Rothacker Reviews

War Room

The business war room is a place to give visual representation to our vision, mission, strategies and tactical plans.  We can also use it to display business goals and chart our progress.  Really, we are only limited by our imagination as to how many different ways we can utilize such a business nerve center.

Our operation at work revolves around providing service to business clients.  Sales consists of contracts to provide service and to provide solutions for various opportunities.  We are presently in the process of building a war room.  Do you have any suggestions that might aid us in this endeavor?

While the moniker of war room has been used for businesses to describe these areas, we will replace the name with one of our own.  (any suggestions?)  And while many folks have likened The Art of War to business, I choose to go in a different direction.  I just rather not compare war to business or foster that kind of thinking within our organization.

I found a couple of companies here that supply neat stuff that you can use to outfit a war room:

Magnatag

UsMarkerboard

Any suggestions to other companies that provide such product?

Relationship Blogger Conference

If you were passionate about space exploration, having followed NASA's program since the middle of last century, collected all the books, bookmarked all the sites and someone were to tell you, "Bob, we are going to invite a limited amount of folks just like you to join us in a space exploration conference hosted by astronauts and engineers at Cape Canaveral,"  ya think you'd be interested?

What then if you were a connector of people?  Someone who gets goose bumps hooking folks up?  Someone who loves to learn about others so they're better prepared to connect?

Well it seems as if some awfully caring individuals have put together such a conference.  One on relationships...not NASA.  Check it out:

SOBCon '07

Take Your Blogging to the Next Level

 A Relationship Bloggers' Conference and Networking Event

Community, Friday, May 11, 2007, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

• Christine Kane, popular guitarist, singer, blogger LIVE
• Open Mic Night Cocktail Party – Live community event (multiple microphones) Take the conversation out of the comment box!

Speakers, Saturday, May 12, 2007, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM

• Phil Gerbyshak, Make It Great! Relationship Geek
• Liz Strauss, Successful-Blog SOB and BAD Blogger
• David Armano, Logic+Emotion
• Terry Starbukcer, Ramblings from a Glass Half Full ; Rodney Rumford, PodBlaze; Ben Yoskovitz, Instigator Blog 
• Mike Sansone, Converstations & Iowa Marketing Bloggers
• Chris Cree, Success CREEations; Scott Rafer, MyBlogLog; Janice Myint Technorati
• Wendy Piersall, eMomsAtHome

There will be interactive presentations on publishing, design and branding, tools, analytics, social networking, marketing, and coaching -- all from the perspectives of the relationship blogger and the audience.

Only 250 attendees will be accepted, and we hope YOU can be one of them!

 

C'mon! you're not a stranger anymore! we'd love it if you could come to Chicago and Make It Great! with us in May.

Go to: http://www.sobevent.com/  for more information.

 

 

Been Missing in Action

Work drain since mid November has kept me from my site and just about everywhere else as well.  A key person within our office left in November and then our salesman left in January.  Any self respecting Marcus Buckingham disciple would be drawing a bead on the general manager by now...and that bullseye on my back has become quite heavy by now.  In all fairness to that general manager, he should not shoulder blame for these losses.  I won't.

Funny how in the past, turbulence at work has driven me to write.  David Weinberger, one author of The Cluetrain Manifesto, summed it best in one of the most profound and clear (to me) sentences that I've ever read: However much we long for the Web is how much we hate our job.  Not only did I long for the Web, I lusted for it.  Conversely though, as with folks like Rosa Say and Phil Gerbyshak, they are driven to the Web because their work is their passion.  This time, for me, I felt compelled to stand in and attempt to quiet that turbulence.

A piece of me is missing from me when I do not write online.  Work or no work, love or hate, I must be here.  So, as I cannot afford to be missing anymore pieces, I must drive myself here.  And for me it's just clearing that first hurdle or two of inner critics.  Cause then it's I want to be here and return daily without even thinking about it as an obstacle.