Getting ready to give brief talks this evening about artists at Goldesberry Gallery

You can see the work of three leading ceramicists at the Goldesberry Gallery this evening. I'm going to share about 10 minutes of background about each artist. You are welcome to join us.

Below is the work of San Antonio artist Dennis Smith, "What's left of a memory."

Worth registering to read: McKinsey Qtrly on How to test your gut instinct

One of my favorite books is Educating Intuition by Robin Hogarth, but in a pinch, this will do:

McKinsey Quarterly: How to test your decision-making instincts, 2010-May, by Andrew Campbell and Jo Whitehead

Given the powerful influence of positive and negative emotions on our unconscious, it is tempting to argue that leaders should never trust their gut: they should make decisions based solely on objective, logical analysis. But this advice overlooks the fact that we can’t get away from the influence of our gut instincts. They influence the way we frame a situation.

Understanding media and multitasking: PopTech talk by Nick Bilton

For a pleasant and educational break, listen to this talk from PopTech 2009 about multitasking and media trends. Nick puts the competition for people's attention into context. Net takeaway: media should be prepared to participate in multitasking.

PopTech : Popcasts : Nick Bilton: Smart Content.

Nick Bilton, Lead Technology Reporter for The New York Times.

Book coming out shortly: I Live in the Future and Here's How it Works. 

You have to be interested in rest of the world

When people tell me that can't blog or write articles for their newsletter or their web site, I always think to myself, "then you not a very interested person." If you take an interest in your industry or your location, you'll find SO MANY things to share and discuss. If you're totally focused on your own self-interest, then you're going to find it difficult to interest other people.

American Express OPEN Forum: How to Be Fascinating, 2010-May-11, by Guy Kawasaki

...it's all about finding good stories, videos and blog posts about your subject and providing links to these sources. For example, if you own a restaurant, then you could post a link to The Second Annual New York Foodie Photo Scavenger Hunt, Cilantro Haters, It’s Not Your Fault, and Check It Out: Get Your Groceries At The Library. Do this for a few months, and people will recognize you as a food expert. And guess what? They’ll come eat at your restaurant.

Today's a day for thinking about the resources that could be launched

via www.flickr.com

Taken at the NASA Tweetup by InetNomad

Today is a day for going slow and paying attention to details

Arielle Fragassi's picture of a Houston fire hydrant.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/toastytreat/4627834353/

The problem with a clean slate

When we're struggling we often want to clear away all the stalled relationships and establish a clean slate. It's certainly tempting to meet someone with no expectations. Wait, no expectations? They expect nothing, know no reason to trust you. As Seth has said before, you might as well ask a girl you just met to marry you.

Seth Godin's Blog: The circles: (no more strangers), 2010-May-17, by Seth Godin

It's so tempting to seek out more strangers.

More strangers to pitch your business, your candidate, your non-profit, your blog... More strangers means more upside and not so much downside. It means growth.

The problem is that strangers are difficult to convert. And the other problem is that they're expensive to reach. And the hardest problem is that we're running out of strangers.