New Space for YAY
This month marks a big milestone for YAY – moving into a new office! I started off thinking I’d do a pretty comprehensive search, but I fell fast in love with the brand new Industrious office on Mass Ave. Move in date was November 1st, and I’ve spent the last month...
Observation as a Super Power
Being highly observant is one of those super power kind of skills, with many applications in personal and business worlds. I believe it can make us better humans—more attentive and responsive to the people in our lives. And at work, observation can help us find...
Finding Brand Inspiration
At the start of any new branding or design project, there’s a lovely honeymoon phase where nothing is decided and the sky is the limit. I’m a dreamer, and I like being in that wide open discovery phase. I’ve done this enough to know eventually, things start to click...
Ugh, I’m On Your Journey
“I hate it when I realize I’m on someone’s journey.” Ouch. My husband declared this after he ordered audio equipment from a company for the first time. Within hours of placing his order, he got a phone call from a customer rep to confirm the order and thank him for...
Doodle Starts
I was talking to several friends about their work week recently. I heard a lot of old familiar pains. Back-to-back meetings. Packed days. Draining sessions. Busy, busy, busy. I remember that crunch all too well. In those days, I felt lucky if I could come up for air...
Strategic Plotting
June turns over to July soon, and with that, half of 2017 is a wrap. This midpoint is a good time to check in on strategic plans, goals, or intentions set for the year. There’s still reasonably enough time to reset, or to set a stretch goal if things are moving along...
Recipe for Collaboration
When it comes to collaborative sessions, a little planning goes a long way. Choosing an activity that matches the purpose of your session leads to better productivity and outcomes, and often means more fun for participants too. One of my favorite things to do is...
Reclaiming the Present
Back in February, a line of text from an essay I was reading jumped off the page. "Attention is the beginning of devotion." —Mary Oliver, from Upstream First, I underlined it in the book. Then I sketched out the quote in my notebook. In the past several months, I...
I Break for Creativity
I am a big believer in giving yourself the gift of proper breaks for creativity and recharging. This article I read the other day had a fascinating stat–leaders say creativity is a top trait, and yet 80% of American and British workers say they feel pressed to be...
Tools for Decision Making
Making decisions in a collaborative work environment can be pretty time consuming. Aside from any research or planning that might be needed to inform your process, big decisions often lead to meetings, presentations, discussions, and follow up documentation and...