Tue - July 7, 2009

78 Important Questions Every Leader Should Ask and Answer


Questions are valuable thinking and attention redirecting tools

78 Important Questions overview added to TLN site.


Web notebook recently updated.. New career, retirement, and financial planning links added to my delicious.

Finding CONNECTIONS: Intel map part of an exploration blueprint. Other related: Life-TIME investment system introduction

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Posted at 01:09 PM    

Wed - December 10, 2008

Peter Drucker's Managing Oneself


Contents and notes page updated

I've recently added Peter Drucker's Managing Oneself to the Time-Life Navigation site.

The page presents a survey of the basic things we need to be working on in today's world.

Finding CONNECTIONS: Intel map part of an exploration blueprint. Other related: Life-TIME investment system introduction

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Posted at 01:25 PM    

Fri - March 21, 2008

New version of Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices outline available


Chapter key ideas are provided instead of chapter headings


Posted at 09:19 AM    

Mon - March 3, 2008

Notes on the New Educated Person


From Peter Drucker's writings

I've updated my notes on Peter Drucker's chapter on The Educated Person. The chapter first appeared in Post-Capitalist Society and was later included in The Essential Drucker.

The opening paragraphs of Post-Capitalist Society: EVERY FEW HUNDRED YEARS in Western history there occurs a sharp transformation. We cross what in an earlier book (The New Realities -1989) I called a "divide." Within a few short decades, society rearranges itself—its worldview; its basic values; its social and political structure; its arts; its key institutions. Fifty years later, there is a new world. And the people born then cannot even imagine the world in which their grandparents lived and into which their own parents were born.

We are currently living through just such a transformation. It is creating the post-capitalist society, which is the subject of this book.

Is "The Educated Person" something you want on your radar as a parent, mentor, or an individual? And how does one get and keep on their radar?

The document is a dynamic outline. The triangles at the left of a topic can be clicked to expand or contract the outline.

Notes on The Educated Person

  

Links above lead to book outlines


Posted at 08:47 AM    

Mon - July 30, 2007

Technorati blog claim


Process to claim my blog at Technorati

Special link below:

Technorati Profile


Posted at 08:06 AM    

Wed - September 6, 2006

Why Some Older Executives Land Jobs -- and Others Don't


By Perri Capell

Why do some over-50 job hunters struggle to find jobs, while others seem to have little trouble attracting offers? Surprisingly, recruiters say it has less to do with candidates' wrinkles or gray hairs, and more to do with their corporate experience and the direction of their career path. Read more ...

Posted at 10:49 AM    

Wed - April 5, 2006

The land of pension fantasies


New survey finds 61% of workers expect a pension

Corporate America has changed the retirement-plan landscape but a good portion of workers don't seem to realize that yet. See the rest of the story at CBS MarketWatch ...

CONNECTIONS: Intel map? Other related: CSEP

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Posted at 11:32 AM    

The Effective Executive in Action


by Peter Drucker and Joseph A. Maciariello

The Effective Executive in Action table of contents has been added to my TLN site. The document is a dynamic outline. Clicking on the triangles to the left of a topic expands and contracts the outline.

Effectiveness is a key element in career evolution, but more is needed and useful.

CONNECTIONS: Intel map? Other related: Changing social and economic picture

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Posted at 10:54 AM    

Sun - August 14, 2005

Does an M.B.A. Pay Off For Career Changers?


Traditionally, the M.B.A. degree has guaranteed students a fresh start in a new career.

But now with so many graduates competing for so few jobs, recruiters can afford to be very choosy. They are less inclined to take a risk with a career-switcher when there are plenty of M.B.A. graduates with past experience in their industries or job functions.

See the rest of the story ...

CONNECTIONS: Intel map? Other related: Career evolution

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Posted at 01:30 PM    

Mon - July 25, 2005

Jack Welch's new job signals


"Luckily, most jobs send out signals about how right they are for you - or not," says Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric and author of "Winning.".

"These signals apply to jobs at every level of an organization," Welch writes. "You can be right out of school, a middle manager trying to move up, or a senior executive looking for a top pick."

In "Winning," Welch has created a list of the most important signals to be aware of and how to read them:

See the rest of the story ...

CONNECTIONS: Intel map? Other related: Career evolution; Organization evolution and Knowledge system view

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Posted at 03:47 PM    

Wed - July 6, 2005

Seeing Things Whole


Focus on the bottom line is drilled into many potential leaders who then lose their way on the journey toward significant and effective leadership.

Certainly leaders need to manage the financial aspects of the organization with great effectiveness, but if we do not see the enterprise whole we fail.

... snip, snip ...

Peter Drucker admonishes us to "Focus, focus, focus" (he never says it once). "Focus, focus, focus" drives us to pay attention to those few things, those critical initiatives, that determine relevance, viability, and success in the future—and this reverberating phrase walks around with many of us. Yet it does not negate the imperative of seeing the organization whole.

See the rest of the story ...

CONNECTIONS: Intel map? Other related: Knowledge system view (seeing beyond the organization) and TLN key ideas

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Posted at 02:28 PM    

Tue - June 21, 2005

FedEx chief takes cue from leaders in history



... snip, snip ...

Somebody once asked Chinese leader Chou En-lai what he thought of the French Revolution. He said: "It's too soon to tell." There are not many new things under the sun. History lessons are fairly clear and proven. Most business successes have a short duration. Tom Watson and his son were fantastic managers, but they made IBM a prominent company in 30 years and the company has gone up and down and up and down.

See the rest of the story ...

CONNECTIONS: Intel map? Other related: About change and Career evolution

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Posted at 04:32 PM    

Fri - June 10, 2005

Many Scientists Admit to Misconduct


Few scientists fabricate results from scratch or flatly plagiarize the work of others, but a surprising number engage in troubling degrees of fact-bending or deceit, according to the first large-scale survey of scientific misbehavior.

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 05:10 PM    

A Good Vacation Can Serve As an Inspiration for Change


Returning to work after a great vacation is always hard.

... snip, snip ...

But some people experience something more severe. They come back feeling depressed, unmotivated and frustrated. The problem: Vacation made them realize how utterly out of sync what they do for a living is with what they'd like to do. They want something else for their careers, but they're not sure what.

See the rest of the story ...

CONNECTIONS: Intel map? Other related: Career evolution

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Posted at 05:07 PM    

Tue - June 7, 2005

Pinpointing Your Career Goals


For many Americans, the job they have today will likely not be the job they have down the road.

Tory Johnson, chief executive officer of womenforhire.com, says it's not uncommon for people to change careers as many as four to seven times in a lifetime.

Johnson appeared on "Good Morning America" to discuss why people makes those changes and what to do if you're not one of the procrastinators, but someone who knows what you want, but doesn't know how to get it.

See the rest of the story ...

CONNECTIONS: Intel map? Other related: Career evolution

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Posted at 02:56 PM    

Fri - June 3, 2005

No time for time off


U.S. workers forfeit vacation days out of fear, machismo

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Americans work hard to earn their annual vacations, so hard, in fact, that a good number of them leave unused time due on the table each year rather than risk their standing with the boss.

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 11:47 AM    

Sales of small businesses driving wealth accumulation


The ranks of the wealthiest Americans grew 21% last year. That means the number of people who have a net worth of $1 million or more has grown to 7.5 million.

If equity in primary residences were included in the tally, the growth would be understandable, as real estate has skyrocketed in value in many markets around the country. But it isn't. So in a market that's producing paltry returns in the bond market, and so-so gains in the stock market, where are the wealthy getting their wonder-dog windfalls?

The answer: Sales of small businesses.

See the rest of the story ...

CONNECTIONS: Intel map? Other related: Career evolution

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Posted at 11:44 AM    

Wed - May 25, 2005

Some companies actively seek older workers


Age bias is about as common as coffee in the workplace, but there are signs that may be changing as a small but growing number of companies seeks to attract older workers

Some companies cite the need to beef up shrinking work forces, while others worry about the loss of wisdom as the Baby Boomers hit retirement age

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 04:26 PM    

The World's Highest-Paid Temps?


The biggest danger for any CEO isn't corruption, malfeasance or Sarbanes-Oxley. It's quite simply bad performance

... snip, snip ...

Nearly a third of all CEOs who were fired last year left because they didn't live up to the expectations of increasingly demanding--and impatient--shareholders and boards

... snip, snip ...

In fact, it's getting tougher to survive, every year. The rate of CEO firing has quadrupled between 1995 and 2004

See the rest of the story ...

CONNECTIONS: Intel map? Other related: Career evolution

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Posted at 04:20 PM    

Mon - May 16, 2005

Corporate America Pulling Back Pension Safety Net


Last week's court decision permitting United Airlines' parent to dump its pensions on the federal government is part of a sweeping trend that could make the nation's employers more competitive, but at the cost of leaving workers and their families bearing big new risks


Posted at 07:18 PM    

Landing a Job At a Start-up


Established companies aren't the only employers hiring again amid an improving economy. Recruiters are reporting an increase in demand for senior talent from many young companies, thanks to a boost in venture-capital investing

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 07:17 PM    

Mon - May 9, 2005

For Some Techies, an Interminable Workday


The traffic jam ended hours ago, the parking lot is nearly empty and fluorescent lights are dimmed at PortalPlayer Inc., where the nightly brainstorming session is about to begin.

Instead of gathering the few remaining souls from their cubicles, three managers move into a conference room to dial India, where engineers 12 1/2 time zones ahead are just arriving in Hyderabad.

See the rest of the story ...

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Posted at 03:01 PM    

Tue - May 3, 2005

Man gets the poop on outsourcing


Computer programmer Steve Relles has the poop on what to do when your job is outsourced to India.

... snip, snip ...

"My parents paid for me to get a (degree) in math and now I am a pooper scooper," Relles, a 42-year-old married father of two told Reuters. "I can clean four to five yards in a hour if they are close together."

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 01:21 PM    

Wed - April 20, 2005

Ten Laws Of The Modern World


Moore's Law. Listen to a billionaire explain why an understanding of Moore's Law is a key to unlocking business riches.

Other laws: The Back Side of Moore's Law; Andy and Bill's Law; Metcalfe's Law; Ricardo's Law; Wriston's Law; The Laffer Curve; Drucker's Law; Ogilvy's Law

See the rest of the story ...

CONNECTIONS: Intel map?

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Posted at 02:35 PM    

Mon - April 11, 2005

Bono's War On Poverty And AIDS


Actor Brad Pitt is among the celebrities featured in new public service announcements for a war on poverty and AIDS, led by U2 singer Bono


Posted at 03:26 PM    

Mon - April 4, 2005

Newspaper Giants Buy Web News Monitor


Three of the nation's biggest newspaper publishers, the Gannett Company, Knight-Ridder Inc. and the Tribune Company, are joining forces to buy three-fourths of Topix.net, a Web site that monitors more than 10,000 online news sources.


Posted at 12:39 PM    

A Takeover Roils Japan: Politeness Out, Hostility In


It has happened before in the United States: a fast-growing Internet start-up sets its sights on an old-line media company, and, in the end, gets it. That was the AOL takeover of Time Warner in 2000.

Until now, though, something like that seemed unlikely in Japan, where only a handful of hostile takeovers have been attempted. But a court ruling on Wednesday set the stage for a 32-year-old entrepreneur, Takafumi Horie, and his Internet company, Livedoor, to gain a majority stake in Nippon Broadcasting System Inc., a 50-year-old radio broadcaster.

See the rest of the story ...

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Posted at 12:38 PM    

Fri - March 25, 2005

John DeLorean, Innovative Automaker, Dies at 80


NEWARK, N.J. -- John Z. DeLorean, the innovative automaker who left a promising career in Detroit to develop the short-lived gull-winged sports cars featured as a souped-up time travel machine in the "Back to the Future" movies, has died. He was 80.

DeLorean was among just a handful of U.S. entrepreneurs who dared start a car company in the last 75 years. Nearly all faded away, but his crashed spectacularly amid drug charges.

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 03:20 PM    

Wed - March 16, 2005

Overworked -- and angry about it


As the boundaries between office hours and off hours continue to blur, one in three American employees report being chronically overworked, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Overwork in America, a 54-page report issued by the non-profit Families and Work Institute, underscores the irony that the very factors giving companies a competitive edge and healthy bottom line -- technology, multitasking and globalization -- may be undermining their workers' physical and emotional well-being.

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 04:02 PM    

Wed - March 2, 2005

A Brilliant Mind and an Anguished Life


"Dark Hero of the Information Age: In Search of Norbert Wiener, the Father of Cybernetics," by Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman. Basic Books, 423 pages, $27.50.

It is hardly the greatest scientific mystery of the 20th century, but it is a riddle just the same: why did Norbert Wiener - gray eminence of gray matter, inventor of cybernetics, founding theorist of the information age - abandon his closest young colleagues just as they were about to embark on an exciting new collaboration on the workings of the brain?


Posted at 04:15 PM    

Mon - February 21, 2005

How Directors Can Shield Themselves


The prospect of joining a corporate board is riskier than ever after the WorldCom and Enron settlements, which required former directors to pay $18 million and $13 million, respectively, out of their own pockets. What follows is the transcript of a Feb. 16 online chat on the Forbes.com CEO Network with Morrison & Foerester partner Darryl Rains, who explained how board directors can shield themselves from such liability. The chat was hosted by Forbes.com Senior Editor Penelope Patsuris.

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 01:20 PM    

New Challenges For CFOs


For chief financial officers, it's not all about cost cuts anymore. Now that the economy has bounced back, they're the decision makers on spending--identifying investments worthy of receiving cash from newly strengthened balance sheets, and just how much to put to work.

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 01:20 PM    

The X-economy


Dr. Peter Drucker Keynote Summary from Delphi Group Collaborative Commerce Summit (June 2001)

While doing a Google search for Peter Drucker, I ran across the following page:

Drucker's keynote thesis was, as always, a simple one. We are undergoing a basic shift in the way we view the organization and the value chain. Strategy, according to Drucker, not ownership, will define the organization of tomorrow.

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 11:16 AM    

Tue - February 1, 2005

CFOs feeling the heat of legal responsibilities


By Deborah Lohse, Mercury News

In the past, a company's chief financial officer wore many hats: money raiser, investor cheerleader, corporate strategizer and fiscal drill sergeant.

But these days, many say the only hats CFOs get to wear are accountants' green eye shades -- or the occasional dunce cap.

Two years after Congress cracked down on corporations with anti-fraud laws like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, it's a different world for CFOs: more rigid, less creative, and fraught with a lot more personal risk if their company's finances aren't squeaky clean. And while the new rules haven't yet caused an inordinate CFO exodus from Silicon Valley companies, some predict there could soon be an increase in CFOs calling it quits.

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 12:00 PM    

Mon - January 31, 2005

Teaching Computers to Read No Simple Task


TROY, N.Y. - Among the handiest villains in science fiction are Computers That Know Too Much. Think of the dream-weaving despots of "The Matrix" or murderous HAL in "2001: A Space Odyssey." But in reality, even the most super supercomputer lacks the reasoning capacity of a child engrossed in a Dr. Seuss book. Computers can't read the way we do. They can't learn or reason like us.

See the rest of the story ...

CONNECTIONS: Intel map?


Posted at 11:24 AM    

Wed - January 26, 2005

Fallen U.S. Porn King Goldstein Rebuilds with Bagels


Mon Jan 24, 2005, 2:13 PM ET

By John Zawadzinski

NEW YORK (Reuters) - He spent a lifetime peddling smut and once had an $11 million fortune, but after losing everything and becoming just another homeless New Yorker, Al Goldstein is now happy pushing bagels instead of porn

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 09:52 AM    

Sun - January 23, 2005

Walter B. Wriston: A Remembrance


Steve Forbes, 01.21.05, 6:59 PM ET

Walt Wriston, former Chairman and CEO of Citicorp/Citibank, was also a founding director of Forbes.com and served until last year. Our revenues would never have equaled what Citicorp took in every few minutes, but to Walt, that did not matter at all.

He was, at heart, an innovator, an entrepreneur, an original thinker and a man who delighted in getting things done. He quickly grasped the promise of the Internet and never lost faith in its possibilities in the aftermath of the high-tech bubble. The fact that there would be setbacks and excesses in the field were to him part of the normal course of events in a free market. They never made him lose sight of how powerful an instrument the Internet is. He understood, as few others did, how fundamentally vital is the spread of information.

The willingness to pioneer by pursuing and investing in new technologies and going into areas where others wouldn't tread -- or had tread and faltered -- was how this man truly revolutionized American and global banking. The word "revolution" has been grossly over-used, but what Wriston did for finance was just that -- a revolution.

Until the 1960s, banking was a backwater. A handful of hours each day was more than sufficient to handle one's responsibilities. Commercial bankers were risk-averse. They were stodgy. They didn't want to be bothered with consumers -- that was for savings banks, not commercial banks. The government told banks what interest rates they were allowed to pay on deposits.

Before Walt was through, he almost single-handedly turned banking from the equivalent of a small, sleepy town into a hyper-energetic, New York-like metropolis.

Under his leadership, Citibank pioneered automatic-teller machines. It pursued the credit card business in a way that no other bank was doing at the time. He constantly battered government regulations. He expanded internationally at a dizzying pace. Old constraints on banks were consigned to the dustbin of history. Walt made what is now called Citigroup the world's leading financial institution. Because he was not risk-averse, he made his share of mistakes. But these were minute compared to his monumental achievements.

Walt was a delight to be around. He believed passionately in free markets. His insights were almost always original and profound. Our board meetings were always productive and stimulating. Walt was both an intellectual and a restless doer.

My only regret is that he was never given the reins to run our Treasury Department or the Federal Reserve. Now that would have been a sight to behold!

In the end, however, Walt Wriston achieved far, far more than have those who have held these kinds of public sector posts.

We have lost a truly remarkable man.

Forbes

Posted at 11:19 AM    

Wed - January 12, 2005

PeopleSoft Layoffs on Friday Says Oracle


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq:ORCL - news) will announce layoffs at PeopleSoft Inc. on Friday to integrate the recently acquired company into the world's second-largest business software maker, Oracle's CFO said on Tuesday.

Industry analysts have estimated at least 6,000 jobs may be lost at PeopleSoft. The company ended 2003 with more than 12,000 employees, according to its latest regulatory filing.

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 02:33 PM    

Sat - January 8, 2005

Look to 8-Ks for Exec. Benefit Details


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Read a "Form 8-K" these days and you can almost hear the crack of a bat at a Boston Red Sox game, the whir of a vacuum cleaner at a high-roller suite in Las Vegas, the scream of a corporate jet.

These are the sounds of executive benefits that until recently were likely beyond the hearing of investors, but are now increasingly being aired in the 8-K, a mandatory filing with federal authorities to describe material corporate events.

See the rest of the story ...

Posted at 03:33 PM    

Sun - January 2, 2005

Drugstores Fret as Insurers Demand Pills by Mail


Employer health plans across the country are forcing millions of consumers to change their drug-buying habits. And one side effect could be the decline of the neighborhood drugstore.

Instead of picking up their medicines at a local pharmacy, growing numbers of consumers will be required - starting this month when new health plans take effect - to buy dozens of widely used drugs, like insulin for diabetes or Lipitor to lower cholesterol, by mail order.

See story

Posted at 09:09 AM    

Sat - January 1, 2005

Oracle Fires Top PeopleSoft Executives


The Oracle Corporation fired PeopleSoft's co-president and chief financial officer, Kevin T. Parker, and three other top executives, a day after assuming control of the rival software maker in a $10.3 billion takeover.

See story

Posted at 06:13 PM    

Sun - November 21, 2004

Business/financial analysis resume pages


Revised and moved


Posted at 02:44 PM    

Thu - November 18, 2004

Work life unimagined futures


What's the connection between Eddie Lampert, K-mart, Sears, Martha Stewart, and the CIA?

First who is Eddie Lampert ? The Kmart Sears merger resulted in Martha Stewart's stock going up about $30 million yesterday. Mr. Lampert's involvement and the merger will surely have an impact on the work lives of senior executive the way Porter Goss's involvement is impacting the CIA.

The morale of this story is that the people who hold our work futures in their hands are not that obvious and that we need to be prepared for the unimagined.

Posted at 10:44 AM    

Job Prospects Bright for College Seniors


The recovering economy and looming retirement of the baby boomers are making this a very good year to be a college senior looking for a job after graduation.


Posted at 10:23 AM    

Thu - October 28, 2004

Getting the Right Things Done


New Peter Drucker Book

Today I got a notice from Amazon.com that a new Peter Drucker book has been published.

The Daily Drucker : 366 Days of Insight and Motivation for Getting the Right Things Done

Connecting the dots ** ** ** ** Intel map?


Posted at 09:29 AM    

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