Blog
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Blog / ChangeThis
168 Hours: The Blank Slate of Time
By Laura VanderKam
"It is an unquestioned truth of modern life: we are all starved for time. With the rise of 2-income families, extreme jobs, and the ability to log on to the world around the clock, we can barely find time to breathe. At least that's the way the story goes. Yet there are some people who don't seem to feel this way. Not only do they have full personal and professional lives, they often claim they could fit more in if they wished! How do these people do so much with their time? How do they do so much and not even feel stressed about it?"
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
The Four-Letter Word That Makes You and Your Work Irresistible
By Porchlight
"Some years ago I wrote a book about an extraordinary individual who loves his work. My editor at the time deleted the word love every place I used it. Instead, he suggested using the phrase 'generosity of spirit.' 'Why not love?' I inquired. 'Because the word love freaks out businesspeople,' he responded."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
How To Shrink the Human Footprint: And How Going Back To Nature Would Be a Disaster For Nature
By Matt Ridley
"I am going to argue that the ecological footprint of human activity is probably shrinking at an accelerating rate and that we are getting more sustainable, not less, in the way we use the planet. In a nutshell, the most sustainable thing we can do, and the best for the planet, is to accelerate technological change and economic growth."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Management By Shared Mindset: Leadership That Makes Work Meaningful and Profitable At the Same Time
By Dave Ulrich
"In the last few years, leaders have been encouraged to be bold, confident, authentic and grounded so that they can make decisions that help get things done. In the economic recession, these leaders responded quickly and decisively. We admire leaders who lead. But, we suggest that coming out of the recession, leaders need to shift their approach to lead by becoming meaning makers."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / News & Opinion
The Shallows: Interview with Nicholas Carr
By Porchlight
Last year, Nicholas Carr wrote a book called The Big Switch on how computing was changing history, the economy, and our lives in powerful ways. His new book, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains addresses the issue from a different standpoint: That the internet, while extremely useful, is making us become more dependent on it, and in the process, is literally changing the neurological patterns in our brains, and thus, how we think. Controversial but insightful, this is the kind of book that makes you step aside from routines you didn't even realize you were a part of, and examine them.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / Staff Picks
The Genius of the Beast & Creation Stories
Book Review by Porchlight
Tell me a creation story, from the Sumerian Enuma Elish to Tolkien's Ainulindalë in the The Silmarillion, and you've probably got me hooked. So I am reading Howard Bloom'sThe Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism with considerable interest. As the author writes in the prologue: Every Culture needs a creation myth, a vision of how it came to be.
Categories: staff-picks
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Blog / News & Opinion
101 Things
By Porchlight
Michael Preis and Matthew Frederick have written an interesting little book called 101 Things I Learned in Business School, which is part of the "101 Things I Learned" series of books. On the surface, it's a listing of 101 points both technically proficient, and philosophically sound. With info on mission statements, accounting, definitions of various business terms, to "how to" issues like culture analysis, looking forward, and sales and advertising practices, this small sized book is really thorough in it's scope, and is perfect for the MBA student as a handy reference, or for anyone else that wants some of the core knowledge without spending a ton on a new degree.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / Excerpts
Dan Ariely on Blogging
By Porchlight
In a sidebar from his new book, The Upside of Irrationality, Dan Ariely has a piece called "Blogging for Treats. " "Now think about blogging. The number of blogs out there is astounding, and it seems that almost everyone has a blog or is thinking about starting one.
Categories: excerpts
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Blog / Staff Picks
Metamorphosis
Book Review by Porchlight
Last weekend on a little airplane ride, I brought along a book to read with me (as I do every time my feet leave the earth). In this case, during my travels, I engaged myself in the short story by Franz Kafka called The Metamorphosis. The story itself is not very long, just three chapters - but the thought behind this story (that was penned almost a hundred years ago) still resonates in todays culture.
Categories: staff-picks
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Blog / News & Opinion
Made by Hand
By Porchlight
Whether you're looking to live "off the grid," looking to start your own business, or simply want to find some inspiration to better face challenges in your life, I can't recommend the new book by Mark Frauenfelder, Made by Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World highly enough. Many will recognize Frauenfelder as the founder of the blog Boing Boing and the Editor in Chief of Make magazine, but this book is so much more - it's his personal story and insight. The intro describes the author's family's quest to find peaceful living, away from the hectic city life, so they sell their belongings and move to an exotic island.
Categories: news-opinion