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Blink by Malcolm Gladwell is number 4 on the Globe and Mail’s list of best selling non-fiction books.
What were the thoughts that came into your mind as you read that sentence? Did you form an opinion about Blink? Well, those instant judgements or decisions are precisely what Blink is about: those first impressions and the thinking that takes place the instant we see something for the first time.
As is pointed out in the book, many of us were raised to think before we act and therefore, don’t always trust our first impressions. One of the goals of the book is to “convince you of a simple fact: decisions made quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately.” Blink is filled with a number of convincing examples to help drive that point home.
On the opposing side, Malcolm Gladwell also provides a number of examples of where the first impression was incorrect and we’re reluctant to change our position despite evidence to the contrary. A young curator at the Getty Museum, involved in one of his first purchases for the museum, came to close to purchasing a fake. Despite having examined the piece for over a year, and being a true expert in his field, the curator was fooled by what he wanted to believe. The purchase was only cancelled when a world-class expert viewed the statue and knew instantly it was a fake. Blink tries to provide a better understanding of why such a phenomenon occurs: why the subconscious can seem to work against us.
Finally, Gladwell wants to “convince you that our snap judgements and first impressions can be educated and controlled”. He believes developing more accurate first impressions is a skill that can be learned. He uses a very powerful example of a veteran police officer who had lived through many violent encounters over his career. While many of the incidents took mere seconds to unfold, the officer had been able gather all sorts of information, information vital to his safety as well as the safety of others. It was as if the officer had been able to slow down time and see the event almost like a movie, frame by frame. That he could remember anything at all is almost beyond comprehension but this officer had trained his eye and his mind, to capture and retain information at a very rapid pace.
Blink is a very entertaining read although a bit repetitive. The concepts are easily understood and perhaps it would have been a crisper read if the book was shorter. Definitely worth a look.
First in a series of 3 articles about designing, staging and
delivering a dynamite speech
Next article: Rehearing and Staging your Dynamite Speech
For more information on how to write, stage and deliver your own brilliant speech Contact Us
New CPR Guidelines
New emergency care guidelines are due to come into effect during the next 2 months of this year. They include dramatic changes to CPR and an emphasis on chest compressions, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. The new guidelines constitute the most significant change since CPR’s inception in the early 1960s.
The 2005 guidelines, which are based on a “back to basics” approach,emphasize that high-quality CPR, particularly effective chest compressions, contributes significantly to the successful resuscitation of cardiac arrest victims. Contact us for more information.
The Avian Flu
Recent news reports about an outbreak of avian influenza in several countries have generated questions about the possibility of a flu pandemic in Canada.
Here are some facts and recommendations to help protect you and your family.
Pandemic influenza is a term used to describe a worldwide epidemic of influenza. It means that the virus emerges from one location and spreads very quickly throughout the world. During the last century this happened three times:
* 1918 – The Spanish flu pandemic infected 20% of the world’s population (20-40 million deaths)
* 1957 and 1968 were not as deadly, but still caused many deaths throughout the world
What is Avian Influenza (or “Bird Flu”)?
There are many different strains of influenza viruses. Many people in Canada and around the world are affected each year by a strain of human influenza virus, or “the flu”. Avian Influenza (sometimes referred to as “Bird Flu”) is a viral infection that mostly affects birds such as chickens, ducks and geese.
Can I catch Avian Influenza?
For most Canadians, the risk of catching avian flu is extremely low. Your chances of being infected by a human influenza virus (or “catching the flu”) are much higher. Avian Influenza is most often spread from bird to bird, while human influenza is spread from person to person. In rare cases, Avian Influenza can be spread from infected birds to people through direct contact such as during the slaughter, de-feathering and preparation of poultry for cooking. яндекс
How I can protect my family and myself?
Specifically for Avian Influenza:
What happens if there is a pandemic?
If there is an influenza pandemic in Canada, health officials will provide instructions through the media regarding any additional measures that should be taken.
How Full Is Your Bucket?
Positive Strategies for Work and Life
By
Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D.
Donald Clifton was a well-known psychologist and the Chairman of Gallup, Inc. and Tom Rath is a Global Practise Leader at The Gallup Organization and Donald Clifton’s grandson. Together they have written a book on a subject they feel very passionate about, one that would be easy to shrug off as “light weight”. Don’t do that, this is a book well worth reading.
With just over 100 pages and written in simple language, the ideas in presented in the book are easily understood and even easier to implement in your professional and personal lives.
The core idea is simple yet extremely powerful: focusing on the positive (doing and saying things that are positive) not only benefits the person you’re interacting with, it benefits you. Well researched (and well documented should you want to delve further into the subject matter), the authors’ persuasive arguments quickly convince you that focusing on the positive can produce dramatic results.
The Gallup organization has surveyed over 4 million employees from countries across the world and those employees who “receive regular recognition and praise:
What’s not to love? Provide your employees with positive feedback and you, and your company, are away to the races. Easily said, not easily implemented.
“65% of Americans received no recognition in the workplace last year.”
“The #1 reason people leave their jobs: they don’t feel appreciated. “
With these types of statistics, Rath and Clifton remind us of the stark reality of the workplace. For many employees, work is a place filled with negativity or, to follow their analogy, people with empty buckets busily emptying the buckets of those around them.
How Full Is Your Bucket? provides simple tools you can begin to implement before you’ve even finished the book and, quite simply, you will be amazed at how quickly you see a difference in your interactions with others. This book is highly recommended: buy a copy for yourself and everyone on your team. Buy one for your boss.
How Full is Your Bucket?
Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, Ph. D
Published by Gallup Press 2004
Email Now Considered the Primary Cause of Stress in the Workplace
Email is now considered the primary cause of stress in the workplace. The America Management Association recently found employees spend an average 2.1 hours a day dealing with email and 10% spend more than four hours a day. DoubleClicks’s 2005 email study found the 32% of individuals report constantly checking their email. Email fuels stress – Seven out of ten managers find dealing with email stressful according to the Australian Psychological Society.
Like many Canadians, Wendy Alexander, a director at the City of Mississauga was spending 3 to 4 hours a day dealing with email. Since taking the program, she now spends less than 45 minutes on email. She also reports being more in control of her day and having a healthier relationship with technology.
The Art of Effective Email assists people to confront their chaotic and reactive email work habits and design their own proactive system and relationship with email. The program is an interactive inquiry in which managers and information workers tell the truth about their bad email habits and look at strategies to regain control of their email. In the half-day session and ongoing coaching, people design their personal email plan, manage realistic expectations with co-workers and build a healthier relationship with technology.
Just say no, to email addition. In a recent Symantec survey of emails users in Europe, 74% said they think email is additive and 21% admitted to being email dependent – compulsively checking their email and panicking when the can’t. Constant email users suffered a 10 point drop in IQ scores, more than twice the fall recorded by marijuana users, in a clinical trial of over a thousand participants by HP and the University of London. They found email addicts developed an inability to distinguish between trivial and important messages. 20% consistently jeopardized important relationships by “checking their messages” in the middle of a conversation. The word “Crackberry” can now be found in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary.
“Email overload is the hot button organizational development issue in business right now,” says Paul Gossen, the program founder. “Unless individuals tell the truth about their email habits and work as a team to make agreements about how to use email, most email reduction initiatives amount to a set of rules. It is akin to giving someone 5 tips for quitting smoking, sincere but ineffective.”
The Art of Effective Email Program is targeted towards executives, managers and information workers and builds an effective foundation for a powerful shift in the email culture of an organization.
The Athena Alliance partner offers programs in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal and has conducted large-scale corporate programs for the RCMP, Amex Canada and the City of Mississauga. In house programs have also been conducted for dozens of other companies.