Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Seth Godin's words of (business) wisdom

I greatly enjoy reading Seth Godin's blog. His commentary today on business and individual responsibility are well worth sharing so please enjoy and check out his blog for yourself. Dawn

The corporate conscience
There isn't one.

Corporations don't have a conscience, people do.

That means that every time you say, "It's just my job," or "My department has a policy," or "All I do is work here," what you've done is abdicated responsibility--to no one.

It's convenient and even comfortable to blame the anonymous actions of many working in concert on a evanescent brand or organization, but that starts you on an inevitable race to the bottom. Organizations have more power than ever before. They are better synchronized, faster, and possess more tools to change the economy and the people in it than ever before. And the only option available to the rest of us is for individuals to take responsibility (it's not given) for what they do and how they do it.

The very same tools that permit organizations to synchronize their efforts are now available to you and to me. I guess the question is: will we use that power to humanize the systems we've created?

PS It's not just about being a good citizen: when bad behavior comes back to hurt the company, it hurts you, too.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/08/the-corporate-conscience.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Today is the first day of the rest of your (business) life!

“Do you have the guts to write down your most important goals every single day?” That was the July 26th challenge from Dave Navarro’s Rock your Day http://www.rockyourday.com/how-to-keep-urgency-from-ruining-your-life/
and it has got me thinking about how to set and truly achieve goals.

It’s not enough to say today that “I want a new client” or “I want to make more money” or “I want to provide better service to my existing clients.” To make any of these abstract goals turn into a reality one has to write out the goals, think about the ways and means of achieving them, and them implement a plan of action to ensure that the goals are met, adjusting and adapt the actions and achievements as circumstances evolve. This is a great site to get ideas and encouragement from on a regular basis.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Summer's end is approaching

Today is the last day we’re able to enjoy the bountiful fruits of the labor of our incredible summer intern Anthony Fiore. He has spent his time with us writing for our blog, both For Beginners and Benay Enterprises, as well as working daily on our soon to be unveiled new For Beginners website.

It is always a joy to have summer interns, to be able to share your ideas and thoughts with them and in turn, be invigorated and excited by their ways of thinking and fresh ideas. This summer has been no different and we have been gifted again by a young, vital, intelligent, and creative college student who certainly has a great future ahead of him, hopefully in writing.

All of us here wish him the best of luck this year at Binghamton and look forward to seeing him again next summer. Dawn

Monday, August 9, 2010

Happy Third Birthday For Beginners!!!

Our friends and clients over at For Beginners Books are celebrating their third birthday in a very big way.

They're giving away all thirty-eight of their titles (that's right, a full catalog) to one talented individual who writes them a catchy and fun tagline for their graphic non-fiction series.

Be that lucky winner. Send them your ideas for a tagline by posting it on their facebook wall, at the facebook event page, post it in the comment box of their blog, email it to them at info@forbeginnersbooks.com, or tweet it on Twitter with the hashtag #ForBeginners.

Good luck and Happy Birthday For Beginners!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Granta Looks Back

As their most recent issue suggests, the European literary magazine, Granta, is Going Back.  Granta's 111th issue focuses on themes such as home-coming and the pain, grief, and distress associated with time and memories passed.

In keeping with this somber mood of reflection, recollection, and rememberance, Granta is literally Going Back into their archives and re-releasing all 111 issues (as well as a few special editions) on a new online archive, available to subscribers.

But perhaps what's even more interesting is that they are encouraging their readers to do the same, with their new Nostros Algos project. The project encourages Granta readers to reflect and post a description of a memory on their website where the fine people over at Granta will match the memory to a related piece, dug up from deep within the thirty-year archives. What's coolest is that some of Granta's most famed writers (Doris Lessing, Arthur Miller, Ryszard Kapuscinski, and many others) will then comment on the posts.

According to Granta, Nostros Algos is "a collective exercise in bringing the past into the present and making it part of a shared experience with fellow users and the imaginations of Granta’s famed writers." Help contribute to the project by visiting http://www.nostros-algos.com/.

Monday, August 2, 2010

LUMINARIUM by Alex Shakar

Our friends over at Soho press are preparing to release LUMINARIUM, the highly anticipated second novel by author Alex Shakar. LUMINARIUM is the story of one man's foray into the intersection of technology and spirituality in a desperate attempt to understand, persevere, and forgive after his twin brother, best friend, and business partner lapses into a coma.

The New York Times said of Alex Shakar, "It's exciting to meet an author who's unafraid of heights." Read his first book, The Savage Girl, a New York Times Notable Book and a Booksense 76 Pick, and look for LUMINARIUM out soon!