Amazingly, I have stuck to two of my New Year’s resolutions: meditating and writing. Each day, I have been spending two hours (at least) focused exclusively on editing JPC or working on my book project. I have found that the time I spend writing and editing has become an inspirational and meditative time that I …
Continue reading “Meditating so that writing becomes fun and not work”
I have been a computer enthusiast since I was a young boy. My first computer was a Texas Instruments Ti99/4A on which I first learned the joys of video games and computer programming. After that we had a Macintosh SE, with a whopping 10MB hard drive. It felt like a supercomputer! My first laptop was a …
Continue reading “Computers I have used and video games I have played”
Today, my colleague Terry Flynn, co-founder (with Maria Russell) of the McMaster-Syracuse Master of Communications Management program (of which I am director), was interviewed for the McMaster Daily News today. The piece listed his recent achievements and focused on his opinions on the unfolding crises in journalism in the Leslie Roberts, Amanda Lang and Jian …
Continue reading “A tribute to Terry Flynn, my dear colleague and PR mentor”
The writing process involves creativity, of course, but that creativity is also a product of discipline and hard work. Writing is something that each of us has to develop a process to be able to do well. I will quickly describe mine for you. I write every day. In fact, you will have noticed that …
The Internet of Things (IoT) is there: machines are starting to speak intelligently to other machines and automate small parts of our lives. Soon a greater portion of our lives will affected by the machines we use everyday, as they track our actions and adapt their functions to our habits and preferences. We are only …
I have terrible handwriting. Often, it is so bad that I have to spend significant amounts of time deciphering what I have scribbled during meetings or when I have written down personal observations. Recently, I discovered the joys and efficiencies of writing and drawing on my iPad with a stylus. I started with one of …
Continue reading “My new favourite handwriting tool: Adonit Jot Touch with Pixelpoint”
One of the greatest brakes on people’s success is their lack of social capital. I have seen this in action at the university where I teach. The students who come in knowing how to start businesses, seek internships and network have a huge advantage over those who haven’t been given those skills or exposed to …
Continue reading “We should teach the principles of commerce to young kids”
We live in a culture that favours the similar. As the internet permeates all the corners of the many rooms of the palaces of our lives, a perverse thing appears to be happening: our worlds are becoming smaller and more homogenous. Facebook sends catered advertising and posts to our feeds, reinforcing what we already like. …
Continue reading “Breaking out of the internet echo chamber”
I have been paying a lot of attention to the work of Ray and Charles Eames, the famous designers who built so many beautiful pieces of furniture, accessories and toys, mostly for Herman Miller. They had a remarkable career of innovation, designing such classics as the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, the Hang-it-All, the Eames …
Continue reading “Charles Eames, “good design”, and communications strategy”
I have been reading Drucker quite a bit as part of a research project the last few days. In Managing Oneself [pdf], I found the following gem: “Bosses are neither a title on the organization chart nor a “function.” They are individuals and are entitled to do their work in the way they do it best. It …
