Category: Work

  • Work, Liberty and the Pursuit of Pleasure

    I blogged a bit about Living Without A Goal recently and went down a path I didn’t originally anticipate, focusing on utility and value and appreciation in life. I’d intended to say more about James Ogilvy’s views on work, but once I was plumbing the depths of what makes life meaningful, valuable and worthwhile, I…

  • Living Without a Goal: Mattering Without Being Useful

    God and Marx are both dead. Relativism has dethroned absolutism. In our postmodern world, how do we create meaning in our lives now in the absence of externally defined Grand Goals? In Living Without a Goal: Finding the Freedom to Live a Creative and Innovative Life, author James Ogilvy encourages us to adopt a more…

  • Computer Supported Cooperative Whatever: Reflections on Work, Play and Passion at CSCW 2006

    As I reflected upon the reflections that were offered during the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2006) last week — and some of my notes on CSCW 2006 — a promiment theme that emerged [for me] was the tension between professionalism and playfulness. The conference, which celebrated its 20th year anniversary this…

  • Joining Nokia: Connecting People … and Helping People Relate

    On Monday, I embark on a new chapter in my career, as a Principal Scientist at Nokia Research Center, Palo Alto [Update: I rather prefer Principle Scientist, the title ascribed to me by Anne Galloway]. I'm excited about the opportunities to contribute to a number of strategic initiatives NRC is exploring, and to help this…

  • Passion and Purpose in Living, Loving, Learning and Leaving a Legacy

    A news item appearing in my Google Desktop Sidebar this morning about the death of Enron founder Ken Lay immediately reminded me of Stephen Covey‘s book, First Things First: To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy.  I don’t know much about how well Lay lived, loved or learned, but I have a…

  • Howard Schultz on Passion, Perseverance and Partnership

      I had a remarkable Starbucks Experience yesterday, which prompted me to go back and review my notes from Howard Schultz’s inspiring book “Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time” (co-authored with Dori Jones Yang).  It reminded me of my intention to start posting more summaries of…

  • Entrepreneurial Passion and Discipline: Dan Rosen and Russ Stockdale @ MIT Enterprise Forum

    Dan Rosen (co-founder and general partner of Frazier Technology Ventures and chair of the Alliance of Angels) and Russ Stockdale (Vice President of Marketing and Strategy for Clearsight Systems) gave a clear, concise and compelling presentation at the MIT Enterprise Forum in Seattle tonight on the importance — and necessity — for passion and discipline…

  • Boxing and Belly Dancing, Boldness and Dreams

    I rarely watch television, but I was captivated by the Ken Burns documentary film, “Unforgivable Blackness”, profiling the rise and fall of Jack Johnson, the first African-American Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World, shown this week on PBS. I regularly listen to NPR (and yes, I’m a member of both KCTS and KPLU), and Wednesday…