10th Jun 2011

Is Creativity a Bad Trait for a Senior Leader?

Austin’s brief perspective

This research caught my attention because of its stark contrast to recent trends pushing leaders to spearhead innovation within their companies. While I think this quote refers more to senior managers than it does senior leaders, the corresponding article brings some interesting points to the surface that warns creative thinkers to proceed with caution when climbing the corporate ladder. The very nature of creativity is born from demand for positive change and it is often the case for any change to be challenged by the steady beat of the status quo. Click here to read the full article text.

3rd Jun 2011

Recap: Clockwork Springtime Jam ’11

Minneapolis techies and Foursquare-philes were swarming the @clockwork_tweet‘s Springtime Jam 2011!: Paella Party last night celebrating the company’s recent growth and impressive collection of work with delicious treats and beer. As friends of Clockworkers, my fiancée and I headed over to the interactive firm’s offices on East Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, MN.

In addition to the Clockworkers and their tech maven CEO, Nancy Lyons, were nerds and wanna-be-nerds from other MN agencies and tech companies. A few attendees that were great to see were Kyle Meyer, Product Designer for Big Cartel and Director of Interactive Design for AIGA MN, Production Ninja, Kevin O’Brien and recent grad from my alma mater, Jake Nelsen.

I’ve watched Clockwork Active Media Systems grow over the past years and have continually been impressed with the company’s talent, culture and best-in-class interactive development. While the company’s work is impressive to say the least, it is worth checking out Clockwork’s Active Media Suite (AMM), a scalable platform that offers robust content management, secure e-commerce engine, survey tools, blogging and many other useful features. Version 3.4 of the suite is now available with 24/7 support in addition to a comprehensive knowledge base.