Inspiration to learn about yourself

This morning, I had a Biotta Fit Breakfast Drink , which I bought in a COOP shop in Zürich, for breakfast. It was delicious. In a dossier about nutrition published in this PricewaterhouseCoopers magazine , I read, for example, that Biotta, a producer of fruit and vegetable juices, was oriented solely to organic production as early as 1951. The organic pioneer complies with all the guidelines of organic farming and holds every national and international label and test certificate. Having a look at www.biotta.com , I found out that decades of experience in organic vegetable farming, dedication, enthusiasm and a love of detail are symbolic of the work of Biotta’s suppliers. You can learn about which markets Biotta products can be purchased in by clicking here . What did you have for breakfast?

The World Economic Forum on Africa will be held in Cape Town, South Africa , June 10-12th, 2009. You can see the program for the 3 days by clicking here . You have the opportunity to vote for the challenges you think African countries need to be the most prepared for in the coming year. The choices you make will shape the debate in Cape Town. You can vote as many times as you like and add your own challenge if you think it's missing. To vote, click here .

In this 3 minute interview, the following remarks by Ray Kurzweil struck me: "I think it’s very important in companies now to empower people to be creative . And I don’t think it’s so unusual to be creative. People even without professional backgrounds have creative ideas. When given the tools, which now are really available, they can create things of tremendous value." Which creative ideas came into your mind today?

Logo source I have been learning about the green initiatives that Google takes. Watching, for example, this interesting 2 minute video , I learned that - at Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, USA - the cafes use what is grown in the gardens around the company to make food. Searching for information on Google’s green initiatives, I not least learned that Google uses several solar panels to generate electricity. On the photos below, notice that also the roof of the parking lot is covered with solar panels. In which renewable energy sources do the companies, you work for, invest? Photo source

Yesterday, I learned how to climb a mountain – more precisely “ Grosser Mythen ” located in the centre of Switzerland about 1,900 meters above sea level. When you live in Switzerland, it’s a good idea to learn how to climb a mountain. Why? Because there are quite a lot of relatively large mountains here. Here are 3 things I learned by walking up the mountain: # 1: Remember to drink water once in a while. You sweat a lot, when you walk up a mountain. # 2: If you want to enjoy the stunning scenery: First stop - then watch. # 3: Be sure to watch out where you set your feet. The road of the mountain I climbed was somewhat uneven, narrow, and more or less all rock. On the way up the mountain, I saw something very fascinating: Snow and beautiful flowers right next to each other. At the top of the mountain, I had a soup at the restaurant there. I asked the people, who work at the restaurant, how they get the food and beverages, that they sell, up there. They told me that they carry some of ...

Watching this interesting interview with CK Prahalad, these remarks by Mr. Prahalad about leadership towards the end of the interview struck me: "I cannot say "I’m a great leader, but no change folks!” That makes no sense. Leadership is about change. It is about the future."

As I went for a run today, I ran past the Buchlern sports complex here in Zurich , where the FIFA Youth Cup is taking place these days. The list of teams participating at the FIFA Youth Cup , which showcases the international football stars of tomorrow, included, for example, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Hertha Berlin, Beijing Guoan, as well as the Swiss clubs Grasshoppers, FC Zürich, and FC Basel. This photo is from the game between Real Madrid and Manchester United . What I also found really interesting at the football event were the training field with many great exercises making it lots of fun for kids to practice (photo # 1 below) as well the Coca-Cola Best Trick Contest (photo # 2 below).

In this interesting 2 minute conversation, Mr. Tom Kelley from the innovation powerhouse IDEO talks about going out to see where people are not having a good experience – and thereby finding out what they really need. www.hsmglobal.com

Via this jp.dk article , I learned that a 104 year old woman, Ms. Ivy Bean , is communicating on Twitter. I think it's great. Age seems just to be a number. What do you think? The photo is from Ms. Bean’s Twitter profile.

Google's Search options make it easier and faster for you to find exactly what you're looking for. Find out how it works in this informative 2 minute video.

I came across this 10 minute lesson about blue ocean strategy. When you think about the strategy of the company you work for, what colour would you say that it is?

Via an INSEAD update on Twitter, I came across this 3 minute video about blue ocean strategy:

Via a Twitter update by Chuck Frey , I came across this blog posting with 115 marketing strategies . One of the initiatives on the list, which seems to be increasing in popularity, is # 94: Tweet Tweet Tweet. Do you use Twitter ?

Via a Twitter update by Helen Walters , I came across this interesting 8½ minute BusinessWeek video with Clayton Christensen . A question to you: Thinking about a product that you sell, what jobs is that product - as you experience it - performing in the life of your customers?

Via an INSEAD update on Twitter, I came across this 9 minute video.