Inspiration to learn about yourself

Reading this World Economic Forum report titled “Educating the next wave of entrepreneurs”, I came across this quote of Mr. John Chambers, Cisco: "We are facing a transition, and we must take this opportunity to provide today’s students and entrepreneurs with the tools and the thinking that is required for the future. Collaborative technologies can fundamentally transform both how we teach and learn . We need to harness the power of the Internet and these new technologies for creating and sharing knowledge that will prepare students with the skills to compete in the 21st century." In the report, I also read that to accommodate different learning styles, youth entrepreneurship education should expand the pedagogical toolkit to include not only text but a liberal use of visuals as well, and especially text and visuals interlaced. Promising practices include, for example, wallcharts, posters, drawing exercises, and peer mentoring . Here’s a 3 minute video about the report:

Watching this 4½ minute interview with Ms. Marissa Mayer, Google, I learned, for example, these 3 things: 1. Ideas come from everywhere. 2. It’s a good idea to continuously try things out and get feedback. 3. It’s a good idea to keep teams small.

This week, Stadt Zürich Entsorgung + Recycling delivered new garbage containers to the place I live in Zürich. Please see photos below. I see a number of positive things about this initiative. Here are 2 of them: Advantage # 1 The new containers are made of plastic and are less heavy than the older ones. This makes it easier for the individual customer / citizen to open the lid and deposit his / her garbage in the container. The fact that the new garbage containers are less heavy also makes it more convenient for the people who work at picking up garbage when the garbage containers are full. Advantage # 2 As you’ll notice on photo # 2 below, the new containers positioned on the right side of the photo are nicer to look at compared to the older ones. To conclude, the fine initiative of Stadt Zürich Entsorgung + Recycling leads to an even higher quality of life.

Via this posting by Paul Levy, I came across this link to a song performed by musicians around the world. Well done, I think. What is your impression of the 5½ minute video? If you're interested, you can find more videos here .

Below, you’ll find a 10 minute interview with Ms. Gill Corkingdale. On the question of what you can do to effectively manage your manager - assuming he is a person with an “alpha personality” - Ms. Corkindale mentioned, for example, this: - Package things neatly. - Give him what he wants. - Don’t waste things to be courageous. - Don’t challenge him. - Engage with him. - Recognize him for what he is. On the question of what you, as a manager, can do to effectively lead a male with an “alpha personality”, Ms. Corkindale mentioned, for example, the following: - Don’t squash the energy / the drive of the person. We need people with that drive. - Make him aware that he is part of a group, i.e. it’s not just what he says that counts.

Watching this 7 minute interview with Vijay Govindarajan, I learned, for example, that if companies want to create an innovation mindset, they must have the courage to bring outside talent into the organization. Watching the interview, I also found the questions by the interviewer really good. I came across the video through Vijay Govindarajan’s blog .

In this 2 minute video, Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School, discusses the concept of disruptive innovation. www.hsmglobal.com

Via this posting by Paul Sloane, I came across this 5 minute video about a group of people who set themselves quite an extraordinary goal: To clean up the entire country of Estonia from more than 10,000 tons of illegal waste in just 1 day. They called the campaign “Let’s do it”. More than 50,000 people participated in the clean up day on May 3, 2008.

Common Craft made another great video - this time with an explanation of what makes the World Wide Web work: browsers, packets, servers and links.

In this 4 minute video, researcher Kamal Meattle shows how an arrangement of three common houseplants, used in specific spots in a home or office building, can result in measurably cleaner indoor air. How many plants and which plants do you have where you live/work?

Fewer patients and less money forced Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , a hospital in Boston, USA to cut costs. Mr. Paul Levy, the leader of the hospital, asked employees what they could think of that might save their colleagues’ jobs. Result: Several hundred jobs were saved. I came across the 2½ video through this posting by Mr. Paul Levy. Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News , World News , and News about the Economy

Watching this 4 minute video with Hans Rosling, I learned that infant mortality in Mumbai, India has reduced considerably within the past 25 years.