Sherry Heyl

Where should we meet for lunch?

sheyl — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:10:00 GMT

OpenTable has listed the best places for lunch

Tamarind Seed

The Clubhouse - Atlanta

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood - CNN Center

Agnes & Muriel's

Village Tavern Alpharetta

Personally I like Tamarind Seed, I am not sure I would list it so hight. The Clubhouse is good and a good meeting place. I have also had a really goo experience with them when something went wrong (you can tell more about a business when something goes wrong. )

I have not been to the other three.

What are your thoughts?

Movement

sheyl — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:16:00 GMT

Last week I was told about the Civil Rights Exhibit happening at the High Museum. I knew it would be something that my older son would be interested in. He has always been interested in history and the stories of human struggles and achievement. Him and I have had some very in-depth conversations starting when he was as young as 4.

However my younger son is very different. He really lives in the moment and does not seemed to care much about history. However he does have a sensitive soul and when confronted with tragedies that do not make sense he has a real hard time with the concepts.

Today I decided to take both boys to the exhibit. We had breakfast first which gave me an opportunity to explain to my younger son what we were going to see. As we rode MARTA downtown I continuously questioned if this was the right thing to take them to or not.

On one hand it is an important part of history and the struggles and battles should be honored. On the other hand sometimes I feel when we spend so much energy remembering how wrong things once were we can slow down the progress to a better future. I often would prefer to say this is where we are today and where we can go instead of saying look at who we once were.

When we got to the exhibit I read a few things to my younger son, but for the most part just stayed close ready to answer any questions he had. I found the hardest question to answer was to explain what a photo negative was. There was a display of a negative of photos that had been taken and my son could not understand what a negative was or how pictures were taken before digital cameras. Overall the exhibit did not seem to confuse him.

I stood there with pride. As I was in the photo gallery I thought about the fight, the strength and the accomplishments of the people of the time. I stood there with pride knowing not long ago black people did not have a right to vote and we may (hopefully) will have our first black president. I stood there with pride as each picture explained that it was a photo that showed America what was happening. That each photo that appeared in Newspapers across America forced people to face the realities of the country they lived in, each picture struck a cord in many hearts and changed a country. The change was drastic. In the next room was an exhibit of life after 1968 and the pop culture of the time.

Yesterday I was at a meeting presenting social media as a way for an organization to make a difference. One person in the room understood that social media enabled people to connect and communicate, but he did not understand how social media could make a government representative change their vote. As I looked at the pictures and the activism displayed at the Museum I understood even better how broadcast messages and the gathering of passionate people could indeed move an entire nation.

In the end I was very happy that I took both boys to the museum. Not only did we get to learn more about our past but we got to see how much positive change is possible in our future.

Recharge Your Creative Batteries

sheyl — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:19:00 GMT

June 22 - June 27 Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA will hostThe Creative Problem Solving Institute’s 54th annual conference – The Nature of Inspiration

One of the presenters is Andy Stefanovich who will discuss the importance of bringing inspiration and creativity to your business.

As one of the most disruptive advisors in business, Play's founder Andy Stefanovich brings creativity and innovation to the world's top companies. After 17 years of changing business, Andy has realized that creative processes and innovation outputs are only as good as the inspiration that fuels them. How do you seek new inspiration to spur creativity and innovation? How do you stay inspired and engaged in your daily life and work? Andy shares inspiring best practice stories and critical problem solving methods to empower to people, and thereby enhance their ability to develop and share new ideas. Andy proves that it's not only necessary to encourage creativity and innovation in today's marketplace; it's dangerous to ignore them.

Creativity and innovation in business.
Practical skills, leadership behaviors, and methods for developing and implementing ideas at work.
Making business a lot more creative and its people continually inspired.

I had the opportunity to ask Andy a few questions about his passion of having creativity in business.

What motivates you to want to change the way business is done and encourage organizations to bring creativity and innovation to the world's top companies?

After working across industries for almost twenty years, I’ve seen so many uninspired individuals. Everyone from the facilities manager to the CEO can change the way they individually work to positively affect the culture of the entire organization. By teaching a small group of catalysts how to change their individual mindset, it creates a ripple effect to make others more engaged as well.

What are the risks to companies who go about each day following the status quo without regard to nurturing their employee’s creativity?

People are the source of tomorrow’s great ideas. By ignoring your people’s creativity, you are ignoring the best resource you have for tomorrow’s business growth.

What are some of the resistance points you get from companies about your message?

Innovation is everywhere and it can be hard to sort through the cluttered space to find the real value. Companies have focused too much on the process and not enough on their people. By inspiring your people and enabling them to be more creative, you’ll see the results of innovation. In short, Inspiration + Creativity = Innovation.

How do you overcome objections to your offerings?

Generally, our clients come to us with a specific need or problem they are facing. Innovation is no longer a new term, and companies are searching for the real how to steps. We try and find the right blend between knowing their culture and knowing when to push a little.

How do you think your message relates to the generation coming into the workforce today?

The millennials that are entering the workforce today will soon be managers and then leaders. By giving them the tools they need to create now, we leave the door open for new possibilities. They grew up in an overscheduled, socially open and technology rich world, so they crave individualism and expression. Inspire the people – without people, the process is hollow.

The conference will also host:

Frank Prince - Be Creative 24/7! 11 Key Strategies to Boost Your Creativity

Michael Jones - Moments of Illumination: An Evening of Music, Story and Reflection

Susan Davis and Denise Knight - coke^®/care

Dimis Michaelides - The Art of Innovation: How to Integrate Creativity in Organizations

Barry Johnson - Tapping Our Gift of Polarities: For Families, Organizations, Nations and Planet

For more information visit http://www.cpsiconference.com/home.cfm

Find Out What's Happening in Atlanta, in Bite Sizes

sheyl — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:59:00 GMT

Twitter is a social networking phenomenon where people tell their friends and followers what they are doing within a limit of 140 characters.

What has been most interesting about Twitter, for me at least, is all the other applications that are being developed around it.

For example, the ATL Insider street team found TwitterLocal.net a site where you can enter your zip code and follow Tweets from people in your local area.

I also located Summize, a type of search engine to find conversations. Click here to see what people are saying about Atlanta right now!

Lindberg Plaza has changed!

sheyl — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:03:00 GMT

I have not been down around the Lindberg Station (Piedmont Road, Sidney Marcus Blvd.) in Buckhead for a number of years. In fact, I remember a time when I avoided the area. A couple of months ago I had a meeting with a client and they recommended the Starbucks in the area. Reluctantly I agreed. That was the first glimpse I got of the redevelopment of the area and I was impressed.

Last Thursday Brand Atlanta and NetParty hosted an event at the Tongue & Groove. The City Walk area where it is located looks amazing. There are all kinds of restaurants, clubs, and shopping. It seemed to be the place where some of the best looking people in the city hung out.

Photos were uploaded to the ATL Insider Gallery and we have some video of the party on YouTube.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

sheyl — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:55:00 GMT

November is coming to an end and now the buzz in the blogosphere is about the Holidays.

Timothy Moenk at Continuous Partial Attention has decided to provide the Gift of Giving to the blogosphere this year, by asking for a group participation to mobilize behind a cause and create some buzz and find a way to make a difference.

Amy's Random Thoughts as turned toward Christmas and she is in search of some great Christmas Recipes.

The Mad Prophet of the Blogosphere is listing the nominees for the Most Annoying Holiday Song Ever.

The Cozy Reader is feeling Christmas in the Air and she was prepared for the shopping crowd she endure after first visit to the chiropractor and a little prayer.

Quilts and Creativity has started her Christmas Traditions of making Christmas Gifts.

Over at Valtools Box you get a bit of Charlie Brown's Christmas and a Photo a day.

If you are now in the holiday spirit... holiday lights are everywhere...

Lake Lanier is hosting their Magical Nights of Lights.

Callaway Gardens is offering a Fantasy in Lights getaway deal.

Centenial Olympic Park has turned into a Winter Wonderland.

Our Rich Diversity of Music

sheyl — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 05:29:00 GMT

I attended a party tonight that was basically a jam party for many varied musicians. In fact there were two Accordion players there. Both of them have been quite busy lately with the various Octoberfest events that occur throughout GA.

I am very excited to have found that Matchbox Twenty will be coming to Atlanta on January 28. I was going to refer to the show as a concert, but according to OpenSwitch, that would make me "old." However OpenSwitch did a great job highlighting the events at Roxy Theater.

Atlanta is well known for the hip-hop seen here. According to Toya's World, there was quite a bit of celebrity spotting at Philip's Arena last night.

Seeking a great show in your neighborhood? Sarah Zaslaw offers a great list of upcoming music shows here in Atlanta.

Taste of Atlanta's Bloggers

sheyl — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 05:06:00 GMT

Each year Atlanta Hosts the Taste of Atlanta a two day festival that ensure to delight everyone's sense by highlighting 70 of the top restaurants. This is a very appropriate event for Atlanta, since we have more restaurants on a city block than the average person can visit in a month.

Atlanta Foodies has posted a few photos of their experience of the event. Lizzie Marie Cuisine posted several videos of what she experienced and Chow Down in Atlanta offered a great report on her experience. c