I particularly like the description of him as “an irascible but modest scientist” who “had a sailor’s vocabulary, and his brand of peer review often included shipboard expletives”.
According to Wikipedia, “He used profanity and tirades freely to drive his arguments home, and once, famously, refused to attend a mandatory “charm school” course intended to make Merck middle managers more civil.” Love it!
How much more might people achieve with a bit more of that kind of candour in organisations? Unfortunately today, that kind of “how” would soon be knocked out of you and used as reason to ignore your “what”, no matter how extensive, pioneering or innovative!
Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance by L. V. Gerstner (on Kindle)
A great insight into the challenges of saving and transforming an organisation that has become “fat and comfortable” (Hmmm, a bit too close to home?)
Got to this book from this piece:
Some of the pithy quote I will remember from this:
“people don’t do what you expect but what you inspect,”.
So true!
This is the key to “execution”, one of the three
“…fundamentals that characterize successful enterprises and successful executives. They are focused. They are superb at execution. They abound with personal leadership.”
These
“… apply to enterprises of all sizes and types: large and small companies, publicly traded and non-profit…”"
Excellent! No hesitation in recommending this:
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.
Apart from the “warts ‘n’ all”, candid and interesting character study of the protagonist, it’s a great history of the technology sector from the 1980s to today.
Was his “reality distortion field” just another take on manipulation or sheer delusionary self-belief? Was his “focus” strategic or just typical male obsessive behaviour?
Constantly occurred to me that the kind of behaviours he exhibited would just not be tolerated in most organisations, at least not at the “minnow” level. Who’s the better for that?
Fantastic talk from one of the most thought-provoking speakers on the TED circuit, Rory Sutherland.
A beautifully constructed argument for the importance of changing the context in which we see and sell just about everything! An agenda for the parity, at least (if not superior), value added by marketing and how it can actually make us happier, not more dissatisfied.
“The circumstances of our lives actually matter less to our happiness than the sense of control we feel over our lives.” (Rory Sutherland)
http://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_perspective_is_everything.html
A very unexpected surprise to return home this evening and find that my new passport had arrived after only 4 working days (Yes, Four!). Submitted on the afternoon of November 30th at the post office in Rathfarnham it had been processed, posted and arrived by today. (If you consider that it must have been posted yesterday — that’s actually a 3-working-day turnaround!)
Even more unbelievable considering that the staff at the Post Office told me that the guidance given by Oifig na bPasanna during the summer was to allow 15 working days (not the expected 10!) and that it had not been revised downwards after the summer rush.
So a genuine “Well Done” to the Passport Office and the An Post Passport Express Service — a public service EXCEEDING expectations in these times is a rare thing indeed!
Today is the end of an era in the pharma industry—the US patent expires on Pfizer’s Lipitor (atorvastatin), the best-selling drug of all time. This drug arguably simultaneously changed both the course of the pharma industry, through the manner of its acquisition by Pfizer, and of human health, through its incontroversially positive impact on cardiovascular outcomes.
As generic versions go on sale, this will mark LOE (or “loss of exclusivity protection”) of a brand that has dominated the drug industry, lowered the cholesterol of tens of millions of patients, and generated more in annual sales than the entire box office of US movies.
Time then to reflect a little on it and the lessons that it proffers. Two though-provoking pieces…
Why There Will Never Be Another Drug Like Lipitor
Say Farewell to Lipitor but Don’t Forget Its Lessons
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/11/say_farewell_to_lipitor_but_do.html
A primer for how to best structure searches using advanced operators to more quickly and accurately drill down to the information you want.
Created by: HackCollege
This is by no means an exhaustive list of search operators and advanced techniques, but it’s a good start that will help set you on the path to becoming a Google master.
Sadly, though web searches have become and integral part of the academic research landscape, the art of the Google search is an increasingly lost one. A recent study at Illinois Wesleyan University found that fewer than 25% of students could perform a “reasonably well-executed search.” Wrote researchers, “The majority of students — of all levels — exhibited significant difficulties that ranged across nearly every aspect of the search process.”
That search process also included determining when to rely on Google and when to utilize scholarly databases, but on a fundamental level, it appears that many people just don’t understand how to best find the information they seek using Google.
First seen on http://mashable.com/2011/11/24/google-search-infographic/?WT.mc_id=en_social-media&utm_campaign=Social%2BMedia
Absolutely loved this on BBC4 this evening! Word Up! Black American Pop at the BBC. A selection of some of the best performances by African-American artists of the 1980s. (Click the pic to go to it.) The fashions weren’t up to much, but the music is holding its own!
Including some Janet at the end – what a pleasure to see HER this year! Have a look…
