Is the WSJ trying to be punny? (Wendy’s Chief Quits in Shake-Up) I guess ‘Frosty-Up’ didn’t roll off the tongue as nicely…

I remember reading about Google’s Da Vinci Code Quest. It’s a pretty good puzzle today (1 of 24 complete!) and I think it’s helped me with my Soduku skills… or vice versa. In any case, someone needs to make sure I don’t forget this every day.

Quote of the Day:

“I was on the sixth floor of a hotel in New Delhi,” he recalled, “and when I looked out the window I could see for miles. How come? Because you do not have assured power in Delhi for elevators, so there are not many tall buildings.” No sensible investor would want to build a tall building in a city where the power could go out at any moment and you might have to walk up twenty flights of stairs. The result is more urban sprawl and an inefficient use of space.

From The World is Flat, referring to why India’s economy, as a whole, has not taken off as much as it should (infastructure).

If you are with me, pass this along to two friends that aren?t usually included in memes either.

I?m passing this to Jake Dahn and Daniel Nicolas.

Now go visit cdevroe’s site because he want’s you to.

Two ski patrol members died of asphyixation. They fell into a volcanic fissure and the deadly gasses killed them. As I read the sad news I realize it just confused me. “…authorities on Friday identified the deadly gas as carbon dioxide… emissions from the ground have previously been linked to die-offs of trees in the region”. You’re trying to tell me carbon dioxide has started killing off trees?

I use Google Talk primarily because it’s so simple and functional. As I’ve said before, MySpace is to AIM as Facebook is to Google Talk. Go ahead, try and sort out my cryptic comparisons. With that said, I’m excited to be using the new (leaked) update.

As I sat here reading over 100 RSS feeds, I just had a realization: I’m a hypocritical blogger.

I post regularly and expect hundreds of people to read what I say.

Yet, I read (scan) hundreds of blogs thinking: “That’s crap. That’s stupid. Oh that’s very interesting! Why’d that person post that? Why do people think that’s so clever?” I’ve been going through blogs lately wondering: why do I do this when so much of it is of little value to me? I spend a lot of time reading and at this point I don’t even know how much of that will continue…

But, at the same time I want people to come back to my blog and read what I’m saying, find it useful, and leave insightful responses. How can I expect bloggers to read what I say if I refuse to read what they’re saying?

I think the simple answer is (for me, not everyone): quality over quantity. This simple rule applies to my subscribers, traffic, links and –most importantly– content.
With that in mind I’m thinking I’ll be shifting my writing style…

..and reading style.

Some of the first to leave my reader? Sad to say but it’s the A-listers, like Steve Rubel, Robert Scoble, and Jason Calacanis.
Why get rid of these guys? They’re clever, sure, but:

• they largely point to content I can find elsewhere
• there’s just way too much stuff
• egos are a bitch and get in the way of a blog’s quality sometimes

You can tell the difference between those blogging for blogging and those blogging for an audience. Seth Godin is my favorite blogger becuase he’s short, sweet and his posts are full of greatness.

Guy has been dropped because, although he’s got good stuff:

• you can find it all in his books
• everyone else quotes his latest posts
• it takes a long time to read everything he says

But, hey, he got his link like he asked…
[tags]blogging, blogs, communication[/tags]

An AP article on profanity made me wonder: are swear words becoming mainstream? I was thinking about this last night while watching some ABC Family. I thought to myself: “this is what ABC considered ‘family’ material?” I suppose the downward spiral is inevitable. Besides, they’re just words right? Personally, I find it very hard to express myself on here sometimes becuase I choose not to use certain words. I think these colorful words have begun replacing thoughtful adjectives…

I had the privledge of listening to Peter Behrendt the other evening. Behrendt was CEO and Chairman of Exabyte and previously held executive positions at IBM. He was invited to speak to my management class on leadership skills. The following are his advice and thoughts:

The Biggest Inhibitor to Growth is the inability for companies to find managers capable of growing their business. In other words, people can be very good at doing their job, but not as many people are good at managing them.

Today’s technical skills have short half-lifes. The technology you learn today will be irrelevant in 5, 10, maybe even 2 years. Sure, it’s important to learn certain things now, but it’s more important to continue the educating yourself. Simply put: stay current.

You will move between many different companies. Obviously nobody has the opportunity to remain at a company for their entire life. On average, people will work for 7-10 companies in their lifetime. This has a huge impact on the skills you’re able to learn and the different interactions you’ll have in your professional life.

The 7 Habits of … People:

1. Develop the best possible communication skills you can. Both oral and written communication apply anywhere you’ll go. Do your best to work on writing and speaking to people. Give presentations as often as possible and continue to improve.
2. Learn to work well with people different than you. The world is full of diversity. The fact is, you’ll be working with people very different from you. There’s no way around it, in fact, you should strive to surround yourself with diverse groups.
3. Develop a global perspective. In order to have a better understanding of the world and the people within it, you need to learn more about it. Plus, the world is becoming smaller. Your widgets are built in China with parts from Indonesia and you have global sales forces in Germany, and Japan. For beginners, reading the news is important.
4. Develop zero-tolerance for unethical behavior. So many people do well by lying; don’t associate with these individuals. Don’t sacrifice your values and certainly don’t tolerate those individuals that will. “But if I come forward to my superiors I can lose my job.” A) Do you really want to work for those people? and B) You should never do anything that would cause anyone to distrust you.
5. Learn to sell. Everyone has to sell. Job applicants sell themselves, entrepreneurs sell their ideas, and mangers sell their proposals. The ability to sell is crucial and goes hand in hand with communicating.
6. Ask the right questions. If certain board members or executives asked the right questions there may be no Enron or WorldCom. If you don’t know, don’t be afraid to ask.
7. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Life is too short to live too seriously. Too often we’re going to be in humorless environments. Don’t be afraid to have (an appropriate level of) fun. Plus, don’t work too hard, live a happy life and above all: be modest. He said this point applies to MBAs especially. I liked that.

Peter Behrendt came to the United States speaking only a few words of English. He attended UCLA and ran for Student Body President. He figured it’d be a great way to develop his speaking and language skills. His opposition criticized him and noted “do you really want a President who can’t even pronounce (some word) correctly?” His response was: “Yes, you’re right… and I make that mistake in 7 other languages, too.”

He won the election.

[tags]management, leadership, skills, business, success, communication[/tags]

I really despise our public school systems. For someone as un-smart as myself I’ve figured out how to “beat” them… that says a lot. Oh, and (as mentioned in Paul Graham’s article) our schools act more like prisons. Oh, and now we’re only going to teach the few things fom the national tests. Oh, and I can go on all night. Excuse the blunt remark but as far as education (and remaining competitive) is concerned: the U.S. is fucked.