Using the following three cliches throughout, take 15 minutes to write a short story.
- “The game is up”
- “Don’t eat your heart out”
- “I need someone I can count on”
Here’s mine:
Team Players: More Than a Cliche
You can read all about team players in the latest business books and Dilbert cartoons. But behind all of the jargon and overused sports analogies, is a great deal of truth. In fact, I would venture to say that a co-worker who is a team player is the best kind to have around. An acquaintance of mine who is the CFO of a major company said that his number one qualification for job candidates is “team player.”
So what is the big deal exactly with team players? Why is the value of team so important?
Who You Are
The conversation at the latest Northshire Non-Profit Network meeting got me thinking about identity. Do we really grasp who/what our organizations are? Can we list the qualitities that make us unique and distinct? What can we do well that no one else can do?
Typically we find where we are hitting the wall, and then draw a target around that spot. It is too easy to assume that we are hitting the mark, when we are really settling for whatever the status quo has been.
Most organizations would benefit by sitting down and hammering out their unique qualities and gaining a firm grasp on their own identity. That would be immensely helpful in focusing energy and effort. Such a focus may have some interesting implications on the services your provide and the events you host.
Cutting Corners
If you need some basic Office software, but don’t want to shell out $300+ on Microsoft Office, there are alternatives. I’m a big fan of Open Office and Page Plus (see Open Source), but there are plenty of other options to choose from.
CNET has provided a comparison of the various office software packages out there. While they all can boast a special advantage, my lot is still cast with Open Office since it’s free. If you’re missing anything, it’s easy to find a free version online. Most of the programs listed are missing some kind of e-mail management program such as Outlook or Outlook Express, but with GMail and Thunderbird out there, you’ll have everything you need.
Non-Profit Blog Tips
Green Media has compiled some links to tips on non-profit blogging. Read the article: here.
via: the Non-Profit Blog Exchange
Technorati Tags: blogging, non-profit
Good Bye Blue Sky
It was too good to be true. The blue skies of February have left us and March has begun. I began to expect clear skies every day, but the gray clouds have moved in along with the month of March. The only plus at this point is these clouds means snow is coming later on today! Here is a picture of Mt. Aeolus in Dorset. I took it from the side of Mt. Equinox in Manchester.
Technorati Tags: Manchester,Dorset, Aeolus, Equinox
Red Mt. and Mt. Equinox
As promised I have loaded a picture that I took this past Monday. February has been such a wonderfully clear month. It has made for some nice photography outings.
Before You Check Your E-Mail . . .
Wired News reports that technology has made many workers less efficient. In an article titled, “Work More, Do Less With Tech,” a series of surveys and reports point to a rushed and unfocused work force that is only able to nibble away at projects.
“Workers completed two-thirds of their work in an average day last year, down from about three-quarters in a 1994 study, according to research conducted for Day-Timers, an East Texas, Pennsylvania-based maker of organizational products.”
Arlington, VT Photography
Winter has finally arrived with the temperature dipping down into the single digits and about 6 inches of snow falling. Last week we took a walk along a Old Depot Road in the Arlington /Shaftsbury area. Though it was a beautiful, clear day, the landscape had a brown, barren look to it.
Ed Cyzewski: Author // Contemplative 