The media have this very annoying tendency to report business news as if they were baseball scores, as if the ups or downs of the Dow, TSX or FTSE are an accurate proxy for what millions of real entrepreneurs are doing.

The other day, out of curiosity, I watched BNN, the Canadian Business News Network. I usually avoid it because it gives me a headache, and this time was no different. It was a non-stop drone of talking heads recommending this stock or that stock on the flimsiest of cause-and-effect relationships. "I recommend you buy XYZ because it's summer and people like to eat ice cream." "Recent hail in Saskatchewan will depress demand for flivvers and sprockets so dump LMN." What bullcrap.

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An illustrated talk by Dan Pink about what really motivates us (via Lifehacker)

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Why do so few people live up to their potential?

In his book “Linchpin”, Seth Godin posits that people who are remarkable are those who are totally dedicated to their “art”, exhibiting a willingness to plunge forward despite the fear and the risks, and deliver results that change the world around them.

In one of his blog posts, he asks the further question: How much support does someone need before they create remarkable results?

His observation:

“(…)Most mentors and coaches and teachers will tell you that few of their students ever do, not in comparison with their potential. A few break through and change everything, and we celebrate them, but what about everyone else?
The artists are different. They took a leap.
They weren't pushed. They jumped.”

What is the difference between jumping and being pushed?

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No, no - it's not what you think! This is a real question, and an important one to consider!

Cory Doctorow (blog), in his novel "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom", imagines a world where money is obsolete, replaced by a personal reputation-based currency called the "Whuffie".

Tara Hunt translates this idea into real life in her book "The Whuffie Factor": we are already entering an age where our "relationship capital" is just as important (or maybe more important?) than our financial capital. The more people respect you, trust you, and like you, the more they want to interact with you.

Tara suggests five principles to increase your Whuffie:   [Read more →]

My New Year's Eve was quiet, as usual (I don't like big celebrations). I ended up flipping through YouTube and randomly found the movie "Groundhog Day" starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. I've seen this flick several times before, but there was something that made me watch it with another perspective.

If you're not familiar with the movie, it's about the obnoxious Pittsburgh TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) who is assigned to cover the Groundhog Day festivities in small-town Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He grudgingly does his on-air spot and sets off on the return trip to Pittsburgh but has to turn back because of a snowstorm. Forced to stay in the small town for another night, he wakes up the next morning realizing to his horror that he has to relive Groundhog Day again, and again the next day and the day after that. Stuck in this time loop, he realizes that he is powerless to change the situation and sinks into a depression until something clicks and he decides to start living positively. Even that doesn't break the time loop, until...well, you'll have to see the movie to find out how it ends.

There was one point in the movie where I was sure that once Phil Connors "got the girl" then he would snap out of the time loop, but I realized it was only half-way through the movie. Then it came to me: this movie was calling me to snap out of my own "Groundhog Year". [Read more →]

What matters most to me in 2010 is one word: Execution.

I love Peter Senge's definition of Leadership from his famous book "The Fifth Discipline": leadership is the ability to get things done.  Getting things done means turning ideas into results.

For the past ten years I have been working on this vision of mine. When things work well, it is because I focus on making things happen. When things don't work so well, it's because I get too wrapped up in dreams, hopes and wishes...

Yes, positive thinking is important. The Law of Attraction (Ask-Believe-Receive) sounds nice, neat and tidy. But all the Big Dreams in the world amount to nothing until someone is willing to roll up their sleeves and get sweaty all over.

Here is what Execution means to me, right now.

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What is one word that sums up the experience that matters the most for you in 2010?

My favorite thinker Seth Godin asked this question to over seventy big thinkers and produced an inspiring (free!) e-book "What Matters Now". Each person chose a one-word theme for what's important to them in 2010 and wrote a little riff on the topic.

My faves are Hugh Macleod's riff on "Meaning" (read the fine print!), Jackie Huba on "1%" (see one of the banner images on my blog!), and "Gumption" by J.C. Hutchins (made me smile!).

As complete as this little book seems to be, there are so many more themes that you can claim and express in 2010. I have a couple of ideas I want to explore... Stay tuned for my own choice - I will post it here this week as my "New Year's Resolution Project".

Pass the word about this inspiring e-book. Post it on your blog, on your Facebook page, Tweet about it.

What is your One-Word Theme for 2010?  Please share it! [Read more →]