Sunday, April 26, 2009
I'll forever be grateful to whoever steered me in this direction--for I soon found that work was much more fulfilling and fruitful when I cared for those with whom I worked. - David Rogers
Add Value to Your Work Life, March 18, 2002
Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends
| By | David E. Rogers (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME) |
This review is from: Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends (Hardcover)
Somewhere along the line, I decided I didn't want to be a big shot. I didn't want to bulldoze coworkers and employees. I didn't want to climb the corporate ladder at the expense of others. I didn't want to abuse people the way I'd been ill-treated by certain employers. Human values seemed more important. I wanted to treat my customers, employees, coworkers and bosses with respect and--dare I say it?--love.I'll forever be grateful to whoever steered me in this direction--for I soon found that work was much more fulfilling and fruitful when I cared for those with whom I worked.
According to Tim Sanders, author of Love is the Kller App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends, that makes me a "lovecat." And you can be one too.
That's the thrust of this delightful little book by Sanders, Chief Solutions officer at Yahoo!. Pointing to the great social changes of our time, Sanders sees love as the killer way to add value to our business and personal lives.
Happily for his readers, Sanders sees "business love" in clear, behaviorial terms. No fuzzy-wuzzy, feel-good exhortations here. Sanders gets right down to business: Bizlove, he says, is "the act of intelligently and sensibly sharing your intangibles with your bizpartners."
And what are those intangibles? I'm glad you asked, my friend:
Our KNOWLEDGE, everything we've learned and everything we continue to learn. Sanders says we learn most from books--and he advocates reading as many as possible. (Amazon must love him!) But it's not just reading. We're encouraged to mark up our books in ways that help us grab their "Big Thoughts" so we can add value to our work and that of others. To Sanders, information is meant to be shared with as many people as possible.
Our NETWORK, our incredible web of relationships, biz and personal. It's not just what we know that adds value to our lives and the lives of others, it's who we know. And, like information, relationships bring value to everyone when they are shared. Sanders boldly advocates being something like a flesh-and-blood "home page" with links to all kinds of value-adding relationships.
Our COMPASSION, the ability to reach out to others with warmth and regard--to go beyond the safety of biz-as-usual interactions.
By sharing these three things with our bizpartners, says Sanders we not only add value to the lives of others but to our own.
What's best about Love is the Killer App? First, it's Sanders' unabashed enthusiasm and energy. His excitement at learning how love can transform biz life is infectious and genuine. The text bubbles with his desire for us to experience its power for ourselves. I found it endearing and sincere when taken in small doses. This is not a book to rush through! It's exercise more for the heart than the head.
Second, Sanders is eminently practical throughout the book. He doesn't leave us with "teddy bear" admonitions to love. Nope--his focus is on application. Here's HOW you share your knowledge, here's HOW you build and share your network, here's HOW you show compassion to others. You'll find yourself nodding in agreement every time--"Yep, I can do that." Or something like that, for Sanders readily admits that, say, the way he "cliffs-and-tags" books may not work for everyone.
In the interest of full-disclosure, I must admit that I was primed for this book because of my own experience and perspective. And Sanders and I have conversed by e-mail a few times. (The guy practices what he preaches!) So this may not be the most objective review you'll find!
If you're interested in more on the subject of love in the bizworld, I can suggest these outstanding books, all available here at Amazon: Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness by Robert Greenleaf (a classic), Leadership Is an Art, movingly written by the legendary Max Depree of Herman Miller and Love and Profit: The Art of Caring Leadership by James Autry.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Saving the World at Work: What Companies and Individuals Can Do to Go Beyond Making a Profit to Making a Difference
"I want to recruit you, and train you, for the Responsibility Revolution. I want to help you feel good about your company and grow more good within it. I want to help you feel more fulfilled by your job, by helping your company to see the value of giving back to the larger world."
Source: http://www.amazon.com/Saving-World-Work-Individuals-Difference/dp/0385523572/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240672655&sr=8-1
The Business of Happiness
The business of happiness
Fabio Dal Grande is one of the most creative, genial and positive-minded people you could meet, and he has put these qualities to work to make a career.
You can hear the note of passion when Fabio Dal Grande says, “I like to see people happy!”That, he told me, is the main reason why, after spending four years in the weddings business in Japan, he and his two Japanese partners: a soprano singer and a pianist, decided to go into business for themselves. About a year ago they created the production company called Ascente.
“It’s a really good feeling when we produce a wedding and I can see the faces of the people,” Fabio explains, “I love this job because I work with people. I am making people happy.”
Originally from Italy, Fabio says that he incorporates Italian traditions into Ascente’s wedding productions.
“Music,” he notes with a hint of pride, “was born in Italy!”
In saying that, he reveals another side of his character that finds expression in the newly founded business. Ascente produces musical events. It acts as an agent for about 30 classical musicians and ten bands, providing clients like hotels and restaurants with appropriate music for events they hold. In addition, Ascente produces promotional videos for musical artists. Just last month the company embarked upon its biggest project in the music world so far.
“Sakamoto Kazuya is our main customer. We manage his career,” Fabio gestures with a hand to emphasize his point, “He is our pearl!”
Sakamoto is a violinist who, Fabio tells me, plays a unique, fusion style of music. Ascente has launched a project to promote his work that will include a combination CD and DVD release and a concert tour of Japan.
This diversified venture that Fabio is helping to build is currently based in Wakayama, but it is doing well enough that there are plans to open an office in Osaka next year. And his passions do not end there.
“I became interested in photography then I was eight or nine years old,” he said, “A substitute teacher came to our school and started teaching us with his camera.”
Years later, that interest lead him to a one year stay in England to study photography. That is where he met the Japanese woman who would become his wife. His photographs have appeared in books, magazines, and calendars in countries including Italy, Germany, and Japan. The Wakayama City government recently commissioned an exhibition of his photographic works.
“My pictures show the good in someone that I see from my point of view,” he says.
After his time in England, Fabio returned briefly to Italy, with his wife, and then, in 2001, they came to Japan. He claims he did nothing for the first months he was in the country, which is difficult to imagine looking at what he has accomplished with the rest of his time here. His first work in Japan was teaching Italian. Then he got into the business of weddings. Combining music productions with the bridal business, he says, is not only a way of expressing himself, but of giving something to a wider audience. “I’m in art to stay with the people,” he says, “They are the ones who buy the CDs and come to the concerts, so we want to give something to them.”
In that vein he provides services to the City of Wakayama such as a Santa Claus who walks the street accompanied by violin music, spreading holiday spirit at Christmastime, and an annual, free, classical music concert.
Fabio is a creative man who spends his time and energy turning dreams into reality. The most interesting question about him is not about what he has already been able to do. It is, rather: What will he do next?
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Employee Engagement: An Interview with Sarah Cook
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Employee Engagement: An Interview with Sarah Cook
By David Zinger on Apr 15, 2009 in Employee Engagement
Read the following interview with Sarah Cook from The Stairway Consultancy Ltd. Sarah will be presenting and facilitating a session Thursday April 23rd on Excellence in Employee Engagement at the Barcelona Employee Engagement Conference.
Click the colorful button below to see a conference brochure.
1. Briefly how did you develop the idea of a WIFI model of employee engagement?
My own practical experience of helping organisations better engage with team members in order to deliver excellent customer service, led me to identify that well being, information, fairness and involvement are key to ensuring that employees give off their best. The research that we have conducted at The Stairway Consultancy has shown that these are the key ingredients to engagement, although the degreee to which they are used and how they are applied may vary from company to company.
2. How do you see WELL-BEING fitting into employee engagement?
I define well being as the degree to which employees feel good about the organisation and how motivated they feel to give discretionary effort. This is a factor of how the company is perceived externally such as via efforts the business makes in relation to Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Branding as well as how employees are treated internally in relation to staff welfare such as the use of Family friendly policies, the promotion of equality and diversity, work-life balance, Job design and structure
3. What is the role of INFORMATION in engagement
People want to know where the organisation is going, what it needs to achieve and the part they play in this. Being informed in an appropriate and regular manner is a key element of engagement.
4. How can FAIRNESS be an important part of employee engagement?
Being treated in a fair and consistent manner encourages a climate of openness and respect. Importantly this aspect covers the treatment that individuals receive from their direct line manager as well as the leadership of the organisation. It also covers all aspects of the employee journey from how the individual is recruited and selected through to performance management, reward and recognition.
5. How do we foster INVOLVEMENT in engagement?
Managers can create a sense of ownership in their team members by involving them in decisions affecting their jobs using such methods as empowerment , coaching and providing access to senior management.
Click the colorful button below to see a conference brochure.
1. Briefly how did you develop the idea of a WIFI model of employee engagement?
My own practical experience of helping organisations better engage with team members in order to deliver excellent customer service, led me to identify that well being, information, fairness and involvement are key to ensuring that employees give off their best. The research that we have conducted at The Stairway Consultancy has shown that these are the key ingredients to engagement, although the degreee to which they are used and how they are applied may vary from company to company.
2. How do you see WELL-BEING fitting into employee engagement?
I define well being as the degree to which employees feel good about the organisation and how motivated they feel to give discretionary effort. This is a factor of how the company is perceived externally such as via efforts the business makes in relation to Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Branding as well as how employees are treated internally in relation to staff welfare such as the use of Family friendly policies, the promotion of equality and diversity, work-life balance, Job design and structure
3. What is the role of INFORMATION in engagement
People want to know where the organisation is going, what it needs to achieve and the part they play in this. Being informed in an appropriate and regular manner is a key element of engagement.
4. How can FAIRNESS be an important part of employee engagement?
Being treated in a fair and consistent manner encourages a climate of openness and respect. Importantly this aspect covers the treatment that individuals receive from their direct line manager as well as the leadership of the organisation. It also covers all aspects of the employee journey from how the individual is recruited and selected through to performance management, reward and recognition.
5. How do we foster INVOLVEMENT in engagement?
Managers can create a sense of ownership in their team members by involving them in decisions affecting their jobs using such methods as empowerment , coaching and providing access to senior management.
Sarah Cook - Managing Director - The Stairway Consultancy Ltd.
Source: http://www.davidzinger.com/employee-engagement-an-interview-with-sarah-cook-2740/
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Come join me at HRD Best Practice Seminar 2009 April on Malaysia HRD Best Practice MHRD
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Sunday, April 5, 2009
Inspire for Greatness - Video
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Sunday, March 29, 2009
Informal learning
In adult learning, the individual learn from various sources - experts, internet, books, magazines, benchmarking and etc. But for most adults, the learning capabilities are mostly coming from mistakes that are due to poor planning, insufficient information resources and limited creativity. Therefore, it is a challenge for HRD profession to instill learning capabilities to the employees. The best solution is to hire those who read and learn well.
The future belongs to who can learn and apply faster and better. Three essential skills - reading skills, Internet research skills and project management skills are the solution to future challenges.
Informal Learning: Rediscovering the Natural Pathways That Inspire Innovation and Performance (Essential Knowledge Resource) (Paperback)
by Jay Cross (Author)Amazon.com
Editorial Reviews
Review"I was an unlikely candidate to buy into Jay Cross's theory that formal learning is largely ineffective. But my curiosity got the better of me, and I found myself totally engrossed in his out-of-the-ordinary thinking on learning." (T+D Magazine, February 2007)
"I was an unlikely candidate to buy into Jay Cross's theory that formal learning is largely ineffective. But my curiosity got the better of me, and I found myself totally engrossed in his out-of-the-ordinary thinking on learning." (T+D Magazine, February 2007)
Review
"The key to the twenty-first century will be in learning how to leverage informal learning for us all. Jay provides us with an evocative road map to how we can do this."
—John Seely Brown, coauthor, Social Life of Information, and former chief scientist, Xerox Corp.
"Informal learning is the perfect theme for exploring the next wave of our field. Jay Cross continues to push our thinking on the transformational forces of knowledge, learning, and performance. A must read!"
—Elliott Masie, founder, The MASIE Center's Learning CONSORTIUM
"In an outsourced, automated age, informal learning has become the key to high performance and personal fulfillment. And now Jay Cross has written the very best primer on this woefully neglected topic. This is a book for both sides of your brain!"
—Daniel H. Pink, author, A Whole New Mind
"Jay Cross provides an important challenge for us all—to move our focus from the classroom to the workplace, and in doing so, reframe what we do in ways that much more closely reflect how people actually learn and perform on the job. Informal Learning has profound implications for how we—from trainers to chief learning officers and from frontline business managers to executives—must rethink our ideas and practices, not in some distant future, but right now."
—Marc J. Rosenberg, management consultant, and author, Beyond E-Learning
"This book shows how informal learning experiences connect us with information, help us share ideas, and obtain new perspectives, and even help us create new knowledge together."
—Ellen Wagner, director, Worldwide eLearning, Adobe Systems
—Mark Oehlert, learning strategy architect, Booz Allen Hamilton
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
| 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, Jay Cross has written an invaluable book here for many reasons.It can be hard to face up to, but the medieval basis of our education is suddenly and starkly out of touch with the needs of a post-network society. After reading this book, it's hard not to face up to that fact, because we now have a compelling, if nascent, alternative. The web enables a wholly different, but infinitely more effective approach to learning - through self-direction, and peer collaboration, motivated by individual choice, for example. As Jay points out, given the complexity and pace of change of 21st century life, we simply must change. (I have an 8 year -old daughter in school and it pains me to see what she's going through when it will all become obsolete in just a few years.) He outlines a kind of proto-pedagogical alternative, taking 'natural' learning as its starting point. He blends online/offline ideas with ideas from design, motivational psychology, etc, but is careful not to lose sight of learning objectives. As an educator/trainer of over 20 years myself, I believe the book succeeds. Jay isn't a tremendous stylist, nor are his ideas wildly original, but he does exactly what is needed. He makes the case for alternative approaches to learning in a clear and simple way with plenty of diagrams, and examples. Although his focus is on corporate training, rather than traditional education, the implications reverberate. He brings years of training experience, together with an optimistic outlook to practice what he preaches. Having read his blog o ver the course of severalk months it has left it's makr on my own The book is almost a metaphor for the kinds of challenge we face: hard to pin down, constantly changing, yet sometimes so obvious that we fail to see the significance. Jay doesn't have all the answers because that is the kind of (medieval) certainty he cautions against. He has brought an important discussion into the light of day. I don't know anyone who wouldn't benefit from this book. Ken Carroll |
| 9 of 11 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Informality at its best,
As long as you're here, I'll share what the book is going to be about. People learn how to do their jobs informally - talking, observing others, trial-and-error, and simply working with people in the know. Formal training and workshops account for only 10% to 20% of what people learn at work. Most corporations over-invest in formal training while neglecting more natural, simple ways to learn. Learning is that which enables you to participate successfully in life, at work, and in the groups that matter to you. Informal learning is the unofficial, unscheduled, impromptu way people learn to do their jobs. Learning is adaptation. Taking advantage of the double meaning of the word network, to learn is to optimize the quality of one's networks. Executives don't want learning; they want execution. They want performance. Informal learning is a profit strategy. Companies are using informal learning to: * Improve knowledge worker productivity 20% - 30% * Increase sales by Google-izing product knowledge * Generate fresh ideas and increase innovation * Transform an organization from disaster to record profits * Reduce stress, absenteeism, and healthcare costs * Invest development resources for maximum impact impact * Increase professionalism and professional growth * Cut costs and improve responsiveness with self-service learning Training is something that's pushed on you; learning is something you choose to do. Many a knowledge worker will tell you, "I love to learn but I hate to be trained." Knowledge workers thrive when given the freedom to decide how they will do what they're asked to do. They rise or fall to meet expectations. Informal Learning is about challenging workers (and executives) to be all they can be. |
| 8 of 10 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars 10 Things I Like About This Book,
I've long been aware of the high cost and relative ineffectiveness of conventional "butts-in-seats" approaches to individual and organizational learning. The accelerating emergence of relevant learning strategies, methods, technologies and tools over the past decade has been encouraging--necessary but not sufficient. Jay Cross' wonderfully crafted Informal Learning constitutes a major breakthrough for all who care about transforming the organizations they serve. 10 THINGS I LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK -- 1. It does a magnificent job of explaining how we actually learn. It turns much "conventional wisdom" on its head. It provides us a cornucopia of innovative ideas for how to stimulate a culture of learning and innovation throughout an organization. 2. It's clear, clean and creatively written/formatted. I was pulled into and through the book by Jay's open, straight-talking, conversational style. His use of a variety of illustrations and juicy sidebar tidbits kept luring me to go just a bit further. The accessibility of information is superb. 3. It's alive. It's up-to-the minute and it anticipates a future where organizations are becoming increasingly alive and conscious because they've mastered the art of encouraging and nurturing informal learning. 4. Jay has distilled hard-earned wisdom from a rich collection of experts and pioneers--transformation-minded innovators and practitioner-theorists who I deeply respect--infinite players such as John Seely Brown, Etienne Wenger, David Cooperrider, Juanita Brown, David Sibbet, Verna Allee, Bruce Cryer and George Leonard. 5. Informal Learning is extraordinarily comprehensive and discerning. Jay has cast a wide net and presented us with only that which is value-adding. He has separated the wheat from the chaff. 6. It's an out-of-the-box paradigm-shifting book. He shakes up our traditional ways of thinking about learning, training and education in organizations. Informal Learning provides a variety of cures for "hardening of the categories." 7. It challenges and supports HR and Training departments to multiply their effectiveness in promoting and sustaining a vibrant informal learning culture. It provides pragmatic guidance in creative ways of weaving the work of people development throughout the fabric of an organization's operations. 8. It both challenges all organizational leaders to take direct responsibility for creating and maintaining an environment--a "learnscape"--where informal learning will naturally take root and flourish. It then provides a plethora of ideas for how to make that a reality. 9. I can easily visualize a number of generative ways of planting this book in organizations--ways that will cause relevant ideas to germinate, take root, grow and spread. 10. Best of all, Jay has built a strong case for treating an organization's approach to learning as a potential core business strategy. As we move into an era of ever-increasing change, an organization's capacity to learn and to innovate will become increasingly crucial to it's sustainability. So -- Thank you, Jay Cross! Your book is a great piece of work--a major contribution to the world of organizations, leadership development, organizational design, learning and change. Leaders and practitioners everywhere will gain much by accessing and experimenting with the many ideas and insights you have provided us in this book. |
Source: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0787981699/ref=s9_cpic_c1_t1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=1NWPQN07SW4YR5F50BAQ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Positive Attitude
Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
Positive Attitude
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