anticipation

As I get closer and closer to moving in to my new place, the anticipation of a new place and space excites me.  My head is swirling with ideas for how to decorate my room, for my new morning running routes, for waking to the smell of the ocean & having a glass of wine with the view of the sunset over the ocean every evening....ahhhh.  Anyways, all of this excitement is making me feel inspired!  I've made a commitment to creating more...in anyway I can dream up!  

Coincidentally, in accordance with my inspiration, I came across this great Ted talk from Paula Scher--totally inspiring in how even a super successful graphic designer and artist goes through the waves of having inspired, energized creativity, which she refers to as serious design, to doing rote monotonous work which she refers to as solemn design.  Check it out for yourself:

leadership to live by

I've always been obsessed with business and how companies evolve and succeed. It's clear that good leadership is vital to a company's success--I'll include employee moral and empowerment along with financial success in this term. I came across this article highlighting Bob McDonald's top 10 principles of value based leadership. Bob McDonald is the President and CEO of P&G, enough said.

1. Lead a life guided by purpose.
Only work for a company that you believe in, said McDonald. When looking for a job, examine a company’s purpose, values and people to see if they align with your own beliefs and ethics.

2. Everyone wants to succeed and success is contagious.
Treat your employees like they want to succeed, not like they want to fail. “Most of us manage by exception: We wait until someone does something wrong to interact with him or her,” McDonald said. “Spend enough time in your leadership role finding people succeeding.”

3. Put people in the right jobs.
McDonald emphasized the importance of identifying your employees’ strengths, and then placing them in roles that feed into those strengths. “At P&G, we have 130,000 employees around the world,” he said. “Imagine what would happen if we put them in jobs that they weren’t good at.”

4. Character is the most important trait of a leader.
It’s important for leaders to have integrity and take responsibility for their mistakes. “Choose the harder right, rather than the easier wrong,” McDonald said, citing a prayer that he learned as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

5. Diverse groups of people are more innovative than homogenous groups.
Diversity sparks ideas and innovation, so companies must employ a diverse group of people. “We try to plan innovation, but there’s a little serendipity involved,” McDonald said. “Diversity is what helps these nodes to connect.”

6. Ineffective strategies, systems and culture are bigger barriers to achievement than the talents of people.
It’s important to blend a high-performance culture with robust systems and sound strategies, McDonald said. Those ingredients, coupled with technical competencies and a strong company mission, will create a high-performance organization.

7. There will be some people in the organization who will not make it on the journey.
Some employees won’t turn out to be a good fit for your company. As head of a company, it’s your responsibility to find the right place for them. “Your job as a leader is to be committed to them as people, not employees,” said McDonald.

8. Organizations must renew themselves.
Leaders should always think about what changes are needed to stay relevant in the marketplace and fulfill the company purpose. “Organizations are like biological organisms — they constantly need to change,” said McDonald.

9. Recruiting is a top priority.
“Somewhere here is someone who will be giving a presentation here years from now,” said McDonald, pointing to the audience of Kellogg students. “And that excites me.”

10. The true test of a leader is the organization’s performance after the leader departs.
If you want to determine whether a leader has been successful, “look at their fingerprints and footprints,” concluded McDonald.

For the direct link to the article I read: McDonald's Top 10

my home design #1

One of my friends recently asked me what my home/design/decor style was...and I couldn't really articulate it--I feel like it varies based on what space I would be living in.  So I've begun a small series of my home inspirations, basically themes I like for where/how I want to live--once I can afford it.

Dream home pictures #1: Inspiration: Lofts...I love lofts with their huge spaces and vaulted ceilings and the idea of a huge blank canvas to build in walls wherever you want.  I love the huge windows and tons of light...and the juxtaposition of the smooth pillars, wood floors, and white walls verses the rustic brick walls and natural wood beams--I LOVE texture.  I also love the industrial ceilings where you can see all the electrical stuff*(technical word) and vents, etc.  Old town here I come...someday....close enough to the beach and yet, I'll get the NY lofty feel that I love.  In general, I love anything oversized, maybe because of my obsession with Alice in Wonderland, tangent, but anything humungous: a big mirror, huge painting, huge beams, a huge clock--I just think it looks neat, especially in such a vast space.  

Also, in general I have a pretty clean and simple approach to decor.  I don't like a lot of stuff(junk); it makes me feel claustrophobic.  I like pieces that make a statement or have a story (ie. huge/vintage).