I’ve been working as a remote employee for almost a year now.

I wasn’t sure how I would handle the transition to distance work, but it has worked out quite well.  In many ways, I now feel more efficient and focused than I was working in the main office.

Along the way, I’ve learned some tricks to help remain a productive worker and a valuable teammate.

If you’re a distance worker, here are a few tips to keep in mind: Read more »

After a couple months of planning and design, we recently rolled out our new Idea Works website. I wanted to take a moment to explain our goals with the new site and a little about the process we took for the refresh.

The previous version of our site was up since 2008. Our technology, product offerings, and personnel have changed quite a bit since then. We needed a new web presence to better communicate what we do, and more importantly, who we are.

More than anything, we wanted to do a better job conveying our personality through the site. Read more »

We work with data — LOTS of it. But all too often before we can start the analysis, these data must first find their way into Microsoft Excel to be cleaned up, rearranged or reformatted.

As such I wanted to pass along a few time-saving tips I use to manipulate data in Excel and get it ready for analysis. This will be part one of a three part series on working with your data in Excel. Read more »

When enough knowledge is structured visually, patterns begin to emerge. The results are not only useful, but can be gorgeous as well.

Thanks to Matt for noticing this work of art in one of our projects.

As a child, I grew up hearing the legend of John Henry, a tireless steel-driver for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad in the 1800s. Henry, a former slave, paved the way for new railroad lines by hitting thick steel spikes into rocks with a 14-pound hammer. He was unmatched in speed and endurance.

One day a salesman comes to camp claiming he has a steam-powered drill that could out-drill any man. A contest ensues: John Henry vs. the Steam-Powered Drill.

After a half hour of drilling, the dust settles. The automatic drill has carved a nine-foot hole into the mountain. John Henry’s hole is fourteen feet deep. The crowd cheers only to watch in horror as Henry totters on his feet then crashes to the ground. A blood vessel has burst in his brain. He’s dead.

The lesson? Be wary of dehumanizing machines that promise advancement but come at a cost. (Plus, humans do better work anyway).

Read more »