I went to Ghana thinking I was open-minded about people and different cultures. I mean I’m from the center of the universe, Boulder Colorado. I’m married to someone from India. I listen to jazz music. I use a Mac. I have stubble. I’m hip. I’m down. I figured one of the student outcomes of this trip would be a little mind-expansion that comes from interacting with a different culture. That it would be good for the students to learn and experience people who look and live very differently than they do. I was wrong. I was the one needing a little of that educating. Many Newmont ex-pats come from raw materials and excavation industries. Oil and mining mostly. Rough guys […]
Here’s to the roughnecks
By Aaron Templer
I went to Ghana thinking I was open-minded about people and different cultures. I mean, I’m from the center of the universe (Boulder, Colorado). I’m married to someone from India. I listen to jazz music. I use a Mac. I have stubble. I’m hip. I’m down. I figured one of the student outcomes of this trip would be a little mind-expansion that comes from interacting with a different culture. That it would be good for the students to learn and experience people who look and live very differently than they do. I was wrong. I was the one needing a little of that educating. Many Newmont expats come from raw materials and excavation industries. Oil and mining mostly. Rough guys […]
The simple side of complexity
By Aaron Templer
I once heard a a wise man speak of the simple side of complexity within a business context. And I found an important dogma.
Alignment
By Aaron Templer
Inspiration comes to me from a variety of places. None more important than jazz music. And the groove that drives it. Groove is about alignment. Welcoming a variety of voices with humility and aligning them toward a common vision.
The balanced brain
By Aaron Templer
Rare is the mind that can develop strategic directions within a diverse company. Or a new financial tranche for financial advantages. Or data mine new customer buying preferences. Rare also is the mind that can make a logo represent a company’s vision. Or an ad headline that sticks and spreads. Or tell a story through a viral video. But the most critical mind to any enterprise’s talent pool is the mind that understands the importance of all those activities. And that can create aligned plans to pull them together.
Communicating
By Aaron Templer
A few words (very few) on communicating. Effective creative execution is about telling stories, facilitating a discussion about them, and in the end, showing an innovative enterprise at work. It’s not at all about tag lines. And presentations? They should help, not hurt. Enough said.