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Turning Ideas and Information into Answers

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Welcome
 
September 2011
 
I returned from a canoe and cycling trip on the Erie Canal between Labor Day and September 11th. Please see the following.
 
Who's moved your cheese, lately?
 
Ten years ago I attended a mandatory workshop on adapting to change in which the organization I worked for passed out copies of Spencer Johnson's slim book. We were each required to add a tag to our e-mail messages asserting how we unquestioningly supported change each day, no matter what. Given the economic news of the past several years and layoffs, that's a specious strategy.
 
Now an essay from the Harvard Business School suggests that (surprise) not all change is equal; that it might be more useful to help employees apply the talent and expertise they possess (and were supposedly hired for) to effect constructive change in response to circumstances rather than simply telling them to accept change as a fait accompli without question. Did I need an MBA to know that?
 
Two or more for the Seesaw
 
If one culture (say, China) rises, does that mean the rest of us (say, the U.S. and Europe) must fail? Adam Gopnik provides some historical perspective in his excellent essay in the New Yorker.
 
Putting America Back to Work
 
Fareed Zakaria adds a measure of thoughtfulness and perspective to any discussion. Following is a link to information on a CNN special he hosted on September 18th titled Restoring the American Dream: Putting America Back to Work.