Reliable Sources: Nicholas Bate & ChangeThis Manifestos

The importance of finding and cultivating reliable sources is one thing that has stayed with me from  my Journalism School days at Bowling Green. A reoccurring theme in class that was quickly put into practice was recognizing and cultivating these dependable assets.

For me these are the trusted places I find myself going back to for practical, useful, and insightful information. I also end up sharing them with others with positive results.

1. Business of Life + Life of Business by Nicholas Bate - Nicholas Bate is an expert on change and how it impacts business culture. His insight is right on regarding the importance of work life balance and is prolific in terms of generating insightful content on a regular basis.   On of my favorite posts is Be Bold 101.  You can subscribe to his RSS feed here and you won't find him tweeting on twitter but he is often mentioned there.
2. ChangeThis Manifestos by 800-CEO-READ - If you're like me you really enjoy a good manifesto and they deliver a monthly set of manifestos that focus on supporting and spreading great ideas.  The collection this month (Issue 102 in a collector's series) includes Guy Kawasaki & Shawn Welch on the Self-Publishing Revolution, Ninja Innovation by Gary Shapiro, and recognizing Vulnerability in today's business environment by former CIA Officer J.C. Carleson. You can see the archive here of past manifestos as well.

I hope that you benefit from the insight provided by these reliable sources.   What are some of the trusted places you go back to again and again and why?

He Got The Job!

I really enjoyed The Candidate piece at the Inspiration Room.   

They take the interview process and break it down into three areas:

1. The Kick Off
2. Medical Assistance
3. Fire Drill

It's an example of great storytelling illustrating how important it is to think on your feet and the potential result. Congratulations to Guy Lutching as well for landing the job.

How far do you go to stand out in the interview?  What language do you use to distinguish yourself or what is your elevator pitch?

Even before the interview, how does your resume set you apart from the rest of the crowd? Have you considered a different approach then the traditional resume?  Here are three that I saw recently that were very inventive:

1. The Infographic approach of Simone Fortunini @mr_simonsays 
2. The Amazon Shopping Cart by Phillipe Dubost @pdubost
3. The "Resume Bar" Candy Bar of Nick Begley @nickbegley

There's plenty more clever examples as well - It made me realize that I need to update my resume so it tells a better story and at least gets a longer look. 

What are you doing to distinguish yourself from the crowd?

Remembering 'The National'

As Super Bowl XLVII was coming to a close last night and the wraps were being put on an exciting and surreal game, I was thinking about The National Sports Daily and how they would have covered the event.

'The National' was a US attempt at an all-sports daily newspaper back in 1990 and it's Editor-In-Chief was Frank DeFord of NPR.  I remember the quality journalism, tabloid format and the thrill I got (as a Journalism major) of seeing people carrying the folded issue under their arm and sharing the paper and its contents as they revisited last night's game with fellow sports fans.

The venture was a short-lived and expensive one, ending after 18 months and losing by most accounts over 100 million dollars during that time. If you want to know more you should read the pieces in Grantland and mental_floss written by some of the writers that were part of the paper. 

Will we ever see something like 'The National' again in some different approach? I like to think it would work as an app or mobile platform and then I remember 'The Daily' and wonder what's next as I read about last night's game on the web.  

Thanks for the memories....