There doesn't seem like much to celebrate for this Holiday season. There is a ever bad news with the economy, and now combined with the stress of gift giving--it is hard to think of things to be thankful for. But even in these hard times, I find myself hopeful that our future is bright. I find peace to know that innocence and idealism still exist. I find them in this letter, written by a seven years old boy. Peace to all and there is much to be thankful for. Here's to humanity.
Dear Santa,
I like the way you take up for yourself. You have the best ideas; I couldn't even think of them. You never give up even if it is hard or you couldn't even imagine it. Your suit is so soft. The things that you do make me smile or say YES! I love the way you cheer people or elves. I'm amazed how your reindeer go so fast. You are the best Santa ever.
I'm glad you brought me a keyboard. I really like it and its cool when it changes noise it's really cool. Thank you for the guitar and the little amplifier too. My brother likes it. Thank you for the out of control car. We laughed when people did it. Thank you for the professional basketball. I can't play with it because my dad won't put it up I think.
Our world needs more stuff like food for African people and some rain in the desert for animals. And please, please keep the army safe so they can win and we can have peace. Our families need caring so nobody gets hurt. Some people are poor so please give them a present like money. All I want for Christmas is a little Yoda robot and whatever I tell him to do he does it. I want some Magic Tree House books and some Star Wars light sabers, the Elf on the Shelf, a mini basketball hoop and basket ball. I want WWE wrestling match but please make it with John Cena.
I wish you have a safe trip. I wish it will be good weather. I wish Mrs. Claus won't get sick. I wish your elves will stay healthy. Thank you Santa, for reading this story.
Sincerely, Carson
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
"Upside down management"
John Timpson, chairman of 143-year-old shoe repair and locksmiths chain Timpson, explains the concept of 'upside down management.'
Some advice from Timpson:
1. Don't micromanage; give people room to grow and take ownership of their job;
2. Pay attention to the people you employ;
3. Managers at the top need to buy into the philosophy;
4. In difficult time, don't cut salaries of employees; lean down and get rid of redundancies; don't punish the people who are making money for you.
http://cxo.bnet.co.uk/?play=260570926
Some advice from Timpson:
1. Don't micromanage; give people room to grow and take ownership of their job;
2. Pay attention to the people you employ;
3. Managers at the top need to buy into the philosophy;
4. In difficult time, don't cut salaries of employees; lean down and get rid of redundancies; don't punish the people who are making money for you.
http://cxo.bnet.co.uk/?play=260570926
Unemployment rates
According to Daniel Gross, who writes for Newsweek and a columnist on Slate.com, unemployment is about 11 percent, not 6.1 percent. He argues that the current unemployment figures are flawed--don't count people who've given up looking for work, for instance.
http://blogs.bnet.com/business-books/?p=383&tag=nl.e713
http://www.slate.com/id/2202879
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Think you can Multi-task? Think again
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95256794&sc=nl&cc=es-20081019
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Business Book Briefs
Globality by Harold Sirkin, James Hemerling, and Arindam Bhattacharya.
According to author James Hemerling, the growth of companies in developing world nations isn't just a wave—it's a tsunami. In "Globality," Hemerling argues that established companies need to adopt the challengers' business models in order to survive and thrive.
Established companies face some key challenges:
1. Minding the cost gap
2. Reaching deep into markets
Natura, Cosmetica
3. Innovating with ingenuity
http://www.bnet.com/2422-13724_23-236580.html?promo=713&tag=nl.e713
Four secrets to liking your work by Ed Muzio, Deborah J. Fisher, & Erv Thomas
Unhappy at work? You're not alone. Studies suggest that 7 out of 10 people are dissatisfied with their jobs and often want to quit. In "Four Secrets to Liking Your Work," author Ed Muzio suggests that quitting may not be the answer. Instead, he offers tips on how to enjoy the job you already have by understanding your own behavior, negotiating tasks, and mastering your motivation.
http://www.bnet.com/2422-13724_23-241810.html
When am I happy at work
Work hours + Commute Time + Thinking about Work = 12 hours!
Job = relationship
1. Observing behavior
outgoing vs. intoverts
task-oriented vs. people focused.
a. directiveness: assertive focus on results
b. inspiration: extroverted focus on other people
c. stabilization: reserved, supportive focus on teams' needs
d. regulation: analytical focus on the facts
Understand what behavior your job wants from you: inspire, regulate, direct, stablize?
Job preferences vs. my preferences
Negotiate
1. take more time to work alone?
2. task team?
What am I looking for?
2. mastering motivation
Behavior is how we act at work
Motivation is what drives us.
6 motivation factors that drive us: (which are important and which are not?)
1. learning new things
2. obtaining money or results
3. steering your own ship
4. helping others
5. experiencing harmony
6. being consistent
What drives Roxanne and what drives me?
Motivation: if in research and don't care about truth, in sales and care about harmony, it's a mismatch.
3. Harmonizing Tasks: everything i do at work fall into three categories.
a. Routine task
b. problem solving task
c. long range project
solution:
change task type when changing task
get really good at task types you dislike, so get them done quickly
negotiate trade with your co-workers
4. Get the Right Skills: Get good at what you need to succeed
http://www.bnet.com/2422-13724_23-241810.html
Personality Not Included by Robit Bhargava
You've spent years developing a brand that's strong and recognizable, isn't that enough? Author and social media advisor, Rohit Bhargava, doesn't think so! In his book, "Personality Not Included," Bhargava professes that faceless corporations are a thing of the past. In this Book Brief he provides tips on how to make your organization and products come alive.
Personality
Unique
Authentic
Talkable soul of your company
"It's what brings your brands to life."
Approaches
1. Accidental spokeperson, i.e., the spokeperson for Subway who lost one hundred pounds in a short amont of time. Not trained in marketing message, so when speak, they speak of authentic beliefs. In today's social networking community, find those accidental spokeperson; they can be your biggest marketing allies.
2. Tell you back story: Dole, banana...allow people to search where banana came from. emotional choice and a logical choice..a reason to believe.
Personality moments: define particular stage of buying cycle
attention paradox: focus time on capturing customer's attention & very little time taking advantage of that attention once you have it.
Slide:ology by Nancy Duarte
Do you wince at the idea of attending another Power Point presentation? Well, presentation software isn’t the problem, it’s how people (mis)use it. Author Nancy Duarte, the founder of one of the country’s leading design firms, believes that if people put as much thought and effort into how they present as they do into what they’re trying to convey, presentations would become a visual feast. In this video, Duarte shows us how to go from drab to dazzling.
http://www.bnet.com/2422-13724_23-241933.html
According to author James Hemerling, the growth of companies in developing world nations isn't just a wave—it's a tsunami. In "Globality," Hemerling argues that established companies need to adopt the challengers' business models in order to survive and thrive.
Established companies face some key challenges:
1. Minding the cost gap
2. Reaching deep into markets
Natura, Cosmetica
3. Innovating with ingenuity
http://www.bnet.com/2422-13724_23-236580.html?promo=713&tag=nl.e713
Four secrets to liking your work by Ed Muzio, Deborah J. Fisher, & Erv Thomas
Unhappy at work? You're not alone. Studies suggest that 7 out of 10 people are dissatisfied with their jobs and often want to quit. In "Four Secrets to Liking Your Work," author Ed Muzio suggests that quitting may not be the answer. Instead, he offers tips on how to enjoy the job you already have by understanding your own behavior, negotiating tasks, and mastering your motivation.
http://www.bnet.com/2422-13724_23-241810.html
When am I happy at work
Work hours + Commute Time + Thinking about Work = 12 hours!
Job = relationship
1. Observing behavior
outgoing vs. intoverts
task-oriented vs. people focused.
a. directiveness: assertive focus on results
b. inspiration: extroverted focus on other people
c. stabilization: reserved, supportive focus on teams' needs
d. regulation: analytical focus on the facts
Understand what behavior your job wants from you: inspire, regulate, direct, stablize?
Job preferences vs. my preferences
Negotiate
1. take more time to work alone?
2. task team?
What am I looking for?
2. mastering motivation
Behavior is how we act at work
Motivation is what drives us.
6 motivation factors that drive us: (which are important and which are not?)
1. learning new things
2. obtaining money or results
3. steering your own ship
4. helping others
5. experiencing harmony
6. being consistent
What drives Roxanne and what drives me?
Motivation: if in research and don't care about truth, in sales and care about harmony, it's a mismatch.
3. Harmonizing Tasks: everything i do at work fall into three categories.
a. Routine task
b. problem solving task
c. long range project
solution:
change task type when changing task
get really good at task types you dislike, so get them done quickly
negotiate trade with your co-workers
4. Get the Right Skills: Get good at what you need to succeed
http://www.bnet.com/2422-13724_23-241810.html
Personality Not Included by Robit Bhargava
You've spent years developing a brand that's strong and recognizable, isn't that enough? Author and social media advisor, Rohit Bhargava, doesn't think so! In his book, "Personality Not Included," Bhargava professes that faceless corporations are a thing of the past. In this Book Brief he provides tips on how to make your organization and products come alive.
Personality
Unique
Authentic
Talkable soul of your company
"It's what brings your brands to life."
Approaches
1. Accidental spokeperson, i.e., the spokeperson for Subway who lost one hundred pounds in a short amont of time. Not trained in marketing message, so when speak, they speak of authentic beliefs. In today's social networking community, find those accidental spokeperson; they can be your biggest marketing allies.
2. Tell you back story: Dole, banana...allow people to search where banana came from. emotional choice and a logical choice..a reason to believe.
Personality moments: define particular stage of buying cycle
attention paradox: focus time on capturing customer's attention & very little time taking advantage of that attention once you have it.
Slide:ology by Nancy Duarte
Do you wince at the idea of attending another Power Point presentation? Well, presentation software isn’t the problem, it’s how people (mis)use it. Author Nancy Duarte, the founder of one of the country’s leading design firms, believes that if people put as much thought and effort into how they present as they do into what they’re trying to convey, presentations would become a visual feast. In this video, Duarte shows us how to go from drab to dazzling.
http://www.bnet.com/2422-13724_23-241933.html
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Minority Rights Not for Majority Rule
The rights of the minority cannot and should not be legislated by the opinion of the majority. Yes on 8 goes against the fundamental tenant and purpose of the constitution, which was created to protect minorities from majorities. In fact, Brown v. Education cemented this very basic value by granting civil liberties to a segment of the population that has been denied of them.
Furthermore, the court legislated in Brown v. Education that separate but equal is unconstitutional. Hypothetically, even if civil unions are granted all the legal rights that marriages enjoy (which they do not currently), the mere fact that there are two separate categories is unconstitutional because you are creating a chasm within the population. The underlying message here is that gays and lesbians are second class citizen and that only one group can stake a claim to the institution of marriage.
I had a discussion with a Mormon friend yesterday about this issue. She was shocked to learn that state and church recognition of marriage is two distinct processes. This means that while the state may recognize that a couple is married, the church does not and vice versa. My boss was a Mormon and was married in the Mormon church. She has since gotten a legal divorce but has not declared the couple's separation in the Church. The Church still recognizes her as being married while the State does not.
In terms of process, the petition process is invalid because the initial process was improperly used to undo a fundamental right the constitution's core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group – lesbian and gay Californians. Proposition 8 also improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities. According to the California Constitution, such radical changes to the organizing principles of state government cannot be made by simple majority vote through the initiative process, but instead must, at a minimum, go through the state legislature first. ACLU and others are bringing this case to the court.
Furthermore, the court legislated in Brown v. Education that separate but equal is unconstitutional. Hypothetically, even if civil unions are granted all the legal rights that marriages enjoy (which they do not currently), the mere fact that there are two separate categories is unconstitutional because you are creating a chasm within the population. The underlying message here is that gays and lesbians are second class citizen and that only one group can stake a claim to the institution of marriage.
I had a discussion with a Mormon friend yesterday about this issue. She was shocked to learn that state and church recognition of marriage is two distinct processes. This means that while the state may recognize that a couple is married, the church does not and vice versa. My boss was a Mormon and was married in the Mormon church. She has since gotten a legal divorce but has not declared the couple's separation in the Church. The Church still recognizes her as being married while the State does not.
In terms of process, the petition process is invalid because the initial process was improperly used to undo a fundamental right the constitution's core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group – lesbian and gay Californians. Proposition 8 also improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities. According to the California Constitution, such radical changes to the organizing principles of state government cannot be made by simple majority vote through the initiative process, but instead must, at a minimum, go through the state legislature first. ACLU and others are bringing this case to the court.
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