Knowledge Work

As a language geek, I can’t tell you how much I dig this story:
Using grammar rules alongside test tubes, biologists may have found a promising new way to fight nasty bacteria, including drug-resistant microbes and anthrax.
Studying a potent type of bacteria-fighters found in nature, called antimicrobial peptides, biologists found that they seemed to follow rules […]

A sobering report issued last month by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Industrial Performance Center criticized the U.S. government’s ability to develop sound economic policy due to the extreme lack of data available concerning the offshoring of American jobs. The MIT report was released just three days after the Washington State Democratic Congressional delegation […]

Pressured by foreign competition and impatient domestic investors… employers broke the post-war “work contract” with employees under which they had shared the gains and risks of the post-war economy. As a result, more of the risks were shifted onto employees. Under the old contract… “workers received job security, guaranteed benefits, and good pay,” while “employers […]

After a “meh” experience with a set of Berlitz CDs and workbooks, I’m embarking on a new language-learning adventure.
Did an extended online demo of the Rosetta Stone language software last week, and was very impressed with it; have just popped for a couple of Latin American Spanish teaching modules, which will, if nothing else, enable […]

Lately, I have been thinking about a couple of management practices that seem (based on my experience of more than 18 years in government) to occur more frequently in government settings and to have significant detrimental effects on employees and the organization. The first one is keeping underperforming employees around when they should be let […]

If you respond to RFPs or have any part in the proposal writing process, the Shipley Associates Proposal Guide for Business and Technical Professionals will be worth every penny of the $60 you pay for it (Amazon price as of September 2006.)
It is not a tutorial or a “how to” guide; rather, it’s a reference […]

The last year has seen the first appearance of online word processing applications such as ajaxWrite, ThinkFree Online, Writely, and Zoho Writer. Online office applications are an unproven product in a new market. To see how worthwhile they were, I compared their interfaces, basic and advanced features, and their document export and administration capabilities. The […]

Hey, everybody!  It’s the Web 2.0 Logo Generator!
Hat tip: The Modulator.

If you want to make an appointment to see Larry Page and Sergey Brin this week, you’ll have a harder time than usual doing so. The Google founders are making their annual pilgrimage to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada for the Burning Man festival.
Google’s known for its exacting hiring requirements, which include a degree […]

Rob Lawrence wrote a useful field guide to help you identify whether you’re dealing with a consultancy or a body shop:
What are the differences between a consultancy and a “body shop”? No matter what your role in professional services–buyer, seller, or resource–you need to be able to understand how the two differ. Consider:

If you are […]

Project management guru Scott Berkun has a useful essay on how to detect bullshit in the workplace:
…[L]ies, serious lies, should not be encouraged as they destroy trust, the binding force in all relationships. One particularly […]

Here’s a terrific, intelligent side-by-side comparison of the two most popular rapid e-learning development tools: Captivate and Camtasia.
Macromedia Captivate by Adobe and TechSmith Camtasia Studio 3.1 are similar software tools with uniquely different strong points. If you’re creating a quick-and-dirty software demo, or a PowerPoint presentation to post to a Web site, Camtasia is a […]

Many people ask me for advice about getting a job in Silicon Valley, so here’s the inside scoop. Not everyone will agree with this advice, and some will outright deny what I’m saying, but if you use these tips you will stand head and shoulders above most candidates.
Guy Kawasaki: Everything You Wanted to Know About […]

Let me tell you about these fabulous little notebooks I’ve just found.
As a writer (one who works on technical subjects, not the Great American Novel) I make a point to never be without a notebook and a pen (a Pilot G2, please.)
For years, I used cheap spiral-bound reporter’s notebooks and went through them like Sherman […]

Responsible education reformers know that throwing money at the problems of poor schools and underperforming students doesn’t work.
Sun Microsystems’ retired CEO Scott McNealy has a new idea: leverage the power of open-source tools and software to make high-quality instructional material available to the world’s students for free.
“Math hasn’t changed since Isaac Newton,” declares Scott McNealy. […]

It’s important to remember that ITIL is NOT a standard. ITIL has no auditing criteria. Contrary to popular belief ITIL tools cannot be officially regarded as ITIL Compliant. ITIL is a framework of best practice that aims to ensure cost effective, appropriate and quality IT services are delivered. But there’s nothing in ITIL to Audit […]

We are all told from childhood on that “Patience is a virtue.” And this is largely true. True patience is a combination of disciplined action and disciplined waiting. If we can employ it to the right ends, we can achieve goals and reap rewards that initially seem impossible or unattainable.
In organizational life, however, “patience” is […]

A survey of U.S. IT executives and business managers released in June by Accenture highlighted how far up the ladder [the Geek/Suit] gap exists.
While 73 percent of responding IT executives said they believe they understand their company’s business extremely or very well, 43 percent of general business managers agreed.
Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of both […]

In his satirical new book Rome, Inc.: The Rise and Fall of the First Multinational Corporation, Stanley Bing humorously makes the case that the proto-capitalistic Imperium Romanum–with its bold takeovers, power-mad CEOs, and compelling brand–was the beta version of the globe-spanning Microsofts, General Electrics, and IBMs of today. Or perhaps more accurately, the Enrons and […]

When it comes to parceling out the money, IT is the first to be fired and the last to be hired:
Organisations are not increasing their IT investment at the same rate the business is growing, according to a study by Gartner.
But IT budgets are also harder hit and more negatively affected by a fall in […]