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Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter of tips, insights and perspectives that help people in dynamic problem-solving organizations find better ways to work with each other. It gives concrete, nuts-and-bolts methods for dealing with real-life situations.
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Wednesday, you'll receive a brief email message describing a
situation that will probably be familiar to you, and suggesting
some ways for dealing with it that you might not have thought
of. The intent is to expand your vocabulary of responses, to
make you aware of more choices, so that when you next face a
similar situation, you might deal with it a little better than
last time. I respect your time — every article is shorter than 500 words.
Absolutely not. I will not release your address to any third party for any purpose, unless you ask me to. I do ask for some information about you in the form below, but that is solely for internal use to help me understand who my subscribers are, where my subscribers come from, and what their interests are. I do not send spam — ever.
If you'd like to suggest a topic, just send it to me by email: rbrenner@ChacoCanyon.com. If you need anonymity, send your suggestion using the Point Lookout message form, which doesn't require your contact information, and which won't contain your email address unless you provide it.
The Point Lookout Sandstone is the oldest element of the Mesa Verde Group of rocks,
which comprise the geology of Chaco Canyon. While the Point Lookout sandstone isn't actually
visible in the canyon, it can be seen
at Mesa Verde, and it forms the foundation of the geological structures at Chaco. I took its name
for my email newsletter because I was looking for something that suggested a longer view — a
vantage point from which we can better see where we're going. So when I found that this name was
also connected to Chaco Canyon, I knew it had to be. The photo above is a view of Point Lookout,
which is crowned with the sandstone that bears its name. (Photo courtesy
US National Park Service)
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Every once in a while, someone writes to request an HTML version of Point Lookout in email. It's happening more and more often, and I really would like to offer an email version of Point Lookout in HTML, with nice graphics and so on. I almost did it in late 2006 — I actually built most of the machinery to do it and I created a few pilot issues for internal testing. But when Microsoft announced that Outlook 2007 would be using Microsoft Word instead of Internet Explorer to render HTML email, I had to drop the idea. Let me gexplain why, and then I'll point you to a workaround.
Many of my subscribers use Outlook, Yahoo! or HotMail to read Point Lookout. Yahoo! and HotMail are problematic (very non-standards-compliant) when it comes to HTML messages. Outlook 2003 isn't too bad, but many of those now using Outlook 2003 will be migrating to Outlook 2007, which presents a bundle of problems for HTML email. Together, these three mail clients cover more than half of my subscription base. So I decided that until this mess get straighteded out, I would focus my energy on the writing and leave the HTML-munging to others.
If you prefer the look and feel of the Web to straight ASCII (and who doesn't?), may I suggest an alternative? All of my articles appear essentially simultaneously in three places: in email (as text), on my Web site, and by RSS feed. If you like the graphics and layout that are possible with HTML, try my Web site or RSS. To make it easy to access the Web version, I always include a link to it near the top of the text-version email.
Until Microsoft, Yahoo! and HotMail come to their senses, I hope we can all be patient. Could be a while.
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Projects never go quite as planned. We expect that, but we don't expect disaster. How can we get better at spotting disaster when there's still time to prevent it? How to Spot a Troubled Project Before the Trouble Starts is filled with tips for executives, senior managers, managers of project managers, and sponsors of projects in project-oriented organizations. Check it out!
The key to managing virtual or global teams is creating a sense of team despite the obstacles of separation. Read my tips booklet, 303 Tips for Virtual and Global Teams, to learn how to make your virtual global team sing. Newly revised and updated for 2008! Check it out!
Are you fed up with tense, explosive meetings? Are you or a colleague targets of a bully? Read 101 Tips for Managing Conflict to learn how to make peace with conflict. Check it out!Projects never go quite as planned. We expect that, but we don't expect disaster. How can we get better at spotting disaster when there's still time to prevent it? How to Spot a Troubled Project Before the Trouble Starts is filled with tips for executives, senior managers, managers of project managers, and sponsors of projects in project-oriented organizations. Check it out!The key to managing virtual or global teams is creating a sense of team despite the obstacles of separation. Read my tips booklet, 303 Tips for Virtual and Global Teams, to learn how to make your virtual global team sing. Newly revised and updated for 2008! Check it out!
Are your projects always late and over budget? Are your project teams plagued by turnover, burnout, and high defect rates? Turn your culture around. Read 52 Tips for Leaders of Project-Oriented Organizations, filled with tips & techniques for organizational leaders. Check it out!
Save a bundle and even more important save time! Order the Combo Package and download all 21 ebooks and tips books at once, for one low price of USD 161.95 vs. USD 317.97, a savings of over 49% compared to ordering them separately.
Do you ever wonder if all these meetings are really necessary? (They aren't) Or whether there isn't some better way to get this work done? (There is) Read 101 Tips for Effective Meetings to learn how to make meetings more productive — and more rare. Check it out!
A Tip a Day arrives by email each business day. It's 20 to 30 words at most, and gives you a new perspective on the hassles and rewards of work life. Most tips also contain links to related articles. Free!
Are you doing work you love? Are you less in love with the job? Bad boss, long commute, troubling ethical questions, hateful colleague? Read Go For It! Sometimes It's Easier If You Run to learn what we can do when we love the work but not the job. It helps you get moving again!
