Listen to Wayne Hurlbert
Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, owner of consulting business Artistry Unleashed, and author of the revolutionary and landmark book Artistry Unleashed: A Guide to Pursuing Great Performance in Work and Life, Hilary Austen, describes the importance of living and working at and beyond the very edges of what you know. In a world where simple recipes are presented as solutions to problems, the failure rate of these cookie cutter techniques is predictably high. Hilary Austen provides a compelling alternative in putting artistry to work. Hilary suggests that a new vision is needed for problem solving and creativity. The old familiar paths simply don't get us to the desired destination any longer. Hilary Austen meets the challenge of creativity vs standardization head on and provides examples of creative thought from areas far removed from business. From these unconventional sources, we can unleash artistry and new ways of thinking, and for approaching even the most difficult problems.
Hilary Austen is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.
The show airs live on Tuesday, February 1, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.
Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, owner of consulting business Artistry Unleashed, and author of the revolutionary and landmark book Artistry Unleashed: A Guide to Pursuing Great Performance in Work and Life, Hilary Austen, describes the importance of living and working at and beyond the very edges of what you know. You will learn:
* Why standard creative thinking tools and techniques often fail
* Why the artistic world offers new and fresh insights into problem solving
* Why it's important to move to the edge of one's comfort zone and beyond
* Why societal and brain based barriers must be overcome to achieve fresh idea
Hilary Austen (photo left) is an adjunct professor and member of the dean�s advisory board of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Co-founder of Catalyst Consulting Team in Santa Cruz, California, she has worked with such clients as Monitor Group, Oracle Corporation, Stanford University�s Intelligent Systems Lab, Shell Oil, Proctor & Gamble, Lockheed Martin, and Merck Pharmaceutical. Dr. Austen also co-founded the Brain Integration Center in San Diego, which offered programs in personal development, art, communication, and learning based on brain research.
Hilary Austen�s research into personal artistry�the ability to harness originality and mastery to enhance performance and help solve today�s most demanding problems�is an interdisciplinary challenge she�s pursued all her life. 25 years of studying with advanced and developing practitioners in activities ranging from organizational strategy and watercolor painting to horsemanship and culinary mastery, has revealed a universal approach to learning artistry in any discipline. Hilary Austen received a doctorate at Stanford University with her dissertation called Artistry in Practice. In her book Artistry Unleashed: A Guide to Pursuing Great Performance in Work and Life, she shares what she discovered then, and since, about artistry.
Hilary�s business, Artistry Unleashed, offers international consulting services and workshops on achieving personal and professional artistry. She lives on a 25 acre organic farm in Sonoma County, California, where she and her husband are pursuing the art of cooking in a wood-fired oven.
My book review of Artistry Unleashed: A Guide to Pursuing Great Performance in Work and Life by Hilary Austen.
Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.
If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.
To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832
Let's talk with Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, owner of consulting business Artistry Unleashed, and author of the revolutionary and landmark book Artistry Unleashed: A Guide to Pursuing Great Performance in Work and Life, Hilary Austen, as she describes the importance of living and working at and beyond the very edges of what you know. In a world where simple recipes are presented as solutions to problems, the failure rate of these cookie cutter techniques is predictably high. Hilary Austen provides a compelling alternative in putting artistry to work. Hilary suggests that a new vision is needed for problem solving and creativity. The old familiar paths simply don't get us to the desired destination any longer. Hilary Austen meets the challenge of creativity vs standardization head on and provides examples of creative thought from areas far removed from business. From these unconventional sources, we can unleash artistry and new ways of thinking, and for approaching even the most difficult problems on Blog Business Success Radio.
Hilary Austen: Artistry Unleashed: Great Performance In Work & Life - Blog Business Success Radio
Anonymous Surfing
Anonymous Surfing surfing websites is private.
Anonymous surfing encompasses two different types of privacy:
• Protecting the privacy of the website you're viewing.
• Protecting the privacy of eavesdroppers who may be watching your network connection.
Why Anonymous Surfing?
There are many reasons why someone would want to do anonymous surfing. People surf anonymously to protect themselves against the government, employers, or curious family members.
People who use anonymous surfing to prevent Iran from running on the streets. People in corporate America use anonymous surfing to sharing the details of their personal lives with their employers to avoid. Everyone uses anonymous surfing to protect their privacy from nosy web sites and annoying advertising.
How does anonymous surfing work?
Anonymous web browsing works in proxy between the user and the website. The web browser talks to the proxy and the proxy talks on this website.
The website does not know who you are, he knows exactly who the anonymous proxy. Anonymous proxy server does not know who you are - so you had better choose an anonymous proxy that you trust.
There are four technical approaches used for anonymous surfing via a proxy:
Anonymous Surfing through the website
With these systems, you can browse the website of the anonymous proxy and enter the URL of the web pages you really want to surf.
Anonymous Surfing client applications
With these systems you can download and install a client application, the details of anonymous surfing manage for you.
But an anonymous proxy service anonymous web surfing
With these services, you configure your browser to an anonymous web proxy point. These systems are available and are designed and advertised for the use of anonymous proxy.
Anonymous surfing though an anonymous server
In these systems, you configure your browser to an anonymous web proxy point. These systems are published in constantly updated lists on many sites on the Internet. Normally I do not know any of these anonymous proxy servers. They hope that someone is not receiving the traffic.
Surfing Anonymous surfing websites is private.
Anonymous surfing in two different forms of privacy:
• The protection of privacy of the site're viewing.
• Protecting the privacy of eavesdropper who can monitor your network connection.
Why Anonymous Surfing?
Do There are many reasons why someone want to surf anonymously would. People surf anonymously to protect themselves against the government, employers and curious to protect family members.
About Proxy Sites
The proxy server connects the computer and the Internet. Internet is used to access information, as we all know, and the proxy server to verify the information. With a proxy server, the information you try to connect firstly that are transmitted, and only then reach your computer.
With the proxy, it is called the security you need when using the Internet and the speed increase if you download the files. There are anonymous proxy servers, which could help to hide your IP address. With this, anyone trying to access the computer via the Internet may not be able to do so.
The former is applicable only for high transmission rates, the second content can be a proxy, but the third you can completely anonymous. Proxies with claims to be legal, as there are people also are offering these services to the public. These servers are very similar to web servers. There are no rules in a way that the Internet should be used only in a certain way, as it is for public use.
Thus, anyone using a proxy, if they think they feel vulnerable to the use of the Internet. This is a great way to maintain the confidentiality of other users. But we must also ensure that some proxies. They can be associated with pirates.
It is not difficult to get a proxy list. It is easily accessible to search engines and anyone that may of course have ready access they need. If they do not immediately start using proxies, a little time and research will help the users know each other very easily.
Anonymous proxies can be used for a Web site, including free email sites. Proxies can help you transfer files with a higher speed, but to merge with the Internet in a faster pace. Any kind of information you need now be given to you. The main advantage of proxies is your privacy. It protects you from malicious Internet users.
Proxy sites allow you to surf the web without anyone remembers. This is especially useful for intelligence agencies and government organizations. It will help you redirect the request for information you have asked so anonymously. There are three types of proxy servers, and they are transparent, anonymous and high anonymity.
5 Easy Ways to Increase Your Business Using a Toll-Free Number
The toll-free number for customers to your business, without having to pay in touch with them to their demands. Studies have shown that consumers tend to a company with a toll free number, like those who say that only a long distance, and 90% of Americans say they use a toll free number to call. Following these five simple steps, you can discover for yourself as a toll free number can help you grow your business.
1. Expand your market. The toll free number you can call the same toll number to receive local and state to state. This gives you the opportunity to market their business nationally. Even if you do not have service in some areas have toll-free numbers, the flexibility to block calls from these areas.
2. Consult your phone number. Toll-free numbers give a sense of legitimacy and professionalism of your company. Using a toll free number, your business can appear larger and more established consumer he / she trust you will do more.
3. Start a direct response mechanism for impulse buyers. To offer your customers an avenue to immediately call your efforts working to answer for their actions, calls this significant increase in phone orders. It was found that these buyers in general merchandise tags and tickets more expensive than almost every time they call.
4. Qualified buyers. The toll free number allows the company to use time more efficiently and effectively. With a toll free number, you know someone who has already called your company is interested in is what you have to offer. They spend less time trying to find interested prospects and let them find the number for you.
5. Analyze your call detail. The toll free number you can track the calls and access to all the details as the number of calls, time, date and duration of each call. This information can not be blocked, and is an excellent tool for generating leads that can lead to more sales.
Artistry Unleashed by Hilary Austen - Book review
Artistry Unleashed
A Guide to Pursuing Great Performance in Work and Life
By: Hilary Austen
Published: October 27, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 232 pages
ISBN-10: 1442641304
ISBN-13: 978-1442641303
Publisher: University of Toronto Press (Rotman/UTP)
"Even as we develop ever more powerful analytical tools, even as our deductive capacities increase, still the smartest among us crash headlong into new and recurring problems that we haven't yet learned to solve", writes adjunct professor and member of the dean�s advisory board of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, Hilary Austen, in her revolutionary and landmark book Artistry Unleashed: A Guide to Pursuing Great Performance in Work and Life. The author describes how discovering solutions to the most pressing business and societal problems doesn't lie in using new analytical tools, but in a profoundly different approach to problem solving.
Hilary Austen challenges people to step outside of their established realms to seek guides and solutions in other fields and endeavors. The author presents the alternative concept, that the best guides to solving a problem in any given area, are often found in a seemingly unrelated field. This counter-intuitive line of thinking compels the individual to move well beyond the safety of what is known, and into the world of the unknown. This movement beyond the boundary of comfort and familiarity forces a fresh understanding of the problem at hand. With this transition from examining a problem through the familiar lens, and toward a outside view, new ideas can appear as a result of thid disruption of conventional thought.
Hilary Austen (photo left) suggests the radical approach of looking to artists as guides for solution seeking business executives. This bold reasoning is based on pushing the business person beyond the edge of the comfort zone. The concept is also logical in that the conventional problem solving tools and techniques have failed the executive. Traditional tools may even be able to solve part of the problem. They are limited in their ability to find solutions to the entire problem. This is the gray area where the need to make the transformation from conventional tools and strategies becomes clear. Instead of a proposed solution being exclusively this or that option, the moving past the edge of comfort approach provides for fusion of ideas. It also allows for surprise and fresh insights through deliberate ambiguity. The artistry method breaks down the societal and internal human barriers that prevent creative thinking, even if unconsciously. The removal of these barriers frees the individual to consider what may have been considered unthinkable in the past.
For me, the power of the book is how Hilary Austen presents both a theoretical basis for achieving excellence and solving problems without sacrificing creativity. At the same time, the author shares actionable techniques and strategies for utilizing the arts as a guide for creative thinking. The concept of moving well past a person's own self imposed barriers, and entering into the often frightening but always enlightening area of the unknown, is offered as a key to opening the mind. Free from the artificial walls created by society, or one's own brain wiring, the power of the inner artist can be brought to the surface. Combined with guides from the artistic community, the scope for dynamic new thought is enlarged exponentially.
Hilary Austen employs the example of standardized testing, and the false trail of finding the one right answer, as being stifling to creative thinking. The conventional wisdom, often seen in workplaces as low wages and enforced best practices, is failing in innovation and creative thought. Attempts to simplify major problems doesn't make them easier to solve. Indeed, this false trail makes the solution more elusive than ever. The executive, enclosed in the conventional box, is faced with limited and ineffective options. Hilary Austen recognizes that the conventional approach is a dead end, and offers the radical artistic idea as a superior and more fruitful alternative. She makes her case well, and bolsters it with real world examples of success rooted in a wide range of unexpected and often unlikely fields. The very critical elements of surprise, removal of barriers, and open thinking are the key to solving the most intractable of problems.
I highly recommend the brilliant and seminal book Artistry Unleashed: A Guide to Pursuing Great Performance in Work and Life by Hilary Austen, to anyone serious about solving problems in new and exciting ways. The author shares a very different, and highly effective process for going beyond the edges of the known world, and discovering real solutions to overcoming even the most difficult obstacles.
Read the destined to become classic book Artistry Unleashed: A Guide to Pursuing Great Performance in Work and Life by Hilary Austen, and change your mode of thinking from the mainstream to the arts dream. The book is highly original, and the concepts presented are very unorthodox. That unfamiliarity is why the ideas work so well.
Innovation Gains Momentum as a Guiding Principle
Innovation and America �s need to "win the future" were major themes of President Obama�s State of The Union address this past Thursday. President Obama suggested that America could �out-innovate� the rest of the world by increasing U.S. investment in research and development. But, what exactly does that mean? How far along are Americans in the �ideas race� already, and how much further does the United States need to go?
In response to the State of the Union address, Ideas Economy, as part of the prestigious The Economist has created a unique and quirky video that combines charts and graphs to add important context to President Obama's speech.
You can view the video at the site
PowerPoint Slide Makeover #69: Demonstrating calculations
Below I�ve posted a new Slide Makeover Video Podcast based on the ideas in "The Visual Slide Revolution". It is a good idea to use calculations to back up or prove the points you are making. This makeover shows how a slide overloaded with text explanations of the calculations can become more effective.
The slides I use in my makeovers are drawn from my consulting engagements and training workshops. If you want to submit some of your slides to be considered for a future slide makeover, e-mail them to me at Dave@ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.
You can get all my podcasts through iTunes, subscribing to my YouTube channel, or through Brainshark. If you have subscribed via iTunes or YouTube, please provide your positive feedback on the videos in the Comments and Ratings areas of the service so others know the value you get from the videos.
The 1% Solution by Tom Connellan - Book review
The 1% Solution for Work and Life
How to Make Your Next 30 Days the Best Ever
By: Tom Connellan
Published: December 16, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 138 pages
ISBN-10: 0976950626
ISBN-13: 978-0976950622
Publisher: Peak Performance Press
"When you average it out,the difference between exceptional and exceptionally exceptional is one percent", writes keynote speaker Tom Connellan in his enjoyable and inspirational book The 1% Solution for Work and Life: How to Make Your Next 30 Days the Best Ever. The author presents an engaging business parable that describes how the greatest performers in any field are only 1% better than the rest.
Tom Connellan shares the often forgotten wisdom that becoming the truly elite participant in any endeavor doesn't require a person to be many times more effective than their competition. That 1% improvement in performance doesn't require a doubling of effort, but simply becoming 1% better at many different aspects of your life and work. As an example, Tom Connellan points out that the difference in performance between winning an Olympic gold medal, and receiving no medal at all, is that 1% difference. To achieve that 1% boost in performance, that sets the top performers apart from the field, the author recommends doing things better today than they were done yesterday. Instead of spending time with getting motivated, Tom Connellan offers the timeless concept of just doing something, which generates its own motivation to do even more.
Tom Connellan (photo left) understands that the most critical aspect of achieving peak performance is to always take some form of action. Even small amounts of action, that may even appear insignificant, can leverage themselves into very large accomplishments. The well known 80/20 rule works in favor of the person who does something, instead of making the choice to do nothing. Tom Connellan recommends the principle of deliberate practice. By practicing in this manner, everyone will become much better at what they do and achieve. The key is to practice, assess the the performance, and get feedback on the level of performance. The author reminds people to only compare their performance to their own level, and to seek to always reach a new personal best. Instead of going full out, which Tom Connellan considers to be counterproductive, he suggests working in bursts punctuated with rest periods. He suggests that everyone discover their own natural rhythm to achieve even greater productivity.
For me, the power of the book is in its simplicity. Tom Connellan provides his timeless wisdom through a pleasant business fable, where the reader can identify with the characters. As the story unfolds, the principle of small constant change and improvement is made clear to the reader. The idea that tiny incremental increases in performance add up to peak performance in the field becomes an all encompassing theme of the story. The reader follows the narrative, and learns how to find that 1% solution along with the protagonist. The overall blending of ideas into a business fable is a very effective vehicle for sharing the author's premises about enhancing performance levels.
The chapters are laid out in a logical format, and the fable follows each concept through an entire chapter. Along the way, the author inserts practical and actionable techniques for leveraging small improvements in performance. At the same time, Tom Connellan describes the principle of deliberate practice in an easy to understand way. With the story line to illustrate the concept, the reader becomes aware of the value of deliberate practice, and of the techniques required to use it effectively. At the same time, Tom Connellan recognizes that all people are individuals, with their own personal goals and requirements. As a result, the readers are encouraged to establish their own personal times of activity and of rest. The end result is that crucial 1% boost in performance that makes a world of difference.
I highly recommend the delightful and idea packed book The 1% Solution for Work and Life: How to Make Your Next 30 Days the Best Ever by Tom Connellan, to anyone who is serious about boosting their personal level of performance. The fun and brisk storyline provides an excellent backdrop for the compelling and performance boosting ideas.
Read the delightful and wisdom filled book The 1% Solution for Work and Life: How to Make Your Next 30 Days the Best Ever by Tom Connellan, and put small improvements in your performance to work for you. That 1% increase in productivity can mean the difference between the gold medal in your field, and being just another also ran.
Simple Reasons Why You Need a Network Security Camera for Your Home
1. Easy to install: Most of the network cameras on the market are plug and play and/or have very simple to follow instructions for both the hardware and software end.
2. Comparatively cheaper than other security systems: Instead of paying a highly trained technician to install a complex CCTV system, and pay him on an ongoing maintenance arrangement- you can have a network camera security system that can stand on it's own against CCTV and traditional security systems.
3. Works with your existing computer network: If you already have a home network, then the network camera works with your settings, so you don't need to pay more for the proper security infrastructure.
4. Provides peace of mind: watch your home, watch your childs room, watch your vacation home, watch your pets while you are on vacation, etc
5. See remote areas: as far away as across the globe, or your own front porch from a centralized area. Can even remotely view your children at the nursery (depending on the nurseries policies though this is becoming more standard)
6. Flexibility: Prefer not to be tethered to the security control panel or hire a full time security professional to monitor things, then get security alerts which you can view from cell phone, laptop, or PDA device, and provide multiple users access to the various security assets.
7. Receive alerts via email when detects motion, either when someone visits your home, or when your children leave home to hang out.
Cons
1. May have poor image quality depending on model and configuration, and wireless cameras in general have poorer image quality on the lower to mid range.
2. For more bells and whistles, like sound recording, scheduled emails, and motion capture, it varies greatly from model and software description.
3. Generally, outdoor surveillance equipment is more costly, especially if you want the ability to remotely pan/tilt, zoom in, zoom out, and want a waterproof camera. However for a home system this is probably not as urgent as opposed to for a business situation.
4. Drains computer network resources, so if you don't have a speedy computer, then there's a chance of a slight slow down in your collective resources.
Remember that despite the cons, the benefits outweigh them as they provide great security results at a lower installation and maintenance cost than traditional Closed Circuit Television systems. . Read More........
Anti Phishing Software
If you use the internet and have an email address, there is no doubt that you have received a fraudulent email asking you to verify your account information. Many criminals will pose as your bank or credit card company, and will ask for your information in order "verify" your account. In reality, once this information is provided, you are likely to become the victim of a fraud called phishing. This is one of the most notorious forms of internet fraud, and has seen a growth in recent years with the increase in email usage.
Because it costs nothing to send out an email, it is possible to send out hundreds of thousands of emails within a short time. Criminals know that despite the fact that many people will ignore these emails, a small percentage of recipients will reply. Once this information has been received, criminals will use to it defraud customers, running up high bills or making expensive purchases. Some will even use this information for identity theft. To stop this fraud, a number of anti phishing services are available online.
These services offer software which will track fraudulent email and websites. Many people use this anti phishing software, and by joining them you will be able to fight back against phishing. Many anti phishing services will have a database in which they keep a list of fraudulent websites. They will help you avoid fraudulent emails sent by criminals who wish to take yout data to defraud you. If you have never received a fraudulent email, or have never been to a fake website, you are fortunate.
However, as use of the internet continues to increase, more people will become the victims of fraud unless they take steps to permit it. Despite the fact that there have been many media reports about phishing, and people have been warned never to give sensitive information via email, many still do. This is why it is important to use ant phishing software which will stop you from becoming a victim. Many large companies such as AOL plan to fight the problem by charging customers to send out emails.
This isn't the answer, and people shouldn't have to pay in order to be protected. Gralic Wrap is a online service which offers anti phishing software free of charge, and can be found at gralicwrap.com. They offer a phishing protection tool along with a large database of fraudulent sites which will keep you protected and informed. You have the right to use the internet without fear of being defrauded, and you shouldn't have to resort to paying for emails in order to avoid becoming the victim of fraud.
Phishing is a problem which is only expected to get worse. Criminals are discovering new tricks daily on how to defraud their victims. Though you don't have to understand how these tricks work, it is important to take the fundamental steps necessary to protect you and your family. Fraud is costly, and millions of dollars each year are lost due to internet fraud. . Read More........
What do we steal from our students?
I have just returned from 'The Inspired Impact ;Developing the whole Child' conference convened by Ross Kennedy of College Street Normal school in Palmerston North attended by 1400 educators.
It was ironic that many local schools were noticeable by their absence - their loss entirely.
I had the opportunity to have a keynote to share my views along with creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson, inquiry learning expert Kate Murdock and Helen Baxter, an example of where we all, well our students, might be going.
I was in good company .All speakers were helping teachers re imagine schools for a 'creative age'; or 'a second Renaissance'. Schools for 'Generation why'? Actually Sir Ken had had a heart attack and couldn't' make it at the last minute giving one in turn to Ross as well! However, due to the marvels of modern technology, Sir Ken was able to give his address from Los Angeles from two huge screens.A sign of the times.
I have not had time to get my head around the full implications of the speakers and workshop presenters messages except to say it is urgent we all start to re-imagine, rethink, or transform our schools to prepare our students for their future.We need new schools to develop the new minds for the new millennium.
Dr John Edwards based his presentation, the final one for the conference, on a question his wife had asked him when he returned after teaching his graduate students.
She asked him, 'What have you stolen from your students today'?
The poem is worth a read because it clearly makes the distinction between an antiquated transmission style of teaching (which is still all too common) and what is now required if we are to develop all students as 'confident life long learners', the 'seekers, users,and creators of their own knowledge', that our revised curriculum asks of us.
�What did you steal from your students today?�
(The poem is abbreviated but you will get the picture!)
�If where we go is always the decision of the curriculum or my curiosity and not theirs.
If I always decide on the topic to be studied, the problem to be worked on.
How will they ever know how to begin?
If I am the one who is always monitoring progress.
If bells and I are always in control of the pace and the flow
How will they learn to continue their own work?
If all the marking and editing is done by me
If the selection of work to be published or evaluated is made by me
If they do not have language of self assessment.
How will they find ownership, direction and delight in what they do?
If I speak of individuals but present learning as if they are all the same
If we do not take opportunity to think about our thinking.
If I never openly respect their thoughts.
If I never let them persevere with something really difficult.
If there is no time to explore.
How will they get to know themselves as thinkers?
If the never help anyone else.
If we do not teach them the skills of working cooperativelity.
How will they learn to work with others?
For if they
Have never experiences being challenged in a safe environment.
Have had all their creative thoughts explained away
Are unaware of what catches their interest and how then to have confidence in that interest
Have never followed something they are passionate about to a satisfying conclusion.
Have not clarified how they sabotage their own learning.
Are afraid to ask help and do not know who to ask.
Have not experienced at overcoming their own inertia.
Are paralyzed by the need to know everything before writing or acting.
Have never got bogged down.
Have never failed.
Have always played it safe.
How will the ever know who they are?�
So what are you stealing from your students?
I guess the real question is, what do we want our students to leave with so they can continue their learning journey? We need to discuss this with out colleagues.
I think the answers lie in the above thoughts.
The implication for teachers is that Schools and curricula need to be redesigned so that teachers and their students can genuinely rediscover the joy of learning.
Perhaps this is what the new �buzz word� personalization really means?
What do we steal from our students?
I have just returned from 'The Inspired Impact ;Developing the whole Child' conference convened by Ross Kennedy of College Street Normal school in Palmerston North attended by 1400 educators.
It was ironic that many local schools were noticeable by their absence - their loss entirely.
I had the opportunity to have a keynote to share my views along with creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson, inquiry learning expert Kate Murdock and Helen Baxter, an example of where we all, well our students, might be going.
I was in good company .All speakers were helping teachers re imagine schools for a 'creative age'; or 'a second Renaissance'. Schools for 'Generation why'? Actually Sir Ken had had a heart attack and couldn't' make it at the last minute giving one in turn to Ross as well! However, due to the marvels of modern technology, Sir Ken was able to give his address from Los Angeles from two huge screens.A sign of the times.
I have not had time to get my head around the full implications of the speakers and workshop presenters messages except to say it is urgent we all start to re-imagine, rethink, or transform our schools to prepare our students for their future.We need new schools to develop the new minds for the new millennium.
Dr John Edwards based his presentation, the final one for the conference, on a question his wife had asked him when he returned after teaching his graduate students.
She asked him, 'What have you stolen from your students today'?
The poem is worth a read because it clearly makes the distinction between an antiquated transmission style of teaching (which is still all too common) and what is now required if we are to develop all students as 'confident life long learners', the 'seekers, users,and creators of their own knowledge', that our revised curriculum asks of us.
�What did you steal from your students today?�
(The poem is abbreviated but you will get the picture!)
�If where we go is always the decision of the curriculum or my curiosity and not theirs.
If I always decide on the topic to be studied, the problem to be worked on.
How will they ever know how to begin?
If I am the one who is always monitoring progress.
If bells and I are always in control of the pace and the flow
How will they learn to continue their own work?
If all the marking and editing is done by me
If the selection of work to be published or evaluated is made by me
If they do not have language of self assessment.
How will they find ownership, direction and delight in what they do?
If I speak of individuals but present learning as if they are all the same
If we do not take opportunity to think about our thinking.
If I never openly respect their thoughts.
If I never let them persevere with something really difficult.
If there is no time to explore.
How will they get to know themselves as thinkers?
If the never help anyone else.
If we do not teach them the skills of working cooperativelity.
How will they learn to work with others?
For if they
Have never experiences being challenged in a safe environment.
Have had all their creative thoughts explained away
Are unaware of what catches their interest and how then to have confidence in that interest
Have never followed something they are passionate about to a satisfying conclusion.
Have not clarified how they sabotage their own learning.
Are afraid to ask help and do not know who to ask.
Have not experienced at overcoming their own inertia.
Are paralyzed by the need to know everything before writing or acting.
Have never got bogged down.
Have never failed.
Have always played it safe.
How will the ever know who they are?�
So what are you stealing from your students?
I guess the real question is, what do we want our students to leave with so they can continue their learning journey? We need to discuss this with out colleagues.
I think the answers lie in the above thoughts.
The implication for teachers is that Schools and curricula need to be redesigned so that teachers and their students can genuinely rediscover the joy of learning.
Perhaps this is what the new �buzz word� personalization really means?
Marketing by the Numbers by Leland Harden & Bob Heyman - Book review
Marketing by the Numbers
How to Measure and Improve the ROI of Any Campaign
By: Leland Harden, Bob Heyman
Published: January 25, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
ISBN: 9780814416204
Publisher: AMACOM
"Computers have made practically everything measurable. Yet, their ubiquity is quite likely to make a marketing manager quite miserable", write Vice President of Global Marketing for Usee, Inc., Leland Harden, and Senior Partner at Digital Automat, Bob Heyman, in their practical and results oriented book Marketing by the Numbers: How to Measure and Improve the ROI of Any Campaign. The authors describe advanced techniques and tools to measure the return on investment of any online and multiple media marketing campaign.
Leland Harden (photo left) and Bob Heyman understand that using the right analytical metrics to forecast the success of any marketing campaign presents a real challenge for any marketing manager. Faced with having to justify a marketing budget, for both online and offline expenditures, the need for the right measuring tools and methods has never been more critical. Gone are the days when spending on internet marketing could be accepted without the numbers to back up the spending. Simple and crude measurements like clicks and page hits are no longer sufficient in a more cost conscious world. While the internet may be driving traditional media, the need for useful and reliable metrics has become paramount for online business success. The authors point to the best practices and measurement tools that are essential for establishing budgets within the organization, and for remaining competitive in an increasingly difficult and crowded marketplace. 
Bob Heyman (photo left) and Leland Harden recognize that in finance, ROI is utilized as a predictive tool. While traditional ROI for traditional media has long held a predictive role, the return on investment for internet expenditures has received attention only recently. Web advertising, as well as the company website, are very often seen as lead generation vehicles. As a result, they must produce quantifiable results. The authors provide the tools to measure the effectiveness of a website at achieving its goals. Even more important, the book contains the best metrics for drilling deeply into the numbers. Measuring the audience in an online world is as crucial as in traditional media. The authors share the methods and tools for calculating the net benefit of internet based marketing, ranging from the main company website to the use of social media. Overall, the authors provide a complete system for uncovering the right metrics, and for applying those results most effectively.
For me, the power of the book is how Leland Harden and Bob Heyman demonstrate not only the means of measuring marketing ROI, but how to utilize the numbers in the most profitable way. The authors combine the theory of return on marketing investment with the practical tools and methodology needed to calculate its effectiveness. The holistic approach taken in the book transforms the topic, from one of being simply a theoretical discussion of ROI, to a useful manual for any marketing manager. the practical side of the book is bolstered by the theory to help guide the marketing manager as to why the numbers are vital to success. The authors provide a framework for not only integrating online and offline marketing efforts, but also for aligning them with the overall company goals and business plan.
The authors recognize that today's marketing managers are very often inundated with a deluge of numbers, ranging from the valuable to the superfluous. This book helps the marketer to sort the useful data into meaningful forecasts of business potential and profitability. Along with the techniques for discovering the best and most useful metrics, the authors share their ideas for transforming the measurements into actionable recommendations for current and future marketing expenditures. The ability to integrate both online and offline marketing programs, and to measure their effectiveness is a key takeaway from the book. At the same time, the ability to communicate the data to C-level executives becomes both easier and more likely to be positive, with the data information gleaned through the book's recommendations. Overall, this is a very valuable guide for any marketing manager.
I highly recommend the very useful and essential book Marketing by the Numbers: How to Measure and Improve the ROI of Any Campaign by Leland Harden and Bob Heyman, to any marketing managers who are serious about determining the return on investment from their marketing and advertising expenditures. The techniques, checklists, and case study illustrations make this a book a must have road map for assessing ROI in marketing.
Read the very accessible and problem solving book Marketing by the Numbers: How to Measure and Improve the ROI of Any Campaign by Bob Heyman and Leland Harden, and remove the mystery from your calculations of your marketing return on investment. Instead of guesswork, and sorting through stacks of irrelevant information, this book will steer your efforts toward the right metrics that predict your real marketing ROI.
Microsoft FY11Q2 Results
A quick check from the last Quarterly Results leading up to today's Microsoft Quarterly Results:
- What's great: Kinect. We sold millions of Kinects and it's full of cool! And we have a 93% customer satisfaction rate with Windows Phone 7. Looking around, I think that's also assuming that 93% of Windows Phone 7 handsets sold are the Samsung Focus.
- What's good: our reputation is working through the bothersome-hated-defeated-spurned-ignored-renewed-respected cycle compared to Google.
- What's okay: Windows Phone 7: we sold some to non-employees and two-million licenses are in the channel. I have no idea what that means with-respect-to actually sold hardware. But it's no KIN, so... success! Yeah.
- What's really, really bad: the iPad is gnawing away our laptop market. And a new version is coming out soon.
Hungry Hungry Cannibals: reading Ms. Friar's last beat-the-hell out of Microsoft Goldman-Sachs report just about made me permanently hungry for human flesh given the repeated fixation on cannibalization. I swear, I'd look up from my print-out occasionally and longingly eye my more fit co-workers.
It's the iPad baby, and - booga booga - it's going to destroy Microsoft. Well, at least destroy Windows.
First all: sure, Microsoft leadership deserves all the head-bashing it gets for both mobile and small form-factor markets. We had the jump on these markets with inelegant, uninspired devices that never had a chance of taking off with consumers and no one was bold enough to reboot the product line without successful leadership from Apple showing us the way.
Next: our iPad-compete strategy is unspoken. For good reason. Just about any application developer at Microsoft can tell you that it's a secret wrapped in red. Most Microsoft-observers have put the pieces together and figured out our strategy could be and realize who could be on point to deliver something exceptionally cool to compete with Apple. This will certainly could be our bet-the-company chance to validate the tortoise-vs-the-hare fable.
How have our past tortoises fared? I can think of three recent late to market responses: Zune HD (iPod - remember those?), Kinect (Wii), and Windows Phone 7 (iPhone / Android). All great devices. In order for our possible iPad compete story to be a success, it has to pull a Kinect and be beyond the competition vs. a me-too or, well, me-kinda-sorta.
CEO Changes: Mr. Ballmer's respect meter in the ephemeral tech-business... news (?) world is still low. Kinect has helped, but questions linger regarding what he's doing with his leadership team given Muglia's upcoming departure. I had always remarked to folks that Bob's a survivor. His time just finally ran out. It will be intriguing to see what leadership steps in or up and what happens to Bob's current team. And who might be next. Bets? Unless HR is about to unleash something huge that's been in the making my first bet is on LisaB. Also, Craig, I'd love to know what successes you've brought to the company as of late.
In the midst of Google and Apple going through leadership changes, you've got to ask: who is on the bench to replace Mr. Ballmer? What is the Board's plan? I have to reject Ms. Foley's point of view that there is no-one that can replace Ballmer. That's a too big to fail leadership jail sentence. Perhaps the decision is that his departure immediately results in a broken up Microsoft and the presidents he is putting in place now would be quite capable of running those sister corporations. Given the convergence and consolidation that is happening internally on a number of fronts for future development, such sister corporations would be much more dependent on each other, so it's not as whacky - or dog-eat-dog cannibalistic - as it might have seemed in the past. Given that the consent decree is considered over, Microsoft self-breaking itself up will certainly help prevent penalties when the inevitable violation occurs.
From another angle: if the Sinofskyfication of the company continues (IEB now with its massive re-org complete, post-Muglia Server & Tools next?) then Mr. Sinofsky ascending over a whole Microsoft will be a moot decision.
Interesting coverage after the results:
- Amazon adds thousands more workers; Microsoft still cautious - Mr. Todd Bishop looks at the hiring trend of Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. Want to find a new job? Knock on Amazon or Google's door. Microsoft is pretty much a flat-line.
- Microsoft tops estimates; Kinect fuels Xbox; Windows 7 hits 300M - Mr. Todd Bishop again.
- Microsoft Sees Business Tech Spending Continuing to Rebound, Benefiting Office and Windows Ina Fried Mobilized AllThingsD - Ms. Ina Fried
- Microsoft�s Results Easily Beat Expectations paidContent - Mr. Joseph Tartakoff
- Microsoft Q2 2011 by the numbers Record $19.95B revenue, 77 cents EPS Betanews - Mr. Joe Wilcox.
- Microsoft Beats The Street, But Not By Enough To Send Stock Soaring - Mr. Matt Rosoff
- Why Microsoft Desperately Needs To Become More Acquisitive - Mr. Robin Wauters. Dude. More acquisitions? Really. aQuantive still blows my six billion dollar mind. Can someone help me remember some of the recent good acquisitions that Microsoft has made. Is it better to make none or risk some of these money vaporization deals we've done (stupid billion dollar bat).
In general, no surprise to people that Windows/Live was down and that Entertainment was up on the Kinect. Online (aka Bing aka Partner-Level-Palooza) lost over half-a-billion dollars. And gained a bit of market share.
Pulling out my crystal ball that's covered with dust along with all the other Mini implements used to write this blog (oooo, an unopened bottle of Col Solare! Score!): Microsoft product groups should feel good about WP7 and the influence Metro is having around the company. Like I said, there's a big convergence ahead of us, and it will be good to start aligning a simpler development story, both for Microsoft and its partners. The biggest obvious concern is the development path for the mobile platform compared to the development path for Windows, but even there you can squint and see on the horizon the possibility for that to be successful, too.
IE9 is great technology that yes, has a way to go to score some high compliance number across a bunch of random folk's assessment sites. Still: wow. WP7 is a modern joy to use and is slowly building an app catalog. Kinect. And a whole bunch of developers hunched over and hammering bits to create the next big "Wow." Yeah, "Wow" might be inscribed on the back of a tortoise, but sometimes... the tortoise wins in the end.
The only thing that concerns me right now is (and you're going to love this): hiring. We've got great successes that excite people about working at Microsoft, but really, how many more people are we hiring to work on Kinect? My friends and I have never been so courted by other companies. Not since 2000. And I've got to say, the culture that Ballmer and LisaB have created is really weary. It's enlightened for the mid-1980s. But if crazy stock price jumps are no longer enthusing your employees, you've got to reboot the culture.
Mini-Microsoft Microsoft MSFT -- Comments
. Read More........
Stefan Swanepoel: Surviving Your Serengeti - Blog Business Success Radio
Listen to Wayne Hurlbert
Successful business person, widely traveled public speaker, visionary real estate trend watcher, and author of the fascinating and perceptive business parable Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life, Stefan Swanepoel, describes the unique and effective survival strategies used by the animals on Africa's harsh Serengeti. The one thousand mile wildebeest migration provides a powerful metaphor for survival in the corporate world. Each of the species utilizes a highly specialized, and very effective survival strategy. Stefan identifies seven unique techniques, and the wildlife species that use them well, Failure on the Serengeti means starvation or death. The skills learned from the animals can be transferred directly, based on human business personalities, into the twenty-first century business environment. Learn how to master these widely diverse strategies in your own life.
Stefan Swanepoel is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.
The show airs live on Thursday, January 27, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.
Successful business person, widely traveled public speaker, visionary real estate trend watcher, and author of the fascinating and perceptive business parable Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life, Stefan Swanepoel, describes the unique and effective survival strategies used by the animals on Africa's harsh Serengeti. You will learn:
* The seven survival strategies used by animals on the Serengeti
* Why these survival skills are important for business people to understand
* How to discover your own parallel skill to a Serengeti animal
* How to overcome obstacles in business and your personal life
Stefan Swanepoel's (photo left) life has been a �Serengeti journey��from his birth in Kenya to schooling in Hong Kong and South Africa eventually, running a New York-based global franchise network with 25,000 sales associates in 30 countries. In all he has served as president of seven companies and two non-profit organizations.
Now for the first time he has combined his love of wildlife and nature, his ability to captivate audiences, and his comprehensive life experience into a captivating message in a major trade book. In Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life, he vividly portrays how this larger-than-life metaphor can provide guidance and inspiration for individuals and companies in today�s fast, busy and complex world.
Stefan has authored 19 books and reports on business trends, real estate and social media. He lives with his wife and two sons in California.
My book review of Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life by Stefan Swanepoel.
Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.
If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.
To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832
Let's talk with successful business person, widely traveled public speaker, visionary real estate trend watcher, and author of the fascinating and perceptive business parable Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life, Stefan Swanepoel, as he describes the unique and effective survival strategies used by the animals on Africa's harsh Serengeti. The one thousand mile wildebeest migration provides a powerful metaphor for survival in the corporate world. Each of the species utilizes a highly specialized, and very effective survival strategy. Stefan identifies seven unique techniques, and the wildlife species that use them well, Failure on the Serengeti means starvation or death. The skills learned from the animals can be transferred directly, based on human business personalities, into the twenty-first century business environment. Learn how to master these widely diverse strategies in your own life on Blog Business Success Radio.
Surviving Your Serengeti by Stefan Swanepoel - Book review
Surviving Your Serengeti
7 Skills to Master Business and Life
By: Stefan Swanepoel
Published: March 1, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 192 pages
ISBN-10: 0470947802
ISBN-13: 978-0470947807
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
"The obstacles that those who live and die on the Serengeti face are, in many ways, no different than the challenges we face at the office or at home every day", writes successful business person, widely traveled public speaker, and visionary real estate trend watcher Stefan Swanepoel, in his fascinating and perceptive business parable Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life. The author shares the personal journey toward self discovery of corporate executive Sean Spencer, as he embarks upon a three day safari in Africa's Serengeti plain.
Stefan Swanepoel describes how Sean Spencer, cut off from the usual trappings and intense communications that characterize twenty-first century business, begins to examine the world in entirely new ways. Far from the day to day worries of the office, and the concerns of his life back home, Sean becomes engrossed in the lives of the amazing animals who call the Serengeti their home. The author shows us how Sean begins to recognize the different traits and strategies employed by each animal, as they live their lives in a constant struggle to survive. Told with all of the harshness and the life and death challenges of the thousand mile wildebeest migration intact, the author presents the animals in their daily lives of predator and prey. The insights gleaned by Sean Spencer, in his African sojourn, provide him with a more clear understanding of the skills necessary for finding business success, and for achieving a richer personal life.
Stefan Swanepoel (photo left) has lived among the animals of Africa, and has returned to the vast and harsh Serengeti, and recognizes the strategies utilized by each species to survive in that unforgiving land. The author shares these concepts through the experiences of the corporate executive, as he becomes more aware of the world around him, and that within himself. The insights gleaned by Sean Spencer, in his African sojourn, provide him with a more clear understanding of the skills necessary for finding business success, and for achieving a richer personal life. The various animal survival strategies include:
* The strategic Lion
* The enterprising Crocodile
* The efficient Cheetah
* The enduring Wildebeest
* The risk taking Mongoose
* The communicating Elephant
* The graceful Giraffe
These survival traits are proven and effective in one of the harshest of environments on Earth. The author provides them as models for achieving more success and fulfillment in business and in life.
For me, the power of the book is how Stefan Swanepoel puts his wide knowledge of the animals of the Serengeti to good use as models of various survival strategies. Each species of animal has different characteristics, they also utilize different means of overcoming the life and death challenges of their inhospitable land. Each strategy is different, but is highly effective for survival. Their different techniques of hunting or of avoiding becoming prey form a powerful metaphor for life in the modern world. Just as their is a wide variety of animals in Africa, so too is there a range of personalities in the world of business. Each individual must discover the strategy that works best for survival and success in the corporate Serengeti. The same tactics that work for the strategic lion are not well suited to the graceful giraffe. Different people require their own personal strategies as well.
Stefan Swanepoel's concept of describing the Serengeti survival strategies in the form of a business parable gives the book an immediacy and an instant connection with the reader. The animals of Africa, and their lives in very difficult conditions, might not be the most obvious parallel to the twenty-first century business environment. As a result, the business fable approach transforms the animals into potent and effective metaphors for business strategies. The eye opening experiences of protagonist Sean Spencer, and his journey of self discovery, reflects the need of everyone to uncover their own personal journey. With the various wildlife strategies in place, the reader is able to discern their own personal tactics for their own wildebeest migratory trek.
I highly recommend the unique and inspirational book Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life by Stefan Swanepoel, to anyone seeking a profound and enjoyable guide to overcoming both business and personal obstacles. While the corporate world may not contain literal lions, cheetahs, elephants, or crocodiles, their human counterparts are very much a part of that business landscape.
Read the enjoyable and intriguing book Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life by Stefan Swanepoel, and discover your own inner animal traits and strategies. While you might not ever live out the survival drama of the |Serengeti, the concepts in this book will hone your survival skills for the challenges of the corporate jungle or the voyage of your personal. This book is a certain to be a classic, and read for a very long time.
Reactions to comments from Val's post #1
received this comment to Val's post
"Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 09:33.
The problem with pentesters phishing ...
The problem with pentesters phishing ... is that it does more harm then good for the organization. Without the education piece following a phish, you setup the organization to ban the practice."
Phishing and client-side attacks have been going on for far too long to not allow your testers to use them during test.**So on one hand you are correct, every phishing exercise done either by an internal team, pentester, or attacker should be followed by an education piece by your internal security/IT team. Every phishing attack is an opportunity to retrain users.
On the other other hand, its how people get in. To broadly call it useless because 1. you are too lazy to educate your users after the fact or 2. didn't think ahead enough to require the PT shop to leave you with education materials or follow up the phish with an education piece doesn't mean it lacks value.
Like I mentioned in the previous post, you need to know how you are going to stand up in realistic scenarios. Does one client-side 0day leave your whole network open to all sorts of badness? you need to know.
**This is assuming that the company's maturity level supports doing a phishing exercise. If your internal security just plain sucks, then you could probably win the argument that no phishing should be conducted but I would counter with why are you getting a Pentest in the first place if things are that bad. Use those consulting dollars to have the consultant help you with your risk plan, internal vulnerability scanning/patching program, workstation/server hardening or teaching you how to scan your internal assets yourself. To steal a Nickerson analogy..."how do you know you can put up a fight if you cant take punch" BUT that doesnt mean you start out getting your ass kicked by starting training with [INSERT MMA BADASS HERE] instead of working your way up. . Read More........
127 New Dimensions And Metrics Available In The API
Some of the powerful new data points are:
- Unique visitors - ga:visitors metric has been updated to support the true number of unique visitors for any date range (instead of the daily unique visitors). It also supports significantly more valid combinations.
- Organic Searches - The number of organic searches within a session.
- 10 new Adwords dimensions - Including Matched Query (what people searched for, not the bid term) and Placement Domain (which site you content ads were running on).
- Search Result Views - The number of times a search result page was viewed.
- 3 Time dimensions - To simplify plotting graphs.
You can see a complete list of the new dimensions and metrics in our public changelog.
With all these dimensions and metrics, it can be time consuming to find the values you are looking for. To simplify this, we�re also launching a new interactive dimension and metric search tool. You can use this interactive tool to search for a dimension or metric using its search-as you-type feature. Even more exciting is the ability to easily determine valid dimension-metric combinations just by selecting the dimensions/metrics that you want to request. Here's a screenshot:
Training Like You Fight
One of my favorite talks from this year's BlackHat DC was Ryan Kazanciyan's & Sean Coyne's "The Getaway" talk on data exfiltration.
whitepaper:
https://media.blackhat.com/bh-dc-11/Coyne/BlackHat_DC_2011_Coyne_Gateway-wp.pdf
slides:
https://media.blackhat.com/bh-dc-11/Coyne/BlackHat_DC_2011_Coyne_Gateway-Slides.pdf
Everyone should check out the slides and the whitepaper although the slides are better with the case studies and the diagrams. When you check out the slides I encourage you to think about your last pentest and:
1. could your pentest shop emulate an attacker of the level in the case studies.
2. did you or they try to scope the test in order to test things like this...aka do a Full Scope test.
3. if you aren't letting your pentesters go after your network like this how do you think YOUR network will hold up against someone that knows what they are doing?
If you ARE a pentester when was the last time you got the time and scope to do something on the order of these attacks and post exploitation activities from the case studies?
We are getting great at catching our penetration testers (video) but still horrible at catching bad guys. Rather than draining your corporate bank account to have some shop come in and help you clean up your mess and you've discovered someone stealing everything you own... 1. pick a Full Scope shop that can emulate advanced attackers and not just script kiddies with a checkbook and 2. train like you fight, open the scope for your test, give your testers time to conduct a REAL test, and let your pentesters go after it like a real bad guy would.
Instead of making your testers "test' that same 500 hosts out of 10,000 hosts with no client-sides or user interaction allowed...ask, make, force, them to conduct an end-to-end test of the expensive black boxes you have sitting in the rack, your user education, your network segmentation, and your NOC/SOC's ability to test and respond to attacks. Better to find out you suck during your test instead of when someone is stealing everything that makes you money.
Train like you fight.
Rebooting the American Dream by Thom Hartmann - Book review
Rebooting the American Dream
11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country
By: Thom Hartmann
Published: October 11, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 200 pages
ISBN-10: 1605097063
ISBN-13: 978-1605097060
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
"When Washington became President in 1789, most of America's personal and industrial products of any significance were manufactured in England or its colonies. Washington asked his Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, what could be done about that, and Hamilton came up with an 11-point plan to foster American manufacturing, which he presented to Congress in 1791. By 1793, most of his points had either been made into law by Congress or formulated into policy by either President Washington or the various states, which put the country on a path of developing its industrial base and generating the largest source of federal revenue for more than a hundred years", writes serial entrepreneur, and America's leading progressive talk radio host, Thom Hartmann, in his visionary and provocative book Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country. Drawing on the ideas and achievements of Alexander Hamilton, the author describes his own eleven proven ways to rebuild the American economy, and to rebuild and strengthen the nation's middle class.
Thom Hartmann points out that American has entered a decline phase since 1980, and its once vaunted manufacturing sector has been decimated. Along with the loss of manufacturing, the American middle class has begun to shrink in size. With that decline in the middle class, the author writes that the United States is now a much less egalitarian society. He also notes that with the real decline in middle class wages, America has a weakened economy and the lowest level of social mobility in the industrialized world. With these sobering concepts in mind, Thom Hartmann offers what he considers to be reasonable and proven economic and political policies to revive the American economy. With that economic renewal, the middle class will increase in numbers and return to its position of the backbone of the American economy. Thom Hartmann's vision is one of a strong American economy, based on manufacturing and small business, that benefits all members of society. 
Thom Hartmann (photo left) takes a careful examination of the economic history of the United States. Following the lead of Alexander Hamilton, the author proposes rebuilding the nation's industrial and manufacturing base through the introduction of tariffs. While controversial, and even anathema to free traders, the author describes their effectiveness in China and other countries where they have been adopted as policy. In effect, writes the author, China has adopted Alexander Hamilton's economic program. The eleven points recommended by Thom Hartmann run counter to the now conventional wisdom that took root in the Ronald Reagan Administration. The author describes those policies as not only destructive to the middle class and the economy, but are leading directly to the decline of the United States overall. The policies presented in the book, ranging from higher tax rates, to rebuilding small communities, to less reliance on imported oil, to enhancing affordable public education, to extending Medicare to everyone, to forcing members of Congress to display their funding sources, to ending illegal immigration, and ending the concept of corporate personhood. The end result of the adoption of the program, writes Thom Hartmann, is a stronger economy and less stratified society.
For me, the power of the book is how Thom Hartmann makes a bold and impassioned case for rebuilding the American economy. The eleven point program recommended by Thom Hartmann is a non-partisan plan. The ideas presented in the book have all been suggested by both Democrats and Republicans at one time or another. Where the author diverges from mainstream political platforms is his holistic approach to revitalizing the American economy. By creating an overall economic blueprint, in the same manner as Alexander Hamilton, Thom Hartmann goes beyond the typical political rhetoric, and the often much more specialized approach taken by mainstream economists. While the overall message of the book is progressive in nature, the policy proposals are backed by the real world experience of American history.
Thom Hartmann writes that his economic points have worked well in the past, and he believes firmly that they will work again. To achieve consensus acceptance and application of the eleven points, however, the author points out that Americans must get past the failed policies of the last three decades. Thom Hartmann considers Reaganomics and supply side theory to be a dismal failure. He points to the obvious dismantling of the American manufacturing base, as well as the shrinking of the middle class, as evidence. He goes much farther than most prescriptions, and proposes far reaching legislative, legal, and fiscal policy change. The author even suggests the co-operative business model, along with a revival of small independent business, as additional boosts to the overall economy. Whether a person agrees with Thom Hartmann's policy proposals or not, this book is without a doubt worth reading. It is one of those rare books that can even change a person's mind on various economic and legislative policy positions.
I highly recommend the important and very iconoclastic book Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country by Thom Hartmann, to anyone serious about rebuilding the American economy and strengthening and returning the middle class to its position of prominence in the United States. Regardless of a person's political or economic beliefs, this book is a must read, and will be an eye opening experience for the vast majority of Americans.
Read the impassioned and certain to be controversial book Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country by Thom Hartmann, and reconsider the proven policies and economy building concepts first proposed by Alexander Hamilton over two hundred years ago. These ideas built the United States into the most powerful country the world has ever known. Those same policies, writes Thom Hartmann, can provide the same spectacular economic growth again, if given the opportunity. This book is a call to action for all Americans.
