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La Vallee des Couleurs outing with NCC, ABE and ICDL students and Staff.That's a fun day.

 

 

Rise of the Selfie Sticks
08 Jan 2015

As someone who is passionate about technology and the myriad of benefits that it can offer in these exciting times, I cannot explain the hidden rage that burns within when I see people taking photographs with their iPads in almost any major City in the world.

As our Christmas and New Year celebrations begin to fade into memories and we begin to fall back into our daily work routine, it didn’t take long until I realised that my inner grumpy old man has found something else to get annoyed by.

That’s right, forget about the iPad photographers, there is a new sheriff of annoyance in town and it’s known as the ‘selfie stick’. Sure they were doing the rounds in 2014 and that Oscar photo probably encapsulated exactly where we were heading, but it appears that Santa was very busy delivering this must have accessory and has fuelled this latest craze making it that must have gadget for everyone and not just the self-obsessed.

Anyone wanting to get a piece of the action basically has two options which consist of the basic version for around £8 but the selfie taker will have to set a timer to take the actual photo which may feel a little old school for some.

However for around £15 there was a variety of advanced version which has a Bluetooth shutter trigger to ensure that special moment outside a tourist attraction or bathroom is frozen in time forever.

Before you feel compelled to post comments about how this wand of narcissus actually signals the downfall of society, I am reliably informed that the selfie stick is not about capturing photos of yourself, but about capturing group photos of your family and friends together and recording the moment which is something that is usually just too much hassle to organise unless you awkwardly ask a passer-by, only to scoff afterwards that it wasn’t from the angle you had in your mind.

When on holiday with your partner it is often notoriously difficult to return home with good quality photos of you together as a couple, so I understand that they certainly have their uses and this should not cause offence.

However, If the CES tech show in Las Vegas is anything to go buy there is a certain amount of negativity in the air when there walking into a hall and desperately trying to wade your way through a sea of selfie sticks as they battle drones for the skies across the event, prompting Tech Crunch to ask the question how many selfie sticks are too many?

Last year at the Glastonbury Festival in England where music fans have often complained about people holding flags in front of them were now complaining about the infamous selfie sticks where one blogger observed:

Rarely before has Glastonbury seemed less accepting of the wont and wants of others, whatever they may be, as ‘selfie sticks’ replace the bucket hats of bygone times

Meanwhile Premiership football teams Arsenal and Tottenham have even gone on to ban them from their grounds after complaints from fans but the phenomenon looks like set to continue if unbelievable spin off products such as the Belfie Stickappearing for pre-order are anything go by.

I have a strong philosophy of live and let live in these technology obsessed times but also a healthy amount of awareness of the world around me to know that it will only be matter of time before the backlash begins and there will be cries to banish them to room 101 forever.

If you find yourself walking through New York, Paris, London, Rome or in fact any major City in the world this summer, you may mutter under your breath or give a sarcastic smile as you look around at crowds taking photos of themselves with the aid of the selfie stick wondering how we ended up like this.

If we are honest though, how many of us hate every aspect of the idea and will happily voice our disapproval amongst friends but secretly harvest a hidden thought of secretly wanting one too?

The wand of narcissus will probably divide opinion but what are your thoughts? Do you have,want,recommend or have no interest in picking one up?

Could they come in handy for reporting on live events? or do you have no interest at all and feel your temperature rising when fighting your way through a sea of selfie sticks when heading into the City to the office?

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Author: Neil Hughes is an IT Professional and freelance content writer that is passionate about helping others and removing the communication gap that typically exists between IT and other areas of business.

Are You Fit To Lead?
08 Jan 2015

Does your level of physical fitness affect your ability to do your job well?

From my experience, I’d have to say… It depends.

Let me explain.

In my twenties and thirties, I had zero time for physical exercise. On top of doing an MBA, I set up my own firm, worked like crazy to hit milestones, got married and fathered five children.

I had absolutely no time for anything else, including exercise.

But the great thing about being young is that you are naturally fit and healthy. You can work (and party) like crazy, without much negative impact on your health or energy levels.

Hit forty, and that all starts to change.

Suddenly, your unhealthy lifestyle catches up with you. You’ve got less energy; business travel, in particular, leaves you drained; you catch every cold going around the office; you don’t sleep so well; you’re putting on weight…

That, at least, is what happened to me.

Old habits die hard, though. Only very slowly did it dawn on me that I was actually free to change my lifestyle. The business was firmly established and growing; I had great people to help me run it. I really didn’t need to spend every waking minute obsessing about it any more.

Having been a swimmer in my school days, I decided to get back into exercise by taking part in a swimming competition for the 40–44 age bracket.

Unsurprisingly, after a two-decade gap, I performed horribly.

I realized that if I genuinely wanted to get fit, I had to set myself clear goals—exactly like an entrepreneur hitting milestones.

First, I decided to aim for the medal the organizers gave to people who took part in the swimming competition for 10 years running. Then I put myself down for the hardest race of all: the medley.

Before I knew it, I was swimming a minimum of one kilometer three times a week. And I started winning races.

I also took up snowboarding with my five kids. In the off-season, I now hike in to maintain lower body strength. Again I have a clear goal: to climb all Japan’s 100 most famous mountains at the rate of eight per year.

I’ve even imported my fitness regime into the office, making myself walk up to my ninth-floor office a couple of times a day.

The result?

I feel a great deal healthier now in my fifties than I did in my thirties. I have more energy, never seem to catch cold, and have all sorts of good ideas for the business as I’m swimming lengths!

I think this is a trend.

Recently, more and more Japanese business leaders are doing triathlons. Plus there’s no shortage of business legends who believe in the benefits of exercising.

Akio Morita, co-founder of Sony, used to play tennis first thing every morning before work. Bill Gross, the Pimco “bond king” claims to get his best investment ideas while doing yoga headstands; Jamie Dimon, the combative head of JP Morgan Chase, took up boxing after being fired from Citigroup in 1998…

Of course, being fit should not be a privilege reserved for middle-aged top management. Just because I didn’t do any exercise when I was younger, doesn’t mean my employees should have to repeat my mistakes.

A fitter, healthier workforce is a happier, more productive workforce. That’s why we indirectly support any employees who want to do sports by subsidizing a range of company clubs—tennis, golf, running, cycling, winter sports, futsal and triathlon.

Thanks to all this sporting activity, our employees aren’t just fitter—they’re also more energetic, mentally fresher, and more team-minded.

What’s your experience here?

Do you believe that your personal health/fitness and work productivity are related?

Do you think companies should encourage employees’ to be healthier, or have they got no business intruding into people’s private lives?

It’s definitely a fit subject for discussion!

Let me know your thoughts.

(Photo: Shutterstock / Luis Louro)

author: Yoshito HoriInfluencer

Founder and President of GLOBIS, No.1 MBA Program & No.1 VC in Japan.

A Fun Way to Shape the New Year: a 1-Word Theme.
08 Jan 2015

I love New Year’s resolutions – and I’m not the only one. Some 44% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions.

There’s one kind of resolution that I particularly love: identifying one idea, often summarized in just one word, as an overarching theme for the entire year.

My sister often does this kind of resolution. This year her theme is “Novel.” One year was the year of “Free Time,” another, “Hot Wheels” — that year, she got a car and started driving; she and I have both struggled with a fear of driving, which was much tougher for her, given that she lives in Los Angeles and I live in New York City. If you want to hear about my fear of driving, click here. (Non sequitur: follow my sister on Twitter, @elizabethcraft.)

Another friend of mine does the same thing. One year, I remember, was “Dark,” another was “Make.”

One year I chose “Bigger.” I have to fight the urge to simplify, to keep things manageable; this word will remind me to think big, to tolerate complications, to expect more from myself. Many people work to simplify their lives, but I struggle against the tendency to simplify too much. As Albert Einstein observed, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

This year, I’ve chosen “Upgrade.” I want to take many areas of my life to the next level. I’m reminded of one of my favorite passages, from the opening of Norman Rush’s fascinating novel, Mating.

“There was an opulent sunset. I was standing under an acacia in bloom and the words ‘shower of gold’ came into my mind, followed by a surge of feeling. I call it greed, but it was more a feeling of wanting a surplus in my life, wanting to have too much of something, for a change. I didn’t want to be a candidate anymore, not for a doctorate or anything else: I wanted to be at the next level, where things would come to me, accrue to me. It was acute.”

I love this passage because it describes a feeling that I’ve often experienced, but have never quite been able to put into words myself. Do you know this feeling of “wanting a surplus,” “wanting to have too much,” where “things would accrue to me”? My sister and I sometimes talk about “wanting to get a present in the mail,” but it’s not exactly that…

In writing Better Than Before, my book about habit change, I’ve been thinking obsessively about habits. There are lots of one-word themes that might help someone determined to master his or her her habits: Health; Finish, Rest; Free (as in “free from french fries“); Fulfillment, etc.

Have you ever tried this choose-a-theme approach? Did it help you direct your year?

I’m fascinated to get more ideas for themes. What theme or word would you pick?

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Gretchen Rubin is the author of the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers,The Happiness Project and Happier at Home. Her upcoming book, Better Than Before, reveals the secret of how to change habits--really. Read more atgretchenrubin.com. Follow her here by clicking the yellow FOLLOW button, on Twitter, @gretchenrubin, on Facebook,facebook.com/GretchenRubin

  

Photo: Steph Smith, Flickr

Apple's Magic Formula for Innovation
08 Jan 2015

While Apple’s innovation gets the headlines and Jony Ive is rightfully revered for his brilliant and simplistic designs, it was a rather mundane, non-sexy capability that enabled much of Apple's innovation success.

In fact, one of the very first things Steve Jobs did upon coming back to Apple was build out their supply chain capability, as he knew that was the key to innovate quickly with low cost. It's no coincidence that the current CEO, Tim Cook, was a supply chain guy and one of Jobs' most important early hires when he returned to Apple.

Within two years Jobs cut inventory from 2 months to 2 days. Cook famously called inventory "fundamentally evil". And when he started focusing on a device that received information like a phone (as opposed to an old PDA where you "entered" information), Jobs immediately started thinking about the complicated sourcing pieces needed to make it a reality.

(This blog was sourced from our presentation on the CFO as Strategic Architect.)

And by focusing on and sweating that key supply chain capability, Apple came up with a magic formula. Apple would pay for most of the construction cost for (or finance in some way) key suppliers in exchange for exclusive rights to the output production of the factory for a period of time and then for a discounted rate afterwards vis-a-vis any competitor.

This process ensured that Apple not only had had access to new technology quickly, but that they would have it for months and many times years before its rivals. They didn’t just innovate, they effectively locked down the manufacturing capability around any innovation making it almost impossible to duplicate in the near term.

Apple designers often worked closely with suppliers to ensure the right manufacturing standards and the right relationships. They, in effect, owned the ability to make key parts for up to three years and, after that, locked in the ability to access that technology at a lower cost than anyone else after it became commoditized.

Note how that supply chain capability perfectly dovetailed with its expertise in innovation and design. Now here’s the kicker. By some supply chain standards, Apple was horrible at product introduction. They hardly ever had enough supply meet the initial demand. But since they, in effect, had a monopoly on their innovations, not only was that irrelevant, under supply, in the form of long lines, became arguably its most powerful advertising vehicle. Every morning on a launch date all you see across the web and television is Apple lines.

That’s innovation magic.

Now in addition to locking down innovation, Apple created a virtual supply chain ecosystem that enabled it produce at an enviable cost while delivering from hundreds of suppliers. That allowed Ive and this team to create a seamless looking phone that in reality was a potpourri of electronics.

Author: 

Scott Engler

Creativity and Innovation: What's the Difference?
08 Jan 2015

The terms “creativity” and “innovation” are often used interchangeably. But how similar – or different – are they? I spoke with my colleague, Teresa Amabile, an expert on workplace innovation. Here’s her take on the connection between these commonly used terms – and what it means for business.

It all starts with creativity

According to Teresa, creativity is essentially responsible for all of human progress. That’s a phenomenal force. Perhaps that’s why some people tend to think that it’s very mysterious. But they shouldn't.

The research over the past 50 or 60 years illuminates how creativity happens. Basically, creativity is the production of anything. It could be an idea, a tangible product, or a performance. What’s developed should also be different from what’s been done before in some way. Creativity in the workplace should also be appropriate to some goal or meaning.

Now, it’s difficult in some domains to talk about usefulness. For example, what does appropriateness mean in the visual arts? There, appropriateness means it expresses some meaning that the artist intended. But in business, creativity has to “work” in some way. It has to make a contribution to some valuable end.

The Misunderstood Connection of Business and Creativity

The connection between creativity and business success is very important, yet it’s often overlooked. Business people tend to think of what they do as being very organized and strategic. Of course it should be, but businesses cannot succeed, especially under modern competitive conditions, without innovation. And innovation depends on creativity. Creativity is the front end of a process that ideally will result in innovation.

Creativity is coming up with new and useful ideas. Innovation is the successful implementation of those ideas. One interesting connection between creativity and innovation: you can have quite a lot of creativity in a business organization without having much innovation at the other end. This occurs when people aren’t very motivated, or proper systems aren’t in place. Such workplaces have difficultyhearing the creative ideas, developing them, letting them grow, and figuring out how to implement them successfully.

In other words, you can’t have innovation without a healthy mix of creativity on the front end, and solid systems in place to foster that ingenuity.

Author: Daniel Goleman Author of The Triple Focus: A New Approach to Education

5 Ways to Bomb an Interview!
08 Jan 2015

It's not surprising that occasionally job seekers prevent themselves from getting a job, but you might be surprised at how they do it. Below are 5 ways you are almost guaranteed to bomb the interview, they might give you an idea of what to avoid.

These come to me from the mouths of HR People and Hiring Managers, and occasionally from the applicants themselves. 

1. Losing control of yourself: An employer flew the candidate in on the corporate je to get the offer, and the candidate helped himself to the 'all you can drink' bar on the Lear jet. Thus ending his career with the firm before it started.


2. Giving the employer reason to believe that you don't intend to stay long:One applicant admitted that he only needed a job for 6 months than he would quit, so he could help his wife run a daycare out of their home.


3. Admitting that you prefer to keep your job and are using the interview as leverage against your employer. I had an applicant brag about it, and he was promptly shown the door. (see my article "5 Reasons Counter Offers Are Bad)


4.Not dressing appropriately for the interview. I once had an applicant show up to the interview dressed in pajama bottoms, and a biker jacket. They were very polite in the interview, but it lasted a mere 10 minutes.


5. Talking your way out of the job. Admitting your shortcomings, telling the employer you are prejudice/racist, asking the employer on a date, sharing your views on politics or religion, or just talking too much.


Believe it or not everything you say or do in an interview is up for consideration. Plan your visit, dress for success, focus as if the job is the only one you want, never discuss your previous employer in a negative way, and never mix business with pleasure. Follow these guidelines and you should do better in your interviews. 

About me: Hello my name is Mike Devlin, and I have 18 years’ experience in the staffing world mostly advocating for job seekers. Through education, and critical advice I help people improve their job searches by helping them define what they seek; helping them express their experience and their goals, and helping them improve their interview skills.

The Most Successful Leaders Have No Followers
08 Jan 2015
Skinny Love

There are troubled songs that transport you to some places that you could not even imagine. There are songs that awake your senses and make your heart beat faster. There are songs that simply revive the purity of your soul. There are songs that are so difficult to bear, because they have arduous interpretations. Skinny Love by Bon Iver is one of them. No matter if you prefer the original version or the cover version by Birdy, there is no doubt that this song pours out a torrent of suffering. This is not a randomly selected song. This is a song that recently made me reflect among other things, on how love could never be too skinny or too fat.

Love is endless, immeasurable and inexplicable. Love could never possibly be skinny. So many interpretations of these lyrics exist. Each human being who listens to Skinny Love creates their own understanding of these few lines. We all boldly add our personal touch to this song. Some people talk passionately about anorexia, suicide, or lost love, while others share tragic ideas of miscarriage, depression, broken love, or malnourished love. The beauty of this whole thing is that it really does not matter: everyone is completely right in their own explanation. There are absolutely no wrong representations. Everyone is entitled to their own interpretation. Everyone is free to build a sumptuous world of assumptions based on their unique sensitivity.

Indeed, it does not matter what Bon Iver said about the lyrics, because our own understanding and our unique feel of Skinny Love is more significant. His explanation of the song has little value in the end, because the way the lyrics and the music move us is more crucial. The way we slowly close our eyes to feel the weight of our tormented lives is what really matters. Once the lyrics are sung, we fiercely capture them and jealously make them our own. These lyrics become ours to protect. They are ours in a way that nobody would comprehend. We conceive a precious interpretation that resonates with these melodic words within us. Songs give us the power to interpret them in any way we feel, and offer us a deeper sense of connection with the world.

We experience the intensity of the song in our own way, because we truly believe in it. This is the power of appropriation. We unconsciously deny ourselves from following the singer's explanation of the lyrics. In fact, we prefer to follow our gut feeling, because we deeply want to lead the music and guide its torturous signification within ourselves. This is the power of leading ourselves to believe that we know. We know the true meaning. We personally uncover the pure meaning of such suffering and its impact on ourselves as unique human beings. We poured a part of ourselves into the song and experience the feel of our heart distilled into powerful emotions. We slowly lead ourselves to construct a priceless meaning of the song. All human beings have this unique and natural ability of leading that no societal domination will ever imprison.

We all like to lead, we were all born leaders, not followers

We all lead by actions, thoughts and words in our lives. Everybody is born a leader. Let's all think about the first hours of our precious lives when we communicated our needs to our parents: we simply led. We excelled in being a leader and instinctively led our loved ones for many months. We all have leadership abilities that need to be nourished. All human beings are born leaders until the fatal day they face their first traumatic limitation. This unfair disgrace is wrapped in pure restriction. The first barrier wrongly identifies some human beings as better than others, not different but better. The first hierarchical classification puts some people on the top and others on the bottom. There are also many best selling stories that proudly sell out the fake idea that some people are born to be leaders and others sentenced to be followers.Then, one day the first radical distinction between those who are supposed to manage and those who are supposed to be managed comes. In fact, there is no need to expand on the explosion of domination management in organizations. The army of so-called leaders by position who exercise total authority through full directing, controlling, and evaluating with indirect and impalpable repression on others.

We all know that it is always easier to lead others than to lead ourselves. We all suspect that it is more comfortable to guide others, than to guide ourselves. We all secretly know that we require deep reflection to be conducted. We unconsciously postpone it by voluntarily dictating and regulating others that we view as peers, subordinates, followers... All those that are way more than we think.

Indeed, the distinction between leaders and followers is pointless. The continual debate between leaders and managers is irrelevant. The recurring debate about if being different means being better or worse. Human beings are unique and so marvelously diverse, but they are not static bodies and minds. They should not be labelled, wrongly judged or defined by a random organizational position that should be a temporary part of who they truly are. Human beings are not resources to be controlled, evaluated or directed. They are not human resources that we could pack and stock in a cold hangar. People are not resources that we could easily manipulate or dispose of, because they are fully alive. These are human beings with their uniqueness. They are full of ideas, emotions, values, dreams, cultures and they all happen to have a unique life story.

We are all growing, making mistakes, learning and progressing. We are all unique beings who do not passively wait for a savior in disguise to manage, direct or lead us. Human beings are not plain resources to be utilized. They are living sources of amazing life stories that need to be acknowledged and respected.

We are all leading and following, we are all simultaneously trying different roles. Nobody is constantly following or leading. As a matter of fact, followers are not passive, conformist sheep, or alienated people like many are sadly described: They are leaders too. Leadership should not be about hierarchy. Leadership is about building teams of people with leadership abilities who work for a common vision. A vision that is bigger than their own individual success. A vision that will contribute to making this world a little bit better.

To tell the truth, let's forget about these tiny useless debates about managers and leaders, and focus on the role leadership should have in our lives. We all have the responsibility to focus on ourselves and see how we can contribute to make this world a better place. Leadership is not about fame, top position or sick control, but it is about having the wisdom to accept everybody as a potential leader in a team. In other words, it is about having the wisdom to share and respect people as leaders who have diverse leadership skills in order to work together for a common good. Leadership is not about following, giving directions or ego traps. Leadership is about leading ourselves to accept and respect others. We have to lead ourselves and focus on our true values, ethics, knowledge and personality. Leadership is not about leading followers or making people better: Leadership is finally about making yourself a better person. Leadership starts within ourselves like a music with lyrics that we give a personal sense and a unique vision.

KHM.

 

 

Human Beings Development and Leadership

 

Skinny Love by Birdy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNzCDt2eidg

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