May 2013
6 posts
“If we shouldn’t rely on personality tests, how can we find a fulfilling...”
– Have we all been duped by the Myers-Briggs test? - Fortune Management
Watch
Climate control or command & control
Ken Robinson in his recent TED talk (april 2013) mentioned that leaders should be responsible for climate control. They have to create the right climate, in which the people can flourish.
The command & control approach will just kill the much required creativity.
Are you creating the right climate in your organization?
The tax office: huge opportunity for service...
As most of our public institutions (education, police, community hall etc.) provide services, they can benefit hugely from service innovation. However, in order to reap those benefits, they need to be open to the fact that their users (‘the public’) are really their customers. That in itself will require a huge shift in attitude!
Let me give you an example. I am helping my mother with her...
Goodness
When I become excessively critical towards others, it means I am going in the wrong direction. We are usually very good at spotting mistakes, but we should develop the quality of also spotting goodness. If I can see what is good in others or in situations and go beyond the curtain of negativity, I feel good about myself. If I constantly think “he is wrong”, I instead create a barrier...
“As technology and the internet have lowered the cost of innovation and...”
– Google Reader (107)
April 2013
10 posts
Giving compliments: easy and difficult
More and more research (positive psychology; happiness) indicates that giving a compliment is very important for the wellbeing, as well as the performance of employees. A compliment makes you feel good (yes, that is true for everyone!) and that will help you to more easily solve problems, be nicer to customers and/or come up with new ideas.
So, why are we not giving that many compliments then?...
“Ideally you would reverse the order: search your self for the message so epic...”
– Google Reader (68)
Watch(via Dan Ariely: What makes us feel good about our work? | Video on TED.com)
“Social progress depends on the policy choices, investments, and implementation...”
– Michael Porter unveils new health and happiness index | Guardian Sustainable Business | Guardian Professional
WatchGreat definition of happiness!
A real, smile sells.
On a daily basis, we are bombarded with 1000’s of commercial messages. They are all fighting to be top of mind, your mind! Well, that is hardly working, as we become immune to this information overflow. Only when a campaign is very funny or controversial, it will draw our attention.
A very simple, yet profound way to attract customers is to have employees who are really smiling. These employees...
The numbers or the needs?
Well, this looks like the chicken or the egg problem. Isn’t it? Many supermarkets are checking the numbers, whether they should keep a product in their assortment. If a product doesn’t meet a certain threshold (minimum numbers sold), then they will remove it from their assortment.
This means, that as a customer, you can no longer buy the product. This product might even be your favorite. So, what...
March 2013
14 posts
Arnold Introduces a new MOOC on How To Be A Young... →
“However in an increasingly complex, interconnected and interdependent world, if...”
– Google Reader (48)
WatchThis guy is amazing.
Looks like the modern day Leonardo Da Vinci!
Change requires building new habits
Lots of research indicates that most (more than 70%) of the change initiatives do not reach their intended outcomes.
And because they do not produce the required results, we will launch new initiatives! This becomes an ongoing process, in which a lot of time and resources is wasted.
What can de done?
A starting point is to look at the inner perspectives of change. How does change work inside of...
“Who do you imagine is judging your work status – perhaps family, old friends or...”
– Who Are You Trying to Impress? | Psychology Today
A Lesson in Empathy | Design Thinking →
Wow, really a must see!
“The link between intensifying inequality, debt, climate change, fossil fuel...”
– Why food riots are likely to become the new normal | Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed | Environment | guardian.co.uk
It is no luxury to have a complaints department
Recently I did have some problems with the provider of glass fiber services (phone, TV, Internet). They had sent an offer to check out HBO for free for 2 months. In that same mail, it was mentioned that if I cancelled before February 6th, there would be no charges. So, I did cancel by the end of January.
However, I was unpleasantly surprised, when I saw my invoice. HBO was completely charged for...
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known...”
– Google Reader (45)
Have some ‘De-Digitalized Dialogues’
These days, it seems like we are glued to our screens. First we did spend many hours per day in front of the TV. Then we were (mostly for work) tied to terminals and PC’s. And since the introduction of smartphones, it looks like we are inseparable – the screen and me. Whether we are sitting in the train, biking, attending a seminar or having a coffee, we are always staring at the screen.
It...
How to be a young innovator →
Proudly I am announcing my new course on the Udemy platform. Please have a look!
February 2013
10 posts
Sugata Mitra: Build a School in the Cloud | Video... →
The future of learning!!
“Hagel notes that how the modern corporation evolved has largely created the...”
– Google Reader (87)
Change Skill
There is nothing more certain than that the world will continue to change. Accepting and not resisting this, is the first and most important inner skill in this frenetically changing, modern world. Life tests us every day to see how well we have developed this ability. Equally, there is nothing more real than the inner space within each of us that never ever changes. We may change our thoughts,...
“We need to urgently look for doable solutions that can change our lifestyles...”
– Urban Ecological Footprint and a Livable Future | Sustainable Cities Collective
“One thing that separates the great innovators from everyone else is that they...”
– Picasso, Kepler, and the Benefits of Being an Expert Generalist :: Articles :: 99U
Create space with time and place
All the digital tools are really becoming an addiction. They look like a digital extension of our bodies. Everywhere, people are constantly glued to their screens, whether it is on the bike, during meetings and presentations, in coffee shops or while watching TV.
In combination with the frantic pace of our society, that looks like a normal thing to do. At the same time it is also crucial to...
“The heads of the World Bank, the IMF and the OECD met privately with political...”
– Is denial the biggest barrier to sustainable change? | Guardian Sustainable Business | Guardian Professional
“The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some it’s a...”
– Taken from: Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
January 2013
15 posts
“Because students, faculty, and mentors represent 40 different disciplines from...”
– Pocket : Design for America: A Network of Students and Designers Solving Real-World Challenges
Are you a social entrepreneur?
Social intrapreneur, n. 1 Someone who works
inside major corporations or organizations
to develop and promote practical solutions to
social or environmental challenges where
progress is currently stalled by market failures.
2 Someone who applies the principles of social
entrepreneurship inside a major organization.
3 One characterized by an ‘insider-outsider’
mindset and approach
“The 19th century American humorist Josh Billings, perhaps, put it best: “It...”
– On Early Warning Signs § SEEDMAGAZINE.COM
RISK TAKING IS FREE
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feeling is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams before the crowd…
…is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk...
3 tags
New Ways of Living and Working – The growing...
In the industrial age, which has been replaced by the information age (but many people still don’t realize this yet), life and work was divided like this:
Citizens
Companies
Cities
Countries
As citizen, we did work in companies, which where located in cities. If we did work in other cities, the commute challenge was added to the equation. And it did matter in which country you did live and...
“To benefit from this new reality we need to foster a culture of entrepreneurship...”
– Klaus Schwab: The Re-emergence of Europe: Tackling Europe’s Youth Unemployment
Being eccentric
There must be a reason why I do like these series on TV:
- Elementary
- House
- Person of interest
Aha, now I do understand, I must be an eccentric as well!
How about you?
1 tag
What newness will grow in 2013?
2013 will be a year, where we will not return back you ‘normal’, as many people hope for. Unless you consider a lot of change to be the new normal!
Please find below a small overview of areas, which will (need to) capture your attention.
Storytelling
As the amount of information is growing every second, it is very hard to focus your attention on what information is worthwhile. So, the story...
“In the runup to its annual meeting in Davos this month, the WEF used its annual...”
– Climate change, debt and inequality ‘threaten financial stability’ | Business | The Guardian 