"geeWHIZ"

Things that should be "OBVIOUS"… [O]ptimism, [B]revity, [V]ision, [I]nnovation, [O]riginality, [U]sability, [S]implicity

"geeWHIZ"

Author Archives: geewhizkid

About geewhizkid

OBVIOUS: optimism, brevity, vision, innovation, originality, usability, simplicity. #geewhizdom

Who is our mystery guest?

Posted on by
Reply

Let me tell you about someone I know and love. The following words don’t exist in the dictionary but should.

VITALENTED – He equips his toolbox full of life, thrives in planning for the journey and the destination, and is exceedingly gifted in helping others live out their potential.

INSIGHTFULOPTIMISTIC – From his vantage point (often from the back of the pack), he can see opportunities that not everyone else can, and is always striving to help others see the finish line, or at least the next pit stop.

NUANCICAL – Where others are focused on one obvious flavor, he can taste and smell and add that missing essence or nuance that makes the dish perfect. I don’t mean in just his cooking, but in everyday life.

CELEBSTATISH – He is my most famous(-ish) sibling, known the world over by celebrity pros over many decades of serving those celebrities behind the scenes, always making them look (and perform) better.

EMPATHFUL – He quietly knows when others are running dry and always encourages us to hydrate often. To him, always the “teacup is full” so he knows to have us drink up so he can pour in more.

VitalentedInsightfuloptimsiticNuancicalCelebstatishEmpathful.

Figured him out yet? Look again.

[V]italented.

[I]nsightfuloptimistic.

[N]uancical.

[C]elebstatish.

[E]mpathful.

If you love acrostics you now know I’m talking about Vince Gee.

Professional Mechanic, Husband, Cyclist, Old Man stripes & bars, Unior @wheelsmfg ambassador…. Prostate Cancer survivor

and my bruh

Happy Birthday, 5Cent!

Follow VincentMGee on Facebook – Twitter – Instagram

Words matter in business writing

Posted on by
Reply

Today’s blog read comes from Ryan Lundquist, a good friend with social media prowess and influence, who writes about avoiding subjective language in the real estate appraisal industry.

Ryan hits the nail squarely on the head. The use of subjective language in business writing creates opportunities for miscommunication. The miscommunication can cause a reader to come to a misunderstanding. In the appraisal industry, an extreme example of misunderstanding could result in claims of classism, elitism, and racism.

Check out his blog post “Just say no to subjective language in real estate” to see how he champions the technical communicator’s tools of accuracy and clarity in writing. See how you might translate this to your own profession.

Understand the difference between objective language and subjective language. Examine your own writing for unintentional subjective language.

Words matter. Write on?

I Learned How to Wash my Hands in 2020

Posted on by
Reply

Think back to pre-2020. Did you ever follow someone out of a public bathroom, someone who walked out without washing his hands?

Did you remember someone sneezing into their hands and not immediately washing them before shaking your hands?

Did you occasionally forget to wash your own hands before touching food, before touching your face, before holding a baby?

Let’s admit it. Before the pandemic of 2020, some of us had gotten lackadaisical about hand washing.

Then 2020.

During the pandemic, handwashing became top of mind. It was as if we all went back to elementary school and learned it all over again.

  • Palms
  • Between fingers
  • Back of the hands
  • Thumbs
  • Fingernails
  • Wrists

Teachers and parents taught kids to sing twice through “Happy Birthday” as they washed, so that they’d wash for more than 20 seconds.

This is the new normal. Let’s not go back to the old ways of hand washing.

The #thingsILearned

Finishing what I started

Posted on by
3

Did you know that I struggle with finishing things that I start?

I start a lot of things, but seldom finish them. I have countless journal pages with outlines for posts that I never finished. I have projects in the garage with all the pieces, one or two steps completed, but not finished. I have books on my shelf with bookmarks wedged somewhere in the first few chapters, but not finished.

That’s it. Today I take a stand. I’m committing myself. Today I’m going to fini

The ABCs of good communication just got an “F”

Posted on by
2

Why the heck do we communicate information? Answer that question correctly and you win. Win your audience, that is.

But waste their time by creating useless, inaccurate, wordy, muddled, ugly, purposeless, and hard-to-find content and you will have bought a ticket to unemployment. So how can you ensure you don’t waste your audience’s time?

Follow these ABCs of good communication:

A is for accuracy – Research every fact and conclusion you make. Rely on SMEs (subject matter experts) and check sources.

B is for brevity – Be brief. Edit ruthlessly. Make every paragraph, every sentence, and every word earn its right to be.

C is for clarity – Eliminate misunderstood words. Write phrases that can be understood by a 5th grade-level reader. (You’re not “dumbing it down.” You’re making sure all levels Continue reading →

I was last

Posted on by
Reply

Back when “Words with Friends” was the thing, I played simultaneous games with Scrabble tile letter Iseveral different opponents.

I was in a close game with a brilliant opponent, who was challenging me with her strategic placement and clever command of the English language.

I got down to my last set of tiles.

Then he/she won, leaving me just one tile.

The letter “i.”

I was last.

My dad taught the word altruism to all of the kids. Look it up.

That’s sort of indicative of the philosophy and guiding principle that dictates much of my worldly interactions today. My mission is to support others, to encourage others, to facilitate others’ success.
Often that means they go first. First in line. First to get served. First to be heard from.
That’s ok with me.
I was last.

S.a.l.e.s. S.u.p.p.o.r.t.

Posted on by
Reply

2009-SacFoodBankIn a team funstorming session today, our department, Sales Support, brainstormed on the question “what is Sales Support?” Like others, our team designed a poster with words, images from magazines, and markers.

Meanwhile, I wrote out these lyrics:

 

S is for SUPPORT…it’s what we do.

A is for ASSERTIVENESS…I’m talking to you!

L is for LEARNERS…and the word might be “train,”

but what we do is tweak the brain.

E is for EXCELLENCE… we do nothing half-a$$ed

S is for SPEED…and we. mean. FAST!

 

S is for SIGHT…we help people see.

U is for UNITY…it’s all about …WE.

P is PROFICIENCY…our audience relies on it.

P is for POWER…we supply all of it.

O is OPTIMIZATION…fitting resources to a “T”

R is RESPECT…spelled R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

T is meant to end it on the word TEAM.

put it all together, we fulfill Sales’ DREAM.

 
 

(exits stage right. And our team won.)

Kickstarting your career

Posted on by
Reply

had the fortune of joining VSP Global’s innovation lab, the SHOP, for a 90-day rotation, using Design Thinking and Innovator’s Business Composer on a fellow employee’s innovation idea.

10847211_10152674121952555_3186689656674394436_o

The fast-paced timetable, collaborative and fluid environment, start-up mentality, empowered decision making, and physical distance from corporate headquarters exposed me to some amazing situations.

I’m back at my day job, but I can say it kick started my personal career, confirmed my personal mission, and helped clarify my personal brand.

Read “how can employees innovate no matter their job title? VSP Global CEO Jim McGrann shares his thoughts with Forbes magazine.” http://shout.lt/bzTzb

What’s your biggest regret?

Posted on by
Reply

Blackboard posted in New York prompted passersby to write theirs.

Then, you see the common word in all of them.

Every day is a clean slate. Go reach even further.

404 Not Found (I must keep looking)

Posted on by
Reply

I suffer from Half-Heimers. My wife says I can’t remember half the stuff she asks me to remember.
Not all. Just half.

For example, I forgot what I was going to blog about today.
So today’s blog po404-foundst is my 404 not found post.

I hope the subtle humor is not lost on you.

The 404 Not Found error message is ubiquitous and annoying enough that several creatives have graced the interwebs with their clever 404 pages.

 

 

I’m sorry. My brain did not find today’s post in its memory banks.

Please return to our home page: geewhiz.wordpress.com/ and give my brain another chance.

White Cane Safety Day

Posted on by
Reply

October 15 is White Cane Safety Day. So what’s the deal with the white cane?

I collaborated with the Society for the Blind to understand.

See what’s possible at vspblog.com learning-how-to-use-white-cane

Braincalming. Not brainstorming.

Posted on by
Reply

How many times have you been coaxed into participating in a brainstorming session? Did you feel that the results warranted the investment of time, energy, resources, people?

This post at The Heart of Innovation proposes a concept that contradicts prevalent thought: that braincalming rather than brainstorming produces results.

I love this extract:

“Every wonder why so many people get their best ideas during “down time” — the time just before they go to sleep… or just after waking… or in dreams… or in the shower… or in the car on the way home from work?”

Check out their post

%d bloggers like this: