Cities Create Jobs
This is an excerpt from an article about the new book, The Coming Jobs War by Jim Clifton, CEO of Gallup.
If you were to ask me, “From all the data you have studied so far, where will the next economic breakthrough come from?” my answer would be: From the combination of the forces within big cities, great universities, and powerful local leaders. Those three compose the most reliable, controllable solution. Their combined effect is the most predictable solution to America’s biggest current problem, which is winning the global war for good jobs.
-Jim Clifton
… and to address the general frustration of why our government has been unable to re-create jobs for a huge part of the population…
In defense of Washington, it wasn’t originally set up to be the nation’s economic engine. The U.S. government has seeded whole industries through land grant universities, defense contractors, and scientific and medical researchers to name just a few. But the government has never, will never, nor should it be expected to ignite badly needed sustainable economic booms. These economic booms originate in the souls of individuals and great cities.
Subscribe to the Gallup Management Journal and take some time to read Jim’s short article… it’s well worth your time.
Here’s a link to the book:
iSad
Steve Jobs passed away today. He will continue to be one of my heroes for his focus on usability, design and integration. Anyone who has made the “switch” in desktop computers understands all this.
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
– Steve Jobs
At The Summit
Len Schlesinger, of Babson College picked up Bill Hybels’ opening theme of getting from here to there by taking action.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker is my new hero.
Rev. Brenda Salter McNeil was awesome this afternoon, again calling us to ACT. Seth Godin was as direct as everyone to get us to act, ship, make art… without asking for permission first.
At The Crossing Church in Newport Beach.
Don’t Miss The Summit!
You’ll not regret attending a local broadcast of this year’s Leadership Summit from Willow Creek in South Barrington, Illinois. Each year brings a memorable focus on your leadership skills, unique encouragement from business leaders, and stories guaranteed to inspire.
Participating in this event can change the course of your life, your work, your ministry, and your family.
“I think the role of leaders at this time in history is to be curators of human talent. They need to learn how to cultivate, how to identify, how to nurture, how to develop and unleash the God-given potential in every person.”
Erwin McManus
Activist; Filmmaker; Innovator and Cultural Architect
Mosaic, Los Angeles, California
Some Things I’ve Learned from Blogging
First of all… most of us aren’t as interesting as we think we are. I really respect people like Seth Godin who have something valuable to say every day, and can say it without fail… in his words, they ship.
These are some of the things I’ve learned:
Have Something to Say
This is true in a lot of areas. A good concept, like a good story, has a beginning, a middle, and an end. If I can do a good job with the story, I’ll get my point across. Sometimes what you don’t say is as effective as what you do.
Here’s a good resource… why telling a story can be very effective: Squirrel, Inc.
Take People’s Time Seriously
If someone is willing to take a look at the site and read a little, I should respect their time and their mind. I shouldn’t burden them with having to pick through my clutter. The design is the interface and often it’s the message too.
A good resource for basic design ideas: Before & After.
I Should Own My Thoughts and Material
I need to write as I speak, from the first person, not as someone else. After all, these are my thoughts and my ideas, I need to be committed to them… it makes it part of my story.
Simple is Better
I’ve always been impressed by people who can take a complex subject and make it easy to understand. It’s not easy to do… sometimes it’s elusive, but it’s not impossible… it takes more time. Simple is not to be confused with easy… thank you Ronald Reagan.
People Fill in Their Own Blanks
Many times we don’t need all the background and a lot of detail, we get good at making the links between thoughts and conclusions. Word pictures can be almost as effective as regular pictures. People are as smart as you give them credit for being.
Little Things Aren’t
Details matter… especially when you’re committed in print or the web. It’s worth spending the time to get things correct, consistent, and compelling.
Guy Kawasaki’s New Book
One of my heros, Guy Kawasaki, has just released his new book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions. This is his first book in quite a while… it sounds worth the wait.
Enchantment explains how to create delightful, voluntary, and mutually-beneficial relationships with people. The book is great for organizations that are introducing products, closing sales, and establishing brands.
Guy is the co-founder of Alltop.com, an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the web. He was the chief evangelist of Apple Computer. Kawasaki is the author of ten books including Reality Check, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, and The Macintosh Way.
Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions is available here.
Passing of Last American Veteran of WWI
Frank Buckles, the last American to participate in World War I passed away yesterday, he was 110. He had to lie about his age to enlist in 1917 (he was 16 years old).
Breaking Down Barriers
We create barriers to being effective, to delivering, to selling… and to a lot of other things. We build them internally and we maintain them locally. We create them with the best of intentions… but when they’re no longer relevant, they’re profoundly harmful.
Removing barriers takes some courage and real commitment at all levels of an organization. The short-term pain is offset by a faster and better organization. It’s the basis for creating employee engagement.
The current Gallup Management Journal addresses barriers in an article by Tom Rieger from his new book Breaking the Fear Barrier, Gallup Press (later this year).
First Book from Seth Godin and Amazon’s Domino Project
It’s here… Seth Godin‘s first book for the Domino Project. The book is Poke the Box. Seth writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and most of all, changing everything.