Lisa Ocker
5 Lessons on How to Make a Successful Career Change
How these people found bliss after dramatic professional shifts
Reading List: The Power of I Am
Changing your mindset and inviting good things into your life can start with the words “I am,” Joel Osteen writes. But it’s the words that follow—positive or negative—that can bring consequences or blessings, says the best-selling author and pastor. “Whatever follows the words ‘I am’ will always come looking for you,” he says. In The…
We’ve Met the Enemy, and It Is Us
The wind kicked up around twilight. Glancing toward the sky, they wondered whether the storm clouds would catch up to them. They wondered what else was in store and how they’d handle the challenges of the next 24 hours or however long this would last. Rain began to fall as they marched some 10 kilometers…
Steve Case Hits the Road for His Rise of the Rest Tour
Torrents of rainwater rush down neighborhood streets into intersections and storm drains. A dozen or so people hurry under shared umbrellas behind a salt-and-pepper-haired man in a fleece vest. They funnel into a house along the way. The decibel level rises as they crowd into the narrow living room furnished with a couple of workstations,…
CreateAthon Teams Pull All-Nighters for Charity
The sound of a ball slamming against concrete reverberates through a darkened office park near Dallas. It’s 4 a.m., the candy corn supply is running low and so is the energy. But not the enthusiasm or commitment. In five hours, the MODassic Marketing team will present the efforts of its all-nighter benefiting three nonprofits. With…
Why Oprah Gave These 9 Women Standing O-Vations
Kimberly Bryant wasn’t unaccustomed to being the only woman of color in the room—whether it was in college science classes or working as an electrical engineer. When she enrolled her videogame-obsessed daughter in a coding summer camp at Stanford University, she was discouraged to find things hadn’t changed. Her daughter was one of just three…
Any Endeavor Is Easier with Buddies
The other day I noticed a box of bagels in the office and asked what we were celebrating. From behind a cubicle wall someone piped up: “Matthew didn’t write his blog.” I had forgotten that, way back in January, a handful of co-workers started a yearlong blog accountability challenge. And they were still at it,…
Get a Workout While Working
What’s one of the latest must-have accoutrements for the office? Hint: It’s not a desk, computer or chair (well, not exactly). It’s a stability ball used for “active sitting.” Inflatable stability balls have been used for decades by physical therapists and more recently in gyms to help improve posture and balance, and strengthen the body’s…
The Birth of E-Commerce
Twenty years ago, someone ordered a large pepperoni pizza with mushrooms and extra cheese at Pizza Hut. Nothing unusual about that, except that the order was placed online in what’s believed to be the first-ever e-commerce transaction. From there, the e-commerce sales industry climbed (and is still climbing) to enormous heights. E-commerce sales in the…
Tony Hsieh’s Next Act
Tony Hsieh is pounding on an overturned garbage can in a performance hall full of people. Dust flies. People are laughing. What’s funny isn’t that the CEO is banging on a garbage can as if it’s an oversized bongo, but that he doesn’t seem to have rhythm. He can’t find the beat. His performance at…