ChangeThis Newsletter: The World Is Flat… Now It’s Free

Beginning tomorrow, and running through August 4th, Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Macmillan Audio will be offering the audio edition of Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat for free. Listeners will receive the audiobook in three easy-to-download sections, and soon after that, as an added bonus, will also receive an exclusive prepublication audio excerpt of Friedman’s Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America. The book itself will be released by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on September 8th.

The is the end of an article that is worth a full read. Click on the link at the bottom to check out the whole thing.

Talent issues are not small issues. They are big ones because they cut across all aspects of an organization’s life. If you want to attract talent, it isn’t simply the compensation package. It is the culture that they find which will make it possible for them to fulfill their potential.

The keys? Freedom, Openness, Diversity and high levels of interpersonal interaction. The reality is that this is not just about how individual employees are managed. It is about the whole structure of the business is design to function. Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline, makes the point that “structure influences behavior.” In other words, it is not enough to say you are free to create. You must create the structures that produce creative behavior. This is quite difficult in organizations where entrepreneurial practices have been weeded out in favor of top-down leadership. If you want talent to thrive in your business, you have to create a bottom-up environment of creative leadership. The truly talented ones, like those Christine Kane compares to Neil Young, will find that not only can they create, but the corporate stucture can actually be a benefit in extending the reach of their talent beyond what they might be possibly do on their own. Of course, it will only happen if you intend for it to do so, and you work to sustain an environment of freedom, openness and diversity.

Leading Questions: Developing a Talent Culture

Oscar Peterson: A model of Engaged Performance.

Have you ever engaged this fully in your work – so much so that the work is transformed by you and you are transformed by the work?

Consciousness, Unconsciousness and Leadership | Slow Leadership

To be conscious, you need to view life, right here and right now, from the 25,000-foot level and ask yourself:
“What am I doing right here, right now?”
“Who am I being, right here, right now? Am I acting in alignment with my core values?”
“Is there harmony between what I think, say, feel and do, and if not, why not? How can I create that harmony for myself?
“What am I thinking about and what do I think about what I’m thinking about?” “Am I ‘going along to get along’ even though I know it’s inappropriate?”

Consciousness is about being decent right where you are. That’s who successful and truly respected leaders and managers are. It’s about showing character and working for the highest good of all concerned, right where you are today. That’s what successful and truly respected leaders and managers do. It’s about showing up, authentically, with integrity, and acting to make the workplace, and the world, a better place for everyone — even if it’s uncomfortable and inconvenient.

» Mondays with Mac: Embrace Change in Your Life- Simple Truths: The Blog of Inspiration

Comfort zones put padlocks on the doors to growth, discovery, and adventure in your life, but three keys that will unlock those doors are discipline, hard work, and faith. When it comes to progress, when it comes to change…Inch by inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard. Unlock one door at a time, enjoy small successes, and soon you will have achieved your goals.

» Mondays with Mac: Reward the Gift of Imagination- Simple Truths: The Blog of Inspiration

One of the most amazing things about business (and life) is the power of one idea. And one of your greatest challenges as a leader is to understand how to find and nurture them.

There is nothing more rewarding than seeing your ideas come to life. And nothing more frustrating than seeing them die. How are you helping those around you nurture their ideas? What about your own imagination?…are you exercising it, or allowing circumstances to keep it unused?

Thought for today:

If you haven’t got time to do it right,
When will you find time to do it over?