Selected by johnreece

• Most Topular Stories

• Romance survey [infographic]

  Holy Kaw!

  9 Feb 2012 | 12:02 pm

  Via Hotels.com. Infographics to put you in the mood. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

• Throw Away the Maps

  chrisbrogan.com

  ceb

  6 Feb 2012 | 1:30 am

  People judge us by the path they’ve seen us walk before. They can’t anticipate our future steps. We, ourselves, look to how things have been, what seems to be the lay of the land, without realizing that the maps are not the territory. Want to succeed at work? Then don’t try to do your job. Instead, work towards something larger, more meaningful, and something that blends your convictions internally with your best ability to help others externally. Want to create something new? Then throw away the old, or maybe join two disparate old things together into something new. The…

• Origami Robots Run Only On Air

  Wired Top Stories

  Dave Mosher

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:38 am

  Powered by nothing more than puffs of air, robots molded from paper and silicone rubber can bend, twist, grip and even lift more than 100 times their weight.

• Groupon's Growing Pains

  WSJ.com: What's News US

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:36 am

  Groupon reported a surprise net loss for the fourth quarter. Shares fell more than 10% after hours.

• VIDEO: One-minute World News

  BBC News - Home

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:36 am

  Watch the latest news summary from BBC World News. International news updated 24 hours a day.

• 

  Holy Kaw!

• Romance survey [infographic]

  9 Feb 2012 | 12:02 pm

  Via Hotels.com. Infographics to put you in the mood. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

• Do aliens go invisible by 'going green'?

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:24 am

  As we discover more and more planets around other stars, the Fermi Paradox is becoming, well, more paradoxical. The Fermi Paradox simply asks the question "where are they?" Our Milky Way galaxy is so big and so old -- and we are estimated to be accompanied by at least 100 billion planets -- that aliens should have visited us by now. Instead, when we peruse the heavens, we are faced with the Great Silence, which is one of the biggest challenges to modern astronomy. Full story at Discovery News. More news from Discovery Communications. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

• Mysterious sounds reported around the world

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:23 am

  People around the world have reported hearing strange sounds from the skies over the past month. Sometimes they describe it as a hum or low rumble; other times it’s a whine, thump, or even a melody. Often the sounds have been recorded and posted online, fueling rumors and conspiracy theories. One blogger wrote, "either the world is ending, aliens are landing or everyone is getting hoaxed. Or, possibly, there’s an actual scientific explanation for the mass amount of YouTube videos capturing bizarre sounds that are being heard around the globe. Are we witnessing the beginning of a…

• Costa Concordia: an ecological time bomb

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:21 am

  As workers begin to extract the half-million gallons of fuel in the shipwrecked cruise liner, locals are worried that their pristine waters are in danger. Reporting by Rossella Lorenzi. Written and produced by Rossella Lorenzi and Martin Berman. Full story at Discovery News. More news from Discovery Communications. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

• Inside Syria's capitol: nervously normal

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:18 am

  As the violence in Syria continues to escalate, Syrian citizens are arming themselves to resist their oppressive regime. For days, Homs, the third-largest city in Syria, has endured shelling, tanks and attacks by heavy weaponry. Syrian protestors react with more violence against forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, resulting in all-out war zones in some residential neighborhoods. Full story at Discovery News. More news from Discovery Communications. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

• 

  chrisbrogan.com

• Throw Away the Maps

  ceb

  6 Feb 2012 | 1:30 am

  People judge us by the path they’ve seen us walk before. They can’t anticipate our future steps. We, ourselves, look to how things have been, what seems to be the lay of the land, without realizing that the maps are not the territory. Want to succeed at work? Then don’t try to do your job. Instead, work towards something larger, more meaningful, and something that blends your convictions internally with your best ability to help others externally. Want to create something new? Then throw away the old, or maybe join two disparate old things together into something new. The…

• The Next Social Networks

  ceb

  5 Feb 2012 | 1:30 am

  The rage in social networks right now is Pinterest, partly because it’s probably the first social network that has a much higher adoption rate by females than males, and partly because it’s an interesting concept: somewhere between visual social bookmarking and scrapbooking. What also might not be immediately obvious is that it’s just “easier” to interact there. In that way, Pinterest has something in common with Instagram, which is community around photos. What I’m interested in, though, is Gentlemint, which I keep calling “Pinterest for…

• Learn From Adele – Build Your Platform

  ceb

  3 Feb 2012 | 1:30 am

  Jacq and I just watched Adele Live At The Royal Albert Hall (amazon affiliate link), and though every song was just wonderfully done, I found myself fascinated by what Adele was doing in between each song. Because even though most people would be interested in hearing her belt out her amazing repertoire of hits, what I took away from the performance was Adele’s real magical ability: the ability to resonate with her audience. What Adele Could Teach You About Impact I’m writing something about this right now for my upcoming book with Julien Smith, but I had to share some of the…

• Rob Gokee is a Musical Wizard

  ceb

  2 Feb 2012 | 8:05 am

  I had such a great experience working with award winning musical composer Rob Gokee. We did some musical work together, and the process was so amazing. Rob helped me create my theme song for Shhh! The Secret Show. So anyhow, he and I sat down to do an interview, and it’s a bit long, but it’s totally worth it. We talk about what collaboration feels like at a distance, what it takes to get music like this made for your own show, and a lot more. Rob’s a hero to me, and has been part of the community for a while. I was so fortunate to have worked with him. Can’t see the…

• Build Your Platform – Start

  ceb

  30 Jan 2012 | 1:30 am

  The following is part ONE of a series called Build Your Platform. If you find it interesting, please consider subscribing for free to get the rest of the series. This post is long. You might want to bookmark it for later. The age of social media oversaturation is upon us. People are declaring Twitter bankruptcy to go along with their email bankruptcy. They cite not wanting to start on yet another social network as their reason for not getting more involved with Google+. And just as soon as you start getting into Pinterest, you hear about Path, but wait: there’s Gentlemint, which is…

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  Wired Top Stories

• Origami Robots Run Only On Air

  Dave Mosher

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:38 am

  Powered by nothing more than puffs of air, robots molded from paper and silicone rubber can bend, twist, grip and even lift more than 100 times their weight.

• Bear McCreary Reveals the Physics Behind Your Favorite Science Fiction Theme Tunes

  Charlie Jane Anders

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:35 am

• Visions of a Gaming Apocalypse Kick Off Annual DICE Summit

  Chris Kohler

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:26 am

  LAS VEGAS -- The presentations at the annual DICE Summit are meant to be something like the videogame industry's version of TED talks, big-think speeches meant to inspire gamemakers with new ideas. This year's DICE Summit began on a considerably different note, with a pair of speakers who had no end of harsh predictions.

• Report: Apple Expected to Hold iPad 3 Event First Week of March

  Christina Bonnington

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:23 am

  Those eagerly awaiting the iPad with bated breath shouldn't have to wait much longer. Circulating rumors and Apple's traditional iPad release timeline, the next iPad should make its public debut in the first week of March.

• Cloud War Heats up as Oracle Buys Taleo for $1.9B

  Mike Barton

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:07 am

  The competition for cloud app market share is heating up, with Oracle announcing Thursday it will buy the talent management software company Taleo for $1.9 billion.

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  WSJ.com: What's News US

• Groupon's Growing Pains

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:36 am

  Groupon reported a surprise net loss for the fourth quarter. Shares fell more than 10% after hours.

• Data Push Stocks Up

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:30 am

  Stocks drifted higher as investors assessed a Greek austerity deal and continued improvement in the labor market.

• Ford Shakes Up Executive Ranks

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:30 am

  Ford said finance chief Lewis Booth and Derrick Kuzak, chief of global product development, would retire April 1, ending the tenure of two important architects of the car maker's turnaround.

• Lehman Sues Citi for $2.5 Billion

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:25 am

  Lehman Brothers is suing Citigroup in an effort to recover $2.5 billion transferred to Citi in the months before Lehman's September 2008 bankruptcy filing.

• USDA Raises Corn Export Outlook

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:19 am

  Federal forecasters raised their outlook for U.S. corn exports, expecting shipments to jump as Argentina's crop falls short. U.S. wheat exports are also expected to rise.

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  BBC News - Home

• VIDEO: One-minute World News

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:36 am

  Watch the latest news summary from BBC World News. International news updated 24 hours a day.

• Britain braced for further snow

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:17 am

  Weather warnings for ice and snow are in place across Britain as the cold weather continues, with hazardous conditions reported due to freezing rain.

• Dementia plaque 'rapidly cleared'

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:01 am

  Destructive plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients have been rapidly cleared by researchers testing a cancer drug on mice.

• Bank injects £50bn into economy

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:48 am

  The Bank of England agrees to extend its quantitative easing programme by £50bn to give a further boost to the UK economy.

• VIDEO: Athletes race up Empire State

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:25 am

  Athletes from New Zealand and Germany win the annual stair-race up the Empire State Building.

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  TREND HUNTER - The Latest Trends

• Collectible Quilt-Inspired Cases - QuiltMyPhone Lets You Envelope Your Phone in Historic Artifacts (TrendHunter.com)

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:33 am

  (TrendHunter.com) Ah, the irony of vintage on high-tech! We all love our mobile phones, tablets, iPads, Blackberries and other gadgets, and now, a new venture called QuiltMyPhone lets you share your love of vintage textiles...

• Tank Tread Skate Decks - The Rockboard Descender is Designed to Traverse Any and All Terrain (TrendHunter.com)

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:23 am

  (TrendHunter.com) Skaters looking for a new thrill should spend some time checking out the Rockboard Descender. The Descender is a combination skateboard/tank and is designed to traverse any type of terrain. The four wheels...

• Intricately Angular Seating - The Dodecahedronic Chair Offers a Contemporary Look (TrendHunter.com)

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:13 am

  (TrendHunter.com) I believe that chairs should be both appealing to the eye as well as comfortable, and the Dodecahedronic Chair combines these two elements together perfectly. Created by a design student based in Japan,...

• Carry-On Automobiles - The Soleil Concept Car Makes Hunting for a Parking Space a Thing of the Past (TrendHunter.com)

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:03 am

  (TrendHunter.com) Parking problems would become a thing of the past if the Soleil concept car were to ever hit the streets. Soleil was designed by Engin Cesmeci and Emre Gurel for the 2012 Michelin Design Challenge. The...

• Pint-Sized Java Brewers - Pietro Marmo's One-Inch Coffee Maker Brews a Teardrop of Joe (TrendHunter.com)

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:52 am

  (TrendHunter.com) Italian goldsmith Pietro Marmo has created a fully functional one-inch coffee maker. The one-inch coffee maker is made from sterling silver and is comprised of five parts: a heater, two filters, the coffee...

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  Mashable!

• Yahoo’s New Visualization Beautifully Shows What’s Happening on the Web

  Zoe Fox

  9 Feb 2012 | 12:00 pm

  Yahoo has launched a new webpage that visualizes what’s happening on the web in near real time — and it’s totally beautiful. The Content Optimization Relevance Engine (C.O.R.E.) HTML5 site hopes to show users the “behind the scenes” process Yahoo uses to match readers with content on their personalized homepage, using technology developed in a Yahoo research lab a few years ago. While Yahoo’s homepage used to be arranged by editors, it now uses an algorithm to match individual user preferences. “We can provide users with insights through the lens of…

• Who Really Invented the Web? Texas Trial Questions Tim Berners-Lee [VIDEO]

  Peter Pachal

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:48 am

  Tim Berners-Lee, who is credited with inventing the World Wide Web, testified this week in a Texas courtroom against a company that claims it has a patent on the same technology. The man who claims to have the patent on the “interactive web” is Michael Doyle. His company, Eolas Technologies, has filed suit against many of the world’s biggest Internet companies — including Google and Yahoo — over the case. Doyle’s lawyers say the companies owe him millions in royalty payments for using such common functions as watching online video or search suggestions pop…

• Mass Effect 3 Gets iPad Version with Action-Packed ‘Infiltrator’ [PREVIEW]

  Zachary Sniderman

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:35 am

  Mass Effect 3 is coming to an iPad near you in the form of Mass Effect Infiltrator, an iOS game aimed at expanding the game’s narrative and give players some mobile combat. Infiltrator isn’t a direct port of the latest Mass Effect game. Unlike its big brother, a sci-fi role-playing game known for its first-person shooter gameplay and massive, branching story-lines, Infiltrator is all about fighting. Mashable got a demo of the game played on an iPad and hooked up to a television at an EA showcase. The story follows a soldier called Randall Ezno as he travels the universe tracking…

• WikiLeaks Suspect Bradley Manning to Be Arraigned Feb. 23

  Alex Fitzpatrick

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:24 am

  U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and war reports to WikiLeaks, will be arraigned before a military judge at Fort Meade, Maryland on Feb. 23, the Pentagon announced Thursday. Some of the 22 charges against Manning include aiding the enemy, disclosing classified information to a person not authorized to receive it, wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the internet knowing that it is accessible to the enemy, and violating Army computer use rules. The charge of aiding the enemy potentially carries the death penalty, but…

• 5 Essential Spreadsheets for Social Media Analytics

  Ann Smarty

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:13 am

  Ann Smarty is a search marketer and full-time web entrepreneur. Ann blogs on search and social media tools. Her newest project, My Blog Guest, is a free platform for guest bloggers and blog owners. Follow Ann on Twitter @seosmarty. Social media analytics and tracking can be very time-consuming and expensive. You’ll find quite a few smart social media monitoring tools, but what if you can’t afford them? That’s why many social media marketers and power users are in constant search of free, efficient alternatives. Here, we’ll share a few ready-made spreadsheets you can…

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  WineSpectator.com: News & Features

• Bogus Burgundies? (Wine Spectator)

  9 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  Rare bottles are pulled from a London auction after collectors raise questions about authenticity

• Moscato Mania (Wine Spectator)

  8 Feb 2012 | 7:00 am

  Sales of the easy-drinking bubbly have skyrocketed—is it a passing fad or here to stay?

• Wine's Three Biggest Lies (Wine Spectator)

  7 Feb 2012 | 3:00 am

  Why good wine lovers tell bad lies

• New Hillside Vineyards on Hold in Sonoma (Wine Spectator)

  3 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  County orders four-month freeze over concerns of tree removal and erosion

• Oysters, Caviar and Sauvignon Blanc for Valentine's Day (Wine Spectator)

  3 Feb 2012 | 2:00 am

  Enjoy this elegant, flavorful dish from Yountville's Brix restaurant, plus pick a pairing from our list of 14 recently rated whites

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  WSJ.com: Today's Most Popular

• A 'Port' out of the Norm

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:40 am

  Walt Mossberg reviews a special flash drive that can transfer and stream files to popular mobile devices without standard USB ports.

• In Small California Hospitals, the Marketing of Back Surgery

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:10 am

  The volume of spine surgery, which is an increasing cost in the U.S. health system, rose sharply at two small California hospitals that focused on workers' compensation patients and used a marketing consultant who helped bring doctors to the hospitals.

• Henninger: Transformers

  9 Feb 2012 | 6:51 am

  The Catholic church learns the true meaning of Obama's 'transformative' presidency.

• UnitedHealth Revamps Payments

  8 Feb 2012 | 10:20 pm

  UnitedHealth, the largest health insurer in the nation, is the latest carrier to say that it is overhauling its fees for medical provide.

• John Cochrane: The Real Trouble With the Birth-Control Mandate

  8 Feb 2012 | 8:17 pm

  Critics are missing the main point. There are good reasons that your car-insurance company doesn't add $100 to your premium and then cover oil changes.

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  Epicurious.com: Latest Features

• How to Make Magnolia Bakery's Red Velvet Cupcakes

  epicurious.com

  9 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  This Tuesday, surprise your loved one with homemade red velvet cupcakes with help from none other than Magnolia Bakery. Watch the video to see the famous bakerys Bobbie Lloyd demonstrate how to bake and frost these delicious treats.

• Romantic Menu Planner

  epicurious.com

  8 Feb 2012 | 7:45 am

  Whats the perfect recipe for a romantic meal? To find your ultimate Valentine's Day menu, use our fun, interactive Romantic Menu Planning tool. Answer six easy questions, and we'll formulate a romantic recipe plan that corresponds to your skill in the kitchen, how much time you have to cook, and the type of food you're interested in preparing.

• Valentines Day Table Crafts

  epicurious.com

  7 Feb 2012 | 9:50 am

  February 14 is a day for exchanging cards and eating chocolate, sure, but it's also a day for spending sweet time with loved ones. Serve up a special family Valentine's Day with our creative, kid-friendly art projects, including several that can go straight from the craft table to the dining table.

• Aphrodisiacs to Sweeten Your Valentines Day

  epicurious.com

  6 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  Foodies who want to get into the mood for Valentine's Day know that aphrodisiacs can help spice things up between friends and lovers. As documented throughout history, foods such as chocolate, honey, oysters, and figs have all been said to ignite and sustain desire, passion, energy, and love. See for yourself with 10 recipes that incorporate these ingredients, plus some others that you might not expect.

• Top Five Beer Cocktails

  epicurious.com

  5 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  Instead of simply picking up a case of beer to share with guests during the big game tonight, why not spice things up by making beer cocktails? In this feature, we share recipes for five beer cocktails, including some oldies-but-goodies, a few reinterpretations, and a couple of brand-new cocktails created by the nation's top mixologists.

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  Woot! - One Day, One Deal

• Sean University: Love in a time of Business

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:05 am

  Chances are your employees interact with only two things: computers and other employees. Well, with all that interaction, one thing can lead to another and next thing you know, you’ve got an office romance on your hands. If you’re lucky, it’s a relationship between a person and a computer, because computers get off on efficiency, so a person-to-computer fling will just involve a lot of hard-work, long hours, and giggly typing. However, if two people get into an office romance, things can get touchy because they’ll not only distract each other; they’ll distract their coworkers as…

• Archos 101 G9 Turbo - $279.99

  8 Feb 2012 | 10:00 pm

  One Day, One DealYou asked for it, and now we’re giving it to you! Starting today Woot sells nothing but tablets!You guys wanted this, right? Like, that’s what you were trying to tell us when you posted to the forums and on our Facebook wall saying, “Great, another tablet,” right? You were saying you wanted more of them, correct? Well, we sure hope so! Because we’ve already cleared out the warehouse and filled it with NOTHING. BUT. TABLETS. And we’re not talking about a whole bunch of different kinds of tablets either. No, it’s all Archos 101 G9 Tablets, all the time! So get…

• They Call Him "Dark Farmer" And He's Very Symbolic: Woot Weads The Wire

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:00 am

  Every week in this space, we’ll take a look at the news and offer our own incisive blend of commentary, analysis, and poop jokes. The news you need, from a voice you can trust, in the 90 seconds you have to spare: that’s Woot Weads the Wire. WELLINGTON (REUTERS) A New Zealand court refused an appeal by the founder of online file-sharing site Megaupload.com to be freed on bail, Friday, agreeing with prosecutors there was a risk he would attempt to flee before an extradition hearing. The court says the popular site's founder will have to wait until February 22nd for his hearing, unless he…

• Pioneer 5.1 Channel A/V Receiver

  7 Feb 2012 | 10:00 pm

  The movie is a thing of mysteryWe have set up the Pioneer 5.1 Channel A/V Receiver. Now we wait for it to receive the movie.The prophets have said that the air is thickest with movies this time of year. At this very moment, they say, we are enveloped in an invisible swirling cloud of actors, plot lines, and special effects. What was that glint? That momentary burst of light? Was it simply light reflecting off a passing car’s windshield? Or was it a buddy cop film starring Bruce Willis and Robert Downey, Jr. attempting to make its way into our world? We may never have known if the prophets…

• The Trivial Eye: Book Jackets of the 20th Century

  7 Feb 2012 | 10:00 pm

  The 20th century was lousy with wars, dictatorships, unrest, and anxiety - but how about those books, huh? All that turmoil (plus mass literacy and ever-cheaper printing) made for a spectacular outpouring of literary expression, the depth and variety and power of which dwarfed all that had come before it. Can you identify these eight works published in the 1900's by these details taken from their first edition jackets? Answers can be found by clicking here. Please post your guesses, speculations, or arguments below! But know this: the Trivial Eye is presented for public amusement and no…

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  OrganicAuthority.com - Organic Blog

• Taco Bell Salmonella Outbreak Spiced with Secrecy

  Jill Ettinger

  9 Feb 2012 | 12:00 am

  Taco Bell has been named as the source of a Salmonella outbreak that affected individuals in ten states including Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio and Michigan, and reportedly sickened nearly 70 people.

• Wal-Mart’s Food Is Great For You Because… They Say So

  Jill Ettinger

  8 Feb 2012 | 12:00 am

  In an effort to connect its customers with healthier food options, Wal-Mart—the world's largest retailer—is preparing for a Spring launch of a signature icon that will appear on its private label products and in the produce sections throughout the chain's stores.

• Banned DDT Still a Health Risk, Linked to Vitamin D Deficiencies

  Jill Ettinger

  7 Feb 2012 | 12:00 am

  New research links exposure to common pesticides with compromised vitamin D levels that can cause deficiencies and disease, according to a study published in a recent issue of the journal PLoS One.

• A Diet Soda A Day May Give You A Heart Attack

  Jill Ettinger

  6 Feb 2012 | 12:00 am

  Bad news for diet soda drinkers according to a study published in the most recent issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The study results found that drinking diet soda daily significantly increases the risk of developing a stroke, heart attack and other serious vascular issues.

• Bayer CropScience Pesticide Named As Major Cause of Bee Collapse

  Jill Ettinger

  5 Feb 2012 | 12:17 am

  Bayer CropScience, the leading manufacturer of imidacloprid systemic-based pesticides, is the target of criticism and calls to ban the products after new research findings indicate imidacloprid as a major culprit in the recent decline of honeybee populations in a condition that's commonly referred to as colony collapse disorder. Without healthy honeybee populations contributing to the pollination of hundreds of foods, millions of farmers and fruit and vegetable crops would cease production.

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  ESPN.com

• Law: Top 100 MLB prospects of 2012 (1-25)

  Keith Law

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:22 am

  Mike Trout and Bryce Harper come out on top for the second straight year

• Michigan Stadium to host Wings-Leafs Classic

  Associated Press

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:11 am

  Next year's Winter Classic could set an attendance record.

• Lance happy federal investigation has ended

  Associated Press

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:00 am

  Lance Armstrong is relieved the federal investigation into doping allegations against him has ended, and says he always stayed confident he would not be charged.

• England won't rush to find Capello replacement

  ESPN.com news services

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:48 am

  The head of the English Football Association says he will not rush to hire Fabio Capello's successor ahead of this year's European Championship.

• Belichick call: 'Make them go to Manningham'

  ESPNBoston.com

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:39 am

  Audio released by the NFL reveals that Bill Belichick dared the Giants to throw to Mario Manningham.

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  How to Change the World

• Raising Money: What Not to Say and What Not to Believe #OfficeandGuyK

  GuyKawasaki

  20 Jan 2012 | 10:46 am

  Over the past two weeks via my partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve provided templates of models for you to create enchanting PowerPoint pitches, Word business plans, and Excel financial models. They are all available for you to download from my SkyDrive account. I hope these documents and blog posts help you save a boatload of time and increase the quality of your efforts.I leave you with two sets of top ten lies: one of entrepreneurs and one of investors so that you know what not to say and what not to believe. Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs “Our projections are…

• Design a Sam Adams beer

  GuyKawasaki

  20 Jan 2012 | 8:24 am

  Now this is a fun project. I’m helping Sam Adams “tap” the knowledge of beer drinkers and crowd source its next brew. Join the party by getting the app and designing your beer: The final brew will be released in Austin in the first week of March. #sponsored

• How to Create an Enchanting Financial Forecast #OfficeandGuyK

  GuyKawasaki

  17 Jan 2012 | 1:52 pm

  This is the third post in my Microsoft partnership, and it’s all about numbers. The topic is crafting your financial forecast to include in your pitch. Bill Reichert, my partner at Garage Technology Ventures, created an Excel model and wrote this blog post. There’s a lesson in this too: Get the best person for the job. His grasp of financial models and how to present them exceeds mine by two orders of magnitude. The Purpose of Financial Projections When it comes to financial projections, there are two types of entrepreneurs: first, the “visionary entrepreneur” who…

• How to Create an Enchanting Business Plan #OfficeandGuyK

  GuyKawasaki

  12 Jan 2012 | 8:16 am

  Here is the second post in my series about planning, pitching, and launching a new business venture. In partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve created a Word document that outlines a good business plan. It’s saved to my SkyDrive folder here. Feel free to download it and use it as inspiration. And if you’re working with a partner, you can use the free Word Web App to stay in sync. I provided the PowerPoint document before the Word document because a good business plan is an elaboration of a good pitch as opposed to a good pitch being a distillation of good business plan.

• How to Create an Enchanting Pitch #OfficeandGuyK

  GuyKawasaki

  9 Jan 2012 | 8:01 am

  Welcome to the first in a series of blog posts I’ll be doing as part of a partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps. Over the next two weeks, I’ll cover everything a budding entrepreneur needs to turn an idea into an enchanting investment opportunity—from the perfect pitch to a killer business plan to financial forecasts. I’m going to start with a little dissertation on creating effective PowerPoint pitches for your company. I embedded the sample deck for you to click through by using the PowerPoint Web App. When you’re ready to get started, you can download the…

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  Seth's Blog

• Inaccurate labels and why we need them (and need to improve them)

  Seth Godin

  9 Feb 2012 | 2:46 am

  If I tell you, "I'm going to the baseball game," it seems as though you're likely to understand what I mean. Of course, you won't. When George Will goes to a baseball game, it's a religious experience. Me, I don't even like baseball. Or maybe it's my nephew's ball game (the playoffs), or maybe going to the game causes me to miss an important event, and on and on. We label the experience with just two words, and two words can't possibly capture the emotions and circumstance surrounding an event. The same thing is true with brands. If I tell you that a new business was funded by USV, that might…

• How do they know you're not a flake?

  Seth Godin

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:43 am

  Before your link gets clicked or your proposal gets read, a busy person is going to triage it to find out if it's even worth glancing at. Since everyone is now connected, the new permeability has created a deluge of noise, and just about everyone worth contacting is taking defensive measures. Do I know this person? Did someone I trust send them over? Where does she work? (Ideo? the FDA? The New York Times?) Has she won an award? Is she famous? Are there typos and is the design sloppy? Are they pestering me? Do I already follow this person online? Does music play when I visit the website? Will…

• Horizontal marketing isn't a new idea

  Seth Godin

  7 Feb 2012 | 2:09 am

  But it is the new reality for just about every organization. Vertical marketing means the marketer (the one with money) is in charge. Vertical marketing starts at the top and involves running ads, sending out direct mail and pushing hype through the media. Your money, your plans, your control. It might not work, but generally the worst outcome is that you will be ignored and need to spend more money. Horizonal marketing, on the other hand, means creating a remarkable product and story and setting it up to spread from person to person. It's out of your control, because all the interactions are…

• Who is your customer?

  Seth Godin

  6 Feb 2012 | 2:26 am

  Rule one: You can build a business on the foundation of great customer service. Rule two: The only way to do great customer service is to treat different customers differently. The question: Who is your customer? It's not obvious. Zappos is a classic customer service company, and their customer is the person who buys the shoes. Nike, on the other hand, doesn't care very much at all about the people who buy the shoes, or even the retailers. They care about the athletes (often famous) that wear the shoes, sometimes for money. They name buildings after these athletes, court them, erect…

• In search of a timid trapeze artist

  Seth Godin

  5 Feb 2012 | 2:01 am

  Good luck with that, there aren't any. If you hesitate when leaping from rope to another, you're not going to last very long. And this is at the heart of what makes innovation work in organizations, why industries die, and how painful it is to try to maintain the status quo while also participating in a revolution. Gather up as much speed as you can, find a path and let go. You can't get to the next rope if you're still holding on to this one.

• 

  Logic+Emotion

• Permission To Fail

  David Armano

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:15 am

  I love my job. Seriously. The skeptical among you may read this as shameless corporate cheer-leading, or a PR ploy (given I work at a PR firm). It's not. You have to understand that I work for a very unique company—in fact, it's been the most unique career experience in my life. A sixty year old company—technically family owned (not public) with over four thousand employees globally and the CEO of the company wears the last name of the founder, his father. Which brings me to the video above. I had the opportunity to interview our CEO, Richard Edelman on the topic of trust as it relates to…

• Will The Real Social Business Experts Please Stand Up?

  David Armano

  7 Feb 2012 | 10:23 am

  Stop what you're doing and check out this thread (on Google Plus of all places) started by Francine Hardaway. She started it off with a simple question. "Who are the best experts in social business?"What followed was a robust discussion on what social business is, isn't and who's driving the agenda forward in the space both in thought and action. If you're interested in the emerging definition of social business (aka the convergence of enterprise 2.0 and social media) I highly recommend you taking a look. Some of my favorite thoughts:"the thread that social business is not the same as social…

• People, Places & Events

  David Armano

  3 Feb 2012 | 11:01 am

  A few significant events happening over the next few months—here's where I'll be: Chicago: February 6th, Social Media Club, An Interview With Richard EdelmanOur I'll be interviewing Richard Edelman our CEO in our new office space as we host the Chicago Social Media Club. We will be discussing this Year's Trust Barometer findings. If you can't make it to Chicago, we will be live streaming video the interview at 5:00 CST. London & New York: February 13-16, Social Media Week Our London office is hosting a panel titled "Social Business In Action". A topic I'm very passionate about—then…

• How To Be A Social Media Self-Righteous Jerk

  David Armano

  1 Feb 2012 | 4:28 pm

  The scale above shows the many stages one has to go through in order to become a bona fide self-righteous jerk in social media. Still, there are many people who aspire to reach this peak, but fall short in executing against it. Given this observation, I thought it would be worthwhile to piece together a few best practices which will ensure your status as a social media self-righteous jerk (or SMSRJ). In no particular order: 1. Join The Klout GestapoAll social media SMSRJ's know that Klout is simply evil incarnate and requires a organized force to take on this evil axis of influence wherever…

• Launching a Social Command Center (Without The Center)

  David Armano

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:05 am

  "Social command centers" are all the rage today and it's not without some merit. Many organizations now find themselves in a real-time business environment where news travels faster than sound, and information is set free. As a result, some forward thinking companies have put "monitoring" in place either in-house or in combination with partners. This isn't enough. And to make matters worse, I've seen companies make the classic mistake of buying a tool BEFORE putting any thought into the design that goes into effective monitoring and response, forgetting the 3P's (People, Process, Platforms).

• 

  Richard Edelman - 6 A.M.

• Down from the Mountain

  3 Feb 2012 | 8:17 am

  I just returned from the World Economic Forum’s 2012 meeting in Davos. These nine issues were the focus of discussion and attention. 1. The European Crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel talked about a coordinated Europe having more power. “We need more steps of integration in the interests of competitiveness… We need structural reforms leading to new jobs…We should have a common foreign policy and binding agreements on the debt levels allowed... Just because we have been at the top for the past 50 years, we cannot take competitiveness for granted.” Mrs. Merkel’s vision of a…

• 2012 Trust Barometer: Business Can Earn the License to Lead

  25 Jan 2012 | 8:18 am

  In 2008-2009, in the wake of a recession that saw large, global companies such as Lehman Brothers and AIG collapse, trust in business imploded. Government stepped in with bailouts and new regulations. But in 2011, government became paralyzed by the politics of extremism and endless haggling – and the public lost confidence. The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer sees an unprec¬edented nine-point global decline in trust in government. In twelve countries, it trails business, media, and non-governmental organizations as the least trusted institution. This has pushed more countries into the…

• Media Cloverleaf Comes to Life

  20 Jan 2012 | 10:14 am

  I met with senior management of two of the best emerging media companies this week. I come away even more impressed with their ambition and willingness to experiment within the boundaries of quality and integrity. Mike Allen of Politico addressed our global public affairs team in Washington on Wednesday. He said that there are 225 people working at the company. They have gone beyond their digital roots to offer a print product. He joked that Politico is now available in vending machines along Park Avenue in New York City (4,000 print copies are distributed every day in NYC). He noted that the…

• Implementation Science

  13 Jan 2012 | 9:50 am

  I went to a breakfast Wednesday hosted by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health at the World Economic Forum offices in NYC. It was a terrific panel, with five professors and senior members of the corporate healthcare community from important companies such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi and BD. The Dean of Mailman School, Linda Fried, started the conversation by challenging the group to come up with new healthcare modalities to offer better quality and broader access within the present level of spending. The first big idea was Implementation Science, based on customer…

• Government and New Media

  6 Jan 2012 | 10:51 am

  I had a chat this morning with my friend Steve Goldsmith, professor at the JFK School of Government at Harvard. He was mayor of Indianapolis and deputy mayor of New York City. We commiserated about the low opinion of government. He believes its reputation problem worsens the farther away its get from a close connection to the people. Local government is still liked by more than 50 percent of voters, state government is in the middle, while Congress has only a nine percent approval rating. Goldsmith had a wonderful anecdote likening government’s reputation woes to a quip he heard growing up…

• 

  TREND HUNTER - The Latest Trends

• Grinning Pooch Stationary - Turn Organizing into a Fun Activity with the Dog Stapler (TrendHunter.com)

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:43 am

  (TrendHunter.com) Stationary items usually leave much to be desired in terms of creative designs, but this Dog Stapler stands out with its unique look and feel. Rather than resembling a stapler that you would find in just...

• Collectible Quilt-Inspired Cases - QuiltMyPhone Lets You Envelope Your Phone in Historic Artifacts (TrendHunter.com)

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:33 am

  (TrendHunter.com) Ah, the irony of vintage on high-tech! We all love our mobile phones, tablets, iPads, Blackberries and other gadgets, and now, a new venture called QuiltMyPhone lets you share your love of vintage textiles...

• Tank Tread Skate Decks - The Rockboard Descender is Designed to Traverse Any and All Terrain (TrendHunter.com)

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:23 am

  (TrendHunter.com) Skaters looking for a new thrill should spend some time checking out the Rockboard Descender. The Descender is a combination skateboard/tank and is designed to traverse any type of terrain. The four wheels...

• Intricately Angular Seating - The Dodecahedronic Chair Offers a Contemporary Look (TrendHunter.com)

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:13 am

  (TrendHunter.com) I believe that chairs should be both appealing to the eye as well as comfortable, and the Dodecahedronic Chair combines these two elements together perfectly. Created by a design student based in Japan,...

• Carry-On Automobiles - The Soleil Concept Car Makes Hunting for a Parking Space a Thing of the Past (TrendHunter.com)

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:03 am

  (TrendHunter.com) Parking problems would become a thing of the past if the Soleil concept car were to ever hit the streets. Soleil was designed by Engin Cesmeci and Emre Gurel for the 2012 Michelin Design Challenge. The...

• 

  Scobleizer

• Hacker News vs. Google+

  Robert Scoble

  5 Feb 2012 | 10:20 am

  I might as well have titled this “Hacker News vs Marketers.” Or “Hacker News vs Bloggers.” Or “jerks vs nice people.” But I never participate in Hacker News for a few reasons and I just was faced with these reasons again when I read the responses there to my blog post yesterday. 1. Programmers often have an attitude of “I can code, you can’t, so I am defacto better than you.” This often comes out in Hacker News comments. 2. Programmers love to bash people anonymously and then, in real life, they will come begging for PR for their companies…

• It’s too late for Dave Winer and John Battelle to save the common web

  Robert Scoble

  4 Feb 2012 | 5:02 pm

  The date was January 3, 2008. Facebook had kicked me off for running a script to try to save the common web. See, I worked with Plaxo to run a simple script. One that would have taken my contacts out of Facebook and put them back into the common web. The script did some very simple things: 1. It grabbed all my friends names. 2. It grabbed all their phone numbers. 3. It grabbed all their email addresses. 4. It gave me a simple CSV file with all that data so I could bring them back to Google, or Microsoft, or anywhere else I wanted to put them. Facebook’s answer was predictable. They shut…

• HTML 5 pushback in San Francisco? Best mobile app designers say yes

  Robert Scoble

  1 Feb 2012 | 3:39 pm

  The new Path? The one that won a Crunchie last night for great design? It’s not done in HTML 5. This morning I saw something new coming soon from Storify. Not done in HTML 5. This morning I visited Foodspotting, which just shipped hot new apps on iOS, Android, and Blackberry. Not done in HTML 5. More and more I’m hearing that designers and developers are ignoring HTML 5, especially for the high end of apps. Why? Well, Path’s founders told me it just isn’t possible to build a great user interface, the way they did it in HTML 5. Storify’s founder told me it…

• Why Facebook will be worth a half trillion by 2015: the mobile and open graph revenue it’s leaving on the table

  Robert Scoble

  1 Feb 2012 | 2:48 pm

  Lots of people think Facebook is overvalued, at about $100 billion (it just released their S1, announcing its IPO). But in talking with developers, like I did with Foodspotting’s founder, Alexa Andrzejewski, and in reading the S1 I see that Facebook has left most of the potential revenue on the table. That makes me think that the folks crying “overvalued” are nuts. Check that interview out, Foodspotting is one of the hottest San Francisco startups, aimed at people who are looking for better places to eat. Here it is from just this morning: See, Mark Zuckerberg is sandbagging…

• 2012 brings a pause in the disruption

  Robert Scoble

  31 Jan 2012 | 4:58 pm

  OK, I’ve been talking with hundreds of geeks from around the world this year at three conferences, CES, DLD, and World Economic Forum. I’m seeing a trend that is worth talking about. What is it? We’re seeing the end of one of the most disruptive ages in human history. I believe that we’re seeing a pause in the disruption. More on that a little later. Just think about all the changes humans have been asked to adopt in the past eight years. Most of us, back then, didn’t carry mobile computers in our pockets. If we did use tablets, like I did, they were expensive,…

• 

  AllThingsD

• More Details on Rovio's Valentine's Day Treat: Angry Birds on Facebook

  Ina Fried

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:38 am

  Here are a few more details on Angry Birds for Facebook, which is arriving next Tuesday. While the game is basically the standard fare of flinging birds into bricks, there are a few twists. Since Facebook is a social network, the game will feature the ability to compete with friends and brag about one’s score. In addition, those feeling generous can send “power-ups,” including several new ones, to their friends. The new power-ups include a periscope, improved slingshot, bird-growing seeds and an earthquake maker. The birds have been landing just about everywhere of late.

• DOJ Likely to Clear Rockstar Bidco's Nortel Patent Purchase

  John Paczkowski

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:22 am

  Looks like the Justice Department plans to approve the $4.5 billion sale of Nortel’s wireless technology patents to a consortium led by Microsoft and Apple. Sources familiar with the matter say the DOJ has addressed concerns that the consortium might use the patents to unfairly hamstring competitors. It’s not clear when the DOJ will issue its approval, but when it does some 6,000 wireless patents will be transferred over to Rockstar Bidco, an alliance that also includes Research In Motion, Sony, Ericsson AB and EMC.

• The Internet Hasn't Killed the Radio Star: Clear Channel CEO Bob Pittman's Full Dive Into Media Interview

  Peter Kafka

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:07 am

  Bob Pittman helped build MTV, and then he helped build AOL. Both, at the time, were brand-new ways to deliver and consume media, and they helped reshape entire industries. So what is he doing running a radio and billboard company? The Clear Channel CEO explained his newest job choice to Kara Swisher last week at D: Dive Into Media. The takeaway: Clear Channel’s radio and billboard businesses are huge because people — both advertiser and users — like them. And they still have growth in them. You can see the whole interview, which touches on everything from Facebook to Spotify…

• Zynga General Manager Nabeel Hyatt Joins Spark as Venture Partner

  Tricia Duryee

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:46 am

  Nabeel Hyatt, the founder of Zynga’s Boston office, which led the development of Adventure World, has joined Spark Capital as a venture partner. Hyatt joined Zynga a little less than two years ago through the acquisition of Conduit Labs, where he was CEO and founder. Hyatt will help Spark’s investments with product design, and consult on consumer Web, social and mobile projects.

• More on Windows on ARM: Highlights From Sinofsky's 8,600-Word Opus

  Ina Fried

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:27 am

  We’ve already covered the highlights of Microsoft’s Windows-on-ARM news Thursday, namely that it will have a desktop mode, but only for Office, Internet Explorer and Windows itself. However, there are some other interesting nuggets amid Steven Sinofsky’s epic blog post, which just posted. There won’t be an “off” button for Windows-on-ARM (WOA), nor will there be various sleep modes. One of the new aspects of WOA you will notice is that you don’t turn off a WOA PC. WOA PCs will not have the traditional hibernate and sleep options with which we are…

• 

  A VC

• The Black Hole Of Email

  Fred

  9 Feb 2012 | 3:40 am

  I have never ever been so behind on email as I am right now. I believe I am seeing about one third of all email that is sent to me. If you have sent me an email that I haven't replied to, don't be offended. You are not alone. You are in the majority. I write these posts occasionally to let people know. The result is hundreds of comments about how I can make email work better for me. Please don't leave those comments. I don't want to make email work better for me. I don't want to hire an assistant to do email for me. I don't want to try some new magical app that will make email better for me.

• Payments Day

  Fred

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:27 am

  Yesterday was payments day at USV. Two pretty big things that our firm has been involved in for a while now were coincidentally announced on the same day. First, our newest portfolio company Dwolla announced the closing of a round we led on their blog. Dwolla is building a large network of engaged users via a radically lower cost payment system. How much lower? Zero for transactions below $10 and a $0.25 flat fee for transactions over $10. If you move $10,000 over the Dwolla network, you or the recipient (your choice) will be charged $0.25. That's it. Dwolla does this by avoiding credit…

• Building The Ecosystem

  Fred

  7 Feb 2012 | 7:35 am

  I've always seen the work that my colleauges and I do as more than venture capital investing. That is our main job and we need to do it very well. But we also need to work to make sure the macro environment for our investing activities remains attractive. There are two primary activities that Union Square Ventures focuses on in addition to our core venture capital activities of backing and then working closely with entrepreneurs and their teams. They are policy advocacy around protecting the freedom to innovate and efforts to build the ecosystem for startups and entrepreneurship. Longtime…

• The Management Team - Guest Post From Phil Sugar

  Fred

  6 Feb 2012 | 2:44 am

  Continuing our MBA Mondays series on The Managemet Team, we are deep into the guest post phase. This guest post comes from AVC regular Phil Sugar. I've never met Phil, but his comments here at AVC tell me that he's a very experienced entrepreneurial manager. And so I reached out to him to ask for a guest post. And he responded with this post below. There are so mant great lines in here, I'm tempted to reblog a bunch of them. Best Friends, Buddies, and Co-WorkersSince there is no way I am going to be more insightful than Matt or JLM about management process, I am going to go through three…

• Women Entrepreneurs

  Fred

  5 Feb 2012 | 6:05 am

  A few weeks ago, I spent the day at NYU ITP at the Womens Entrepreneurs Festival. This is a one day event put on by The Gotham Gal and her friend Nancy Hechinger who is on the faculty at NYU ITP. In its second year, the WE Festival features a day of panels and talks featuring women entrepreneurs. Men can attend and do, but the stage is filled with women all day long. It's a very different experience from the typical startup/tech event and I highly recommend it to anyone who is eager to see more women doing startups. My favorite panel was called Makers and featured five women who love to…

• 

  TweetMeme

• One Direction - MEGAMIND Pt 1 - YouTube

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:43 am

  One Direction - MEGAMIND Pt 11 comment

• One Direction - MEGAMIND coming soon! - YouTube

  9 Feb 2012 | 7:43 am

  One Direction - MEGAMIND coming soon!0 comments

• Jay-Z & Kanye West - Ni**as In Paris (Explicit) - YouTube

  9 Feb 2012 | 7:03 am

  Jay-Z & Kanye West - Ni**as In Paris (Explicit)0 comments

• Apple to Announce iPad 3 First Week in March - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

  9 Feb 2012 | 4:31 am

  Apple’s not holding an event in February. But it is holding one in March — to launch its next iPad.Sources say the company has chosen the first week in March to debut the successor to the iPad 2, and will do so at one of its trademark special events. The event will be held in San Francisco, presumably at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Apple’s preferred location for big announcements…0 comments

• WIN! Tour tickets to see McFly, The Wanted, JLS AND Twenty Twenty TODAY! | Maximum Pop!

  9 Feb 2012 | 3:44 am

  Hope you’ve got good cleaners. Today’s Comp of the Day is going to make your head explode. To celebrate our ludicrously dramatic Battle Of The Boyband Tours we’ve got a pair of tickets to the venue of your choice for the upcoming Twenty Twenty, The Wanted, JLS and McFly tours to give away. YES, ALL OF THEM! You can enter for one pair of tickets or if you’re greedy you can try for all…0 comments

• 

  TweetMeme

• Apple to Announce iPad 3 First Week in March - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

  9 Feb 2012 | 4:31 am

  Apple’s not holding an event in February. But it is holding one in March — to launch its next iPad.Sources say the company has chosen the first week in March to debut the successor to the iPad 2, and will do so at one of its trademark special events. The event will be held in San Francisco, presumably at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Apple’s preferred location for big announcements…0 comments

• WIN! Tour tickets to see McFly, The Wanted, JLS AND Twenty Twenty TODAY! | Maximum Pop!

  9 Feb 2012 | 3:44 am

  Hope you’ve got good cleaners. Today’s Comp of the Day is going to make your head explode. To celebrate our ludicrously dramatic Battle Of The Boyband Tours we’ve got a pair of tickets to the venue of your choice for the upcoming Twenty Twenty, The Wanted, JLS and McFly tours to give away. YES, ALL OF THEM! You can enter for one pair of tickets or if you’re greedy you can try for all…0 comments

• Twitter / nam woo hyun: 분명어제까지 ... 내사진이엇는데.....지나면 ...

  9 Feb 2012 | 1:53 am

  RT (at)wowwh きっと昨日まで...ネサジンこのオッのに.....後に終了だね。このように内因性の日は忘れられんだろう... http://t.co/Xn08LWof0 comments

• 'Bachelor' Contestant Courtney Gets Auto Tuned

  8 Feb 2012 | 8:19 pm

  Fans of The Bachelor are all too familiar with this season’s over-the-top contestant Courtney, who makes snide comments at the camera and likes to take off her bikini top.Now, a video has popped up on YouTube that has turned some of her signature phrases — from “Winning!” to “I do modeling” — into a catchy Auto-Tune clip.The contestants are vying for a rose from winemaker Ben, and…0 comments

• Facebook's Roadmap for Social Games and Mobile Apps in 2012

  8 Feb 2012 | 8:10 pm

  Facebook's Roadmap for Social Games and Mobile Apps in 2012 - http://t.co/UEg3vnMe0 comments

• 

  SmartBrief on Leadership

• Myanmar rebels dodge bullets, then shoot birdies

  9 Feb 2012 | 5:43 am

  After a hard day battling government troops, Myanmar's rebel fighters like to decompress by playing a round or two of golf.  -More- Medical Auditor TUV Rheinland

• Do your workers know when it's OK to unplug?

  9 Feb 2012 | 5:43 am

  If you e-mail your workers at 4 a.m.  -More- 

• It's morning in Africa

  9 Feb 2012 | 5:43 am

  Africa's economy is looking up, writes Ndubuisi Ekekwe.  -More- 

• 3 lessons from the Komen crisis

  9 Feb 2012 | 5:43 am

  The reaction to the Komen Foundation's decision to defund Planned Parenthood, later reversed, shows the need for leaders to p -More- 

• Why leaders should be philosophers

  9 Feb 2012 | 5:43 am

  Business leaders should be philosophers, says John Petrucci.  -More- 

• 

  Leading Blog: A Leadership Blog

• Lead With Purpose

  8 Feb 2012 | 11:38 pm

  Without a clear sense of purpose, organizations become listless. John Baldoni says in Lead With Purpose that it falls to the leader to make certain that organizational purpose is understood and acted upon. Retired Army colonel, George Reed told Baldoni that the importance of this cannot be underestimated: I don’t think you can hit purpose enough as a senior leader. It is one of those things that can be undercommunicated by an order of magnitude. You cannot oversell, overpronounce “Here’s why we’re here.” The problem is that leaders think that they have communicated it enough, but…

• 5 Leadership Lessons: Great Leaders Grow

  6 Feb 2012 | 9:52 pm

  Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller have penned another business fable, Great Leaders Grow. People and organizations are not fully alive unless they are growing. They ask, “will you be a leader who is always ready to face the next challenge, or will you be a leader that tries to apply yesterday’s solutions to today’s problems? The latter will ultimately fail,” say the authors. The solution is to GROW:   Growth is the leader’s fountain of youth. Growing, for great leaders, is like breathing. It’s not optional. It is not something you do in addition to your real job. It is at the…

• Leading Views: Ideas are Immortal. Inspiration is Perishable.

  3 Feb 2012 | 5:05 pm

  In ReWork—a go-to book for inspiration—authors Jason Fried and David Hansson explain why you need to get on with it. Just do it. We all have ideas. Ideas are immortal. They last forever. What doesn’t last forever is inspiration. Inspiration is like fresh fruit or milk: It has an expiration date. If you want to do something, you’ve got to do it now. You can’t put it on the shelf and wait two months to get around to it. You can’t just say you’ll do it later. Later, you won’t be pumped up about it anymore. If you’re inspired on a Friday, swear of the weekend and dive into the…

• First Look: Leadership Books for February 2012

  1 Feb 2012 | 12:02 am

  Here's a look at some of the best leadership books to be released in February.   Collaborate: The Art of We by Dan Sanker   Good Idea. Now What? How to Move Ideas to Execution by Charles T. Lee   The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg   Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More by Jason W. Womack   Make Up Your Mind: A Decision Making Guide to Thinking Clearly and Choosing Wisely by Hal Mooz For bulk orders call 1-800-423-8273 Build your leadership library with these specials on over 120 titles. All…

• LeadershipNow 140: January 2012 Compilation

  31 Jan 2012 | 1:54 pm

  Here are a selection of tweets from January 2012 that you might have missed: Video: President Abraham Lincoln and Leadership via @jamesstrock Lonely at Work by @wallybock "Relationships grow through communication." 7 Marks of a Great Leader by @RonEdmondson @mjasmus asks "What Do You Need to do More Of?" >Key question Mike Henry Sr: You Can’t Learn Anything with Your Mouth Open We handicap our potential when we think we have to exploit others to get ahead. Succeeding is not a zero-sum game. More @DPForrester: Gotta Have It Now, Right Now @PeteThePlanner: Would you agree that Kindness is the…

• 

  Great Leadership

• How to Survive a Meeting with the CEO

  8 Feb 2012 | 12:14 pm

  Most employees NEVER get to have a meeting with the CEO of their company. So if you do, it’s a one-shot deal that you don’t want to screw up. After all, exposure is a double-edged sword, and many CEOs and senior executives have short attention spans but long memories. This post isn’t written for the seasoned executive or middle manager who has regular interactions with the CEO. These managers have already earned their scars through the school of hard knocks, and are now completely at ease using the executive restroom. Rather, it’s written as a way to provide some mentoring assistance…

• Leadership Development Carnival – Super Bowl Edition and 2012 Schedule

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:18 am

  The big game may be history, but the February 5th, 2012 Leadership Development Carnival is still in overtime! This month's edition is hosted by the extremely talented team of bloggers over at Talented Apps. Thanks to Mark Bennett for leading the effort. You can find it right here - there's over 20 recent game-winning leadership posts from an all-star cast of Carnival regulars. 2012 Carnival Schedule and Submission Information: I'm hosting the March 4th edition back here at Great Leadership. If you'd like to submit a recent (within 2 weeks of Carnival publish…

• How to Find a Business Mentor Who'll Help You Achieve Your Leadership Goals

  3 Feb 2012 | 1:55 pm

  I often get asked for advice on how to find a mentor. This guest post by Rene D. Petrin provides a nice 8-step approach: Back in December, Dan talked about "10 Big Development Goals for Leaders in 2012." Goal #7 in the blog post stated: “Find a mentor and/or hire a coach.” While a formal mentoring relationship – meaning one that takes place in a monitored program within an organization – is the ideal, sometimes an informal mentoring relationship is what’s available. The question is how do you go about making it happen? Here are eight steps to follow: Step #1: Identify one or two…

• A Performance Management Model

  30 Jan 2012 | 9:04 am

  As a follow-up to the recent post and comments "Are You Managing or Just Nagging?", here's everything you need to facilitate a robust dialog on performance management, with lots of room for grey areas. A. Simple model: B. Supporting material for each quadrant: 1. Managing: How to Discuss an Employee Performance Problem 2. Nagging: Are You Managing or Just Nagging? 3. Vacation: 10 Reasons to go on a Vacation 4. Avoiding: The Cowardly Manager’s Guide to Dealing with Poor Performers Just made it up over the weekend - what do you think? Make sense? What's missing, what would…

• Leading in a New Direction - 3 Techniques for Thinking up New Business Ideas

  26 Jan 2012 | 11:27 am

  Here's a guest post from entrepreneur Duncan Murtagh,"an Irishman living in Taiwan, who has been to New Hampshire several times": How can we move past the tough times of 2011 to a more profitable 2012? Well we could start by coming up with some new ideas to drive revenue growth. In this article I’ll demonstrate 3 different techniques that 3 very different businesses could use, and may have used, to think up new business ideas. 1. The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. checklist of questions is a powerful tool for looking at your existing product/service lines and coming up with new variations. Probably the…

• 

  Philanthropy Journal - Management/Leadership Articles

• Effective board recruitment, Part 1

  20 Jan 2012 | 2:31 am

  Identifying and recruiting the right board members for your nonprofit takes a lot of hard work behind the scenes, but the right recruitment plan can yield a committed and effective board. read more

• The power of the interim executive director

  13 Jan 2012 | 2:32 am

  With leadership transitions increasing, nonprofits should consider interim executive directors, temporary leaders who can take the helm of an organization, help the board and staff address important issues and lay the groundwork for the following leader’s success. read more

• Balancing stability with the need for change

  9 Dec 2011 | 7:31 am

  Whether change takes place because of economic, political, legal, competitive or social factors, it is the responsibility of a nonprofit’s leaders to prepare and lead the organization through changing times.read more

• Healthy reserves are no accident

  22 Nov 2011 | 8:20 am

  While building a reserve fund for your nonprofit takes planning, dedication and discipline, the financial flexibility reserves provide is critical during good times and bad.read more

• Is your nonprofit’s board prepared for transition?

  10 Nov 2011 | 10:14 am

  The best board-succession plan is to have a board that operates according to proven practices, an approach that will enable it to perform effectively regardless of planned or unexpected turnover. read more

• 

  Talking Story with Rosa Say

• If you worked for me

  Rosa Say

  2 Feb 2012 | 4:06 pm

  If you worked for me, you’d only be working 20 hours per week (or less), yet you’d feel well compensated. If you worked for me, we’d talk about values all the time. Managing with Aloha would be a verb, not a noun, and you’d ‘get to’ Ho‘ohana. If you worked for me, you’d Lead with Aloha too: An Aloha Business for 2012 If you worked for me, you’d get the Daily Five Minutes, and you’d give it to others. Conversation and win-win agreements would become your m.o. If you worked for me, I’d expect you to contribute to our company cause — and you’d want to. You’d be a…

• Q&A: Leading up, and Changing Culture

  Rosa Say

  28 Jan 2012 | 2:29 pm

  Received these questions from a friend of mine, a professor teaching a college course on the “Emotional Health in Organizations” and thought I’d share my answer with all of you who read Talking Story as well: How does one effectively “lead up” in their organization, if it is still managed like the Industrial Revolution? How does one BEST change the culture from within? Is it REALLY possible…since the key leader always defines the culture of the organization???? Yes, it’s possible, if you are willing to do what it takes. Life is short, and we all have more options in the best…

• Book Review: Where Good Ideas Come From

  Rosa Say

  24 Jan 2012 | 8:00 pm

  You probably knew a book review was coming when I went all “you MUST read” on you, didn’t you. I’m giving myself a Goodreads challenge again, and this was book 5 for me this month. I tend to read more early in the year, and my challenge is to read books more consistently. The Kindle Daily Deal helps immensely, for it constantly adds to the queue in an easily affordable way. So many books, so little time… Where Good Ideas Come From Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation by Steven Johnson (Goodreads Links) Link to Amazon.com: Where Good Ideas Come From: The…

• Managers, you need to READ

  Rosa Say

  23 Jan 2012 | 11:18 am

  The more I read, the more I’m convinced that reading is a habit Alaka‘i Managers must cultivate. You must. You need to read for your own good. Reading is your window to the rest of our fascinating world, and the world is a wonderfully big, and varied place. Management consumes us (managemeant even more so). As we dig in to all the details of our daily work, we tell ourselves to “focus, focus, focus” and we get isolated despite all the people who surround us in the workplace. They’re in the same boat: Our company and its existing network insulates us in a cocoon of directed…

• Ho‘omau, as nature teaches us to do

  Rosa Say

  21 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am

  The value which gets highlighted the most in Managing with Aloha (by Kindle readers, enabling me to notice it) isn’t Aloha or Ho‘ohana: It’s Ho‘omau, the value of persistence, perseverance, tenacity and resilience. “Renew. Anything worth having is worth working for. Persistence is often the defining quality between those who fail and those who succeed… There is never much satisfaction in giving up, and Ho‘omau is the value that will cause you to continue, to persevere in your efforts, and to perpetuate those that have worked.” — Managing with Aloha, Chapter 4 Ultimately,…

• 

  CEO Blog - Time Leadership

• Brothers Weekend - Solving the Greece Problem

  Jim Estill

  5 Feb 2012 | 4:28 pm

  I am just back from Brothers' weekend - an Estill brother tradition for 20 plus years. It was a great weekend (although we still miss my brother Mark). I find on brothers' weekends I often laugh more in a short weekend than I do in a month.The weekend was held at my youngest brother, Lyle's house in North Carolina.At first I was honoured to be invited to help solve the Greece problem but when I arrived I found out it was a grease problem (my brother Lyle owns a Biodiesel plant).Busy weekend. I helped Lyle deliver a truckload of biodiesel (well, perhaps not helped but road shotgun). We kayaked…

• The See Do Time Management System

  Jim Estill

  3 Feb 2012 | 3:53 am

  Lately I have been using a slightly different time management technique which I call the "See Do" method. As the word implies, I see it and I do it.This method works great for keeping things clean and tidy. See a spot, wipe it. See something out of place, put it away.In email. I get an email and deal with it. Previously I had often used a 2 minute rule. If I could deal with it in less than 2 minutes I would but leave the longer ones. And during busy times, I would reduce that to a minute or less.The see do method helps reduce stress and that nagging feeling there is something still ahead to…

• YPO in Panama

  Jim Estill

  30 Jan 2012 | 3:06 pm

  I am just back from a YPO event in Panama. I had never been there. Interesting country.If I were to invest in Latin America (and I do not - lots of business close to home), Panama would be my choice. They have only 3.5 million people and have a canal that delivers $3.6 Billion in revenue which keeps the economy stimulated. And the Billion in profit goes to pay for education and other government services.And Panama signed a neutrality pact which means they cannot have any navy or military so there is no tax to fund that.Only downfall might be the differences in income from lower to upper class…

• Simple Works

  Jim Estill

  24 Jan 2012 | 5:55 am

  A friend emailed me the following (although as a brevity guy, I slightly edited it):A toothpaste factory had a problem: they sometimes shipped empty boxes, without the tube inside. This was due to the way the production line was set up, and people with experience in designing production lines will tell you how difficult it is to have everything happen with timings so precise that every single unit coming out of it is perfect 100% of the time. Understanding how important that was, the CEO of the toothpaste factory got the top people in the company together and they decided to start a new…

• Management Tips

  Jim Estill

  23 Jan 2012 | 3:53 am

  We finally got a bit of snow. It is beautiful. And grandson Josh continues to flourish. He does quite an ab workout (I tried doing it). Lying on his back and kicking his feet and hands. It is tough.I read a neat little book by Harvard Business Review that is just called Management Tips. It is divided into 3 sections - Managing Yourself, Managing Your Team and Managing Your Business. Each page is a short stand alone tip. There are about 200 tips. An example:"Be Confident But Not Really Sure.One of the keys to effective decision making is confidence. Even if you only have temporary convictions,…

• 

  The Tom Peters Weblog

• Off the Cuff #2

  Shelley Dolley

  7 Feb 2012 | 8:17 am

  Our Off the Cuff video series is a direct response from Tom to your questions. This is the second video in the series, which poses the question, "What is the greatest piece of advice you ever received that has made you a better writer or communicator?" It's a terrific question for Tom, and he discusses not only writing influences, but touches on public speaking as well. Don't miss the Dan Pink technique at the end; it may feel excruciating in practice, but there's no denying the improvement gained.

• TLBT Video #73Strategy: Measure Innovation

  Cathy Mosca

  3 Feb 2012 | 8:46 am

  We've posted the latest video in The Little BIG Things series on YouTube. Do you think it's impossible to measure innovation? In this video, Tom offers a brilliantly simple, easy-to-implement method for ensuring that a good portion of your work meets the mark on innovation. You can find the video in the right-hand column of this page or watch it at YouTube (time: 2 minutes 3 seconds). Or, get a PDF transcript of the video's content: Strategy: Measure Innovation.

• MOAP #4

  Cathy Mosca

  30 Jan 2012 | 7:53 am

  The latest installment of Tom's "Mother of All Presentations," or MOAP, is now available at ExcellenceNow.com. You can download the PowerPoint version or a PDF. We'll be releasing a section every other week throughout 2012. Part 4 introduces Tom's conviction that encouraging your people to make friends in other functions of the organization should be a top priority. Tom says you should reward such behavior, make it an agenda item. Download Part 4 of Tom's Mother of All Presentations, and learn how and why cross-functional socialization (read, idea-sharing) is essential to business excellence.

• Race to Nowhere

  Shelley Dolley

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:51 am

  Tom has said, "We tell our kids to 'be still,' then tell them to 'read history books'—which are replete (100%!) with tales of people ... who never sat still." This is obviously not the ideal way to cultivate a talented workforce. The education system in the United States still seems to be attempting to churn out well-behaved factory workers. With the enormous pressure placed on teachers to produce sufficient test results, the classroom becomes more about test preparation than exploration and discovery. Albert Einstein, long since deceased, had this to say: "It is nothing short of a…

• Advice, For What It's Worth ...

  Tom Peters

  25 Jan 2012 | 7:20 am

  I was asked to contribute (a very few words) to a family page offering words of wisdom to a graduating high school senior. That's a serious challenge—and I literally spent days on the task. Here, for better or for worse, is the result: Rules For Living Life to the Hilt Nothing will turn out the way you thought it would. There is no bigger waste of time than making plans. Any success you have will be the byproduct of having thrown yourself headlong and without reserve into what you were most passionate about—and then ridden the wave you created wherever and at whatever speed it…

• 

  Business Innovation Speaker and Consultant Stephen Shapiro

• Be Your Own Fan

  sshapiro

  6 Feb 2012 | 3:15 pm

  Business Innovation Speaker and Consultant Stephen ShapiroIt is the Monday after the Superbowl.  While scanning the TV stations and flipping through the radio channels this morning, it seemed as though everyone was discussing and analyzing (and analyzing and analyzing…) the football game.  Everyone is a Monday morning quarterback. Come on, get a life!  Stop living your life through someone else. Tom [...]

• Strategic Partnership with Linkage

  sshapiro

  2 Feb 2012 | 4:12 pm

  Business Innovation Speaker and Consultant Stephen ShapiroPress Release… Stephen M. Shapiro Joins Linkage in Elite Partnership Business Consultant to Bring Methodology on Innovative Culture to Linkage’s Clients Burlington, MA (PRWEB) February 02, 2012 Linkage, a global leadership development company, announced its partnership with innovation guru Stephen M. Shapiro. Mr. Shapiro has consulted with Fortune 500 corporations for nearly 20 years on [...]

• Goals Are Stupid

  sshapiro

  1 Feb 2012 | 8:16 am

  Business Innovation Speaker and Consultant Stephen ShapiroNOTE: This article is on the American Express OPEN Forum with the title “How to Make Goal-Setting Work for You.”  But the title I really wanted was “Goals Are Stupid.”  I’ll let you decide if they are or not. We are a society obsessed with goals. Nearly everyone sets them. In fact, we just finished [...]

• How Candy Makers Helped Develop the iMac

  sshapiro

  31 Jan 2012 | 2:51 pm

  Business Innovation Speaker and Consultant Stephen ShapiroI love it when companies are able to find solutions to problems in non-traditional places. I was recently at a conference where someone said that Apple was having difficulty making the clear, colored plastic that adorns the iMac. None of the plastic manufacturers could find a solution that could make the product hard and durable [...]

• Lessons of Pawn Stars

  sshapiro

  23 Jan 2012 | 9:24 am

  Business Innovation Speaker and Consultant Stephen ShapiroYes, you read that correctly.  PAWN Stars. This reality television show on The History Channel chronicles a pawn shop outside of Las Vegas.  I enjoy the show because of the history associated with the pieces that are brought in for sale.  In addition to rifles from the revolutionary war and antique political documents, people bring [...]

• 

  Orrin Woodward Blog: LIFE TEAM Leadership

• LIFE’s Meritocracy – How to End the Middle Class Squeeze

  Orrin Woodward

  7 Feb 2012 | 5:57 am

  “Let us in education dream of an aristocracy of achievement arising out of a democracy of opportunity” – Thomas Jefferson A simple definition of meritocracy would be the democracy of opportunity, providing everyone with an equal opportunity to advance based upon, paraphrasing Martin Luther King Jr., “the content of one’s character, not the color of one’s skin.” However, as I noted in the first two articles (Middle Class Squeeze and the Idle Rich & Idle Poor), Jefferson’s dream is certainly not today’s reality. When a person is confronted with this sobering truth, he…

• Idle Rich, Idle Poor, & the Burdened Middle Class

  Orrin Woodward

  4 Feb 2012 | 4:24 am

  In 2011, reporter Stephen Marche pinpointed the painful paradigm of today’s static classes: There are some truths so hard to face, so ugly and so at odds with how we imagine the world should be, that nobody can accept them. Here’s one: It is obvious that a class system has arrived in America — a recent study of the thirty-four countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that only Italy and Great Britain have less social mobility. But nobody wants to admit: If your daddy was rich, you’re gonna stay rich, and if your daddy was poor,…

• Meritocracy & the Middle Class Squeeze

  Orrin Woodward

  3 Feb 2012 | 9:52 am

  Meritocracy and the Middle Class Squeeze When I was a young, growing up in Columbiaville, Michigan, I loved watching sports. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat taught me so many lessons that I applied to life. In fact, I believe the lessons I learned from watching, playing, and modeling my favorite athletes helped form who I am today. Furthermore, because of my sports heroes, I became an avid reader of sports biographies, learning many of their secrets to success. I had no idea how instrumental the hundreds of books read of my sports heroes would affect me. In truth, it wasn’t…

• Tribes and Social Capital

  Orrin Woodward

  2 Feb 2012 | 5:04 am

  Tribes are groups of people with common interest, goals, and history together. The longer I build communities, the more I am convinced that the tribes within the community are one of the keys to restore Western Civilization’s culture. LIFE draws people together through shared dreams and goals, providing a sense of belonging and leadership principles to live by. This simple act of community is becoming a revolutionary activity in today’s atomized society. For without a strong sense of community, people cannot fully develop their potential and purpose. The objective of LIFE is to…

• Communities, Tribes, & Leadership

  Orrin Woodward

  1 Feb 2012 | 5:02 am

  In my opinion, voluntary community groups (tribes) are one of the keys to restoring the health of Western Civilization.  Although there are more communication tools today than ever before  (phone calls, texting, email, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Skype, etc), there seems to be less real dialogue and fellowship. Community is an essential piece in recreating the bonds of belonging within our isolated world. Imagine marrying the best of community with the best in leadership and you have the LIFE model. Our goal isn’t just to build a successful business; instead, our primary objective is to…

• 

  The Chief Happiness Officer

• When your boss saves your job

  Alexander

  9 Feb 2012 | 1:33 am

  Bob Sutton, author of the excellent book Good Boss Bad Boss tells this story from the very early days at Pixar: The company was under financial pressure and much of this pressure came down on the heads of the Division’s leaders, Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith. The new president, Doug Norby, wanted to bring some discipline to Lucasfilm, and was pressing Catmull and Smith to do some fairly deep layoffs. The two couldn’t bring themselves to do it. But Norby was unmoved. He was pestering Ed and Alvy for a list of names from the Computer Division to lay off, and Ed and Alvy kept blowing…

• Kom til Arbejdsglæde Live! konference 24. maj (in Danish)

  Alexander

  1 Feb 2012 | 6:31 am

  We just announced our annual conference about happiness at work in Copenhagen. Here’s the announcement – in Danish. Vi er super glade for igen at kunne invitere til Arbejdsglæde Live! konference, hvor du og 300 andre deltagere blandt andet kan høre: Will McInnes – Måske Englands gladeste direktør. Hans Erik Brønserud – Direktør for en af Danmarks absolut gladeste arbejdspladser. Wikke & Rasmussen – Fra Voldsom Volvo til Flyvende Farmor. Med glæde. Lise Egholm – Årets leder i Danmark 2011 fortæller hvordan hun skaber arbejdsglæde. Rowan Manahan – En ekspert…

• #h5yr and #h5is – find out how these two cryptic twitter tags promote happiness at work.

  Alexander

  23 Jan 2012 | 4:31 am

  Take a moment to check out these two websites with some slightly cryptic links: h5yr.com h5is.com They were created by Douglas Robar, a member of the Umbraco Community, that develops and uses the open source Umbraco CMS. They wanted a good way to share both success and mistakes and since there are hundreds of people working with Umbraco spread out all over the world they do this through twitter. If you want to praise a fellow member of the community for doing good work you can mention them on twitter and add the twitter tag #h5yr for High Five, You Rock (based on one of the exercises from our…

• Friday Spoing

  Alexander

  20 Jan 2012 | 5:46 am

  This is the very definition of Spoing: Have a very happy weekend :o)

• Happiness at work in Bangkok

  Alexander

  17 Jan 2012 | 12:09 am

  I always say that happiness at work can be found anywhere, in almost any job. Here’s more evidence to support that hypothesis from a man who makes ice tea on the streets of Bangkok: Do you enjoy your job this much – or do it with half as much flair? If not… why not?

• 

  Weekly Leader

• Weekly Leader Podcast Episode 82 – A Discussion about 42 Rules For Your New Leadership Role and The Little Book of Leadership Development

  podcast@weeklyleader.net

  13 Jan 2012 | 8:16 pm

  This week Weekly Leader team members Pam Fox Rollin and Scott J. Allen discuss their recent books: 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role (kindle) and The Little Book of Leadership Development (kindle). How to Receive Feedback (1-pager by Pam) Contact Info Send comments to podcast@weeklyleader.net Audio comments are welcomed and encouraged. Attach an MP3 file of 5 [...] Related posts: Weekly Leader Podcast Episode 80 – 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role Weekly Leader Podcast Episode 37 (Charlie Coiro, US Coast Guard Leadership Development Center) Weekly Leader Podcast Episode 45 |…

• Weekly Leader Podcast Episode 81 – 2012 Leadership Themes to Watch

  podcast@weeklyleader.net

  6 Jan 2012 | 7:04 pm

  This week Peter and Pam return after a lenghty hiatus to talk about Pam’s book, 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role and present 5 leadership themes for 2012. Leadership in the News: Jason Calacanis - Founders Define Reality (& Give Hope) Warren Bennis interview Pam’s Research Report of the Week: On Target on Onboarding IdeaShape blog 2012 Leadership Themes: Pam: Retaining great [...] Related posts: Weekly Leader Podcast Episode 80 – 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role Weekly Leader Podcast Episode 30 – The Leadership Skills Gap Weekly Leader Podcast…

• The Year of C.E.O. Failures Explained (NY Times) [del.icio.us]

  weeklyleader

  15 Dec 2011 | 2:18 pm

  David Pogue's take on some 2011 high profile failures by tech CEOs.

• How To Identify When Leaders Are Stressed Out | Chief Learning Officer [del.icio.us]

  weeklyleader

  25 Jul 2011 | 6:35 pm

  Workplace stress looks different than it did two years ago when much of it was prompted by layoffs and negative business news.

• Addictive Personality? You Might be a Leader | NY Times [del.icio.us]

  weeklyleader

  24 Jul 2011 | 7:18 pm

  Interesting but not so sure.

• 

  The Recovering Leader

• Effective Team Meetings: Subtracting Bad Behaviors

  david@leadershipunleashed.com

  9 Feb 2012 | 6:27 am

  If you’re like most people at work, you probably wish you spent less time in meetings. I remember as a COO, my colleagues and I used to estimate the cost per minute of the aggregate salaries around the table in “leadership team meetings” and wish we could spend the money on something more worthwhile. Yet search the web for “effective meetings” and you get overkill: 9.4 million helpful ideas, along with everyone’s favorite book or article about it. Based on my experience as an executive and coach, I approach it a bit differently. I propose there are seven “faces” or patterns of…

• Self-test: Doing and Being at Your Best at Work

  david@leadershipunleashed.com

  30 Jan 2012 | 2:43 pm

  Are you doing your best work and happy at work, most days? Here’s a tool I use with some executive clients to self-assess what may be standing in the way of being at their best and happiest at work, and what to do about it. Take a look at the graphic below and place yourself in the square that reflects the level of work you are doing, and how happy you are most days at work. Find your “number” and read the corresponding self-coaching suggestions, below. Square One: Definitely time for a change You know, or have known for a while that you need to make a change. What will help you do…

• Three Key Principles of Believe-In-You Leadership

  david@leadershipunleashed.com

  11 Jan 2012 | 8:34 pm

  Never has there been a more important time for leaders of organizations, communities, and governments to believe in their people—for each of us to believe in each other. That’s the world I want to live in, and the organization I want to do business with. Yet it's in major short supply. People in organizations and communities around the world are yearning to do their best work. What's getting in the way? They simply can’t be at their best when operating with fear, amplified by their leader’s directives, advice, withholding, stoicism and skepticism—by being discounted or treated as…

• Recovering Our Leadership: Seven Intentions for 2012

  david@leadershipunleashed.com

  2 Jan 2012 | 10:08 am

  Happy New Year! While no one knows what 2012 has up its sleeve, based on my own post-executive experience working with leaders across industries over the last eight years, no one doubts it’s time for a positive “pivot.” My hope is that will include a new sense of executive responsibility when it comes to humanism, collectivism, and capitalism with care for ethics and fairness. This, I believe, is the net / net of what protestors are saying, and it will continue to grow in resonance. Along those lines, and in keeping with my commitment to practice principles of recovery in all my…

• Leadership and Resetting a Tough Day

  david@leadershipunleashed.com

  28 Nov 2011 | 2:46 pm

  The best of the best athletes, scientists, soloist musicians, and executives alike can find themselves dwelling on a snag or difficult situation, as if getting taken hostage by it. If left unchecked, it can get in the way of what could be a good day. Whether you've had something (or someone) turn your day upside down, are stymied by a problem, or feeling overwhelmed, noticing it in real time is key. Once you see you're stuck in an unwanted "loop," you'll need to step away from it to solve it rapidly. As soon as possible, get up and walk out on whatever you're doing for a ten-minute break (and…

• 

  Lead on Purpose

• Managing conflict

  Michael Ray Hopkin

  4 Feb 2012 | 9:59 am

  “In a environment that is often fearful and ego-driven, she created a space where people could give up their worries and thrive.” The word ‘conflict’ is used in so many ways that I’m conflicted as I try to make sense of it (ok, that was a ‘tongue-in-cheek for my good friend Jim Holland). For purposes of this post, ‘conflict’ is a mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes or demands. It’s manifest in both internal and external ways; internal conflicts based on our beliefs and ethics, and external conflicts between individuals, groups or…

• Guest Post: 7 Key Elements To Building A High Performance Team and Organization

  Michael Ray Hopkin

  28 Jan 2012 | 8:28 am

  By John C. Stevens Managers and executives, who are trying to improve the performance of their teams, are actively helping to improve the overall performance of their organization. Wondering what you can do to boost your team’s engagement and output? Keep in mind these key elements of performance management: Image Source: Guillermo Camargo Leadership. In order to get a group performing effectively, you need a leader who thinks and communicates clearly. An effective leader is one who has a clear vision of his or her team’s purpose and can effectively communicate that vision to the members…

• Leadership and integrity

  Michael Ray Hopkin

  21 Jan 2012 | 9:34 am

  Integrity is one of the top attributes of a great leader. It is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and outcomes. It connotes a deep commitment to do the right thing for the right reason, regardless of the circumstances. People who live with integrity are incorruptible and incapable of breaking the trust of those who have confided in them. Every human is born with a conscience and therefore the ability to know right from wrong. Choosing the right, regardless of the consequence, is the hallmark of integrity. In his recent post 10 Mistakes…

• Making tough decisions

  Michael Ray Hopkin

  14 Jan 2012 | 10:37 am

  Making big decision is not easy; in fact it might be one of the most difficult things we ever have to do. The tendency is to postpone decisions as long as we can and put of the pain. At its root the word of decision means to cut off. When you make a decision you go with one thing and leave all the rest behind. Cutting yourself off from other choices is not easy, and that’s at the root of why we tend to put off big decisions. We postpone decisions for various reasons: we don’t want to offend people; we’re not sure who or what to choose; we’re afraid we’ll be wrong…

• Tenacity in 2012

  Michael Ray Hopkin

  31 Dec 2011 | 11:57 am

  Successful people share several common traits; tenacity is at the top. Merriam-Webster defines tenacious as “persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired.” Think about your favorite athlete, actor, business leader, or other successful person and you’re sure to find tenacity as one of their defining characteristics. Tenacity fuels persistence. Persistence is analogous to running a marathon. To run a successful marathon you have to spend ample time (months or more) preparing. The time you spend, and what you do leading up to the race, will determine how…

• 

  Ed Batista: Executive Coaching & Change Management

• Taking the Plunge (Safety, Risk, Learning and Growth)

  edbatista

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:11 am

  I've written before about the importance of safety as the foundation for the risk-taking and experimentation that are essential precursors to learning and change. In any setting where we're seeking to grow and develop, it's essential that we feel safe with each other and trust each other. In the absence of safety, trust and emotional intimacy, our efforts to learn and grow will be severely hampered. And this applies everywhere--not only in explicit learning environments such as the classroom, a workshop or a coaching relationship, but also in our day-to-day organizational and personal lives.

• Skin in the Game

  edbatista

  7 Feb 2012 | 8:42 am

  Work that's truly rewarding requires that we that we commit ourselves fully to the endeavor. We have "skin in the game," you might say, like an investor who's putting his own capital on the line. In this sense, coaching my clients and students isn't just (or even) a job, it's a highly personal experience in which I take real risks in the service of meaningful gains. And I suspect the same is true for you and your work, in one way or another. But while having skin in the game allows us to do our best work, it also exposes us to risk. When we succeed it's all the more gratifying, and when we…

• Suspension of Belief

  edbatista

  6 Feb 2012 | 12:01 am

  William Coleridge coined the phrase "suspension of disbelief" in 1817 to describe a state of mind in which readers would willingly ignore obvious untruths and fantastic elements in literature to allow themselves to enjoy the story. He called it a form of "poetic faith." There's an alternative form of this mindset that applies not to works of fiction but to our own very real lives that I'd call the "suspension of belief." We believe to be true an enormous number of assumptions and mental models that exert a powerful influence on our self-image, on our sense of our own capabilities, on our…

• Measuring the Infinite

  edbatista

  2 Feb 2012 | 12:01 am

  In the spirit of those kindred souls Voltaire and George S. Patton, here's one way to measure the infinite: An infinite distance lies between nothing--the unsaid comment, the unwritten letter, the undone act--and something, no matter how much room for improvement remains.  In comparison, the distance between that something and perfection is barely noticeable at all. Photo by Ben Husmann. Yay Flickr and Creative Commons.

• One Stone At A Time (Building Boundaries)

  edbatista

  1 Feb 2012 | 12:49 am

  The concept of boundaries comes up regularly in my work with clients and students, and in my own life as well. A client resents feeling obligated to respond to emails after a certain hour in the evening. A student wants to insure that family activities don't overwhelm her plans for graduation. And I often need to decompress quietly for 20 minutes after getting home before engaging in conversation. At the heart of all of these issues is a boundary, in one form or another. As I've written before, my former colleague Michael Gilbert has had a big influence on how I view the concept of…

• 

  Coaching Tip: The Leadership Blog

• Take Control of How Others See You

  John Agno

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:55 am

  You are being perceived, either positively or negatively, every day of your life. Others are constantly viewing and making judgments of you.  The impact of this perception can happen quickly; it takes only a few seconds to form an opinion.  Even though you don't have control of how others view you, you do have control over your actions, which can substantially affect others' perceptions.  This is "the power of thinking without thinking," as Malcolm Gladwell describes subconscious mental processes in his bestseller Blink. You can't influence…

• Brand Ideals Drive Performance

  John Agno

  7 Feb 2012 | 12:10 pm

  Think about what and how you buy in your business and personal life. Whether it's household products or enterprise software services, what ultimately determines why you buy from one company rather than another?  It's their brand's image and reputation along with the relationships you have with them.  A brand is simply the collective intent of the people behind it, a brand defines who you are and what you stand for as a business to everyone the business touches, from employees to end consumers.  If you want great business results, you and your brand have to stand…

• Leading Synergistically

  John Agno

  6 Feb 2012 | 9:43 am

  If you're involved with any group of people who are trying to achieve common goals, you soon become acutely aware that those goals will be achieved only through the work of the people in the group. Yes, all work is done through relationships and wisely managing these relationship is critical to your team, group, division, company and community.  Put simply, organizations don't succeed in and of themselves.  They succeed only through individuals working in groups or teams. The synergistically-oriented leader observes the team interactions from an elevated level, watching…

• Work Together or Fail Alone

  John Agno

  3 Feb 2012 | 7:24 am

  Jonah Lehrer's article, "GroupThink" in The New Yorker, January 30, 2012 states that brainstorming seems like an ideal technique, a feel-good way to boost productivity.  But there is a problem with brainstorming.  It doesn't work. Scientific advances have lead to a situation where all the remaining problems are incredibly hard.  Researchers are forced to become increasingly specialized, because there's only so much information one mind can handle.  And they have to collaborate, because the most interesting mysteries lie at the intersection of disciplines.  "A…

• Credit Crisis: Are We Set for the Perfect Storm?

  John Agno

  26 Jan 2012 | 10:18 am

  In this video clip, taken from Robert Prechter's interview with The Mind of Money, Prechter and host Douglass Lodmell discuss "real" money vs the FIAT money system, and what is backing your dollars under our current system.  Enjoy this 4-minute clip and then watch Prechter's full 45-minute interview here >> Watch the full 45-minute interview FREE Get even more valuable insights as Mind of Money host Douglass Lodmell interviews Elliott Wave International's President, Robert Prechter, about how to keep your money safe, the deflation versus inflation debate, and…

• 

  Great Leadership

• How to Survive a Meeting with the CEO

  Dan McCarthy

  8 Feb 2012 | 12:14 pm

  Most employees NEVER get to have a meeting with the CEO of their company. So if you do, it’s a one-shot deal that you don’t want to screw up. After all, exposure is a double-edged sword, and many CEOs and senior executives have short attention spans but long memories. This post isn’t written for the seasoned executive or middle manager who has regular interactions with the CEO. These managers have already earned their scars through the school of hard knocks, and are now completely at ease using the executive restroom. Rather, it’s written as a way to provide some mentoring assistance…

• Leadership Development Carnival – Super Bowl Edition and 2012 Schedule

  Dan McCarthy

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:18 am

  The big game may be history, but the February 5th, 2012 Leadership Development Carnival is still in overtime! This month's edition is hosted by the extremely talented team of bloggers over at Talented Apps. Thanks to Mark Bennett for leading the effort. You can find it right here - there's over 20 recent game-winning leadership posts from an all-star cast of Carnival regulars. 2012 Carnival Schedule and Submission Information: I'm hosting the March 4th edition back here at Great Leadership. If you'd like to submit a recent (within 2 weeks of Carnival publish…

• How to Find a Business Mentor Who'll Help You Achieve Your Leadership Goals

  Dan McCarthy

  3 Feb 2012 | 1:55 pm

  I often get asked for advice on how to find a mentor. This guest post by Rene D. Petrin provides a nice 8-step approach: Back in December, Dan talked about "10 Big Development Goals for Leaders in 2012." Goal #7 in the blog post stated: “Find a mentor and/or hire a coach.” While a formal mentoring relationship – meaning one that takes place in a monitored program within an organization – is the ideal, sometimes an informal mentoring relationship is what’s available. The question is how do you go about making it happen? Here are eight steps to follow: Step #1: Identify one or two…

• A Performance Management Model

  Dan McCarthy

  30 Jan 2012 | 9:04 am

  As a follow-up to the recent post and comments "Are You Managing or Just Nagging?", here's everything you need to facilitate a robust dialog on performance management, with lots of room for grey areas. A. Simple model: B. Supporting material for each quadrant: 1. Managing: How to Discuss an Employee Performance Problem 2. Nagging: Are You Managing or Just Nagging? 3. Vacation: 10 Reasons to go on a Vacation 4. Avoiding: The Cowardly Manager’s Guide to Dealing with Poor Performers Just made it up over the weekend - what do you think? Make sense? What's missing, what would…

• Leading in a New Direction - 3 Techniques for Thinking up New Business Ideas

  Dan McCarthy

  26 Jan 2012 | 11:27 am

  Here's a guest post from entrepreneur Duncan Murtagh,"an Irishman living in Taiwan, who has been to New Hampshire several times": How can we move past the tough times of 2011 to a more profitable 2012? Well we could start by coming up with some new ideas to drive revenue growth. In this article I’ll demonstrate 3 different techniques that 3 very different businesses could use, and may have used, to think up new business ideas. 1. The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. checklist of questions is a powerful tool for looking at your existing product/service lines and coming up with new variations. Probably the…

• 

  thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

• A Personal Interview with a Great Leader

  Mike Figliuolo

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:29 am

  The people in my professional network are awesome. Occasionally one of them is gracious enough to let me grill them on the subject of leadership. John Petrucci is one of those guys. He’s one of the most down-to-earth people you’ll ever meet and that’s part of what makes him an exemplary leader. You can read [...] This is only the beginning of the thought... Please click the article headline above or go to http://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/blog for more.

• The Real Reasons You Didn’t Get the Job

  Mike Figliuolo

  6 Feb 2012 | 4:03 am

  Interviewing for a new job is an exercise in humiliation, fear, and confusion.  Whether you’re interviewing for a job at a new company or just changing roles at your present employer, the process is nauseating. You do everything you can to put your best foot forward.  You get your suit pressed.  You make your hair [...] This is only the beginning of the thought... Please click the article headline above or go to http://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/blog for more.

• Leadership and Decision Making – A Personal Interview

  Mike Figliuolo

  1 Feb 2012 | 9:46 am

  So for the first time ever, I’m including a recorded interview as today’s blog post.  I was recently interviewed by Yongho Shin on the subjects of leadership, the U.S. Army, decision making, and other leadership topics.  The interview is about 30 minutes long and should be a good listen during your morning coffee. Yongho Shin [...] This is only the beginning of the thought... Please click the article headline above or go to http://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/blog for more.

• Great Leaders Live Balanced Lives

  Mike Figliuolo

  30 Jan 2012 | 4:02 am

  The following is an excerpt from One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership (you can get your copy here).  This post focuses on having a balanced life and the importance of keeping things in perspective.  If you’re burned out, you’re worthless.  Here’s an example of how I keep myself in balance [...] This is only the beginning of the thought... Please click the article headline above or go to http://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/blog for more.

• Get Out of B.E.D. And Alter Your Outcomes

  Mike Figliuolo

  26 Jan 2012 | 4:02 am

  Today’s post is by Marty Stanley, author of Get Out of B.E.D. and the newest member of the thoughtLEADERS team. “We got it done, but it was ugly,” the manager said, shaking his head in disbelief. Miscommunications, lack of communication, an inexperienced team leader and management on vacation resulted in cost over-runs exceeding $50,000, delayed [...] This is only the beginning of the thought... Please click the article headline above or go to http://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/blog for more.

• 

  Business Wisdom: Words to Manage By

• Positive Reinforcement

  Bill Matthies

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:30 pm

  "Criticism should be a casual conversation." W. H. Auden 20th century English born poet One of your responsibilities as a manager is to review the efforts of those who report to you. Another is to do so in such a way that encourages rather than discourages the person whose work you are reviewing.

• How Much?

  Bill Matthies

  7 Feb 2012 | 1:30 pm

  "The best is the cheapest." Benjamin Franklin 18th century American statesman/inventor/philosopher The vast majority of us do not opt for the "best" automobiles, technology, clothes, food, airline seats, nor most anything else you can think of. So who's wrong here, Mr. Franklin or most everyone else on the planet? By the way, my take on this is slightly different. You get what you don't pay for.

• Einstein Was Right

  Bill Matthies

  6 Feb 2012 | 1:06 pm

  "All motion is relative, maybe it is you who have moved away by standing still." Unknown Like standing on the platform as the train pulls away, you're either progressing or regressing, and doing nothing is the same as doing the latter.

• Wisemen and Wiseguys

  Bill Matthies

  3 Feb 2012 | 1:30 pm

  "A wise man's questions contain half the answers." Solomon Ibn Gabirol 11th century Hebrew poet/Jewish philosopher And you know those wise men when you meet them. They have a way of getting you to answer the questions they ask, and in retrospect, you kind of know they weren't asking because they didn't know. Those are the managers I want to work for. Coyote Insight, LLC

• You've Got What You Need

  Bill Matthies

  2 Feb 2012 | 1:30 pm

  "We have more than we use." Ralph Waldo Emerson 19th century US poet/essayist Most every parent, mine included, has at one time or another said something similar to their children. They were right. What do you have in your business that you are not but should be using to its fullest? Coyote Insight, LLC

• 

  Management Excellence

• Lessons in Management Innovation from Main Street

  Art Petty

  8 Feb 2012 | 10:01 am

  During the past few years, I’ve marveled at the start-ups and small to mid-sized businesses in my community who didn’t need an army of consultants or MBAs to teach them the very relevant and important lessons that Reeves and Deimler share in their recent Harvard Business Review article, "Adaptability-The New Competitive Advantage."

• Leadership Caffeine: Teach Your Team Smart(er) Decision Processes

  Art Petty

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:29 am

  Nothing happens without a decision. Nothing good happens without the right decision. And, in case you doubt the need to focus on making better decisions, spend some time skimming the news. If you’ve kept up with your health and fitness resolutions thus far this year, you know that even minor adjustments in diet and exercise pay big dividends. The same goes for our individual and group decision-making approaches. Here are 5 key questions and suggestions for strengthening your team's decision-making processes.

• Leadership Caffeine at Information Management and New Newsletter Resource

  Art Petty

  2 Feb 2012 | 6:10 am

  Two news items here at Management Excellence: First, as of February 1, 2012, the good folks at Information Management are kindly syndicating selected posts from my blog at their resource rich website: info-mgmt.com under my name and the Leadership Caffeine label. And second, I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new resource to support your professional development...the Leadership Caffeine Newsletter.

• No One Asked My Opinion…But $100 Billion for What?

  Art Petty

  1 Feb 2012 | 6:29 am

  As of this writing, the world is abuzz with the expected Facebook IPO. The number $100 billion is being floated and passed around (probably by those who stand to benefit from a big IPO), and whether real or wild speculation, that’s a number that gives one cause to pause. This is beginning to feel like Déjà vu all over again (thanks, Yogi Berra), much like that fascinating period in the late ‘90’s when stratospheric valuations were applied to firms that had no products, no earnings and sometimes no revenues.

• Leadership Caffeine: Change or Learn to Say, “Would You Like Fries with That?”

  Art Petty

  29 Jan 2012 | 12:34 pm

  Much of the pablum that is passed off for guidance on leading others ignores the reality that the context in which we lead has changed from just a few years ago, and it continues to change faster than any of us can truly understand. While it’s a bit disheartening to realize that those of us with much time under our belts and more than a few laps around the block of life are vestiges of a bygone business era, we are. That doesn’t mean we can’t be relevant, but first, we have to understand and accept some of the important contextual changes in our world of business:

• 

  Team Building Leadership Blog - Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse Team Building Leadership

• Come to the new site Create-Learning.com/Blog

  Michael Cardus

  19 Jan 2012 | 8:47 am

  This blog has moved and all the great old & new stuff is at http://create-learning.com/blog come and join us!

• How to Lead Awesome Team-Building Programs. E-Book

  Michael Cardus

  1 Dec 2010 | 1:44 pm

  Did you ever wonder “How does one lead AWESOME team-building programs? The ones that ensure that content and learning take place. A teambuilding program that is fun, and teams leave better than when they arrived?” Now you can find out.   In this 55 page E-book you will find applicable strategies, team-building activities, facilitation, de-briefing, and processing activities + theory that you can use immediately. Content sections: Theory Based Facilitation and Experiential Learning; Providing a theoretical foundation to leading team-building programs. In this section you will learn…

• The Party is over – Join the fun at our new location

  Michael Cardus

  26 May 2010 | 9:36 am

    Here is what you are missing – The Grass is Greener and you will be smarter here! Create-Learning Team Building & Leadership Blog Leaders Combine Challenge to achieve greatness Team Building Activities & Application to Work – Nail Puzzle Cereal Management Continuum Questions I like to ask prior to developing a proposal for Team Building / Leadership / Innovation / Coaching Processes Pipeline – Team Building Activity Leadership Development Process, a Success Story!

• You still here? The Blog has moved.

  Michael Cardus

  10 Apr 2010 | 6:03 am

  Mike moved the blog to this new place – http://create-learning.com/blog Here is what you have missed; I have the Best Leadership Blog in the World! I2U2ME2WE – Team Building Activity Little things that make a BIG difference as a Leader Breath Deep Relax Mouse Traps Break Worry Generational View of Publishing 3 Reasons Your Leadership Sucks…and how to improve it.

• THIS BLOG HAS MOVED!

  Michael Cardus

  24 Mar 2010 | 4:00 pm

  Please come with me to the NEW BLOG LOCATION http://create-learning.com/blog/ Change your RSS Readers and come to the new blog & Create-Learning website Thank you for allowing me to serve your Team Building & Leadership needs. And come to the NEW site with even more amazing content and ideas to share…. Michael Cardus  

• 

  Survival Leadership

• Immunity to Change: Post #10--Leadership Development

  9 Feb 2012 | 4:54 am

  Growing Your Own: A final word about leadership development.a. In an ever-and-faster changing world, adaptive change becomes more crucial for both success and sustainability. Taking a development stance or a leadership development frame of mind can make this happen. The authors provide seven (7) attributes of this development stance:i. Adulthood is a time for growth. We evolve throughout our lives.ii. There’s a big distinction between technical and adaptive changes.iii. Individuals have intrinsic motivation to grow.iv. Such mindset changes take time.v. Mindsets shape feelings, so change…

• Immunity to Change: Post #9--Teams and Change

  7 Feb 2012 | 4:50 am

  Collective Immunity to Change (for Teams)a. Just as individuals have immunity to change, so do teams, groups, and entire organizations have a “collective immunity to change.”b. When it makes sense to “x-ray” the Group/Team:i. Groups are stuck, no follow through, don’t hold each other accountable, protect their turf.ii. Groups are functional—safe places to test, not hostile battlegrounds.iii. Groups are 12 or less with no strong subgroups.iv. Groups of more than 12 people with no definable subgroups, break down into groups of 8 and compare outcomes.v. Construct individual member…

• Immunity to Change: Post #8--Testing Assumptions

  5 Feb 2012 | 4:44 am

  Testing your assumptions: Core Element of Changea. Criteria to select an assumption: 1) Powerful—has a strong hold; 2) Testable—you can measure change.b. Example: I think I know more about what’s best for my adult children; thus, I should give them my observations, opinions about everything.c. Test: I won’t offer my opinion, rather offer coaching and see what’s better for my adult kids. I’ll take the opposite position from my default and see what happens—how I feel and my effect on others.d. S-M-A-R-T Tests: Safe & Modest—small risk; A: Actionable—easy and fast to carry…

• Immunity to Change: Post #7--Overcoming Immunity to Change

  4 Feb 2012 | 4:41 am

  Overcoming Immunity to Changea. Build a structure to bridge the gap between our intent and behavior by overcoming competing self-protective motivations. Do this by testing our big assumptions that get in the way of change (one foot on the gas and one on the brake prevents us from ever getting to the goal).b. The change process takes time, roughly 3 months if you work on it. You can do it alone (tougher), with a friend, or with a coach.c. The processi. Hone the map: Review and edit the immunity map.ii. Survey: Get outside agreement and input on Column 1.iii. Envision: What’s the ideal look…

• Immunity to Change: Post #6--Big Assumptions

  2 Feb 2012 | 4:38 am

  Column 4: The Big Assumptionsa. Here we create a tool for adaptive (not merely technical) change.b. Best way to disrupt the anxiety management or immunity-to-change system is to identify a core assumption that sustains it.c. We don’t see these assumptions as artificial mental constructs, rather we see them as THE truth…the way the world really is.d. When we make “big assumptions” they can take us down a destructive path. Like a pilot saying to his co-pilot: “Hey, what’s a mountain goat doing way up here in the cloud bank?!”e. We have an uncanny ability to filter out…

• 

  RapidBI

• Today’s thoughts February 8, 2012

  support

  8 Feb 2012 | 12:30 pm

  Goodbye IT – hello products that work Goodbye IT – hello products that work With so many people fed-up of big software solutions that just are too clunky and don’t do easily what people want, the IT world is moving. With Apple dropping support & products for the film & media industry, they are now [...]

• Today’s thoughts February 7, 2012

  support

  7 Feb 2012 | 12:30 pm

  Psychology, statistics, research & bad Science Psychology, Statistics, Research & Bad Science We have all seen the adverts – 9/10 cats – n=73 as the sample group for a major hair care product TV & magazine advertising campaign. So why do so many firms use bad science? How widespread is this behaviour? Apparently 76.4% of [...]

• Today’s thoughts February 6, 2012

  support

  6 Feb 2012 | 12:30 pm

  MBTI – the Gender Differences in Type MBTI – the gender differences in Type While this graphic uses US based data, from memory there is little variance between US & UK gender data. The interesting thing here is that fact that most are balanced, with the exception of Thinking/ feeling. This is interesting as EQ [...]

• February 2012 Top 100 Business Coaches to Follow on Twitter

  Admin-Mike

  6 Feb 2012 | 5:32 am

  Evan Carmichael’s Top 100 Business Coaches - Feb 2012

• Today’s thoughts February 5, 2012

  support

  5 Feb 2012 | 12:30 pm

  Reclaim your weekend Reclaim your weekend It is now Sunday evening – but how many of us have been working over the weekend? This graphic highlights some interesting points – but fails to say if the most productive people are people with or without lists What are your top tips for reclaiming your weekend? Mine [...]

• 

  EveryJoe

• Volkswagen “The Dog Strikes Back” – 2012 Super Bowl Commercial

  Kori Ellis

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:40 am

  In 2011, Volkwagen’s Super Bowl commercial with a little boy imitating Darth Vader went viral, capturing the hearts of Star Wars fans and even non-geeks. So this year, Volkswagen decided to stick to the Star Wars theme, but this time used an overweight dog rather than a young boy. The ad was considered one of the best from the 2012 Super Bowl commercials. In case you missed it check out the video below, as well as “The Making Of: The Dog Strikes Back.” Post from: EveryJoe

• Teleflora Adriana Lima Ad – 2012 Super Bowl Commercial

  Kori Ellis

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:17 am

  Advertisers know that hot chicks can really make a Super Bowl commercial. So it was no surprise to see sexy Adriana Lima in the Teleflora ad during this year’s Super Bowl. The commercial features Lima as she prepares for a special Valentine’s Day date. Post from: EveryJoe

• Doritos “Sling Baby” – 2012 Super Bowl Commercial

  Kori Ellis

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:14 am

  One thing that I didn’t like about the Super Bowl commercials this year is that so many of them were released in the days and weeks leading up to the game. That takes away a lot of the excitement and shock value. Doritos always has a few good commercials during the Super Bowl, let’s take a look at their Sling Baby ad. Post from: EveryJoe

• Stripping M&M – 2012 Super Bowl Commercial

  Kori Ellis

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:10 am

  M&M’s latest character — Ms. Brown — got a lot of attention during yesterday’s Super Bowl. The stripping M&M commercial was one of the hottest Super Bowl ads of the day. She’s sexy and she knows it. Post from: EveryJoe

• Hyundai “All for One” – 2012 Super Bowl Commercial

  Kori Ellis

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:07 am

  You can’t go wrong with a commercial featuring the Rocky theme. Fans loved Hyundai’s “All for One” Super Bowl commercial — one of the many ads from car manufacturers shown during the big game on Sunday. Post from: EveryJoe

• 

  Lead Change Group

• Employee Engagement By Tools and Techniques

  John Bernard

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:00 am

  Posted in Leadership Developmenthttp://www.massingenuity.com/2012/02/05/employee-engagement-by-tools-and-techniques/Employee engagement is the Holy Grail because when it improves so does the customer experience, productivity and revenue. Also when it moves up, costs, absenteeism, turnover, theft, accidents, and defects go down. In the search to drive up employee engagement there have been many alluring paths to explore. Over the years most organizations have jumped [...]

• Leadership Development Carnival – Super Bowl Pre-game Edition

  Ace

  7 Feb 2012 | 5:59 am

  Posted in Leadership Developmenthttp://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/leadership-development-carnival-super-bowl-pre-game-edition/The February Leadership Development Carnival is up! When you get a chance, take a look at the posts that were contributed. You’ll find that they are not the same-old, same-old, but thoughtful, illuminating ideas and advice that can really make a difference. We’ve witnessed over the last few years perhaps some of the egregious examples [...]

• Leadership Autopilot

  Michelle Braden

  7 Feb 2012 | 4:00 am

  Posted in Career DevelopmentLeadership CoachingLeadership DevelopmentSelf LeadershipThree years ago I moved to a new city. It was not until four weeks ago I realized that I don’t know my way around my city very well. The reason is simple and a little embarrassing. It is all due to my good friend named Garmin. For directionally challenged people (such as me) Garmin is a lifesaver; however, it can also create great challenges: mentally checking out while you are driving for one. You’re driving along and Garmin says, “turn right here,” then “turn left there,” and before you know…

• 7 Types of Listeners – Part 2

  Piera Palazollo

  3 Feb 2012 | 4:00 am

  Posted in Leadership DevelopmentThe anticipation has been building for the second half of our “Seven Types of Listeners” post.  (Check out Part 1 here.) We discussed why listening is crucial to team development, as well as maintaining other relationships in your life. Did you identify with a listening personality? As a refresher, from Part 1, the first 3 [...]

• How thinking like a child can help any leader achieve more goals

  Ace

  2 Feb 2012 | 6:14 am

  Posted in Leadership Developmenthttp://smartblogs.com/leadership/2012/02/02/why-becoming-more-like-a-child-will-help-any-leader-achieve-more-goals/Becky Robinson, director of social marketing for The Kevin Eikenberry Group and the owner and chief influence officer of 12 Minute Media, authored today’s SmartBlog for Leadership, How thinking like a child can help any leader achieve more goals. “As you look to a new year and new goals, sharpen your pencil, get a clean sheet [...]

• 

  CBS News - Leadership

• 10 employee types that drive managers crazy

  9 Feb 2012 | 3:56 am

  We all have coworkers we can't stand, but certain behavior drives bosses nuts

• How real leaders come from behind and win

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:02 am

  Like Clint Eastwood said in the halftime Super Bowl commercial, "We find a way through tough times" -- here's how

• 10 career-limiting mistakes to avoid

  7 Feb 2012 | 3:34 am

  How not to wake up one day in a dead-end job with nothing but regrets

• What you can learn by watching TV

  6 Feb 2012 | 3:17 am

  Fictional television characters make great mentors for aspiring leaders and managers

• 7 tips to manage your boss -- and yourself

  3 Feb 2012 | 3:33 am

  Strategies for a healthy employee-manager relationship from a manager's perspective

• 

  "business intelligence" - Google News

• Collective[i] Pioneers New Era of Big Data With Novel Socialized Business ... - MarketWatch (press release)

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:33 am

  Collective[i] Pioneers New Era of Big Data With Novel Socialized Business MarketWatch (press release)9, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- After years in development and beta testing, Collective[i] ( www.collectivei.com ) has announced availability of the industry's first business intelligence network that enables executives to easily collaborate in the and more »

• Sales of Klipfolio's Business Intelligence Dashboards Up 2.3X in 2011 - San Francisco Chronicle (press release)

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:05 am

  Sales of Klipfolio's Business Intelligence Dashboards Up 2.3X in 2011San Francisco Chronicle (press release)Klipfolio Inc, a leader in operational business intelligence software, today announced that in 2011 its YoY sales increased 2.3X. This remarkable achievement marks the second straight year where Klipfolio Dashboard sales have more than doubled.and more »

• Perficient Acquires PointBridge Solutions - MarketWatch (press release)

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:31 am

  Perficient Acquires PointBridge SolutionsMarketWatch (press release) LLC ("PointBridge"), a $17 million annual services revenue business and technology consulting firm focused on collaboration, web content management, unified communications and business intelligence, primarily leveraging Microsoft technologies.and more »

• BravePoint Launches BluePrint Approach to BI Implementation at TDWI World ... - MarketWatch (press release)

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:55 am

  BravePoint Launches BluePrint Approach to BI Implementation at TDWI World MarketWatch (press release)9, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- BravePoint®, Inc., leading provider of technology agnostic business intelligence (BI) and data warehousing solutions, is participating for the first time at The Data Warehousing Institute (TDWI) World Conference in and more »

• Ashish Gambhir to Present Keynote at “Technology Support for Small Business ... - PR Web (press release)

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:03 am

  Ashish Gambhir to Present Keynote at “Technology Support for Small Business PR Web (press release)Ashish Gambhir, Co-Founder of newBrandAnalytics, the leading provider of Social Business Intelligence solutions, will be delivering the keynote address at “Technology Support for Small Businesses,” conference presented by SCORE in conjunction with its and more »

• 

  The Numbers Guy

• In Implant Controversy, Sure Numbers Are Scarce

  Carl Bialik

  3 Feb 2012 | 7:11 pm

  My print column examines the fuzzy numbers behind the controversy over a French company’s implants, distributed around the world and found by French health authorities to pose a relatively large risk of rupture. Yet authorities in other countries, including the U.K., say there isn’t enough evidence to demonstrate a higher incidence of implant failure. Dominique Maraninchi, general director of France’s Agency for the Safety of Health Products, said the agency has gotten reports of rupture from the implants made by Poly Implant Protheses (PIP) at roughly double the rate of…

• The Crime That’s Counted

  Carl Bialik

  27 Jan 2012 | 6:19 pm

  My print column examines the preferred benchmark crime of criminologists for tracking and comparing illegal and violent activity: homicide. It has its drawbacks, and vagaries, which I explore in the column, but remains more concrete than other crimes. “In general, the more serious the offense, the better the statistics,” said Anthony LaRose, criminologist at the University of Tampa. Homicide figures, said crime researcher Robert R. Friedmann, “are considered as close to reliable as one can get.” Friedmann, professor emeritus of criminal justice at Georgia State…

• Private Equity’s Job Record

  Carl Bialik

  20 Jan 2012 | 6:59 pm

  My print column examines some numbers that may help shed light on the debate, central to the race for the Republican presidential nomination, about private equity’s impact on jobs. A recent academic study has added numbers to the discussion, showing the extent to which companies bought by private-equity firms accelerate both the creation and destruction of jobs, compared to similar companies that aren’t bought out. Though the study has been praised by some economists for improving on earlier ones, it has some limitations. Because of lag time in gathering statistics, and the need…

• Elections Change Rules, Face Unforeseen Consequences

  Carl Bialik

  13 Jan 2012 | 5:13 pm

  My print column examines rule changes for this year’s voting for nominees for the Academy Award for best picture. The Academy must balance competing priorities in constructing its voting procedure, and this year it changed the rules to place more emphasis on first-place votes. Award analysts report that those, and in some cases second-place votes, will determine the nominees, which can number between five and 10. These competing priorities, and the many possible voting methods, make for a fertile area of mathematical study. Donald Saari, a mathematician at the University of California,…

• When Polls Turn Up the Wrong Number

  Carl Bialik

  6 Jan 2012 | 6:35 pm

  My print column examines the sizable gap between what the public believes to be crucial numbers affecting their lives, and the best estimates of what those numbers really are. This gap worries some political scientists. “Many use these faulty perceptions as evidence in deciding which policies or candidates to support or which political actions to take,” said Daniel Herda, who has studied people’s beliefs about the extent of immigration in their country. “Unfortunately, most are not critical consumers of knowledge and rarely seek out multiple sources of information to…

• 

  Business Analytics

• Social + Product = Better Products: Meet The Panelists

  Timo Elliott

  9 Feb 2012 | 7:16 am

  Next Wednesday, February 15th, from 3pm to  4.30pm PST, I will be moderating a panel on the theme of Products+Social=Better Products as part of Social Media Day at SAP Palo Alto (and Online). We’ll discussing how to make better products thanks to social techniques. Please join us! You can register here and the conference hashtags are #SMW12 and #SAP. Panel Session Outline Here’s the outline of the panel session: 3:00-3:15 Key themes and Introductions: 3:15-3:35 Improving products through social techniques: 3:35-3:55 Creating social-enabled products: 3:55-4:15 Creating new products on top…

• What I Found Interesting About Gartner BI Summit 2012 London

  Timo Elliott

  8 Feb 2012 | 7:51 am

  As always, it was a huge pleasure to catch up with customers, colleagues, analysts, partners, and competitors at one of Europe’s largest BI conferences. It was a great show overall, and I came away even more optimistic about analytics for the coming year. Here are Jason Rose and I having an off-the-cuff discussion of what we found interesting about the latest Gartner BI Summit 2012 in London this week: And here are some longer thoughts about the conference compared to previous years: The band played on: Gartner analysts Nigel Rayner and Andreas Bitterer performed the opening live show,…

• Products + Social = Better Products

  Timo Elliott

  2 Feb 2012 | 10:04 am

  As part of this year’s Social Media Week, I’ll be hosting one of the sessions at a free one-day event held at SAP Palo Alto on February 15th. It’s entitled “Social Business: Designing Social into Products”, and I will be accompanied by a star-studded lineup of guests: meet the panelists. Please join us by registering for the session or join via online streaming on the SAP Facebook page, and the hashtag for the event is #SMW12 In this post, I’d like to share some ideas about why I believe that there are now fantastic new opportunities to improve all kinds of products using social…

• Join Us For Social Media Day in Palo Alto on Feb 15th

  Timo Elliott

  2 Feb 2012 | 10:02 am

  Interested in Social Media? (and everybody should be, because these techniques are changing EVERY business process, not just marketing). Come and join us! As part of this year’s Social Media Week, SAP Palo Alto will be hosting a free, day-long non-SAP-focused event on Wednesday, February 15th with a glittering array of industry experts discussing a variety of key social topics: Just some of the participants: Maggie Fox, CEO of Social Media Group | Ray Wang, CEO of Constellations Research|Jonathan Becher, Chief Marketing Officer of SAP | Barbara Holzapfel, SVP & Managing Director of SAP…

• BI and The Limitations of Human Cognition in Den Bosch

  Timo Elliott

  31 Jan 2012 | 8:48 am

  I presented at my first conference of the year last week, the Heliview Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing 2012 conference in ‘s Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. The first keynote, by Erasmus scholar Dr. Roeland Dietvorst, was about “Performance Management in the Brain”, and a subject close to my heart: the (severe) limitations we evolved apes have when trying to make rational decisions. He illustrated his point with examples of great research that show that: Including “irrelevant” product choices can make big changes to preferences; Our emotional state has a big influence on what…

• 

  Visual Business Intelligence

• Should Data Visualizations Be Beautiful?

  Stephen Few

  1 Feb 2012 | 1:55 pm

  Data visualizations can be designed to look beautiful, if you possess the required visual design skills. The question is, “Should data visualizations be beautiful?” For years a battle has raged between infographic designers who emphasize the importance of aesthetics and data visualizers with a more practical bent who focus on the degree and quality of understanding that results. Those in the aesthetics camp argue that if an infographic is not eye-catching, no one will look at it, and that compromises in the quality of communication are justified as a means to capture the…

• Boris, speak only of what you know

  Stephen Few

  31 Jan 2012 | 10:49 am

  Boris Evelson of Forrester Research has been singing off-key about data visualization recently and he doesn’t seem to realize that he’s tone deaf on this topic. Have you ever noticed that when people become recognized as experts in a particular field, they sometimes think this magically grants them expertise in other fields as well? Expertise requires study and years of practice, practice, practice. I’m particularly sensitive to this tendency when BI generalists give opinions about data visualization without taking time to understand it. This bothers me because people put…

• Alberto Cairo and Functional Art

  Stephen Few

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:29 pm

  When I participated as a judge and speaker at last year’s Malofiej conference in Spain—the Oscars of journalistic infographics—I had a chance to become acquainted with Alberto Cairo, who has since become a trusted friend and colleague. I discovered while at the conference that it was a result of Alberto’s suggestion that I was invited to attend. Alberto is one of the few infographic designers that I know who has a mature understanding of the work. Beginning as a journalist in Spain, Alberto approached the work first as a communicator, and second as a graphic designer. He has…

• Data Visualization and the Placebo Effect

  Stephen Few

  9 Jan 2012 | 2:16 pm

  I was listening to “Science Friday” on NPR last week and heard about the work of Ted Kaptchuk, Director of Harvard University’s Program in Placebo Studies and the Therapeutic Encounter. I was particularly interested in one of his studies that investigated placebo effects on asthma. This study tested physical effects of real medication vs. placebos as well as patients’ perceptions of the effects. Over the course of 12 sessions, subjects were given the following three different treatments and a non-treatment session three times each: 1) an albuterol inhaler, 2) a placebo…

• Dieter Rams’ Ten Principles for Good Design

  Stephen Few

  15 Dec 2011 | 4:54 pm

  On Monday of this week I travelled from Berkeley across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco to have dinner with a friend who was staying at a hotel next to the Museum of Modern Art, so I decided to go a little early and enjoy the current exhibits. I’m glad I did, because the work of industrial designer Dieter Rams is currently on exhibit, along with his extraordinary principles for good design. For several decades Rams designed products for Braun and Vitsoe, and has been a leading inspiration behind Apple’s approach to product design. The simple beauty of products such as the iPhone…

• 

  BeyeNETWORK Content

• Machiavelli and Sun Tzu on IT Governance

  8 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  In Part 2 of his series on philosophy and IT governance, Frank Buytendijk explains how Machiavelli and Sun Tzu pioneered IT governance along with their rules of war and leadership.

• Predictive Analytics, Operational BI and Data Warehousing on the Mainframe: A Spotlight Q&A with Alan Meyer of IBM

  5 Feb 2012 | 11:00 pm

  In this Spotlight, Ron Powell talks with Alan Meyer, Marketing Manager of Data Warehousing on System z, IBM Software Group, about the DB2 Analytics Accelerator, data federation, and why people are returning to the mainframe for operational business analytics.

• Preparing Yourself for the Analytics Job Tsunami

  5 Feb 2012 | 11:00 pm

  There is a rapidly growing job market for analytics professionals, due in part to the big data explosion. In this article, Piyanka Jain explores how business intelligence professionals can prepare themselves to take on new analytics roles.

• Healthcare and Big Data – Drive Insights, Optimize Costs, Innovate Care

  2 Feb 2012 | 9:00 am

  Krish Krishnan discusses the various ways big data can form a solid foundation to help fix the issues facing the healthcare industry.

• Textual Data – A Brief Sojourn

  2 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  Bill Inmon looks at textual data, explaining that the addition of text opens a new world of analytical processing.

• 

  BeyeNETWORK Blogs

• The Rise of the Crowd - Part 1

  7 Feb 2012 | 5:15 pm

  From Blog: Krish KrishnanIn the recently concluded Super Bowl 2012, we all know NY Giants won the championship, but in the preceding weeks there was an increasing sentiment expressed on Twitter about Eli Manning and at the end we all know the result.If you have read James Surowiecki's book titled The Wisdom of Crowds, there is a famous example of the power of the crowd demonstrated by Sir Francis Galton. The story goes In 1906, he was visiting a livestock fair in England, where he stumbled upon an intriguing contest. An ox was put on display, and the villagers were invited to guess the…

• Two Markets for Big Data: Comparing Value Propositions

  6 Feb 2012 | 7:30 am

  From Blog: Wayne Eckerson Editor's note: This is part III in a multi-part series on Big Data. To view part II "Big Data Liberation Theology", click here. There are two types of Big Data in the market today. There is open source software, centered largely around Hadoop, which eliminates upfront licensing costs for managing and processing large volumes of data. And then there are new analytical engines, including appliances and column stores, which provide significantly higher price-performance than general purpose relational databases, which have dominated the market for three decades. Both…

• The First Step to Becoming Data-Centric

  3 Feb 2012 | 11:58 am

  From Blog: Richard Skriletz In my last post I outlined the importance of IT making the change from being application-centric to becoming data-centric.What does this mean?And what are the steps IT should take to become data-centric?I will address this in my next series of posts. The first step is to determine what your business data is.Occasionally, IT has performed business data investigations an exercise to determine which applications contain certain data such as customer data.This was an exercise to identify which applications use and/or change this data.While it is necessary to know these…

• The Super (Bowl) Success of Analytics

  2 Feb 2012 | 9:12 pm

  From Blog: Nancy WilliamsThe role of analytics in sports isn't a particularly new story. Back in 2003, Michael Lewis - in his book Moneyball - chronicled how the use of analytics helped baseball's Oakland Athletics win a World Series.  The story became so popular that it was made into an Academy Award nominated film in 2011.  While the application of analytics in football has been less publicized, one of the biggest success stories of analytics in professional football will be on display this weekend at the Super Bowl: The New England Patriots. Before delving into analytics, two quick…

• Looking at BI in the Cloud

  31 Jan 2012 | 7:32 am

  From Blog: Lyndsay WiseLast week I attended MicroStrategy World in Miami and just posted a general overview of the conference and takeaways on the BI4SMB community forum. One of their key strategic focuses is cloud computing, with three tiers of solution offerings that have recently been released to the market. As I won't be giving an overview of the solutions, here is a link to more details:http://www.microstrategy.com/cloud/. Because MicroStrategy is traditionally an enterprise offering in relation to market penetration and overall focus, the increasing focus on cloud offerings provides…

• 

  Panorama Business Intelligence

• Panorama is the only BI Partner to Participate in SQL Server 2012 Launch Event

  Annie Bustos

  6 Feb 2012 | 8:12 am

  On March 7, the world will be introduced to the next version of Microsoft’s SQL Server database offering, formerly codenamed Denali, and Panorama Software is happy to announce we’ll be participating, as the only Business Intelligence Sponsor, in the global launch event. As a close partner of Microsoft, we’ll demonstrate how SQL Server 2012 will benefit users of business intelligence solutions such as our innovative Necto product. Necto analytics allows enterprise users to receive the full power and value of SQL 2012. Working on both MDX and DAX languages, Necto can handle…

• Panorama Sold Itself at the NRF’s 101st BIG Show

  Annie Bustos

  2 Feb 2012 | 10:29 am

  Please don’t take that headline literally, it was merely a stab at making a retail pun to describe Panorama Software’s experience at last month’s BIG Show, put on for the 101st time by the National Retail Federation. Don’t worry, Panorama certainly didn’t change ownership during the four-day event at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. What we mean is that attending the event alongside our close partners Microsoft and retail solutions provider ITR Software gave us the opportunity spread the word about the benefits of Business Intelligence 3.0 and…

• Necto + Microsoft SharePoint: Social BI Rising

  Roman Vladimirov

  26 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am

  Our friends at Microsoft have long topped the content management and collaboration market with their wildly popular SharePoint solution. As a single platform for structured and unstructured data, SharePoint has been a favorite of companies looking for a tool that can help them both get organized and promote a team-first environment. So it’s easy for you to see why Panorama Software is excited about its latest endeavor. We recently announced enhanced integration between the cutting edge Necto business intelligence solution with SharePoint. Necto and Sharepoint are the peanut butter and…

• Go shopping for business intelligence at NRF’s 101st BIG Show

  Annie Bustos

  4 Jan 2012 | 1:43 pm

  Given their increasing production of data and reliance on the insights it holds, retailers are among the most serious users of business intelligence technology in the world. From customer information and tracking the performance of certain products to targeting specific marketing campaigns, analytics is key for just about any retailer. That’s why we’re particularly excited about participating in the National Retail Federation’s upcoming conference, Retail’s BIG Show. The NRF has been promoting retailers for a long time, this is the organization’s 101st annual…

• Seemless and Secure Mobile BI with Panorama Necto

  Annie Bustos

  28 Dec 2011 | 12:41 pm

  Some can still doubt the value of Mobile Business Intelligence (BI), others question data security but the numbers exemplify a rapid growth rate for Mobile BI! And it seems pretty reasonable if some of the obvious benefits of Mobile BI are taken into consideration. Aberdeen Research analysts are firm that it will help companies to: Get into real-time decision-making Improve operational efficiency Create and manage flexible work-flows Increase their responsiveness to customers Moreover, Gartner, one of the most advanced and reliable research organizations, predicts one-third of all BI…

• 

  The Business Intelligence Blog

• Big Data – 5 low-profile startups

  Guru Kirthigavasan

  6 Feb 2012 | 11:48 am

  Odiago is the brainchild of Hadoop and analytics experts Christophe Bisciglia and Aaron Kimball, and aims to improve the state of web analytics. Its first product, Wibidata, which is in private beta, lets websites better analyze their user data to build more-targeted features. It’s built atop Hadoop and HBase, but also plugs into companies’ existing data-management and BI tools. Current customers include Wikipedia, RichRelevance, FoneDoktor and Atlassian (with whom it shares office space). - More on the 5 start-ups working on Big Data.

• Privacy in the Age of Big Data

  Guru Kirthigavasan

  4 Feb 2012 | 11:45 pm

  In a well researched article, Privacy in the Age of Big Data, Prof. Omer Tene & Jules Polonetsky bring up some really interesting arguments for privacy in the big data age, that we currently are. Good read if you are dealing with big data. The harvesting of large data sets and the use of analytics clearly implicate privacy concerns. The tasks of ensuring data security and protecting privacy become harder as information is multiplied and shared ever more widely around the world. Information regarding individuals’ health, location, electricity use, and online activity is exposed to…

• Microsoft names SQL Server 2012 launch date

  Guru Kirthigavasan

  24 Jan 2012 | 7:41 am

  Microsoft’s SQL Server 2012 will be officially launched on 7 March. More from All about Microsoft. Microsoft Server and Tools chief Satya Nadella revealed last fall that SQL Server 2012 (codenamed “Denali”) would launch in the early part of 2012. Microsoft delivered the final public test build of SQL Server 2012 in November 2011. The March 7 launch event topic list includes everything from big data, to StreamInsight complex event processing, to the new data-visualization and analysis tools that are part of the SQL Server 2012 release. Disclosure: I work at Microsoft.

• 101 – Data Mining and Predictive Analytics

  Guru Kirthigavasan

  24 Jan 2012 | 7:31 am

  In today’s world mining of text, Web and media (unstructured data) plus structured data mining, the term information mining is a more appropriate label. Mining a combination of these, companies are able to make the best use of structured data, unstructured text and social media. Static and stagnant predictive models of the past don’t work well in the world we live in today. Predictive analytics should be agile to adapt and monetize on quickly changing customer behaviors in our world, which are often identified online and through social networks. Better integration of data mining software…

• Is there sunshine ahead for cloud computing?

  Guru Kirthigavasan

  31 Jul 2011 | 7:20 am

  The global cloud-computing market is expected to reach $241 billion in 2020, up from $41 billion in 2010, according to Forrester Research. That long-term potential is reflected in the highflying stocks of companies actively involved in the concept. A stumbling block, however, is concern over the security of data when a client firm can no longer control it on its own premises. Hackers and crashed systems are, after all, among a company’s worst nightmares. And while the cloud is a definite boon to smaller firms, more established companies have already made significant investments in…

• 

  WordPress.com News

• New Themes: Splendio and Suburbia

  Michelle Langston

  7 Feb 2012 | 10:00 am

  Happy Tuesday! We’ve got two unique free themes for you today, and they are quite a study in contrasts. Our first theme, Splendio, dazzles with an unconventional yet stylish design from Design Disease that pops out of the box — literally. How you use this theme is limited only by your imagination! It comes loaded with features: six widget areas (one in the right sidebar and up to five in the footer), featured header images, and a custom background. In addition, there’s a showcase page template (pictured in the screenshot above) that includes a featured slider for sticky posts,…

• Post Videos from Your iPhone or iPad

  Gary

  3 Feb 2012 | 3:01 am

  Would you like to post videos to your blog while you’re on the go? Are you interested in a photography theme that’s also video-friendly? Well, look no further, because we have some news for you. The VideoPress upgrade, which allows you to upload and embed your own videos on your blog, now comfortably handles videos from iPhones and iPads. You can shoot vertically or horizontally, and we’ll take care of rotating it for you so that your video looks great when it’s published on your site. If you don’t already have VideoPress on your WordPress.com account, head on…

• New Themes: Currents and Debut

  Takashi Irie

  2 Feb 2012 | 12:00 pm

  Today, I’m excited to introduce the latest additions to our collection of premium themes. Designed by Andy Rutledge, Currents, is a responsive, minimal yet attractive premium theme from WooThemes. Currents is perfect for news driven sites. The phrase, “less is more” couldn’t be more true. This clean and minimal design maximises your reader’s focus on the content. Having said that, the theme is packed with many customization options — a wide featured post slider, custom news areas, six alternative color styles, and more. Together, all of these features help…

• Import from Tumblr in 3 Easy Steps

  Peter Westwood

  2 Feb 2012 | 4:06 am

  We’ve recently noticed that a fair number of you have been bringing your tumblelogs over from Tumblr to WordPress.com using one of the variety of Tumblr to WXR conversion tools which exist on the web. We thought you would appreciate an easier way to import your content, so we bring you 3 easy steps to import your content. Authenticate with Tumblr To bring your tumblelog’s content to WordPress.com, head to Tools → Import in your WordPress.com dashboard and look for the Tumblr importer. If you don’t already have an account here on WordPress.com then head over and sign up…

• Chrome Users: Try the WordPress.com Extension

  Christopher Finke

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:54 am

  Want to receive WordPress.com notifications instantly, even when you’re not on WordPress.com? Add the new WordPress.com extension for Chrome and as soon as you get a new follower or a new like on one of your posts, a notification will appear in your browser: Simply click the icon to view your latest WordPress.com notifications: Start following new blogs without visiting WordPress.com The Chrome extension also makes it easy to follow sites from your WordPress.com account by displaying a Follow button whenever you’re browsing a site that has an RSS feed. Clicking the Follow button…

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  decision-making « WordPress.com Tag Feed

• Summary of Good to Great by Jim Collins (Summarised by Paul Arnold - Trainer & Facilitator - paul_arnold@me.com)

  slooowdown

  5 Feb 2012 | 10:09 am

  Good to Great By Jim Collins (Summarised by Paul Arnold – Trainer & Facilitator – paul_arnold@me.com) Content = ***** Readability = **** Clarity & Structure = **** IN A NUTSHELL Good is the enemy of Great. Great companies become great by staying focused: focused on their products, their customers and their businesses. They aspire to higher levels of excellence, are never content to become complacent and are passionate about their products. They have leadership that is not ego-driven, and have organizational cultures that embrace constant change. KEY PRINCIPLES There are 6…

• Summary of How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer (Summarised by Paul Arnold - Trainer & Facilitator - paul_arnold@me.com)

  slooowdown

  5 Feb 2012 | 9:26 am

  How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer (Summarised by Paul Arnold – Trainer & Facilitator – paul_arnold@me.com) Content = *****   Readability = *** Clarity & Structure = *** IN A NUTSHEL This book explores the science of how we make good and bad decisions. It challenges our cultural focus on rational decision-making (through use of anecdotes and experimental evidence), suggesting instead that good decision-making is made through both the emotion and rational parts of the brain working together. KEY PRINCIPLES Rational decision-making – We live in a culture that rewards rational…

• Summary of Outliers - the story of success by Malcolm Gladwell (Summarised by Paul Arnold - Trainer & Facilitator - paul_arnold@me.com)

  slooowdown

  5 Feb 2012 | 9:06 am

      The Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell  (Summarised by Paul Arnold – Trainer & Facilitator – paul_arnold@me.com) Content = ***   Readability = ***** IN A NUTSHELL Genius is over-rated. Success is not just about innate ability. It’s combined with a number of key factors such as opportunity, meaningful hard work (10,000 hours to gain mastery), and your cultural legacy. Random factors of chance, such as when and where you were born can influence the opportunities you have. Gladwell brings alive his assertions primarily through the use of individual stories of…

• Summary of Nudge by Thaler & Sunstein (Summarised by Paul Arnold - Trainer & Facilitator - paul_arnold@me.com)

  slooowdown

  5 Feb 2012 | 8:31 am

    Nudge – by Thaler & Sunstein (Summarised by Paul Arnold – Trainer & Facilitator – paul_arnold@me.com) Content = ****   Readability = *** Clarity & Structure = *** IN A NUTSHELL   Small and often insignificant things can influence (or ‘nudge’) behaviour.   The book illustrates a number of key principles of behavioural economics, and then delves into a range of social issues that could benefit from nudges such as our finances, the environment, health and marriage (many of these are so nuanced that I have chosen not to review these chapters in…

• A summary of Adapt - Why success always starts with failure by Tim Harford (Summarised by Paul Arnold - Trainer & Facilitator - paul_arnold@me.com)

  slooowdown

  5 Feb 2012 | 8:23 am

   Adapt – Why success always starts with failure By Tim Harford (Summarised by Paul Arnold – Trainer & Facilitator – paul_arnold@me.com) Content = ****   Readability = ** Clarity & Structure = ** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR_mCvb-KyY THE BOOK IN A NUTSHELL In the increasingly complex world we live in, constant adapting (and accepting failure as part of the learning curve) is the most effective way to solving complex issues.  The book postulates the Darwinian principles of evolution; variation and survival of the fittest are the way markets develop. Thus our…

• 

  NYT > Business Day

• In Piracy Debate, Is the Sky Falling?

  By JENNA WORTHAM and AMY CHOZICK

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:23 am

  Media and Internet giants at odds over dealing with purloined content on the Web may need to agree first on exactly how bad the problem is.

• BUSINESS: Business Day Live | February 9, 2012

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:22 am

  Greece reaches a deal that could prevent a default; an agreement on mortgage relief could provide aid to struggling homeowners; are young people watching less television?

• Mortgage Plan Gives Homeowners Bulk of the Benefits

  By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ and SHAILA DEWAN

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:13 am

  Under the settlement, about $5 billion would go to states and federal authorities, $17 billion would be earmarked for homeowner relief and $3 billion would go for refinancing.

• Greeks Reach Deal on Austerity to Meet Condition of Bailout

  By RACHEL DONADIO and NIKI KITSANTONIS

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:13 am

  After days of talks, Greek political leaders reached a deal Thursday to support a package of harsh austerity measures demanded by Greece’s financial backers in return for a bailout.

• 2 New Reactors Approved in Georgia

  By MATTHEW L. WALD

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:09 am

  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 4-to-1 to grant a license to build two nuclear reactors in Georgia, the first time the commission had done so since 1978.

• 

  Reuters: Business News

• Greeks clinch austerity deal, lenders skeptical

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:01 am

  ATHENS/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Greek political leaders clinched a long-stalled deal on Thursday on harsh austerity measures and reforms required to secure a second international bailout in two years but the country's financial backers reacted skeptically.

• Two Ford execs retiring, Mulally staying

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:56 am

  (Reuters) - Two top Ford Motor Co executives who helped steer the U.S. automaker through the financial crisis will retire by April 1, thinning the ranks of likely candidates to replace Chief Executive Alan Mulally in coming years.

• Jobless claims drop brightens labor market picture

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:46 am

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans signing up for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, the latest sign of recovery in the labor market.

• U.S. reaches mortgage settlement with top banks

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:45 am

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The biggest U.S. banks will provide about $25 billion in relief to distressed homeowners, as state and federal officials hold lenders responsible for taking illegal shortcuts during foreclosures and for other deceptive practices.

• Greek deal gets cool reception on Wall Street

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:25 am

  NEW YORK (Reuters) - News that Greece had reached a deal to secure a bailout was greeted with caution on Wall Street on Thursday, with investors taking a wait-and-see approach in a market that has become extended after weeks of gains.

• 

  FOXBusiness.com

• Itau BBA To Maintain Pace of Expansion In Latin America

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:12 am

  The chief executive of Itau BBA, the investment-banking unit of Brazil's Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB, ITUB4.BR), said the firm won't change the pace of its Latin American expansion in the face of rival BTG Pactual's growth in the region.

• Lehman Sues Citigroup For $2.5 Billion Over Prebankruptcy Transfers

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:54 am

  Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ) is suing Citigroup Inc. (C) in an effort to recover $2.5 billion in cash transferred to Citi in the months before Lehman's September 2008 bankruptcy filing.

• ECB Opens Door to Indirect Greek Aid

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:14 am

  ECB President Mario Draghi signaled the central bank may be willing to indirectly help Greece after the country signed up to an austerity package.

• Obama Calls Housing Settlement 'Landmark' And Vows To Continue Probe

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:12 am

  President Barack Obama on Thursday said a nearly $26 billion settlement with banks would provide some measure of relief to homeowners who were harmed by "clearly irresponsible" mortgage practices.

• Numericable Prices EUR350 Million 12.375% 2019 Bond At 97.18

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:54 am

  Numericable Finance, issuing for French cable broadband operator Numericable, priced its EUR350 million high-yield bond, one of the banks running the deal said Thursday.

• 

  Financial Times - US homepage

• Greek parties agree austerity cuts

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:17 am

  Political leaders have agreed to protect pensions as part of a deal that will unlock a €130bn bail-out and avert a disorderly default

• Euro firm on reports of Greek deal

  9 Feb 2012 | 11:09 am

  Lack of a Greek debt deal is not enough to destroy underlying bullish mood

• Housing deal set to boost US economy

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:56 am

  The $40bn settlement between US regulators and banks could drag house prices down in the short term if banks start to seize homes again

• Putin pushes levy on ‘dishonest’ privatisations

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:06 am

  Prime minister paints the move as a way to close questions over the legitimacy of the fortunes made by some Russian businessmen in the 1990s

• Cruise ship fallout hits oil and gas producers

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:31 am

  Italian government accused of caving in to pressure from environmental lobbies by withdrawing legislation that would have eased restrictions on mineral exploration

• 

  statesman.com - Business

• Austin gas prices edge up 1 cent this week, AAA Texas says

  9 Feb 2012 | 6:44 am

  Austin-area gasoline prices rose 1 cent this week to an average of $3.39 per gallon, AAA Texas reported today. The penny increase came on the heels of a 12 cents per gallon jump the previous week. The area’s average

• Austin's Hanger Orthopedic reports 9.5 percent jump in revenue for 4th quarter

  9 Feb 2012 | 5:39 am

  Austin-based Hanger Orthopedic Group Inc. saw its revenues rise 9.5 percent for the fourth quarter of 2011 and its revenue for the year as a whole rise 12.4 percent, the company said in a Thursday securities filing. Hanger Orthopedic,

• Business Digest: State's sales tax collection exceeds $2 billion in January; Valence Technology reports quarterly loss of $2.4 million

  8 Feb 2012 | 6:38 pm

  GOVERNMENT REVENUE State's sales tax collection exceeds $2 billion in January Texas' sales tax collections topped $2 billion in January, crossing that threshold the second time in three months.

• University of Texas joins bid for role in battery research center

  8 Feb 2012 | 6:36 pm

  The University of Texas and the Austin area are getting ready to embark on another high-stakes competition to land a vital national research center.

• Congressional report critical of oil, gas drilling oversight

  Matthew Daly

  8 Feb 2012 | 6:35 pm

  Federal policing of oil and natural gas on public lands is lax and inconsistent, with only 6 percent of violations resulting in monetary fines over 13 years, House Democrats said in a report Wednesday.

• 

  Idea Mapping

• EUROREG 2012 – 4th Annual Idea Mapping and MindManager Training in Poland

  jamie nast

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:20 am

  [There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.] I just returned from teaching Idea Mapping in Warsaw, Poland for a program called EUROREG — an Academy of Evaluation which is financed and sponsored by the Polish Ministry of Regional Development and the European Union. I am the first presenter each year for this 9-month program where participants meet every other Fri/Sat for a total of 11 hours per weekend. You can see photos and read more about previous years in my 2010 post, 2009 post and 2008 post. This year we were missing Dr. Karol…

• Idea Map 342 – Learning Spanish or Other Foreign Languages

  jamie nast

  21 Jan 2012 | 5:11 pm

  I was recently helping a high school student study for his Spanish exam in a way that better matches his visual learning style. I think most students would agree that their boring linear notes are difficult study tools. So why not try something different. Today’s example is not chapter notes from a Spanish book. This is a template that provides an example of a possible approach to creating an idea map and some items you may want to include in your map. Four of the branches in this map are vocabulary words: Globos, Libro, Reloj, and Biblia. It’s always important to include a…

• Idea Maps 326 – 341 Featured from the WHCA Experiment Continued

  jamie nast

  17 Jan 2012 | 1:36 pm

  [There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.] I first introduced you to Kris Mavin and the West Highland Christian Academy Idea Mapping experiment in my Oct. 17, 2011 posting. Kris has taught Idea Mapping to his students and we are tracking their progress. This Animoto video features Kris’s second Idea Mapping assignment for his students which was to map the two trees found in Gen. 2 and Rev. 22:2. Enjoy!

• Idea Map 325 – Ad for Deep Discounts at AlternativeTan.net in Canton, MI

  jamie nast

  11 Jan 2012 | 10:15 am

  I used MindManager software to create this idea map which is an advertisement for Alternative Tan salon owner Kim Matyaszek. It summarizes much of the information on her website and gives potential clients a quick view of all the information they need to begin their tanning experience. Additional photos can be found on the Alternative Tan Facebook page. For the spray tans Kim uses the Norvell product line and she personally does all the sprays by hand (full body and partial). The tanning color is tailored to your skin tone and preference. Not the mystic booth! Alternative Tan is located in…

• Confessions – A New Book by Jodie Rhodes

  jamie nast

  9 Jan 2012 | 11:50 am

  Jodie Rhodes is my literary agent and the person to whom I give credit for getting my Idea Mapping book published by a major publisher — John Wiley & Sons. I was introduced to Jodie by my good friend Scott Hagwood who is a 4-time USA Memory Champion, the 1st Grand Master of Memory in the USA and also one of Jodie’s authors who wrote a book titled Memory Power. Jodie’s first novel was American Beauties followed by Winners and Losers which made the LA Times bestseller list its first week in print. Her recent book Confessions was just published in the fall of 2011. I…

• 

  Visual Mapping.com

• Charles Mingus on Creativity

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:44 am

  I love this quote from Charles Mingus, the great Jazz Composer. In  previous posts I wrote about Simplicity and Simplexity, those concepts are critical for visual mapping. In my opinion visual mapping is a way to turn complex information into a simple, creative and structured representation.Source: http://lynnaltevogt.tumblr.com/post/4032540820

• China Digital and Social Media Landscape

  9 Jan 2012 | 10:00 pm

  Published a month ago by Zaheer Nooruddin from Burston Marsteller, this report is really awesome: the use of maps and graphics helps to see quickly and clearly the big picture of the Internet and social media landscape in China. I was surprised by the power of Social Media there, despite of the governmental control over Internet. It seems clearly that the number of Social Media Users will continue to grow in China during the next years.D/BM China Digital & Social Media Landscape Report 2011 Burson-Marsteller View more presentations from Zaheer Nooruddin

• Improve the visual impact of your mindmaps titles

  4 Jan 2012 | 2:14 pm

  Recently I came accross Flamingtext.com a very useful online resource for mind mapping, presentations, etc.This is a free text generator that permits to create stunning titles for your mindmaps and improve their visual impact.We can choose the style, the size and the colors and then export the result as a transparent image.  You can see an example below.

• My first impressions of MindMaple

  2 Jan 2012 | 11:00 am

  Mindmap created using MindMapleEnd of 2011 a brand new Mind Mapping Software was launched: MindMaple.I had the opportunity to try it during the last weeks and are here are my first impressions.What I liked: The fluidity and ease to create and position freely items, the clean visual aspect of the mindmaps and the  and intuitive user interface . An original feature I found very useful: the ability to organize imported images and icons with folders and keywords, perfect for creating a personal icons library.It is also easy to insert links, attachments, text notes and images into the…

• Interesting Presentation : The Geography of Visual Thoughts

  16 Dec 2011 | 12:41 am

  Today, reading the excellent Sabrina Bresciani's blog, I came accross this presentation. It was made using Prezi, one of the best non linear presentation tools. Enjoy.The Geography of (Visual) Thought on Prezi

• 

  Peace of Mind

• Management Reporting - Defining Measures that Matter ... A Balanced Scorecard

  8 Feb 2012 | 3:56 am

  Reporting the performance of a function or department to senior stakeholders is an opportunity to highlight the value or contribution made.  The challenges lie in how to: Get away from issuing a monthly 'database' that collates every input and output in detail Provide just a handful (or two) of measures that really indicate the overall health of the function Report measures that reinforce the value of the function to the organisation, not just what it costs to operate. Keeping the needs or the audience or recipients in mind at all times, consider how they may be helped to: 'See at a…

• Import a Word Document - Why?

  30 Jan 2012 | 1:03 am

  Many mind mapping software packages contain a Word import feature.  I wonder how many have used it and why.From experience, I have found a number of benefits from using this feature: the map provides a summary of the document, making the content easier to assimilate the document becomes much easier to navigate, it's contents are laid out on a single page detail can be hidden where not required or expanded where of interest the software provides alternative approaches to review and highlighting; ideas can be added; review comments; icons; highlighting the document can be filtered, provide…

• Programme Blueprint - Contents and Dependencies

  16 Jan 2012 | 4:01 am

  Further to the last post, which introduced the Programme or Project Blueprint, I've made a few notes on some key aspects.  These are: Range of business models included Dependencies with other documents The life cycle actions on the Blueprint Purpose and benefits of the approach. The notes are presented as a series of slides created by MindGenius, each being a simple list of the points.  Just click on the image and it will open full size in another window. Range of Business Models Included:   Dependencies with Other Documents: Life Cycle: Purpose and Benefits:…

• A Blueprint for Change - Detailing the Future

  3 Jan 2012 | 3:13 am

  When embarking upon a change programme or project, it is a good idea to know something about what the programme or project will put in place ... obviously.  Some outputs are often available: the programme 'vision'; the business case; a high level programme brief.  However these will mostly likely not contain sufficient detail of what the business will look like when the programme or project completes.It can be invaluable to create and maintain a Blueprint.  I stumbled across the concept of a Blueprint in the 'Managing Successful Programmes' guide produced by the UK Office of…

• MindGenius Comes to Biggerplate

  10 Nov 2011 | 10:21 am

  Today Biggerplate added full support for maps created using MindGenius.  Now you can add MindGenius maps to Biggerplate and access a library of maps available from today. To see maps created by me, several of which have been featured on the Peace of Mind blog, click on this link to Biggerplate. To find out more see: http://biggerplateblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/mindgenius-comes-to-biggerplate.html or visit www.biggerplate.com. If you would like to know more about MindGenius, do visit the web site and try the product free for 30 days. Should you decide to buy MindGenius, Peace of Mind Blog…

• 

  Mindmapping everywhere

• Getting back

  4 Feb 2012 | 10:06 am

  After some months without posting due to personal issues, I will retake shortly the posting on new topics related to our preferred matter, mindmapping.

• iPad's MindManager

  16 Sep 2011 | 6:26 am

  As most of you are aware of, iPad has turned out to be a universally wide deployed mobile device, also its applications are commonly used these days. We have talked a little bit about mindmapping on iPad by using iThoughtsHD. This time I'll take about the Mindjet's MindManager version for iPad. It's simple, cute, easy-to-use, efficient, multiplatform (iPad and iPhone).If you are used to work with MindManager on your desktop or laptop, this is an application, you should give it a try!Branches creation turns out very simple, you just tap and hold, and define the direction where the branch…

• Novamind 5´s interesting layout feature

  9 Sep 2011 | 10:22 am

  I guess most of you know or even have used Novamind, it is a very interesting and useful mindmapping software.In this particular entry, I'll talk a little bit about an innovative solution for a common problem, whenever you use a mindmapping software...the huge amount of empty and unuseful spaces in large maps.In the following Youtube video, it is explained by Gideon King, how Novamind 5 tackles this particular issue, which I would say it is extremely good.

• iPad's Discovr Apps

  7 Sep 2011 | 2:08 pm

  Surfing different webpages and the Apple Store, I came across a very funny and useful application. It's called Discovr AppStore.Here you see a snapshot.Is its look familiar to you? ---)))

• MindMapping for grammar learning

  25 Aug 2011 | 7:10 am

  During this vacation season I have gone over my old german grammar lessons to polish it up. Of course I have taken advantage of mindmapping in this revision --))) Advantages from my point of view: 1.- More deeper analysis when you are making the map 2.- Easy to review, easy to remember.

• 

  Balancing the Mission Checkbook

• Executive Directors Embracing Financial Leadership

  Kate Barr

  1 Feb 2012 | 9:20 am

  It’s been gratifying to hear and read the great feedback about An Executive Director’s Guide to Financial Leadership published in the current issue of The Nonprofit Quarterly. I enjoyed writing the article with co-author Jeanne Bell from CompassPoint Nonprofit Services. We have very similar approaches to finance as a tool for mission and community impact. Nonprofit managers and directors have posted online comments and given me direct feedback that they appreciate the practical guidance that goes far beyond bookkeeping basics. These principles help to build strong infrastructure and…

• Updates to the Rule Book can impact the Story Book

  Steve Boland

  24 Jan 2012 | 10:15 am

  Nonprofits Assistance Fund advises its clients to think about financial statements as a way to tell the story of their nonprofit missions. How organizations raise resources (mixes of earned and donated revenue, for example), where they spend money, and what they impact as a result of using resources are the narrative arcs of your financial statements. The stories are told within a common context. Narratives have rules of grammar, and the financial statements have rules about how we describe resources so we all have a common understanding. These rules (Generally Accepted Account Principles, or…

• Making Your Business Model Work: Applying a Break-Even Analysis

  Michael Anderson

  10 Jan 2012 | 11:51 am

  We give lots of business model advice to our clients. It often takes a general form, such as, “improve the financial performance of this program” or “better align that profitable program to your mission.” However, sometimes a more technical analysis is required to really understand how to make a business model work. Every nonprofit business model has unique business model drivers. These drivers are typically income-generating activities that have a significant impact on an organization’s ability to simultaneously operate at a surplus while achieving its mission. Common examples of…

• Goodbye to 2011 and some hopes for 2012

  Kate Barr

  30 Dec 2011 | 8:56 am

  There have been years when I hated to see the year end because of all the wonderful, joyful events that had occurred. This year, though, was pretty mixed in terms of the financial health and sustainability of Minnesota’s nonprofits. While there was a lot to celebrate for nonprofits in 2011, there were also challenges which I’ll be happy to leave behind. I can see some silver linings in these clouds, though, in new practices and trends that will lead to better financial health and capacity in 2012. So in the spirit of year end lists, here are five goodbyes for 2011 – and hopes for 2012:…

• Talk the Talk: Financial narrative advice from a funder

  Steve Boland

  14 Dec 2011 | 2:19 pm

  Brad Kruse, Program Director at Hugh J. Andersen Foundation with Steve Boland, Nonprofits Assistance Fund The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits’ Minnesota Foundations 2012 conference was another info-packed afternoon, talking about all the news from the latest edition of the Minnesota Grants Directory. Hundreds of grant-seekers gathered to share what they know about philanthropic support in Minnesota, and occasionally to bemoan how funders just don’t get us. The conversation shifted to ways nonprofits can help granters. One suggestion was to add a good narrative to budgets or financial…

• 

  Katya's Non-Profit Marketing Blog

• Please take this Valentine’s Day pledge

  katya.andresen@networkforgood.org

  8 Feb 2012 | 11:58 pm

  This February 14, let’s re-boot Valentine’s Day for good.  (Thanks to the video wizards at See3 for generously contributing this video to the movement!) Instead of forging V-Day connections with one person via chocolate, candlelight and a card, let’s forge G-Day connections with as many people as possible – including complete strangers – by saying YES on February 14th to every opportunity to be nice, help out, or delight with generosity.  It might mean tipping 100%.  Or telling a colleague how much you appreciate them and agreeing to that long-delayed…

• How to make a magnificent mini-impression

  katya.andresen@networkforgood.org

  7 Feb 2012 | 11:35 pm

  People decide very quickly whether something appeals to them - usually in a matter of seconds.  If you work in communications, marketing or fundraising, it’s wise to remember to focus on that mini-impression formed in the first few instants of engagement. You can be sure the Super Bowl advertisers knew that - heck, they were spending $116,667 a second to make a good impression.  They didn’t always do a good job, but there is a lot to learn from their successes and failures. In the Harvard Business Review blog this week, Ron Ashkenas shares reflections on the three things…

• Two things it’s easy to forget with social media

  katya.andresen@networkforgood.org

  6 Feb 2012 | 11:16 pm

  In the reactive, fast-moving, turbulent world of social media, it’s easy to be swept up with a sense of false urgency.  Yet two of the most valuable things you can do involve slowing down: 1. Pausing to think.  Before you run off to spend time on a channel, you want to figure out WHO you’re trying to reach online, WHERE they are, and HOW to best communicate with them.  A little intentionality now saves oodles of lost time later.  2 Stopping to listen.  Really listen.  It’s so tempting to fire off a response or jump into a conversation.  But…

• Venn Heaven: How to map your champions online

  katya.andresen@networkforgood.org

  5 Feb 2012 | 11:18 pm

  Tom Webster of BrandSavant Blog had a fascinating post this past week on the overlap - or lack thereof - of 1) your base of supporters and 2) social media mavens.  It’s important you understand how much overlap you have, so you know how to use social media effectively to build your brand. He drew a series of Venn Diagrams, which I am showing here: So which is ideal? The first looks good, because you have some overlap between supporters and social media champions.  That overlapping area is a great start to a core of online enthusiasts - and it can grow as that group reaches out…

• Jobs at Network for Good

  katya.andresen@networkforgood.org

  3 Feb 2012 | 11:49 am

  Network for Good, where I work, is hiring.  Among the positions is a business development position for those interested in cultivating corporate cause partnerships.  Next week, we’ll be posting an additional position in marketing. Check out our job listings here.

• 

  Cause Marketing

• Small Biz Cause Marketing

  Paul Jones is the president of

  9 Feb 2012 | 4:00 am

  I saw a job description the other day for one of the chief marketers at Macy’s, the giant retailer. Among the listed job responsibilities was cause marketing, something Macy’s does well with sophisticated efforts for Make-A-Wish and the American Heart Association.Big companies and big charities tend to suck all the oxygen of the room when we speak of cause marketing. But small companies and causes can do it effectively too.Case in point is this wrapper at the left for a chocolate bar from the Big Island in Hawaii.It couldn’t be more homey and local. The paper wrapper feels like copy…

• Gamifying Cause Marketing

  Paul Jones is the president of

  8 Feb 2012 | 4:00 am

  On the heels of my posts on games and cause marketing in this space and at MediaPost.com, people have been asking me about how so-called 'gamification' can be used in cause marketing.Part of the answer has already been provided by Joe Waters (and others) in their coverage of Foursquare, which can be easily utilized in cause marketing.Zynga and its suite of games have done meaningful cause marketing, notably for disaster relief in Haiti and Japan.A handful of sites including Gamesthatgive.net (whose revenue model is based on advertising) offer donations to nonprofits based on how long you play…

• Must... Somehow... Work Super Bowl Advertising and Cause Marketing Into This Headline

  Paul Jones is the president of

  7 Feb 2012 | 4:00 am

  In the moments and hours after the Super Bowl advertising executives appear like earthworms after a rainstorm to grade and critique the television ads. Never mind that very few of these experts have ever actually produced a Super Bowl ad, much less one that would pass muster with their equally critical peers!So not one more word on the 2012 Super Bowl ads, at least from me.Instead I want to raise the banner for a kind of cause marketing I’d like to see actually develop.The idea was prompted by a trip to Walgreens when I purchased a paper icon benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research…

• Buy One, Give One Cause Marketing for Services

  Paul Jones is the president of

  6 Feb 2012 | 4:00 am

  I’ve highlighted numerous products that utilize Buy One Give One; shoes, baby blankets, fruit snacks, watches, neckties, fragrances, wine, and eyeglasses, to name a few. I’ve certainly seen services that use cause marketing; including law firms, hotel chains and vacation companies. Now a video production company in Belgium is using BOGO to cause market their service.For each travel video Timbooktwo produces, the company will make a video for a charity.Here’s how it works; when the company is in a region of the world shooting for a paying client, they will contact a charity in the region…

• Join Causemarketing.Biz Google Newsgroup, Get a Cool Tool You Can Use Today

  Paul Jones is the president of

  3 Feb 2012 | 4:00 am

  Kind Readers:Shawn T. from San Diego, California is the latest to join the Causemarketing.biz Google Newsgroup.It couldn’t be easier to subscribe. Simply send me your name and your email address to aldenkeene at gmail dot com.When you subscribe each new post comes directly to your email, usually every business day.And like Shawn, when you join I’ll also send you a PDF copy of the "Five Flavors of Cause Marketing" which explains Cause Marketing in an easy-to-follow matrix that includes examples.It's a great brainstorming tool and helps ensure that your campaign has all the components…

• 

  So what can I do?

• Change the world.

  Karama

  6 Oct 2014 | 3:52 pm

  How will you make our world a better place?* Health and education* Economics, social entrepreneurship, and microfinance* Food and water* Energy and technology* Women, children, and family* Environment, land, and sustainability* FaithAnd don’t forget to visit the So What Can I Do Bookstore. Your efforts can change the world.”Be the change you want to see in the world.” - Mohandas GandhiPlease visit http://sowhatcanido.blogspot.com to offer your comments and suggestions, forward this post, and peruse the archives. Thanks for reading "So what can I do", the public service weblog promoting…

• Make it a day/life of service.

  Karama

  6 Jan 2012 | 8:02 pm

  I remember one Martin Luther King day many years ago, when I was in grad school, that I spent in the lab. That wasn't too unusual because I generally went to the lab every day. But one of my colleagues (who was also working) asked me why I was in the lab on the King holiday. I replied that I thought Dr. King would want me to get my PhD. I still think of the King Holiday as a day on rather than a day off, but now that I have finished school, I have a bit more time to be of service to others on that day. Readers of So What Can I Do are likely to feel the same, so I offer two resources to find…

• EITC: Ask for it!

  Karama

  6 Jan 2012 | 7:30 pm

  Tax time is upon us once again. You've got a couple of extra days this year - til April 17. And here's another piece of good news: lots of folks, many of whom don't know it, will qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. EITC can mean up to $5,751 in your pocket. That's money to pay bills, save for college or a downpayment on your home, or stash away for a rainy day. Find out if you're eligible or ask your tax preparer about it.Remember you have to file a tax return (even if you're not required to or do not owe) in order to claim the EITC.You've already earned it. Now go claim it."Next to…

• Join the So What Can I Do blood donation team.

  Karama

  20 Jun 2009 | 8:40 pm

  I went to the Red Cross blood center today and gave a pint. Regular readers and regular donors know that blood donation is a fast and easy way to save up to three lives. You never know when you or someone you know will need blood. So please consider donating blood, platelets, or red cells. And if you do, you’re invited to join the So What Can I Do Red Cross Racing Team. Here’s how:• Visit redcrossracing.com .• After you register scroll to the bottom and click “Team Competition.”• Enter the So What Can I Do team code: O?67SO .• Remember to log your donations to win points and…

• Celebrate World Free Your Mind Day – June 19th.

  Karama

  18 Jun 2009 | 9:07 pm

  I spent this Juneteenth thinking about what my family would have been like if my great-great-granddaddy Griffin Henry Belk hadn’t walked off that plantation when he did. I expect it would have made a huge difference, because when Griffin Henry Belk left, he was able to travel (searching for his parents), purchase land (160 acres for $11 in Ozan, Arkansas), and generally prepare to provide for his wife and five children to come. So I woke up Juneteenth morning and told my daughter about her great-great-great-granddaddy. Even though she’s only two, I expect it resonated with her, or will…

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  Social Business Blog

• Event review: Guardian Public Services Summit

  Tom Cropper

  9 Feb 2012 | 2:18 am

  After last week’s intriguing Guardian Public Services Summit, I could escape the impression that the proposed partnership between the public sector on the one hand and social enterprise on the other could make a passable sequel for the odd couple. Here we have two seemingly incompatible sectors. On the one hand, the conservative, risk-averse public sector; on the other the energetic, ambitious and innovative world of social enterprise. At times during the event the difference in ethos and outlook couldn’t have been more startling. Throughout the day delegates from councils and government…

• 3D investing: the answer to dysfunctional investment

  Rod Schwartz

  8 Feb 2012 | 5:04 am

  The Eurozone appears to be in disarray. Banks lend to governments, which in turn rescue these same banks which then have to write off the bonds of those same governments — the financial world has become a strange and dysfunctional place indeed. But, as crazy as the mainstream markets seem, other more hopeful anomalies are taking place. A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about how the Dutch bank Triodos was able to raise capital easily from investors (in fact, it had to turn many away) at the same time as many large European banks were struggling to fulfil the Basel III criteria. The contrasts…

• Making the leap: how social enterprise spin outs can succeed

  Mo Girach

  6 Feb 2012 | 3:53 am

  In a few weeks’ time I’ll have the pleasure of speaking at ClearlySo’s seminar, run with the Guardian, on how social enterprises can make the leap from the NHS into a social enterprise spin out. This is a major plank of the Government’s Big Society agenda, but remains much misunderstood by the very NHS staff the Government hopes will lead these spinouts. Part of the problem may be the sense that there is no single source for the information they need. The Government has not been as effective as it could have been in communicating its message. As a result, we see the prospect of…

• Circle breaks new ground for NHS

  Tom Cropper

  1 Feb 2012 | 5:04 am

  Today, Circle broke new ground as it took over the running of Hinchingbrooke hospital in Cambridgeshire. It’s a watershed moment for the NHS heralding the first time a non-government organisation has been handed responsibility for an entire hospital. With Circle describing itself as an ‘employee owned’ social enterprise, it could also shape perception of social enterprise engagement with the public sector. The criticisms have been multiple. The idea of transferring a hospital en-suite sets alarm bells ringing for a number of reasons. First, is this the thin end of the wedge? Are we…

• ClearlySo gem: Chest of Drawers

  Tom Cropper

  30 Jan 2012 | 2:37 am

  When Kim Corbett, Mark Hughes and Jason Delf decided to set up a furniture store they were struck by one thing: the absence of a culture of sustainability in the furniture trade. They were convinced the sector needed a ratings system for sustainability, similar to the one produced by the Soil Association. Rather than wait for one to appear, they set about creating their own. We spoke to Jason Delf to see how they did it. What were your goals when you launched Chest of Drawers? We wanted to sell good quality, contemporary furniture made from premium woods. We wanted to do this in an…

• 

  What Do You Stand For?

• Power to the People

  2 Feb 2012 | 9:00 pm

  There's no question social media has become the great equalizer of our time amplifying the messages of individuals, small organizations, grassroots movements and activist minorities that otherwise may not have had a voice. Through social media, people have banded together to create calls to action, solve for tough social problems and help direct corporate philanthropy. Yet even in today's wired world, sometimes there is still no replacement for the power of advertising crowdsourced, of course.  LoudSauce is the first crowdsourced media buying platform, which helps small social…

• Corporate Philanthropy: Looking Beyond the Check

  25 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pm

  While charitable giving is finally back on the rise, so too are the pressures facing nonprofits in appealing to corporate partners. Gone are the days of writing checks to the CEO's favorite "pet" charity, as companies look deeper into the business case for philanthropy. Two new studies released this week demonstrate that employee engagement and ROI from product donations are often key drivers in determining which nonprofit organization to support.  A recent study by Forbes Insights found that 72 percent of the 311 global senior executives surveyed said they primarily donate to…

• Eco-labeling: Is There an App for That?

  19 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pm

  From "Farm Verified Organic" to "USDA Organic," "Processed Chlorine Free" to "Totally Chlorine Free," eco-labels are proliferating and consumers are having a tough time keeping them all straight. Cone's 2011 Green Gap Trend Tracker found 51 percent of Americans are overwhelmed by the amount of environmental messages in the marketplace, and no wonder there are more than 5,000 products currently on the shelves touting green claims and more than 400 green labels in the market.What was once a solution for effective green marketing has become a contested topic among marketing experts and…

• #whatsinyourstuff: Transparency Predictions for 2012

  17 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pm

  Its no secret almost all of the products Americans buy are produced by workers in developing countries; workers who often receive low pay, work long hours and live in questionable conditions.87% of consumers say theyll hold companies accountable for ensuring human rights in their supply chains. Yet, when it comes to our favorite brands, many of us are willing to look the other way. We explored this topic at Cone Communications #whatsinyourstuff event, and, even among a crowd of transparency enthusiasts, the majority admitted they own and would continue to purchase Apple products regardless of…

• Are You Listening?

  12 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pm

  From ponytails to braids, long locks to updo's, Barbie's hair often reflects the trends of the times. But, according to some consumers, there's one style the iconic doll is long overdue for: going bald. A new Facebook page "Beautiful and Bald Barbie: Let's see if we can get it made," has cropped up online, driven by two women affected by cancer. The group, now more than 87,000 "likes" strong, is asking toy maker Mattel to create a bald Barbie to support children with cancer and help them deal with situations when they or loved ones lose their hair. Although Mattel has yet to publicly enter…

• 

  Kiva Stories from the Field

• Preservation Hall

  charlottemakoff

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:07 am

  By Charlotte Makoff, KF16, New Orleans The Sign at the Door It’s hard to imagine a dingier, more neglected looking space than Preservation Hall in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The tall windows facing the street are shuttered and have not been washed in years, maybe decades. Paint, in the areas that are or were painted, is blistered and peeling, but most of the walls are covered with ancient pegboard stained a myriad of browns and grays by an accumulation of dust and tobacco smoke. There are a few paintings of jazz performers on the walls, and it helps to know that they are paintings,…

• Kiva Puts its 17th Class of Fellows on the Map!

  erickiva

  7 Feb 2012 | 3:24 pm

  By Jacob Schultz, Kiva Fellows Program Manager, and Eric Brandt, Kiva Fellows Program Coordinator Kiva HQ was electric last month as the newest class of Kiva Fellows gathered for an intensive five-day training course. Over the next several weeks, they’ll split up among 21 countries where Kiva loans are made. While there, they’ll spend the next four months working closely with our field partners and meeting with borrowers to grow and strengthen the Kiva lending experience. Prior to arriving for training, Kiva gets to know the KF17 trainees through their bios Kiva received 165 applicants…

• Junk Food +1,300 Chefs + Edirne-Style Liver + Maya Food Entrepreneurs

  act4impact

  6 Feb 2012 | 5:00 am

  By Kimberly Strathearn, KF 16 Although you will find many familiar fast food restaurants in Turkey, I have never understood why they are popular.  Turkish food is just too darn good. When I first started living in Turkey in 1998, there was very little western fast food, very little packaged junk food, and very little prepared foods (i.e. bottled sauces, frozen vegetable, mixes and other packaged foods).  I used to bring back lots of food items when I visited my family once a year.  Now I only bring back chili powder for when I occasionally make tacos (don’t have to bring tortillas back…

• Secrets of the ELA Sisterhood (Part I)

  ahuelsen

  4 Feb 2012 | 12:57 am

  Life is not easy for a lot of young women in Uganda. Many girls in poorer urban areas and in rural villages are regularly confronted with sexual assault, unwanted or unintended pregnancies, HIV, and the list goes on. These girls are also commonly forced to drop out of school early because they can no longer pay fees or because they need to help support their families. With these kinds of hardships, young girls are often trapped in poverty with few, if any, opportunities to develop independence and improve their lives. Enter BRAC. Four years ago, BRAC Uganda began to address some of these…

• To Connect People Through Lending To Entrepreneurs Across the Globe

  charlottemakoff

  2 Feb 2012 | 12:26 pm

  By Charlotte Makoff, KF16, New Orleans “To Connect People Through Lending to Entrepreneurs Across the Globe” is one of Kiva’s best tag lines. Indeed, “Connecting” is key to Kiva, to microfinance loans and to repayment, especially in this high tech world of Twitter, Facebook, Groupon and the Worldwide Web. All of the Kiva borrowers in New Orleans are online, from the youngest in her twenties to the oldsters in their 60s. A lot have smart phones to check their email and Facebook pages. Unlike the Kiva borrowers in developing nations, there is no need to explain “the…

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  HBR.org

• How to Start the Big Project You've Been Putting Off

  Peter Bregman

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:30 am

  I want to write a screenplay. I wanted to write one last year, but other work took more time than I expected, and I kept pushing "write screenplay" off my to-do list. I know I'm not alone in struggling to make incremental progress on long-term projects or goals. How do you get started when you have "all the time in the world"? Maybe you have a project with no deadline, like my screenplay. Or maybe you have a deadline that's months away — like preparing a speech, developing a business plan, or designing a training program. Perhaps you have a habit of procrastinating on projects with…

• How to Get Promoted in China

  Andy Molinsky

  9 Feb 2012 | 7:43 am

  Michael Black is an American employee working in China for one of the country's oldest and most traditional consumer products manufacturers. Michael has been in China for two years and has done quite well. He's mastered the local language, been very successful in meeting his performance goals, and believes that he deserves a promotion. Michael is a bit uneasy "tooting his own horn," but he also realizes that if he doesn't do it, no one else will. When meeting with his boss to argue his case, Michael explains how he has met or exceeded all of his performance goals over the past two years and…

• The Case of the Rolling Stone (that Gathers No Moss) Resume

  Tammy Erickson

  9 Feb 2012 | 7:30 am

  What would you think if a job candidate sent you a resume listing six jobs held in the last four years? Some of you would probably have an instinctively negative reaction: "This is someone who can't make up her mind or settle down — probably a flake. In 'my day' everyone knew that you couldn't change jobs more often than once every two years." Or would you have a more sympathetic interpretation? Perhaps that this is evidence of a candidate who is willing to take risks and seek out new opportunities? Resumes must be truthful — if you've had six jobs in four years, you need to say…

• How Employers Can Help Solve the Skills Gap

  David Smith

  9 Feb 2012 | 7:30 am

  In my consulting work with large, multinational companies, I see a pervasive anxiety among managers who have trouble finding people for skilled positions, no matter what industry or region. At the same time, employees are just as stressed about the growing skills gap, Accenture research shows, and most of them are unclear about which skills they need to advance their careers. There's a lot at stake here. The mismatch between the skills that companies need and the capabilities of people applying for job openings can result in delays in product releases, lower customer satisfaction, and loss of…

• The Most Important Question You Can Ask

  Tony Schwartz

  9 Feb 2012 | 5:52 am

  Why are you here? It's arguably life's most important question, but is it one you ask yourself? I recognize it's a question some people might view as self-indulgent, while others would see it primarily through a religious lens. But is there any part of an answer we could all agree on? I've found a very simple one for myself, and it's provided me in recent years with an increasingly powerful sense of clarity, inspiration and even joy. It's this: I'm here to add more value to the world than I'm using up. I use up resources every day — the gas I burn driving my car, the heat and…

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  Three Star Leadership Blog

• Boss's Tip of the Day: Pay attention

  Wally Bock

  9 Feb 2012 | 7:25 am

   Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.  Contact Wally  about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group. If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit . Pay attention Pay attention when a team member wants to talk to you. Look at them, not a screen. Shut down any distracting sounds. Then have a conversation. The…

• 2/8/12: A Midweek Look at the Independent Business Blogs

  Wally Bock

  8 Feb 2012 | 1:01 pm

   Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.  Contact Wally  about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group. Independent business blogs are blogs that aren't supported by an organization like a magazine, newspaper, company, or business school. Those people provide lots of great content, but they don't need any additional exposure. In this post, every week, I bring you posts of quality from excellent bloggers that don't get as much publicity. This…

• Boss's Tip of the Day: Results count

  Wally Bock

  8 Feb 2012 | 7:25 am

   Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.  Contact Wally  about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group. If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit . Results count In the hectic world where you work it's easy to get sidetracked and concentrate on things that don't make much of a difference. Look at the end of…

• 2/7/12: By and About Leaders

  Wally Bock

  7 Feb 2012 | 3:38 pm

   Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.  Contact Wally  about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group. I think that one of the best ways to learn leadership isn't studying "leadership" at all. Instead, study individual leaders in their natural habitat and decide what they do that you want to try. That's why, every week, I bring you a selection of posts by and about individual leaders. This week I'm pointing you to posts by and about Georgia…

• Boss's Tip of the Day: Beat Yesterday

  Wally Bock

  7 Feb 2012 | 7:25 am

   Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.  Contact Wally  about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group. If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit . Beat yesterday Salespeople know about "Beat Yesterday" books. That's where you track sales every day and try to, yep, "beat yesterday." It's a great way to keep…

• 

  Management Craft

• Don't Worry Yourself With Others - #doyourjob #management

  Lisa Haneberg

  6 Feb 2012 | 6:34 am

  I am one of those folks who watch the super bowl for the entertainment, not the football. Not just the ads and half-time show, but also the stories of triumph and beating the odds. During yesterday's telecast, I was struck by the interview with soon-to-be MVP Eli Manning who said that his coach encouraged players to "do their jobs." The point he was making was that each player had a role and needed to focus on executing his role, not worrying about what others were doing or playing armchair quarterback/running back/tight end/kicker/and so on. Team members need to own their jobs and trust…

• Love this #ted talk from Shawn Achor - Will help you be happier.

  Lisa Haneberg

  1 Feb 2012 | 12:44 pm

  Check out this supercharged and amusing talk from Shawn Achor - it is excellent and has the potential to help us all live more fulfilling - and successful - lives. 12 minutes.

• Action and Mental Garbage Model

  Lisa Haneberg

  30 Jan 2012 | 12:17 pm

  I hope you have a great week. Here is a quick model that I hope helps you shape your week. You choose the path and how many self-imposed barriers you allow to slow you down. Openness - versus defensiveness - enables us to fully trust in ourselves because we take in the world fully and can respond flexibly. When we carry a lot of mental garbage, we rely more on history that might not be relevant for today, inflexible mental models, manic mantras, and motivational posters to guide us. Why do we need to list our values? Answer: Because we are not open enough to fully trust ourselves.

• I saw the master in action this weekend. #leadership #managment

  Lisa Haneberg

  22 Jan 2012 | 9:41 am

  I spent an afternoon with a dear friend yesterday. We chatted over lunch and walked around his beach town. I have always admired his engaging and caring way - he is a leader who makes others feel like they have his full attention and consideration and they do (that's the important part - it is sincere, not an act). Why? Because he thinks and lives this way. He notices people and things and takes the initiative to be helpful and caring. More so than most people. More so than I do - by a long shot. I have always known this about my friend but I was reminded - in a vivid way - during our walk.

• What's Your Big Idea? How Many Can You Generate? #management #innovation

  Lisa Haneberg

  17 Jan 2012 | 2:36 pm

  This post is inspired by four thoughts coming together. 1. A few years ago I pitched a book idea to Berrett-Koehler's President, Steve Piersanti. He passed on the book because the idea was unremarkable. He asked, "what's your big idea?" And he said, "I don't see it here." He was right, BTW. 2. A mentor of mine was trying to help me lower my expectations for a project that was frustrating me by suggesting that, "most people have only one revolutionary idea in their lifetime." He was wrong, BTW. 3. I was reviewing a piece of writing for a friend. He took a perfectly logical approach to laying…