Roger Green Answers the Proust Questionnnaire

I was listening to a HubSpot free webinar about Blogging for Business, and one of the examples was this. Andrew McAfee is "a professor at Harvard Business school, a top blogger, and the coiner of the term Enterprise 2.0 which is used to describe the application of web2.0 technology (i.e. blogs, wikis, social media, etc) in the business world."

Device you would never give up?

My DVR. I watch television when I want, without actually having to watch commercials, in whatever order I want. With the VCR, I had to find a particular program. I also like recording two shows while watching a third, and pausing live TV. Since I'm sharing it with two others, this is an important consideration.
I'm also very fond of Caller ID. Yes, I screen my calls, often letting unfamiliar numbers go to the answering machine.

Your Favorite Software Application?

iTunes, because I don't have to do as much work in accessing podcasts I listen to. The music stuff's OK too, but not my primary usage.

Blog you read most frequently?

Probably News from ME by Mark Evanier, if only because he posts often, is only mildly left of center, and finds whack videos , many of which I actually remember.

Social Media Tool you actually use?

LinkedIn. Probably not as often as I should, but I've written up a positive review or two and people have reciprocated.

Favorite Business Book(s)?

As a business librarian, I suppose I ought to have one, but most of what we do isn't business philosophy, it's finding facts. I do recall enjoying Nuts! Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg.

Favorite Newspaper(s)?

The Wall Street Journal. Aside from its pretty rabidly right editorial pages - no worse under Rupert Murdock than the previous owners - it gives me useful trend information that our clients can use.

Person that inspires you?

I think I'm a big fan of those amazingly creative people like Michelangelo, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson. McAfee picked Jefferson, among others, calling him "another flawed polymath and humanist".

Who Was Your Best Manager? Why?

At the risk of embarrassing her, my former library boss, Mary Hoffman. She let me know what was expected and mostly left me alone. She was also someone who let me test her, a reaction to her evil predecessor, and her listening to what my issues about that other person were.

Your first "real" job?

I delivered the Binghamton (NY) Press, six evenings plus Sunday morning, for a couple years. I was good at delivering the paper, not so good at dealing with collecting money and I got stiffed more than a few times. But the good customers were generous with their tips. I inherited that job from Walter Jones, my parents' godson and the grandson of my godparents. I also inherited my library page job from him a few years later.

Where Do You Do Your Best Thinking?

Washing dishes, taking a shower, almost anywhere that doesn't require thinking, ironically.

What Do You Most Value In Employees/Colleagues?

Varied intelligences, a sense of fair play, a desire to share.

What I'd like To Be The World's Best At?

It used to be lawyer or baseball player or pastor, but I was never good enough. Librarian, I suppose, however one measure that.
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My condolences to friend Fred Hembeck on the demise of another Mets season; I managed to see parts of that last game. What kind of karmic forces are at work where neither NYC team gets into the playoffs the year their stadia are being torn down and replaced?
ROG