My weekend has gone to the dogs!

The kids are out of control this weekend!

Ahhhhh nap time!

Ok, I’m off to work on Success Factors. I’m sure the goals from management will be ready to be cascaded :)

E-mail is for the dogs … or is it?

Cassie, my German Shepherd, does not write email but she is an effective communicator. When Cassie wants to communicate she gets right to the point.

“Woof! woof,” she says as she drops her ball. (Translation: Let’s play!)

“Woof!,” (Translation: This is fun! Throw the ball! Throw the ball!)

“Yip, Yip, Woof! Woof!” (Translation: Glad you are home from work. Let’s go for a walk!”)

I can think of many more examples. Cassie says exactly what is on her mind. She does not dance around issues, make assumptions, or point fingers and place blame. She is all about action and getting things done. She has well defined priorities and goals!

“Woof, woof, woof!” (Translation: I love you. You may scratch behind my ears and rub my tummy!)

Cassie is limited in her ability to communicate. She is forced to use face-to-face communication. There are other methods one could use to communicate. The telephone, voicemail, and email are all reasonable options. Without fingers and opposable thumbs, Cassie’s options are limited.

There really should not be any doubt face-to-face communication is ideal. The telephone and voicemail are the next best options. Email, an excellent tool, should be used as a last resort when communicating important ideas, instructions, or simply trying to make plans for an event.

Email can be easily misunderstood. Some individuals take offense to the tone that can sometimes come across in email. Cover your ass (CYA) email and the blame game email really are not necessary in the business world nor the private world.

Email has a role in the business world and private world. Documenting minutes of a meeting, sending files to individuals, or communicating ideas which are not time sensitive are acceptable uses of email.

The next time someone in your organization says they sent an email about an action they are to follow-up on remind them it is more efficient to walk over and talk to the individual or call them.

If someone sends me a personal email, I assume the email is not urgent. If the topic is urgent, I expect the individual to pick up the phone and call.

Let all of us be more efficient with our time and the way we communicate. We should all take a lesson from Cassie and learn to bark. “Woof! Woof!”

Interesting links found on Twitter

@ArfanChaudhry Ananova - 'Pool got my daughter pregnant'

@timoreilly RT @sitepointmatt: Soft drinks make up 7% of all calories ingested in the USA. Yikes!

@TrendTracker Fastest-growing Demographic on Facebook: Women over 55

Books I am currently reading

Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity

A Game of Thrones

Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies

Outliers: The Story of Success

Breakthrough Rapid Reading

Books I want to read

Marketing of a President

The Dip: A little Book that teaches you when to quit (and When to Stick)

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by being remarkable

Cogito Ergo Sum

The mind is its own place and in itself can make a hell of heaven or a heaven of hell. —John Milton, Paradise Lost.

As I was eating lunch today I noticed a headline in the newspaper. The headline stated, “People select data with which they agree. (p.40)” The study found “people tend to avoid information that contradicts what they already think or believe” 67 percent are about twice as likely to select information that supports their point of view as opposed to the 33 percent that would consider an opposing idea.

Obviously I cannot use the two short newspaper paragraphs as a credible source. I really do not know anything about the study, how the study was conducted, how it was controlled, or even if it was reviewed by peers. The two paragraphs did make me think.

Are we, as a society, failing to think for ourselves? Are we not able to look at opposing views with an open mind? Are we programmed to not think critically about the massive amounts of information we must process daily?

Kurfiss (1988) stated:

“Critical thinking is a rational response to questions that cannot be answered definitively and for which all the relevant information may not be available. It is defined here as an investigation whose purpose is to explore a situation, phenomenon, question, or problem to arrive at a hypothesis or conclusion about it that integrates all available information and that can therefore be convincingly justified. In critical thinking, all assumptions are open to question, divergent views are aggressively sought, and the inquiry is not biased in favor of a particular outcome.

The outcomes of a critical inquiry are twofold: a conclusion (or hypothesis) and the justification offered in support of it. These outcomes are usually set forth in the form of an argument, defined as “the sequence of interlinked claims and reasons that, between them, establish the content and force of the position for which a particular speaker is arguing” (Toulmin, Rieke, and Janik 1979, p. 13). The need for justification arises from the ill-defined nature of problems to which the term “critical thinking” generally applies. Because conclusions cannot be tested (as they can be in problem solving), the arguer must demonstrate their plausibility by offering supporting reasons (Voss, Tyler, and Yengo 1983).”

If the definition offered by Kurfiss is accepted, and the study listed in the newspaper is credible, then society is failing as critical thinkers. The next time you are in a discussion with someone who has an opposing view see if they use one of the fallacies of informal reasoning as listed by Kurfiss:

1. Provincialism: The tendency to accept or reject ideas on the basis of experience in one's own group or society rather than on evidence or in light of knowledge and beliefs of other societies.
2. Ad hominem: An attack on a person's credibility or character rather than on the arguments presented.
3. False dilemma: “Erroneously reducing the number of possible choices on an issue” (Barry 1983, p. 108).
4. Hasty conclusion or generalization: Drawing conclusions from too little evidence or from unrepresentative samples.
5. Begging the question, circularity: “Endorsing without proof some form of the very question at issue” (Kahane 1984, p. 82) (Barry 1983; Kahane 1984; Toulmin, Rieke, and Janik 1979).

Other fallacies commonly mentioned are straw men, suppressed evidence, non sequiturs or “irrelevant reason” (Kahane 1980), appeal to authority, arguing from what is to what ought to be, wishful thinking, and self-deception.

I challenge my friends, my family, and my co-workers when they refuse to look at other points of view. I find my friends challenging me when I slip into a comfortable idea. There should not be topics off limits to scrutiny. Religion, politics, history, and especially media reports must be critically examined.

We are not sheep. Think.

Interesting Links

@TheDailyBuzzz - Naked 'Terminator' arrested at casino.

WSJ publisher calls Google 'digital vampire'

10 Spam / Fake Twitter Clues to watch for

David Pogue's Productivity Secrets Revealed

Microsoft drops vomiting ad after complaints

Way too competitive: Tech Gurus Flock to World Series of Poker

@TheDailyBuzzz - Blackholes do join together

Recommended Reading:

Critical Thinking: Theory, Research, Practice, and Possibilities: ASHE-ERIC/Higher Education Research Report (J-B ASHE Higher Education Report Series (AEHE))

Books I am currently reading:

Small Favor (The Dresden Files, Book 10)

Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies
Outliers: The Story of Success
Breakthrough Rapid Reading

Wax on. Wax Off

The first time I saw a Madame Tussauds, I was in San Francisco in the early 1990’s. I remember thinking the price to see the attraction was expensive. I expected the attraction to be cheesy and a tourist trap.

Today, I visited Madame Tussauds in Washington, DC. The entry fee wasn’t too bad. $43 for my daughter and I. I was surprised my 12 year old did not qualify for the child ticket. Their website quotes child prices and adult prices for 12 year olds. There is a $5 difference in price. I sent them an email today suggesting they clarify the prices.

A short movie is the first attraction museum visitors will see. The movie educates the public on the history of Madame Tussauds and how the wax figures are made.

As one strolls through the museum one is allowed to photograph and touch the wax figures. My daughter enjoyed posing with a number of the figures.

The hall of Presidents is very well done. President Obama is a popular wax attraction. We waited in a line so we could take pictures with Obama, but we eventually gave up. Rachel opted to give a press briefing before heading to the oval office to do the country’s work.

I managed to run into Bill and Hillary. They were nice enough to take a photo with me even though I wasn’t dressed for the occasion.

I would rate the experience 3 out of 4 stars. My daughter is a very curious young lady, she enjoyed the different trivia challenges set up throughout the attraction. I recommend taking a digital camera. There are many photo opportunities. Although the iPhone helped me out today, I wish I would have used a digital point and shoot.

I’ll leave you with one last photo – Hoover interrogating Rachel.

Interesting Links:

@joesebok mentioned this on twitter: Morality: Stephen King's All-New Story of Recession

@TheDailyBuzz pointed out an article about the iPhone SMS patch: Apple prepares iPhone SMS Patch

Books I am currently reading:

Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies

Outliers: The Story of Success

Breakthrough Rapid Reading

Social media

Social Media Strategy

What is the goal of social media for the organization?

I. Build relationships with consumers

• engage
• energize
• support
• Listen
  

Relationship must be two way

II. Promotions


To be continued


-- Post From My iPhone

What does one do.....

What should one do while one waits for the iPhone to charge?

• Read
• Work on the social media presentation due Friday
• Write papers due Monday
• Sleep

Cassie opted for a cat nap!

What does one really do while one waits for the iPhone to charge?

• Walk the dog
• Feed the dog
• Read e-mail
• Check for iPhone apps
• Read Twitter
• Read Facebook
• Create a blog

I may have procrastinated a little tonight but the procrastination was acceptable "per the order" :)