http://community.morassociates.com/service/getFeed.kickAction?mediaType=BLOG&quantity=25&as=111754 New blogs from abywater on MOR Associates Community Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:10:51 GMT Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:10:51 GMT abywater@morassociates.com (abywater) abywater@morassociates.com (abywater) KickApps Feed Builder 2010-07-30T15:10:51Z 13 http://community.morassociates.com/service/searchEverything.kickAction?as=111754&sortType=recent 0 http://community.morassociates.com/_Give-the-people-what-they-want/BLOG/2511962/111754.html I saw this xkcd comic today and I had to laugh. I have seen so many of the University web sites out there and have to agree with the author of this comic. It made me wonder about the process that goes into designing pages for schools. Are there focus groups? Are hit metrics used? [image] I saw this xkcd comic today and I had to laugh. I have seen so many of the University web sites out there and have to agree with the author of this comic. It made me wonder about the process that goes into designing pages for schools. Are there focus groups? Are hit metrics used? [image] Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:10:51 GMT http://community.morassociates.com/_Give-the-people-what-they-want/BLOG/2511962/111754.html abywater 2010-07-30T15:10:51Z MOR Associates Community I saw this xkcd comic today and I had to laugh. I have seen so many of the University web sites out there and have to agree with the author of this comic. It made me wonder about the process that goes into designing pages for schools. Are there focus groups? Are hit metrics used? [image] nonadult false Give the people what they want! text blog 10 0 0.0 http://community.morassociates.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7505330&as=111754 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/111754/photos/PHOTO_6430609_111754_7505330_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2511962 7505330 Member 0 http://community.morassociates.com/_Get-Rid-of-the-Performance-Review/BLOG/2439806/111754.html I heard this spot on NPR today and I thought it might be of interest.Samuel Culbert and Lawrence Rout have come out with a book called Get Rid of the Performance Review. You can read an excerpt here.I feel like the majority of employees likely appreciate some type of metric that measures their performance, but I appreciate that eliminating the anxiety of the performance review and appreciating employees strengths daily, as well as giving immediate feedback is probably a more effective way to get the best out of a team. How does one accomplish both? I heard this spot on NPR today and I thought it might be of interest.Samuel Culbert and Lawrence Rout have come out with a book called Get Rid of the Performance Review. You can read an excerpt here.I feel like the majority of employees likely appreciate some type of metric that measures their performance, but I appreciate that eliminating the anxiety of the performance review and appreciating employees strengths daily, as well as giving immediate feedback is probably a more effective way to get the best out of a team. How does one accomplish both? Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:25:00 GMT http://community.morassociates.com/_Get-Rid-of-the-Performance-Review/BLOG/2439806/111754.html abywater 2010-07-08T14:25:00Z MOR Associates Community I heard this spot on NPR today and I thought it might be of interest.Samuel Culbert and Lawrence Rout have come out with a book called Get Rid of the Performance Review. You can read an excerpt here.I feel like the majority of employees likely appreciate some type of metric that measures their performance, but I appreciate that eliminating the anxiety of the performance review and appreciating employees strengths daily, as well as giving immediate feedback is probably a more effective way to get the best out of a team. How does one accomplish both? nonadult false Get Rid of the Performance Review? text blog 21 0 0.0 http://community.morassociates.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7505330&as=111754 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/111754/photos/PHOTO_6430609_111754_7505330_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 2439806 7505330 Member 0 http://community.morassociates.com/_Complaining-Helps/BLOG/1925587/111754.html [image]At the end of this seemingly endless winter, this cartoon in a local paper caught my eye. After I finished laughing, I read the accompanying article.FLAKED OUT: How complaining about winter helps us cope.Obviously, complaining can help me, but how does it help leaders?This article notes the three simple things that leaders can do to turn complaints into gold.Seek Employee Complaints. That's right. The first step is to actively seek out the very complaints that trapped your employees and you in the seduction of dependency. What you do with those complaints, however, will determine whether progress occurs.Listen Without Reacting. It's so easy to get caught up in your own emotional reactions when receiving employee complaints. You are human, after all, and a long history of employee satisfaction surveys might have convinced you of the need to manage your image. The reality is there is almost always a gap between employees' perceptions of you as a leader and your self-perceptions.Draw Out What Employees Care About. While a complaint generally crystallizes what an employee doesn't like or want, it fails to convey what's really important to an individual. The truth is, behind every complaint is an unfulfilled aspiration, a neglected commitment or a compromised value. [image]At the end of this seemingly endless winter, this cartoon in a local paper caught my eye. After I finished laughing, I read the accompanying article.FLAKED OUT: How complaining about winter helps us cope.Obviously, complaining can help me, but how does it help leaders?This article notes the three simple things that leaders can do to turn complaints into gold.Seek Employee Complaints. That's right. The first step is to actively seek out the very complaints that trapped your employees and you in the seduction of dependency. What you do with those complaints, however, will determine whether progress occurs.Listen Without Reacting. It's so easy to get caught up in your own emotional reactions when receiving employee complaints. You are human, after all, and a long history of employee satisfaction surveys might have convinced you of the need to manage your image. The reality is there is almost always a gap between employees' perceptions of you as a leader and your self-perceptions.Draw Out What Employees Care About. While a complaint generally crystallizes what an employee doesn't like or want, it fails to convey what's really important to an individual. The truth is, behind every complaint is an unfulfilled aspiration, a neglected commitment or a compromised value. Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:20:27 GMT http://community.morassociates.com/_Complaining-Helps/BLOG/1925587/111754.html abywater 2010-03-01T16:20:27Z MOR Associates Community [image]At the end of this seemingly endless winter, this cartoon in a local paper caught my eye. After I finished laughing, I read the accompanying article.FLAKED OUT: How complaining about winter helps us cope.Obviously, complaining can help me, but how does it help leaders?This article notes the three simple things that leaders can do to turn complaints into gold.Seek Employee Complaints. That's right. The first step is to actively seek out the very complaints that trapped your employees and you in the seduction of dependency. What you do with those complaints, however, will determine whether progress occurs.Listen Without Reacting. It's so easy to get caught up in your own emotional reactions when receiving employee complaints. You are human, after all, and a long history of employee satisfaction surveys might have convinced you of the need to manage your image. The reality is there is almost always a gap between employees' perceptions of you as a leader and your self-perceptions.Draw Out What Employees Care About. While a complaint generally crystallizes what an employee doesn't like or want, it fails to convey what's really important to an individual. The truth is, behind every complaint is an unfulfilled aspiration, a neglected commitment or a compromised value. nonadult false Complaining Helps! text blog 61 0 0.0 http://community.morassociates.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7505330&as=111754 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/111754/photos/PHOTO_6430609_111754_7505330_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 1925587 7505330 Member 0 http://community.morassociates.com/_My-brain-is-full/BLOG/793681/111754.html I'm pretty sure that there's a Far Side cartoon for every occasion and this one definitely fits my life right now and, also, my laugh-or-you'll-cry philosophy.I know it's back-to-school-time for most people out there and everyone is probably feeling the crunch. With the workshops starting up and as well as your normal back-to-school tasks, it's easy to feel overwhelmed.Remember: lists are your friend and when you're wondering which tasks are immediate and which are important, ask someone you trust.[image] I'm pretty sure that there's a Far Side cartoon for every occasion and this one definitely fits my life right now and, also, my laugh-or-you'll-cry philosophy.I know it's back-to-school-time for most people out there and everyone is probably feeling the crunch. With the workshops starting up and as well as your normal back-to-school tasks, it's easy to feel overwhelmed.Remember: lists are your friend and when you're wondering which tasks are immediate and which are important, ask someone you trust.[image] Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:57:22 GMT http://community.morassociates.com/_My-brain-is-full/BLOG/793681/111754.html abywater 2009-09-22T15:57:22Z MOR Associates Community I'm pretty sure that there's a Far Side cartoon for every occasion and this one definitely fits my life right now and, also, my laugh-or-you'll-cry philosophy.I know it's back-to-school-time for most people out there and everyone is probably feeling the crunch. With the workshops starting up and as well as your normal back-to-school tasks, it's easy to feel overwhelmed.Remember: lists are your friend and when you're wondering which tasks are immediate and which are important, ask someone you trust.[image] nonadult false My brain is full. text blog 83 0 0.0 http://community.morassociates.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7505330&as=111754 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/111754/photos/PHOTO_6430609_111754_7505330_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 793681 7505330 Member 0 http://community.morassociates.com/_Reactive-Who-me/BLOG/497469/111754.html After Group 11's graduation ceremony at MIT, the MOR staff had a meeting. Last on the agenda was the somewhat intimidating-looking "What’s one growth area for each of us looking ahead?"Whenever I'm presented with this kind of question, I find almost impossible to narrow it down to one thing, or even two things, or even ten things; like looking at a restaurant menu when you're very hungry, everything on it looks good. It's clear to me that I can improve and grow in just about every area of my life, both at home and at work. I understand that this scattered approach isn't particularly helpful, so I spent some time thinking about what would be most useful in both the short and long term.I'm a do-er. Give me a problem and I'll fix it, or at least give it my best try. I'm frustrated by things that I can't do my part on immediately and pass off to the next person. I realize that this has evolved as a solution to my natural tendency toward procrastination, but there must be a happy medium. Fortunately, my definition of doing is pretty wide and includes somewhat nebulous things like research or I might have imploded by this point. Unfortunately, in my rush to get things done, I frequently won't stop and think quite deeply enough and this tends to get me into trouble. It would be most helpful if I could learn to stop and think somewhere between the request being made and my acting on it, so that's what I decided would be my focus - learning to be less reactive.I feel that this is a good "umbrella" goal, the results of which will serve me well both at work and at home. I've already started at home as my husband is a sensitive soul who takes my reactions personally, regardless of whether or not they're directed at him. With him, I've learned to stop and think before I speak (I can imagine Brian's eyes narrowing with disbelief when reading that), which has made for greater harmony.All of the MOR staff know this is my goal, and I'm sure that they'll work with me to keep me on track and accountable. After Group 11's graduation ceremony at MIT, the MOR staff had a meeting. Last on the agenda was the somewhat intimidating-looking "What’s one growth area for each of us looking ahead?"Whenever I'm presented with this kind of question, I find almost impossible to narrow it down to one thing, or even two things, or even ten things; like looking at a restaurant menu when you're very hungry, everything on it looks good. It's clear to me that I can improve and grow in just about every area of my life, both at home and at work. I understand that this scattered approach isn't particularly helpful, so I spent some time thinking about what would be most useful in both the short and long term.I'm a do-er. Give me a problem and I'll fix it, or at least give it my best try. I'm frustrated by things that I can't do my part on immediately and pass off to the next person. I realize that this has evolved as a solution to my natural tendency toward procrastination, but there must be a happy medium. Fortunately, my definition of doing is pretty wide and includes somewhat nebulous things like research or I might have imploded by this point. Unfortunately, in my rush to get things done, I frequently won't stop and think quite deeply enough and this tends to get me into trouble. It would be most helpful if I could learn to stop and think somewhere between the request being made and my acting on it, so that's what I decided would be my focus - learning to be less reactive.I feel that this is a good "umbrella" goal, the results of which will serve me well both at work and at home. I've already started at home as my husband is a sensitive soul who takes my reactions personally, regardless of whether or not they're directed at him. With him, I've learned to stop and think before I speak (I can imagine Brian's eyes narrowing with disbelief when reading that), which has made for greater harmony.All of the MOR staff know this is my goal, and I'm sure that they'll work with me to keep me on track and accountable. Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:12:50 GMT http://community.morassociates.com/_Reactive-Who-me/BLOG/497469/111754.html abywater 2009-08-06T16:12:50Z MOR Associates Community After Group 11's graduation ceremony at MIT, the MOR staff had a meeting. Last on the agenda was the somewhat intimidating-looking "What’s one growth area for each of us looking ahead?"Whenever I'm presented with this kind of question, I find almost impossible to narrow it down to one thing, or even two things, or even ten things; like looking at a restaurant menu when you're very hungry, everything on it looks good. It's clear to me that I can improve and grow in just about every area of my life, both at home and at work. I understand that this scattered approach isn't particularly helpful, so I spent some time thinking about what would be most useful in both the short and long term.I'm a do-er. Give me a problem and I'll fix it, or at least give it my best try. I'm frustrated by things that I can't do my part on immediately and pass off to the next person. I realize that this has evolved as a solution to my natural tendency toward procrastination, but there must be a happy medium. Fortunately, my definition of doing is pretty wide and includes somewhat nebulous things like research or I might have imploded by this point. Unfortunately, in my rush to get things done, I frequently won't stop and think quite deeply enough and this tends to get me into trouble. It would be most helpful if I could learn to stop and think somewhere between the request being made and my acting on it, so that's what I decided would be my focus - learning to be less reactive.I feel that this is a good "umbrella" goal, the results of which will serve me well both at work and at home. I've already started at home as my husband is a sensitive soul who takes my reactions personally, regardless of whether or not they're directed at him. With him, I've learned to stop and think before I speak (I can imagine Brian's eyes narrowing with disbelief when reading that), which has made for greater harmony.All of the MOR staff know this is my goal, and I'm sure that they'll work with me to keep me on track and accountable. nonadult false Reactive? Who, me? text blog 97 0 0.0 http://community.morassociates.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7505330&as=111754 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/111754/photos/PHOTO_6430609_111754_7505330_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 497469 7505330 Member 0 http://community.morassociates.com/_IntrovertExtravert-Cartoon/BLOG/431198/111754.html I don't think I've ever seen anything more apt.Cheers to all the other introverts out there! [image] I don't think I've ever seen anything more apt.Cheers to all the other introverts out there! [image] Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:37:10 GMT http://community.morassociates.com/_IntrovertExtravert-Cartoon/BLOG/431198/111754.html abywater 2009-07-10T19:37:10Z MOR Associates Community I don't think I've ever seen anything more apt.Cheers to all the other introverts out there! [image] infj nonadult false Introvert/Extravert Cartoon text blog infj 164 0 0.0 http://community.morassociates.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7505330&as=111754 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/111754/photos/PHOTO_6430609_111754_7505330_ap_160X120.jpg false 1 0 431198 7505330 Member 0 http://community.morassociates.com/_More-on-Facebook-Connectivity/BLOG/403614/111754.html I appear to have successfully created a Facebook app that will allow for activity on community.morassociates.com to be posted on your Facebook wall. I'm still testing this - everything seems to be working okay, except nothing appears on my wall. I'm trying to determine if there is some kind of delay or if there's another issue. For now, if you have the 'Publish this Activity to Facebook' button checked, then whatever you do appears on your Facebook wall as a one-liner (i.e. Alexis posted a blog post at community.morassociates.com), including links. When I tested this a moment ago, I got a dialog box asking if the mirroring was what I wanted to do which seems to be one step ahead in the right direction.Please let me know if this is successful for you, or if you have any issues with it. I appear to have successfully created a Facebook app that will allow for activity on community.morassociates.com to be posted on your Facebook wall. I'm still testing this - everything seems to be working okay, except nothing appears on my wall. I'm trying to determine if there is some kind of delay or if there's another issue. For now, if you have the 'Publish this Activity to Facebook' button checked, then whatever you do appears on your Facebook wall as a one-liner (i.e. Alexis posted a blog post at community.morassociates.com), including links. When I tested this a moment ago, I got a dialog box asking if the mirroring was what I wanted to do which seems to be one step ahead in the right direction.Please let me know if this is successful for you, or if you have any issues with it. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:09:23 GMT http://community.morassociates.com/_More-on-Facebook-Connectivity/BLOG/403614/111754.html abywater 2009-06-23T16:09:23Z MOR Associates Community I appear to have successfully created a Facebook app that will allow for activity on community.morassociates.com to be posted on your Facebook wall. I'm still testing this - everything seems to be working okay, except nothing appears on my wall. I'm trying to determine if there is some kind of delay or if there's another issue. For now, if you have the 'Publish this Activity to Facebook' button checked, then whatever you do appears on your Facebook wall as a one-liner (i.e. Alexis posted a blog post at community.morassociates.com), including links. When I tested this a moment ago, I got a dialog box asking if the mirroring was what I wanted to do which seems to be one step ahead in the right direction.Please let me know if this is successful for you, or if you have any issues with it. nonadult false More on Facebook Connectivity text blog 87 0 0.0 http://community.morassociates.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7505330&as=111754 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/111754/photos/PHOTO_6430609_111754_7505330_ap_160X120.jpg false 12 0 403614 7505330 Member 0 http://community.morassociates.com/_Facebook-connectivity/BLOG/361263/111754.html I'm working on getting a Facebook/MOR community connection going. It seems to be about halfway there. I'm in the testing stages currently - any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know if you encounter any trouble and I'll try to fix things as best I can. I'm working on getting a Facebook/MOR community connection going. It seems to be about halfway there. I'm in the testing stages currently - any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know if you encounter any trouble and I'll try to fix things as best I can. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:59:21 GMT http://community.morassociates.com/_Facebook-connectivity/BLOG/361263/111754.html abywater 2009-06-16T19:59:21Z MOR Associates Community I'm working on getting a Facebook/MOR community connection going. It seems to be about halfway there. I'm in the testing stages currently - any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know if you encounter any trouble and I'll try to fix things as best I can. nonadult false Facebook connectivity text blog 73 0 0.0 http://community.morassociates.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7505330&as=111754 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/111754/photos/PHOTO_6430609_111754_7505330_ap_160X120.jpg false 2 0 361263 7505330 Member 0 http://community.morassociates.com/_The-best-thing-about-this-community/BLOG/296796/111754.html I love seeing all the pictures the participants upload! It's great to be able to match faces with names. Keep 'em coming! I love seeing all the pictures the participants upload! It's great to be able to match faces with names. Keep 'em coming! Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:59:01 GMT http://community.morassociates.com/_The-best-thing-about-this-community/BLOG/296796/111754.html abywater 2009-06-01T17:59:01Z MOR Associates Community I love seeing all the pictures the participants upload! It's great to be able to match faces with names. Keep 'em coming! nonadult false The best thing about this community text blog 83 0 0.0 http://community.morassociates.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7505330&as=111754 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/111754/photos/PHOTO_6430609_111754_7505330_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 296796 7505330 Member 0 http://community.morassociates.com/_Updated-information-regarding-the-upcoming-conference/BLOG/281441/111754.html Hi All,Updated information regarding the upcoming conference can be found in the 2009 IT Leaders Conference forum located under the 'message boards' tab in your navigation bar. Included are an updated program of activities as well as a list of entertainment and attractions in the city of Chicago. Hi All,Updated information regarding the upcoming conference can be found in the 2009 IT Leaders Conference forum located under the 'message boards' tab in your navigation bar. Included are an updated program of activities as well as a list of entertainment and attractions in the city of Chicago. Mon, 18 May 2009 19:07:34 GMT http://community.morassociates.com/_Updated-information-regarding-the-upcoming-conference/BLOG/281441/111754.html abywater 2009-05-18T19:07:34Z MOR Associates Community Hi All,Updated information regarding the upcoming conference can be found in the 2009 IT Leaders Conference forum located under the 'message boards' tab in your navigation bar. Included are an updated program of activities as well as a list of entertainment and attractions in the city of Chicago. 2009 it leaders conference nonadult false Updated information regarding the upcoming conference. text blog 2009 it leaders conference 150 0 0.0 http://community.morassociates.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7505330&as=111754 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/111754/photos/PHOTO_6430609_111754_7505330_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 281441 7505330 Member 0 http://community.morassociates.com/_Big-day-today/BLOG/281235/111754.html Got everyone all signed up and sent emails out the 2009 IT Leaders Conference Participants informing them of their accounts. I see that some people have already uploaded avatars - even before I sent out the email from Jim and Brian. This is very exciting!I hope that this community will thrive! Got everyone all signed up and sent emails out the 2009 IT Leaders Conference Participants informing them of their accounts. I see that some people have already uploaded avatars - even before I sent out the email from Jim and Brian. This is very exciting!I hope that this community will thrive! Mon, 18 May 2009 16:11:27 GMT http://community.morassociates.com/_Big-day-today/BLOG/281235/111754.html abywater 2009-05-18T16:11:27Z MOR Associates Community Got everyone all signed up and sent emails out the 2009 IT Leaders Conference Participants informing them of their accounts. I see that some people have already uploaded avatars - even before I sent out the email from Jim and Brian. This is very exciting!I hope that this community will thrive! 2009 it leaders conference nonadult false Big day today! text blog 2009 it leaders conference 69 0 0.0 http://community.morassociates.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7505330&as=111754 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/111754/photos/PHOTO_6430609_111754_7505330_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 281235 7505330 Member 0 http://community.morassociates.com/_Things-Im-working-on/BLOG/271862/111754.html Hi All,Important things for today are figuring out how to arrange the boxes on the pages so that they're more what we're looking for and also how to hide everyone's age from their profile! Hi All,Important things for today are figuring out how to arrange the boxes on the pages so that they're more what we're looking for and also how to hide everyone's age from their profile! Fri, 08 May 2009 18:21:10 GMT http://community.morassociates.com/_Things-Im-working-on/BLOG/271862/111754.html abywater 2009-05-08T18:21:10Z MOR Associates Community Hi All,Important things for today are figuring out how to arrange the boxes on the pages so that they're more what we're looking for and also how to hide everyone's age from their profile! nonadult false Things I'm working on. text blog 71 0 0.0 http://community.morassociates.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7505330&as=111754 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/111754/photos/PHOTO_6430609_111754_7505330_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 271862 7505330 Member 0 http://community.morassociates.com/_Hello-World/BLOG/268347/111754.html This is a test of the blogging system. This is only a test. This is a test of the blogging system. This is only a test. Tue, 05 May 2009 22:03:04 GMT http://community.morassociates.com/_Hello-World/BLOG/268347/111754.html abywater 2009-05-05T22:03:04Z MOR Associates Community This is a test of the blogging system. This is only a test. nonadult false Hello World text blog 81 0 0.0 http://community.morassociates.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=7505330&as=111754 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/111754/photos/PHOTO_6430609_111754_7505330_ap_160X120.jpg false 1 0 268347 7505330 Member 0