Book Review: Next to Me

David Jones came from humble beginnings and worked his way up to CEO of a successful British retail company. And he did so without telling anyone that he had Parkinson’s Disease for most of his tenure. Jones was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease one year after he became the CEO of Grattan, which later merged with … Read more

Communication Company Customer Service

David Strom needs to switch phone service and he looks at Adelphia and Verizon. Do a search for any telecommunications company and you’ll see plenty of complaints about all of them. That’s because their systems are complex.
I’ve worked at two telecommunications companies for ten years and it gave me perspective into why customer service is often not a smooth process. Both of these companies have been around since the early 1900s. Because of this, they had legacy systems that could only do so much.
So they took the legacy systems further than they were ever supposed to go and added other systems to work with the legacy systems. With multiple systems connecting to each other (teleco to teleco, too), it’s no surprise data gets messed up along the way.

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Blog Book Tour: The White Rose

This post comes from author Jean Hanff Korelitz who has a new book out The White Rose. She’s a novelist who lives in Princeton, N.J., with her husband, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon, and their children. I interviewed Jean Hanff Korelitz who kindly took the time to reply thoroughly and quickly. Jean is always … Read more

Book Review: Why Some Companies Emerge Stronger and Better from a Crisis

Crises aren’t limited to computer breaches, hurricanes, and tsunamis. Unfortunately, more crises have occurred in the past few years than in the 20 years before that. Too many organizations react to crisis instead of making crisis management a part of its organization like human resources and finance. The unusual way of doing business in the … Read more

Book Fairs and Shopping

I’m exhausted. I spent the morning working at the school Book Fair and it was Grandparents Day, so lots of folks to check out. I love the Book Fair and look forward to it twice a school year. I remember them from when I was a kid as well as a student teacher in Washington, D.C. I even bought books then though I didn’t have kids yet. So it’s no surprise that my favorite class in college was Children’s Lit.
We also get the Book Club flyers every couple of months. I tend to get carried away when buying books, so I look up the ones I think sound interesting and decide from there. Probably saved me a few bucks. While I could get better deals online, it’s a nice way to help the school. The Book Club has a few deals, but not often.
After the Book Fair, Mom and I went to check out the new Plano Wal-Mart Supercenter. What’s the big deal? It’s a pilot store that tries new things. It was nice with a different look and feel than a typical Wal-Mart. One complaint: the skylights. Too much light hurts my eyes. But I know I’m in the minority.

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Book Review: Blogging for Business

Companies like Boeing, IBM, and Stonyfield Farm make it part of their business communication strategy. With over 30 million blogs in cyberspace, businesses need to understand how blogs work and affect their own organizations. Blogging for Business targets interested business bloggers as well as businesses who understand the importance of tracking blogs. Bloggers talk about … Read more

Book Review: Nonfiction Writing

Author Dan Poynter has written over 100 books. Think he knows something about publishing? Not only has he written three digits worth of books, but he also has a publishing company that publishes and distributes many quality articles, resources, and books about publishing. Writing Nonfiction is an easy, educational, fast, and enjoyable read. Poynter goes … Read more

Visions, Missions, Positioning, and other Statements

I never wanted to start a business. The thought of managing all the administrative stuff like accounting, legal, and other stuff turned me off. I like doing my job and focusing all of my energies there. Surprising as that’s what I am doing today… managing my own business. It’s a one-person business and I manage … Read more

Crisis Management through Blogs

Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in P.R. Campaign is using the blogosphere to improve its image. I don’t have a problem with companies working with bloggers. The key is to be open about it. Don’t try to fool readers — they’re smart and know when a blogger is full of BS. Wal-Mart is going to need a … Read more