Archive for 2008

Home » Archive for 2008

A Bit of Encouragement to the Job Seekers

The economy is hitting some industries and some families hard right now. If you find yourself worried about such things, here is a bit of e...

Kualabobon 21.19 Add Comment Communication, Leadership, Personal Development Edit

The Courage to Confront

Last night, a speaker confronted us with the importance of truth telling and its relationship to trust building. I was reminded that it take...

Kualabobon 22.49 Add Comment Brainstorming, Customer Focus, Design, Innovation, Product Development Edit

Little Product Innovations

"I base my fashion taste on what doesn't itch." - Gilda Radner When my sister was little, she was (and still is) a beautiful ...

Kualabobon 22.25 Add Comment Branding, Business Ideas, Inspiration, Learning, Marketing Edit

Place Names and Presentation Pacing

Tonight, Tony and I attended IgnitePortland 4, an event sponsored by the Legion of Tech . In this event, 13 presenters each had 20 slides ...

Kualabobon 22.02 Add Comment Business Model Innovation, Customer Focus, Customizable Products, Design, Leadership, Marketing, Product Development Edit

Quality is Job...well maybe it isn't even on the list

I read Seth Godin's new book Tribes . In it, he makes some very provocative points about the fallacy of quality. "Quality is not o...

Kualabobon 17.13 Add Comment Leadership, Organizations and Culture Edit

Can the public company survive?

As if the crushing financial burden of Sarbanes-Oxley is not enough, now it is pretty clear to me that Generation Y employees won't prob...

Kualabobon 21.42 Add Comment Coaching, Leadership Edit

As the economy tightens around us, I think we all feel a little poorer than we did even a few months ago. I read a few things in the past ...

Kualabobon 22.55 Add Comment Business Ideas, Innovation, Just for Fun Edit

New Gym in Portland Does What My Mom Always Wanted

When we were growing up, my Mom thought it would be great to connect four stationary bikes (one for each of us kids) to the television and w...

Kualabobon 22.45 Add Comment Design, Marketing Edit

Logo Recycling

This is right up my alley. Designers who create concepts that no one ever buys can put them up for sale in an online marketplace at IncSpri...

Kualabobon 22.39 Add Comment Brainstorming, Business Ideas, Marketing, Public Relations Edit

Deliveries by Bicycle

Home delivery of groceries has come, gone, and come again. There is an outfit in Sarasota, FL which literally brings that idea a step furthe...

Kualabobon 22.25 Add Comment Business Ideas, Business Model Innovation, Customer Focus, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Product Development Edit

Gift-Giving Subscription Plans

An innovative company in Brazil is offering a subscription service targeted to male gift-givers (surprise, surprise) giving them an easy wa...

Kualabobon 22.08 Add Comment Business Model Innovation, Customer Focus, Design, Innovation, Inspiration, Product Development Edit

Well, duh

Sometimes you see products or ideas and immediately think "Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?" Here are a few that I think...

Kualabobon 14.15 Add Comment Internet Tools, Just for Fun Edit

TGIF - Yearbook Yourself

Here is a fun thing to do on a Friday, go Yearbook Yourself to see how you'd look in the hairstyles of different eras. My best ones are ...

Kualabobon 21.57 Add Comment Business Ideas, Business Model Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Learning, Passion, Personal Development Edit

Just Do It: The Difference that Makes All the Difference

"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." - Jan L.A. van de Snepscheut "I c...

Kualabobon 21.18 Add Comment Business Ideas, Coaching, Customer Focus, Inspiration, Leadership, Marketing, Personal Development Edit

So, you think you can consult?

MarketingSherpa recently posted a quick quiz to determine whether or not you had the chops to be a consultant. Take their little survey your...

Kualabobon 23.13 Add Comment Design, Product Development Edit

Beautiful Things

I won't even try to add commentary to the things that Smashing Magazine put together in a post called "10 Beautiful Things for a Be...

Kualabobon 22.30 Add Comment Customer Focus, Customizable Products, Product Development Edit

Pattern Pedal

The folks at geekhouse bikes in Massachusetts, can build you a custom bicycle to your specifications. Pretty cool stuff. But, not as cool a...

Kualabobon 21.02 Add Comment Communication, Internet Tools, Publishing Edit

Innovative Business - Now Available in Other Languages

Thanks to the power of Google Translate and Mloovi , this blog is now available in a number of different languages! Subscribe to the Spanish...

Kualabobon 22.17 Add Comment Communication, Design, Internet Tools, Presentation Help Edit

Presentations Online

I have to admit I am a PowerPoint junkie. At work we use it ALL THE TIME and sometimes we forget that we can have meetings without it. I j...

Kualabobon 22.10 Add Comment Business Model Innovation, Marketing, Sales Channels Edit

Things People Need your Permission For

Seth Godin wrote a post about price pressure . In it he proposes, that if people are asking for a lower price, you are not providing value a...

Kualabobon 22.04 Add Comment Customizable Products, Product Development Edit

Your Sweet Face

I have written before about personalized M&Ms . Now you can get them with not only words, but pictures on them as well. The examples th...

Kualabobon 22.00 Add Comment Coaching, Design, Just for Fun, Learning Edit

Best Notetaking Ever!

I regularly follow the blog posts from 37Signals. They recently posted notes from the Chicago-area SEED 3 conference and I must admit they ...

Kualabobon 21.58 Add Comment Coaching, Inspiration, Just for Fun, Leadership, Passion Edit

Mental Toughness

Great post the other day from James Wood about Andrew Jackson. Think about the toughest person you know. The person who played injured. The...

Kualabobon 21.56 Add Comment Design, Innovation, Product Development Edit

Website Getting Easier and Easier

Just saw a write-up on Posterous , a super simple blogging platform. I thought Tumblr was the simple one, but this platform is even easier. ...

Kualabobon 21.50 Add Comment Business Ideas, Business Model Innovation, Customer Focus, Marketing, Product Development Edit

Clothing Rental

Springwise wrote about a clothing rental business called Transitional Sizes . For a monthly fee they rent clothes to women who are changing...

Kualabobon 21.41 Add Comment Business Ideas, Business Model Innovation, Customizable Products, Marketing, Product Development Edit

My Mom would be so proud

My mom, like many others I suppose, was a home economics major in college. She taught consumer education in schools. I just learned about ...

Kualabobon 21.38 Add Comment Coaching, Innovation, Leadership Edit

Purely for Economic Reasons

Why live in a town you hate? Why have a job that you feel is a waste of your talents? Why do you make the choices you do. If your first an...

Kualabobon 23.09 Add Comment Business Model Innovation, Leadership, Organizations and Culture, Teamwork Edit

Based on a True Story

We love movies and books that are based on reality. No matter how fantastic or unbelievable the events in the tale may be, it instantly has...

Kualabobon 22.25 Add Comment Communication, Customer Focus, Innovation, Organizations and Culture, Product Development, Productivity, Teamwork Edit

3 Ways that Technology Fails

"For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three." - Alice Kahn I love technol...

Kualabobon 21.59 Add Comment Inspiration, Just for Fun Edit

Great List of Portland Start-Ups

Techvibes publishes a monthly list of Portland start-ups. This list is great and makes me excited to be a part of this community. Check it...

Kualabobon 00.17 Add Comment Just for Fun Edit

Happy Monday!

I got a note from a friend of mine who received a mini-tribute from me. She wrote, "It is such a cute card. Made me smile the whole d...

Kualabobon 23.54 Add Comment Advertising, Communication, Customer Focus, Just for Fun, Marketing, Product Development, Public Relations Edit

Secret Agents and WOM Marketing

It is clear that building word-of-mouth marketing is critical for the success of a product or company and often it can use a bit of help to ...

Kualabobon 12.56 Add Comment Design, Organizations and Culture, Productivity, Teamwork Edit

Form and Function in Office Design

I just received a great little article by Patrick Lencioni, an author who I highly recommend. You can sign up for their newsletter here . It...

Kualabobon 14.32 Add Comment Inspiration, Passion, Personal Development Edit

Brick Walls

"Brick walls exist to prove how much you really want something. They are only barriers to those who don't want it bad enough. They ...

Kualabobon 14.27 Add Comment Coaching, Leadership, Organizations and Culture, Personal Development Edit

Unfinished Business

"Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance." - Kurt Vonnegut Is thi...

Kualabobon 14.19 Add Comment Brainstorming, Business Ideas, Business Model Innovation, Customer Focus, Innovation Edit

Just Playing Around

"We are more ready to try the untried when what we do is inconsequential. Hence the fact that many inventions had their birth as toys....

Kualabobon 14.08 Add Comment Customer Focus, Marketing, Public Relations Edit

A Product-Liability Litigators' Dream

Volvo promises an injury-free car by 2020. Is is a marketing ploy, a safety-conscious consumer's dream, or a product liability ligitiga...

Kualabobon 13.56 Add Comment Coaching, Inspiration, Leadership, Learning, Personal Development Edit

3 Ways to Focus

Fellow blogger and old college classmate, Jennifer Jeffrey , had a great quote on her blog the other day: "Give up all other worlds, e...

Kualabobon 13.53 Add Comment Design, Internet Tools Edit

Evite without Registration

Simplicity is the name of the game now-a-days. The new Evite alternative called Mobaganda takes that a step further. Without having to reg...

Kualabobon 13.44 Add Comment Creative Outlet Labs, Remarkable Tributes Edit

My Other Blog

There is a funny quote on the top of the Viximo site..."Blog: because you're not a real startup unless you're filling the inte...

Kualabobon 13.20 Add Comment Coaching, Internet Tools, Just for Fun, Personal Development Edit

Web Seminar MIA

I have been missing web seminars left and right recently. I generally love to attend a few each month (usually tuning in while multi-tasking...

Kualabobon 20.43 Add Comment Just for Fun Edit

Think Local

Perhaps it is because I am thinking about all things entrepreneurial or because I am grateful to be back in my old stomping grounds, but I h...

Kualabobon 23.43 Add Comment Innovation, Organizations and Culture, Productivity Edit

The Efficiencies of Crowds

Love this story from the blog by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff (can't wait to finish their book which I have been carrying around for sev...

Kualabobon 23.39 Add Comment Coaching, Design, Just for Fun Edit

Note to Self

Love this memo from scrapbook artist, Ali Edwards. Click on the image to see her blog.

Kualabobon 23.35 Add Comment Business Ideas, Business Model Innovation, Product Development Edit

"Why Not" is a Great Strategic Planning Tool

I recently read about a Swedish company called Coming Through , which retrofits Honda Goldwing motorcycles to be "tow trucks." Aft...

Kualabobon 23.31 Add Comment Communication, Creative Outlet Labs, Design, Internet Tools, Product Development Edit

Mind Reading and the Art of Scheduling Events

As close to mind-reading as I have seen, I used presdo the other day to arrange for a meeting and it worked pretty slick. I like the stream...

Kualabobon 22.49 Add Comment Branding, Customer Focus, Marketing, Product Development, Public Relations Edit

Storytelling and Branding

I was reminded recently of the important connection between storytelling and branding. There was a good presentation about from Mickey Conn...

Kualabobon 21.39 Add Comment Coaching, Customer Focus, Leadership, Marketing, Personal Development Edit

Connecting the Dots

I have mentioned before the great book entitled " Setting the Table" by Danny Meyer. He writes about building and nurturing rela...

Kualabobon 21.32 Add Comment Communication, Internet Tools, Just for Fun Edit

The Last Post About Twitter (I promise)

I was talking to an old friend today and Twitter came up in conversation. He said he had never heard of it, apart from my mentions of it on ...

Kualabobon 09.35 Add Comment Brainstorming, Customer Focus, Design, Learning, Product Development Edit

3 Ways to Error-Proof Your Product

"I like an escalator because an escalator can never break, it can only become stairs. There would never be an escalator temporarily out...

Kualabobon 13.21 Add Comment Coaching, Communication, Leadership, Passion, Public Relations Edit

Don't Mind the Mess

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." - T...

Kualabobon 16.39 Add Comment Business Ideas, Business Model Innovation, Customer Focus, Design, Innovation, Inspiration Edit

10 Ways to Change an Industry

Following the recommendation of a colleage and an unability to get an appointment with our normal primary care physician, we went to ZoomCar...

Kualabobon 22.57 Add Comment Communication, Internet Tools, Public Relations, Publishing Edit

Twitter Tracks

I just added a Twitter feed of my posts to this site. If you haven't yet used Twitter, it is fun service that allows you to post 140 ch...

Kualabobon 12.14 Add Comment Communication, Leadership, Learning Edit

More Quotes

Here are a few things that I have found myself saying more than once. Perhaps I should get some shirts made? "Every order has a story....

Kualabobon 16.24 Add Comment Business Ideas, Customizable Products, Design, Product Development Edit

Wearing Your Heart, No Head, On Your Sleeve

This has to be one of the coolest custom products ever, custom metal cufflinks from Eleven Forty Design . They are individually modeled from...

Kualabobon 16.37 Add Comment Design, Marketing, Product Development Edit

Products with Calling Cards

Oxford Landing wine out of South Australia makes it easier for customers to become repeat buyers of their products. Their labels include a ...

Kualabobon 16.24 Add Comment Customer Focus, Inspiration, Learning Edit

The distance between "To" and "For"

What would people do if every service issue at a company was handled in such a personal manner as Seth describes here . When is the last tim...

Kualabobon 09.20 Add Comment Business Model Innovation, Customer Focus, Leadership, Organizations and Culture Edit

The Laws of Analysis and Customer Service

A former colleague of mine and I were chatting today and I was prompted to pen these two laws that in our mutual experience apply to busines...

Kualabobon 22.28 Add Comment Coaching, Communication, Just for Fun, Productivity Edit

The Best "Out of Office" Message Ever

Right mix of defeatest attitude, friendly familiarity, and, best of all, he or she never commits to getting back with you. This was taken fr...