L’étonnante courbe du bonheur L’INSEE vient de publier son "Portrait social" de la France, édition 2008, et, cette année, une des études a pour titre : "Le bonheur attend-il le nombre de années ?" Cette enquête s’intéresse au bien-être des Français, à leur degré de satisfaction. La question de départ qui a été posée à l’échantillon interrogé était : "Dans l’ensemble, êtes-vous très satisfaits, plutôt satisfaits, pas très satisfaits ou pas du tout satisfaits de la vie que vous menez ?" La courbe obtenue est très contrastée : on remarque que dès 20 ans, la courbe de satisfaction descend pour atteindre son niveau le plus bas entre 45 et 50 ans puis, à partir de 50 ans, elle remonte pour arriver à son plus haut niveau entre 65 et 70 ans. Pour moi, cette courbe révèle un malaise. Notre société favorise-t-elle le bonheur ? L’étude nous précise que l’âge de 45 ans correspond pourtant aux années de la vie où les revenus et la consommation sont les plus élevés. Pourtant, nous sommes sur terre pour être heureux. ou encore :
Setting SMART Goals for Students and Employees Teaching students to set goals for themselves is not a skill that is typically taught in most educational situations, yet it is a valuable life long discipline. Most managers will agree that in order to be successful one must begin with the end in mind. Both students and employees can therefore benefit from learning how to set goals. The old adage of “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail!” Set SMART Goals A helpful guide to setting goals is found within the acronym SMART. Specific Goals need to be well defined and easy to understand. Example: I want to get in shape, so I will run a marathon with Bob, in Boston, on July 21st. This example answers our five “W” questions and can be understand by anyone. Measurable Clear goals should have ways to track progress, both for motivation and for accountability. How Much? Any other quantifiable factor is fine for measurement. Example: I will follow Hal Higdon’s marathon training schedule each week, and look to finish the marathon in under 4:30.
What Doesn't Motivate Creativity Can Kill It - Teresa Amabile and Steve Kramer by Teresa Amabile and Steve Kramer | 9:49 AM April 25, 2012 Management is widely viewed as a foe of innovation. The thinking goes that too much management strangles innovation (just let a thousand flowers bloom!). But we have found a much more nuanced picture. You really can manage for innovation, but it starts by knowing what drives creativity in the people who generate and develop the new ideas that, when implemented, will become tomorrow’s innovations. Unfortunately, too many managers unintentionally kill innovation because they rely too heavily on carrots and sticks to motivate employees. More than three decades of research have shown that people are most likely to be creative when they’re intrinsically motivated by the interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, and challenge of the work itself. Savvy managers know how to balance four factors, to properly motivate creativity and, ultimately, innovation: Goals Evaluation Reward Some of the most positive rewards are not monetary. Pressure
Two Lists You Should Look at Every Morning - Peter Bregman by Peter Bregman | 11:00 AM May 27, 2009 I was late for my meeting with the CEO of a technology company and I was emailing him from my iPhone as I walked onto the elevator in his company’s office building. I stayed focused on the screen as I rode to the sixth floor. The world is moving fast and it’s only getting faster. So we try to speed up to match the pace of the action around us. But that’s a mistake. Never before has it been so important to say “No.” It’s hard to do because maybe, just maybe, that next piece of information will be the key to our success. A study of car accidents by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute put cameras in cars to see what happens right before an accident. The world is changing fast and if we don’t stay focused on the road ahead, resisting the distractions that, while tempting, are, well, distracting, then we increase the chances of a crash. Now is a good time to pause, prioritize, and focus. Some people already have the first list.
Give it five minutes A few years ago I used to be a hothead. Whenever anyone said anything, I’d think of a way to disagree. I’d push back hard if something didn’t fit my world-view. It’s like I had to be first with an opinion – as if being first meant something. It’s easy to talk about knee jerk reactions as if they are things that only other people have. This came to a head back in 2007. And what did I do? His response changed my life. This was a big moment for me. Richard has spent his career thinking about these problems. There’s also a difference between asking questions and pushing back. Learning to think first rather than react quick is a life long pursuit. If you aren’t sure why this is important, think about this quote from Jonathan Ive regarding Steve Jobs’ reverence for ideas: And just as Steve loved ideas, and loved making stuff, he treated the process of creativity with a rare and a wonderful reverence. That’s deep. There are two things in this world that take no skill: 1.
Comment voyager sans rien, tout nu et sans le sou ? Guillaume et Nans Si vous pensez que voyager et vivre avec trois fois rien est impossible, vous vous trompez. La preuve est apportée en images sur France 5 avec la nouvelle série Nus et culottés : Nans et Mouts, partis en 2010 sans un sou ni un vêtement ont réussi à réaliser leurs rêves les plus fous. Comment ? Voyager mieux avec moins Pour ne rien vous cacher, je connais un peu Guillaume Mouton (alias Mouts) : en 2008, il m'avait contactée alors qu'il partait pour un voyage en Amérique, à la découverte des solutions alternatives développées sur ce continent. La bande annonce de la série documentaire réalisée par Bonne Pioche vous donnera un bon aperçu de leur périple : Echange, troc et générosité Pourquoi partir sans rien ? Ils s'en remettent donc à l’inconnu et font confiance à autrui, ne prévoient plus rien : ils voyageront en étant habillés, logés, nourris par des échanges reposant sur le troc et la générosité des personnes rencontrées. De vraies rencontres Un programme qui rassemble
How A Simple Checklist Can Improve Learning How A Simple Checklist Can Improve Learning From reminding us of what to pack for a trip to helping doctors perform surgery, checklists are crucial for projects that require sequential steps or a series of tasks. As Atul Gawande points out in his book “Checklist Manifesto,” checklists break down complex tasks and also ensure consistency and efficiency if more than one person is working on a project. If checklists are so effective for airline pilots, skyscraper construction teams, and heart surgeons, why shouldn’t students use them as well? Checklists can benefit students in the following ways: For younger students, simple, task-based checklists can help them become accustomed to following steps, adding order to the relative chaos of learning, and offering a pathway to accomplishing complex tasks. Improving Metacognition Education specialist Dr. “Used effectively, checklists can help students develop metacognitive awareness of their intellectual processes,” Rowlands explained. Wunderlist
To Encourage Innovation, Eradicate Blame There is a big difference between identifying the cause of a negative outcome and looking for someone to blame it on. Identifying the cause of a negative outcome is productive. You can use that information to avoid the situation in the future and also help people take responsibility for fixing it and moving on. Finding fault and assigning blame, on the other hand, creates a situation where people become stuck and paralyzed. We know that the most innovative environments are those where people are allowed to learn from past mistakes, grow, develop, and improve. It’s also the approach used by WD-40 Company--manufacturers of the ubiquitous “water displacement” product of the same name--whose closely guarded formula was discovered on the 40th try back in 1953. As CEO Garry Ridge has describes it, part of WD-40’s ongoing success with innovation can be traced back to a culture where employees share the positive and negative outcomes of any situation. Consider your impact as a leader.
9 Keys to Business & Career Success I'm fortunate enough to know a number of remarkably successful people. Regardless of industry or profession, they all share the same perspectives and beliefs. And they act on those beliefs: 1. Deadlines and time frames establish parameters, but typically not in a good way. Forget deadlines, at least as a way to manage your activity. Average people allow time to impose its will on them; remarkable people impose their will on their time. 2. Some of your employees drive you nuts. You chose them. Think about the type of people you want to work with. Then change what you do so you can start attracting those people. Successful people are naturally drawn to successful people. 3. Dues aren't paid, past tense. No matter what you've done or accomplished in the past, you're never too good to roll up your sleeves, get dirty, and do the grunt work. Remarkably successful people never feel entitled--except to the fruits of their labor. 4. You have "10 years in the Web design business." 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Toyota Production System A production system which is steeped in the philosophy of "the complete elimination of all waste" imbuing all aspects of production in pursuit of the most efficient methods.> Toyota Motor Corporation's vehicle production system is a way of "making things" that is sometimes referred to as a "lean manufacturing system" or a "Just-in-Time (JIT) system," and has come to be well known and studied worldwide.This production control system has been established based on many years of continuous improvements, with the objective of "making the vehicles ordered by customers in the quickest and most efficient way, in order to deliver the vehicles as quickly as possible." Based on the basic philosophies of jidoka and Just-in-Time, the TPS can efficiently and quickly produce vehicles of sound quality, one at a time, that fully satisfy customer requirements.
Matin Magique - Laird Hamilton La réponse de Laird m’a fascinée. Bon, il faut dire que si une personne chevauche des vagues meurtrières depuis plusieurs décennies et leur survit (avez-vous vu la photo de gauche?!), j’ai tendance à être fascinée par à peu près tout ce qu’elle dit. ;-) Mais vous conviendrez avec moi qu'il y a quelque chose de magistral dans sa philosophie. Évidemment, on pourrait avancer qu’il est inutilement imprudent… surtout qu’il a une femme et trois enfants. Être aussi déterminé à réussir est certes impressionnant – bravo à lui! Ou l’est-ce vraiment? Ce que j’apprends, à travers des personnes comme Laird Hamilton, et en naviguant bien sûr sur les eaux de ma propre vie (heureusement, beaucoup moins tumultueuses…), est que la prudence peut être l’attitude la plus imprudente, en réalité.
Personal Goal Setting - Goal Setting Tools from MindTools.com - StumbleUpon Planning to Live Your Life Your Way Learn how to set effective personal goals. Many people feel as if they're adrift in the world. They work hard, but they don't seem to get anywhere worthwhile. A key reason that they feel this way is that they haven't spent enough time thinking about what they want from life, and haven't set themselves formal goals. After all, would you set out on a major journey with no real idea of your destination? Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality. The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life. Why Set Goals? Top-level athletes, successful business-people and achievers in all fields all set goals. By setting sharp, clearly defined goals, you can measure and take pride in the achievement of those goals, and you'll see forward progress in what might previously have seemed a long pointless grind. Starting to Set Personal Goals Tip:
4 Secrets of Great Critical Thinkers In 2009, J D Wetherspoon, a chain of more than 800 pubs in the UK, was facing declining sales. Demand for beer had been down for five years. In addition, pricing pressure from super market chains was intense, and higher alcohol taxes further squeezed its already tight margins. What would you say is the company's real business problem? Most people see it as a sales problem and recommend better marketing and promotion. The strategy worked. If you fail to do this, you risk solving the wrong problem. Ironically, the more experience you have, the harder it will to break from conventional mindsets. In his book Thinking, Fast and Slow, Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman attributes shallow framing to people substituting easy questions for hard ones. 1. 2. 3. 4. This article was co-authored with John Austin and is second of in a series examining the key components of strategic aptitude: anticipating, thinking critically, interpreting, deciding, aligning, learning.
Jidoka Automation with a human touch The term jidoka used in the TPS (Toyota Production System) can be defined as "automation with a human touch." The word jidoka traces its roots to the invention of the automatic loom by Sakichi Toyoda, Founder of the Toyota Group. The automatic loom is a machine that spins thread for cloth and weaves textiles automatically.Before automated devices were commonplace, back-strap looms, ground looms, and high-warp looms were used to manually weave cloth. In 1896, Sakichi Toyoda invented Japan's first self-powered loom called the "Toyoda Power Loom." Type-G Toyoda Automatic Loom, the origin of jidoka The Type-G Toyoda Automatic Loom, the world's first automatic loom with a non-stop shuttle-change motion, was invented by Sakichi Toyoda in 1924. Concept of jidoka Jidoka and Visual Control Since equipment stops when a problem arises, a single operator can visually monitor and efficiently control many machines. Visual Control using Andon