Inspiration to learn about yourself

Have a look at this interesting list presenting the top 100 tools for learning 2008.

Last night, I counted more than 300 tomatoes on 5 tomato plants placed on our balcony. Here’s my relatively simple “recipe” of why this astonishing growth is happening: It’s about working in conditions through which you get energy to grow. How about yourself: Are you in the right conditions to grow? For example: Do you work in the right physical locations and/or communities on the Internet? Do you work with people with whom you develop yourself well?

In this FT.com article I noticed the following quote by Mr. Peter Löscher , CEO of Siemens: “The management board are all white males. Our top 600 managers are predominantly white German males. We are too one-dimensional.”

Through an Education Innovation posting , I came across this quote: "Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual."

Some time ago, I uploaded on slideshare this presentation about 5 reasons why people resist change. In this interesting BusinessWeek article , that I came across through a Innovation Wings posting , I read about 2 main obstacles to innovation within the company: Obstacle # 1: Fear "If I try something new and fail, will I lose my job?" Obstacle # 2: The company’s own structure or processes "The typical middle manager will always give you 10 reasons why they can't take advantage of a great idea." In the article I also read about the pilot project as a solution to the obstacles. In other words: Try things out! Doing that will be of benefit to many other people – externally and internally.

Through APROPOS kommunikation , I came across this 40 second video clip of a train driving thorugh a Bangkok market. I couldn’t imagine something like that happening here in Europe. How about you?

Via this Problogger posting , I came across this SEOmoz posting analyzing the Internet’s top blogs. I noticed, for example, that 95% of the Internet's top blogs are based in the United States.

Via a posting on the e-Learning Blog , I came across this posting featuring the 100 best YouTube videos for teachers. Here’s one of them, a 4-minute video giving the possibility to watch the colourful work of the Dutchman Vincent van Gogh. I hope it’ll serve as one tool to help you think “out of the box”.

The current edition of bulletin, a Credit Suisse magazine, focuses on oceans. Get a snapshot of the issue here . For example, I read that 71% of the planet’s surface is covered by oceans. Considering just this fact makes it relevant to focus on the topic. In the issue, I also read about the Poseidon Undersea Resort, an underwater hotel currently being developed for the South Pacific. Besides large windows, there are plans for transparent elevators taking guests 12 meters down into the water. The hotel is set to open in 2009 near a private island in the Fijian archipelago . You can get more information about the hotel at www.poseidonresorts.com . The website itself is an experience. Don't forget to turn on the sound.

To find out how good you are at geography, try out an electronic dart game from Welt Online by clicking here . I came across the game through the e-Learning Blog .

In the introduction to this special collection on lean services from The McKinsey Quarterly, I read this: "The use of lean techniques started in the automotive sector and then spread to other manufacturing organizations. Now it is moving beyond them, to services of all kinds – insurance, hospitals, governments, airline maintenance, product development, IT, retailing, and publishing, to name just a few. This special collection discusses which lean principles and tools to use and how to apply them effectively."

After getting out of the plane when arriving at Zurich Airport by plane, you pass through halls where products from various companies are shown. For example, you come through a beautiful hall with photos of products from Bucherer . A number of factors contribute to making the experience walking through this hall extraordinary. For example, the photos of the products are nice, and the walls are painted in warm colours. In addition, the light and the music played make the atmosphere in the hall really pleasant. Well done.

At the church Offene Heiliggeistkirche situated right next to the railway station in Bern, Switzerland, I noticed that a café had been created in one corner of the church. Interesting initiative.

Walking as well as riding my bike along the shores of the river Rhône in Geneva, I was quite surprised to observe that relatively little had been done to make it attractive for people to go for a walk, ride their bike, and/or go jogging along the shores of the river. As the Rhône is really beautiful, I think it would add considerable value for people living in, working in, and/or visiting Geneva to build better conditions, so people can take full advantage of the river. Besides making better paths and perhaps also more bridges along the river for people to use when going for a walk, going jogging, or riding their bikes, how about also investing in infrastructure so companies can install themselves right at the river front? In this regard, here’s a little inspiration from Aarhus River in Denmark. Photo source

According to the results of a McKinsey Global Survey , more companies are using blogs and other web 2.0 technologies or tools. Studying the results of the survey, I also noticed that the developed countries of the Asia-Pacific region had the largest percentage of respondents expressing the highest level of overall satisfaction with Web 2.0 tools. Looking ahead, all companies plan to invest more in Web 2.0 tools.