While I truly enjoy the juicy flavors of Starburst, their new website revamp is something that really hits the spot. The design, and the depth of the images and animation as well as the juicy little videos are great. Check them out at: http://starburst.com/

The screen shot above is one from the "juicy videos" and is very well written and executed. Click on the orange candy and then look for "Roomies" in the sharing video. 

So, as I was listening to an audiobook recently, I don't recall which one, I heard something that resonated with me. The quote was to "Make each day your masterpiece" and it really struck me, we HAVE that ability. Each morning as your alarm sounds, you get your wake-up call, the call to start your masterpiece. Do you hit the snooze button (guilty) or do you bound out of bed, feet hitting the floor with the excitement and fervor of a new puppy who has just spotted the little sunshine-yellow tennis ball. Leaping and bounding, tail wagging and ready follow where that ball may lead, no matter which direction it flies. Or, do you sloth out of bed, reluctantly dragging your feet from the warm and cozy covers?

 Once you have risen, it is time to plan your masterpiece! Oh, the options that lie before you. The medium, the texture, style, etc. Think about your medium for the day. Do you work in Acrylic, needing quick results? Or do you prefer Oils, taking longer to come to fruition, but perhaps more valuable in the long run? And your canvas, are you working on a 4"x5" canvas (living small and in fear), or are you shooting for the largest canvas available to you, something closer to 10'x20' (living in love and abundance)? Are you painting (speaking) with bright and vibrant colors, or dull muted tones? Or do you not even feel confined by a canvas? Breaking into more dimensional, and hands-on mediums of clay, or sculpture? Perhaps something that can be molded and then each day coming back to tweak a little more, something that will evolve with you?

Tomorrow as you rise from your slumber, step back, and look at your day differently, through new eyes.  What is your masterpiece for the day going to look like, and at the end of each day, when you look back, is your masterpiece worthy of the Louvre? Or are you not even proud enough to hang it in your closet?

Now realistically, not every day can be master quality, and if it isn't, can you look back at the day and know that you have mastered a new skill, learned a new technique which will make you an even more accomplished artist in the days to come?

The image above is one that I think illustrates this point well, and also is one cool site and deserves some recognition, perhaps the Louvre? OK, well maybe not, but quite impressive. Rendered images in clay, sometimes adds depth to the concept being relayed. The incorporation of the human hand into the art that gives it a different kind of breath of life. Deplastilina offers up some beautifully sculpted clay images that are truly one of a kind. Abstract and yet meaningful, I found several of them to be quite beautiful. Browse them and perhaps they will inspire your next masterpiece!

So, typically I try to stay off my soap box, but this morning as I was reading Advertising Age, I became compelled. Reporting that the coffee brewing giant, Starbucks, could be in real trouble. Really, no surprise to me. Why. Two words.....free internet!

Lets take a look, over the past several years, the general public has become coffee obsessed. The specialty coffee that once was a luxury, novelty, a treat, has become the standard entitlement. While expensive, it has been that morning boost to get you moving, get your mind churning again in preparation for a long day of work.

When the economy tanks, and filling our tanks has nearly doubled, where does that cash come from. Maybe the 3-4x week mocha has now become that one per week treat again. Ouch, that has to hurt. But then, the number of individuals working from home, remote offices, or flexible offices are on the rise as well. In booking your next meeting, were do you go? Working from an office in a city which isn't where I do the bulk of my business, I find myself meeting clients in a lot of coffee shops, or restaurants. But, when your business is so closely tied to the internet, or you need to be able to check your e-mail before and after, the requirements of our meeting space are going to be influenced by a couple of factors. Space and internet services.

I venture to say that 80% of my most recent meetings have been coffee shops. Coffee shops with free internet. Of them 0% have been Starbucks for that very reason. In trots Caribou, or welcome my friends the Dunn Brothers or the herds of local coffee shops, all providing free internet services. The bonus in this is that if it is a legit business meeting, you can write off the expense of the coffee or meal, and in a slow economy writing of that little coffee addiction is looking pretty good.

So, Starbucks, wake up and smell the flavor of the coffee of your new best friend, flexible business workers with an expense budget.

Check out this artist, deemed a "reverse graffiti artist" he creates his art by cleaning. Creating stencils and then power washing through them, he creates a design on a wall, building, or other relatively grimy surface.

I have been working on a technique utilizing Nitric Acid on Copper to create some trees, but this is a bit different process, one of cleaning rather than oxidizing. Which lead me to think of what some other applications for this type of technique might be.

Recently all workplaces in Fargo, ND went smoke free. And perhaps this would have been a better campaign for  prior to the passing of that resolution, but you could do the same thing here as well. Work with a bar owner create a stencil of an ad, and then apply to the wall which has been covered with years of smoking residue, and then clean. This would likely work in restaurants where the use of deep fat fryers was used, removing the grease to better illustrate what you are breathing in.

I cities with a lot of pollution, perhaps you could take a plain white board, and apply white vinyl or a polyurethane over your image and then sit back and watch as the image appears due to the discoloration of the board. 

Any other thoughts? How else could the use of cleaning or the illustration of dirt in the environment be used to create art? Watch the video of this artist on Creativity.com.

As you know, I am a fan for thinking outside of the box, looking at ways to do things or use things differently. So, when I saw this ad by Toyota which was printed on actual banana leaves that were destined to be destroyed it piqued my interest.

Cool factor, up there, really up there. Green? That remains to be seen. It is hard to say what the costs involved were, were the leaves sprayed with chemicals to keep them green? Was more energy used to deliver because of the perishability? Screen printing isn't typically the most environmentally friendly process. And on and on, and on and on.

Weighing those factors is iffy at best. Arguments can be made in either direction, nonetheless, the ad, quite impressive,  and I applaud them for looking at a waste product differently, turning it into something of value, that takes really thinking outside of the box or paper in this case. Look around you, your clients, if they are creating products, are they byproducts that could be used in new and innovative ways? Can their product actually be used as the medium with which you communicate the message?  

Check out the larger version here 

As I was out for my morning run, shocker I know but I am trying, the sun was rising as I tread up a black dirt road near my home. Pounded flat from the tires years of local farmers and travellers, including myself, shaving a couple of minutes off of their commute. My feet alone have walked that path for as long as I can remember. I have walked this road through all emotional states, in the heights of excitement of a new marriage, pregnancy, careers. Walking it as well in the depths of depression, sadness of lost loved ones whom I had held so dear, and today in the gratitude that my feet had carried me up to the one-mile line, and with the prayer that they would hold out for a few more strides.

Six or so weeks ago, I started the couch-to-5k program, I must say that it has been the most productive investment in my health I have made thus far. Sure, in six weeks I am only on week 4, but in my roughly 30 minute workout, but I ran for 16 minutes and that is more than I have in as long as I can remember. As the audio instructed me that I had finished the running portion of the workout, with a deep breath and much celebration I returned to the "brisk walking pace." Brisk being the operative word, and in this case somewhat of a delusion.

It was at that point, as I was walking that I really began looking at the road, the fields on either side of me. To my left, was the field of corn basking in the first light as the sun rose gently above the textured weaving of their leaves into one. On my right, held a field of wheat, which to my surprise that while still green had already formed heads, a sure sign that harvest is soon approaching.

Living in the moment and the injection of levity into your life are two themes I have come to over and over in the past months. As I gazed upon the wheat field, the vision, likely from a warm and fuzzy cereal commercial, pops into my head of a woman in a long flowing dress strolling through a wheat field. Her hand ever so gently grazing the very tips of the wheat in the field and they bow softly beneath her as she passes. And I think to myself, I don't believe I have ever been that woman in the field, but for today, I am going to go for it anyway.  Granted, I was sweaty, winded and wearing my Nike's and workout clothes, but hey, seize the moment. So I stepped into the field, closed my eyes for a moment, and ventured forward. As I moved the tips of the wheat grazed my fingertips and I felt their softness and the slight prickly caress. Soaking in every aspect of that moment. Then, of course, it was wet and kind of scratchy on the legs and still slightly damp from the morning dew. Here ends the dream sequence. But, it was a reminder to me that sometimes we need to just jump into the field, make that experience happen and truly be in that moment for a while.

Now I could have waited for perfection, the long flowing hair, the dress, the wheat golden and ready for harvest, but this was the moment. What if that day never comes? I recently have been listening to Mike Dooley's "Leveraging the Universe and Engaging the Magic" in which he talks about something that I felt addresses this point. The vision he paints is that of the mother duck. Now, she doesn't wait for all of her ducks to line up in a row. And we use that phrase frequently, "getting my ducks in a row," but in nature (what a perfect model) the mother duck doesn't sit and lecture her ducks, lining them up. That would never happen. She does, however, venture forward and her ducks fall perfectly into line. I see this as very symbolic in life as well. What are you waiting for? Getting your ducks lined up for? Venture forth, seize the moment, and trust that your ducks will fall into line.

So, you need a little Friday pickup for your staff? It has been a long week, and you want your staff to leave the office this week without heading directly for Monster.com or anxiously awaiting the Sunday Help Wanted ads to plan their exit strategy.

Why not deem "Friday is Pie Day!" While I didn't come up with this one on my own (snaps to Roger at Concordia) it is something that truly brings smiles to faces and the sugar buzz required to push you through the last day of the week.

You can safely figure 1 pie per 6-8 people (12 if you are stingy or have a very weight conscious office), and should easily be able to find something for $1 to $2 per person. Here are some ways you can shake it up, alternatives and options:

Put this on the "I gotta get me one of these!" list. While not entirely functional, the cool factor on these is through the roof. Created by little factory this scarf is laser cut utilizing the letters of the alphabet to create the pattern, giving it a interesting and textured appearance. Almost random feel from afar, but quite interesting as you get close enough to recognize what the design is.

For those of us who love to see letters as art, this is a must have. Check it out at:  http://littlefactory.com/scarf/uppercase/

For those who might not appreciate the random letters, what can this inspire? Perhaps it is your latest tagline, cut into the scarf, which can double as a impromptu banner. How about your next sporting event giveaway? Scarves with your team name, motto, etc laser cut out of them? 1,000 fans holding up your sports team banner could be a really cool effect in a stadium and it would likely be taken home and pinned up on walls, bulletin boards and in offices for years to come. Can you say that for the little foam fingers?

I recently attended the Bigger Small Talk Conference here in Fargo and day two of the festivities was all about finding your genius. I had longed to find my genius, hoping it was in there somewhere, and fearing that I was, perhaps, geniusless. Oh the horror of being sans genius for the rest of my life. Enter Dick Richards, author of "Is Your Genius at Work: 4 Key Questions to Ask Before Your Next Career Move."

So, as we begin the journey in our search for the holy genius grail, individuals were standing to declare that they had discovered their genius. Consisting of a Gerund (ing word) and a noun, people were slowly standing, trying on different genius' and seeing how they felt. Well, after a resumé which reads a little schizophrenic, and having ventured down different tangents and which ever path I was invited to travel, feeling a bit like Dorothy in the wizard of Oz, I was really hoping to find something that fit.  I felt like I have the tools that I need and enjoyed the characters and experiences the yellow brick road had provided, I just need to find my way home to my genius.

So as about a safe third of the attendees had finished standing and declaring their genius, some more confidently than others, I chose to stand and share what I had discovered. I stood and declared that my genius was in "engineering experiences" to which Dick responded, "nope, that isn't it" and as I described what it is that I enjoy doing, what I do without even being asked or paid, words that I don't know that I had ever uttered, crossed my lips and resonated more strongly in me than anything in a long time. "Creating Synergy," he declared to be my genius! Yep, that feels good, really good. So I scribble it on my name badge and try it on for size. Removing the "engineering experiences" which fit, but felt a bit like the 80's shoulder pads I SO loved. At the time, seemed like a good idea, but in reality, a bit big and cumbersome, and a bit out of proportion. Now with my genius was written in ruby red Sharpie, there was no place like my genius "home."

 So, why Creating Synergy? I think it stems from the middle child "can't we all just get along" syndrome. I always seem to find my way into the middle of people and situations, trying to make everyone feel a part of the team, feeling good about themselves and their work, and collaborating to create something bigger together than could evolve in their individual realms. Case and point, my dream for this site was a place where others come come and contribute and learn, more than just me, but a group of friends. I am energized by the process of brainstorming, and finding new ways to look at old problems, and coming up with new solutions. Finding new ways to infuse technology to ease old struggles. And creating visual synergy as well, matching the style and collateral of a company to its culture, making sure that interior and exterior are one.

So, in the spirit of Creating Synergy, I have decided to add another category to my blog in which I share tips and techniques I have found over my years of being an employee and a manager to help prevent burnout, which I have seen and lived too many times. You will find those tips on the home page and then also archived in the left navigation as well.

Please join me on my new yellow brick road and if you have a tip you would like to share, I would love to hear and share it. You will find a number of things out there, but what I hope to share, are the fun and creative and inventive that those even on a tight budget can employ. Here's hoping you find that yellow brick road to your very own genius and know that "There's no place like home, there's no place like home!"

This section is devoted to the little things you can do as a manager, employee, friend to build synergy in an office environment. Lift someone's spirits, or just say thanks for a job well done. Often times we think that employee benefits need to be some astronomically priced conference, or equipment, or the mighty dollar (or multiples of them) and while there is nothing wrong with any of these, I believe it is the day-to-day things that you do, that build teams, and create synergy in an office.

So as I explore what some of these things look like, not all may resonate with you, but pick one up, try it out, if it doesn't work, try something else. Different employees are going to appreciate different things, so I will try to post a sampling of the things here and if you have others that work, I would love to hear them as well. My criteria for what I am posting: things that you can do for $3-5 per employee, some even less. Consistency is the key, small things you can do on a regular basis, maybe once per week, or every other week. So, enjoy this section and if you get positive feedback from your staff, I would love to hear it.