Beware the Power of Dark Scrum

Agile project management needs to be aware the power of dark scrum. Scrum is an agile methodology for managing development projects — mostly software projects but increasingly used in other fields needing flexible and innovative project management solutions. Working in small increments of time (sprints), the scrum teams deliver in predetermined increments, with measurable goals and the flexibility to learn and pivot on the fly.

Scrum goes dark when agile flexibility and teamwork are undermined unreasonable expectations, creating dissension among team members and stakeholders, and turning quick, agile moves into awkward stumbles.

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Buying in the Hot Toronto Condo Market

 

Is it a good time to buy a condo?  More and more people are asking themselves this, looking to break into one of Canada’s hottest housing markets, or to downsize their empty-nest homes.

And the answer is frequently yes.

These days a condo makes sense from an investment point of view – even when housing prices dip in the city, condominium values tend to remain strong and even increase. And the condo-building boom in Toronto continues.

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Women Connecting to Women

Photo by Penn State.

Sometimes life is too good not to share it with the right friend. But if you’re a woman and find yourself away from your usual social networks — travelling solo, for example — then you might forego that trip to the hot new restaurant or show. And you’d miss out of one of life’s memorable experiences.

If you’ve ever said to yourself, “I’d love to do that—if only I had company,” you can now quickly and easily find it with a smart, new soclal networking app called Wengage, just in the process of launching. (Example of  blog content created for the site.)

Drawing on sophisticated algorithms, the app can help you find the company of another woman who shares your interests, for social occasions that can include meeting for a meal or drink, going for a workout, doing a sightseeing trip — you name it.

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Blogging as Part of Your Content Strategy

Blogging continues to be an important part of many companies’ content marketing strategy. In order to work, the blog posts need to be published on a regular schedule and targeted to specific business objectives. I have worked with clients and their SEO houses to develop calendars of ideas, with firm publication dates that ensure a regular flow of focused content.

How the blog is used as part of a larger inbound marketing strategy, or works in conjunction with social media posts and marketing e-blasts or newsletters, also must be part of the planning and strategy.

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The Rising Tide of Water Activism

The trouble with many worthy environmental causes is that they try to scare the hell out of people. It may be true that if we don’t act now the planet is doomed, but put that way the problem is too big for most people to cope with and so they tune out.

When Stan and Mariam Gibson founded Ecologos, in 1998, a charity now completely devoted to water concerns, they raised the alarm about issues ranging from water pollution to oceans choked with plastic. They experimented with different approaches to their cause, including organized civil actions and social media campaigns.

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Robert Redford and the Law of the Jungle

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The trouble with trying to arrange a memorable vacation isn’t the lack of choice but too much of it. With so many options available on the Internet, it’s hard to know what offers the best experience. You might find yourself on a cookie-cutter tour and miss a destination’s hidden treasures.

Last year, I worked with the team at Frank Design Strategy in Calgary to help create a website for travel agent Natasha Rhodes. Her company, Rhodes Less Travelled, offers active and experiential vacations that enable clients to explore other cultures, get up close and personal with wildlife and immerse themselves in natural wonders, ranging from kayaking in the stillness of the High Arctic to exploring the lush jungles and wine lands of South Africa.

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Painting Your Jalopy

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During a four-month contract, working with Ariad Communications, I wrote daily blog posts for the Yellow Pages Group, driving traffic to specific categories of their advertisers. Here’s one from the Automotive section:

As a car owner, a new auto body paint job is one of the most satisfying improvements you can make to your chariot. Here’s how to do the best paint job you can.

Perhaps your car is looking dingy, or it’s just time for a different look. Painting your car can be one of the most satisfying improvements you can undertake—like changing your hair colour. . . . Read the entire post here.

How Much Debt is too Much Debt?

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Canadians like their stuff. They’re not afraid to go into debt for their new cars, homes, large-screen TVs and other items, big ticket and small.  As a result, many of us owe way too much.

Moody’s, one of the world’s leading credit agencies,  recently gave Canada an AAA rating for its “relatively solid economic performance” and stable banking system. But at the same time it warns that the country’s high household debt levels and soaring house prices pose “a potential risk” to those strengths.

Even though debt isn’t usually a good thing, sometimes it can be justified. Rather than simply buying something we can’t afford, debt can be a shrewd way to get ahead if you’re reasonably sure that you will have the means to pay it off. . . . Read the entire blog post I wrote for Richard Killen & Associates.

Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees

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For more than 20 years, Bill had run a successful Toronto tree care business, doing tree removals, pruning, planting and much more. His finances fell into the rhythm of the growing season. In the spring, the work would flood in and then taper off into the summer and fall.

In the winter, during his downtime, Bill would use credit cards to finance advertising, equipment purchases, insurance payments and personal expenses. He would depend on the work coming in the following spring to pay things off and get him ahead in the game. . . . Read the full blog post I wrote for Richard Killen & Associates.

All the Brand News That’s Fit to Click

Image by Llangwitches.

Image by Langwitches.

Journalism is dead. Long live journalists.

OK, the industry isn’t really dead; it’s in transition. Its underbelly, tabloid journalism, already lives online quite nicely, thank you very much, with its slavering focus on sex, sensationalism and celebrities. But fewer readers and greater costs mean that “serious” journalism is in flux – it’s not yet certain whether it will continue to be offered by traditional media companies trying to reinvent themselves or fall completely under the sway of new Net entities.

Even though traditional media numbers are dwindling, there is an increasing demand to tell good stories online, especially on behalf of brands.

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