New Year's thoughts - from Patti Dragland, at Strategic Sense

It seemed to me that I couldn't really improve on these sentiments for the New Year, so I am re-posting Patti's latest blog ...

"As the New Year approaches and the second decade begins to emerge and form itself, here are 8 wishes from me to you for 2010 and beyond. Happy New Year and the greatest of success and prosperity!

I wish for you….

• That your family comes first on your priority list

When working with clients I recommend they hold every decision up to these criteria; “Will it be the best thing for you, your spouse, children, and family.” All other filters are held up AFTER that. Money should be the last filter. When it comes right down to it in this day and age, a job is neither secure nor long-lasting. Money comes and goes and there are many ways of changing your direction to make it flow. Your Family is only here once, risk this and you risk a future of the most important piece of our lives, human intimacy and love.

• That you recognize relationships trump data

It has been a decade of measurement, excluding those things we call “intangibles”. I wish for you the insight to understand your people are not intangibles; they are living, breathing, hard-working individuals who are the literal ‘hum’ of your business’ productivity. Seek to get to know them, understand what drives them, support them and give them a reason to trust you.

• That you stand up for what you believe

You carry with you a set of values, stand firm and true to those values, for when crossed your happiness will slide. Life is short; we spend most of our adult days working – not living the values you hold dear will inevitably eat you up. I spent a year crossing mine, it was painful and miserable. I tried to buy-in to something that did not fit my value system and it resulted in a huge crash. It always will. You will know when you are doing it, for your whole internal self will feel ill.

• That you believe in yourself

It is a difficult job to be the CEO or Leader in a company. It is lonely, scary and hard work. Leaders who truly believe in themselves are not afraid to admit when they make mistakes, they’re comfortable saying, “I don’t know” and are willing to try new things. Follow your integrity, be honest, be open and always be yourself. These are the keys to learning how to believe in you.

• That you always play

My work is my play, I have designed it so. I do what I love to do each and every day – and I remember to play, at work, at home, and in life. My wish for you is that you find balance in playing at everything you do. Stay fit, engage in life around you, and seek to find play in your day, laugh and laugh hard. Every single minute you are alive is a reason to be joyous. Find the humour in the pesky and frustrating. Seek to see the absurd and enjoy the twist life has created for you. Joy comes from your internal vision and how you see the world around you.

• That you surround yourself with positive energy

I am speaking of the people with whom you choose to surround yourself. We have all known someone who sucks the energy right out of us and by simply being in a room with them we leave exhausted and drained. If you hire or promote “brilliant” people who also drain your energy, it does not matter how much money they make for your company, everyone around them will be miserable, especially you. Always hire and promote those who lean toward the positive, you will know them by how they make you feel when you are with them.

• That you have a great set of advisors

There seems to be an expectation when you became the CEO that you would always know the right thing to do, say and choose. Everyone looks up to you for the perfect answers and the reality is, you are not always sure what those are. Living in your head will only make decisions and actions more difficult. Seek out a wonderful set of advisors and confidants who are there for you to bounce ideas off of and can guide you as you make decisions. Ideally, these people have been at the top and know what you are going through. Select only advisors who you truly admire and wish to emulate.

• That you seek knowledge and awareness of Global Trends and Technologies

Isolation in your four walls of an office without the gaining of knowledge of the world around you will inhibit any ability to create momentum and innovation in your industry’s sector. Know what the world is doing, what it wants, the direction it is going and pay attention to how your company fits into those trends. Being left behind can make the ‘catch-up’ much more difficult in the long run. Success is keeping the eyes open, the mind willing to change and the passion to seek ways to creatively be in front of the pack. Opportunity is yours; it just might not look the way you thought it would."

Thanks, Patti!

Live to be a thousand years old - "Beat the longevity escape velocity"

A brilliant talk at TEDGlobal 2005 by Aubrey De Grey ... still holds up today. Key point: bio-engineering will help all of us stay alive longer than you might think.

Posted via web from mick's posterous

Loving partners sculpt like Michelangelo ...

From Futurity.org

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY — Just as a sculptor chisels and polishes away flaws in stone to reveal an ideal form, skillful partners support each other’s dreams and aspirations and nurture traits they hope to develop.

An international review of this so-called “Michelangelo phenomenon” shows that when close partners affirm and support each other’s ideal selves, they and the relationship benefit greatly.

“To the degree that the sculpting process has gone well, that you have helped mold me toward my ideal self, the relationship functions better and both partners are happier,” says Eli Finkel, associate professor of psychology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University.

“And over the long term, I more or less come to reflect what my partner sees and elicits from me,” he continues

The Michelangelo effect is not simply about supporting your partner, nor is it about promoting what you think your partner’s ideal self should be, Finkel says.

“Even if partners treat us in perfectly loving, supportive ways, if the treatment is not consistent with the person we dream of becoming, we have to pay attention to those red flags,” Finkel warns.

“Is that the person you want to be married to 10 years down the road?”

The Michelangelo studies show that close partners sculpt one another’s traits and skills and promote, versus inhibit, one another’s goal achievement. “It’s not just that you treat me positively,” Finkel says. “You treat me in particular ways that dovetail with my ideal self.”

Finkel says supporting a partner’s image of his ideal self in this way, whether it is a vague yearning or a clearly articulated mental representation, helps the loved one reduce the discrepancy between the actual self and the ideal self.

Conversely, a relationship can run into trouble when an individual emphasizes attributes that are peripheral to the core elements of what a partner ideally wishes to become.

Some people are better sculptors than others and are particularly adept at bringing out others’ ideal selves. Some individuals may be on the verge of achieving great personal growth and be open to any number of people who could help them.

And others, the studies show, may have a much more difficult time bringing out someone’s ideal self or be much more resistant to the Michelangelo effect.

The studies reviewed in the journal article used longitudinal procedures to examine how people grow toward their ideal selves over time as a result of how their partners treat them.

At the beginning of the studies, individuals reported on their actual and their ideal selves, and their partners reported on how they view the individuals.

To gain an external perspective, some studies incorporated the perspective of the individuals’ friends.

Across studies, individuals were especially likely to grow toward their ideal selves when their partners viewed them in line with this ideal. The process ultimately promoted both relational and personal well-being for both partners.

“When deciding on a life partner, we consider many factors,” Finkel observes.

“But we frequently neglect to think about whether the person I hope to be in 10 years is consistent with the person you want me to be in 10 years. When our partners can chisel and polish us in a way that helps us to achieve our ideal self, that’s a wonderful thing.”

Researchers from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and Goldsmiths, University of London contributed to the study, which appears in the December issue of the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science.

Northwestern University news: www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/index.html

Posted via web from mick's posterous

"How to Live Before You Die" - Steve Jobs - worth a few thoughts as New Year approaches?

Steve's commencement speech at Stanford in 2005 seems to be doing the rounds this holiday season, not least thanks to TED making it one of their new, best of the web videos ...

He's maybe not the best speaker, but it is still well worth watching. Inspirational.

Posted via web from mick's posterous

How to say "Merry Christmas" in 105 languages and dialects ...

From the Earth Calendar - apologies for any errors - and, yes, some include "Happy New Year" ;-)

• Afrikaans: Gesëende Kersfees
• Albanian: Gezur Krislinjden
• Arabic: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
• Argentine: Feliz Navidad
• Armenian: Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand
• Azeri: Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun
• Bahasa Malaysia: Selamat Hari Natal
• Basque: Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!
• Bengali: Shuvo Naba Barsha
• Bohemian: Vesele Vanoce
• Brazilian: Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo
• Breton: Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat
• Bulgarian: Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo
• Catalan: Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!
• Chile: Feliz Navidad
• Chinese: (Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
• Chinese: (Mandarin) Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan
• Choctaw: Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito
• Colombia: Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
• Cornish: Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth
• Corsican: Pace e salute
• Crazanian: Rot Yikji Dol La Roo
• Cree: Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
• Croatian: Sretan Bozic
• Czech: Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
• Danish: Glædelig Jul
• Duri: Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak
• Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
• English: Merry Christmas
• Eritrean/Tigrinja: Rehus-Beal-Ledeats
• Eskimo: (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
• Esperanto: Gajan Kristnaskon
• Estonian: Ruumsaid juulup|hi
• Faeroese: Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!
• Farsi: Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
• Finnish: Hyvaa joulua
• Flemish: Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar
• French: Joyeux Noel
• Frisian: Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!
• Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!
• Galician: Bo Nada
• German: Froehliche Weihnachten
• Greek: Kala Christouyenna!
• Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
• Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
• Hebrew: Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
• Hindi: Shub Naya Baras
• Hungarian: Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
• Icelandic: Gledileg Jol
• Indonesian: Selamat Hari Natal
• Iraqi: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
• Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat
• Iroquois: Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut
• Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie
• Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
• Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
• Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!
• Latvian: Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu!
• Lausitzian: Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto
• Lettish: Priecigus Ziemassvetkus
• Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu
• Low Saxon: Heughliche Winachten un 'n moi Nijaar
• Macedonian: Sreken Bozhik
• Maltese: LL Milied Lt-tajjeb
• Manx: Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa
• Maori: Meri Kirihimete
• Marathi: Shub Naya Varsh
• Navajo: Merry Keshmish
• Norwegian: God Jul, or Gledelig Jul
• Occitan: Pulit nadal e bona annado
• Papiamento: Bon Pasco
• Papua New Guinea: Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu
• Peru: Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo
• Philippines/Tagalog Maligayan Pasko!
• Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie
• Portuguese: Feliz Natal
• Pushto: Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha
• Rapa-Nui (Easter Island): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua
• Rhetian: Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn
• Romanche: (sursilvan dialect) Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!
• Romanian: Sarbatori fericite & La multi ani
• Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
• Sami: Buorrit Juovllat
• Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
• Sardinian: Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou
• Scots Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil huibh
• Serb-Croatian: Sretam Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina
• Serbian: Hristos se rodi
• Singhalese: Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
• Slovak: Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok
• Slovakian: Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce
• Slovene: Vesel Bozic.
• Spanish: Feliz Navidad
• Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År
• Tami: Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal
• Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai
• Tongan: Mele Kalisimasi
• Trukeese: (Micronesian) Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!
• Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
• Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym
• Urdu: Naya Saal Mubarak Ho
• Vietnamese: Chung Mung Giang Sinh
• Welsh: Nadolig Llawen
• Yoruba: E ku odun, e ku iye'dun!
• Yugoslavian: Cestitamo Bozic

Posted via web from mick's posterous

Christmas gifts in the land of Dilbert

Seems appropriate in these times of financial crisis and cost-cutting ;-)

From Dilbert's official site

Posted via web from mick's posterous

Time for business to take a lead - a post from Matthew Taylor, RSA's Chief Executive

From Matthew Taylor's blog at the RSA (Royal Society of Arts) ....

Time for business to take a lead

December 22, 2009 by matthewtaylor
Filed under: Politics, Public policy

My breakfast yesterday was at an event to mark the latest edition of the excellent Times science supplement Eureka. The event featured a fascinating but largely depressing panel discussion about the fallout of the Copenhagen Summit. It got me thinking about climate change through the prism of my old friend cultural theory.

As regular readers will know, the theory suggest there are four fundamental ways of thinking about social change; the individualistic, the egalitarian, the hierarchical and the fatalistic.

Fatalism is the default option for most people. Climate change is a huge, complex process that no individual or community can affect alone. Tackling climate change is in large part about shifting this sense of fatalism.

Copenhagen was all about the hierarchical dimension of change: top down, strategy led, enforced through rules. But it largely failed. This reflected three problems; first, the difficulty of leaders committing to definite sacrifices in the short term for possible gains in the long term; second, the failings of international governance and, in particular, the idea that 192 countries could all reach a far reaching agreement; third, the difficulty of reconciling national political pressures to the demands of global decision making. An important point made at the Times breakfast was that even if the summit had agreed legally binding targets, it is very unlikely that President Obama could have got them through Congress (remember what happened when Al Gore signed up to Kyoto).

This is why the commitment of each country to lay out its national commitments by the end of January 2010 may be a good thing. It may be easier to stitch together an international plan from national agreements than to make a global deal and then try to impose it on suspicious national populations and parliaments.

On the egalitarian front – that is change driven bottom up by shared norms and values – the debate on climate change is in danger of shifting away from those who want action. I wrote recently that more and more people I meet from the political right talk about climate change in the same way they refer to the European Union, as a kind of conspiracy dreamt up by meddling lefties looking for a way to justify state interference in our lives. This mixture of right wing belief and populist anti establishment feeling can be very powerful. Over the top language from environmentalists calling for an abandonment of Western lifestyles doesn’t help. Climate change scepticism has been growing steadily in the USA, it has become the rallying call of the right of centre Australian opposition and it will no doubt be used by leaders and oppositions in other political systems.

Individualists argue that the best way to tackle climate change it to look to markets, innovation and technology to find solutions. The story here is mixed. On the one hand we hear serious industrialists arguing that all cars could be electric within a few years; on the other hand, it is easy to be seduced into complacency by wacky schemes like piping sulphur into the atmosphere which are not only unproven but could prove on closer examination to be impossible or even counter productive.

So, overall, things look pretty grim. Going back to the European Union analogy, I think business has a major role. Back in the mid-1990s business leaders argued strongly for the UK to join the euro but as the popular backlash grew (egged on by the media and note how the Express has now become outspokenly sceptical) they were less and less willing to put their head above the parapet.

In terms of encouraging political leaders to get their act together, in relation to tackling right of centre suspicion and in relation to fostering technological innovation the global corporate sector is vital.

But will it step up to the plate? When I asked this question on Monday, James Cameron (FRSA), Vice Chair of Climate Change Capital was very upbeat about business commitment while other speakers talked about the growing market for low carbon products and services. But Times Editor James Harding introduced a note of caution. If you ask the CEOs of the FTSE 100 if they care about climate change they will all say the right thing, he suggested, but if you ask finance directors in the same firms you might get a very different response.

In the wake of Copenhagen there is a huge opportunity for international business (including investors) to take a lead in demanding and shaping global action. And they have a window of opportunity ahead of next year’s Mexico summit. How about a New Year declaration from ten of the world’s most powerful corporate figures: Mittal, Buffet, Brin, Voser? Sadly, I don’t have their blackberry numbers but if you do feel free to forward this post.

via matthewtaylorsblog.com

Posted via web from mick's posterous

Seasons Greetings - and thoughts on twitter, Glastonbury, music and all that

Earlier this year, a group of people whose common interest was the Glastonbury Festival decided to meet the day the Festival started, last June. I don't think anyone had actually met before. It all started with casual chat on twitter about who had tickets, and what people wanted to see. In any event, thanks to @glastowatch, and a website called #twitterbury, about 75 people met at Brother's Bar, Jazz World. The event was hash tagged #twisto.

People from all walks of life (and ages) met. Cider was consumed, pictures were taken, and a good time was had by all. So much so that a small movement started - #twisto in London a couple of times, and then #twistosw (which revolved around a gig by The Bluetones in Taunton on December 10th). Oh, I should also add that the the Chicken Lady came with a mascot - a plastic chicken from China now called gregorypeck - who has featured on the web, twitter and even on t-shirts. He clearly has a great career ahead of him ...

And now, as 2010 approaches, other #twistos are being planned ... with the big event of course being at Glastonbury again.

I did blog about twitter earlier in the year - how people use it, why the idea will stick around. But why blog again? There are a few points that the #twisto experience underlines:

• First, the power of self-organization. An idea was born, people gravitated towards it, various folks stepped in to do things - and it just happened. It would not have happened without @glastowatch and a few others, but everyone got involved. No one made money, but all had fun. The rules were very simple, and evolved through discussion - even the hash tags were "voted on".
• Second, the power of music. That is what broke through all of the barriers - interests, ages, work etc etc. Not everyone likes the same music (just witness the good humoured debate raging as to whether to watch U2 on the Pyramid Stage in 2010 at Glastonbury - as many are for as are against;-). But everyone likes some kind of music. And, importantly, Glastonbury is one of the more eclectic Festivals, so it was a fertile base-camp for the whole adventure.
• Third, new technology. Would any of this been possible without social networks? I doubt it. I've been online for longer than I care to remember, from the good old days before bulletin boards - and certainly before mobile phones. But now we are all connected all of the time. I've been glancing through the ways people connect - via the web, iPhone, Blackberry, Tweetdeck, Mac, PC, Linux etc - at any time, from anywhere. And we get to choose - no-one tells anyone when or how to connect. And you can ignore what you like.
• Fourth, old-fashioned respect. On twitter, almost everyone is respectful of others. Some people are quite serious, some like to have a collective laugh. Questions are asked, help given, links suggested. Friendships form, debates are had. Just witness the impact of twitter lists, and directories such as Tweetdeck's, where common interests abound. The group is self policing - and no-one wants to get ejected (remember the old "kick" command in IRC?). But I think it is more than the fear of rejection - it is the desire to belong.

You've probably read these thoughts before, but as a pre-Christmas reflection I think that #twisto is a brilliant example which illustrates these ideas in action.

Anyway, to continue to carry the #twisto banner, let me just wish everyone Seasons' Greetings, and the very best for 2010.

Posted via web from mick's posterous

"Creating Community" - by Becky Robinson at Mountain State University

A blog post at Mountain State University, from Becky Robinson

"My friend Helen is looking for community.

One evening, she and I discussed the difference between having connected relationships with people and experiencing community. We agreed people want more than just a few close relationships; people are  hungry for true community. Though you can find community many places — at work, at school, in your neighborhood, through an online network, at your church or other local organization — it's not automatic that where people gather, there will be community. Leaders who want to create community do so with a sense of purpose and intentionality.

• To create community, leaders foster shared relationships. People feel part of a community when they are well connected in relationships. I know you, but I also know the people you know. And they know each other. To foster shared relationships, leaders facilitate this interconnectedness. The more people are interconnected, the more likely they are to have a sense of community.
• To create community, leaders initiate shared experiences. When people participate in activities together, collaborating as a whole or working in small groups, relationships have a chance to grow. Even after the activity is over, shared memories with others can contribute to a sense of community.
• To create community, leaders cultivate shared goals and purpose. As people rally around a shared cause or goal, a sense of community builds. People feel emboldened by others who are working toward the same purpose.
• To create community, leaders celebrate shared achievement. People enjoy being a part of something bigger than themselves, knowing that their contribution makes a difference. Leaders who recognize a groups' effort build community.

As a leader, how are you creating community in your organization?

Posted via web from mick's posterous

"Santa at the Checkout"

A reminder that even in the holiday season so many people work so hard to make it possible for us all to enjoy ourselves. Dedicated to all those people.

This was originally taken for the "Day Before Christmas" pool ... www.flickr.com/groups/daybeforechristmas/pool/

Posted via web from mick's posterous

Scott Kim takes apart the art of puzzles - from TED 2008

Fascinating talk which does open the mind, in the best TED tradition ...

"At the 2008 EG conference, famed puzzle designer Scott Kim takes us inside the puzzle-maker's frame of mind. Sampling his career's work, he introduces a few of the most popular types, and shares the fascinations that inspired some of his best."

Posted via web from mick's posterous

Lead Change "Tweet Chat" from the LinkedIn group - post by Mike Henry Sr.

From Mike's Blog ... I am sorry I couldn't join the Chat, but I will try to next time. Sounds fascinating!

"Last Thursday we held the inaugural Lead Change Tweet Chat. The topic was “How can you apply character-based leadership to make a positive difference in 2010?” In one hour over 100 people joined in the “conversation” and made over 600 posts. Some of my friends have seen the transcript and called the event chaos. Maybe it’s the wild west of technology and communications. But if you’ve ever participated in a tweet-chat before, you know they can be chaotic. Like “Where’s Waldo,” many times you have to search to find the nuggets.

Three nuggets I got from the chat include:

1. People want to make a positive difference. The Lead Change Group is up to 500 members on LinkedIn right now, but only 200 that I’m aware of are on Twitter. We had good participation with short notice and we picked up several new friends and members.
2. We all know “poster-quotes.” At 9:33 PM EST, Tim Milburn (@Timage) noted:

Does anyone else feel like they’re walking past a motivational poster shop and reading all the captions?

3. We want to be about something more significant than “poster-quotes.” Many committed to make a positive difference starting “tomorrow” once Kit Stookey (@kstookey) prompted us for some traction. Just Ctrl-F down the page looking for the word “tomorrow.”

• Brandleadership: we can encourage a leader tomorrow.
• Timage: tomorrow I will do my best to say something encouraging in the first 30 seconds of a conversation.
• KetelboeterPR: Tomorrow, I will choose to build the vision and share the trust.
• Timage: tomorrow I can tell someone I believe in them. I can help them become more of the person they were created to be.
• Logosnoesis: Tomorrow I can encourage a leader to invite others into the leadership conversation @ their place.

Tomorrow?

So, let’s take this a bit further. If you’re one of the “Tomorrow” quotes, how did you do? Is there anything this group can do to help? We all want to be part of a community that makes a positive difference by applying character-based leadership.

Chaos To Community

Would you like to insert order into the chaos of your thoughts and plans? Cement your thoughts about making a positive difference. This community will help. Here are 4 steps you can take to begin to make a positive difference immediately.

1. Download and check out the transcript. Think about what you will do to make a positive difference?
2. Write it down. Post a comment here or on Twitter about what you can do to make a positive difference beginning today. Please use the #LeadChange hashtag on Twitter so we can find you.
3. Get some help. Get with people who don’t want to spend the next year watching TV. Maybe it’s your church or some other local organization. If you don’t have one locally, join this group at http://bit.ly/leadchange or just follow 200 active individuals on Twitter with 1-click by going to http://bit.ly/36uhrt. Or start your own.
4. If you do take some action to cement your plan, share it with the group here, on Twitter or LinkedIn. We’d love to help.

These four steps aren’t complex or the stuff of peace prizes, but they are steps. If you’re already making a difference, share your ideas and help the rest of us. But if this is progress for you, start making it. We won’t judge you and you don’t have to enroll in the Advanced School of Sainthood. Just do something. Our world needs you to stop being a spectator.

We’ll do this again in January. Share your plans. What are you willing to commit to, or what are you already doing to make a positive difference?

Until then, thanks and have a great year!"

------------

Great post, Mike

Posted via web from mick's posterous

Ready for a Great New Year? Try SMART resolutions - from Lisa Haneberg

From Lisa Haneberg's "Management Craft" blog ...

There are SMART goals and New Year's Resolutions, and the two don't usually look alike. For most of us, SMART goals have a higher chance of getting implemented than do pie-in-the-sky or fuzzy-like-a-cloud resolutions (but they aren't as fun or motivating).

Well, without sapping all the wonderful and festive vibes out of the new year, how about SMART resolutions? What's a SMART resolution?

• S = Serious - This is something important to you and that you are willing to CHANGE for in order to make it a reality.
• M = Motivating - You have expressed your serious goal in a way that makes the hairs on the back of your neck raise up with a shiver of excitement.
• A = Actionable - You have crafted the resolution in a way that logically leads into action. Starting right now. For example, saying that you want to be gazillionaire by the time you retire is not logically actionable.
• R = Right now - Your SMART Resolution is present oriented - it speaks to how you want to live now (even if you are heading down a road to a longer goal). For example, if you want to run a marathon in eight months, you need to be like (and think like) a marathoner today to make that happen even if you are starting with 3 mile walks around your neighborhood.
• T = Tellable - Your SMART Resolution should be seriously tellable because, as I discovered when researching for and writing my Two Weeks to a Breakthrough book, sharing your goal is very POWERFUL and ups your odds of making the seeming impossible, possible and a reality.

So there you go. SMART Resolutions. What do you think? Does your New Year's Resolution have what it takes to be SMART? If you put a little work into it, I think you can create something that is not only inspiring, but that has the potential to change your life.

Dream, do, dream, do.

Posted via web from mick's posterous

If the Buddha used Twitter - writing from Soren Gordhammer on Huffington Post

This has been around a while, but I think that Soren's post hits the mark ...

"I can't say whether the historical Buddha, the one that lived some 2,500 years ago, would use Twitter if he were alive today. But if he were alive I think he would advise the following 5 approaches to this web phenomena:

1) Don't Give a Damn About How Many Followers You Have

"Never allow yourself to envy others. For you will lose sight of the truth that way." -- The Buddha

He would encourage this, I believe, not because the number of followers displayed on Twitter is largely inaccurate (many people use Twitter applications that allow them to view only select users, so while it shows that you have 5,000 followers, only a hundred may actually read your posts on Twitter -- or tweets.) The Buddha would instead advise this, I think, because the continual search for "more," including Twitter followers, is simply another form of envy that makes us look to the future for our satisfaction, and as a result lose sight of the present moment where, to him, life is to be lived.

2) Focus on Quality Over Quantity

"Better than a thousand senseless verses is one that brings the hearer peace." -- The Buddha

The second is that the quality of our tweets matter much more than the quantity of them. One meaningful tweet a day is much better than posting numerous tweets that do not add value to the world. Of course, what "adds value" can be debated. There are a lot of silly tweets and links to videos that bring smiles to millions of people. Tweets do not have to be serious, but I think the Buddha would say that the real mission of life is not to produce large quantities of anything, including tweets, but it is instead to make a positive impact. One tweet that does that is better than a million that do not.

3) It's Not What You Say But How You Live

"The one who talks of the path but never walks it is like a cowman counting cattle of others but who has none of his own." -- The Buddha

On Twitter, it is easy to tweet about how wise and wonderful we are, and few people (minus our mom or partner if they are users) know to the extent we actually live this. I think the Buddha would say that it is fine to share accomplishments, but the real question is not what we say but how we live -- both when tweeting, but also in challenging times: in dealing with an angry neighbor, a pushy boss, or a rude customer. He would discourage using Twitter to brand and market oneself, tweeting only things that show us in a particular light. The purpose is not to be appealing to the Twitterverse, but to live with mindfulness and compassion, whether such actions ever get tweeted about it or not.

4) The Inner Story is Always More Important than The External One

"The conquest of oneself is better than the conquest of all others." -- The Buddha

There are certainly quality news sites, but many have one driving objective: to get as many page views as possible. Thus, the more graphic, the more sexy, the more gossipy, the more people respond "Oh My God" to a post or news item . . . the better. The Buddha would say that news is fine, but it can easily become a distraction and that true happiness is, as they say, an inside job. He would encourage people when they use Twitter to be mindful of the thoughts and emotions that arise in them, and to see how they get caught in confusion, greed, or anger. Our inner life, he would say, is where the real news happens.

5) Do the Work that Matters

"Your work is to find out what your work should be. Clearly discover your work and attend to it with all your heart." -- The Buddha

The Buddha often reminded people that death will come to all of us. When it does, we leave behind everything: all our money, all our possessions, all our status, all our accomplishments . . . and yes, all our followers on Twitter. Okay, if we are really famous, we may get a building named after us, but in a blink of universe time, say a thousand years, little of our name will be around. Twitter and other sites will arise and crumble. I think the Buddha would encourage us to remember this, and to use everything, including Twitter, not to distract ourselves from what is important, but to remember it and to do our work on this earth impeccably.

The Power of an Empty Box

"Do not live thoughtlessly with deluded aims, outside the universal law." -- The Buddha

Of course, it is not really that important to know whether the historical Buddha would have used Twitter or not. What matters more is how our own inner Buddha can. The real brilliance of an empty box that allows us only 140 characters may not be in our ability to quickly share information, to stay in touch with friends, or to gain access to breaking news, but it is in what we learn about ourselves in the process, if we pay attention.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soren Gordhamer is the author of Wisdom 2.0: Ancient Secrets for the Creative and Constantly Connected (HarperOne, 2009)

Posted via web from mick's posterous

What Matters Now - a fascinating (and free!) eBook from Seth Godin

I always find Seth Godin's work interesting (like so many other people do, of course). So I thought I'd help share his latest free eBook. Here's the post from Seth's blog:

"Now, more than ever, we need to shake things up.

Now, more than ever, we need a different way of thinking, a useful way to focus and the energy to turn the game around. I hope a new ebook I've organized will get you started on that path. It took months, but I think you'll find it worth it the effort.

Here are more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year. From bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O'Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, there are some important people riffing about important ideas here. The ebook includes Tom Peters, Jackie Huba and Jason Fried, along with Gina Trapani, Bill Taylor and Alan Webber.

Here's the deal: it's free. Download it here.

Or from any of the many sites around the web that are posting it with insightful commentary. Tweet it, email it, post it on your own site. I think it might be fun to make up your own riff and post it on your blog or online profile as well. It's a good exercise. Can we get this in the hands of 5 million people? You can find an easy to use version on Scribd as well.

Please share.Have fun. Here's to a year with ideas even bigger than these. Here's a lens with all the links plus an astonishing array of books by our authors."

I hope you enjoy!

Posted via web from mick's posterous

A visit to the Tate Modern ... Pop Life (Warhol, Koons and Emin) ... and the "Box of Darkness"

I'm a regular Tate goer, having been an art student all of my life. Today, we were able to visit the Tate Modern's "Pop Life" exhibit, which was a fascinating romp through the "artist as brand" which has developed since the time of Andy Warhol. Perhaps Takashi Murakami is today's best exemplar of such artist/entrepreneurs (or is that Damien Hirst with his diamond studded pieces?). We all know some of the stories around Andy, and even about his "commercial sell out" when it seemed that his pursuit of celebrity took over from his art.

But it struck me that Andy and his peers were simply trying to make a point about the complex interaction between commerce and society.

What struck me most within "Pop Life" was not Jeff Koons "for over 18's, my-life-as-sex-act works", but it was a piece by Piotr Uklanski on "The Nazis". There was no explanation - just 164 prints of Hollywood stars dressed in Nazi uniform, from movies over the years. 'We end up looking at things with our mouths open, fascinated, regardless of what we watch, whether it's a Nazi flick or people on fire', he has said.

Pause for thought

And then, in the Turbine Hall, was a massive installation by Miroslaw Balka called the "Box of Darkness". We all walked inside, no lights, and clearly we were in a cavernous space from the rather dead sounds within. People walking in could see nothing until they hit the wall. Then, turning around, we could see a dimly lit entrance. A disorienting space, which, if taken slowly, also led to moment of reflection. Here's my own version of the experience.

To quote Tom Lubbock of the Independent newspaper, "It's like a mouth of hell. Or rather – as surely everyone feels – the association is not with the old metaphysical hell, but with the recent historical hell. I mean the Holocaust, that ultimate nightmare vision which is now available at any moment. That's what this void of annihilation calls up."

So why blog about this? Simply that we, in the world of business, apparently spend far to little time thinking about the Arts and their impact on Society - yet it seems artists have commerce on the top of their agenda. Time to redress that?

Posted via web from mick's posterous

LeaderValues December Newsletter just published - Benito Juárez leadership biography and more

Click here to see this month's newsletter

It features

• Benito Juárez - a biography by Victoria Yates
• Expanding the Value of Coaching, by Marshall Goldsmith
• Dignity and Respect for All, by Mick Yates
• Lessons and Quotes
• Simply Effective, by Ron Ashkenas - book review by Mick Yates

Posted via web from mick's posterous

Respect - Ben Franklin

"The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity."

Benjamin Franklin

Posted via web from mick's posterous

United Nations Secretary-General's Message for Human Rights Day 2009

From the UN website ...

"No country is free of discrimination. We see it everywhere, in many forms: old and new, covert and blatant, public and private. It may appear as institutionalized racism, as ethnic strife, as episodes of intolerance and rejection, or as an official national version of history that denies the identity of others. 

Discrimination targets individuals and groups that are vulnerable to attack: the disabled, women and girls, the poor, migrants, minorities, and all those who are perceived as different.

These vulnerable people are frequently excluded from participating in the economic, political, cultural and social lives of their communities. The bigotry that stigmatizes and excludes them can be exploited by extremists. In some countries, we are witnessing the rise of a new politics of xenophobia.

But these victims of discrimination are not alone. The United Nations is standing with them, committed to defending the rights of all, and particularly the most vulnerable.  That is our identity and our mission.

The international human rights community continues to counter bias and hatred.  Public awareness has led to global treaties offering legal protection from discrimination and unequal treatment.

But abstract commitments are not enough. We must continue to confront inequality and intolerance wherever they are found.

On Human Rights Day, I invite people everywhere, at all levels, to join the United Nations and human rights defenders around the world in the fight against discrimination."

Ban Ki-Moon

From the Wikipedia ...

"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. The Guinness Book of Records describes the UDHR as the "Most Translated Document" in the world. The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are entitled. It consists of 30 articles which have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions and laws. The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols. In 1966 the General Assembly adopted the two detailed Covenants, which complete the International Bill of Human Rights; and in 1976, after the Covenants had been ratified by a sufficient number of individual nations, the Bill took on the force of international law."

Posted via web from mick's posterous

Itay Talgam: "Lead like the great conductors" - from TED Global

From TED Global. The idea that Leaders conduct an orchestra is a nice one, and this video show how different styles of conducting get different responses.

Posted via web from mick's posterous

Tzvetan Todorov at the RSA - brilliant lecture and conversation - Enlightenment 2.0

Here's a few notes from Tzvetan Todorov's lecture this evening at the RSA (Royal Society of Arts) entitled "In Defence of the Enlightenment". It was both thought provoking and timely.

Tzvetan stressed that the 18th Century Enlightenment had three broad themes:

1. Autonomy of the individual. This was not just anti-government or anti-religion but was about the right to choose. It was about the natural world, not the supernatural one, and its aim was the release of free will for both the individual and the community.

2. The real purpose of "freed" human beings . This had a distinct humanist theme, in that it was about the search for happiness and not just about religious salvation. It was about the welfare of all citizens and not about some kind of divine plan. It was thus about the real goals of humanity.

3. Universality. The Enlightenment view was that there are inalienable human rights, irrespective of culture or social standing. For example, all killing is wrong, even for a murderer (e.g. both private and public murder is not acceptable). In fact human universality should come before the law (so the rights of women were / are inalienable). Interestingly, this approach to "universal dignity" aroused 18th Century interest in travel and the understanding of other cultures.

So far so good. Unfortunately it got a little twisted.

The Enlightenment themes led positively to democracy and personal choice, but the promises were not always kept. Tzvetan suggested that both the French Revolution and Colonialism transgressed this noble set of goals by promoting both a kind of dictatorship and an "Imperial Policy".

He also noted Rousseau's view that the human desire for attention and self definition can release both good and evil equally.

Enlightenment thinking led to Liberal Democracy. But it also got subverted into Totalitarianism. It unortunately became a partial philosophical justification for World War. Tzvetan suggested a few "fault lines" in the thinking to support this view. One example is that "Scientism" is all - in other words that everything is explainable by Science. In his view at least one root of World War II was the "bad science" that there was such a thing as a superior race, and that therefore there was a need to attempt an "elimination of lower peoples"...

David Hume wrote that "Reason should be in the service of Passion". Enlightenment is not just about rationality or "machine man", nor should we suggest that "social engineering can solve all of our problems". Interestingly Tzvetan thought that Goya was the greatest Enlightenment painter, in that he depicted with great force both the light and the dark, the duality of being human.

Tzvetan's conclusion was that "Any strictly optimistic view of history is illusory".

So, what should Enlightenment thinking be today? It cannot be the same as the 18th cent, as an important human capability is for criticism where we can maintain the best and eliminate the rest. Tzvetan's view is that today's Enlightenment thinking should be about the true purpose of human beings - we should not just be defined by economic success, but be defined by a fulfilled life.

This may be an appropriate thought the week of the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit ...

Posted via web from mick's posterous

Tzvetan Todorov - quotes on the issues of right versus wrong ...

I will be attending Tzvetan Todorov's lecture this evening at the RSA (Royal Society of Arts) entitled "In Defence of the Enlightment", which should be a fascinating event. And that led me to dig out a few quotes of his, loosly connected with the concepts of right, wrong and certainty.

"We should not be simply fighting evil in the name of good, but struggling against the certainties of people who claim always to know where good and evil are to be found."

"For evil to take place, the acts of a few people are not sufficient; the great majority also has to remain indifferent. That is something of which we are all quite capable."

"People who believe themselves to be the incarnation of good have a distorted view of the world."

"Democracy brought to others through the barrel of a gun is not democracy."

Food for thought ...

Posted via web from mick's posterous

100 Lectures Every Leader Should Listen To ... from OnlineClasses

Carol Brown, from OnlineClasses sent this post on "100 Lectures A Leader Should Listen To". It includes links to MIT Open Courseware (OCW), amongst other sites, and the list is definitely worth checking out.

Here's the post and the first 10 out of 100 links:

"History has been empowered by triumph scarred by tyranny; both great leaders and tragic dictators alike have shaped the way we look at the world and the way future generations will feel about their generations. Whether you aspire to be student body president or president of the United States of America; whether you dream of being a school principal or a school teacher, it is vital you find within yourself the best, most merciful and just, leader you can possibly be. These lectures, videos, and even songs, will help you on your journey toward greatness so that you, too, can help change history for the better.

College Courses for Leadership

It’s always a great idea to start with the basics, and these courses have what you need. From defining "leadership" to showing common tactics and techniques, these links will serve as a drawing board for the game plan that works best for you.

1. Special Seminar in Communications: Leadership and Personal Effectiveness Coaching: This course gives students many opportunities to fine-tune their communication skills through several in-class activities. [MIT]
2. Practical Leadership: This course is an interactive seminar where students get individualized feedback on their leadership techniques from the instructor. [MIT]
3. Leadership Lab: This interactive workshop looks at how leaders should promote social responsibility and generate fiscal success. [MIT]
4. Dynamic Leadership: Using Improvisation in Business: The first part of this course serves as an overview of performing improvisation. [MIT]
5. Leadership Development: This course’s readings and assignments emphasize the characteristics of great leadership. [MIT]
6. Cross-Cultural Leadership: This course is a collaborative environment that examines what constitutes "effective" leadership across cultures. [MIT]
7. Leadership Tools and Teams: In this class, you will be helping students at Sloan develop leadership tools. [MIT]
8. People and Organizations: This course examines the historical context of civilization and organization. [MIT]
9. Managing Innovation and Entrepreneurship: This course discusses the basics every manager to be successful entrepreneurial and established firms. [MIT]
10. Managing and Volunteering In the Non-Profit Sector: This is a course that gives students an overview of the management challenges of the non-profit sector. [MIT]

Check out the rest of this list ...

Posted via web from mick's posterous

A Decade In Music: Myths Of The Digital, Post-Napster Age by John Tatlock - from The Quietus.com

I really enjoyed this very thorough and well-researched blog from John Tatlock. By the way, The Quietus is a great on-line magazine if you like muisc and the arts in general - very well written throughout. Anyway, here's the article ....

As Lord Mandelson's anti-piracy Digital Economy Bill begins its uncertain journey through parliament, John Tatlock investigates the music industry's most troubled decade yet and says 'stop whining, it's only a scratch'.

It was a decade ago, in the summer of 1999, that the first significant peer-to-peer file sharing service, Napster, was launched, throwing the record industry into a tail-spin of fear, fury and chest-beating.

The popular Napster myth is a David and Goliath one. Napster's creator Shawn Fanning carefully cultivated the file sharer's Robin Hood image - still touted by the dodgy far-right-party-funding sleaze-bags behind The Pirate Bay - by declaring that his goal was "to take down the record industry and give away free stuff!"

This was, of course, nonsense. Fanning had actually been working on the Napster software since 1997, and was careful to put together an executive team based in California before releasing the program. This team were to stay in the background dealing with the approaches from the record industry that Fanning was both smart enough to know were inevitable, and bold enough to think he could turn into a viable business. Meanwhile Fanning and his college buddy Sean Parker deliberately presented themselves as a couple of enthusiastic hackers giving away the program for fun. The intention, though, was always to build Napster up to be the de-facto biggest music distribution service on the internet, and sell the record industry's own content back to it, by making the service legal and subscription-only, for the right price.

Its impossible now to say how things might have been different had the record industry swallowed its collective pride and gone for this blatant protection racket. The sunniest vision of this parallel universe sees us with a Spotify-like service, only a decade early, global, and with a much larger library than any legal service currently offers.

That's actually a bit of a stretch. The reality was that the genie was out of the lamp, and when Napster was eventually shut down by a court order in 2001, users simply migrated to the many alternative networks that sprang up in its wake. The technology that powered Napster was not particularly sophisticated - peer-to-peer networking is decades old - and once the admittedly inspired idea was out there, it was trivial for people who really were just enthusiastic hackers to emulate. So there's no reason to believe that users wouldn't have reacted in the same way to a request for subscription money and simply gone elsewhere.

From this point on, illegal file-sharing proliferated wildly and is still with us. So where are we a decade on? Surely by now, the record industry should have collapsed? After all, it keeps telling us it's going to, lumbering around with a hang-dog expression and a "The End Is Nigh" sandwich-board dangling from it's slumped shoulders.

The thing is, while certain operators are indeed struggling, UK music industry revenue has actually risen consistently throughout the decade. Yet the conventional wisdom is that it's all over bar the shouting. Perhaps, like Harvey Keitel to a grimly wounded Tim Roth in Reservoir Dogs, someone needs to bark at the record industry: "Just cancel that shit right now! You're hurt. You're hurt really fucking bad, but you ain't dying. Say-the-goddamn-words: you're gonna be okay!"

Myth No. 1: Nobody Pays For Music Any More

A recent Times Online blog article revealed a fascinating fact, that runs entirely counter to conventional wisdom: UK music revenues overall are actually up.

It turns out that while record sales overall have declined severely, with many labels feeling the pinch, artists' revenue is way up. Much of this is down to a remarkable increase in live revenues over the last five years, which is now around half a billion pounds annually and rising. In fact, live revenue will almost certainly overtake revenue from record sales for the first time ever in 2010.

Of course, not everyone is benefiting equally, and while precise data is hard to come by, it seems that most of this revenue is being hogged by "heritage" acts who have built their fanbases often over decades and can charge premium ticket prices. In 2007, The Spice Girls were the UK's biggest concert draw in 2007, netting around £3.5m for their UK dates alone. The only vaguely new acts in the top ten that year were Arctic Monkeys at 6 (£300k) and Amy Winehouse at 10 (£229k). And it is sobering to note that Led Zeppelin got in at number 9, with £240k's worth of tickets for a single show (the proceeds went to charity, it should be noted).

A more modest, but still significant factor is the increase in revenues collected by the Performing Rights Society (the service that collects royalties on behalf of artists) from broadcasters, including the emerging area of internet radio, and services like YouTube and Spotify. This means that even as record sales decline, new sources of revenue contrinue to appear. Sure, this is a bummer for anyone whose business is selling records, but no doubt the Victorian candle-making industry were pretty pissed off with Thomas Edison and his bloody light-bulb. Eventually, you just have to get with the programme and adapt.

YouTube's part in the story is fascinating. It's roots are entirely Napster-like, in that it was founded on blatantly illegal use of content. By allowing users to upload music videos and TV programmes, it did for video what Napster had hoped to do for music; become the de facto standard for web video by entirely illegal means and then offer to make a deal when the content owners came knocking. The ethics of this remain hard to defend, but the record industry in particular had learned its lesson from Napster and took a more pragmatic view this time around.

There was a bit of a face-off earlier this year when YouTube blocked "premium" music videos in the UK after talks with the PRS broke down; YouTube's owners, Google, were seeking a more favourable (i.e.: cheaper) licensing arrangement, and the PRS and the artists it represents were less than keen. Billy Bragg went as far as to brand Google as "menacing" and petitions duly did the rounds.

Both sides remain tight-lipped about the final deal, but the model was switched from a per-play fee to an overall subscription lump sum, lasting until 2012, from which PRS will pay artists on a per-play basis. This means that YouTube now pay for music content in much the same way as bars and clubs do, albiet on a bigger scale; once they've coughed up a fixed license fee, their responsibility ends, and it's down to the PRS to decide which artists get what share of the revenue.

Still, whatever the details, anyone looking for a ballpark figure should know that the PRS's standard rate for streaming audio is a don't-quit-the-day-job £0.00085 per play. To put it another way, you earn one shiny pound if your track is played 1,176 times, while a million plays bags you 850 quid. 80s pop svengali Pete Waterman recently grumbled that the massive "Rick-Rolling" phenomenon, where web-surfers in their millions were misled by interesting-looking links to a clip of Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up' had netted him a princely £11 from YouTube, though how true that is is anyone's guess.

Myth No. 2: Fifty Quid Bloke

In the middle part of the decade, 'Fifty Quid Bloke' became a meme that spread rapidly around a desperate industry still focussed on physical goods and retail. This was a solid, dependable consumer, middle aged, with reasonable disposable income, who on a payday will buy a couple of CDs, a DVD, maybe a book; roughly fifty quid's worth of stuff. Suddenly, it was as if this was the only consumer that mattered. Screw the kids, they're all stealing everything anyway, this is the guy we need to reach.

Read the rest of this fascinating post ...

Posted via web from mick's posterous