Will Smith- Motivational
Rugby: Really funny video- humorous take on rugby games over the years.
After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Presses
From the NY Times:
After 244 years, the Encyclopaedia Britannica is going out of print.
Those coolly authoritative, gold-lettered sets of reference books that were once sold door to door by a fleet of traveling salesmen and displayed as proud fixtures in American homes will be discontinued, the company is expected to announce on Wednesday.
In a nod to the realities of the digital age — and, in particular, the competition from the hugely popular Wikipedia — Encyclopaedia Britannica will focus primarily on its online encyclopedias and educational curriculum for schools, company executives said.
The last edition of the encyclopedia will be the 2010 edition, a 32-volume set that weighs in at 129 pounds and includes new entries on global warming and the Human Genome Project.
“It’s a rite of passage in this new era,” Jorge Cauz, the president of Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., a Chicago-based company, said in an interview. “Some people will feel sad about it and nostalgic about it. But we have a better tool now. The Web site is continuously updated, it’s much more expansive and it has multimedia.”
The secret of team Collaboration:Individuality
Inc.com article by John Baldonal I found interesting. Here is just a excerpt from it.
Here are four steps to foster true collaboration through each contributor:
1. Affirm the purpose. The central organizing principle of a project is the why. It is up to managers to let people know how what the team is doing contributes to organizational success.
2. Encourage individualism. A secret to effective collaboration is individual contributions. When people think alike they shut out alternate viewpoints. True collaboration weighs the individual ideas and balances them with what the project needs. In short, teammates build upon the contributions of others to achieve their team goals.
3. Focus on team. Few things will get done without individuals pulling together. The managers can reinforce collaboration by making it known that individuals must coordinate with each other as well as cooperate. Sometimes this means that people will pitch in to help a teammate finish a task when their own work is finished.
4. Reflect, together. There is one other valuable ingredient to effective collaboration: reflection. The perception may be that reflection is a solo endeavor, but many teams have found it valuable to employ in group settings. Managers can stimulate the thinking process by posing a key question for the group to reflect upon in silence and then discuss openly. Open-ended questions that focus on the how and the why of process rather than purpose are effective. The purpose—where the team is headed—has been established; the process—how we do things—can very often be improved.
Teamwork is essential to getting things done and to do it effectively managers need to draw upon the talents of individuals who have a stake in the outcome. There may be no “I” in team, but as Michael Jordan, whose singular play powered the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles, used to say, “But there is in win!”
Thanks for sharing this from London. It`s obvious you are thinking about being on mission as you get on with you job.
May we dare to imagine?
Gratitude: can only be received in God
Westlake Church Local Mission Blog: Local Mission Launch
LOCAL MISSION MINISTRY
“Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37)
With great excitement, we would like to announce the launch of the Local Missions Ministry!
Join us for a panel discussion on Local Missions
“Then and Now”
over coffee and cake in The Hub on Sunday afternoon 11 March, 15:30
