From Julie Johnsson at the Chicago Tribune:

Orange wristbands are a hot accessory among United Airlines workers, and the latest sign of fraying labor relations at the nation's second-largest carrier.

Unlike the yellow Livestrong bands popularized by cyclist Lance Armstrong, these accessories are about fighting management rather than battling cancer.

About 20,000 wristbands bearing the phrase "Glenn's Gotta Go" have been distributed among United workers recently, according to the Association of Flight Attendants, one of the unions pushing to oust United Chief Executive Glenn Tilton.

United's management wishes that workers would air their concerns less publicly and has sent letters to both the flight attendants and pilots unions asking that they curb this form of protest. The pilots union declined to comment on the matter.

Check out Tim's Work and Rants for more.

Analysts say United has the right to ask workers not to air the carrier's dirty laundry in front of passengers. It will be interesting to see how this develops. I'm not sure if this is the best way for the employees to express their issues but it sure is creative. Thoughts?

WorldGSM hi vọng hệ thống này sẽ làm tăng lượng khách hàng cho các mạng điện thoại di động ở vùng nông thôn.

Người dân ở các vùng nông thôn tại những quốc gia mới nổi như Ấn Độ hay Trung Quốc, không thể sử dụng điện thoại di động do thiếu mạng phủ sóng ở đó. Lý do là vì các cột anten rất đắt, đòi hỏi công suất tiêu thụ cao và thiếu nhân công có kĩ năng để cài đặt chúng.

Trạm WorldGSM sử dụng tầm 5% lượng điện tiêu thụ thông thường và bản thân nó là một mạng GSM trọn vẹn. Chúng được VNL thiết kế để chạy ở công suất tối đa là 120W, sử dụng ít điện năng và được vận hành bởi năng lượng mặt trời và việc cài đặt tương đối dễ dàng. Mỗi trạm WorldGSM mini này có 72 pin dự trữ (back –up) để đảm bảo mạng duy trì được sự ổn định.

Công ty Quippo Telecom Infrastructure của Ấn Độ sẽ nhanh chóng đưa hệ thống WorldGSM này vào thử nghiệm ở các khu vực ở Ấn Độ và hi vọng sẽ trải rộng độ phủ sóng đến một số khu vực xa xôi .

CEO Anil Raj phát biểu: "Các nhà khai thác và các nhà sản xuất thiết bị viễn thông truyền thống đã thất bại trong việc cung cấp mạng GSM đến các khu vực xa xôi không chỉ vì việc lắp đặt phức tạp mà còn do không thể duy trì hoạt động ổn định vì vấn đề năng lượng.”

“Không có nguồn cấp điện, không kĩ sư, không cơ sở hạ tầng, địa hình khó khăn, mật độ người dùng thấp – và quan trọng nhất, lợi nhuận từ các thuê bao thấp. Tuy nhiên thiết bị của VNL đã vượt qua những thách thức trên và cung cấp cho các nhà khai thác một cách kết nối thực sự tồn tại đến hàng tỉ người sử dụng di động tới đây”

Theo "Thongtincongnghe.com"

Bill George
True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership
Event: Speech & Book Signing
Location: INC500, Washington, D.C. (inc500conference.com)
Date: September 18-20, 2008

For more information, contact: Amy Packard (415) 782-3177 apackard@wiley.com

True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership by Bill George, David Gergen (Foreword by) with Peter Sims Jossey-Bass; March 2007; $29.95 978-0-7879-8751-0; Hardcover

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Quoted in the Toronto Star, Engle stated, “Leading Ford of Canada has been one of the best experiences of my career and it’s very difficult to leave a team that is so committed to its customers and to building future success”.  Committed to its customers???!!!!

Which ones?  I think there are quite a few of us out there that would beg to differ on that point, considering the number of leaky windows causing our electronics to fry and putting our lives at risk.  As well, they even censor you from their customer input website if you don’t like their product. 

I also get a kick out of the statement, “building future success”.  In the Toronto Star there is a headline, “Big 3 drop in customer satisfaction survey”.  The article stated that “US car buyers are growing less satisfied with their purchases from domestic auto makers while their Asian and European competitors continue to improve.”  Maybe the Big 3 and the CAW/UAW should take this into consideration before coming to our government asking for handouts.  If you can’t build a good product and support the consumer, why should the consumer support you with our taxes? 

Engle’s is supposedly going home to be with his extended family.  Maybe the guy just got frustrated working for a company that cares less about the consumer and more about raking in more tax funds for the stockholders.

These guys are all over the web advertising their top secret algorithm, which they claim can predict not only if a startup is successful or not -- but their overall fate over a short or long scale. Their sample predictor is getting worldwide buzz, but I'm not so convinced it is a good thing. 

Oxford dropout Bob Goodson, left, claims that his idea can help out our economy crisis by in advance predicting successful companies -- but it seems like marketed quicksand to me. First of all, I don't believe that its possible for a math equation to predict the fate of a company -- that's purely in the mind of the general public itself to decide if it will be useful in their lives.

Second, if proven to work (or somehow convincing to everyone) this idea will be like pulling fruit out of an ecosystem -- it will not only be imbalanced, but everyone else will eat each other. If YouNoddle becomes the standard for all startups -- then they essentially will decided if they fail or not. The public will believe that whatever they say will come true and that will stop many ideas from coming through. 

They will, in a sense, form a blockade between the office and the world, beta and public, and most importantly, a dud and a bloom. And looking far ahead, if YouNoodle is a proven winner and the public trusts them, they will be able to decide the fate of any new company. YouNoodle would act as a tollbooth that decides whether the company can go on or not. The public, in the end, will not invest if the idea seems good or the CEO is promising -- but solely on what YouNoodle says about it. And by then, YouNoodle can just drop their mystery math algorithm and basically hire teams to hand pick companies they like and dump the ones they don't. They are really dangling the fate of anyone who crosses their path -- and I think that's wrong. Thank goodness the general public has its doubts too.

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http://www.sports-psych.com/pressroom.html and click on the You Tube screen to view  Dr. JoAnn’s new speaking/coaching video sceen. You’ll see the specific tips on sports psychology coaching for peak performance that Dr. JoAnn is discussing on Martha Stewart and OPRAH and Friends. You can also access Free video training and articles for personal excellence. Learn how to use positive self statements to perform your best.

Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter is appears this week on NPR, Newsweek on Air, and on OPRAH and Friends. She is an expert guest interviewed on the Peter Walsh Show talking about how to use Olympic Thinking techniques, peak performance, and sports psychology to stay motivated to exercise. She discusses the  3 P’s of Your Performing Edge, the method that she has developed to get focused and move forward in every area of your life.

To read more about the tips she’ll be discussing, the complete articles on Visualization, can be found at

http://www.sports-psych.com/speaking.html

For immediate access Dr. JoAnn’s interviews and national TV appearances on ABC, NBC, Fox News and BBC, go to:

http://www.sports-psych.com/pressroom.html

In this post I will be discussing the development of a separate entity other than the Church of Jesus Christ. The practice of establishing a clergy class leads the members to submit to another Christ. This could be a leader, a system, an organization or something other than Jesus. These churches are Christ’s in name only. They may have many valid believers in their ranks, but as an organization they serve another because they have pledged their allegiance to another (who is a member of the clergy) rather than to Christ. This can even happen in organizations who minimize the clergy system. If they establish a class of leadership such as their governing structure prescribes it is not far from the governmental structure of Roman Catholicism. The senior leader (pastor, overseer, apostle, director, CEO, president, superintendent etc.) is being the pope, the other leaders his ranks of bishops and clergy, and the members serve the church and the edict of the leadership rather than Christ. It wasn’t until almost the third century of the church that leaders became and official ruling class and this quickly led the Church into the Dark Ages in which we are still attempting to escape. There was always leadership, but never as an office. This practice was a reaction to the desire of Constantine to initiate the same system he saw in pagan religions. This was a system of priests, temples and sacrifice attempting to make Christianity acceptable to the masses as well as conducive to his system of control or leadership. He wanted to endorse this new religion, but in order for it to work under Rome’s rule it had to take on the characteristics of Rome and her pagan practices.

Conclusion to Church Structure

Let me conclude this series by saying that the comments I have made are not a judgment of individual’s relationship with Christ, but the practices in which I have described. I have participated on one level or another in all of the erroneous practices I have discussed in this series. While I was functioning this way I never thought I was in error. In fact I assumed I was doing things the right way. Could it be that we are many times blinded by the traditions of men and the status quo and never able to break out of the mold in which we were raised up in? I ask that you take a long look at your structure, systems, government and leadership development practices, discipleship tools and church membership training and analyze it to determine if Christ has been removed from the process; or are we even willing to go deeper and see if he has been removed from the head as our King, our Lord and our God.

After 5 years of coaching high school football, I knew I wanted to be a head coach someday.  I couldn't get around the thoughts of what I would do different if it were my team.  Three seasons later, that became a reality.  A good friend who coached with me once commented, "I wouldn't do your job for 10x the salary I get now."  To him, the thought of parent calls, meetings, administration, legal responsibilities, mean-spirited attacks, physical threats, etc., etc., just wasn't even remotely appealing.  To me, they were just prices that needed to be paid to perform a role that I loved.

How much more so in business, often with millions of dollars on the line?  Yes, we read about all the posh sides of the compensation, but we rarely read of the pressure, loneliness, isolation, and constant scrutiny that comes with the job.  A couple of those may surprise you, but I know from coaching and from business, that you can't confuse phony "friendships" with real relationships, and often trying to distinguish between the two is a full-time job when you're in power.  It is draining and full of disappointments.  After a point, the money is a way to keep score more than a means to live, so "real life" sneaks in regardless of the size of your bank account.

I know enough wealthy people, several from playing in the NFL or coaching at high levels of college or pros, to know that the old saying is true: money can't buy happiness.  So they still face tons of pressures associated with being held ultimately responsible.  Maybe some get golden parachutes that leave them fat, dumb, and happy regardless of the companies success, but I think most do not.  And a good one -- a REALLY good one -- how much are they worth?  I believe it's a mighty big number.

That said, I think the biggest concern today is that too many, effective or not, are collecting mighty big numbers without mighty big results and without having truly earned it with a proven track record.

VISN successfully followed on 6.325 million shares at the price of 16 U.S. dollars per share on the 15^th U.S. time, including 825,000 copies of the over-allotment option priced at 16 dollars per share, gaining 1.012 100 million U.S. dollars. After the issuance, Chairman of the VISN Board and CEO Li Limin is still largest shareholder of the company.

At the end of last year after the successful landing on the Nasdaq, just eight months, depending on the media, that is, the issuance of this, these shares finished the day that all subscription and become the only additional year in the United States the success of the Chinese media company. The successful issuance of the news, company shares rose 12 percent, the latest closing price of 19.38 U.S. dollars.

Company official said that the success of following on this time not only increases the liquidity of the shares and brings in other strategic investors such as the Fidelity fund to further optimized the structure of shares, but also gaining the needed capital for the continuous development.

One speaker is Dr Ziggy Switkowski, current  chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and former CEO of Telstra Corporation.  Dr Switkowski's video is the longest and possibly the most interesting.  His manner is relaxed and chatty as he builds on some of the comments of the former speaker, Jerry Ellis.

Glenn Henson of ExxonMobil speaks about accountability and the human role in safety, and Colin Blair, deputy CEO of Standards Australia, discusses how experienced a near miss in his early days as a young engineer.

Each of these speakers were asked about what motivated their interest in workplace safety.  These casual introductions to their main presentations reminded us in the audience that early work experiences, intense or humourous, do provide a structure or shadow to how senior managers in major corporations approach safety.

Until the end of August 2008, the videos will only be accessible at www.siaconference.com.au to those who sign up for a regular conference newsletter.

Mark Cuban, the iconoclastic owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has some interesting thoughts on this one. Most business folks I know think Cuban is an idiot, and liken him to a spoiled kid who fell bass ackwards into a lot of money. Even if that's true, we should not commit the logical fallacy of Argumentum ad Hominem, which is basically a rejection of an argument by assaulting someone's character. As I read his post, I think he has an interesting take when he basically says the gap in compensation exists between CEO and "regular worker" because they are of a different type altogether.

The problem is, the self-feeding machine is now running and many companies have CEO's with almost no tie to corporate disaster (as seen in the mortgage industry collapse where many CEO's walked away with 10's of millions while shareholders and employee 401K's became worthless). But how do you stop it? Which Board of a high profile company is going to say, "Nah, we'll go hire on the cheap" and not pay the going rate with the same conditions? Are we going to try and legislate it? I sure hope not, because I just don't think that has ever worked well in a free-market economy.

More thoughts on this one later, with maybe some perspective from the other side.

August 19, 2008 - Patrick Lencioni, New York Times bestselling author of seven business books focused on organizational health and leadership, is now turning his sights to the most important organization in our lives—the family—in The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family.  As a husband and father of four young boys, Lencioni realized the discrepancy between the time and energy his clients put into running their organizations and the reactive way in which most people run their personal lives. Having experienced the stress of a frantic family first-hand, Lencioni began applying some of the tools he uses with Fortune 500 companies at home, and with powerful results.

In the course of working with colleagues and clients, Lencioni learned that while almost everyone considered family to be the most important part of their lives, most of them found their home lives to be stressful and, at times, overwhelming. People who skillfully and efficiently run successful organizations seemed to have difficulty running their own personal organization. Lencioni believes that several of his business principals used at work can be just as effective in the home.

So what are the 3 Big Questions?  Lencioni states that, in order to restore sanity and clarity to our families, we must answer and act upon the following:

1.) What makes your family unique? Parents need to be able to articulate what makes their family different from the one next door, down the street, and across town. They need to understand one, two or three principles that they value which distinguishes their family from others.  It is those differences that can guide us to make purposeful, informed decisions about what we do rather than reacting to every opportunity and distraction. Lencioni's fable offers insight on how to determine the fundamental and undeniable qualities of your family.

2.) What is your family's top priority-rallying cry-right now? You need to know what the single most important objective is for your family over the next two to six months. Without a top priority, everything becomes important and you end up reacting to whatever issues seem urgent that day. Lencioni believes answering this question will provide the quickest and most dramatic sense of relief to frantic families.

3.) How do you talk about and use the answers to these questions? If you answer the first two questions but don't use those answers in daily, weekly and monthly decision making, it will yield no benefits. Lencioni suggests that the most important thing a family has to do to keep its context alive is discuss it in regular meetings-even if it's for five minutes a week.

Anyone with chaos at home, from CEO's to moms on-the-go, can benefit from Lencioni's guidance by taking the time to address these three important questions and putting the model into action.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pat Lencioni is the founder and president of The Table Group, a firm dedicated to providing organizations with ideas, products and services that improve teamwork, clarity and employee engagement. As a consultant and keynote speaker, Lencioni has worked with thousands of senior executives in organizations ranging from Fortune 500s and professional sports teams to universities and nonprofits, including Southwest Airlines, Barnes & Noble, General Mills, Newell Rubbermaid, SAP, Washington Mutual, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The Wall Street Journal has named Lencioni one of the most in-demand business speakers, and he has been a keynote speaker on the same ticket with George Bush Sr., Jack Welch, Rudy Guiliani, and General Colin Powell.

About Wiley
Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley's core businesses include scientific, technical, and medical journals; encyclopedias, books, and online products and services; professional and consumer books and subscription services; and educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley's global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. www.wiley.com.

For more information, contact: Amy Packard (415) 782-3177 apackard@wiley.com Rita Tennyson (310) 779-9747 ritatennyson@gmail.com

The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family: A Leadership Fable About Restoring Sanity To The Most Important Organization In Your Life by Patrick M. Lencioni Jossey-Bass; September 2008; $24.95 978-0-7879-9532-4; Hardcover

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It mainly discusses what every boss tries to overcome in any business.  Here is the neat thing I like about this article.  It can be used as a road map on how to operate out in the world.  It's quite simple.  In the article, heck any book that one reads on a related subject, talks about layers.  Layers.  Everything has layers to it.  People are layers.  Really, we are just because we all have had a different up bringing in life.  Each one of our life experiences - builds to the next.  What does that mean?  You'll never see it and you'll never know it. 

It also asks a person to be watchful.  This goes back to the whole observing I have been talking about - ie with Nature.  What do we live in?  Why do we call it "environment"?  It is what it is. If you want to be PC all the time and not live beyond the realm of possibility, then you better watch and observe and analyze. Otherwise the layers around you could crumble.  If the layers around you crumble, without a doubt, the layers crumble elsewhere.  Simple logic.

Try to reapply what you learn in one area, to the next.  No, it won't be the same or have the same affect, because it may need to be adjusted. It is only a way of giving skills, to give building blocks.  Good knowledge equals good living.  Good living equals wisdom.

Sometimes it can be tough to tell, however, if the company is innovative, or just the founder or CEO at the time.  And there can be a big difference, especially moving forward past that individual person's tenure.

The best example I can see is Apple.  I have mentioned them before, and they continue to stand out as a truly innovative company in every move they make.  And at the top of all of that is Steve Jobs, probably one of the greatest innovators of our time.  But we saw once already that without Steve Jobs at the helm, Apple suffered.  They became less exciting, and created less change.  They became stagnant.

How can a company set themselves up for future success, even after their heralded leader has moved on?  This is a question facing companies like Apple.  And the truth is, there is no surefire way to make it happen.  Potential successors may all be extremely well qualified, bright individuals.  But to replicate successful innovation from one CEO to the next is never a guarantee.

It's a dangerous game you play when an innovative company becomes boring.  Loyal fans and customers are sure to notice.  Shareholders run scared, employees may lose focus, and everything the company built is in jeopardy.  For a company founded on innovation, a life without innovation cannot exist.

Steve Jobs will not be at Apple forever, and where will they go when he leaves this time?  In my opinion, Steve Jobs last job at Apple will be to secure a successor that is not only qualified, but shares with him the passion for new technology. 

And if it hasn't started already, the best time to start looking is now.  Build a relationship up with your potential successor and show him the way.  Lend him your vision and knowledge of the industry and allow him to be great.  Then sit back and see if it works out, because you can do all the preparation in the world, but performance will define the future.

That being said, i applaud the businesses that find a gentle way to say/remind their customers that its better that children are not left unattended in their store.  Today was a great example, the sign read:

Attn Parents:  Unattended children will be given a free kitten and a large cup of coffee!

What a great approach...it made me laugh and i didnt feel like the owner was a child hater!

Have you seen any other good examples?

Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter is appearing on OPRAH and Friends Today, Aug 15-17, 2008. She is an expert guest interviewed on the Peter Walsh Show talking about how to use Olympic Thinking techniques, peak performance, and sports psychology to stay motivated to exercise. She discusses the  3 P’s of Your Performing Edge, the method that she has developed to get focused and move forward in every area of your life.

To read more about the tips she’ll be discussing, the complete articles on Visualization, can be found at

http://www.sports-psych.com/speaking.html

For more info on Dr. JoAnn’s interview and how to access it on Oprah and her national TV appearances on ABC, NBC, Fox News and BBC, go to:

http://www.sports-psych.com/pressroom.html

Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter is appearing on Oprah and Friends Today, Aug 15-17, 2008. She is an expert guest interviewed on the Peter Walsh Show talking about how to use Olympic Thinking techniques, peak performance, and sports psychology to stay motivated to exercise. She discusses the  3 P’s of Your Performing Edge, the method that she has developed to get focused and move forward in every area of your life.

To read more about the tips she’ll be discussing, the complete articles on Visualization, can be found at

http://www.sports-psych.com/articles.html - Creating an Inner Desire.

For more info on Dr. JoAnn’s interview and how to access it on Oprah and her national TV appearances on ABC, NBC, Fox News and BBC, go to:

http://www.sports-psych.com/pressroom.html

We talked about the glut of CEO candidates in some areas that means Private Equity investors are forced to hire “first time” CEO’s. There is risk in all hiring, but when an executive is untested and unproven, the assessment prior to hire is important. I asked Brian what he does to manage the hiring risk and if he has a “leading indicator” list.

Brian does believe that there are leading indicators that over time and formed a pattern in successful hires. Brian’s mentor, Warren Hellman, (Mr. Hellman co-founded Hellman & Friedman in 1984, is the Firm's Chairman) the “Warren Hellman gut check”. Six weeks after the hiring of a CEO or senior executive, Mr. Hellman would make a gut check – a quick analysis of the executive’s strengths and weaknesses at that point. Brian says that this is usually a long enough period for themes to emerge and a short enough period to do something about the gaps. He believes in confronting the issues head on and quickly is healthy for all parties.

Here is Brian’s leading indicator list:

• The best communicate well – internally and externally
• The come to the Board with solutions rather than naked  problems
• They are well prepared – always have the detail and analysis to support decisions
• They are able to engage the Board  in advice and support – there is no need for the Board to manage the executive
• They lead vs. manage – they tend towards influencing people and focus on vision, inspiration, motivation, relationships, teamwork and listening
• They are open to feedback and engage in real authentic conversations

Reading:

Writing: Other than the book review notes, nothing focused. Tons of notes and ideas jotted down everywhere, from napkins to magazine pages to the backs of itinerary printouts. When it's all combined and studied there may be something usable for an essay or... maybe it's complete mush!

Blogging: No fair access. And by late evening, too tired to put anything on here.

Going forward:  Pondered ideas on how to present info resulting from business trip, also in view of how CEO likes updates.  Working on something with a little "pop" to it.

Download Here -> Rapcity24

Code:www.rapgodfathers.com

Tracklist:
01. Put on Remix (feat. Jay-Z)
02. Translator
03. Entertained
04. Legal
05. CTE
06. Prime Minister
07. Put On (feat. Kanye West)
08. Hurt
09. Umma Do Me
10. They Know
11. Duffle Bag Boy
12. Louie Bag (feat. Blood Raw)
13. Lollipop (feat. Lil Wayne)
14. Come Around
15. A Bay Bay
16. Eyes Closed
17. Luxury Tax (feat. Lil Wayne)
18. CanAt Tell Me Nothing
19. Big Things Poppin
20. Ready 2 Roll
21. Hustle
22. Out Here Grindin
23. Good Life
24. Superstar
25. 100 Million Dollars
26. Brown Paper Bag
27. IAm So Hood
28. Love In This Club
29. Side Effects
30. I Luv Your Girl

She then points out a major problem with implementing that concept:

An executive of an organisation I know that specialises in educating CEOs in a variety of areas, including IT, told us that he had once suggested organising IT brainstorming sessions where the CEOs could bring their CIOs along with them. However, every CEO to whom he suggested this rejected the idea immediately. None of them wished to expose their IT ignorance to their own CIO, especially not among a group of other CEOs and CIOs.

That's not so bad, at least they are aware of their failings.  First step in correcting them and all that.

When they don't understand IT and don't know that they don't...that is where you run into serious problems.