Two recent articles about lawn mowing caught my eye. And they couldn’t be more different.

The High Tech. A recent post on cnet News, talks about a creation by scientists at the University of Southern Denmark. They have found a way to control a lawnmower with a Wii remote (Wii Mower takes the Yawn out of Lawn Mowing, in a Cnet article. First we had the push mower, then the motor powered mower, the self-propelled mower, the riding mower…and now all you need to do is point the Wii remote in the right direction. All I have to say is…don’t tell my son. It’s hard enough to get him to mow the lawn. Now he’ll insist on the latest invention, mowing with just one hand, leaving his other free to do some texting (Ugghh).

The Back to Basics. Google has replaced their lawn maintenance crew with goats (yes goats). 200 or so goats now roam the Google grounds, trimming the landscape while enjoying a free lunch. The cost of the goats is apparently about the same as employing lawn-mowing workers, but Google is citing green reasons for the change. But what about the engine exhaust discharged by the vehicles transporting the animals or the other “gases” that will be emitted by the goats during their stay?

There’s been a whirlwind of responses to the goats (good and bad), including this response from PETA assistant marketing manager Amy Cook, posted in a Tech Crunch article:
“PETA has no problem with letting goats do what goats want to do (e.g., look cute and eat weeds), but we do have concerns about how the goats may be transported, whether they are provided with access to shelter during storms and shade as well as water during hot weather, where they are housed when they aren’t “working,” what kind of veterinary care they receive, and what becomes of old and/or excess goats. PETA has found over and over that whenever animals are used by a business to make money, corners are cut and animals often suffer as a result. And that really gets our goat, if you’ll pardon the pun.”
I say “Good for you Google!” We need more creative thinking like this. By the way, Yahoo has also employed goats to maintain their grounds.

I guess there’s always more than one way to skin a cat (or mow the lawn!)

Erika Moskal

Erika Moskal

Do more with less. That seems to be a recurring theme in this economic
climate. Budgets are being trimmed and workforces are downsized. Fewer
resources are tasked with accomplishing enterprise objectives. Let’s
throw one more curve in the mix…swine flu. There is much buzz about the
illness and what it means for business (Companies Plan for a Possible Swine Flu Pandemic).
Large tech companies such as Sprint, Microsoft, General Electric, IBM,
and Dell already have pandemic contingency plans in place. They include
restricting travel, sanitizing call centers, limiting face-to-face
meetings, and enabling employees to work from home. These measures may
seem somewhat restricting, but swine flu or not, business must go on.
Look for an increase in alternative communication methods. Video
conferencing jumps to mind. New advancements in HD video conferencing
enable “just like being there” interactions. And for those without the
latest HD solutions, video calling is a quality, cost effective, plug
and play alternative. Video calling plans are available for around $30
per month. And web conferencing could play a huge role, too. These
always on solutions offer application and document sharing,
whiteboarding, chat messaging, and meeting recording in a
cross-platform environment - affordable and effective. So, for those
companies without the resources to plan ahead for the “what if”
scenario, look to simple and productive ways to keep your business in
tip top shape in the face of a possible worldwide health scare.

Erika Moskal