Ravenweb Blog

I am excited to have been selected to present at Edge 2016, an IBM conference about solutions and technology for the cognitive era. Below is the description of my session: CLD-2194 : Building the Most Adaptable Workforce Vendor Management System Companies are outsourcing more and more of their workforces. To help companies manage their growing contingent workforces, providers have developed technology solutions, including the contingent labor Vendor Management System, or VMS. As technology has evolved and matured, so have the capabilities of VMSes and the expectations of business stakeholders using VMSes. Today's VMS must not only automate contingent workforce management, but provide an adaptable experience that's complex yet simple, with rich analytics and dashboards, integration capabilities, and cloud performance and reliability. Our session will demonstrate how Superior updated its VMS Work Nexus using IBM technology into a modern business application. Stream: A...

I recently contributed an article to Information Outlook, the online magazine of the Special Libraries Association (SLA). The title is "When Weak Connections are Valuable at Work", and it's about how new networking tools enable us to cultivate workplace connections with people we rarely (or never) see but who can help us in important ways. Download the article as a PDF or read the web version below. When Weak Connections are Valuable at Work (PDF) When Weak Connections are Valuable at Work If you’re not sure who the weak ties are in your social network, look at the contacts on your phone. Chances are, there are some people in your contacts list you don’t call (much less see) on a regular basis, but you find it useful to keep them listed for those occasions when you do need to contact them. Perhaps your doctor, babysitter, mechanic, or accountant fits this description. If you use a social network like LinkedIn or Twitter professionally, you will have even mo...

I've always loved the month of May, for many different reasons. Growing up in the Northeastern United States, May was typically the month when it warmed up and Spring began to give a preview of Summer. May also meant school was winding down and fun movie openings. And May was the month of Mother's Day, the month with two birthdays in my family, and there was Memorial Day, one of my favorite holidays that to me always felt like the unofficial beginning of summer. This year, on my social media accounts, I'm going to mark each day in May with a different word and image. There is an underlying theme, but I won't reveal it until the end of the month.

I am excited to have been selected to speak at the following, upcoming business technology events: Amplify 2016  -  Amplify is an IBM conference for marketing, merchandising, ecommerce, sales and customer service professionals. At Amplify I will be part of a panel discussing engagement in the workplace: DBV-1778: Customer Panel Discussion: Facilitating a Highly Engaged Workplace When: Wed May 18 ( 1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. ) This panel discussion provides you with the opportunity to hear from successful IBM Digital Experience customers how they created effective solutions to the challenges associated with creating and maintaining an engaged and efficient workforce. Amplify 2016 will take place May 16 - 19, 2016 in Tampa, Florida. Social Connections 10 - This business technology event focuses on social collaboration technology, aimed at both existing and prospective customers and partners, and at individuals with both business and technical perspectives. At Social...

I am excited to have been selected to present at Connect 2016, the premier social business and digital experience conference. This year, I will be co-presenting with Jeremy Kauffman from Waters Corporation . Below is the description of my session: 1330: Superior Group and Waters Corp: Social Business Journey 3 years later! Three years ago, Superior Group and Waters Corp embarked on the Social Business journey! Embarking on the journey each company wanted a globally connected internal communication platform that promoted company-wide knowledge sharing and collaboration. In this session, we will showcase each deployment and discuss how they were able to become successful in the journey from a business value, adoption and technical perspectives. This session will provide valuable lessons learned for you to consider when planning and orchestrating your IBM Connections deployment and what you need to make it successful in years to come! Program: Core Curriculum Topic: Best Pr...

Two years ago, Date on Purpose was launched to combine online dating and meaningful giving. I imagined a scalable platform that would one day evolve where a visitor would pick a charity of his or her choice, and then bid on a date in a nearby city to support the cause. So I launched a startup to bring the traditional bachelor/bachelorette auction online to allow people to bid on dates with eligible singles. With a small core team and many volunteers but no funding, we spoke to many charities, built a website and social media presence, and recruited dozens of men and women to bring the concept to life. Our initial online charity concluded in a semi-formal live launch event on October 18, and I'm proud to say the event was a success and a really, really good time. Date and Purpose is proud to have tried something different in the online dating space – but, above all, we’re grateful for the community of charities, partners, bachelors, bachelorettes, bidders, and visitors who s...

A few years ago, I wrote a blog post comparing technology companies to countries . For Google, I choose Japan because both the company and country have distinctive cultures and have continuously demonstrated expert technical competency and precision. The post and the comparisons were simplistic and meant mostly to provoke thoughtful conversation, but after reading Laszlo Bock's  Work Rules , it is evident that I was right about at least one thing: Google does have a truly distinctive culture. In Work Rules , Bock summarizes the pillars of Google's culture and details how the company's People Operations function works and has evolved with the rapid growth of the company. It is fascinating as an insider's view of Google and also as a primer for other organizations. There's abundant material here that company leaders and HR specialists can use, tweak, test, and implement. As a high level summary, Bock distills key "work rules" into ten steps that can tr...

On April 14, I will be participating in a University at Buffalo (UB) Career Services live webinar targeted to students about the importance of making career connections. The webinar will include an online panel discussion in which UB alumni will share their experiences of establishing career connections and networking, both online and in-person. Below are the webinar details: The Career Mentor Experience Part 2: Meeting a mentor Tuesday, April 14, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. https://youtu.be/zfg_0a5IX-U

I was predisposed to want to read Stuart Scott's Every Day I Fight . I'd always liked what he brought to ESPN SportsCenter and how he helped evolve the brand to reach new audiences. I also respected and related to how much it meant to him to be a dad to his two girls. Still, I was a little surprised by how heartfelt, honest, and reflective he was in what would be his posthumous memoir. I think I was expecting a book mostly about ESPN and the many athletes Scott had interviewed over the years. Figures like Lebron James, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods. While these subjects are in the book, they are overshadowed by the larger themes that Scott wanted to leave behind: his indomitable love for his daughters and his thoughts and feelings about cancer. I appreciate Scott's willingness to bare all and be completely vulnerable about getting sick and living with cancer. I am sure many will enjoy his anecdotes about ESPN, but I suspect many more will draw inspiration from his wor...

Last week, I attended a two day business meeting that was held at the Herman Miller New York City office. I had heard of Herman Miller before but had no idea how much they've been doing around innovating work spaces. A meme they've developed is Living Office and they define it as a "natural and desirable workplace that fosters greater connection, creativity, productivity, and, ultimately, greater prosperity for all". Below are a few pictures I snapped while at the office. Also check out their Living Office information online . Especially fascinating is the Modes of Work elaboration.

A few years ago I attended a conference in which one of the presenters showed the Mr. Rogers "Garden of Your Mind" remix. It went over well and inspired the attendees. Every since then, whenever I get ready to attend a business event where I'll be exposed to new ideas and meet new people, I think about these lyrics from the "Garden of Your Mind". Imagine every person that you see Is someone different From every other person in the world Some can do things Some can do others Did you ever think about the many things you've learned to do? Did ever grow anything in the Garden of your Mind? You can grow ideas In the Garden of your mind It's good to be curious about many things You can think about things and make believe All you have to do is think And they'll grow  

I am happy to be participating on a panel at IBM ConnectED 2015, an event focused on the latest technologies, best practices, and business benefits in cloud, mobile and social. Below is the description for my panel: INV401: Delivering Engaging and Differentiated Customer Experiences: A Customer Panel Date/Time:  Tuesday January 27, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET Panel description: While the pace of business and the speed of content continue to accelerate, so does the demand to engage with audiences through rich and robust online experiences that span multiple channels and devices. By emphasizing delivery techniques including rich media and video, social, campaign management and analytics, enterprise integration and more, forward-thinking organizations are realizing the benefits of competitive differentiation, customer loyalty, and profitable growth. Join this customer panel discussion session to hear directly from successful customer leaders as they share how they are using Digit...

I can't believe it's been 30 years since the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was released. At the time, in 1984, mass famine was impacting Ethiopa, and Bob Geldof and Midge Ure wrote the song and rallied other musicians to raise money. 30 years later, sadly there is a new hunger crisis, this time in Syria and with the Syrian refugees.  Please take a moment to remember read about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria and the World Food Programme's efforts to help.

As most of my friends know, through Date on Purpose I am helping the The C4 Foundation raise money for childhood cancer research and support. The C4 Foundation was created to honor the memory of Colin M. Wegner and his fight with Medulloblastoma, a childhood brain cancer. I am posting today to ask for your support in spreading the word about the C4's upcoming fundraiser -- a Charity Blast that will be held this Saturday, September 27 at 7:00 pm the Lancaster Country Club. The proceeds from the fundraiser will be donated to University at Buffalo and their Pediatric Brain Tumor Fund, which is used for pediatric neuro-oncology research. The Charity Blast is a social fundraiser event for singles and couples. Last year, many people came out and enjoyed an evening of socializing, music, and fun. Tickets may be purchased at http://www.thec4foundation.org/date-on-purpose-charity-blast.html .

This week Reserve Hose Fire Company remembers longtime firefighter, President, friend, and dedicated member of the fire service Ron Piwowarczyk, who passed on Friday, September 5, 2014. As Vice President of Reserve, it has been my honor and pleasure to work with and get to know Ron this past year. His enthusiasm and passion for the fire service was infectious, and he loved giving back as much as anyone I've ever met. Ron was a Life Member of Reserve who joined the company on August 4, 1986. In addition to his volunteer service, Ron was also a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a Senior Special Agent for U.S. Immigration. Ron was also one of those first responders from Western New York who went to Ground Zero to assist after New York was attacked on 9/11. This picture below was taken during Reserve's installation earlier this year, when Ron posed for a picture with Autumn Lewandowski before being sworn in as President. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/buffalonews/obituary.as...

I had the privilege to attend and present at Digital Experience 2014 , an IBM event focused on the latest technologies, best practices, and the business benefits of delivering great digital experiences. Though I'm still reflecting on the many great ideas expressed during the presentations, I wanted to put together a quick, day after list, encompassing both the serious and silly, of my immediate impressions. 10. A good way to explain Portal is to compare it to a tree. via @benshoemate 9. California is having a historic drought. Thank you, IBM Digital Experience 2014 event organizers, for the reminder to conserve water. 8. Toronto is an incredibly diverse Smarter City: 240 ethnic groups, 169 countries of origin, 140 languages spoken. via @kristinaverner 7. There are 4.55 billion smartphone users in 2014. via @garydolsen 6. Contextualize digital experiences based on demographic, historical, and situational data. via @sa_powers 5. 50% of user experience is ...

I received the following email from a fellow business professional in my area. He was following up on my having introduced him to another individual in my network who I thought would be able to help him explore career opportunities. His brief note sums up why I connect people and the benefits of a large, extended network. Personally, it was gratifying to observe two interesting people in my network come together and help each other out. Note that I have omitted personally identifying details out of respect for both people. ## Hi Frank, Last we spoke, I was looking at COMPANY ... I wanted to let you know I'm starting a new role Monday where I'll be running the DEPARTMENT. I'm super excited and grateful to have a second chance at working in economic development in CITY.  I also wanted to send you a huge thanks as your introduction to PERSON led to several other introductions which ultimately triggered the consulting work I've been doing for COMPANY for ...

In July, I will be presenting at the 2014 IBM Digital Experience Conference, an event focused on the latest technologies, best practices, and the business benefits of delivering great digital experiences. Below is the description for my session: Session:  BUS-S20 Date/Time:   Monday, July 21, 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM Successfully Enabling Enterprise Content Management, Cloud, Mobile, and Social Business at Superior Group Superior Group focuses on the agile delivery of people, process and project outsourcing solutions. Our session will detail how this organization accelerated its content management and social business needs by implementing a combination of content management, cloud, mobile, and collaboration solutions. Attend this session and you will have an opportunity to learn from Frank Gullo, Director of Digital and Mobile Strategy at Superior Group and IBM Social Business Insights blog contributor, on how a mid-sized organization transformed its digital ...

We talk of Father's Day, and think of one-on-one time with Dad, fishing and catch, and gifts of ties and tools. I appreciate gifts like these as much as anyone, but what I value most are the non-tangible gifts and life lessons that my daughter gives as a matter of course, that are part of the big girl she has become. Below are some of the many Father's Day "gifts" I have received over the years, and my thank yous to my daughter. Thank you for helping me learn to put someone else's well being and interests above my own. Thank you for reminding me of the importance of patience, especially when it's taking a long time to leave for work because a certain little person is taking her time getting ready and putting on her shoes. Thank you for your laughter, silliness, and our crazy, kicking games. Thank you for your willingness to try new things. Thank you for your curiosity and endless questions of why and how things work. Thank you for your creativity a...

I recently volunteered at the 2014 NY Special Olympics, during the volleyball matches on Saturday, July 7. The games were intense and fun to watch, and the athletes were more than impressive. I also enjoyed spending time with two of my fellow volunteer firefighters. Reflecting on the day, I think what stayed with me the most is the fact that even if you struggle in some area and are not great at something, you can excel at something else. You can be excellent. Like how these special Olympians dominated at volleyball.