imagistic, the Westlake Village, California-based new media software and services company, won the Stevie Award for Best Intranet in The 2007 American Business Awards.

What New Year’s resolution have you made for 2009?
I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. I set intentions every day!

What book are you currently reading?
Peter Grant: The Man Who Led Zeppelin It is the biography of the “fifth” member of the band. As their manager Peter Grant changed the way people manage rock bands in the 70s. He put the musicians first and made sure their music and their art was the number one priority. It is quite inspiring to me as the CEO of a boutique agency; while imagistic is not a rock band, it is critical that I do all I can for my employees and make sure they get what they want and need. To keep them happy is one of my main jobs.

What was the last movie you saw, and would you recommend it?
Valkyrie. Tom Cruise was surprisingly good. It’s hard to watch a movie when you already know the ending, but the story was riveting.

What is your favorite sport or hobby?
Baseball and playing guitar.

Who is your favorite historical figure?
If Frank Zappa can be considered historical then he would be it. This was a man who did what he wanted and never compromised his vision.

Who is your favorite living person?
My wife.

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?
Rock Star.

What do you think is the worst bad habit to have at work?
YouTube and Facebook.

What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?
Honesty and punctuality. Just be honest and tell the truth—it is always the best way. I have no patience with people being late (unless of course there is an emergency). If you set a meeting time, be there.

Is there anything you'd like to improve about your own work practices?
It sounds simple, but I need to keep my desk clean. It piles up, and by Friday I cannot see its surface. I need to be better organized. My days are fast and furious, and sometimes I forget to slow down and clean up!

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
I love what I do—there are so many hats to wear. Sometimes I am putting out fires and other times I am selling our services. There is no typical day at imagistic. Our client base is so varied that I know every day I am going to learn something new.

What do you consider has been your greatest achievement in business?
We turn twelve years old this year. In the scheme of things that is long time in the Internet industry. We survived the “dot-bomb” in 2001 and have climbed back to be one of the best boutique agencies in southern California.

What advice or useful tip would you give to someone who is just starting out in business?
Check your ego at the door and ask for help and advice. Without my mentors we would never have made it this far.

About Michael Weiss
As Chief Executive Officer, Michael's business development and marketing prowess has been a driving force in imagistic's growth over the past eleven years. His knowledge, vision, and ability to speak "English, not tech" have helped turn top-tier companies such as Technicolor, Hollywood.com, Network For Good, and California Pizza Kitchen into long-term clients. As the director of all sales and PR efforts, Michael’s goal is to guide clients from the initial sales pitch to the eventual launch of their product. His objective is to work with clients to help them realize their visions and create Web sites that inspire, educate, and engage end users.

Along with his extensive management, marketing, and sales experience, Michael has a background in education and counseling. He has taught at the Crossroads School, Palms Middle School, and Daniel Webster Middle School, all located in Los Angeles. Michael is a contributor to The Nonprofit Technology Network and speaks at their annual conference. He offers his expertise to nonprofits through webinars, online office hours, and by writing articles. He has also spoken at FS/TEC, Boston University, The Center for Nonprofit Management, Network For Good, Pepperdine University, and others.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Boston University and earned a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology from Loyola-Marymount University. He is on the Advisory Boards for The Ojai Foundation and The Wildwoods Foundation.

About imagistic
Founded in 1997, imagistic (www.imagistic.com) is an Internet software and services firm that specializes in Web application development. The company has developed numerous Web-based initiatives for such clients as Baxter BioScience, GE Private Asset Management, California Pizza Kitchen, Bank of America, Health Net, UCLA, CarsDirect.com, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Estée Lauder. imagistic is based in Westlake Village, California and works with local and remote clients in all businesses and industries.

Eastman Kodak Company of Rochester, New York won the Stevie Award for Best Blog in The 2008 American Business Awards.

First published in September, 2006, Kodak launched their blog A Thousand Words to connect and interact directly with consumers by sharing stories written by employees worldwide. The following is an extract from the blog for January 20th, 2009, featuring an essay by Essie L. Calhoun, Chief Diversity Officer, Director of Community Affairs, and Vice President at the Eastman Kodak Company.

The Inauguration of Barack Obama
The inauguration of President Barack Obama resonates differently across our national and global culture. That's as it should be—because our differences, when shared, often help unlock our creativity and innovation.

We at Kodak learned this important lesson from a leader in the incoming Obama administration. Eric H. Holder, Jr., the U.S. Attorney General-designee, served as chairman of an external diversity advisory panel that consulted with Kodak on ways to strengthen its focus on diversity and inclusion. He and his colleagues from academia, business, and law met with dozens of Kodak employees from 2001 to 2003, and then crafted recommendations to help the company refine its efforts to build an inclusive environment.

Essie L. Calhoun, Kodak's Chief Diversity and Community Affairs Officer, captured that sense of connectivity in an essay appearing on the website of WHAM-TV, Channel 13, in Rochester, NY. Here are her comments:

A Place at the Table of Ideas
When President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden take their Oaths of Office today, it will begin a new era­—not only for our nation, but for our belief in the promise of diversity and inclusion—and the dawning of its coming-of-age in our national psyche.

President Obama’s election reflects a milestone in our progress towards understanding that everyone counts, and every individual’s unique perspectives and experience can contribute to the enrichment of our communities and our environment. As a nation, we all expect a place at the table of ideas. As Americans, we have a long heritage of reaching beyond our initial unfamiliarity, and collaborating to innovate and strengthen the fabric of our society.

The diversity of Mr. Obama’s Cabinet appointees—from Sen. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, to Cecilia Munoz, his appointee for Director of Intergovernmental Affairs—reflects his willingness to gather together a diverse leadership team to share and debate new ideas.

Kodak—long a leader in growing a diverse, inclusive, and innovative global business—has a special role model within the Obama Administration. Eric H. Holder, Jr., the U.S. Attorney General-designee, has been a champion of diversity and inclusion long before his current appointment. Mr. Holder served as the chairman of the external diversity advisory panel convened by Kodak leadership in 2001. That panel, which undertook a two-year analysis of Kodak’s diversity and inclusion efforts, continues to re-engage with Kodak leadership, at the invitation of chairman and CEO Antonio M. Perez, to review our progress.

Kodak’s external diversity advisory panel fostered an understanding in our organization that diversity and inclusion is an ongoing journey. And, while we continue on our journey within Kodak, we are heartened to see our country, our communities, and our brothers and sisters take steps on our national journey to become more inclusive.

President Obama and his team take office in an era of unprecedented uncertainty. Change is inevitable and while we hunger for change, we don’t know where it will lead us. But by moving with focus, accountability, simplicity, and trust—what we at Kodak call our FAST Principles—our new national leadership has already begun building a new era of inclusion, collaboration, and innovation.

So we embrace change, and we look to draw strength from it. Regardless of our short-term economic woes, Mr. Obama’s Presidency will empower us to set aside our uncertainties and move forward to become a stronger nation today, united in our commitment to seek new solutions and re-energize each other.

About Essie L Calhoun:
Ms. Calhoun was appointed Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Community Affairs in September 2003.  She began her Eastman Kodak Company career as a sales representative in 1982 and has held positions in marketing, sales, and public affairs.  She was appointed a vice president in 1999 and elected a corporate vice president by the Kodak Board of Directors in July 2000. As Chief Diversity Officer, Ms. Calhoun is dedicated to strengthening the company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives among employees, customers, and suppliers.  Her responsibilities include working with the Global Diversity and Inclusion Council to craft and implement strategies designed to maintain an environment that fosters inclusion and understanding wherever Kodak does business.  She also serves on the Senior Executive Diversity and Inclusion Council and works with the company’s senior leadership as champions of a Winning and Inclusive Culture at Kodak that will enable all constituents to fully participate.  As Director of Community Affairs and President of the Eastman Kodak Charitable Trust, Ms. Calhoun oversees Kodak’s corporate philanthropy and community involvement worldwide.  Ms. Calhoun uses her energy and her propensity for establishing processes that make a difference to promote Kodak’s good corporate citizenship.

A graduate of Leadership America, she is the founder of several organizations focused on leadership development, including the United Way of Rochester’s African American Leadership Development Program and the Kodak Youth Leadership Academy.  Her current board affiliations are Rochester Institute of Technology, the Greater Rochester Health Foundation (vice chair), Urban League of Rochester, Greater Rochester Enterprise, and University of Toledo Foundation.  Committed to making a difference for others, Ms. Calhoun is a frequent speaker at diversity and community events and conferences. Ms. Calhoun served as the 2001-2002 distinguished Minett Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology. She also received the Martin Luther King Commission’s Individual Award “in recognition of her lifelong personal and professional dedication, commitment and strength to help create a better community for all people.”

She received a B.Ed. degree in Social Science from the University of Toledo, a M.S. in Administration and Supervision from Bowie State University, and an Honorary Doctorate from Roberts Wesleyan College.

About Kodak:
As the world’s foremost imaging innovator, Kodak helps consumers, businesses, and creative professionals unleash the power of pictures and printing to enrich their lives. To learn more, visit http://www.kodak.com and follow their blogs and more at http://www.kodak.com/go/followus.

Photographer: Nadine Krimow

Blogs, or web logs, are all the rage these days. Each month in this space we'll point you to several blogs and web sites that we think might be of interest to you.

A Thousand Words : Winner of the Stevie Award for Best Blog in 2008, Kodak launched this site to connect directly with consumers, by sharing stories written by Kodak employees worldwide.
Historical Tweets : Most people think Twitter was “created” in 2006. There are some people who think Richard Gere created Buddhism in the 1990’s. Just before Madonna created yoga. Folks, Twitter has always been. This site proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Damn I Wish I'd Thought Of That : Andy Sernovitz's Unusually Useful Ideas for Smart Marketers.
Murketing : Blog on murky/marketing by New York Times columnist Rob Walker.