Ling- English
the IKEA catalog at the cutting edge of technology: the bookbook
Information and parody. Well done! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOXQo7nURs0]
Ling- English
leadership
The power of one
Since the 1970s Majuli islander Jadav Payeng has been planting trees in order to save his island. To date he has singlehandedly planted a forest larger than Central Park in New York City. [youtube=http://youtu.be/HkZDSqyE1do] For the movie buffs, pair this story with the Oscar-winning The
Ling- English
The absurd assumption underlying publish-or-perish in higher education
That when a man writes a scholarly book that reaches a dozen specialists he adds immeasurably to the world’s knowledge; whereas if he imparts his thoughts and his reading to one hundred and fifty students every year, he is wasting his time and leaving the world in darkness. One
Ling- English
Your identity in an object
During last week's workshop we discussed thinking differently about our work and about ourselves. Here's an example: “Somehow I felt that it was me, or belonged to me,” he recalled. -via NYTimes.com.
Ling- English
Whither the proverbial box out of which we think?
I am back from facilitating a workshop with a group of managers. One of the topics we discussed and worked on is out-of-the-box thinking; in other words, thinking differently about the work we do, about managing, and about the way we think. In a side conversation one
Ling- English
What really matters in business
Jason Fried via Fast Company on what matters: Are you profitable?Are you building something great?Are you taking care of your people?Are you treating your customers well? Turning in a profit while building something great in the service of your customers and your people. That's as
Business Communication
In praise of procrastination
Too many people fail to recognise what good public speakers and comedians all understand: that success depends on knowing when to delay, and for how long. The important thing is not to do things first but to do them right. And doing them right often involves taking a bit more
Ling- English
Most of what I know about writing I’ve learned through running every day
How much can I push myself? How much rest is appropriate—and how much is too much? How far can I take something and still keep it decent and consistent? When does it become narrow-minded and inflexible? How much should I be aware of the world outside, and how
leadership
Mintzberg: time to think of organizations as communities of cooperation
Consider that ubiquitous organisation chart, with its silly boxes of “top”, and “middle”, and bottom managers. How come we never say “bottom managers”? This is no more than a distorted metaphor. It tells us that we are fixated on who has authority over what and whom. The painting may not
Ling- English
On writing - from one of the best
Q: What is the best training for writing? Courses in writing? Or what? William Faulkner: Read, read, read! Read everything - trash, classics, good and bad; see how they do it. When a carpenter learns his trade, he does so by observing. Read! You'll absorb it. Write. If it
Ling- English
The model of rational choice is faulty
Virtually all of the assumptions built into it about human beings and the world are false:It assumes that people are self-interested. Well, yes and no.It assumes that there is a common scale of value on which everything can be compared. There isn’t.It assumes that we
Ling- English
Good governance went out of the window when a reductive view of human nature took hold
Simon Caulkin [website, @nikluac] in The Guardian: So why do so many boards and managers, supported by politicians, systematically do the opposite – run companies as top-down dictatorships, pursue growth by merger, destroy teamwork with runaway incentives, attack employment rights and conditions, outsource customer service, treat their stakeholders as resources