I recently had the opportunity to watch a new reality show on CBS called “Undercover Boss”.  For those that missed the premiere of this CBS reality show, the premise is that CEO’s and chief executives of large corporations “leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their company.” The first episode highlighted the President and C.O.O. of Waste Management out in the trenches working the garbage shifts alongside his employees.    Admittedly, the show … read more

Image courtesy of Apple

Apple recently introduced the iPad to their lineup of products and upon watching Steve Jobs pitch the new product in a streaming video, I said to myself, “That is so cool… I want one. I’m not sure why I need one but I want one.” This got me thinking, if I feel this way about their products then I am certainly not alone. But how is it that one company has managed to keep so many people like myself suspended in a state … read more

People often wonder why designers spend so much time poring over the perfect color choice for a project. Does it really matter if a logo uses spring green over emerald green? Aren’t all greens created equally? The answer is no. What may seem whimsical or cosmetic actually requires a lot of deliberate thought. A good palette shouldn’t just look pretty, it should heighten the emotional and psychological meaning of your message.

Pantone, the global authority on color, recently unveiled turquoise as its Color of The Year for 2010. This … read more

Can effective internal communications be a leading indicator of financial performance?  According to the 2005/2006 Watson Wyatt Communications ROI Study™ it absolutely can be.

Watson Wyatt Communications, a global consulting firm focused on human capital and financial management, demonstrated the correlation between effective communications, organizational turnover and financial performance.  In 2007, the Watson Wyatt Communication ROI Study™ confirmed earlier findings and went a step further by showing that effective communications is a leading indicator of an organization’s financial performance.

Key findings for the Study included:*

• Shareholder returns for organizations with the most effective … read more
  

My 7-year-old son is in a Spanish immersion program — his Science and Math classes are conducted in Spanish, while his English and Reading classes are in, well, English.  Having had years of Spanish in high school, and having grown up in Los Angeles, my Spanish is usually adequate to get the gist of the his math homework instructions.  The exception to this is when they include more specific math terms, which “Hi Roberto, how are you today” just didn’t cover.  Yesterday, his … read more