We have been exploring the possibilities of creating lighting scenarios that are more natural than the typical indoor lighting patterns available in most places. A particularly appealing option is something that approximates the lighting pattern on a forest floor on a sunny day where the sunlight is filtered through various layers of tree branches and leaves.  A new product, 

You may have noticed that some carpet samples have started to appear on the 5th floor. This is the beginning of an experiment in which we will re-carpet several 5th floor spaces to try out some new carpet ideas for the coming re-carpeting of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors.  One of our ideas is to use a carpet product that enhances the overall feel of the library by taking advantage of new thinking about biophylic design, that is, design that con...

Now that we have covered "Good" - If you are truly wondering how to become great at something, take a lesson from Tom Brady who is spending his summer working with his receivers.

At our seminar this Wednesday we will begin the 2017 performance review process.  Please be sure to bring the following to the seminar:1 - your copy of Good People that we will use for a discussion activity2 - your edlab website bio, or an excerpt from that bio that we will use for the first part of the performance review3 - your latest reflections on what it means to be "the fullest version of yourself"

In Chapter 13 Tjan stresses the Good People Mantra and suggests committing to having a positive impact on the lives of 10 other people.  In our setting the focus can be on committing to having a positive impact on one another and the students and faculty of the college. If we commit to helping others become the fullest version of themselves, then we will be living and working in an environment where those around us are committed to helping us become the fullest versions of ourselves.  This seems both powerful in its potential impact and challenging to...

In Chapter 12 Tjan takes up the challenge of making judgments about people, presumably so that we can become better at selecting the "right" people to join our efforts or organizations.  I will get to the specific tools and techniques that Tjan advocates shortly, but I want to start with some more basic obervations and assumptions.First, there is something a bit more complicated about the notion of judging other people that needs examination.  In most cases we are judging other people in reference to something that we ourselves are doing (e.g., taking a mate, p...

Will the 1 billion additional dollars promised by Governor Cuomo change life for subway riders anytime soon? According to this piece in Wired the outlook is not promising. There are various explanations for the plight of the subway from insufficient funding to poor organization, but perhaps the most provocative one is lack of visio...

We have often referred to the two pizza rule regarding the size of teams to maximize productivity.  This short piece provides a concise discussion of the issues regarding team size, communication, and productivity.

Carnival Cruise Lines is introducing a new shipwide technology platform to provide a more personalized and tech enabled experience for passengers.  The new system placed sensors and video screens throughout the ship. Passengers are issued personal medallions that allow the system to know where they are and customize the immediate environment based on...