Collaboration Now

Two thumbs up to Andy for another great CNBC appearance on last night’s series Collaboration Now. Throughout the show guests repeatedly stated that the outcome of great collaboration is more and better ideas. As we think about the role of inspiration in innovation, I pose the question: Is getting inspired a solo task or collaborative effort?

Andy on CNBC Collaboration Now Series

The CNBC Series "Collaboration Now" premieres this Sunday at 8 pm EST. Donny Deutsch hosts a 360 view on how to collaborate in a global environment. Our own Andy Stefanovich will be a featured thought leader for Episode 2: Human Resources which airs Sunday, October 19 at 8 pm EST.

See the guest list here...
www.cnbc.com

Speaking of Patty...

Patty will be speaking at the 2008 Apparel Executive Forum taking place Oct 5-7 at, The Four Seasons, in Palm Beach FL. The Apparel Executive Forum is an exclusive, invitation-only event designed especially for influential apparel and retail executives and progressive industry suppliers. The conference is limited to 100 senior-level executives representing apparel retailers, brands and manufacturers. For more information, please visit www.apparelmag.com

Play at the Olympics

Here are a few pictures from a friend of ours over at the USOC. They provide neat insight into a part of the Olympic process that not many think about – but that has to be so cool for the athletes . . . what athlete doesn’t look forward to the moment that they get to see what they’ll be wearing, and literally try on their Olympic athlete selves . . .

Anyways, there is also a cool shot of our song amalgam that we sent over. Big thanks to everyone who contributed.

Playlympics

Check out the amazing photos from our first ever Playlympics. Teams competed in the Paper Airplane Throw, Competitive Grabbing, Rock Paper Scissors, and Synchronized Jumping. Thanks to MarcoPolo for the chocolate 'gold' medals and leaving us with one fantastic final summer Circus.

What we can learn from standup comedy

At Thursday afternoon's Comedy Circus Showdown, I showed clips from 5 of my favorite comedians--Mitch Hedberg, Demetri Martin, Daniel Tosh, Arj Barker, and Jim Gaffigan, and everyone voted at the end to determine whose material would be featured on the stairwell chalkboard where Demetri Martin's comedic artwork currently resides. Well, we came out with a three-way tie, with 3 votes each for Arj Barker, Daniel Tosh, and Demetri Martin. Here are their clips:






(Link to the original video we showed, which does not allow embedding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hSe24Lmgbs&feature=related )


The three-way tie highlights the fact that not everyone responds the same way to each comedian's material, just as consumers will not have the same responses to different companies' offerings. All of these comedians are in the business of making people laugh, but each has his own style that differentiates him from the cliche "Airplane food sucks! Women and men are different!" traps that so many lesser comedians fall into. And what's great about these comics is that they can actually take a seemingly worn-out topic but deliver it in a fresh way. Daniel Tosh and Arj Barker both did jokes about Google, and both were good in their own right.

The Big Idea.

Making his CNBC return, Andy shares his perspective on creativity and inspiration on tonight’s episode of The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. Make sure to tune in with Donny Deuthsch at 10pm (ET) on CNBC. We'll be curled up on our couches, beer and popcorn in hand, ready to cheer him on.

Once you've watched it, share your thoughts on creativity and innovation right here.

Maroon and Orange Day

With tomorrow being Maroon and orange day, I thought we should have something on our blog. In true Play spirit, here's a visual representation of this week's events.

Buddy, can you spare $14,000?

Fast Company article about prosper.com and how they are personalizing personal finance.