The Common Thread

Scribus is an Open Source program that brings professional page layout to us for free. Click here to download.

Scribus provides a reasonably simple interface and can output print-ready PDFs! It is not a replacement to InDesign—it has limitations, but individuals and small businesses no longer have to pay thousands of dollars for layout software to create ads and brochures.

Please take a moment to watch our inhouse-produced promotional video for the Association of Water Technologies “Murder Mystery.”

When discussing Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, the root of the problem is the software itself and it’s poorly designed interface. But we the user are partly to blame. We are so busy that we never take the time to sit down and figure out how to properly use the software. In the end, time spent learning how to use your software will save you countless ours and reduce frustration and anxiety in the future.

For Microsoft Word it is Style Sheets, for PowerPoint it is Master pages. Use these tools and you life in the office will dramatically improve!

I am no expert on PowerPoint, but I whipped together this handout to introduce new employees to a few basics. I hope it will benefit you as well.

I always knew Helvetica was the most beautiful and versatile typeface of all time—this documentary proves it. My advise: use Helvetica.

I prefer to open and read PDFs in a browser. Safari has this feature built it, but there are lot websites that don’t work in Safari. I Have been using Google Chrome for a number of months for the simple reason that it’s Google. I am a one stop shopper, I would do everything Google if it were possible. But today I reluctantly switched back to Firefox for one reason, PDFs. Firefox has a plug-in that allows PDFs to be opened and viewed inside the browser without opening Acrobat.

Chrome does have a setting that opens PDFs in Google Docs but it is unpredictable and a little cumbersome.

So I am sorry Chrome but Firefox wins again!

Wow am I happy to have been introduced to tinyURL.com! I recently fell in love with Google docs sharing capabilities, but what happens when you want to print out one of those elongated links? Tiny URL saves the day, for free. You simply type in your immeasurably long link into a field and wah-la: a new URL beginning with “http://tinyurl.com/” and ending with a link of  your choosing.

It is funny—every time some internet solution comes along to speed-up and simplify our lives, it creates 10 more problems that also need solutions.

As the Member Services Manager for a trade organization, I am fortunate to enjoy an excellent working relationship with my Executive Director. As we enter our fifth year of working together, we have had a very fruitful, and successful, professional journey.

Although we have very different dispositions, I believe we function very well as a team. We are like peanut butter and jelly: different tastes and characteristics, but put us together, and we seem to complement one another. Like the jelly, she is sweet (I’m more acidic). Like the peanut butter, I can get a little nutty (she is much more calm). She likes to correspond via email, I prefer the telephone. She is an introvert, I am an extrovert.

But somehow, it works! Despite our very different personalities, we have a mutual respect for each other and, more importantly, we both possess a drive and a desire to do our very best to ensure optimum service and results for our client.

To quote Dr. Steven Covey, author of the best-selling book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, “ Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.” I believe that we have used that approach to build a very effective team. Our client has also benefited from our ability, and willingness, to work well together and produce results.

Now I don’t write this to blow my own horn (or hers, per procurationem). It is simply my opinion that a good professional partnership can achieve unlimited goals. When people share a similar work ethic, trust each other to get things done (and done right), work cohesively and appreciate each other for their strengths, as well as provide help where there is room to improve, the result is always going to be favourable.

So, hopefully you’ve found your peanut butter or jelly in the workplace. I hope so; it makes for a much happier, easier and productive professional life! It’s an awesome combination!