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Presidential Campaign Predictions

February 14, 2008 on 3:43 pm | In Politics | 2 Comments
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I like theorizing about the outcome of events, kind of a pastime of mine, and the presidential campaign is no different.

Prediction: John McCain will choose Mitt Romney as his running mate.
Did anyone else find it strange that Mitt Romney dropped out so quickly from the race? Yes he was behind and his chances of winning were dwindling, but like the smart business man he is he knew when to cut his loses at the right time. The right time to drop out while his name was still in the papers, and with a lot of conservatives backing him. And what do all the news publications say McCain needs to win? Conservatives, and Romney has them, and rugged good looks and youth that McCain does not have. Sounds like a match made in heaven to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Romney endorsing McCain in the next few weeks.

Prediction: Barack Obama will tap Edwards for his running mate.
John Edwards, a major voice for the poor and for those who do not have a voice. Barack Obama, voice of the middle class and African Americans. Combine the two and what do you get? An unstoppable team of youth and change. Barack Obama was recently criticized for his admiration on the Reagan era republicans, stating that the republicans of that time were the party of ideas. Sounds like Obama is trying to make the democratic party under his leadership the new party of ideas and who again to better suit that idea? John Edwards.

Super tuesday and thoughts on Google.

February 5, 2008 on 6:58 pm | In Tech, Opinion, Politics | No Comments
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The time is now to get out in vote. It has been decades since a primary race has been so hotly contested on both sides of the aisle. I encourage you to go out and vote your heart and your head. I heard someone on NPR this morning who said he refused to vote because the United States was financially doomed anyway. It worries me that people are giving up on a country that is still very strong economically. There will always be rough times, but in the end only a strong spirit and a willingness to become involved will bring us through.

I spent a large chunk of time writing about business culture and values this morning for my project management class. For this project we picked a company to study and I chose Google. Having known a little bit about the unique Google culture going into the project I desired to learn more. What I discovered was a culture designed to magnify creativity and keep Google’s number one asset, their employees content and productive. Google Logo Google offers 3 meals a day at their cafeteria for free, “play rooms” with pianos, video games, pool tables, ping-pong tables, on-site gym, computer and small electronic device repair, street hockey twice a week, a casual dress code and a shocking lack or cubicles. These are just a few examples of how Google tries to make their offices a welcoming place for their employees. I began to wonder why more businesses don’t have a creative and comfortable work space like this, the idea of making work a more comfortable place then home is a very new a scary idea. I think most businesses are afraid of such a lax environment and have the idea that their employees may become complacent. For most companies this concept just does not work. Could you imagine showing up at your bank and working with a bank teller in flip-flops and Bermuda shorts? I think the major problem is seeing people in casual wear makes a company come off as less professional. But, perhaps it is time for our perceptions to change in this regard. Maybe business would be better conducted if we weren’t all stuffed into monkey suits?

For a excellent photo essay by Time magazine follow this link.