Letter of Credit Non-payment Resulted in Paper Slippers Becoming a Tax Deduction

Letter Of Credit, Beneficiary, Applicant

LETTER OF CREDIT ISSUED FOR THE PAYMENT

A New York bank issued a letter of credit for the importation of paper slippers used in medical clinics and hospitals. The patients donned the disposable slippers as they strolled through sanitary areas of the hospital. The merchandise description on the letter of credit read as follows: “paper slippers with soles double-stitched.”

"DISCREPANCIES" IN THE DOCUMENTS

The documents presented by the beneficiary did not properly indicate double-stitched soles. The issuing bank inadvertently overlooked this requirement and honored the beneficiary’s request for payment.

When the applicant received the slippers and inspected the incorrect documents, he rejected them, demanding that the issuing bank refund their money. Since the bank had already paid the beneficiary, the bank became the unwilling owner of single-stitched paper slippers with little hope of selling them to recover their loss.

DONATE THE SLIPPERS

An official at the bank ingeniously suggested they donate the slippers to a Veterans Administration hospital and capture a tax deduction. The savings resulting from the tax deduction nearly compensated the bank for its loss.

Another lesson learned, thanks to Jim Harrington.

Why Self-Managed Teams Are the Future of Business

Could you build a business around teams of people who have no manager and who report to no one up a "food chain"? If you want your business to thrive going forward, you just might want to

Self-Managed Teams Are Already A Proven Success

A recent Harvard Business Journal article was titled, "Are We Ready for Self-Management?" as if this is a new, experimental thing. The fact is that many large, highly successful companies like W. L. Gore, Semco, Barry Wehmiller and countless others have been structured this way for up to fifty years.

Command and control freaks still talk as if this is some kind of fringe thing. But self-managed teams are time-tested, proven and here to stay, and a tidal wave of companies are moving in that direction, because the data on why you should do it is irrefutable.

It's Not The Team, It's Ownership

The magic isn't in the concept, but in the principle behind it--ownership stemming from the power to make decisions. When people are encouraged to bring the whole, creative, messy person to work, and make important decisions, they take ownership in ways they never would before. That's important, because ownership is the most powerful motivator in business. A business that motivates everyone to take ownership has found the holy grail.

Responsibility, Not Tasks

The archaic Industrial Age system employed by most companies today would have you believe that a single manager is better at making decisions than the ten people who work under them. But in the emerging work world of the Participation Age, a company believes that the ten people most affected by the decision will be better at making it. The result of both mindsets are revealing. The Industrial Age manager takes the responsibility to make the decisions, and then doles out tasks for the team to complete. But the Participation Age company delegates responsibility to the team, for them to make those decisions. When you assign tasks ("put this nut on that bolt"), people feel used, but when you delegate decision-making responsibility ("make a great washing machine"), people take ownership. Of course this only works if you believe that one manager is not smarter than ten people who are closer to the problem. As Janice Klein of MIT found, a few companies attempted a form of this in the 1980s, but didn't dismantle the management structure that would have reduced their command and control. It's not a management tactic as they discovered, but a culture shift. If you're not totally convinced, don't attempt self-managed teams. You'll just get hives and make a mess of the whole thing.

More of Everything

Many companies have benefited for decades from giving people back their brains. These companies grow faster, are more productive and more profitable, have lower turnover, and have increased longevity. As more and more owners and investors see the numbers, they will demand that their companies move in this direction.

It's Simple, Just Not Easy

Are you motivated to enter the Participation Age with self-managed teams? It won't happen overnight. A century of "bosses" have taught people they are not quite as smart and motivated as managers. You have to reverse that notion, and it will take time for people to trust you really are doing it.

Here's how:

1) Form a team around anobjective(i.e. 4-12 people) 2) have them FIRST clearly define the desired result, 3) then the process(es) needed to get that result. 4) Then THEY set metrics for steps in the process and 5) for pay based on the result desired (quality, quantity, speed, etc.,) 6) finally THEY decide what happens if the metrics aren't met and how to move team members along if they are not contributing appropriately. 7) Leadership approves. 8) Run it.

Safeguarding Your Future 

In the Participation Age, people don't want jobs that just pay the bills, they want work that allows them to be fully human, make decisions and own their stuff. As more companies leave the Industrial Age management structures behind and invite people to decide, they are more likely to retain the great people they have. Giving people their brains back is becoming a necessity for keeping them. Self-managed teams is one great way to do that.

Draft Drone Rules Rule Out Long Distances

The technological advances of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been remarkable over the last couple of years. Their increasing capabilities and affordability promise many opportunities for commercial applications, ranging from farming to logistics. Despite the immense potential, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has long been quiet about the upcoming regulatory framework. Until now.

The FAA has just released proposed rules for commercial drones within the United States.

Although the rules are not as draconian as some people feared, commercial applications for UAVs are still facing limitations compared to other countries.

The FAA isn't requiring commercial drones to undergo a lengthy and costly certification process. UAVs under 55 lbs can be flown as long as the operators have passed a basic aeronautical test.

They must, however, be flown below 500 feet, only in daylight, and remain within view of their operators at all time. They also can not be flown over people, such as at concerts and sporting events.

This is a “good first step”, says the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems. It would easily allow, for example, a real estate agent to take aerial photographs of a house being put up for sale. It would also allow for farmers looking to survey crop conditions.

Not being allowed to fly over crowds might prevent television companies from filming sporting events with drones. Perhaps further certifications would allow such maneuvers in the future.

The requirement that the UAVs stay within line of sight is also a big limitation, preventing long-distance flights (inspecting forests and monitoring pipelines, for example). This would also rule out Amazon's plan of using drones to deliver goods ordered online.

Michael Huerta, head of the FAA, says that as drones develop the rules will continue to "evolve."

As the technology improves and operators build experience, perhaps the agency will eventually permit longer-range, out-of-sight flights.

In the meantime, the current proposals will undergo a lengthy period of public comment before being finalized- possibly in 2017.

Drone operations in other countries are already getting airborne with pilot projects. In China, Alibaba has launched a drone delivery service for tea orders. In Europe, the logistics firm DHL has begun delivering medicine and other urgent supplies to a small island off the coast of Germany.

To see some of these pilot programs in action, check out this video from the Wall Street Journal:

Stop Pretending to Be Rational at Work

At times, English can be an illogical, irrational and downright confusing language. Just look at all the homographs and heteronyms that crop up throughout the lexicon. A homograph is two or more words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. A heteronym is a homograph that is also pronounced differently. For example:

• Is it hard for a big bear to bear a small bear?
• He wound the bandage securely around the wound.
• On this farm we produce produce.
• The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
• The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

We humans like to think we’re logical, rational, accurate and consistent in most of what we do. But the fact is we are not, in large part because of the way our brain works. We live and work in a world of self-generated beliefs that remain largely untested. We adopt those beliefs based on conclusions inferred from what we observe in the present and our past experiences. In the workplace, our ability to achieve the results we want is impeded by the feeling that our beliefs are the truth, the truth is obvious, and our beliefs are based on real data.

However, and this is where the brain so often gets in the way, we select the data about our truths based on what we want and expect to see and to prove ourselves right. We select the data that supports our beliefs and assumptions about the way the world works, and we actively screen out data that contradicts it.  As a result, we go around pretending that we are logical, rational, accurate, consistent at work, when most of the time we are anything but.

This self-deception shows up in many different ways that do not serve us well. For example, in meetings we tend to suppress opposing points of view, especially if they challenge or threaten the status quo. We limit the sources of data that inform our decision-making. We rush to consensus, thinking that quick action is more important than taking the time to consider multiple perspectives.

The human brain also has a bias for going with what’s familiar. Instead of seeking out new data, we tend to lean heavily on the past when looking to solve today’s or tomorrow’s problems. And the more success we’ve had from doing things a certain way, the stronger our belief that sticking with the same approach will eventually prevail.

Another common irrational behavior is the assumption that others think and see the world the same way we do.  If you doubt this, try a simple test the next time you present a new idea at a meeting. Afterwards, meet individually with three people and ask them to explain back to you what you said. Even though all three heard the same presentation, chances are you will get three very different answers.

Fortunately, instead of just tolerating our irrational behaviors, we can actually take advantage of them by understanding how we think, make decisions and translate them into actions in the workplace. It starts with my favorite subject – getting clear on winning.

Define winning for your organization and what it will take to get there. Talk about it constantly. Winning may be foremost on your mind (it should be!), but never assume it is for others. And never assume others definition of winning remains aligned to yours.  Keeping everyone else focused on winning is one of your most important tasks as a leader.

Make winning visual by painting a picture of what it looks like in your organization. Humans are very visual creatures, and putting graphic reminders all over your workplace will help keep people focused on the goal. Recognize the tendencies that cause people to lose focus on winning: distractions, too many “top priorities” or “urgent” projects, leaning on assumptions versus hard data, jumping to conclusions based on what has worked in the past, running boring meetings with no agendas or clear decisions, lack of accountability… Then diligently test the assumptions behind all these behaviors.

Most of all, never assume that people see things the same way.  Model the right behavior by exposing your thinking process. For example, “Here’s how I see this issue and here’s why. How do you see it?” Encourage others to do the same, and make sure to get different perspectives out on the table and discussed. 

The fact that there is no egg in eggplant, no ham in hamburger, and no pine or apple in pineapple makes the English language full of interesting quirks. In the workplace, however, our behavioral quirks do not support winning. So understand how the brain works, leave the homographs and heteronyms to the linguists, and keep your organization focused on winning!

Call to action: For the next 30 days, commit to one new technique for keeping employees focused on winning.

Modern Concept Blows In The Wind

Imagine living in an apartment building resembling a hybrid of a nautilus and a Dyson table fan. Beyond the aesthetics which looks like it came out of a Star Trek episode, the Dutch Windwheel’s appearance actually serves the function of utilizing wind energy. How appropriate that those resourceful folks in the Land of Windmills would conceptualize this radical design.

Striving to obtain complete sustainability, this motionless wind turbine would house 72 apartments within a round steel and glass frame, while also harvesting alternate energy from the sun with the installation of assorted solar PVs, as well as the bio gas produced by the residents’ organic waste. The structure will also be equipped to capture rainwater and recycle tap water.

The concept is destined for Netherlands' port city of Rotterdam, where it is surrounded by wetlands and would have an underground foundation, giving it the illusion of floating. It consists of an inner and outer ring. In addition to containing 72 apartments, 160 hotel rooms, and commercial space within the inner ring, the outer ring has 40 rotating cabins giving visitors spanning views much like the UK’s London Eye. Or one can enjoy dining atop the entire structure in the rooftop restaurant.

There’s no need to worry about endangering birds either with this motionless, bladeless design. Thanks to the electrostatic wind energy converter (EWICON), the Windwheel “converts wind energy with a framework of steel tubes into electricity without moving mechanical parts.” The result is a structure that is quiet and low maintenance.

The Dutch developers (a collective of Rotterdam-based companies BLOC, DoepelStrijkers, Meysters and NBTC Holland Marketing) will use this structure as a “dynamic showcase for Dutch Clean Technology”. Demonstrating creative innovations, the Windwheel is a quite the update on the traditional windmills of the Nederlands.

Is an American university degree worth the cost?

American university fees are soaring, but is it worth it?

Nowhere in the world does it cost as much to go to university as it does in the US. Some private universities here cost more than $50,000 (£38,000) per year just for tuition, and that doesn't cover accommodation, food, or even books (remember those?).

I wanted to find whether an American degree is worth it. What do those exorbitant fees actually buy you?

Right near the BBC bureau in Washington, DC, is one of the more expensive universities in the country - George Washington University. Under its former President Stephen Trachtenberg, prices at GW, as it's known here, have more than doubled over the course of the past few decades.

The world is getting wealthier - but with the gap between rich and poor feeling bigger than ever, who are the winners and losers of this richer world in 2015?

• A Richer World 2015
• Listen to the reports and documentaries

Trachtenberg invested in fancy dormitories, upmarket sports facilities and state-of-the-art classrooms in a deliberate strategy to make the school more appealing. It worked: the more he spent, the more fees rose and the more students wanted to go there.

He has no regrets about the massive inflation in tuition costs because it all leads to better jobs. If a student can find work after graduation, "then presumably the university," he says, "has served the purpose they wanted, society wanted, and if they can pay the debt back, it's not a problem."

But if you don't come from a wealthy family, those debts can be enormous. The high cost of fees creates a clear division between haves and have-nots among the student body - indeed in the country as a whole.

I sat down for coffee at a local spot with three GW students. Each is working at least one part-time job to pay their college bills, and each is taking on some level of debt.

Cindy Zhang is studying international affairs, and she works two part-time jobs to make ends meet. Her parents help out a bit, but she also has about $10,000 in loans per year.

Shanil Jiwani currently has $60,000 in loans and he expects that number to double by the time he graduates - he'll be $120,000 in debt before he steps out into the world.

Silvia Zenteno's university days are almost over. But even with the maximum amount of financial aid from the university, she still works 30 hours a week, and plans to graduate with $40,000 in loans.

So why do it? Why put all that time, money and effort in? Maybe students here don't have much choice.

"When you're talking about your career and how much money you're going to make, your college investment is basically your down payment," Anthony Carnevale told me. He's the director of Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce. And because Americans don't have a social safety net to fall back on, like many European countries, Carnevale says, US degrees are "more valuable than degrees in other countries."

So you pay a lot of money to get a degree from a good school, to get a good job, to pay back the loans of going to a good school. It's a vicious cycle of inflation that shows no signs of stopping. GW has just published its tuition fees for the upcoming school year: $50,367, up 3.4% from last year.

What might just put a cap on the rising costs is that wonderfully egalitarian institution - the internet. More US universities are offering online courses virtually for free.

You don't get the swanky campus facilities and face-to-face interaction, but you do get a good education. And if costs keep rising at the speed they have been, at some point more American students will say that looks like a pretty good deal.

Article written by Katty Kay Presenter, BBC World News

For more on the BBC's A Richer World, go to www.bbc.com/richerworld - or join the discussion on Twitter using the hashtag #BBCRicherWorld

Senate Blocks Measure Reining in Surveillance

Senate defeats motion to proceed to NSA surveillance overhaul bill (S. 2685) Nov. 18 (BNA) -- Senate Republicans blocked legislation to rein in U.S. government surveillance activities, citing national security concerns.

A cloture motion defeated late Nov. 18 would have cleared the way for Senate consideration of the USA FREEDOM Act of 2014 (S. 2685), a bill limiting the government's collection of business records, among other provisions.

The motion was rejected 58-42, with 41 Republicans voting “no.” At least 60 “yes” votes were needed.

The Senate was under pressure from privacy advocates and a coalition of technology industry giants, including Facebook Inc. and Google Inc., to move forward on this issue. American technology businesses are standing to lose billions unless something is done to genuinely reform the system and to improve international public perception. (The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation has estimated the cloud computing industry could suffer $22 - 34 billion in loses over the next three years)

‘Worst Possible Time,' says McConnell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced his opposition to the bill earlier in the day, saying that the measure would weaken the nation's ability to combat terrorism at a critical time. “This is the worst possible time to be tying our hands behind our backs,” McConnell said, citing the rise of the terrorist group known as Islamic State.

Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Mike Lee (Utah), Dean Heller (Nev.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) crossed party lines, joining Democrats to support the cloture motion. Democrat Bill Nelson (Fla.) voted against the motion.

2 Years Later: A Look at Curiosity

"The first footfalls on Mars will mark a historic milestone, an enterprise that requires human tenacity matched with technology to anchor ourselves on another world"  - Buzz Aldren

August 6th, 2012 - One of the most ambitious space missions to date went into action.  The unmanned space rover, aptly named Curiosity, was set to land on Mars, all that was left was the trip.  After the "Seven Minutes of Terror," Curiosity was to begin its mission into the Martian wilderness.  Over the course of the two years, Curiosity has been active studying the Mars for signs of life and water, reporting diligently back to NASA.  Armed with cameras and a rock-vaporizing laser, Curiosity has been shooting and rocks and taking pictures for two years now, and we've learned some pretty astounding things.

Thanks to the intrepid rover, we have evidence that there was most likely once water on Mars.  We now know that life on Mars was possible given the history of the red planet, and we have an idea of where to search for it.  Among the many things that Curiosity has discovered on its extra-terrestrial mission, the biggest benefit from the rover may be a renewed interest in the space program.  From lego sets to t-shirts to its own Twitter handle, people are interested in what's going on on Mars.

Now, 2 years later, we get a look at what the time and elements have done to our beloved space-faring friend.  And maybe, just maybe, we can one day send someone up there to go meet our rover buddy and thank it for all it has done for us.

How Your Language Affects Your Future Choices

“To abstain from enjoyment which is in our power, or to seek distant rather than immediate results, are among the most painful exertions of the human will” -

Nassau William Senior

Have you ever put off finishing a project until the last second?  Or wondered why you're bad at saving your money for retirement?  Chances are that you have, and it may have to do with a disconnect from "your future self."  The disconnect comes from this unconscious belief that the person you are today is a separate entity from the person you are in the future.  The future you wants to retire at 55, but today you wants to take a trip to Hawaii.  The future you should be a successful CEO, but the present you doesn't want to work past 5:00.  We have these notions on how we want the future to be, and a lot of times we are incapable of reconciling our present actions with our future wants.

What does this mean?  Keith Chen , an economics professor at UCLA, proposes a rather interesting idea.  As a native English-speaking Chinese person he often wondered at the differences between the two languages, and in particular the difference in their future tenses.  Upon doing a some further research, he realized that this difference in tenses was visible across the board in many languages.  Where in English one say "it will rain tomorrow" in German one would say "Morgen regnet es" which translates literally to "It rains tomorrow."  This way requires that English speakers make an inherent distinction between the present and the future, in a way that German does not.  This leads us to distinguish the two by saying that English has a strong future-tense while German has a weak-future tense, and it is believed that this difference could be what causes the present-future disconnect.

This may seem a little far fetched, but the effects of language on perception are well known.  Keith takes this idea and applies it to economics.  He believes that the separation of present-self from future-self affects us not only on a personal scale, but influences the amount of money that whole countries save.  Not only does this apply to savings, it correlates to the amount of risk that citizens take in their daily lives. For example, those countries with a stronger future tense are statistically more likely to engage in impulse buying, smoking and engaging in unprotected sex. Hopefully by knowing this information, an individual can act more consciously in the way they make their decisions and we can all do a better job of preparing for our future.  The full TED talk by Professor Chen can be seen below.

Math Methods and Madness

I admit that I'm part of the problem. I'm lousy at math. Like many Americans, I can calculate basic equations (though it probably takes me longer than most) and do so accurately. But if I tried to solve problems that kids are given in school today, I would surely pull my hair out before getting any where close to a correct answer.

It's possible the reason American students are so far behind in math on a global scale, is because our school systems frequently change the methods, and then change them again. Worse yet, the methods or standards can change without enough investment in teaching the teacher to teach the new methods. That's according to a rather comprehensive, recent article from the New York Times; Why Do Americans Stink at Math?  by Elizabeth Green.

It's a lengthy article, but worth the read for it's insights, which I'll share, in part, here.

Author Elizabeth Green uncovers the problems with American Mathematics pedagogy by following the teaching career of Akihiko Takahashi from Tokoyo. As a University student, he met the man who would be his mentor, Takeshi Matsuyama, as he worked in the University affiliated elementary school.  His classroom was a sort of laboratory where they studied new teaching ideas. Together, they sought to revolutionize how students learn math by making radical changes in how teachers taught the subject. This included encouraging students to uncover the procedures, properties and proofs for themselves, by having passionate discussions about possible ways to find the answers, rather than focusing on rote memorization.

Hmm. That sounds much like the strategy behind today's Common Core initiatives, but we're not quite there yet.

As Takahashi investigated ways to reform math learning, he found that methods that most intrigued him, came from reformers in the United States. Throughout the next twelve years, Japanese education employed the vibrant, American approach to math. Takahashi also learned about the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, an American organization and followed their efforts. When he was finally able to move to the U.S. to teach teach math, he was excited to work with other teachers as passionate about these ways of teaching learning as himself.  Imagine his surprise to discover none of those methods were being used in American schools.

As it happened, Americans had developed a new, effective way to teach math, and then failed to implement it. It wasn't the first time, nor the last. It happened in the 1960s with "new math" and then I heard about new math again in the late 80s and early 90s. Now Common Core standards are further refined and more ambitious, although there are limited, to no systems in place to educate teachers to teach them.

"...in practice, most teachers are unprepared and children are baffled, leaving parents furious"

This all emphasizes the recurring notion that traditional methods of teaching math don't work. Yet I learned them.

Today educators indicate innumeracy is the problem, similar to illiteracy in the language world - children simply aren't learning the math facts upon which all arithmetic problems are based. Studies point to student's inability to read an accurately drawn thermometer, or that students are confused by which is greater, 1/3 or 1/4. The default mistake assumes that the higher value denominator connotes greater worth. (It is this revelation that proves to me, I'm better at math than I ever believed!)

In summary, there are wonderful, innovative ways to teach math more effectively. But teachers can only teach effectively when they are given the tools and resources, and through instruction on how to employ those methods.

The article, which I encourage any parent or teacher to read, briefly mentions the Japanese practice of Lesson Study, which has been practiced on a small scale in the United States. ICOSA sponsor, the Colorado Business Roundtable sponsored a Lesson Study here in the Denver Public Schools. It entailed a group of teachers jointly observing one another's lessons in the classroom, critiquing the lesson and observing how the students learned from it. The teachers involved, reported a great deal of insight on their own lessons based on their team teacher's reactions, as well as learning more from other teacher's experiences. As a whole, educators who participate in lesson study, wholeheartedly recommend it's practice, even in acknowledging the extra work and time investment involved. If you'd like to learn more about Lesson Study, there are materials here, and videos of CObrt parent project here:

Companies Without Managers Do Better By Every Metric

Participate and Share

Last week we described Participation Age companies - Stakeholders, who work in self-managed teams, replace employees; Leaders replace managers; there is profit-sharing for everyone, no work hours, etc.  But how do they perform against traditional, management-centric companies with Industrial Age hierarchies?

Quite well, it turns out. They don’t just hold their own; they blow the lid off! Let’s start with tiny companies and work our way up to huge.

Crankset Group

Our little seven-year old company, Crankset Group, with 20+ full and part-time people grew 704% in the last five years, and growth is accelerating. Nobody reports to anybody; everybody is a Chief (Relationship Officer, Results Officer, Transformation Officer, Connecting Officer, etc.). Everyone leads in their area of expertise, and we all know exactly what result we are supposed to produce, and if you get the result agreed upon, nobody cares WHERE you are or WHEN you are. And everyone has the ability to grow, learn, start things, and make more money by expanding their impact.

Menlo Innovations

Menlo Innovations, a software company with over 100 Stakeholders, has a manager-less Participation Age culture, and is well known because its founder, Richard Sheridan, wrote a book called, Joy, Inc., that tells how they built a company with almost no hierarchy. They now have courses teaching other companies how to do it.

Valve Corporation

Valve, a software/game company has 300 Stakeholders. There are no managers.  People transfer to other projects without “permission,” choose what to work on, decide each other's pay, and go on vacation for a week together every year (Hawaii last year). Valve is significantly more profitable per Stakeholder than either Apple or Google.

Semco Partners

Semco, a Brazilian company with 3,000 Stakeholders, made washing machines in 1951, but is now in multiple industries including real estate, banking, and web services. In a 10-year recessionary period in Brazil, Semco’s revenues still grew 600%, profits were up 500%, productivity was up 700%, and for the last 20+ years, employee turnover remains at an incredibly low 1-2% per year. They have no managers, no HR department, no written policies (just a few written beliefs) and no office hours. Everyone works in small, self-motivated, self-managed work teams who make their own decisions regarding salary, hiring, firing, and who leads the team for the next six months. There are no managers to involve in the process.

 W. L. Gore, Inc.

W. L. Gore (Gore-Tex), with 10,000 employees has been a Participation Age pioneer, functioning without managers since the 1960’s. Stakeholders at Gore say it takes 6-12 months for new hires to believe there will be no manager looking over their shoulder. One Stakeholder said, “If anyone here ever told someone else what to do, no one would work with them again.”

Fortune 500s and Internationals

Thirty Fortune 500’s are also moving aggressively in the direction of being Participation Age companies and are growing an average of ten times faster than the average S&P 500 company over ten years. Forty-one other international companies and organizations comprise the WorldBlu list of “most democratic” manager-less companies.

A Big Duh

These examples just scratch the surface. The Participation Age company isn’t a fringe idea, but is the wave of the present. In ten years, this will all be a big “duh”. And those that don’t embrace the Participation Age will be left behind.

The results are in. If you want to make a bucket-load of money going forward, you will want to join the Participation Age, and replace managers with exponentially fewer leaders.

Next week we’ll look at the radical difference between the two, and how most companies that think they have leaders, actually have managers.

Article as seen on Inc.com

Conflict Between Hamas and Israel Unfolding in Gaza

 If Ever the World Needed a Statesman or Stateswoman, It's Now!

If ever an issue defies a solution and challenges the concept of collaboration to its very core, it's the conflict between Hamas and Israel that is unfolding in Gaza. In fact, a person is hard pressed to imagine a confrontation more intractable. What we're witnessing has deep, deep roots in history, religion, identity, land and the very right of existence. It is filled with such resentment and sense of grievance from generations of conflict that any hope for finding a middle ground often seems both futile and hopeless. As a result the debate has polarized. It is characterized as black and white, with each side pointing to clear evidence of how the other side is at fault for what is a terrible situation. Somehow, somewhere, somebody has to rise above the conflict and help find a two-state solution that meets Israel's right to exist in peace, while providing a stable, independent and viable homeland for Palestinian people. If ever the world needed a statesman or stateswoman, it's now.

For a glimpse of the suffering, especially the many children in Gaza who are victims of an adult world dominated by people in positions of power incapable of goodwill, you can watch this video.

Level 3 connection for First Quantum

Previously Published by Mining Journal, June 24, 2014 Expanding mining house First Quantum Minerals Ltd has engaged NYSE-listed Level 3 Communications to fully connect its global portfolio of operations and project sites.

Level 3 said it was contracted by FQM to consolidate “a number of its legacy communication providers globally”, using the technology company’s Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network to link offices and datacentres in Europe, North America and Canada to operations in remote parts of Finland and Western Australia.

A combination of fixed-line and satellite technology, and an extensive regional partner network, would enable Level 3 to ensure FQM mines in Africa and South America also remained reliably connected via a “robust network [that] supports the use of data-intensive applications and provides on-site staff with critical business applications, as well as high-bandwidth Internet connectivity”.

Level 3 Communications had a market capitalisation this week of US$10.6 billion.  

Mining Journal > Mining ICT > Level 3 connection for First Quantum

Leader to Leader: Hedrick Smith Discusses Who Stole the American Dream

Pulitzer Prize winner Hedrick Smith stopped by the ICOSA Studio to discuss his new book Who Stole the the American Dream, an insightful guide that documents the dismantling of the American Dream over the last four decades, as Gayle Dendinger hosts this episode of Leader to Leader.

This is a book full of surprises and revelations—the accidental beginnings of the 401(k) plan, with disastrous economic consequences for many; the major policy changes that began under Jimmy Carter; how the New Economy disrupted America’s engine of shared prosperity, the “virtuous circle” of growth, and how America lost the title of “Land of Opportunity.” Smith documents the transfer of $6 trillion in middle-class wealth from homeowners to banks even before the housing boom went bust, and how the U.S. policy tilt favoring the rich is stunting America’s economic growth.

Smith talks to a wide range of people, telling the stories of Americans high and low. From political leaders such as Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and Martin Luther King, Jr., to CEOs such as Al Dunlap, Bob Galvin, and Andy Grove, to heartland Middle Americans such as airline mechanic Pat O’Neill, software systems manager Kristine Serrano, small businessman John Terboss, and subcontractor Eliseo Guardado, Smith puts a human face on how middle-class America and the American Dream have been undermined.

This magnificent work of history and reportage is filled with the penetrating insights, provocative discoveries, and the great empathy of a master journalist. Finally, Smith offers ideas for restoring America’s great promise and reclaiming the American Dream.

[youtube width="560" height="315" video_id="8SIehCLhIjU"]

Are We Really spOILed?

The documentary film spOILed debuted last week in Denver to a private crowd hosted by the city’s petroleum club, which was greeted with cheers and applause as the film gushed to a start. Director Mark Mathis delivered a truthful and resonating film from the perspective of a realist who journeyed to discover the truth about oil. As a born and bred local of Colorado and an energy enthusiast I was pleased to experience a realistic and balanced perspective on oil production.

From the onset, the film is catchy and interrupting. Mathis’ story line delivers you to logical points and in an instant flashes you back in time to iconic moments in history as a reminder of how quickly our perception of oil has changed. His clip composition is timed perfectly to anticipate the moments when the viewer may be thinking, “but…"

From Greenpeace to industry insiders, Mathis interviews a gamut of individuals with a vested interest in the production of oil. While the U.S. doesn’t have an energy policy, everybody has an opinion on what it should be. Like Gasland, spOILed is sure to receive attention regarding Mathis’ “ honest discussion on energy.” The film serves as a reminder about how we came to use oil, how oil has revolutionized our world and our lifestyles as well as the results of cutting off oil production completely. It begs to the absurdity of not knowing the intrinsic connections and value that oil affords us, and how far-reaching our dependence is. spOILed reminds viewers that while figuring out an alternative solution to oil is important we can’t just sever our life line to the fuel without consequences.

Living as Americans we have come to appreciate and take for granted the freedoms and choices that are provided to us daily. Our forefathers in a quest to develop a system for free people outlined a set of laws that helped us pursue life, liberty and happiness. These freedoms have allowed us to watch the sunset from our beach bungalows, cozy up to the fireplaces in our mountain homes and drink wine on the porches of our cottages; due in part to the innovations and discoveries years ago spurred by the discovery of oil.

Like residents living on the coasts or across the plains, I too appreciate the daily aesthetics’ that living in Denver and the state of Colorado allow to me. There is nothing like watching the sun set over the mountains, enjoying the outdoors and breathing the fresh Rocky Mountain air at 5,000 feet. I am also acutely aware of the blessings I count for myself in the form of a great place to live, a hot shower in the morning, a reliable car and an iPod that like me runs for hours so that I can be alone with my thoughts, which hopefully come out as good writing when I finally get to typing on my Mac. I also know that these same blessings are the result of American discovery, innovation and ingenuity forged as a direct result of our use of oil.

Mathis’ documentary while of course focused on oil, presents a logical look into the world of oil production and asks viewers to be rational when discussing it and its alternatives. Whether you are a fan of renewable energy or fossil fuels you need to see the film spOILed to really understand both sides or at least to have a rationale conversation on how our society can cut back on its oil dependence without eliminating it completely.

The Vx

The Vx, headquartered in Colorado, brings together members of existing women’s affinity groups in a collaborative environment, giving women access to an exceptional resourceThe Goal of The Vx is to: • Secure exceptional resources to foster a community of interest • Inspire women to achieve their personal and professional potential • Integrate the full potential of this community to focus on extraordinary problems Pam Jeffords, Co-Founder and Partner of Via Management Consulting, is an experienced entrepreneur in the Denver community. Pam founded her first company, Maid to Fit, at the age of 30 and sold the company to a competitor three years later. Pam was recruited by ShopAtHome.com to move their offering to the web, growing the consumer base of on-line members to over 1Million and delivering over 1,000 advertisers with banner revenue. In 2007, she joined PAETEC as the General Manager with responsibility for launching six new markets in twelve months. Pam is the Co-chair of the Women’s Leadership Council at Mile High United Way, where she has played an instrumental role since 2003. Pam holds a Bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and a Masters in Business Administration from Georgia State University.

Peter Yarrow's Operation Respect

 

Peter Yarrow is best known for being part of the folk musical trio Peter, Paul and Mary.  Yarrow’s current project Operation Respect encourages mutual respect between all people.  “Operation Respect Program” includes a book, CD and teaching curriculum.  The book is Yarrow’s second book following “Puff the Magic Dragon.”  Operation Respect is not only a book but also a nonprofit, education and advocacy organization which teaches respectful, safe and compassionate behaviors.

Puff the Magic Dragon’s meaning has always been questioned and Yarrow assures time and time again it has an innocent message.  Puff the Magic Dragon is a song about compassion and empathy and relates to being respectful to the differences between people.  The song resonates through the ages because it touches the heart.

Operation Respect’s program curriculum can be downloaded, at; www.operationrespect.org.  At this website you can find about 50 songs to download at no cost.  Yarrow shares them because once children sing together they form respect for each other.

Another one of Yarrow’s projects is the Don’t Laugh at Me program which can be found, at; www.dontlaugh.org.

Yarrow welcomes other educators and people who work with children to develop partnerships to get the no bullying message across.

Related articles

• Catching up with Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary (arts.nationalpost.com)

Expansive Education Transformation

 

Allan Jones, president of Emaginos Inc. focuses on changing K-12 education.  Changing the course of public education takes more than reforms.  Reforms are not creating the best benefits in public schools.  The NCEE reported globally we are in the middle or bottom of the middle tier of rankings for having successful K-12 education.  The best practices in transforming public education are:

1. Creating stronger teacher unions
2. Viewing teachers as the solution not the problem
3. The Federal government needs to set the priorities
4. Equity needs to go to the best preforming schools.

Charter schools are an asset in proving innovations.  Only 17 percent of charter schools are successful and those schools should be studied for best practices.

Ignoring public schools have efficiency issues will result in people unable to find jobs.  Extinct jobs are not coming back and schooling can’t get in the way of education.  Schools should focus 80 percent on problem solving and 20 percent on learning facts.

Tracy Learning Centers use hands on applications developed by Emaginos Inc. and have a one percent dropout rate and zero percent teacher turnover.  Their learning models are scalable to public schools.  They help students become active, independent learners.  For more information, visit: http://thepowerofus.org.

Related articles

• You: Mount Vernon District vs. Charter School (nytimes.com)

ICOSA is transforming collaboration.

Kim DeCoste is vice president and editor-at-large for ICOSA where she manages the media team, and contributed to editorial planning for the magazine and a book on connections + collaboration. A few of her articles are “The Evolution of E-Learning,” “A Win-Win: Kroenke Sports Enterprises Does Great Work for Kids & Education,” “Living the Mission: Private STEM Solutions & Public Education,” “Authentic Leadership is Gender Neutral” and “Closing the Education Gap.”

ICOSA is thought of as organic―focused on developing collaboration and taking it to the next level which is transformation.  The method ICOSA uses can conceptually be adopted to fit into high schools but specifically higher education.  To be a doer one needs to learn to walk with others, and identify goals and meeting those goals in a manageable way.  ICOSA would like to work with higher education in providing students with collaborative methods.

Amazon is an example of a company who has successfully transformed.  Amazon.com launched its marketplace in 2002 selling books, music, videos and DVS’s and now has since developed the Amazon Kindle e-book reader and sells just about any product globally.

The difficult areas of collaboration are blending the different view of what success looks like and keeping people together and focused on the mission.

Young Leaders Connecting and Collaborating Globally

By: Luke Wyckoff Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Community

ICOSA:What is Junior Chamber International (known worldwide as JCI and in parts of the USA as the Jaycees)?

GREENLEE: The organization was started in 1915 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA to give young people an opportunity for leadership development and networking. Today, the organization has almost 200,000 young men and women between the ages of 18-40 in 120 countries, but there are millions of alumni members who have turned 40, like me. Many have gone on to be heads of state, hold other political positions, are leaders in non-government organizations (NGO), are business and corporate leaders, and are making a difference in many other ways around the world. The mission of JCI is: "To provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change," and the vision of JCI is: "To be the leading global network of young active citizens."

ICOSA: How did you get involved?

GREENLEE: Like most members, I had heard of JCI but was then asked to join and get involved by a current member. I was 23 at the time and looking for chances to meet people and help out my community, and JCI was the perfect vehicle to do both.

ICOSA: What is your most memorable moment as a member of JCI?

GREENLEE: Being elected the JCI world president for 2007 was a real highlight of my time in JCI and my life. Having the confidence of members from around the world and the opportunity to take a year and gain that experience, meet members and people from all over the world, and advance the interests of young people, was great.

ICOSA: As the JCI world president, what were you trying to "do" around the world? How many countries did you visit?

GREENLEE: The JCI president acts as the CEO of the organization for one year. During my tenure I oversaw the board of directors and the almost 100 global member appointments. I also oversaw a 25 member internationally-based staff; served as the chief spokesperson for JCI; and worked closely with our partners like the International Chamber of Commerce, the United Nations, and the Global Compact among others. I also helped to manage the finances while working to make JCI more attractive from a marketing and branding prospective. Our end goal was to increase the number of members, the number of countries JCI was in, and the number of people who were familiar with JCI. I visited 52 different countries that year, many of them multiple times, but have visited 76 total countries through my JCI activities.

ICOSA: Were some countries more receptive to your causes than others?

GREENLEE: Interestingly no. I found that young people around the world, as well as companies and governments share in the same goals of making a better world through active involvement. Different countries have different ideas of specific goals based on their economics, geography, population, etc., however, at the end of the day, each wants to always improve and be better and be involved. JCI is the way for young people to do that.

ICOSA: What were some of the biggest learning points you had from all of your travel?

GREENLEE: As I mentioned above, one of the most important things I learned was that most people share very basic, common goals. I also learned the value of staying in touch as a leader and a networker. One thing that I tried to do after every visit I made was to send a quick email of thanks to each person I met. I think that far too often we attend conventions, functions, or the like and come home with stacks of business cards that sit in a drawer. I made a conscious effort to reach out to each person I met so that I could build rapport, and in many circumstances it led to a higher level of activity in JCI and other business possibilities and deals over the years.

ICOSA: Tell me some stories about the great things that other international JCI chapters and national organizations are doing to better the world?

GREENLEE: Wow—there are so many! In Taiwan, the JCI group partners with the government and does an annual medical and dental relief trip to the Dominican Republic. JCI members in the Dominican work to set up the logistics on their end and Taiwan brings doctors and medicines over for a week to see as many people as they possibly can.

In Hong Kong, the JCI organization annually works with the All China Youth Federation to bring children from Hong Kong to China to provide educational experiences. In Europe, JCI annually visits Brussels for a knowledge transfer, where they meet with members of the EU to discuss issues they are facing as young people while sharing best practices. In Zimbabwe, JCI recognizes the most active citizens of the country for their good works. JCI Monaco runs business networking happy hours for people to meet various corporate leaders. Domestically, like in Victoria, Texas; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Indianapolis, Indiana; and at many other chapters throughout the U.S., JCI members and chapters take underprivileged children shopping at Christmas in an effort to make sure no child misses a holiday.

With over 5,000 chapters worldwide I could give you 5,000 different stories. And of course, these local organizations all run multiple projects every year where their members run the events, gain the experience from doing so and leave the community much better than they found it.

ICOSA: Going forward, where will JCI focus its attention?

GREENLEE: As a major NGO, JCI will stick with its mission and vision, and continue to look for more young people to get involved and gain leadership experience. JCI is also always looking to partnering with organizations and corporations around the world that share the vision of a better world through better future generations. JCI will continue to be a force for good and will become better known and recognized for its works and successes.

ICOSA: Why should someone be a JCI (Jaycee) Member?

GREENLEE: I have always said there are five good reasons for every person ages 18-40 to join JCI. The first and most obvious is leadership development. You can gain skills that will make you a more valuable employee and more marketable, while preparing you to run your own organization. Members gain experience in speaking, organizing, managing people and projects, and proper budgeting. Second, you have the chance to give back through JCI projects. I was raised in a home where I was taught no matter how tough things were, there were always people and things worse off than me and it was my responsibility to try to help out wherever I could. With JCI, you get to join with like-minded people from all over the world in making a real difference through real community service. Third, you will meet potential customers, partners, employers, and others that you would not come in contact with if you did not join and get active. I have met so many people just in my town from joining, not to mention interesting and influential people from my state, country, and the world. Fourth, you make lifelong friends. It is always great to get together with other active young people who share your ideas and want to accomplish things. These are people who are about your age and have similar values—what better people to have as friends? Finally, JCI is just plain fun.

ICOSA: How can corporate America and businesses around the world take advantage of their local JCI (Jaycee) Chapters?

GREENLEE: Great question for this group. Businesses and JCI groups working together are almost always a win-win proposition. Any business that wants a more prepared group of employees would love the training that JCI offers. In addition to the "learn by doing" mindset, there are seminars at local, state, national, and international levels that members can take. Additionally, there is a worldwide training program where members can become certified trainers or certified in various programs. Furthermore, many companies would like the networking that happens and the amount of people whom our members gain exposure to. Additionally, most companies have a CSR program and working with JCI can do a lot in the areas of charitable volunteer work. JCI is always looking for new partners at every level of the organization, so reach out to your local chapter in your town, or search the JCI website at www.jci.cc, or contact me directly at my personal email at [email protected]. I am always glad to help put people together in situations like this.

Luke Wyckoff is the Chief Visionary Officer for Social Media Energy. He can be reached at [email protected].