Jack's musings on human nature, science, higher education, cooking, photography, and life...

...but you can fill it with light! I've been obsessed with those words since they were spoken by performing artist  Lindsey Stirling at a concert Carol and I attended last Saturday. Firstly, I recognize the issues I'm about to discuss are "1st world" in nature and pale in comparison to the truly serious issues faced by so many people in this world.  I share this in the hope that the coping mechanisms explained below may be of assistance. The last few weeks have been a bit difficult for me. I've traveled five out of the last six weeks. Three of those trips involved a Saturday or Sunday, or both, and all were three days or more in duration. Meeting timings, time zone differences and flight availability conspired to require an extra night's stay on three of the trips as options to fly east across the country in the late afternoon are limited. Adding insult to injury, the late afternoon meeting or event that necessitated the extra overnight was canceled ...

We conducted our Quarterly Sales Meeting, or what we at  Campus Management  refer to as “QSM”, last week in Deerfield Beach, FL. It was a fitting location as it's where Campus Management was formed 30 years ago. QSM includes sales, all other customer facing departments, marketing, product management, and leadership from across the company. Our fiscal year is July 1 - June 30 so this iteration of QSM serves as our annual kickoff meeting. It’s our opportunity to celebrate the successes of the previous year, discuss the upcoming year’s goals and objectives, get an external view of ourselves and the marketplace, and  most importantly, learn some new skills. Our first quest speaker was  John Geraci  from  CISquared . I worked for John twenty-five years ago when he was the president of Information Associates. He was an amazing leader that strongly believed in developing his team to the fullest. Looking back, I think I participated in more leadership deve...

Let me start by saying that this is not a blog entry for those not interested interested on how educational institutions select their ERP software solutions.  Do yourself a favor and return to where you came from as reading this will be as exciting as watching paint dry... However, I think members of my Higher Education network will find this interesting. Campus Management was recently invited to participate in an ERP procurement process by a consortium composed of three institutions located in the same geographic region.  Consortium procurement is not as rare as it once was, but what made this unique was the lack of similarity between the member institutions.  Normally the institutions in a consortium ERP procurement have some common characteristics that drive common requirements.  That was not the case here as the institutions were fundamentally different, yet they saw the collaborative value of coming together for a strategic decision like this.  Exce...

Primarily interested in pictures? Click here for my favorite 40 shots, and here for the broader 260 picture travel log. Read on if you are interested in the story behind the photos :) I've been fascinated with Machu Picchu since I was a little boy.  The National Geographic magazine adventure articles about a mysterious ancient city built on an impossible mountain top in the Peruvian Andes by a long lost pre-Columbian Native American culture captivated a impressionable young boy who's life story at the time had been played out within a 10 mile radius of his home. I've dreamt about seeing it in person for many years.  But, for some reason, I hadn't realized how accessible it had become until a rash of friends ticked it off their bucket list within the past year. So, you can imagine my response when some close friends asked if we would be interested in joining them on a hiking trip that ended with a visit to Machu Picchu.  I was ready to sign up immediately!...

I’m sure most of you know I’m a firm believer in the power of a team.  A high performing team can accomplish feats that to others seem utterly impossible.  This year’s Super Bowl winners, my hometown Philadelphia Eagles, are a powerful example of this.  Down several key players due to injury, including their likely league MVP quarterback had he not been injured, they accomplished what most thought was impossible.  They were underdogs in each of their playoff games. With their previously discarded back-up quarterback, they defeated the most dominant NFL team in recent history lead by possibly the greatest NFL quarterback of all time.  Asked afterward, every player cited “team” as the primary reason they prevailed.  I get choked up every time I watch Jason Kelce’s epic speech from Philly’s Super Bowl parade.  Who wouldn’t want to be a member of that team?? While not super bowl winners, I’ve been fortunate enough to be a member of a ...

OK, I’m a car snob. There, I said it... Guilty as charged! I have always loved cars. I had dozens of cool matchbox cars as a little kid, my school notebooks were full of hot-rod sketchings, I knew the name of every car on the road, I got my learners permit the day I turned 16, and ignoring my parent’s trepidation, was driving their land yacht solo shortly thereafter. I purchased my first car, a beautiful blue 1971 Camaro, as soon as I could afford to own one while I was in college. I’ve spent a small fortune on car magazines, and a much larger fortune on the real things. To me, cars are not merely a way to get from point A to point B - oh don’t I wish... Unfortunately, I see them as works of art, fashion statements, something to be admired, and yes, even lusted after. Given these views, it’s no surprise that I value style and design above pure functionality. Don’t get me wrong, I believe a vehicle has to meet its functional requirements, it must be well engineered, and built to a very...

"College should be hard.  Going to college should not be." Those words, spoken by Dr. Michael Moore, the Chief Academic and Operational Officer at eVersity (also pictured above) will forever be emblazoned in my memory.  I first heard them during a customer panel discussion I was moderating at Ellucian Live 2016.  The concept is so simple, yet so incredibly profound.  College academics should challenge a student's mind but the act of going to college should be straightforwardly simple! eVersity  is a part of the University of Arkansas system and is a 100% accredited online university. It was just starting to operate when I met Michael in early 2016, but its driving purpose was firmly established: to help working adults who started college, but did not complete, get a high quality undergraduate degree.   The  Lumina Foundation  estimates that over 30 million individuals fall into this category of starting college, but not earning a degree...