Michael Makis
Consultant
Passionate about
organizational performance improvements
from advancements in learning technology.
My professional profile on LinkedIn- My personal blog: Michael Michael
- Photos of mine you should see on Flickr
- contact mike
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Info
- Summary
If your organization wants to take its employee learning and development eco-system to the next level or squeeze more value out of the existing components, I’m your man! Whether our partnership will be bringing your model and supporting technology up to current norms, pioneering into the new frontiers of informal learning or better connecting your talent management continuum in general, I can help you. Please reach out and challenge me with your situation. You’ll be happy you did.
Specialties: Enterprise Learning Solutions, Learning Management Systems (LMS), Project Management, E-Learning & Web Based Training (WBT), Personal Branding, Online Communities, Web 2.0, Social Business, Web Conferencing, Virtual Classrooms, Social Networking, Rollout and Communication Planning, Risk Management & Mitigation, Relationship Management, Organizational Change Management, Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS), Service Excellence
Experience- Sept 2010 - PresentManaging Consultant / IBM Global Business Services
IBM has dynamically changed its well known brand over the last 100+ years to meet the demands of its clients and lead other services and solution providers.
Mr. Makis works in the Global Business Services division of IBM which works with its clients to solve complex business problems with consulting services, industry and technical solutions.
- 2008 - PresentSecretary / Meadowbrook Towers Condominium K, Inc.
Mr. Makis is an officer on the Board of Directors for a condominium home owner's association (HOA) in south Florida. This leadership position entails planning and coordinating capital projects, vendor selection, contract management, annual financial budgeting, resident information updates, general property management and managing emergency situations.
- Feb 2005 - Sept 2010Managing Consultant / Stranix Co.
- Jun 2004 - Feb 2005Software Technician / CVPS, Inc.
- Dec 2000 - Jun 2004Manager / USA Parking
- 1998 - 2000Craftsman / Faulkner Plastic
- 1995 - 1999Stock Clerk / Publix Super Markets
Education-
1996 - 2000University of FloridaB.S in Mathematics
Activities: UF Lacrosse Club, Delta Tau Delta Fraternity
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Posts
- Jan 03, 13
Life is precious. Unfortunately it sometimes takes something or someone to remember that and take more time out to realize what you have.
- Sep 06, 12The Vortex was consistent once again with delicious burger goodness. A recent trip to the original Vortex location in Little 5 Points to devour the Coronary Bypass created with this ½ pound burger, four slices of cheese and four slides of bacon. The wonderful meat sandwich was juicy and tasty. Not to mention the ambiance and selection of beers that complete the full burger bar experience. A definite stop when in Atlanta.
- Jul 28, 12
The new Marlins Park transplanted some of the south Beach feel into the stadium by landing a 2nd Clevelander destination. The restaurant/club area brings a VIP feel with really cool field seating just behind the left field wall, a pool just feet away as well as club-like bottle service with an outdoor area for cornhole and beer pong.
The food at the Clevelander was very good. The cheeseburger was fresh and classic served with sweet potato tots, complete with lettuce, tomato, onion and a pickle on the side. Try the pizza if you go too. - Jul 27, 12
Has artificial social eroded the exponential adoption trajectory of social media and social networking? It's time to back off artisocial. And what does this even mean?
Artificial could be defined as lacking spontaneity or forced and Social as devoted to or characterized by friendly relations; and in the sense of social media and social networking, collaborative and seeking or enjoying the companionship of others.
artificial + social = artisocial and could be defined as unnatural devotion; companionship that was not generated from spontaneity.
Arguably, some of the best things about the social media and social networking environments, tools and features are their collaborative, crowdsourcing and social propagation components. Key examples are “like” buttons and hashtags such as #Stampthispostingwithahastagsootherscanfinditeasily. Artisocial marketing has started to erode these core engaging and likable aspects. The “Like” button works so well because it is juvenile and with the click of a single button one can identify themselves with a brand, idea or concept amongst their social peers. The insertion of the marketer and that a reward will be given for liking something not only erodes this natural and organic social activity but actually destroys the foundation of being spontaneous and natural.
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Marketer, Please stop asking your customers to “Like” you. Have you considered that they may not be that valuable to you if they are only liking you because you have asked them to or are giving away a prize? Please direct them to your product or your social media page and let them “Like” you naturally.
In addition, just because your organization started a blog under the guise of a well respected leader doesn’t mean that some of your intended readers won’t see right through the false figurehead authoring. Blogging also needs to be real with a real author behind the content in order to produce the desired outcomes. Otherwise, it is also artisocial and eventually will lose respect. Make calculated choices about others authoring content for someone else and publishing it through a blog forum or risk wasting a lot of time and energy.
Much of the true success of social media and social networking has been due to the dedication and engagement from the pioneers and social ambassadors having a clear understanding of what social is. Artisocial may sincerely cripple this. Don’t be artisocial. - May 06, 12
It seems as if about a centimeter a month disappears from what should be acceptable and appropriate distance between strangers. Why do some people feel the need to stand so close behind someone else in public situations? Are they really that oblivious that they are nearly on top of you? Are they that rude? Or are they just plain stupid?
- May 02, 12
Amercian Star Diner in Montgomeryville, PA was a destination hoping to improve recent burger adventures in the Lansdale area, but proved once again disappointing. A classic diner location with a classic menu complete with a classic burger turned out pretty boring. Definitely edible and only just that good. Old school iceberg lettuce, a fair patty and well melted cheese, but only to be stamped with regular and far from special.
Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in the design District in Miami, Florida presented a much better burger. Not even in the same category as American Star or diners in general. This burger had high expectations to meet from a recent mention in the 25 best burgers. Presentation was right on lined by a distinct variation with it's yellow tomato slice atop crumbled and melted Vermont white cheddar cheese. The burger is very good and ‘genuine’ none the less, but a few ounces short of award winning or chalking up on a favorite list.The burger at 5 Seasons Brewery in Sandy Springs, GA was good. Tasty and hit all the staple requirements of the American burger sandwich but nothing was special about it. A meal for sure, but the beer is much more of a draw. - Mar 21, 12
Oh BURGERFI. I have driven by your burger joint at Commercial and AIA a few times over the past few months and reserved my visit for a random day. The day finally came.
I now wish I stopped by the last few times I saw you metal roof in my rear view.
The menu was endless. But, this is probably the worst thing I can say about BURGERFI.
I ordered a double with cheese, a beer, cheese fries and split onion rings with my friends. The best thing about BURGERFI was actually not the burgers or the hot dogs or the cheese sauce. It was actually the service. Stellar. I felt as if I wasn't even in south Florida. Where did these people come from? Someone must have one hell of a glass half full, have ready Danny Meyer's book or is just a natural. Service this good is not just a by product of a new restaurant. The management is really onto something here.
The ambiance was cool but modern integrating classic burger joint stuff. Old school light bulbs hung from polished ice picks. Stools, benches and chairs were all over for the patrons. A list of beers and custards complimented the options.
My cheeseburger bun had the logo burned on. I'd sum up or classify the burger as superior fast food. No temperature asked but all the right standards, cushy, pillowy soft bun, cheese melted to perfection, patties grilled some where in between medium, Shake Shack and the burgers you remember as a child that were just what you wanted. Awesome.
I could not resist getting more food after round one tasted so good. I just couldn't leave without eating more. I ordered a Chicago dog and outside of my experience at Portillo's recently I don't know how to measure up a Chicago dog, but this is now it.
BURGERFI, I'll be back.
P.S. Please keep the service level this high. - Feb 21, 12
BURGERS & SHAKES in Miami Beach, FL
It has many of the right ingredients but just not all there yet. The set up is right on. The menu is great. But, the burger needs a little more time.
I was skeptical when I wasn't asked for a cooked temperature. You know, mid-rare, medium, well, etc... I opted for the B&S Burger with cheese, bacon and a fried egg. The bun was good but not the best match. My egg was fried and not sunny side up as preferred. The patty ended up medium well.
Overall a good lunch but not worth a drive, but maybe a step away from the beach. - Mar 21, 12
Foods, restaurants and definitely burgers rarely live up to how good you remembered them being from the last visit.
Consistency and high quality is part of the reason that Stage Left lives up to their burger reputation. The other reasons are the meat, cheese, bacon and the bun.
Go to Stage Left in New Brunswick, New Jersey and order a medium-rare burger to get a mound of a burger perfectly seared all around with the classic seal locking all of the best juices in. The size and shape of the resulting patty conclude that no amateur is pressing these parties on the grill top. The final product comes out with a super pink tartare like center while the outer edges are a medium-well crust.
The cheese is a wonderful 3 year old Vermont Tillamook to add the perfect tart and variation in between the sirloin and crispy bacon.
Strips of salty bacon peek out from under the bun's cap as if you were supposed to pull on them or maybe that is just the charm of the salt flakes around the rim of each strip.
This perfect sandwich is all put together with lettuce, tomato, red onion and surrounded by a great bun.
Stage Left is a phenomenal stop for the burger aficionado. Make sure to sit at the bar as burgers are not served in the regular dining areas. - Dec 28, 11
200 posts and 20,000+ pageviews in my first 4 1/2 years. Not overwhelming by any means but still chugging along.
I apologize for any broken links and trouble surfing to and around my blog for the coming weeks. I have made a decision to realign my online digital presence by creating a new simple homepage to serve as a menu for my online profiles and activity. This change forced me to commandeer my domain of michaelmakis.com to point to my new landing page instead of my blog. My blog will retain its original michaelmakis.blogspot.com address for now until I can find a way to claim michaelmichael.com (owned by someone else who is not currently using it and doesn't want to sell it) or michaelmichael.blogspot.com to match my blog's title with the URL.
Thanks for reading! - Dec 28, 11
Here are two ways to fix the out of date floundering United States Postal Service (USPS).
It's disappointing to hear the gloom in the news about the Postal Service, a service that we expect as a right in the United States of America, and how it is failing and making decisions on which local branch offices to close, which days to stop delivering mail on or how much to raise the price of a stamp. These are not the best options and will only extend their problem and continue to destroy the brand.
Americans have been proud of the Post Office brand for years. With few exceptions, someone can pay a minimal amount (+/-44¢) and have an envelope or small package delivered in less than 3 days to someone within the 50 states. With all of the labor and fuel involved this is a good deal relatively speaking. As most people know, technology advancements like email, blogging, micro-blogging, discussion forums and online bill payment compounded with social media and social networking explosions have made a significant blow to the traditional communication and financial transactions previously reserved for traditional mail. Regardless of significant changes and improvements, the Post Office's brand is still the same. They get important messages and packages to recipients quickly (relatively speaking) consistently.
Companies need to change just like people. Small, medium and large companies change all the time. They adapt by creating better products and delivering new services every day or end up going out of business when their products and services are no longer needed. Why should this be any different for the Post Office? There is no need for the Post Office to die off nor should the great people of the United States let it.
USPS made the necessary changes to stay competitive with shippers like UPS, FedEx and DHL over the past couple of decades. But USPS has failed to stay competitive now that communication has gone so much more digital.
Here are the answers: email and file transfer.
If you have the least bit of technically savvy, you are probably thinking, how would this work? These aren't new products?
Email
The Post Office needs to get into the business of email. Email is the communication vehicle that people have been choosing and will continue to trend into for at least a few years to come. The use of blogging, micro-blogging and discussion forums are definitely increasing, but email is something most people need in today's society. There is money to be made off of the (regulated) advertisements parked on the side of email web based applications. And who better to provide email security than the government? People are born everyday that will need new email accounts and if they don't want to wait there are students in public schools that could benefit from their first email accounts.
File Transfer
The second part of the coupled fix is file transfer. People need to get large digital files to recipients immediately every day in today's business world. The Post Office's current best option is overnight or express mail, which just doesn't cut it for most. They need to get into the file transfer business. The quantity, size and frequency of transferred files is increasing all the time. Eventually the infrastructure (application servers, server disk space, bandwidth, associated databases, etc...) of existing vendors will not be able to provide free services for transferring files and will either charge outright per file, per license or by term; or trade free file transfer services for advertisement ridden applications. Again, there are several companies already in this space but this is consistent with the USPS brand, a lot of opportunity remains and would be easy for them to transition in customers as well as convince those advanced in the technology spectrum into digital transactions.
Innovation doesn't always come from brand new ideas as it can also come from a different application of what exists already. Altering the USPS's product landscape with these new directions would make them drastically more applicable to today's instant communication consumer. It's time for the Post Office to start acting outside of their proverbial box and instead of making cuts looks to redefine a well known brand. Good Luck USPS. - Dec 22, 11False Frequent Flyers
Why is it that there are so many airline frequent flyer credit card programs available now? Road warriors and regular travelers have forged their brand allegiances grinding out weekly cross country commutes and regular airport journeys to ascend in their club’s frequent flyer statuses, only to now be trumped by business owners and heavy spenders beating the original system. The goal of ascending to the upper medallion tiers or airline clubs to finally have a chance at a seat where you can actually get some rest, be provided with some snacks, check bags for free or imbibe in the provided spirits is diminishing in value. The definition of an actual frequent flyer is going out the proverbial window as 'status' is now achieved in other ways.The airlines have stretched their methods to increase revenues far and wide and have embarked upon partnerships with financial institutions to get the less frequent travelers to pay annual banking fees in order to be rewarded with tradeoffs of short domestic tickets for annual fees and jump the true frequent flyers to get the last few upgrade seats available. This is only going to increase over time as these airline companies continue to penetrate the credit card industry. If they want to give away free trips that’s up to them and I'm all about companies leveraging new ways to generate revenue, but to count them in the same groups as true frequent flyers is a tough blow to take. Why not rename all of the programs to 'points clubs' as they are no longer frequent flyer programs.The frequent flyer system has always been tough with annual renewal goals and miles expirations, but it is becoming much more of a mirage at this point. With the intensity of in-flight, online and tv advertising to subscribe to all of the airlines' credit cards the days of true frequent flyer upgrades are doomed. The opportunity for upgrades and the perks for frequent travelers is really changing.Search Keywords: Delta Airlines, American Airlines, US Airways, Continental Airlines, United Airlines - Nov 12, 11
This is all you need to know about ROK:BRGR in downtown Ft. Lauderdale.
Good location,
Fully stocked bar,
And great burgers.
Recommendation: Morning Glory. This hefty sandwich is stacked high with lettuce, tomato, onion, a hand packed, airy, perfectly cooked burger patty, two strips of bacon and a sunny side up fried egg. An upgrade of sweet potato fries is worth it, too. Go for the Glory and get extra napkins, you'll need 'em.looking downclose upA platter of fried pickles - the only room for improvement, the batter on the pickles. - Oct 12, 11
Up until tonight I was tracking all of my burger stops on the right margin of my blog home page. I'm removing all of them and only plan to retain my 'top' cheeseburgers. The ones that never had their own blog posts and pictures somewhere else on my blog are listed here.
- 301 Bistro - Louisville, KY
- Red Coat Tavern - Royal Oak, MI
- Ercole's - Manhattan Beach, CA
- Cafe Lido at The Lido Beach Resort - Sarasota, FL
- Vic & Angelos - Delray Beach, FL
- Theater Square Marketplace - Louisville, KY
- The Grille on Congress - Boca Raton, FL
- Mr. Bartley's - Cambridge, MA
- Jack's Old Fashion Hamburger House - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
- Steak n Shake - Midwest, South, and Southeast, U.S.
- Bristol Bar & Grille - Louisville, KY
- Jack Fry's - Louisville, KY
- Country Pancake House & Restaurant - Lakewood Ranch, FL
- Stand - New York, NY
- Tobacco Road - Miami, FL
- Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor & Restaurant - Dania Beach, FL
- Corner Bistro - New York, NY
- The Sports & Social Club - Louisville, KY
- Fuddrucker's
- IN-N-OUT Burger - CA, NV, UT, and AZ
- Kahuna Bar & Grill - Deerfield Beach, FL
- R. F. O'Sullivan & Son's - Somerville, MA
- Wolfe Burgers - Pasadena, CA
- El Cap - St. Petersburg, FL
- Kaelin's - Louisville, KY
- Ollie's Trolley - Louisville, KY
- Red, Hot, & Blue - Irving, Texas
- Banana Boat - Boynton Beach, FL
- brgr - New York, NY
- Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien - New York, NY
- Fairway Sports Bar & Grill - Eastpointe, MI
- Sep 24, 11
My third stop for the best cheeseburger in the Lansdale, PA area was at The Clubhouse Too and has left me thinking: "Is there a great cheeseburger in this area?" Almost the same as my last two local experiences - mediocre.
This picture was taken after I cut my burger in half. It is actually served with the burger cap off to the side and whole. - Sep 24, 11
Ray's Malt Shop was my second stop on the hunt for the best cheeseburger while I am working in the Lansdale, PA area. It had all the right signs.- A "Malt Shop" sign
- A diner appearance
- Old school mini juke box music machines at each table
One thing that was stellar was the cheese sauce I asked for for my fries. They don't kid around in the greater Philly area with cheese whiz cheese sauce. - Sep 25, 11
After a long day of sightseeing with my wife and good friend we walked to Marquis Cornwallis while staying at the St. Pancras Renaissance to get something to eat. We came here a couple of days earlier on a similar hunt to fill our stomachs but since the kitchen was already closed we only enjoyed the beer. This time the kitchen was open and I ordered a burger. I was definitely disappointed to learn that all burgers are cooked well done. Too bad I didn't know this before ordering. My friend told me that apparently all beef gets cooked well done to avoid mad cow disease. The lesson learned: don't order beef in London.
Not bad food. But not my style burger. - Sep 24, 11
My first of my three stops so far in the Lansdale, PA area for a great cheeseburger was at The Sumney on Sumneytown Pike. The hunt must continue. This burger at The Sumney was not bad, but nothing to get the burger fanatics to come out to Lansdale for. As shown, it came with the standard components.
- Mar 03, 12
Check out this fantastic burger cake I was given for my birthday! A double cheeseburger and poppy seed bun made of cake accompanied with lettuce, tomato, cheese, pickles, mustard, ketchup, and potato chips made of icing and fondant.
It was completely edible and created by Sabrina of Tutto Dolce.
Tutto Dolce
tuttodolcedesserts@gmail.com
Other Search Keywords: cheeseburger, dessert, icing, frosting - Jul 24, 11
Pictures of bicycles in Brussels, Amsterdam and London.
A high wheel on display outside of a restaurant in Brussels.Bikes locked all along a canal bridge in Amsterdam.Amsterdam. Bikers zipping by on each one-way street, rain or shine. And bike racks always filled everywhere with bikes.A small Amsterdam street looking at a building wall full of vines with bike after bike locked up along side.More bikes locked to another canal bridge in Amsterdam.Another Amsterdam bridge with the same great scene, just different bikes.Dam Square, Amsterdam. Pedestrians, tourists, locals, pigeons, and of course, bikes.This VANMOOF brand of bike was interesting that I saw a few times while in Amsterdam. The top tube of the frame appear to have open ends with what appeared to be light fixtures.Another pile of locked up bikes outside of a string of restaurants in Amsterdam.A regular site, but one that I wasn't prepared for while trolling the streets of Amsterdam: One bike, two passengers. One driving and one sitting side saddle on the back.A bike lane in London.What appeared to be a bike lane warning in London.
(Pictures taken by me summer 2011) - Jun 06, 11
reblog: The Best Blogs of 2011 from Time Magazine
Check it out...lots of good finds here. I was alerted from my favorite burger blog, AHT.
My personal favorites:
A Hamburger Today
The Everywhereist
EDC
Cool Hunting
Get Rich Slowly - May 23, 11I haven’t been on a burger rampage lately for two main reasons. Mainly because my business travel has been non-existent due to a project that has me working from home and second because I have been try to steer my diet a bit better. This report is on Wishbone in Chicago and The Office in Delray Beach.Wishbone. I recently traveled to Chicago for a friend’s wedding and decided to work from the local office up there to check it out and to try and meet up with a fellow colleague for lunch. He suggested Wishbone so I tried it out. Wishbone has a few locations and we dined at the one closest to downtown. The burger was okay and came all alone (see picture). The meat appeared to be pattied onsite or very recently, tasty but not an A+ by any means. The highlight of the lunch outside of my new friend was their cornbread.My wife recently planned a dinner and movie date where dinner was at The Office in Delray Beach. This is a brand new fancy pants place – typically the over top type of place that I like the most, traveling all of the time and being from Boca. If I had a Michelin, Mobil, or AAA checklist this place would have had me checking all of the boxes upon arrival – they specialize in presentation. Presentation with an office envelope holding your silverware, very well dressed servers playing the part, down to a branded burger bun, not to mention the thousands of dollars in upgrades to the restaurant property. But this is where it ended. After waiting for a really long time for our food, my burger was over cooked and the fries were very disappointing. For a burger, fries and two beers it was really quite expensive. I'd sum up the experience as: Presentation, lack of execution. That will probably be the last time at The Office for me.One other dining place worth mentioning was Portillo’s. I went there twice while I was in Chicago (see above). The first time I had a classic Chicago style [hot] dog on a poppy seed bun with a pickle spear and the second time I had a steak and cheese. Both times I had the fries with a side of cheese sauce that I renamed the lava sauce due to it's temperature and a strawberry shake. Portillo’s is a must when visiting Chicago.
- Apr 06, 11
- Mar 23, 11
Keep an eye out for information on Bar Codes here at Michael Michael. Quite an interesting way to capture, store, and share information. more to come...
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