Overwhelmed, overwired – and over-sold

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Bob

‘If feeling exhausted, stressed and overwhelmed has become the norm, you are probably overwired. Being overwired means being overwhelmed, often with serious consequences to your health and well-being’.

So says the marketing material for an e-book called ‘8 Ways to Rewire Your Life and Revamp Your Productivity’. The e-book sets out eight ways you can rewire yourself to work smarter, live better and be more productive. It includes ways to boost your productivity; explaining why overwhelmed employees are an expensive drain on their employers, and how the ‘right technology’ can help relieve stress.

Comment: The only problem is that, if you’re ‘overwired’ and overwhelmed by the stresses of life, having to go through the process of buying – and then devote the time to read – an e-book is only going to make things worse.

At least, it will in the short term – and, as the economist, Maynard Keynes, famously once said, ‘In the long term, we’re all dead.’ So becoming ‘underwired’ (is that a bit like a bra, I wonder) rather than overwired can only be a short term – if undeniably unpleasant – phenomenon anyway. Perhaps it’s simpler to ‘grin and bear it’ or even ‘keep calm and carry on’.

Dead wealthy

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Bob

It seems that even being dead can’t stop you from making a living. According to http://www.askten.co.uk/resources/10s/top-10-earning-dead-celebrities#.UKDRSWfnPLc Forbes looked at the earnings of deceased celebrities’ estates for the 12 months ending in October 2012. The ten biggest winners are:

1. Elizabeth Taylor (died 2011): $210m. A sale of the film star’s jewellery and artwork raised $184m last year.

Top dead wealthy.

2. Michael Jackson (d. 2009): $145m. The singer earned more last year than any living musician. Money comes from his estate’s ownership of the rights to his own songs and those of many other artists.

3. Elvis Presley (d. 1977): $55m. Visits to the King’s Graceland estate were up last year due to unseasonably warm weather.

4. Charles Schulz (d. 2000): $37m. The Charlie Brown cartoonist’s estate makes money from licensing deals for his Peanuts characters.

5. Bob Marley (d. 1981): $17m. Album sales and product branding (including a line of beverages) have helped fill the reggae singer’s coffers.

6. John Lennon (d. 1980): $12m. The ex-Beatle’s estate shares in the profits from the group’s on-going music sales, and also profits from licensing deals.

7. Marilyn Monroe (d. 1962): $10m. The actress’s estate will see its earnings boosted by the licensing of her name to products including spas and cafés.

8. Albert Einstein (d. 1955): $10m. As with Marilyn Monroe, the scientist’s earnings come largely from the licensing of his image for branding purposes.

9. Theodor Geisel (d. 1991): $9m. The Dr Seuss author’s estate makes money from book sales and film rights.

10. Steve McQueen (d.1980): $8m. Image rights – from brands keen to acquire McQueen’s mystique – account for the majority of the actor’s earnings.

Comment: You can’t take it with you – but that’s obviously no barrier to you continuing to make it. Maybe, as Shakespeare said – via Mark Anthony in ‘Julius Caesar’: ‘The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones…’

Ten strategies for success

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Bob

Liggy Webb.

Following researching her new book, ‘Resilience’ (published by Capstone Wiley next February), modern life skills specialist Liggy Webb (www.liggywebb.com) has come up with ten strategies to help people to be able to cope better with the demands and challenges of everyday life (http://www.liggywebb.com/files/id/162/view/resilience-toolkit.pdf):

Take a journey of self-discovery: Self-awareness and self-confidence play a key role in helping you to cope with stress and recover from difficult events. Remind yourself of your strengths and accomplishments. Becoming more confident about your ability to respond and deal with crises helps build resilience for the future.
See the glass as half full: Being an optimist means understanding that setbacks are transient and that you have the skills and abilities to combat the challenges you face.
Take emotional control: Recognising how you can potentially react in certain situations helps you to take more self-control – and helps you be more considerate about how your reaction can affect other people. Managing emotions during any ordeal helps you to focus your energy where it’s best placed.
Accept change and learn how to be adaptable and resourceful: You may not be able to control or change circumstances but you can change your attitude towards them so you’re more in control. Resilient people use events as an opportunity to branch out in new directions.
Manage conflict and cope better with difficult situations: Conflict is an inevitable part of life. Its outcome can be positive because it can help you create new ideas, learn from others, understand yourself better, see different perspectives and improve your own communication.
Embrace problems and turn them positively into opportunities: In every crisis, an opportunity will arise which can be of some benefit. Developing problem-solving skills is valuable.
Look after yourself physically, emotionally and environmentally: Build your self-nurturing skills. Losing your appetite, overeating, not exercising, not getting enough sleep, drinking too much alcohol, not drinking enough water, driving yourself too hard, are all common reactions to a crisis.
Make positive connections and develop your relationships and interests: Build and sustain a strong network of supportive friends, family and work colleagues.
Keep going: No matter what happens to you in life, believe in yourself and keep going. Let go of the angst that you experience. Negative baggage merely makes the journey ahead more difficult.
Create a vision: Set objectives and goals and create a vision of the life you really want Goals unlock your positive mind and release energies and ideas for success and achievement. Setting goals gives you direction, purpose, focus and, importantly, hope.

Comment: Confucius is credited with having said: ‘Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.’

In these challenging economic times, with stress-related illness and depression on the increase, maybe learning to bounce back and be resilient is an essential life skill for us all to develop.

The best thing since sliced bread?

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Bob

According to The Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science, the three most significant inventions in the history of food and drink are the fridge, pasteurised milk and the tin can. The Royal Society’s list is:

1. Refrigeration

2. Pasteurisation / sterilisation

3. Canning

4. The oven

5. Irrigation

6. The threshing machine / combine harvester

7. Baking

8. Selective breeding / strains

9. Grinding / milling

10. The plough

Then comes:

11. Fermentation

12. The fishing net

13. Crop rotation

14. The pot

15. The knife

16. Eating utensils

17. The cork

18. The barrel

19. The microwave oven

20. Frying

Comment: This puts into context the often-used hype of ‘This is the best invention since sliced bread’ – since ‘sliced bread’ isn’t on the Royal Society’s list!

Forbidden fast food

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Bob

A typical fast food meal of a bacon cheeseburger and chips could – strictly speaking – offend at least 13 religions and over 60 per cent of the world’s population. This is because it contains:

Beef – Hindus, Buddhists, Rastafarians and Sikhs avoid it, as do Zoroastrians when in mourning or on monthly holy days. After eating beef, Jews have to wait an hour before they can eat cheese. Russian and Greek Orthodox monks go without beef (and the cheese and bacon) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Muslims can’t eat beef unless it has been slaughtered in the name of Allah. Roman Catholics abstain from eating beef (and bacon) on Fridays.
Bacon – Jews, Buddhists, Muslims and Seventh Day Adventists avoid it. So do Zoroastrians (see ‘beef’ above).
Cheese – Seventh Day Adventists and Jains avoid it.
Bread - Taoists abstain from it because worms feed where grain is stored.
Chips - Hindus avoid them because they believe that salty foods arouse lust and rage.
Pickle and ketchup – Hare Krishna cannot eat these because they contain vinegar.
Cola – Mormons abstain from it because caffeine upsets the body, which is the temple of God.

In addition, Jains (see ‘cheese’ above) hardly eat anything. Cola, cheese, bacon, beef, pickle, ketchup and chips are all banned from their menus. Moreover, if the bread contained sesame seeds, they couldn’t eat that either because they believe that all living things have souls.

There are, of course, a number of people who wouldn’t touch a fast food bacon cheeseburger and chips for other reasons.

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Bob

Amid the fallout from the Illinois Batman killings, evidence that the accused did not use Facebook has sparked a debate over whether – with social media use becoming almost omnipresent among younger users – not having any form of online profile is inherently suspicious. It now seems to be a case of ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’ where social media is concerned.

Forbes magazine has suggested that with social media profiles now an integral part of public life, employers would be nervous of candidates without one, suspecting that absent or deleted accounts could indicate an attempt to conceal relevant information.

So, with employers increasingly checking Facebook pages, LinkedIn profiles and Twitter feeds during the selection process, is maintaining a social media profile now becoming a prerequisite for job seekers? With some major recruiters already using social media channels to promote vacancies and initiate contact with candidates, will non-users risk missing potential opportunities? And to what extent do employers currently use online profiles as part of routine candidate checks?

Comment: Could this be a carefully constructed conspiracy by social media networks designed to shame those allegedly last few people in the world who’re not participating in any social media activity to be bullied into ‘signing up’?

Probably not – since, attractive as conspiracy theories are, they’re usually unfounded since it’s so hard to keep a conspiracy both covert and cohesive.

However, it’s a sobering thought that what was intended as a way of ‘talking to your friends and family’ has been hi-jacked by the world of business – and your every ‘footfall’ on the web is potentially significant for your future career and prosperity.

Maybe the time has come for everyone to have their own PR consultant. Now that would be a good idea!

Book Review (number 4)

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Bob

The lives, loves and deaths of splendidly unreasonable inventors

By Jeremy Coller

Published by: Infinite Ideas Limited

ISBN: 978–1–905940–82–0

From an analysis of 30 inventors who changed the world, Coller – a former investment analyst and, later, investment manager – argues that personality type dictates the potential for success in bringing inventions to fruition. He maintains that few people have the full package of skills required to make a success of an idea. Moreover, failure results when an individual, who excels in one area of competence, attempts to become responsible for all aspects of developing and marketing the invention.

Coller focuses on the people, rather than their inventions, and examines the way in which they succeeded or failed to bring their visions to fruition. He acknowledges that each inventor whom he scrutinises is as different from every other one as every human being is from her/ his neighbour. Yet, he maintains, for all their differences, they each had an ability to ‘see round the corner’, along with the single-mindedness and motivation to do something about it. In searching for further common ground, Coller reveals that many of these inventors lived unconventional lives and tended to be ‘non-conformists’ – which, perhaps, gave them the licence to be original in their thoughts and subsequent inventions.

On one level, the book is a collection of eminently readable, entertaining stories. On another level, these stories are an unconventional look at the inventive process that created such life-changing products as the telephone, the sewing machine, dynamite, the cinema, the safety razor and vulcanized rubber for tyres.

Only historical figures are included in this analysis, which enables Coller to examine their lives in their entirety – from early ideas and experiments through success to, often, eventual failure. Each of the stories, all of which are personal, colourful and packed with quirky nuggets of information, illustrates a particular aspect of the inventive personality.

There are lessons from these stories for the would-be famous inventor but there are valuable insights, too, for students of human nature as well as those who are fascinated by the human side of ‘why history turned out as it did’. The book might also offer a perspective or two for the reader who is struggling to decide what s/he wants out of life – and the price s/he is prepared to pay to achieve it.

It may be a little early in the year to say it but this has all the hallmarks of an ‘acceptable Christmas present’ book.

(Further details: Kindle Edition File Size: 5013 KB; Length: 244 pages; ASIN: B007PSFFLO; Published: August 2012; Price: £8.05)

Study, learning and maturity

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Bob

René Descartes.

A recent request, received from a journalist, ran: ‘Here at Staffordshire Living magazine we are currently working on our Sept/Oct edition which includes a feature on the options available if you would like to become a MATURE STUDENT…’

Some people would argue that being a ‘mature student’ is an oxymoron.

After all, as the well-known author, Bill Bryson, has written: ‘In my day, the principal concerns of university students were sex, smoking dope, rioting and learning. Learning was something you did when the other three weren’t available.’

Being a student is a sign of acknowledged immaturity. Learning, which is what students are supposed to do, is a process which aims to make the learner more knowledgeable and/or skilful – and, thus, more mature in thought, word and deed. Thus, by definition, a student can’t have attained the status of ‘mature’. To be ‘mature’ and then continue to study is either unnecessary or oxymoronic.

That’s not to say that it won’t broaden the mind and be fun – and we all need some fun in our lives, hence Bill Bryson’s comments about the activities involved in being a student. Moreover, there’s an argument – which has some validity – that says that no one ever attains the (objective) status of being ‘mature’. So, everyone should always be studying – maybe not being a ‘student’ in terms of Bill Bryson’s definition but always seeking to learn more about something, striving subjectively for that elusive, objective state of ‘maturity’.
There’s time for a final word or two on the subject – from Douglas Adams, the author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He wrote: ‘Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent reluctance to do so.’

And, as W Edwards Deming once said: “Learning is not compulsory – but neither is survival.”

It’s just disappointing that, when times get tough, it’s learning and training whose budgets are first to feel the corporate axe – thus depriving people of opportunities to move towards the maturity that we all (overtly or covertly) crave.

An afterthought – perhaps for students who are ‘learned’: The story is told that, enjoying a night out with his friends, the philosopher, Descartes, enters a hostelry. Descartes walks up to the bar and the barman says: ‘What would you like to drink?’

Confused by all the noise – and the large array of drinks available to him – Descartes says, ‘I can’t think…’

And immediately, he disappears!

Let the games begin

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Bob

Plato once said that: ‘you can learn more about a man in an hour of play than in a year of conversation’. If that’s true, we’re going to learn a great deal during the forthcoming Olympic Games in London.

Educators (including L&D professionals) should be interested in using games – especially those known as ‘serious games’ – because they can improve learners’ performance and their awareness of their role. They can also help in competency testing, assessing the return on investment in learning, assessing would-be recruits and so on. There’s more to games based learning than having fun – but that’s not a bad start.

Learners, too, should be interested in using games to give them shortcuts to acquiring knowledge and skills – and, in the case of simulations, vicarious experience. Many years after Plato, when Isaac Newton was asked why he was so clever, he replied that it was because he ‘stood on the shoulders of giants’. In other words, he claimed to be merely building on the discoveries of those clever individuals who had lived in earlier times. Discovery through playing serious games offers learners similar benefits.

Although most games have something to do with power (and to learn more about this aspect of gaming, you could read James Paul Gee’s book, ‘What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy’, which sets out these lessons in 36 principles) people tend to play games for fun – as a source of enjoyment and to experience the release of endorphins at the moment of triumph, when we learn something or master a task.

This is intrinsic to our DNA. Humans have always had to learn in order to survive – and experiencing the release of endorphins is a reward for this. That’s why we like to have games to play and puzzles to solve. Exploring possibilities leads to a learning process. Games are pre-defined ‘problem spaces’ – and solving problems gives us satisfaction.

Game based learning problems need to be authentic and relevant. What you do – or don’t do – in one of these games should have an obvious and meaningful effect on the game. One of the key characteristics of games based learning in a ‘corporate context’ is that it should be highly experiential, relevant, meaningful and authentic. These games should give learners virtual experience which can be transferred to the real workplace.

Making the case for using games and simulations is no different from the L&D professional’s standard dilemma: how do you ensure that the learners learn what they need to learn? Just because 50 per cent of people play games, it doesn’t follow that 50 per cent of your organisation’s staff will want to play the game you make available for them to play. Moreover, just because you put ‘learning’ into a game doesn’t mean that people will learn more effectively through playing it. And, although playing a game teaches you how to play the game, maybe teamworking is its only transferable skill – and that might be taught more cost-effectively through attending one of the many teamwork training events fronted by, for example, former Olympians.

The theories of Kolb and Fry (1975) on how learners learn outline a four stage cyclical process comprising concrete experience, observation and reflection, forming abstract concepts and testing new situations. In today’s technology-enhanced learning world, we need to take additional account of the interplay of:

The impact of online learning and
Reflection and conceptualisation – in the ‘internal’ world,
The virtual world,
The external world and
The real world

Maybe having the chance to ponder these and other games-related learning issues will justify all those hours we’ll be spending watching the Olympics.

Care Home shows it cares by using Waste King

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Bob

Chorleywood care home gives Waste King a chance to care for the environment.

Care home chain, Sunrise Senior Living, has chosen the specialist collections, clearance and recycling company, Waste King to collect a range of waste – not just ‘bulk’ but also hazardous waste – from its care home in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire. Founded in 1981 by Paul and Terry Klaassen, to provide residential, nursing and dementia care, there are now more than 300 Sunrise communities in the UK, USA and Canada. Nearly 40,000 people live in Sunrise communities. In the UK alone, around 2,400 people call Sunrise their home.

Waste King’s managing director, Glenn Currie, explained: “Not only are our operatives able – and licensed – to handle any waste products but we save the care home staff the time and trouble of collecting, loading, segregating and disposing of the waste themselves. This means that, by using Waste King, Sunrise Senior Living can be sure that it’s maximising the amount of its waste that’s recycled – minimising the amount that goes to landfill and, thus, ensuring that it’s doing its bit to look after the environment. In addition, where there’s hazardous waste to collect from the home – including plasterboard, electric bulbs and so on – it can be sure that all this waste is being disposed of in-line with the law’s requirements and in the safest, most environmentally friendly way possible.”

All of Waste King’s fleet of vehicles are equipped with scales and so its operatives can instantly tell the care home staff how much waste has been collected – for Waste Audit purposes.

Comment: It would seem that this care home cares for the environment as well as for the senior citizens in its care. While the caring profession as a whole is getting some adverse publicity in the media at the moment, it’s encouraging to find a care home that’s not only caring for the elderly but also caring about the longer term effects on the environment of waste disposal – and so is opting to recycle as much of its waste as possible, thanks to Waste King’s professional expertise.

Bob's Blog

Category Archives: Lifestyle