A couple of decades ago, consultant, writer, and “uberguru” of all things business, Tom Peters, told his story of the two-cent candy. There was a retail store in Palo Alto that had a box of candy available at checkout. For Peters, that candy was a last symbolic goodbye from store to customer — a gesture that says thank you and come again in simple sweet fashion for the price of two cents.

Peters revisits the story in his new book, The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence, a 400 page volume of 163 strategies and tips for successfully managing life and business. “Make ‘two-centing it’ part and parcel of ‘the way we do business around here.’ Don’t go light on the so-called substance—but do remember that … perception is reality … and perception is shaped by two-cent candies as much as by that so-called hard substance.”

Chris Brogan (author of the New York Times besteller Trust: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust) reviews The Little Big Things, giving it a thumbs-up for offering tips that are “so simple you’ll kick yourself for not doing it already.”

A couple of decades ago, consultant, writer, and “uberguru” of all things business, Tom Peters, told his story of the two-cent candy. There was a retail store in Palo Alto that had a box of candy available at checkout. For Peters, that candy was a last symbolic goodbye from store to customer — a gesture that says thank you and come again in simple sweet fashion for the price of two cents.

Peters revisits the story in his new book, The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence, a 400 page volume of 163 strategies and tips for successfully managing life and business. “Make ‘two-centing it’ part and parcel of ‘the way we do business around here.’ Don’t go light on the so-called substance—but do remember that … perception is reality … and perception is shaped by two-cent candies as much as by that so-called hard substance.”

Chris Brogan (author of the New York Times besteller Trust: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust) reviews The Little Big Things, giving it a thumbs-up for offering tips that are “so simple you’ll kick yourself for not doing it already.”

Land continues to hold value for people in the business of farming crops and housing data for cloud computing. Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, and Ask.com already have data centers, not in urban sprawls but in rural areas in  the Northwest, and now Facebook wants to claim its territory too.

Facebook, Inc. plans to build a 145,000 square foot data farm in Prineville, Oregon, a town that has had its share of economic heartache. High unemployment and the loss of five sawmills have burdened the town of about 10,000. Facebook’s expenditure of $175 million over the next three years will create much needed jobs and cash flow for residents.

So why Prineville? City Manager Steve Forrester says it’s a combination of “low cost land…and high voltage power lines nearby.” And of course, the weather. “The critical thing was our climate: low humidity and cool nights.”

Check out more details on the story, “Where Clouds Displace Forests: Oregon Town Is Latest in Northwest to Leverage Cheap Electric Power to Lure Data Farm,” in The Wall Street Journal.

Land continues to hold value for people in the business of farming crops and housing data for cloud computing. Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, and Ask.com already have data centers, not in urban sprawls but in rural areas in  the Northwest, and now Facebook wants to claim its territory too.

Facebook, Inc. plans to build a 145,000 square foot data farm in Prineville, Oregon, a town that has had its share of economic heartache. High unemployment and the loss of five sawmills have burdened the town of about 10,000. Facebook’s expenditure of $175 million over the next three years will create much needed jobs and cash flow for residents.

So why Prineville? City Manager Steve Forrester says it’s a combination of “low cost land…and high voltage power lines nearby.” And of course, the weather. “The critical thing was our climate: low humidity and cool nights.”

Check out more details on the story, “Where Clouds Displace Forests: Oregon Town Is Latest in Northwest to Leverage Cheap Electric Power to Lure Data Farm,” in The Wall Street Journal.

Libraries are depositories of information, and librarians are the navigators. A degree in information science certifies these professionals in the study of the classification, storage, and retrieval of huge amounts of data. These days, that data comes by way of books and bytes.

If you haven’t visited your local library in a while, you might be surprised to see DVD’s displayed front and center of the building. In fact, DVD’s are one of the most frequently borrowed library resource. If the local video store is going out of business, the library is a fine alternative; the selection may be slimmer, but borrowing is free.

In this age of information explosion on the internet, some have questioned the necessity of libraries. In her new book, “This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All,” Marilyn Johnson offers her view of the superhero librarian who “create(s) order out of the confusion of the past, even as she enables us to blast into the future.” The librarian is the new Google Master, helping all citizens make meaning of the information we read and experience. “In tough times, a librarian is a terrible thing to waste,” writes Johnson.

2010’s new technological trend in housing is the 3-D television set, which is likely to become the new hub of the home (WSJ’s Market Watch). Imagine a t.v. that not only brings entertainment but is the central command station for communications, social media, and the home’s security and energy systems.

We will soon have the ability to talk with friends and family around the globe. (Skype-enabled TVs should come out this spring.) And the zero net energy house already exists; it’s only a matter of time that its price tag diminishes. Technology will continue to expand its control on energy consumption, making homeowners “greener” in the process.

The demand for technology is moving at an exponential rate. T.V. reached 50 million homes in a 38 year period; radio reached 50 million listeners in 13 years; and the internet hit 50 million servers in 4 years. Can TV better connect us with the people we care about and reduce our carbon footprint on the environment? The sheer possibility is fascinating.

In the blog section of Harvard Business Review is Scott Anthony’s post, “How to Kill Innovation: Keep Asking Questions.” Anthony proposes that two seemingly beneficial words become one double-edged sword.

“What about…?” Anyone seeking to grow a business or career ought to ask this question many times over. However, the pursuit of answers can be endless and exhausting, leading to inaction. So how much questioning is appropriate? Anthony suggests that we keep in mind that the future is not perfectly created in the present. We need to ask important questions but also be able and willing to make quick decisions in favor of cost-efficient methods.

“The future can’t be analytically derived. Of course it’s almost always valuable to think comprehensively about a new idea. But maintain a healthy balance between analysis and action. If you get stuck in ‘What about…’ loops, you’ll never get the results you seek.”

Ideas are organic, and though innovation may not be the final result every time, it’s what we pursue.