Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Spain braces itself for a crisis made in Germany

Does the good intentions of neighbours eventually lead to a dependency that doesnt endure over the long term. With cycle after cycle the eventual pain comes home. Where is home for those big and small, at the centre or at the periphery, in the anglosaxon or latin tradition!?
FT.com / Comment / Opinion - Spain braces itself for a crisis made in Germany
Is it politics, or economics of societorial I wonder?

The mention of P.I.G.S over a year ago has loomed large in blogs and twitter, mine included. Contagion beyond Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain, seems, as Ive posted before its Italy next:
FT.com / Markets - Debt contagion fears weigh on investor sentiment

This little PIGGY went to market, this little piggy stayed at home, this little piggy went we we we all the way home!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Mike Harris - video tutorials

Mike Harris - video tutorials

Follow this guy.
If anyone can help you be a better entrepreneur and leader this guy can. His credentials are exemplar as the ex founder CEO of First Direct, Mercury and Egg to name a few. Garlic being his new company!

Stockdale Paradox

Do you know why you succeed, do you know why you fail, do you know what happens next?

The stockdale paradox is like the pendulum that swings, the metronome that ticks, or the scales that do or dont come to balance. On either side is Belief and Rationality, but on either side pushed to far are Delusion and resignation. You need to test both sides and push the space but you need to know what lies beyond when you push to far!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stockdale

"I never lost faith in the end of the story, I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade."[11]

When Collins asked who didn't make it out of Vietnam, Stockdale replied:

"Oh, that’s easy, the optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, 'We're going to be out by Christmas.' And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart."[11]

Stockdale then added:

"This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”[11]

Witnessing this philosophy of duality, Collins went on to describe it as the Stockdale Paradox.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

RSA animate - great stories!

Here is a fantastic series of animations put together against other peoples presentations:

YouTube - rsa animate

There are some really interesting topics really well done, from superfrekonomics to Sir Ken Robinson on education.

Green young people

Some nice initiatives I heard about through an LA contact

Grades of Green Every shade makes a difference

http://www.greenmyparents.com/



In the UK we are unleashing the green monster!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

How to Lose $600 Billion

Economy vs Ecology!
Flow and abundance!
Good story to watch the annimation unfold:
Roger Hamilton and Wealth Dynamics: How to Lose $600 Billion

Interesting for entrepreneurs and broader thinking.
At a macro level beware of protectionist thinking though!

Ive commented on FLOW before, powerful in many ways as Malcolm Gladwell has shown in his books in a different context. Read Gladwell!!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Managing Yourself: What Brain Science Tells Us About How to Excel - Harvard Business Review

Managing Yourself: What Brain Science Tells Us About How to Excel - Harvard Business Review

Cycle of Excellence

http://hbr.org/2010/12/managing-yourself-what-brain-science-tells-us-about-how-to-excel/ar/1

The process I’ve developed to help kids like Tommy and adults like the three executives I just described is the Cycle of Excellence. It consists of five steps: select the right tasks, connect with colleagues, play with problems, grapple with and grow from challenges, and shine in the acknowledgment of your achievements.

"Worst Practices"

Why You Should Focus on "Worst Practices" - Umair Haque - Harvard Business Review

Yes!!

Ask your critics.
Spend a day in the trenches.
Examine your past.
Diet on your own dog food.

Of the last couple of months visitors to my blog this is the break down, thats interesting to me, I wonder what they all thought?

Pageviews by Countries

United Kingdom

648

United States

443

Russia

99

Ukraine

68

Germany

61

South Korea

38

Canada

35

China

20

Iraq

19

Vietnam

18

Top50 women business leaders - FT Nov 2010

Nice interactive chart with good narrative on a lot of diverse ladies:

http://womenatthetop.ft.com/interactive-graphic/top-50

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Give Them the Gift of Time and Space - Management Tip of the Day - November 16, 2010 - Harvard Business Review

JFDI!!
Give Them the Gift of Time and Space - Management Tip of the Day - November 16, 2010 - Harvard Business Review
They will thank you if not reward you - now there's a challenge!

Facebook expands into e-mail

read this FT feature:
FT.com / Technology - Facebook expands into e-mail
and why wouldnt they, they will pick up those future kids and young adults as they get going on the web, start their communication experience and then continue to be the platform for it!
To me thats the way its going, good or bad!

Monday, November 08, 2010

G20 global government, what happened to it?

Interesting article, big important issues, not sure I concur with it all but worth reading!

The premise being these seven pillars, constructs or "Seven major axis that divide the world" as the FT tag line put it:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/980b2040-eb43-11df-811d-00144feab49a.html#axzz14hfOzKXB

  • Surplus versus deficit countries:
  • Manipulators v manipulated:
  • Tighteners v splurgers:
  • Democracies v autocracies:
  • West v the rest:
  • Interventionists v souverainistes:
  • Big v small:

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

UK has the largest online economy in the world!

Linked to the post I made two or three posts below:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/8091984/UK-has-the-largest-online-economy-in-the-world.html

A reporters view on the Boston Consulting Group report below:

http://www.connectedkingdom.co.uk/downloads/bcg-the-connected-kingdom-oct-10.pdf

Monday, November 01, 2010

11 harsh realities of being an entrepreneur!

"Brick walls are there to show you how bad you want something." Randy Pausch.

http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/17741/The-11-Harsh-Realities-Of-Being-An-Entrepreneur.aspx