The Third Opinion author Saj-nicole Joni identifies the attributes of a rising star in an organization by going to the sources:
Rising superstars are hungry and have big appetites
"If you don't have dreams so big that you want them with your whole being, dreams so big that nothing will stand in your way, then as a leader, you are dead." -- Tommy Johnson of AFLAC
They are voracious learners
"I surrounded myself with people better than me, and I absorbed everything like a tremendous sponge. You have to be a great listener and use every scrap, big and small, to drive forward and stand out from the pack. Listening is active and strategic, there's nothing passive about it." -- Justin Bennett of Guardian Life
They don't see things the way you do, and they connect the dots differently
"My first instinct is to not just do what I'm told. I do what I think is right for the business. … It's my job to educate upward, so that my bosses know what I'm doing and why. It's also my job to get them to educate me so that they'll give me the broadest view and context in which I am accountable for my decisions and results." -- Alex Kinnier of Google
They love high-capacity people with spark and loathe plodders
"Don't put me around people who just ask, 'Why?' Give me colleagues and bosses who just as often ask 'Why not?' This unleashes my capacity to go for extraordinary outcomes in an environment that is constantly changing, and therefore constantly challenging." -- Karyn Polak of Citigroup
They are not defined by their job titles
"Having the biggest thinkers in the room, regardless of title, is critical, or you invite the likelihood that the essence of big ideas will get lost in the shuffle. Rising superstars and the best top leaders know and act on this." -- Paige Arnof-Fenn of Mavens & Moguls
Reported at Forbes.com
Deficient in the academic literature involving knowledge management is consideration of organizational ecology: the role that physical settings play in various types of learning. Static work environments, tall walls, closed doors, and space governed strictly by rank and status, for example, tend to impede innovation.
Drawing in part on the work of Pfeffer, Hargadon and Sutton, Professor Franklin Becker (Cornell University) notes that “knowledge intended to foster creativity and innovation depends not just on a free flow of information …, but on the recombination of non-obvious knowledge in ways that trigger novel solutions to complex problems.” According to Becker and his colleagues, within organizations productive processing (of sometimes 'crazy ideas') tends to occur face-to-face in non-official “neutral zones”, as opposed to in faculty offices, for example. Findings like these have utilitarian, managerial, and structural implications for the workplace. From Becker's ecological point of view, flows that bolster innovative ideas and performance can often be improved by (re)designing workspaces to better enable chance encounters.
Following 25 years of research and consulting, Becker's arrived at five propositions ('neutral zones' among them) for "link[ing] how workspace is designed, used, and managed in dynamic organizations ..." Explore them in the California Management Review (Winter 2007). Or for condensed coverage of his 'big five' see the Fall issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review (both items available at Jackson Library).
 Author Steve LeVine, formerly of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, will be discussing his new book The Oil and the Glory at the Freeman Spogli Institute on November 6. Subtitled The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea, the book describes, among other things, how deals really get done in turbulent places abroad. To attend, please RSVP by November 2.
While insurance is not a very hot topic the environment is, and the insurance industry gives good insight into the impact of potential loss of a valued industry. The honeybee industry is not just valuable for its honey but if you think back to elementary school biology bees are a key element in pollinating many crops. This year between 30-90% of bee colonies were lost in 35 states. It is estimated that 1/3 of all the food we eat is affected someway by bees and that these small insects pollinate around $15 billion worth of fruit tress, vegetables and specialty crops. All is not lost, beekeepers have been able to mitigate the loss of colonies by importing bees from Australia and splitting colonies. The Federal Crop Insurance Corp. decided at the end of July to start a program to help beekeepers by including the threat of drought as part of the federal crop insurance program. Read more about Colony Collapse Disorder and bee insurance in Best’s Review article The Lost Colonies at Jackson Library or view a quick overview by Meg Green, the author of the article.
Today the Chinese Moon Festival begins. Also called the Mid-Autumn festival, this ancient celebration marks the end of the harvest -- a time for families to relax, eat delicious 'moon-cakes' and admire the full moon. Along with the Chinese New Year, it is an important cultural marker on the lunar cycle. So, like the Tang dynasty poets Li Bai and Du Fu, retire to your garden this evening, cut open a moon cake, sip some rice wine, read some poetry, and join a millenia-old tradition.
What's a snipe? It's a graphic that's a promotional ad that may run in the bottom right of your TV screen. Now that the new fall TV season is upon us, adverstisers are going to insert the little snipes during your favorite TV programs. They are doing this because in the land of DVRs and Tivos where you can at the push of a button erase those pesky commercials, advertising must be viewed, at whatever cost! Read about it in the NY Times.
Ahh, the Twinkie, source of legends, fables ... and Polysorbate 60. So what is a Twinkie? Steve Ettlinger went on cross continental odyssey to find out. In his new opus Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated into What America Eats, Ettlinger answers the cosmic question: why does it take 39 ingredients to make a Twinkie, when you can bake a cake at home with six? The answer: shelf life. In order to safely hang out at 7-11 or Safeway the product cannot contain any dairy products, so what you take out must replaced with something else. So a tasty whipped cream filling is replaced with shortening, in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and/or beef fat (yummy!) The main ingredient, Polysorbate 60, a gooey substance that helps replace cream and eggs at a fraction of the cost and which is derived from corn, palm oil, petroleum and cellulose gum, gives the “cream” filling a smooth, slippery feel. For a little flavor, artificial vanillin is added, which is synthesized in petrochemical plants. The original recipe, concocted in 1930, included old fashioned ingredients like flour, eggs, milk and butter and banana cream filling. Hmmm, makes me wish for the good old days ...
An article in October issue of Fortune magazine looks into growing competition between the two social networking companies: MySpace and Facebook. It’s the consensus that the next big thing after Google is social networking, and many companies are trying to put their feet into this market. Until recently, MySpace was an accepted dominant in the market. Statistics shows that Americans spend 12% of their Internet time on MySpace site. However, the competition from Facebook has grown for the past year, and the popularity of Facebook has significantly increased. The two sites are very different in their structure and offerings to the point where Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted on several occasions that he didn’t see MySpace as competition. This perspective is not viewed the same way at MySpace. To find out the whole story, read the article online or in the Periodicals Collection of Jackson Library.
September's Far Eastern Economic Review leads off with the timely title "The 'Made in China' Stigma Shock". Other colorful articles include "China and the Subprime Scorpion", "China Mocks the Olympic Spirit", "Vietnam: Beyond Fish and Ships", "Storm in a Teacup Over Climate Change", and "Depoliticizing Comfort Women" -- as well as book reviews on an account of Pakistani struggles, a media law guide for Hong Kong, a portrait of Asians in classical music, a history of Asian business leaders, and a new book about Russia's colonial legacy in Tashkent. Editor Hugo Restall kicks things off by talking about the (occasionally weird) impact of China on today's world: how internal Chinese infrastructure spending caused the world's scrap metal prices to skyrocket -- leading to the sudden theft of manhole covers around the world. Read more in the September issue in Jackson Library.
West Coast Green Conference (San Francisco Civic Center Plaza, September 20-22) will debut the “Lotus House” or mkLotus™ home, a one-bedroom home that is environmentally conscious, designed by the Henry Ford of green homes Michelle Kaufmann and built by XtremeHomes.
“The home of the future is green, intelligent, and entertaining,” said Brent Bilger, CMO of Home Director, who demonstrates the technology such as energy monitoring that is built into the home. The mkLotus home on display also includes a whole home music system that distributes music from multiple sources to speakers around the home and a whole home media server that can distribute pictures and video to multiple TV’s in a home. – Business Wire via Yahoo Finance
See also an analysis of Professional Builder 's 2007 Green Building Survey reveals builders’ opinions about what green is, its marketability and its long-term impact on the industry.
GSB Professor Bob Sutton on his blog asks the perennial question "Do You Believe That You Can Raise Your IQ?" He highlights the work of Stanford colleague Carol Dweck, and her book Mindset, and relates it to the question of perception and IQ. Also coming in for honorable mention is Malcolm Gladwell's essay on the 'Talent Myth'. Sutton ponders how much intelligence is actually constrained by our pre-established notions about IQ and its fixity. Gee, maybe you are smarter than a 5th grader ... !
Adam Werbach, founder of the Sierra Club Student coalition and youngest president ever of the Sierra Club, is working as a consultant for ... Wal-Mart. He is attempting to get the big box store to think outside the big box. Others think he has boxed up his own soul and FedExed it to the enemy. Has this Adam been seduced by the serpent? Or is he forging a path toward a new rapprochement between Big Green and Big Biz? The September 2007 issue of Fast Company chronicles Werbach’s journey from Sierra Club Wunderkind to Wal-Mart Wonder.
A nine year legal disagreement between Microsoft and the European Union came to a head on Monday when the EU court upheld an appeal to the decision passed in March of 2004, that Microsoft will have to pay 497 million EUR and a portion of the legal fees for abusing its market dominance. The entire question revolves around whether it was legal for Microsoft to bundle its Media Player product into Windows and deny rivals “source code” information about Microsoft’s system which would allow them to make their products interoperable with Microsoft’s products. The appeal was struck down and this means any further appeals would only apply to technical legal issues. The actual ruling can be viewed or read online. A similar case was struck down in the US courts, that one concerning IE being bundled with Microsoft and essentially making Netscape defunct.
This case is significant because it pits the question of what importance does intellectual property play versus a free and competitive market. This means that other Silicon Valley companies such as Apple, Google and Intel who are at odds with the EU in other court cases might not get it their way.
I saw an interesting article in the New York Times about Japanese housewives who are taking a hit financially since the credit markets have taken a downturn. These housewives are Japanese homemakers who moonlight as amateur currency speculators.
Tens of thousands of married Japanese women ventured into online currency trading in the last year and a half, playing the markets between household chores or after tucking the children into bed. While the overwhelmingly male world of traders and investors here mocked them as kimono-clad “Mrs. Watanabes,” these women collectively emerged as a powerful force, using Japan’s vast wealth to sway prices and confound economists.
"Long lines, late flights, near collisions -- everyone is unhappy with the state of the U.S. air travel system. Unfortunately, no one, especially not the FAA, seems able to do anything about it." So begins the cover story of BusinessWeek September 10 issue, Fear and Loathing at the Airport. 68% of flights in arrived on time in June 2007, down from 78% in 1998. After this latest 'Summer from Hell', authors Christopher Palmeri and Keith Epstein lament that the situation in the air is only likely to get worse. The FAA predicts that by 2015 there will be one billion passengers a year, a 30% increase. Agency chief Marion C. Blakey is stepping down this month after five frustrating years of trying to bring order out of chaos. Blakey is quite frank about the rising risk of flying; there have been 339 incidents this year where planes were dangerously close to other planes, including a case at Los Angeles International last month when a jet came within 37 feet of another. The authors distribute blame across the board -- passengers, airlines, unions, Congress, and the FAA, among others. Timesaving tip? Don't fly between 8 and 9 PM; half of all U.S. flights departing this hour are delayed.
"The Science of Play". Wired magazine (September 2007) jumps into the inner life of Bungie Studios, and the new game Halo3. In addition to reviewing several features of Halo3 (for the closet gamers among us), author Clive Thompson tracks the development process for a new video game, peering over the shoulders of the testers. The aim is to invent new weapons and levels for the games and then monitor gamers as they "play the hell out of them". The piece revolves around Randy Pagulayan, who runs a testing lab for Bungie that looks more like a psychological research institute than a studio. Read more about the esoteric world of the video game studio online, or in the latest issue in Jackson Library.
For many, protecting the environment entails the usual recycling chores and other relatively standard methods of conservation. The routine can sometimes have us feeling the need to make a more meaningful contribution. “If only I could help restore dwindling mangrove forests in Kenya,” one might say, “or monitor butterflies at Mount Fuji in an effort to better understand and preserve their delicate habitat.” Or when next the cans, bottles and (yawn) plastics are toted curbside, you might momentarily imagine radio-tracking rare species of Malaysian bats, boating with Peruvian biologists to collect data on threatened Amazonian populations, or actually measuring the Arctic permafrost and ... sleeping in igloos!
Enter Earthwatch Institute, a U.S.-based international nonprofit environmental organization making eco-expedition dreams like these an “everyman” reality now for 35 years. Operating over 130 expeditions in over 50 countries, Earthwatch is dedicated to providing “exciting opportunities ... to work and explore the critical environmental issues” by joining people with scientists and community to help explore, discover, document and preserve the world’s most amazing environments. Check out their current guide which covers expeditions and provides answers to important trip-related questions. Of course you’ll be slappin’ down a hefty chunk of change and purchasing your own air tickets for the privilege of experiencing this “whole ecosystem” approach to conservation, but member discounts and special student rates are made available.
“See you in the field!"
From the Amber Waves newsletter, some statistics on how large the organic farming industry is growing. The consumption of organic food and beverages is concentrated in Europe and the United States, but the production of certified organic products is scattered worldwide. U.S. production and domestic consumption of organic products continues to increase.
Forbes has come out with a list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women At the top a former physicist and the new Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel. The article also takes an overall view of women in business and leadership. It states that the New York research group Catalyst which tracks women in management positions has seen numbers stay the same since 2003.
Business 2.0 August 2007 Special Global Issue highlights the 29 best business ideas in the world. A taste of what's included: (1) the elimination of lawyers from contract creation, by the startup Negonation (via the platform Tractis), which allows anyone to create, manage and execute contracts online, (2) new company Obecure's tackling obesity with a drug that reduces craving for food, and fatty foods in particular, (3) the application of BitTorrent-type technology to phones, allowing users to send large files, like movies, via cell phone, (4) 'wave farming', encouraging firms like Oceanlinx and Wavegen to generate electricity from ocean waves and tap into the estimated $1 trillion wave energy market, and (5) 'mobile hotels' that can sleep dozens of people -- like Hotelmovil, a pre-fab unit that can be loaded on an 18 wheel-semi, driven to any site and erected in 30 minutes. Read all this and more online or in the Jackson Library copy.
Do your eyes glaze over when you hear the phrase Sarbanes-Oxley? Sarbanes-Oxley -- or 'SOX' as the Congressional act is called -- impacts all levels of management. Understanding the different components is critical to compliance. The Essentials of Sarbanes-Oxley by Sanjay Anand provides a practical and realistic approach to the implementation of SOX. The author is a leading corporate governance, risk management and regulatory compliance expert, and currently chairman of the SOX Institute. This book explains Sarbanes Oxley in a straightforward manner with out a lot of economic jargon. Board members and executives should consider it as an addition to their bookshelf. Or check out Jackson Library's copy.
Summer issue of AlwaysOn magazines published its annual rating of top private companies. The companies are chosen based on criteria of innovation, market opportunity, and stakeholder value creation. This year, the editors also considered how greentech the companies are. The selection process reveals rather interesting facts such as the growth rate in start-up financing, increased number of mergers & acquisitions, and IPOs compared with the last year. As for the industry trends, much of the business is directed towards refining the mobile technology, social networking, and “virtualization" of consumer services. The ultimate winner is San Jose based company GAIA Online which main line of business is an avatar-based teen virtual hangout. For complete list of winners, read the magazine in Jackson Library.
Corporate and financial investors are collaborating to do business in China. MySpace.com is teaming up with IDG and China Broadband Capital Partners to launch a subsidiary in China. IBM and Lehman Brothers also jointly set up a $180 million investment fund last October. Whereas VC firms typically fund technology start-ups and PE firms do buyouts in developed markets, it is difficult to find truly disruptive technologies in China or to take total control of companies in the China situation. VCs and PEs are therefore putting money into later stage companies with appealing but unproven business models. The IBM-Lehman fund takes minority stakes in targeted companies much like a VC firm. It acts as a strategic partner instead of aiming at a controlling interest. In addition to offloading some risk to a financial partner, a more experienced partner such as Lehman can offer insights into the market. Lehman was one of the first global investment banks to enter China in 1993 and one of a small group of foreign institutions allowed to invest directly in China’s equity and bond markets.
Another reason for the collaboration was that the size of required investment to make deals work in China has increased tenfold in the past 10-15 years. Now one finds strategics having to put up $600 million or $1 billion. For example, a consortium of investors including Goldman Sachs plunked down $3.78 billion to buy 8.5% of shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. As part of the deal, Goldman agreed to help the bank develop its corporate governance, risk management and internal controls and offer training in corporate and investment banking and disposal of nonperforming loans.
The China deal is to have foreign corporates bring in technological or management expertise. It’s no surprise that firms position themselves that way in order to get a deal.
According to the Centre for Asia Private Equity Research, PE funds dedicated to China rose to 4.8 billion in 2006, up 37% from prior year. VC spending on China also up 52% from 2005 levels to $1.8 billion according to research firm Zero2IPO.
Reported in “Blurring the boundaries”, July-August 2007 issue of Corporate Dealmaker. The print copy is available at Jackson Library.
The illusion is simply this: The "pure aqua" you think is in the bottle isn’t really there, comparatively speaking. Or so much seems to be the case based in part on a recent blind taste test where “75 percent of New Yorkers preferred city tap water (drawn from upstate reservoirs) to bottled varieties.” As for spring water, it’s subject to natural contaminants at the source or during bottling, and since FDA standards for bottled water are less stringent than the EPA’s for public water, “bottled water can sometimes have more impurities” than tap. Case Western Reserve University recently reported that of 39 bottled water samples tested “15 … had bacterial counts almost twice as high as Cleveland tap water.” And the explosive impact this marketing mirage is having on global warming, economics and waste management is enough to make even the most ardent Costco shopper see straight. Get the full eye-popping brief in the September 7 issue of The Week: The Best of the U.S. and International Media available at Jackson Library.
For all you 600-pound gorillas: Jungle magazine (August / September) tackles the proverbial office 800-pound gorilla. Its cover story "Alpha Force" highlights alpha males in every company, and how to (ahem) ape them for power and profit. These are the high-octane corporate captains who set the company terror alert to Code Orange -- enough to keep underlings motivated without causing permanent coronary damage. Included are examples of 'bad' alphas (e.g. Harvey Weinstein, Martha Stewart) as well as warnings about trying too hard (e.g. territorially marking subordinates' desks instead of using the washroom, replacing Casual Fridays with 'Casualty Fridays', where someone gets fired.)
Also included in the issue are various tips on handling busy work, interviewing observations from a recruiter at Google, ways to spend a million bucks, wine recommendations, laying out a churrasco barbecue, interview survival strategies, and the 100 Most Desirable MBA Employers (Google is # 1 -- surprise!) Read it all in Jackson Library.
For years it has not made economic sense to install solar panels, the cost and maintenance was too high compared to energy sold by local utilities. In recent times this has changed and it looks like even more changes are on the way. Photovoltaics, which convert light from the sun into electricity have dropped in cost from $22 in 1980 to between $2-$3 now. The September 3 issue of Forbes magazine in their eGang Solar article entitled Seeking the Light takes a look at where solar energy has been and what progress it has made and what the future might look like.
|
