Posted: 27 September 2009 at 10:00pm | IP Logged

Many business books are heavier on jargon than on wisdom, executives often complain. But among this year's titles are some that can sharpen managers' thinking about technology, management and careers. Other simply offer pleasure, as the holiday season gives some respite from meetings and business trips. (wow power leveling)

The exchange of ideas on the Internet, for example, is bound to keep proliferating, which is what makes 'Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything,' by Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams, worthwhile reading.

The book highlights how traditional collaboration among employees in meeting rooms is fast being superseded by collaboration on a much vaster scale. Thanks to the Internet, masses of people beyond corporate boundaries can exchange thoughts and innovate to produce content, goods and services. Web sites such as Wikipedia, the user-edited online encyclopedia, MySpace and even the Human Genome Project encourage this interaction, which spurs growth.

Some corporate executives still lament the competition this poses to their proprietary marketplace offerings, Wow gold but Mr. Tapscott, a proponent of open sourcing, argues that the more you share, the more you win. He and Mr. Williams outline ways to exploit the power of online collaboration. They describe how companies from Flickr to the more traditional Procter & Gamble have benefited from inviting in ideas from customers and others browsing the Web.

For a trenchant view of business and business advice, take a dip into 'The Halo Effect . . . and the Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers,' by Phil Rosenzweig. The author, a former manager turned professor, asserts that a great deal of analysis offered by consultants, academics and the media is simplistic and often 'deeply flawed.'

When a company reports that sales and profits are on the rise, for example, people say it has a visionary leader and a brilliant strategy. When performance then falters, they say the leader was myopic and had the wrong strategy. Yet little in the way of leadership and strategy may actually have changed. World of warcraft gold

The book illustrates this point by delving into good and bad times at big companies such as Cisco and IBM. It identifies nine common business delusions, including 'single explanations' for success or failure, and 'absolute performance.' Because company performance is relative to competition, following one formula can never guarantee results, Mr. Rosenzwieg asserts. Success comes only from doing things better than rivals do them.

'The Halo Effect' is for executives who aren't looking for a quick-fix prescription and who understand that winning depends on knowing one's own company and on executing smart decisions well -- with a little luck mixed in.

Managers who want to be better bosses may turn to 'The Three Signs of a Miserable Job' by Patrick Lencioni, the author's latest management fable, which uses fictional characters to illustrate what should be self-evident: Unhappy employees are those who don't feel valued or listened to, don't know why their job matters to others, or don't know how they are performing. All these problems can be fixed easily, as Mr. Lencioni outlines in his tale. The book is a quick read. Sro Gold

Executives concerned with their own fates should consider 'Firing Back -- How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters,' by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Andrew Ward. Using the accounts of dismissed top executives at companies such as Morgan Stanley, Home Depot and Hewlett-Packard, the authors show why some have been able to move on to new successes by, among other things, seeking help from old allies and acknowledging their failure.

For a colorful take on recovering from a personal and professional fall, read Michael Gates Gill's 'How Starbucks Saved My Life.' It tells of the author's unusual journey after losing a senior advertising job and his marriage in middle age. Lonely and unemployed at 63 years old -- and with no health insurance after being diagnosed with a brain tumor that wasn't malignant but cost him some hearing -- he landed a job at a Starbucks in Manhattan.

Sro Gold,His fellow workers and boss are decades younger, mostly African-American and without the Ivy League degree he has from Yale. But rather than feel depressed taking orders for lattes and lugging garbage to the curb, Mr. Gill finds the job becomes a refuge, where he feels valued and makes friends among colleagues and regular customers.

His account of his year behind the counter at Starbucks -- which is slated to become a movie starring Tom Hanks -- is a moving reminder that having a community at work can be more rewarding than a big office or title.

No Christmas Eve column about books would be complete without mentioning some longtime Christmas favorites that are still relevant. 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens, the writer's 1843 tale of boss Ebenezer Scrooge's journey from a life of greed and miserliness to one of charity, still resonates, especially at a time when the super-rich are so exalted. And O. Henry's century-old 'The Gift of the Magi' still reminds us that love is the only gift worth possessing. Aion kina

Posted: 13 November 2009 at 8:24pm | IP Logged

Interview God
 
"Come in," God said to me, "so, you would like to interview Me?"
 
"If you have the time," I said. (wow power leveling)

He smiled through His beard and said: "My time is called eternity and is enough to do everything; what questions do you have in mind to ask me?"

"None that are new to you. What's the one thing that surprises you most about mankind?"

He answered: "That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health. That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future. That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they never had never lived..."

His hands took mine and we were silent. After a long period, I said, "May I ask you another question?"

He replied with a smile. Wow gold

"As a Father, what would you ask your children to do for the new year?"

"To learn that they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to let themselves be loved.

To learn that it takes years to build trust, and a few seconds to destroy it.

To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives.

To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. There will be others better or worse than they are.

To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.

To learn that they should control their attitudes, otherwise their attitudes will control them.

To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them. Sro Gold

To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.

To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to show their feelings.

To learn that money can buy everything but happiness.

To learn that while at times they may be entitled to be upset, that does not give them the right to upset those around them.

To learn that great dreams do not require great wings, but a landing gear to achieve.

To learn that true friends are scarce, he/she who has found one has found a true treasure.

To learn that they are masters of what they keep to themselves and slaves of what they say.

To learn that they shall reap what they plant; if they plant gossip they will harvest intrigues, if they plant love they will harvest happiness.

To learn that true happiness is not to achieve their goals but to learn to be satisfied with what they already achieved.

To learn that happiness is a decision.  They decide to be happy with what they are and have, or die from envy and jealousy of what they lack. Aion kina

To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different.

To learn that those who are honest with themselves without considering the consequences go far in life.

To learn that even though they may think they have nothing to give, when a friend cries with them, they find the strength to appease the pain.

To learn that by trying to hold on to love ones, they very quickly push them away; and by letting go of those they love, they will be side by side forever.

To learn that even though the word "love" has many different meanings, it loses value when it is overstated.

To learn that they can never do something extraordinary for Me to love them; I simply do.

To learn that the shortest distance they could be from Me is the "the distance of a prayer."
 

Posted: 05 December 2009 at 12:23am | IP Logged

Ivanoushka the Simpleton

In a kingdom far away from our country, there was a town over which ruled the Tsar Pea with his Tsaritza Carrot. He had many wise statesmen, wealthy princes, strong, powerful warriors, and also simple soldiers, a hundred thousand, less one man. In that town lived all kinds of people: honest, bearded merchants, keen and open-handed rascals, German tradesmen, lovely maidens, Russian drunkards; and in the suburbs all around, the peasants tilled the soil, sowed the wheat, ground the flour, traded in the markets, and spent the money in drink.

In one of the suburbs there was a poor hut where an old man lived with his three sons, Thomas, Pakhom, and Ivan. The old man was not only clever, he was wise. He had happened once to have a chat with the devil. They talked together while the old man treated him to a tumbler of wine and got out of the devil many great secrets. Soon after this the peasant began to perform such marvelous acts that the neighbors called him a sorcerer, a magician, and even supposed that the devil was his kin.
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Yes, it is true that the old man performed great marvels. Were you longing for love, go to him, bow to the old man, and he would give you some strange root, and the sweetheart would be yours. If there is a theft, again to him with the tale. The old man conjures over some water, takes an officer along straight to the thief, and your lost is found; only take care that the officer steals it not.

Indeed the old man was very wise; but his children were not his equals. Two of them were almost as clever. They were married and had children, but Ivan, the youngest, was single. No one cared much for him because he was rather a fool, could not count one, two, three, and only drank, or ate, or slept, or lay around. Why care for such a person? Every one knows life for some is brighter than for others. But Ivan was good-hearted and quiet. Ask of him a belt, he will give a kaftan also; take his mittens, he certainly would want to have you take his cap with them. And that is why all liked Ivan, and usually called him Ivanoushka the Simpleton; though the name means fool, at the same time it carries the idea of a kind heart.

Our old man lived on with his sons until finally his hour came to die. He called his three sons and said to them:world of warcraft gold,

"Dear children of mine, my dying hour is at hand and ye must fulfill my will. Every one of you come to my grave and spend one night with me; thou, Tom, the first night; thou, Pakhom, the second night; and thou, Ivanoushka the Simpleton, the third."

Two of the brothers, as clever people, promised their father to do according to his bidding, but the Simpleton did not even promise; he only scratched his head.

The old man died and was buried. During the celebration the family and guests had plenty of pancakes to eat and plenty of whisky to wash them down. Break went on to say that.

Now you remember that on the first night Thomas was to go to the grave; but he was too lazy, or possibly afraid, so he said to the Simpleton:
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"I must be up very early to-morrow morning; I have to thresh; go thou for me to our father's grave."

"All right," answered Ivanoushka the Simpleton. He took a slice of black rye bread, went to the grave, stretched himself out, and soon began to snore.

The church clock struck midnight; the wind roared, the owl cried in the trees, the grave opened and the old man came out and asked:

"Who is there?"

"I,"wedding dress, answered Ivanoushka.

"Well, my dear son, I will reward thee for thine obedience," said the father.

Lo! the cocks crowed and the old man dropped into the grave. The Simpleton arrived home and went to the warm stove.

"What happened?" asked the brothers.

"Nothing," he answered. "I slept the whole night and am hungry now."

The second night it was Pakhom's turn to go to his father's grave. He thought it over and said to the Simpleton:

"To-morrow is a busy day with me. Go in my place to our father's grave."

"All right," answered Ivanoushka. He took along with him a piece of fish pie, went to the grave and slept. Midnight approached, the wind roared, crows came flying, the grave opened and the old man came out.replica watches,

"Who is there?" he asked.

"I," answered his son the Simpleton.

"Well, my beloved son, I will not forget thine obedience," said the old man.

The cocks crowed and the old man dropped into his grave. Ivanoushka the Simpleton came home, went to sleep on the warm stove, and in the morning his brothers asked:

"What happened?"

"Nothing," answered Ivanoushka.

On the third night the brothers said to Ivan the Simpleton:

"It is thy turn to go to the grave of our father. The father's will should be done."

"All right," answered Ivanoushka. He took some cookies, put on his sheepskin, and arrived at the grave.
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At midnight his father came out.

Ivanoushka the Simpleton