The Secret Language of Competitive Intelligence: How to See Through and Stay Ahead of Business Disruptions, Distortions, Rumors, and Smoke Screens by
Leonard Fuld
Next Generation Wireless Applications by Paul Golding
Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers
by Robert Scoble and
Shel Israel
The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More
by Chris Anderson
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't by
Jim Collins
Cities don't just build themselves. A city starts out as what we consider "the countryside." Then someone decides to build a house or on office on the countryside. Slowly, more people get interested in that area and more buildings go up. The city planners get involved as early as possible to ensure the city is well-planned and integrates itself into the existing network of roads, cable and communications. The key to a successful is thinking ahead. Every decision can affect a city for decades to come.
Planning a wireless city ... Old-fashioned work ethics ... Dreading meetings
As recent as two years ago, Wi-Fi wasn't something everyone wanted on their PDAs and smartphones, considering wireless networks were rare. Google announced plans to help make Mountain View, Calif., its hometown, a wireless city. Cities such as Tempe, Ariz. and Portland, Ore. have wireless communities. Many more cities will follow, and we'll be able to use Wi-Fi anywhere we go. Of course, as with city highways and byways, wireless cities require careful planning and building, as our feature story explains.
We may not wear as many suits in the workplace as we did 10 years ago, but dressing professionally still counts. Show up at work in flip flops and cut offs, and you can expect trouble. Last issue, a reader told us about an employee who was missing the "old school" work ethic. See what readers suggest in getting the employee back on track.
How many meetings do you dread? Unfortunately, finding someone who has yet to attend a meeting without any anxiety would be an impossible task. But each of us can do something to cut back the dread of attending a meeting and walk away having accomplished something. What have you found that works well in running a successful meeting? Is there something else you dread? Share the challenge with us, and maybe we'll post it in a future issue so readers can help. As always, we respect your privacy.
Thanks for your continuous feedback so we can ensure this newsletter provides you with valuable information. We welcome your feedback anytime, including suggestions for future stories and reader challenges. We did our best to keep the form as short as possible. As a thank you, your name goes into a drawing for a 2GB Sansa e250 MP3 Player.
Thanks for reading.
Best,
Meryl K. Evans Editor, Connected Digest
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The challenges communities face today — increasing productivity, lowering costs, bringing improved performance to business and government, and delivering greater citizen satisfaction — do not have simple solutions.
“Going wireless” offers many potential benefits for communities, while being practical and cost-effective.
Since I have only six employees, even one who is not productive creates a problem. I hired
“Chris” right out of college. It bothers me to see the lack of commitment he seems to have. He is often late, misses days and seems to feel that’s OK. His work gets behind, and it doesn't seem to faze him. Taking
“shortcuts” and missing details, which generates extra work on my part seems to be the norm.
I have trained him and explained his importance to our success. I pay a fair salary and have tried to
use positive motivation. Nothing seems to work.
He's a nice enough guy, and I don't want to give up on him, but his lack of work ethic results in me not able to focus on building new business. Perhaps I'm dating myself, it seems to be that he just doesn’t
understand the “old-school ethic” — that a successful career doesn't happen without hard work and dedication. I could replace him but I already have a big investment in him. I could “crack the whip” and be intimidating, but that's not my style or wish.
Would
you ask you readers how they would instill that “old-school ethic” in him?
Every Wednesday, seven other managers, VPs and I are required to attend an executive staff meeting at our company. Our president has been doing these for years to keep us informed and talk about current projects, new business, problems, sales trends, etc.
It sounds productive, but it isn’t. The meetings never start on time, people stroll in late, cells phones are answered, and there’s too much socializing. When the meeting finally starts, it’s haphazard at best. Some people monopolize the conversation and topics; important things are often never discussed.
Sometimes, I feel like standing up and saying, “C’mon, let's get down to business; we all have work to do.” But I don’t. I know the president thinks these meetings are worthwhile. If they were better organized, I think they could be very productive and not just two-hour “bull sessions” or ego builders.
Share your experience and you could win a 2GB Sansa e250 MP3 Player.
Congratulations to this quarter's winner, Randy Rudolph, Director, San Mateo County Transit Authority
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