Inspiration to learn about yourself

In this Associated Press report , I read that, this week, Air New Zealand tested a passenger jet that was powered partially with oil from a plum-sized fruit known as jatropha (see photo below to get an idea of what a jatropha plant looks like). One engine of the Boeing 747-400 airplane was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel. The flight was a joint venture by Air New Zealand, airplane maker Boeing , engine maker Rolls Royce and biofuel specialist UOP , a unit of Honeywell International . Reading the article, I also learned that, besides jatropha plants, there are other promising biojet fuels such as switch grass, algae, and salt-tolerant plants called halophytes. Photo source

In this very interesting Knowledge@Wharton interview with Mr. John F. Brock, Coca-Cola Enterprises , I learned that Coca-Cola Enterprises has 142 hybrid electric trucks in its fleet. Mr. Brock also mentioned this: “And what's so exciting about them is they consume 35% less fuel and generate 35% less emissions. And although they cost about 40% more, they pay for themselves. And we are buying, literally, as many as we can get, as fast as we can get them.” What does the company, you work for, do to - at the same time - become more environmentally conscious, save money, and help speed up global economic growth?

A participant of a course I’m teaching sent me a link to a really interesting 4 minute video. The building you’ll see in the video is the energy efficient headquarters for Energinet.dk in Fredericia, Denmark. The building is created by the Danish architects Hvidt & Mølgaard . You can watch the Monocle video by clicking here . Thomas Morris reports. Watching the video, I drew the following 3 conclusions: # 1: Bring nature such as trees and water into buildings. # 2: Make a building maximum 3 stories high. Then people will walk around more. # 3: Try placing light somewhere else than in the ceiling of a building. What is characteristic about how buildings are created in the cultural region you live in?

Yesterday afternoon, I went to the beautiful Aarhus Cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark . Several hundreds of people had gotten the same idea. In fact, there were so many people in the Cathedral, that some had to stand up during the service. What made me particularly happy, while I was there, was the great performance by the choir. They sang wonderfully. What surprised me was that the choir was not applauded for their great singing during the service. Photo source

On MyC4 News of December 4th, 2008, I read that the Italian company United Colors of Benetton endorses MyC4. Click here to watch the 7½ minute MyC4 video that I came across at Fabrica , the Benetton Group Communication Research Center.

A student, who’s participating in a course that I teach, sent me a link to this very interesting Spiegel Online interview with Mr. Mart Laar titled "Tigersprung ins Drahtlos-Netz". In the interview, I read that Estonia has declared Internet access a basic human right. For example, there’s free wireless lan in schools and in many other places across Estonia. Reading the interview, I also stumpled upon this question and answer: SPIEGEL ONLINE : Was wäre nötig, um zum Beispiel in Deutschland ein vergleichbares Drahtlos-Netzwerk zu errichten? Mr. Mart Laar : Dazu müsste zunächst das Internet alltäglich für die Bevölkerung sein. Wenn es genug Nachfrage gibt, werden die Firmen entsprechende Dienste anbieten. Durch genug Wettkampf werden diese Angebote erschwinglich. Was solch einem Projekt normalerweise im Weg steht, sind mangelnder Wille oder zu wenig Mut. Ich bin mir sicher, dass die Deutschen das hinbekommen können. Schließlich bauen sie die weltbesten Autos, warum sollten si...

With mobile devices and access to Internet in more and more places, people can, increasingly, work anytime and anywhere. Welcome to the 4th screen. I came across the 2½ minute video through this posting .

In this article , I read that - according to Mr. Tim Leiweke - London could be home to a team in at least one of the major American sports leagues within two years. According to the article, Mr. Leiweke believes that the only league outside the US, that is ready to become global, is the Premier League . Do you see a chance for other sports leagues in Europe to become global in near future? If yes, which one(s)?

On a stroll through Zürich last Sunday evening, I came through Storchen-Gasse where beautifully arranged lights and plants are spreading joy to people. How do you make people happy at Christmas?

In this nzz.ch article , I read that Bosch is using all instruments they have to avoid cutting jobs. This includes making work weeks shorter and wages lower. On leanblog.org , I also read this: "Some companies like Toyota keep workers busy during downturns with training sessions or classes. Hypertherm reallocates employees to departments where there is a greater demand for labor. Others choose alternative cost-cutting methods like hiring freezes or shorter work weeks."

In this Knowledge@Wharton article titled “For more urban growth, don’t forget the ballpark and river walk”, I read that beautiful cities offering more leisure activities such as an attractive waterfront grow faster than cities with fewer leisure activities. Researchers found out that the so-called "beautiful cities" tended to attract more highly-educated people. I also noticed that there is a correlation between the amounts of money local governments invest in recreation projects and their relative attractiveness for leisure visitors. Regarding attractive waterfronts, I wrote a couple of postings here and here on how to make waterfronts in cities more attractive – using examples from the 2 beautiful Swiss cities Zürich and Geneva.

I came across this eye-opening presensation by the Norwegian diplomat Charung Gollar through this Global Strategy Institute blog posting . Watching the presentation, I noticed that, in Europe, where I live, the production of petrol is considerably smaller than the consumption of petrol. Uploaded on authorSTREAM by trucimanno

On TeacherTube , I came across this 2 minute video including tips on how to incorporate physical activity in the classroom.

In a blog posting posted yesterday and titled "Terrible employment numbers", Mr. Paul Krugman inserted this: What can you as an ordinary citizen do to help increase employment globally? And, in your opinion, what should leaders of companies and governments globally do to help increase employment globally?

In this NZZexecutive.ch interview with Mr. Andreas S. Wetter, Orange Communications, I noticed this question and answer: NZZexecutive : Welches sind Ihrer Ansicht nach die drei wichtigsten Gründe für Erfolg im Leben? Andreas S. Wetter : Authentizität, Ehrlichkeit gegenüber sich selbst und seinem Umfeld; Mut und Ausdauer zum „outside the box“- Denken und -Handeln sowie Freude im Umgang mit anderen Menschen aller Art, aller Ethnien und Religionen.

Via leanblog.org , I came across this: If you like thinking out ideas, would like to make other people happy and get paid for your creativity, I have a couple of inputs for you: Try stopping by at, for example, atizo , bonspin , and/or brainfloor.com .

On Wikipedia , I read that the Chinese word "weiji" is often said to be composed of the characters for "danger" and "opportunity"; the implication being that in Chinese culture, a crisis is regarded not merely as a danger, but also as an opportunity.