Hopenhagen

It starts with hope. More than 50 Copenhageners concerned about the climate went sunbathing on Town Square this month - in the name of Hopenhagen. How about yourself: Do you think it’s unnatural to go sunbathing in October?

I came across the 2 minute video via this blog posting.

An unusual shopping experience

Here’s an example of an unusual shopping experience. An interesting initiative by Improv Everywhere. Reflecting on the fact that "La Traviata" was done at Zürich central station last year, I would think that an innovative initiative like this surprising grocery store musical would, perhaps, also be possible at, for example, a Migros or a COOP supermarket. What do you think?

I came across the 4 minute video, which has been rated more than 13,000 times getting an average rating of five starts out of five, via this blog posting.

Samsø - Denmark's renewable energy island

One way to live out the value "diversity"

Reading this blog posting by Gary Hamel, I noticed this extract:

"What’s true in nature is true in business - a lack of diversity limits the ability of a species to adapt and change. Problem is, the gene pool at the top of many companies is a stagnant pond. The executive committee is usually comprised of long serving veterans whose experiences and attitudes are more alike than different. Homogeneity has its virtues - it facilitates communication and speeds decision-making - but it also limits a company’s ability respond to unconventional threats and opportunities."

In Norway, they’re doing something about diversity – not least when it comes to the share of executives that are women. In the introduction to this 9 minute video, I read that the private sector in Norway must now ensure that 40% of their executives are women. Watching the video, I noticed these comments by Mr. Ansgar Gabrielsen, the former conservative minister of trade and commerce, who implemented the controversial act:

"It was first and foremost for creating value in the company, to use all our resources. It was not an equality question first of all."

"If I would have asked, the answer would have been no. So I did it without asking anyone. Not the Prime Minister, not my party leader, not the parliament group, noone."

Watching the video, I also learned that the proportion of women on Austrian management boards is about 7%. In the neighbouring country, Switzerland, the proportion of women on management boards of the 100 largest Swiss companies increased from 4% to 5% between 2008 and 2009. Source.

Do any of the companies, you work for, have diversity as a core value? If yes, how do you live out this value?

europe direct

In the introduction to this 2 minute video about europe direct, I read this:

"Communication is an essential element of any democracy, and the European Union is no exception. Citizens are entitled to know what the EU is doing, why it is doing it, and how it will affect them. They also have a right to take part in the political process, through an effective two-way dialogue with the EU and its institutions."

If you like this value adding initiative, you may also like to stop by at the blogs of the European commissioners.

What should bookshops do?

A Saturday morning earlier this month, I stopped by at Orell Füssli in Zürich. I actually visited 2 Orell Füssli bookshops in Zürich that morning: Orell Füssli The Bookshop at Bahnhofstrasse 70, and Orell Füssli Kramhof at Füsslistrasse 4. The 2 bookshops are located relatively close to each other, and both bookshops are nice places, I think. That Orell Füssli has a relatively large bookshop in a very central location with books in English language is a sign, I think, that the city of Zürich is a truly international city. I like that.

Anyway, as I was sitting in one of the comfortable, red sofas in The English Bookshop reading a book and drinking a cup of coffee, that I bought right there in the bookshop for CHF 2 using a self service coffee machine making really good coffee, I came to think about how a bookshop will develop over the next years. What pushed me to think about this question was, not least, a small exhibition with the SONY e-reader in a corner of the bookshop’s bottom floor.

I have read about e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle, the SONY e-reader, as well as the LG Display solar cell e-Book. But this was actually the first time that I tried one out. My impression about the e-reader is positive. I think it’s easy to use, and what I’m particularly thrilled about is that, with the e-reader, I could free up space at home that I use to store physical books.

Inviting people to read books, sit in comfortable sofas or chairs, and enjoy a cup of coffee right in the bookshop are good initiatives by Orell Füssli, I think. Initiatives like these add value to the customer experience, I sensed as I saw many people there having a good time.

Reflecting on new value adding initiatives for bookshops such as Orell Füssli, I came to think about another initiative that could add even more value to the customer experience: How about facilitating events for people at all ages on how to use the various e-readers that are coming onto the market?

To which degree are you using renewable energies?

Via this posting by Thomas Fouad Lund-Sørensen, Danish ambassador actually residing in the Kingdom of Jordan, I learned about Blog Action Day, an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance.

This year it’s about climate change.

In this regard, I came across this 2 minute video with Ms. Connie Hedegaard, Minister for Climate and Energy, Denmark. Ms. Hedegaard explains, for example, that back in 1980, just 3% of total energy consumption in Denmark was stemming from renewable energies. Today, it’s almost 19%. Reading this article, I also learned that not least energy equipment has become an important driver behind Danish export growth in recent years. To which degree are you using renewable energies?

Five things you can do to succeed as a creative leader

Here are five things you can do to succeed as a creative leader:

Tip # 1
Instead of commanding, coach your team and organization toward success.

Tip # 2
Don't manage people, empower them. The know-how, experience, and solutions are often out there; it's a matter of helping people discover them.

Tip # 3
Cultivate respect by giving it, instead of demanding it.

Tip # 4
Know how to manage both success and failure.

Tip # 5
Show graciousness in your management rather than greediness. Be humble about your successes and whenever possible, give someone else the opportunity to shine.

Source

Twitter for education - 12 tips

Twitter for education

View more documents from Frank Calberg Services.

Don't set core values, discover core values

Listening to Mr. Jim Collins in this audio, I learned that “you don’t set core values, you discover core values”.

A question for you: When you reflect on the values mentioned on the websites of the companies you work for, to which degree do they reflect the way you and other people, who work for the companies, do things?

Help people get more exercise by making it more fun to do

To prevent illnesses from occurring, physical exercise is, literally, a healthy strategy. Having lived, throughout my life, in more apartments where I walked up and down stairs to get to and from my apartment, I know that this type of exercise can help to keep you fit – provided you do not exaggerate. Here’s a creative initiative to help people use the stairs a little bit more – using fun as a key driver. As you’ll see, the video is very popular on YouTube. Until today, the video has been rated more than 2,500 times – with an average rating of five stars out of five. To get more information about this, have a look at rolighetsteorin.se. I came across the video through this posting.

How about taking similar initiatives in, for example, city parks? I reckon it’ll also help people find the child in themselves ;-)

Open up and decentralize

To which degree are the companies you work for open and decentralized like the Internet is?



I came across the video through this posting.

Try out new ways of doing things to perform better

In this blog posting, Paul Sloane writes, that it almost took ten years before Dick Fosbury’s high jump method came to dominate the sport, and nowadays all the top performers use it. Thinking about this, I thought about this posting and this posting with inputs from Gary Hamel, Clayton Christensen, and Vijay Govindarajan.

A question to you: To which degree are you trying out new ways of doing things to perform better - instead of resisting change?

To which degree are companies you work for fit for human beings?

In this Wall Street Journal posting from the World Business Forum, I noticed these quotes from the talk of Gary Hamel:

"In so many ways, our organizations are less human than we are."

"For the first time in 100 years, you cannot create an organization of the future until you create one that is fit for human beings."

To which degree are companies you work for fit for human beings?

To doctors and nurses: How are you using social media to communicate?

Via a Twitter update by Paul Gillin, I came across this posting through which I learned that 367 hospitals in the United States of America are now using one or more social media tools to reach out to their patients and other stakeholders.




Recently, I came across a couple of examples:

Example # 1
Ron Dixon, Massachusetts General Hospital:

"For the last four months of his life, I skyped with that patient every day."

Example # 2
At St. Luke’s Hospital in Iowa, USA, Twitter was used during surgery to keep, for example, family and friends informed and engaged during the process.

To doctors and nurses reading this: It would be great to hear from you how you are using social media tools to communicate with people.

Innovative advertisement for paint

Via a Twitter update by Larry Ferlazzo, I came across this posting with this advertisement for paint. Quite innovative, I think.