Ian's Messy Desk
One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries. -A.A. Milne
Thursday, April 03, 2003by Tom Terez
I'll bet there's plenty of conversation in your workplace -- about today's tasks, about that rush order, about that sudden snag, about the project that should have been done yesterday. But do you and your colleagues ever step off the task treadmill and talk about the workplace itself? If you work full time until retirement age, you're going to log at least 90,000 hours on the job. Doesn't it make sense to spend a few of those hours teaming up with co-workers to figure out how to make the workplace better?
Sure it does, but that only sparks more questions: What exactly should you talk about? How do you keep the conversation from turning into a gripe session? Is there a way to make meaningful discoveries instead of talking on and on about the obvious?
That's what this Top 10 list is all about. It gives you thought-provoking questions guaranteed to open up worthwhile conversation about your workplace. Share the list with colleagues, select the one or two questions that seem most relevant, then set aside some time to talk. There are no right or wrong answers, and you don't need a full day for this. Just an hour or so of dialogue, with ears and minds wide open, will deepen everyone's understanding and point the way to practical improvement. [read more]
from the CEO Refresher Mar 31 2003 3:01AM ET [Moreover - Human resources news]
8:02:21 AM # Speak Up [] - See Also: Human Resources * personal development * Potpourri
The Global Village - Episode 435 - How SARS was discovered.
Marshall McLuhan coined the term "Global Village" and since then the term has come to refer to the fact that technological advances are, in essence, making the world smaller, at least in the sense of people communicating with one another. Howard Rheingold's Smart Mobs concept is a corollary to this idea (I highly recommend his book).
I thought about these two gentlemen's ideas again, as I increasingly do, when I read Dan Gillmor's brief account of how "text messenging" or "SMS" (i.e. "short message system") was the means by which the serious respiratory illness known as SARS was first made known. Here's the key point: it wasn't the TV stations or other mainstream media sources that broke the news. There's a social revolution, for you. Most people are too busy with the War in Iraq to notice this revolution, but isn't it the way of the most dramatic revolutions that they are scarcely noticed when they begin to have the most sway?
[Ernie the Attorney]Beijing ordered media to cover up SARS [CBC.CA]
Toronto's fight with SARS gives others valuable lesson. Chicago Tribune Apr 3 2003 7:37AM ET [Moreover - Canada news]
Cancer researchers cancel Toronto conference over SARS fear; death toll rises. CNEWS Apr 3 2003 4:45AM ET [Moreover - Canada news]
TV reports says 57-year-old woman dies from SARS, Canadian toll hits 7. CNEWS Apr 3 2003 1:37AM ET [Moreover - Canada news]
Ontario minister apologizes for SARS quip. Toronto Star Online Apr 3 2003 1:26AM ET [Moreover - Canada news]
SARS puts an end to business as usual in Asia [IDG InfoWorld]
Killer Bug: Latest updates from Canada and Hong Kong. Times Education Supplement Apr 3 2003 9:44AM ET [Moreover - Canada news]
Tech Sector Gets a Case of SARS. According to the Washington Post, the recent SARS outbreak in the Far East is starting to affect the tech sector. Fear of the illness is causing many companies to cancel trips to the area.... [patrickv] [Lockergnome's Bits and Bytes]
Officials probe Canada's 7th suspected SARS death. Globe and Mail Apr 3 2003 12:37PM ET [Moreover - Canada news]
Canadian toddler being tested for SARS in Australia. ABC Online Apr 3 2003 12:33PM ET [Moreover - Canada news]
In Hong Kong the government averted a panic when a false internet story about SARS was posted - by sending a blanket SMS text message to 6 million mobile phones that denied that Hong Kong had been declared an "infected city".
SARS supports need for mobile workforce. ZDNet Apr 3 2003 1:19PM ET [Moreover - Human resources news]
Toronto hotels lose millions over SARS [CBC.CA]
SARS deals Toronto economic hit [CBC.CA]
Canadian children quarantined in Australia [CBC.CA]
FUTUREPUNDIT has an interesting post on SARS and the possibility of silent carriers. (Via Dawn Olsen). Futurepundit has lots of posts on SARS. [InstaPundit]
7:34:23 AM # Speak Up []
Julia Child. "You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients." [Motivational Quotes of the Day]
7:30:52 AM # Speak Up [] - See Also: Quotations
stentorian: Dictionary.com Word of the Day. stentorian [Dictionary.com Word of the Day]
7:30:15 AM # Speak Up [] - See Also: WOTD
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