Ian@work

That giant sigh you hear...

...is me wrapping up a major commitment for '06.

Tuesday I was in front of a group that's been awaiting the product of nine months of interviews, research and (in the client's words) blue sky thinking. The strategy that we (a colleague and me) delivered was, by all appearances, well received.

How much breathing room does this create? Uh, not much. One major project is accelerating, another is about to go from planning into implementation, and several others are simmering.

As for this semi-neglected blog, it's about to go offline - for me, not you - for a few days. I've been thinking about revamping it, folding in elements of my other blog, and adding a few other ingredients.

I won't be gone long. Promise.

Kansas City here I come...

Or there I went, as the case may be. Spent much of today at Kansas City MCI, tapping away at the computer, after a client meeting. My first ever airplane ride originated at that airport -- the place hasn't changed much in the 30 years since then. Oh, except they now have free WiFi, though the signal doesn't extend all the way to Starbucks.

One point in Kansas City's favor: Wherever I went, the people were unusually helpful and cheerful.


Technorati Tags: kansas+city, travel

Uncle Mark's Almanac

Stuck for a gift idea? Looking for useful lifehacks? Download and read the always excellent Uncle Mark's Gift Guide & Almanac.


Technorati Tags: uncle+mark, gifts, good+experience

Chicago

Activity here as been at a low, seeing as how I'm immersed in client work.

I raised my head just long enough to take notice of Edelman's ode to Chicago. He gets it exactly right, and expresses why Chicago has long been one of my favorite American cities. In the '90s my wife and I lived three hours up the lakeshore and spent many weekends in Chicago. Now we're fortunate to go once or twice a year.


Technorati Tags: chicago, edelman

BookMooch

Newly launched, a site that connects readers and facilitates exchanging books. They call it a community, but there's no discussion of the books themselves.

Note to friend Murray: They need to see The Bookshopper. That would be a great basis for an online community of readers.


Technorati Tags: books, readers, bookshopper, BookMooch

Pondering productivity

Yin

and

Yang

Work in Progress

Friend Murray, noticing that this blog is creeping toward a state of neglect, called to ask what's up.

The brief answer is that I'm in the midst of two major projects, in addition to the usual flow of work. One, an e-business strategy engagement, is carrying me back and forth across North Carolina as I conduct stakeholder interviews. The other keeps me pinned to a chair while I sort out the redevelopment of a large (currently 5,000+ pages) institutional Web site.

The clock's ticking on both projects, and with start dates for others on the horizon I've not been paying close attention to my newsreader, trade pubs, or much else for that matter. A couple of commentworthy items dropped into my mailbox earlier today, but they'll have to wait.

There's been one brief respite, a trip to Asheville to see Tom Waits in concert. While I was there I dropped in on Tim and Tara at eGlobaldesign. A mutual friend had previously introduced us, and I was curious to learn more. In a nutshell, they do solid, thoughtful work. Travel and hospitality companies are their focus, though they aren't strictly limited to that arena.


Technorati Tags: design, asheville, consulting

Quiet Around Here....

Work takes time away from blogging, and at the moment I'm buried in several projects:

• Launching a new corporate Web site for a client
• Laying the groundwork for a series of stakeholder interviews that are part of a strategic planning gig
• Wrapping up interviews that are a phase of an IA project for another client
  
• Finishing a Business Journal op-ed, on time for once
• Putting the last touches on presentation templates for a corporate client
  

It's shaping up to be a busy, interesting (in the best way) summer.

Coldhearted River

A while ago Murray and I drove our friends Kim and Randy to Harlan, KY, where we deposited them on the banks of the Cumberland River. After they canoed the length of the Cumberland Kim wrote a book about the experience: Coldhearted River : A Canoe Odyssey Down the Cumberland.

I just got my copy and was pleased to see that it included a couple of my photographs, including my shot of the most disturbing billboard you'll ever lay eyes on:

Added bonus: Chapter one's recounting of how Murray and I helped Kim and Randy mentally prepare for their adventure by cracking Deliverance jokes.

Technorati Tags: book, coldhearted+river, kim+trevathan

Spout

Bill Holsinger-Robinson, an old friend of mine from my Michigan days, is COO for online movie community Spout. They just launched at SXSW (where else would you launch a business like this, right?). Take a look.


Technorati Tags: movies, sxsw, community, social