August 2011
16 posts
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Voices of the Defenders of Grad School. And me... →
As only Penelope could have written it! I like her point (well, I like all of them) that once you’ve invested your time and energy on something it’s no longer free.
Am not a fan of the grad school choice immediately after college, including for a MBA degree. Get out and do good work for a while first, and learn as you do it. Go back to grad school later if you wish to, after...
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Workplace Culture balances Change and Constants →
On Talking Story:
We talk about change a lot, equating it with initiative, innovation and creativity, however we tend to forget those constants we have already invested in, constants which keep us grounded, confident, steady and sure.
When you are a manager, the culture you create in the workplace is the healthy balance of both things:
Your Change + Your Constants = Your Culture:
Write...
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Maintenance-Free Library « Eating Abroad →
Get your books to keep delivering after you’ve read them that first time.
Give your library some character: so many bookshelves are stuffy, boring and lifeless.
These are ideas from a grade-school teacher which can be adapted to any bookshelf, turning it into a truly USEFUL library: The key would be in deciding your own categories of usefulness. Could they be sorted by your values, your...
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100 Strangers, 100 Personalities, 100 Stories «... →
Love this project for so many reasons.
Note great rationale with getting a new (and better) camera… street cred.
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Rogue Columnist: Men don't read →
Please read. Much in this essay about reading whatever your gender:
I can’t imagine living in this mental poverty.
Books changed my mind and made it changeable. I never intended to be a journalist or author. I just assumed that experience was one a well-rounded person should have. Books used to be sexy. Really desirable women expected well-read men, and reading to one’s lover...
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Thank you NYT, for helping me slow down and focus
I’m gaining an unexpected benefit from the online business model of the New York Times. Their model: you get 20 free page views a month, then will have to pay to read more. My benefit: Since I haven’t subscribed (yet, and likely will) I don’t mindlessly click through their site any more, and I read articles completely instead of skimming them. I often get there via a recommendation to start,...
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The dos and don'ts of service →
After my last Managing with Aloha presentation, a woman who spoke up in our question and dialogue to follow offered: She’s always felt the basic training she got in the hotel hospitality business while a teenager has had a lasting effect on her, and the service she continues to give - and expect from others. This reminded me of that, and I really must agree:
bobulate:
Hannah Howard at...
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Collaboration and The Super Committee – Seja Min... →
Elizabeth Seja Min offers some positive encouragement to the “Super Committee” of our U.S. Congress:
First, collaboration to solve wicked problems is a tough go. That’s where the element of aspiration comes in – the reach for greater meaning and inspiration. Aspiration plays a role in helping people stay a difficult collaborative course; plus, it engages support and participation...
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Robert Reich: Stock Tip: Be Worried. Workers are... →
robertreich:
Repeat after me: Workers are consumers. Consumers are workers.
We’re slouching toward a double dip, and the stock market is imploding, because consumers – whose spending is 70 percent of the economy – have reached their limit.
It’s not just the jobless who can’t spend. It’s mainly people with jobs…
Dear President Obama,
You need Robert Reich in your advisory circle (or...
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Pure Work →
I have a photoset on Flicker I’ve dubbed “The Ways of Work.” It’s rather sparse compared to my other sets on the photo-sharing site despite my Ho‘ohana obsession (Ho‘ohana being the MWA value of work) because I shy from taking photos of people unless I have their permission, something the spontaneity of candid working shots isn’t always that conducive to. I’m adding a few now though, because of...
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The Heady Thrill of Having Nothing to Do | Scott... →
Is constant stimulation hurting our creativity—and the economy? Scott Adams pays tribute to tedium.
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The Tea Party, Take Two - Joe Nocera Op-Ed in the... →
I came to see myself as a pragmatist who favored common-sense solutions over ideology. Then came the financial crisis. I like to joke that there’s nothing like a good financial crisis to turn you into a liberal. But it’s not really a joke.
The title of this column was chosen because it’s a follow-up to an earlier one in which Nocera had been “comparing the Tea Party Republicans to...
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When it’s in the News, Alaka‘i Managers talk story →
On Talking Story: When it’s in the News
Broadcasting’s giants have lost market share and gotten smaller, but they still have pervasive influence. Fact is that millions of people still tune in to listen to what they say, and think about it, weighing in with their own opinions (and values). People will still reflect on the day’s news, and will often say, “Yeah… they’re talking about me, and about...
