Why I Oughta...

Low, sporadic clouds like these make for an interesting view from my office.  Some of my favorite days are ones like this that give me the whole 'up in the clouds' feels.

Man-o-man.  The train was packed this morning and the office was full of people when I arrived at 815 am today.  Either people had cabin fever and wanted to get back to their regular schedule or people are like me and fired up to get started.  Let's sell some HR software, amirite?!?! Here's the view from my office back in late November on the first snow .  Looks pretty similar. Aside from the lack of glisten in the eye of all the little people buzzing around getting ready for Christmas.  Now, the people in the photo above are just mindlessly milling around trying to get to their first cup of coffee to get the year started right.

This morning, it *feels* like Fall has arrived.  And when I got up to my office and took a look at the lake it *looked* like Fall, too.   Lots of wind and crashing waves on the lake.  They've turned Buckingham Fountain off for the year, which is really quite depressing. There's also those weird sand-filled spots by the bandshell in Grant Park and nobody stirring in the parks almost anywhere. This marks the third season - as viewed through my office window - and chronicled this year on the blog:   Spring with NFL Draft Town , Lollapalooza in the Summer and now this post for Autumn.

Spotted this in the hallway of the Edelman Chicago Office.  I've worked at a few very special places in my career and one of the things that tie those places together is that in each case, the powers--that-be have done far  *more* than simply paid lip service to cultivating a strong, unique culture.  They lived it. While the business results and the 'setting' (like what the office looks like) are important, the concept of a culture is far more important in recruiting and retaining the brightest minds in the world.  I'm excited everyday about the people and the challenges my team is tackling.  Onward.

On Monday night, Nat and I attended the Opening Night Celebration at Mariano's in Elmhurst.  ( Disclosure:  Mariano's is an Edelman client.  I work at Edelman these days.  Got it? ) If my experience was like any one elses, they made quite the impression on the community. The team that Mariano's assembled went all out.  They had the front half of the store decked out in a pretty incredible display of color and style.  From the faux-Chihuly pieces hanging from the ceilings, a DJ and dancers and tons of food and drinks. The current Mayor Steve Morley was in attendance as were the past two Mayors along with a bunch of elected officials (City Council and School Board). The store itself, while we didn't get a total look at the place, is HUGE. We had a great time and can't wait to get back to do some shopping at the store.  While I certainly am hoping that Mariano's will succeed, I am very wary that our Jewel, which is in the City Centre will suffer as a resu