Why Twitter Matters: Tomorrow’s Knowledge Network Image via CrunchBase Twitter still comes in for high-blown denunciations from Great Persons who have never used it. But I ventured to suggest the other day (in a tweet, of course) that it is now an open question whether anyone can be a paid-up member of the commentariat in 2011 without a Twitter handle. Because while it is presently used for a score of different purposes (from chat-chat among friends to crass marketing efforts to smart customer service to newsgathering that beats any other source) at its core it offers two interlocking experiences which deliver value so great it is hard to measure. First is, as it were, research. Second, Twitter as cocktail party. 24/7. What to make of this? The remarkable power of what I am terming “mutual curation.” Why does this matter quite so much? Follow my tweets, if you like, at @nigelcameron. Like this: Like Loading...
How Language Shapes Your Organization - Kevin Allen by Kevin Allen | 7:00 AM July 24, 2012 Cultural permission is the tone, attitude and language that emanates from the executive suite. It is a mantra, expressed in oft-used catch phrases and philosophies that move like waves through the organization. They get adopted and interpreted as actions to be followed. As a former New Yorker, now a London resident, it has been nearly impossible to avoid the drama of News Corporation’s phone hacking scandal, which has shuttered a more than 100-year-old newspaper and, even as of this writing, has executives and politicians alike running for cover. The real drama however, unfolded not when the leaders of the company claimed, perhaps accurately, that they were unaware of and shocked by the actions of errant employees hacking phones, manipulating markets and cooking the books. Take Enron, for example. The Power of the Spoken Word One of my greatest mentors said to me upon being awarded my first real management role, “Well kid, welcome to the club.
9 Suggestions for the Welcome Back to School letter from the Principal “Although it was a bit too long, I really appreciated your letter this summer,” is something I have heard many times in the past 15 years. Like many of you, I write a “welcome back to school” letter to parents every summer, and I think it is a very valuable practice—but be sure to make the most of it. Last summer I happened to post my letter to my blog, something I wasn’t sure was worth doing because it tends to be mostly “inside-baseball,” material primarily pertinent just to my own immediate constituents. To my surprise, it generated quite a bit of traffic, all of it from web searches for various variants on the term “welcome back to school letter.” What I have learned from my search engine traffic is that the welcome back to school letter is something about which every summer hundreds or perhaps thousands of school-leaders go to the internet to seek advice. Accordingly, I thought I’d share a few thoughts for my principal colleagues about writing these important missives. 1. 2. 3. 4.
12 Most Surefire Ways to Lose an Argument As diverse as we are, people are bound to have occasional disagreements in their business, social, and family lives. Arguments shouldn’t be about winning, per se, but we do “lose” whenever our point doesn’t get across to the other party. Real dialogue is about moving closer to truth and understanding. Here are twelve behaviors that will undoubtedly lead to unresolved conflict. 1. Interrupt Interrupting someone while they are expressing a thought only shows that you weren’t listening in the first place. 2. Obstinate adolescents have mastered this technique of disrespect. 3. Finger pointing and starting sentences with “You always…” immediately place others on the defensive. 4. Group attacks pretty much say that you don’t have enough confidence or enough reason to take on the other party. 5. Assigning motives to others instead of getting clarification will get you into trouble each and every time. 6. The intimidation factor usually comes into play when an argument has no merit. 7. 8. 9.
The 20 Essential Habits of Highly Passionate People Email I’ve always worked hard at whatever I’ve been doing. My work-ethic comes from doing what I enjoy, and not forcing myself to do something. Highly passionate people aren’t just lucky, they share common characteristics. They work hard, they trust their intuition and they persevere. I personally don’t see myself having any other options than following my passion. We all have the habits necessary, we just need to let them shine. When I was in my late teens, I wasn’t even remotely familiar with terms like “follow your passion”, “ listen to your heart ” or “go with your intuition”. As the years have passed, these concepts have grown and I’ve realized that the only thing that matters is what I am excited about in this very moment. It’s far too easy for me to start questioning what I’m doing. But in the end, what matters is how much I’m enjoying myself. We’ve been taught that logic is superior, but is it really? Courage is something you build up. I’ve never worked a real job in my life.
Decision-Making In Gordon Moore’s Land Moore’s Law (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Three Months Circling the Future Two years ago I penned, or should I say keyboarded, a commentary with the title A Week in Tomorrow. It told the tale of three successive conferences. Midway through 2012, there are four big things on my mind. the Facebook IPOthe Presidential electionthe Dragon spacecraftand the global climate process, focused on Rio+20. A word about the issues. Now for the conferences. If you’re counting, five of these events were business-focused, three on policy, and one on education. Point is: There is a fundamental alignment between our thinking about the future, risk, business, social enterprise/CSR/nonprofits, innovation, and technology. Oh, and by the way: The most memorable, and perhaps most illuminating, response I received at any of these nine expert gatherings was at the event on global education, where a former senior official of the United Nations summed up my argument as “crap.” I trust you can see where we are going.
Whole Brain Thinking: Cultivate 21st Century Creativity and Leadership Creativity is a core competency for leaders and managers, and a crucial component of the innovation equation. Creativity requires whole-brain thinking; right-brain imagination, artistry and intuition, plus left-brain logic and planning. Organizations led by creative leaders have a higher success rate in innovation, employee engagement, change and renewal.Generating fresh solutions to problems, and the ability to create new products, processes or services for a changing market, are part of the intellectual capital that give a company its competitive edge. The excessive focus on analysis, targets and number crunching, and the absence of introspection and imagination has resulted in a crisis in management which is partly to blame for our current financial crisis. Explore the strategic dimensions of Whole-Brain Thinking and learn practical tools and techniques that integrate right-brain imagination, artistry and intuition with left-brain logic, analysis, and planning. Learning Outcomes:
gyls Stephen Covey (1932-2012), A Model For What Human Beings Are Truly Capable Of “The world has lost a truly great soul today. Stephen Covey was a man whose ‘work was love made visible.’ He touched millions of people by the strength of his integrity and the depth of his caring. He was a personal friend, an extraordinary father, and a model for what human beings are truly capable of. Please join us in sending love and prayers to his family.” -Tony Robbins On July 16, 2012, Stephen Covey died due to complications from a bicycle accident. He was the author of the best-selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I will miss Stephen Covey. One of the most important ways to manifest integrity is to be loyal to those who are not present.” The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People The seven habits move us progressively on a continuum from dependence to independence to interdependence. Independence or Self-Mastery The first three habits are about moving from dependence to independence. Habit 1. Habit 2. Habit 3. Habit 4. Habit 5. Habit 6. Habit 7.