Capital - Playing the confidence game at work — the wrong way Near the end of every school year, junior high school teacher Amy Lou Linder Weems begins a month-long lesson in what she calls “service learning.” She tells her students in Monroe, Louisiana, to pick a social problem that interests them. Then she gives them the freedom to figure out how to fix it on their own. Weems, 38, tried it for the first time in 1999. At first, she felt like the students expected her to know all the answers. “As teachers, we have to go from being sage on the stage to a facilitator of ideas,” Weems said. The era of running an empire is over... executives need to be partners. — Peter Atwater Business world shift The business world has seen this same kind of shift in the last generation. “The key is for a manager to know when it’s time to change course,” said Charles Elson, director of the University of Delaware’s Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance. The importance of confidence in the workplace has swung like a pendulum in the last 60 years, Elson said.
Martin Luther’s Anfechtungen–his own dark nights of the soul, and how they affected his teaching and ministry | Grateful to the dead Image via Wikipedia Well, it seems that each of the three sections of my forthcoming article for Leadership Journal has ballooned to the projected size of the whole piece: 2,500 words. So if I am to share in full what I have learned about Martin Luther’s teachings about spiritual depression (Luther is the third of three figures in the article, along with C. Perhaps just as surprising as the story of Mother Teresa is that of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformer Martin Luther. Historian David Steinmetz describes the terror which Luther experienced at these times as a fear that “God had turned his back on him once and for all,” abandoning him “to suffer the pains of hell.” These times of Anfechtungen (to use his term for it) drove Luther back to Scripture and to the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. Other solutions he offered included “music and good exercise.” The attribution of darkness to the devil may disturb some believers today. What is required here is an act of trust.
Becoming Chao: Lessons along the way He was old when the promise came, and it pierced through a lifetime of hope deferred. It was an unreasonable promise, laughable at best. (Both he and his wife took turns laughing.) But he believed. Against all hope, in hope he believed. And then twenty-five more years passed…. But the One who had promised was faithful, and when the believing man was 100 years old, he finally held the promise in his arms—a beautiful baby boy, a long-awaited son made in his likeness. He named him Isaac. The baby grew into a boy, and the father’s love grew into a legacy. And then the word came. It was a word from his God, the God who had first promised him a son. “So Abraham rose.” At the command that surely made his heart melt like wax within him and his legs give way beneath him, HE ROSE TO OBEY. Those three days must have felt like a thousand. When he arrived at Moriah, he didn’t give ear to the myriad reasons and emotions that screamed within him to turn back, to go home. We’ll go over there and… WORSHIP?!
Capital - A fatal flaw when choosing the right leader Politicians and other leaders from virtually every corner of the globe inevitably disappoint. But the much bigger concern is the mindset of voters, board members, and nominating committees when selecting our leaders — and the uncomfortable realisation that we’re not very good at it. What if we’re not that good at figuring out the most critical challenges and opportunities we want our leader to solve? I’m not even talking about the myriad of mistakes we make in selecting talent when we hire, from preferring people who look and act like us to believing that we can size someone up from an interview (the data on this last point, by the way, shows we are astoundingly bad at that). The single biggest problem — the fatal flaw in choosing presidents, school board leaders, or football coaches — is that we believe we can predict the future rather than looking for a leader who can quickly adapt to whatever the unpredictable future holds. Yet we act as if that is exactly what we are able to do.
100 Most Famous Landmarks Around the World Are you ready for a wonderful virtual trip around the world? Today I’ve combined 100 most famous landmarks all over the world in a simple list for you. They are the most recognisable images of the modern world and the most photographed. Enjoy the photos below and tell us how many of these you have already visited and where you will go next. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62.
40 Must-See Photos From The Past The phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” was coined by American newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane in 1911. It’s a simple notion that applies to many aspects of our lives, but especially to historical photography. Sometimes, one simple picture can tell you more about history than any story you might read or any document you might analyze. These photographs all tell stories about the historical figures or events that they represent. Perhaps the wars, poverty, fights for freedom and little miracles of the past have lessons for us that we can use today? (via sobadsogood) Woman With A Gas-Resistant Pram, England, 1938 Unpacking the head of the Statue of Liberty, 1885 Elvis in the Army, 1958 Animals being used as part of medical therapy, 1956 Testing of new bulletproof vests, 1923 Charlie Chaplin at age 27, 1916 Hindenburg Disaster, May 6, 1937 Circus hippo pulling a cart, 1924 Annette Kellerman promotes women’s right to wear a fitted one-piece bathing suit, 1907. Suntan vending machine, 1949
The evolution of overconfidence : Nature Affiliations Politics and International Relations, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9LD, UK Dominic D. P. Contributions D.J. and J.F. conceived the study. Competing financial interests The authors declare no competing financial interests. Author details Dominic D. Existential Depression in Gifted Children It has been my experience that gifted and talented persons are more likely to experience a type of depression referred to as existential depression. Although an episode of existential depression may be precipitated in anyone by a major loss or the threat of a loss which highlights the transient nature of life, persons of higher intellectual ability are more prone to experience existential depression spontaneously. Sometimes this existential depression is tied into the positive disintegration experience referred to by Dabrowski (1996). Existential depression is a depression that arises when an individual confronts certain basic issues of existence. Yalom (1980) describes four such issues (or “ultimate concerns”)–death, freedom, isolation and meaninglessness. Why should such existential concerns occur disproportionately among gifted persons? Because gifted children are able to consider the possibilities of how things might be, they tend to be idealists. References Dabrowski, K. (1966).
10 Books Everyone Should Read by 25-ish We are surrounded by words, and often throwaway words that don’t matter—our brains filled with buzzwords and jargon, all jumbled like the back of the coat closet. These words may get stuck in our head, but they rarely change us for the better. But good words stick with us. This is the power of good words—they are perspective-shifting, heart-understanding, life-changing. 10: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, by Donald Miller aka: Get a life “The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won't make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either.” Donald Miller captures the zeitgeist of a generation with his reflections on what it means to live a bigger story. 9: Let Your Life Speak, by Parker Palmer aka: You have a calling “Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you.” 8: Man's Search for Meaning, by Victor Frankl aka: Making sense of suffering “Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'.” 1: The Bible
Capital - Have you been a victim of meeting malpractice? Is this the cruel fate all office dwellers must endure? The answer is, perhaps surprisingly, no! So many people are subject to what I call “meeting malpractice” that it’s a wonder the trial lawyers haven’t caught onto this one yet. The good news is that somewhere out there savvy managers refuse to play along, instead holding on to the quaint belief that meetings are opportunities for smart people to learn, debate and discuss — and for accountability to be assigned for actions and results. A meeting without an agenda is like a restaurant dinner without a menu. So what is meeting malpractice? Meeting malpractice usually starts before the meeting begins. Clear agendas have multiple benefits. If there are controversies that will be disruptive, concessions that need to be extracted, or favours that need to be called in, the hard work of handling these demands should happen before the meeting. Meeting “mal-practitioners” know none of this. Finally, the meeting ends.
Kazimierz Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration About Radiolab is a show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience. Radiolab is heard around the country on more than 500 member stations. Embed the Radiolab widget on your blog or website. Radiolab is supported, in part, by the Alfred P. All press inquiries may be directed to Jennifer Houlihan Roussel at (646) 829-4497. Produced by Contact Radiolab: radiolab@wnyc.org Show Archive Jad Abumrad - Host, Radiolab The son of a scientist and a doctor, Jad Abumrad did most of his growing up in Tennessee, before studying creative writing and music composition at Oberlin College in Ohio.
Capital - How to get the most mileage out of your employees Sounds romantic, right? Actually, it’s just nature. There’s really no proof birds can express love or affection, said Dr Chris Bonar, director of animal heath at the Dallas Zoo. “It could be seen as emotional attachment by humans, but for the animal it’s likely only about assuring the best chance of producing offspring,” Bonar said. The ways monogamous animals work together toward a common goal offers a key lesson for managers. The commitment problem is particularly acute in the United States, in part because of the way people in the country measure the trait. “People equate commitment with face time,” said Scott DeRue, assistant professor at University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Lawyers just might have it the worst. Others see sacrificing sleep as the ultimate work commitment. The better measure How bad is all this overworking? A 2006 internal study by Ernst & Young found that employees who took longer vacations at the accounting firm scored better on yearly performance ratings.
Gifted Children and Moral Development - Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration The Theory of Positive Disintegration is as theory of moral development devised by Polish psychologist Kazimierz Dabrowski. It consists of five levels which go from total self-interest to almost the complete opposite, which is primary concern for others. Level I: Primary Integration: Egocentrism is the ruling force in this level. Level II: Unilevel Disintegration: Individuals at this level of moral development are no longer totally self-centered, but they have not yet internalized a core set of values. Level III: Spontaneous Multilevel Disintegration: At this level, an individual begins to develop an inner core of hierarchical values. For example, a person may have a strong sense of honor and believe that any lie is a sign of moral failure or weakness. Those at this level also often feel morally out of sync with their peers whose values are not at the same high level of idealism. Dabrowski considered this level a period of "positive maladjustment." Level V: Secondary Integration: