Back in May I was fortunate to have been invited to a demonstration of Microsoft’s CRM suite called Dynamics, presented by ePartners. The presentation just so happened to be at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and following the presentation and buffet lunch, there was a tour of the historic ballpark for all attendees. Where it was good to see a working demo of the latest features from Microsoft, I have to admit the tour of Wrigley clinched me – as well as most others – for attending.

After exceeding my Flickr monthly upload limits twice, I finally have all of the Wrigley Field tour photos online and available for viewing. Growing up a Red Sox fan and hearing of the similar mystique of the Friendly Confines, its great to go to games, and even better to get to see the park “behind the scenes” when nobody else is there.

Thanks to ePartners for the demo, lunch and tour!

Diversions • Technology • (2) Comments • Permalink

As we enter July every year, we tend to reflect on how half of the year is all ready over. Or at least I do that every year. This time, I am taking a more positive approach – the year is half full. Similar to the analogy of the glass being half empty or half full, I say there is a lot of time and a lot of great things to do!

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My creative outlet continues! Blue Shampoo, the improv comedy troupe in Chicago that I am proud ot be a member of, presents our next show, Dial "I" for Improv!

Dial "I" for Improv is a mix of long and short form improv - entertaining games and scenes attacking the murder mystery genre! See brilliant detective work! Thrill to chilling contact with the living dead! This fully improvised murder mystery is packed with laughs, intrigue, and weird strangeness and strange weirdness of a most supernatural mysterious nature of mystery! Gather your courage all who dare and join the fun! You just might end up a victim...of comedy!

Our show is every Thursday in July - 5, 12, 19 and 26, at the Gorilla Tango Theater, 1919 N. Milwaukee in Chicago - right off the Western Blue Line stop. Show time is at 8 pm and tickets are only $10. The theatre is BYOB, and you will not be alone if you do! You can buy tickets online, or call the theatre at 773-598-4549.

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As I have mentioned before, I am a New England Patriots fan. So it goes as no surprise that I would have received the biography on current Patriots coach Bill Belichick for Christmas from my wife, and this was my read for February.

For a book on football, The Education of a Coach had many takeaways for business. The biggest one that permeated the entire story was networking. Even though Belichick’s father was a well-known and respected Naval Academy football scout, on his own he continually sought out connections with coaches, general managers and owners. This is due to the lack of job security in athletic coaching, which in some regards is no different than contracting in the business world. The second, yet of equal importance, was mentorship. Though Belichick was skilled at reviewing football film to analyze past games, he sought out positions that would allow him to continually grow and be overseen by coaches that were willing to take him under his wing. He then paid it forward as he did the same for young and up-and-coming coaches. Where mentorship may not be as much in vogue today as it was years ago in business, I believe it should be.

If you are a football or sports fan, I highly recommend this book. But if you are not a sports fan, you may lose interest in the detailed descriptions of coaches, teams and games. For the fan, the book reads like you are hearing stories of people and games as being told by an old uncle who may have been at the game themself. And if you are a Patriots fan, it fills in many details of the career of coach that has made you proud of your team again!

Note that the title of this book is The Education of a Coach and not The Education of a Man. People who are familiar with Bill Belichick know all too well that he is an extremely private and publicly shy person and abhors the limelight. Where you get great insight into his maturity as a coach, you learn very little to nothing about him personally. There are barely 4 sentences about his family – only mentioning he got married, had to have his family protected when he was the coach of the Cleveland Browns, got divorced and likes to spend time with his kids. In an age where you know far too much about celebrities, as much as this is different it is also refreshing.

Shortly after I finished reading this book, its author, David Halberstam, was tragically killed in a car crash. The Education of a Coach would be his last book, though others were in process or completed but not published. After reading Halberstam’s style of storytelling, I am eager to explore his other works.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Book Take-Aways • Business • Diversions • (3) Comments • Permalink

Back in January I pledged to read one book a month, and write not a review but take-aways I got from the book. If you read regularly, you will only see that I have posted one take-away so far. Well, I am catching up, both on my reading and writing. I am one book behind on my reading and have several take-away posts swirling in my head - watch for more!

Book Take-Aways • Business • Diversions • (0) Comments • Permalink