When things are not so stable in our life, we become more receptive and welcome to change.
In a new study, Moore School of Business marketing professor Stacy Wood suggests that it’s in times of upheaval that we’re particularly inclined to leave our comfort zone and try new things.
On first thought, this sounds counter-intuitive. You would think that upon losing our job or girlfriend, we’d be more intent on crawling under the sheets with a favorite book or movie and lying low for a while – not deciding that now’s the time to quit smoking or take up sky-diving.
It seems that when we are confronted with one disruption to our daily routine, we become more open to other change. Or, to put it differently, when things break, we enter the right mind-frame for breaking our old habits as well.
When it comes to our recessionary times, then, it appears that now is a good time for us to embrace all kinds of change. A tighter budget or shorter hours at work might be that catalyst you need to reevaluate your daily shot of Starbucks espresso or your aversion toward exercise. To paraphrase President Obama, (and for somewhat different reasons) now’s the time to believe in change.
Complete article here.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
How Good is Jack Welch?
Read this article and came out with these conclusions:
1. The company's stock valuation is not a direct measure of how good its CEO is. The stock valuation or more specifically, its P/E is more a function of the market's perception of the company or of the economy as a whole -i.e. in good times, stocks perform better.
2. The economic environment, rather than the decisions its management make or specifically the decisions made by its CEO, is a much more a factor in shaping a company's future or its valuation.
Thanks to Economix
1. The company's stock valuation is not a direct measure of how good its CEO is. The stock valuation or more specifically, its P/E is more a function of the market's perception of the company or of the economy as a whole -i.e. in good times, stocks perform better.
2. The economic environment, rather than the decisions its management make or specifically the decisions made by its CEO, is a much more a factor in shaping a company's future or its valuation.
Thanks to Economix
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Wealth and Poverty Defined
I had to rethink my views on how poverty, and thus its opposite -wealth, are defined after reading the below excerpt.
By nature, I'm an inward looking person but from now I should also be looking for ways on how to connect with others.
I can directly relate with this on how I got my present job - through a personal connection. I have applied and sent my resumes to a job-search site but had zero success, so far. I've previously had a job interview, not because I applied directly, but a former colleague referred me.
There was once a study discussed when I was still taking up MBA -How does an MBA education benefit someone? The result of the study told not much. The main benefit however was having an expanded network of friends, colleagues.
The key therefore in the long term in raising his/her net worth is on how well he leverages his newfound network.
In hindsight, I should have maximized my time in getting and establishing a solid network of future friends and partners instead of just burning my eyebrows studying case studies.
-------------
I seemed to have learned something long before I arrived in Cambridge that it seemed many of my peers had not.
As a kid, I caddied at the local country club for the homeowners and their children living in the wealthy town next to mine. It made me think and hard about those who succeed adn those who don't. I made an observation in those days that would alter the way I viewed the world.
..I watched how the people who had reached professional heights unknown to my father and mother helped each other. They found one another jobs, they invested time and money into one another's ideas, and they made sure their kids got help into getting into the best schools, got the right internships, and ultimately the best jobs.
Before my eyes, I saw proof that success breeds success and indeed, the rich do get richer. Their web of friends and associates was the most potent club the people I caddied for had in their bags.
Poverty, I realized wasn't only a lack of financial resources; it was isolation from the kind of people that could help you make more of yourself.
-------------
..a classic 1974 study by sociologist Mark Granovetter that surveyed how a group of men in Newton, Massachusetts, found their current job. The study, appropriately titled "Getting a Job" has become a seminal work in its field, and its findings have been confirmed over and over again.
Granovetter discovered that 56% of those surveyed found their current job through a personal connection. .. 19% used ..traditional job-searching routes like job listings and executive recruiters. Roughly 10% applied directly to an employer..
Excerpt from never eat alone by Keith Ferrazi with Tahl Raz
By nature, I'm an inward looking person but from now I should also be looking for ways on how to connect with others.
I can directly relate with this on how I got my present job - through a personal connection. I have applied and sent my resumes to a job-search site but had zero success, so far. I've previously had a job interview, not because I applied directly, but a former colleague referred me.
There was once a study discussed when I was still taking up MBA -How does an MBA education benefit someone? The result of the study told not much. The main benefit however was having an expanded network of friends, colleagues.
The key therefore in the long term in raising his/her net worth is on how well he leverages his newfound network.
In hindsight, I should have maximized my time in getting and establishing a solid network of future friends and partners instead of just burning my eyebrows studying case studies.
-------------
I seemed to have learned something long before I arrived in Cambridge that it seemed many of my peers had not.
As a kid, I caddied at the local country club for the homeowners and their children living in the wealthy town next to mine. It made me think and hard about those who succeed adn those who don't. I made an observation in those days that would alter the way I viewed the world.
..I watched how the people who had reached professional heights unknown to my father and mother helped each other. They found one another jobs, they invested time and money into one another's ideas, and they made sure their kids got help into getting into the best schools, got the right internships, and ultimately the best jobs.
Before my eyes, I saw proof that success breeds success and indeed, the rich do get richer. Their web of friends and associates was the most potent club the people I caddied for had in their bags.
Poverty, I realized wasn't only a lack of financial resources; it was isolation from the kind of people that could help you make more of yourself.
-------------
..a classic 1974 study by sociologist Mark Granovetter that surveyed how a group of men in Newton, Massachusetts, found their current job. The study, appropriately titled "Getting a Job" has become a seminal work in its field, and its findings have been confirmed over and over again.
Granovetter discovered that 56% of those surveyed found their current job through a personal connection. .. 19% used ..traditional job-searching routes like job listings and executive recruiters. Roughly 10% applied directly to an employer..
Excerpt from never eat alone by Keith Ferrazi with Tahl Raz
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
What's your Mission
If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living.
The 'blue flame' is where our talents and desires intersect. When that blue flame is ignited, it is a powerfulforce in getting you where you want to go.
Excerpt from Never eat alone by Keith Ferrazzi with Tahl Raz
The 'blue flame' is where our talents and desires intersect. When that blue flame is ignited, it is a powerfulforce in getting you where you want to go.
Excerpt from Never eat alone by Keith Ferrazzi with Tahl Raz
Comparative Advantage
I can walk faster than my secretary. Yet on those occasions when I need a document hand delivered quickly somewhere on campus, I send her to deliver it. The reason is that, although the amount of time that it would take me to deliver the document and to return to the office is less than the amount of time that my secretary requires to do the same task, the value of my time is greater than the value of her time. That is, the value of the output that I would forgo producing were I to deliver the document myself is greater than is the value of the output that she forgoes producing when she delivers the document.
So I have a comparative disadvantage, relative to my secretary, at hand-delivering documents — meaning she has a comparative advantage over me at this task. Because she can perform this valuable task at a cost lower than I can perform it, we both gain — I by paying her to relieve me of the cost of performing this task, and she by being paid an amount sufficient to compensate her for performing it.
Click on the title for the full article.
So I have a comparative disadvantage, relative to my secretary, at hand-delivering documents — meaning she has a comparative advantage over me at this task. Because she can perform this valuable task at a cost lower than I can perform it, we both gain — I by paying her to relieve me of the cost of performing this task, and she by being paid an amount sufficient to compensate her for performing it.
Click on the title for the full article.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
About Jobs
Going for the high paying job would almost be a certainty but it won't guarantee that you'll be happy in that job. However, the same goes for the opposite argument. But which would you aim or prioritize first? a high paying job or a job that you like? This seems to be a no brainer for some. The smart answer would be go for both but would you be willing to compromise?
As a side note..The one good thing about not watching TV is that I could think a lot -which I like doing by the way. I think I need an environment where I could think a lot - perhaps a job like that.
As a side note..The one good thing about not watching TV is that I could think a lot -which I like doing by the way. I think I need an environment where I could think a lot - perhaps a job like that.
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