Feb-09 - Best of blog posts

Tom Peters urges to commit to life long learning as a core-value. He also offers 48 pieces of advice for creating a winning strategy that is inherently sustainable.

Quoting Malcom Gladwell's article In the Air: Who says big ideas are rare, Innovation Consultant Vinay Dabholkar argues that the environment is usually pregnant with the idea and metaphorically ideas are floating in the air like clouds. He concludes that for “systematic innovation” we should be focused on creating charged idea clouds and leave “connections with the cloud” to the serendipitous moments.

Seth Godin offers an interesting suggestion to overcome your fear of creativity, brainstorming, intelligent risk taking or navigating a tricky situation. He says the best way in such cases would be to sprint. When we sprint, he says, all the internal dialogue falls away and we just go as fast as we possibly can. I tried this technique recently when I was supposed to prepare a presentation for my boss and CEO. Seth reminds "You can't sprint forever. That's what makes it sprinting. The brevity of the event is a key part of why it works".

Elsewhere, Blogger, Author, Venture Capitalist and Speaker Rajesh Setty gives his perspective on Ideal workplace and Ideal work. Too good that, it kind of resonates with the vision and the kind of people that I want to hire for my new venture.

ChangeThis.com publishes Jugglers's manifesto (pdf), where the author Ian Sanders, attempts to bust a few myths about work and business and argues:

Success today does not need to be confined to a singular talent as a specialist; you can mix up your skills and know-how as a generalist. Generalists have the scope to look across borders, to connect different disciplines, thereby offering more value in the marketplace. They offer employers and clients added value. Also, success does not need to be restricted to a job title—it can be the by-product of who you really are, where the Work You becomes The Real You. And forget Work/Life balance, this is about Work/Play integration where the boundaries between work and play are more blurred than ever. That can be challenging but also offers some great opportunities. Being a Juggler is about carving out a unique work life which wraps up your passions and talents, where you focus on all you are good at free of any imposed limits.