InSys Views - November 2009

Volume 4, Issue 11 - November 2009

It's hard to believe that another year is almost over, and that Thanksgiving is only a week away. I've mentioned before that I love Thanksgiving, because of the way it combines food and family without the kind of pressure we may feel come late December. No need to buy gifts, and no political overtones. It's a completely non-denominational, very American (and Canadian) idea.

If you're a regular reader, you know that I tend to accentuate the positive. I believe it's healthier to look for good things than to dwell on bad things. And it's more practical, too. If you expect things to go from bad to worse, you're in danger of missing the inevitable upturns. I think it's very good practice to count your blessings at least once a year. It's so easy to forget about them under the daily pressures of life and business.

So I wish you all a healthy and happy Thanksgiving!

Linda Magnusson-Rosario, CEO

A New Approach to Work-Study

Workforce Outsource Services, a New York nonprofit organization, is working to provide alternatives to foreign tech workers by granting scholarships to low-income students and placing them in multiyear work-study programs while they work toward undergraduate degrees. Read the article.

Weighing Social Media's Risks

Here's an interesting post from Andrew McAfee, MIT Research Scientist and #38 on the list of the 100 most influential people in IT, about why companies should embrace social networks, blogs and wikis. Read the article.

Bad IT Means Bad CEO?

In an interview at last week's Gartner Symposium, HP CEO Mark Hurd drew a correlation between the role that customer-side CEOs play in situations where a company's IT is "bloated, backward, expensive, and ineffective." Read the article.

"You'll Be Amazed What You Can Do..."

Those are the words of InSys client Lori Hanzl, who manages the brand websites and relationship marketing campaigns at Novartis. Lori recently developed an interest in cycling, and wanted to try something a bit outside her comfort zone. So in mid September, she entered a fund raising ride sponsored by the NJ Metro Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. It's a two-day event, 50 miles each day, and Novartis was one of the corporate sponsors

"I felt I could do 30 miles," said Lori,"but wasn't sure about 50. It was a little intimidating, but turned out to be a lot of fun. And I raised over $1,600 for a good cause, so that felt great, too."

What she remembers most is that while it started out as just a bike ride, crossing the finish line to the cheers of many MS sufferers was surprisingly emotional. She definitely plans on doing it again in 2010, and might even ride both days. If you like the sound of this, the rides are open to anyone. You can find out more at the NMSS website.

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