inspiration, we're told). Available from June and July, the devices will be priced in the range of $300 to $550.

BBC reporters have been using camera phones since 2004 and according to Justen Dyche of the BBC's news technology group, the introduction of DVD quality video to cell phones will be manna for news organisations, bloggers and 'citizen journalists'.

But none of these devices, says Vanjoki, head of Nokia's multimedia business, is 'just a camera phone', since under the hood of each is a high quality digital music player, radio, games, email, web browsing, office applications and connectivity through USB 2.0 and Bluetooth (the N93 also offers WLAN). Last year Nokia became the biggest manufacturer of both digital cameras and music players. And with the recent N92 model Nokia is pushing into DVB TV too.

Nokia also announced deals today with Flickr and Adobe to add photo sharing and video-editing software to the new devices. Nothing startling there, but it's a sign of Nokia's growing awareness that it needs major league partnerships to prosper in the race to convergence. A big name deal on the VoIP front is rumored for the summer.

Vanjoki, a Nokia veteran, predicts the market for these kinds of converged über-gadgets will grow from 53 million last year to 250 million in 2008. And who would bet against him? "They said I was cuckoo in 1992 when I predicted that by 2000 cell phones in developed countries would be carried by 25% of the population.

"And they were right," he admits. "The actual figure was 70%."

Posted by Ian Wylie at 8:17 AM | Add Comment

April 24, 2006

Thought for Food

I received my May issue of the magazine in the mail today -- yes, I subscribe -- and I was struck by the thought that this very well could be Fast Company's first food issue.

I was also struck, while reading a report from the Stanford Graduate School of Business that we're not the only people looking to the world of food for innovative ideas. The report, Introducing New Ideas -- The Dangers of Mixing Foie Gras and Arugula, Marguerite Rigoglioso looks at how some of the most successful and innovative chefs reach their peaks because they combined disparate cuisines and cooking methods in ways unpursued previously.

Professor Hayagreeva Rao, professor of organizational behavior, and his co-researchers, Rodolphe Durand of the HEC School of Management in Paris and Philippe Monin of EM Lyon, observed how categorical boundaries can be blurred over time by studying one of the most categorically constricted industries in the world—the French haute cuisine restaurant business.

The piece also looks at what kind of cook needs to be experimenting for others to follow her lead.

Might make a nice appetizer to the May issue!

Posted by Heath Row at 8:53 PM | 1 Comment

Practical Sabbaticals

Saturday's article in the New York Times about work-related sabbaticals made me think back on some previously published Fast Company articles:

• Sabbaticals Are Serious Business
• Radical Sabbaticals
• Rules for Radical Sabbaticals
• How to Move Forward When You're Between Jobs

When was the last time you took some self-development time off from your work? What was your experience like?

Posted by Heath Row at 8:49 PM | Add Comment

Rewriting the Rules

Maybe "Seventeen Previously Written Rules of Management" just didn't have the same ring?

According to the New York Times today, that's the number of "unwritten" rules management guru William Swanson allegedly lifted from an engineering textbook -- published over 60 years ago.

Swanson, the head of Raytheon, a military contractor, recently told USA Today the list was inspired by his personal and professional experiences with the company spanning 33 years.

"Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management" -- a 76-page booklet written last year -- has been praised by the likes of Warren Buffet and Jack Welch. About 250,000 free copies have since been distributed both in and outside the company.

A chemical engineer and blogger in San Diego, quoted in the Times, says most of the rules are cribbed from "The Unwritten Laws of Engineering" by W.J. King.

The question is: Can anyone claim ownership of such fortune-cookie aphorisms as "keep your feet on the ground," "look for what is missing," and "a person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person"? Yes, what William Swanson did was clearly plagiarism. But have we neared the end of anything original when it comes to management advice?

Posted by Angus Loten at 12:56 PM | 2 Comments

April 21, 2006

In Gear

File under Friday Fun, but these floppy disk notebooks could make you the life of the conference room.

Posted by Heath Row at 4:04 PM | 1 Comment

HD DVD Debuts and Disappears

The next-gen HD DVD format appeared in stores this week. Toshiba introduced two players, a basic $499 model and a premium model for $799. And the machines have already sold out. The fact that the initial batch was relatively small (reportedly 10,000 to 15,000 units) undoubtedly helped. Still, the sales are surprising considering how few films have been released -- The Last Samurai, Phantom of the Opera and Serenity. It helps that Netflix is carrying those HD discs and they are selling well on Amazon (cult sci-fi film Serenity was number 149 on Amazon's DVD charts when I checked last night).

Despite the solid start, the future success of HD DVD is still questionable. There will be a steady trickle of films each week, but by the end of the summer, Sony's rival Blu-ray format will be released and HD DVD won't have the market to itself. Though Blu-ray players have been announced at higher prices of $1000+, many expect Sony to put up a good fight. While the two formats will create confusion for consumers, hopefully the competition will quickly reduce the cost of the players.

How cheap does a high definition movie player need to be for you to buy one?

Posted by Kevin Ohannessian at 1:08 PM | 11 Comments

April 20, 2006

How to Clean (Someone Else's) House

It's sort of an old story being rehashed today -- new regime in power, folks are let go, replaced by loyal followers of the new leader. But there is a difference to this story: The departure of White House press secretary Scott McClellan represents the leaving of an old guard of the current boss, George W., to be replaced by followers of a new leader, White House chief of staff Josh Bolten, who reports to the big boss. The newcomers will surely have an allegiance to Bolten, but it is less sure that they will have the allegiance to Bush that his own appointees had.

The potential for this kind of situation happens in companies every day. New mid-level executives come in and have their own ideas for how they want to run their group and who they want to have in it. Often, those brought in by the boss are safe, but not this week at the White House.

In your company, how have you experienced or handled a newcomer's shakeup?

Posted by Laura Rich at 5:56 PM | 2 Comments

Stop Multitasking

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at 11:30, my calendar had an unmovable meeting. It lasted only half an hour but my assistant knew that on no account could it be changed or cancelled. And so, three days a week, at 11:30, I’d walk out the door; I’d be back at noon.

No, it wasn’t face time with the boss. I didn’t visit a therapist and I wasn’t at the gym. I held this all-important appointment for myself. It was my thinking time. I had finally reached the conclusion that, if I didn’t book time to think, I’d never do it. I couldn’t do it at my desk – phones, email, and In trays were too distracting. I couldn’t do it at home – kids, husband, garden, house, and the permanent pile of laundry were too demanding. If I wanted to think then I had to make time for it – and get that time protected.

Continue reading "Stop Multitasking"

Posted by at 5:53 PM | 14 Comments

Next to Built to Last

There's a great interview in Knowledge@Wharton today with Mark Thompson and Stewart Emery, co-authors of Success Built to Last, which they wrote with Jerry Porras -- who wrote Built to Last with Jim Collins. (Phew! What a tangled web of authorship.)

The piece, How Successful People Stay Successful considers how the new book amplifies on the ideas and findings of the previous work: Can the characteristics of successful businesses also be applied to people? Are there common characteristics among those who are consistently successful?

The answer, it seems, is yes. A couple of the qualities mentioned in the Q&A mirror those outlined by James Champy in his 2003 essay The Hidden Qualities of Great Leaders. Maybe the elements of success are more universal than we think!

Posted by Heath Row at 4:07 PM | 1 Comment

April 19, 2006

Unnecessary Innovation?

The judges on American Inventor shot this fellow down -- watch how quickly their expressions shifted from amusement to near-disdain -- but I wonder: Perhaps the Therapy Buddy is a good idea? (Sign in may be required.)

Naming aside -- Big Hug, Warm Fuzzy, or something else less therapy-oriented might be more palatable -- this product might very well meet a very real need. Sure, you wouldn't leave home with it or perhaps even let too many folks know you had one (OK, maybe your drumming circle), but when was the last time you needed a hug and your parents or family weren't readily at hand?

There are a lot of lonely people in the world. There's got to be a way to market to them without further stigmatizing or belittling loneliness.

Is the Therapy Buddy a good idea? Take the Fast Company poll. (However you vote, everything is going to be alright.)

Posted by Heath Row at 9:18 PM | 2 Comments

Too... Many... Management... Theories!

Forgive me if I've brought this online resource up before, but thanks to Businesspundit, I just revisited Value Based Management's online guide to management theories.

Looking at this roundup of management theories blew my mind. It'll at least strain your eyes. And if you need a quick refresher on something like the Deming cycle, the human capital index, or the theory of reasoned action, start here.

It's like an online crib sheet for Business: The Ultimate Resource.

Posted by Heath Row at 3:36 PM | 3 Comments

April 18, 2006

Blak or Blech?

I stepped off the subway last week and up the stairs, only to be assaulted by my familiar group of free-paper hawkers, Falun Gong supporters and lunch menu litterers. I didn't give any of them a second look, but then, suddenly, I saw a new addition to the fray; a bright-faced young slacker handing out ice-cold bottles of a mysterious concoction called Blak.

Coca-Cola's newest offering, it's a dark and weird brew of Coke and coffee, a sort of frappucino on steroids. Because it was being handed out at 9 a.m., I assumed it was meant to be a breakfast drink, an attempted direct slap at Starbucks. So though I'd already had my cuppa Joe for the day, I cracked it open. One chug was enough for me--though I love both Coke and coffee, the combination was so sticky-sweet as to make me shudder.

I looked at the label again. Is that strange accent over the "a" meant to imply that the drink could easily be mispronounced Blake instead of Black? Or, if others respond the way I did, will they call it "Blech," signaling the start of a marketing campaign fated for the blooper roll?

Posted by Jennifer Reingold at 3:15 PM | 9 Comments

Persuasive Presentations

Josh Gordon, author of the new book Presentations That Change Minds has identified 14 core practices used by persuasive speakers in conference and meeting settings. Additional research shows that the top five practices are used by only half of business leaders surveyed.

The top five persuasive strategies:

• Sharing facts: 73.5%
• Offering a solution: 62.1%
• Sharing a new idea: 52.8%
• Telling a story: 51.6%
• Changing a perception: 50.9%

The remaining practices include humor, creating excitement, audience involvement, building trust, inspiration, building a financial case, creating an emotional appeal, getting competitive, and overcoming hostility.

How many do you try to use when leading a meeting or making a presentation?

Posted by Heath Row at 1:04 PM | 3 Comments

Leading Ideas: Decisiveness Generates Momentum

"The percentage of mistakes in quick decisions is no greater than in long-drawn-out vacillation, and the effect of decisiveness itself 'makes things go' and creates confidence." -- Anne O'Hare McCormick (1882-1954), First woman to win a Pulitzer prize for journalism

Consider This:

Contrary to popular belief, your decisions don't drive your long term success - your decisiveness does. Said another way, when you reach a crossroads on any issue, the act of choosing creates power, not the choice itself. The issue is momentum. No matter what you choose, when you commit boldly with conviction, you create momentum. When you hesitate you don't. And success is built on momentum.

Continue reading "Leading Ideas: Decisiveness Generates Momentum"

Posted by Doug Sundheim at 10:15 AM | 13 Comments

April 17, 2006

France and Sanity

So, the French government caved. After months of protests by hundreds of thousands of university students, President Jacques Chirac agreed last week to kill off a proposed law that would have allowed private employers to fire workers under age 26 with less than two years on the job, without cause.

In many of the English-language news reports on the protests and their denouement, the implicit question was more or less: Are they nuts? France's economy is among the weaker in Western Europe, which itself is falling further behind the U.S.--which in turn is threatened by China, India, and the rest. The liberalization of France's rigid labor laws could, aguably, have helped ease the nation's 10% unemployment rate.

But I think there was something else going on here. The protests were really about preserving a certain, relatively sane, lifestyle in the face of global capitalism.

Continue reading "France and Sanity"

Posted by Keith Hammonds at 4:56 PM | 9 Comments

Work Your Proper Hours!

Last year I happened to be in London on Work Your Proper Hours Day, another thing we should think about borrowing from the Brits. Seeing Keith's Friday posting, I was curious to see what has happened since. Seems they're still toiling like Bob Crachit over there, despite having the unions on their side.

The thing that was especially cunning about their holiday was its timing. Feb. 24, 2006 was the day most Britons who do unpaid overtime finish the "free" days they give their company, and finally start earning for themselves. Now that's a stunning way to make the point.

The site even provides a handy online unpaid overtime calculator to help you figure out when you can celebrate paying off your own long hours debt.

In America these days, that's likely to fall somewhere near St. Patrick's Day. Wonder when that holiday might fall in France...

Posted by Linda Tischler at 4:18 PM | 1 Comment

Cost Cutting Gone Wrong

One company I used to work for used to have a pop machine that sold 25-cent sodas. That's right: A quarter. Particularly for the Diet Coke addicts, that was a huge perk -- and a sensible solution; you buy in bulk, you can keep prices closer to cost. One fellow I worked with took ample advantage of the deep discount, even buying multiple cans of soda to take home for the weekend.

Then the company decided to cut that out (not because of his bulk buying) and increased the price to 75 cents. I stopped buying soda at work. Having experienced the loss of a simple but effective perk, I was somewhat amused to read about the Minneapolis Star Tribune's recent decision to no longer provide free copies of the paper to... its staff of reporters and editors.

Wait a minute. You work for a newspaper and can't quickly and easily -- cheaply or freely -- get a copy of your daily product? That'd be like Fast Company deciding that staffers have to buy the magazine we make every month. (Don't get any ideas, folks!)

What are some ways you've experienced cost cutting that didn't impact your productivity? Or take away a small, but simple perk?

Posted by Heath Row at 12:34 PM | 7 Comments

April 14, 2006

Leave Early!

Are you still in the office? In New York, it's nearly 6 pm on the eve of a holiday weekend. What are you doing there? (What am I?)

What's keeping you from going home? Right now? Do you really have so much work that has to get done, or did you spend too much time in useless meetings, or responding to needless emails? Or, you know, checking the stats for your Roto league?

I got a note from the PR rep for someone named Laura Stack, who calls herself "The Productivity Pro." Stack apparently "has declared June 2nd as National Leave the Office Earlier Day. This national holiday encourages workers to eliminate time wasting behaviors and improve productivity habits. With better behaviors, workers can leave the office earlier and get home to their family and friends."

So, ok, this is an unusually shameless publicity ploy. And it worked--whatever.

What's the reality? If you were a lot better about organizing your work and your time, could you reduce a 10-hour workday to 8 hours? How would you start doing that? (We've written about one guy, David Allen, who might help you think that through.)

Or is there simply more work than a so-called standard workday can contain?

Now, go home. Seriously.

Posted by Keith Hammonds at 5:38 PM | 40 Comments

April 13, 2006

She Does It. Can We?

A couple of years ago, I wrote a cover story for Fast Company called Balance is Bunk. To summarize, I said that work-life balance was "an unattainable pipe dream, a vain artifice that offers mostly rhetorical solutions to problems of logistics and economics." You can't, I wrote, have everything--even if you work really, really hard.

So, what do we make of Sophie Vandebroek, who's profiled in our April issue? Ten years ago, Vandebroek's husband died suddenly, leaving her alone with three small children and no other relatives in the U.S. She responded not just by sticking to her career, but by taking on a string of increasingly challenging, high-profile roles. Her latest is chief technology officer at Xerox, a job she won in January.

Continue reading "She Does It. Can We?"

Posted by Keith Hammonds at 4:58 PM | 16 Comments

Shopping Spree

Sure, you've read plenty about Wal-Mart in Fast Company in recent years. About the high cost of everyday low prices. About a CEO who said no to Wal-Mart. But you haven't experienced what it's like to shop with Charles Fishman, our resident Wal-Mart expert, a man who visited more than 100 Wal-Marts while reporting his recent bestseller. Until now. Today's Washington Post roams the aisles with Charles for a revealing store tour.

Posted by Chuck Salter at 9:21 AM | 2 Comments

April 11, 2006

Fast Food, Farther Afield

Say what? (Don't talk with your mouth full!) When I order at the takeout window of my local McDonald's, I might be talking to someone in Honolulu? Sure enough, for the last year-plus, the Big Mac of fast food has been working with a call center that handles drive-through orders at 40 restaurants around the country.

Forget offshoring. Let's talk about out-of-state-sourcing. (OK, so it's a stretch. Maybe my coinage won't catch on.)

I can understand some of the efficiency and cost-savings aspects of this experiment, but it gives me little hope for what might otherwise seem to be a dead-end job -- and one sought my many people who deserve better. What does it mean for fast-food franchise management development, customer-facing service improvements, and the overall morale of Mickey D workers?

If you're good with people, but you flip burgers, where do you turn? If you're lucky, now just the registers and another retail job in the future. Because the customer service aspect and nascent sales training -- up sell, cross sell -- has been diminished.

(I also wonder whether this presages a move to McDonald's with no walk ins or table seating. But that feels a little too Soylent Green for my tastes.)

Food for thought...

Posted by Heath Row at 8:17 PM | 7 Comments

Garbage in, Garbage out

When your team, department, or company upgrades desktop systems, what happens to the old CPUs and monitors? Do you donate them to local schools and nonprofits? Return them to the manufacturers to be reclaimed? Or do you just dumpster them? My guess is the latter.

Salon this week uncovers the downside of even recycling computers. A good half of computers "recycled" in the US are shipped to developing countries, where they pollute decidedly poor communities.

Luckily, there are ways to recycle your old terminals so you know they won't go sour. But it takes attention and effort.

Perhaps its time for computer manufacturers to approach their machines like Interface does its carpet. Michael Schrage wrote about provices and serducts in the pages of Fast Company in 1996 -- 10 years ago.

Maybe we shouldn't own hardware, but borrow it.

Posted by Heath Row at 8:08 PM | 1 Comment

MySpace, YourSpace, WhoseSpace?

Curious bit of news over at Murdoch's MySpace today. The popular social networking site has added a security monitor. Formerly a prosecutor for the Justice Department, Hemanshu Nigam will oversee the site's 68 million users. Top priority: child molestors.

Nigam looks to be a smart hire - he's done similar work at Microsoft in the past. Interesting NPR piece with an LA Times reporter here.

Posted by Lucas Conley at 5:56 PM | 4 Comments