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A blog post by Jessica Leber published by Fastcoexist.com about Angeline Gragasin, a documentary producer and her Women of the Future, a monthly series of webisodes on inspiring renaissance women. Love the quote below attributed to the first interviewee Eva Franch, a Catalan architect who directs Storefront for Art and Architecture, in NYC SoHo neighborhood. Excerpt In a 30-second preview clip you can watch above, Franch shares with Gragasin her inspiring thoughts on creativity: "Culture is about expanding your horizon of expectations in relationship to what is possible. Curiosity is actually the only thing that allows you to go further, right? To find new horizons."

A truly inspiring nonprofit organization in Africa, that has not only developed an open source software for mapping crowdsourced data as it comes in - real time data collection - but has developed an internet platform and start-up incentive program for Africa. Clay Shirky used them as an example of the Culture of Generosity in his TED talk and book, Cognitive Surplus.

I've already donated to them! Very inspiring org.

Explores value of Pinterest for business, Donston-Miller, March 6, 2012. Pinterest users are heavily women and younger (ages 25-44) Assessment: "Companies are finding themselves challenged to effectively marshal their externally facing social networking efforts, and most are likely focusing on Facebook and Twitter. So, with resources at a premium, should your company be paying attention to upstart social network Pinterest right now? The short answer is yes." Pinterest experiencing huge growth and now drives more traffic to Real Simple website than Facebook does. Caveat: Pinterest user boards overwhelmingly focus on food, fashion, home decor, and hobbies, things that are visual and usually visually appealing. "Pinterest is best used to inspire or remind... looking at capitalizing on Pinterest as a gift registry ...even if your company doesn't make or promote something highly visual ...it probably has something that can be visualized and put into context... data ...house infographics--things like data sets, visualization of data.... even with something like a technology company, there are always ways to visualize information in an engaging way."

A cartoon of My Mother's Computer Keyboard from a zilliondollarcomics.com, 6.7.13 Maybe we can be inspired and do a Womenslearningstudio keyboard.

from Fast Company.com Explanation of Mightybell and interview with Gina Bianchini about why she created it. Again, the focus is on groups. "Today, the number of social networks available to us means there's a surfeit of places to come together online--we share aspirational photos on Pinterest, photos from our lives on Instagram, news on Google+, Internet happenings on Tumblr, and everything else on Facebook. But with so many channels to work with (waste time on?), the things we want to say are easily drowned out in noise, making it hard to establish genuine, intimate relationships with groups of people who aren't close friends and family. Sure, you can like a photo or retweet a clever one-liner as gestures of social solidarity, but they don't go far in making connections that count. Which is why Gina Bianchini, founder of new social network Mightybell, thinks it's time for an AOL chat room renaissance. Collaboration and action in intimate circles could be her competitive advantage."

More on Mightybell

Interesting and vast website, Next Avenue, sponsored by PBS, that has loads of resources under Technology, Reinvention & Inspiration, Style, Travel, Arts & Entertainment, Passions & Pursuits, etc. Relevant to WLS.

"A comment on Joho's (Dave Weinberger) blog post--a memoir of blogging--bySuw Charman-Anderson, January 9, 2014. Excerpt: " I wonder too if my lack of blog writing is related to a lack of blog reading. My RSS reader became so clogged that I feared it, wouldn't open it, and ultimately, abandoned it. And then Twitter and now Zite arrived to provide me with random rewards for clicking and swiping, showing me stuff that I had no idea I wanted to read. Instead of following the writings of a small cadre of smart, lovely people whom I am proud to call my friends, I read random crap off the internet that some algorithm thinks I might be interested in, or that is recommended by the people I follow on Twitter. That may or may not be a good thing. We were all aware of the problems of homophily, and the random clickage does help combat that. But the problem with not following people's blogs closely is that there's no conversation anymore. My blogs used to host great conversations, and I would happily engage in fascinating discussions on other people's sites. You can't do that so easily with Twitter, and Facebook. Indeed, most of my interactions on Facebook, which are scarce as I loathe it, end up being pointless arguments with friends-of-friends who turn out to be idiots. I'd love to see a resurgence in blogging. I think, personally, I need to delete Zite from my ipad and find a good RSS reader so I can follow the blogs of those people that I really care about. Not the worthy blogs I ought to read, but the works of people who matter to me. And then I need to get back to commenting, like this, because there's nothing more encouraging than finding out that people care about what you write, that people appreciate it. And David, I really do appreciate your writing - you're as inspiring and fascinating now as you were back in 2001! "

Once again, Jarche comes through for me. Tuesday, January 14, 2014 "The keys to motivation at work are for each person to have a sense of Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. This is a network management responsibility." Could we do a play on RAMP-R-----Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose in the Studio? Another excerpt that I buy to a point--I don't think networks are the new companies but short of that, I agree with his premise: Most management practices today still focus on 20th century models, such as Henry Fayol's six functions of management [look familiar?]. forecasting planning organizing commanding coordinating controlling I heard these same functions discussed by a workplace issues consultant on the radio as recently as yesterday morning. Notice that there is no function for enhancing serendipity, or increasing innovation, or inspiring people. The core of management practice today has not changed since the days of Fayol, who died ninety years ago. "But the new reality is that networks are the new companies. The company no longer offers the stability it once did as innovative disruption comes from all corners. Economic value is getting redistributed to creative workers and then diffused through networks. Knowledge networks differ from company hierarchies. One major difference is that cooperation, not collaboration, is the optimal behaviour in a knowledge network. In networks, cooperation trumps collaboration."

"Of the array of skills that comprise leadership, the ability to craft and communicate strategic vision is simultaneously the most valuable and least well-practiced. The value part is obvious; leaders adept at inspiring their teams achieve high-impact business results faster, more easily, and more compassionately. But, why do so many leaders struggle with building shared vision? In this article, I'll outline three root causes and suggest ways to address them based on best practices from TED Talks."

Very nice blog post by Vicki Halsey on six ways to energize work relationships, February 20, 2014, Blanchard Forum to discuss leadership and management issues. SPRING stands for Smile, Personalize your conversations, Relate your commonalities, Inspire, Notify and Gratitude (express it to show others impact they have on people around them).

Love this blog post by Michael Hyatt in 2011? on getting unstuck and becoming more productive Here are seven steps to getting unstuck. They are not that revolutionary on their own, but practiced together, they are like a defibrillator for your productivity: 1. Create a to-do list for today 2. Turn on some inspiring music 3. Turn off the social web 4. Do one task at a time. 5. Group similar tasks together. 6. Take frequent breaks 7. Rinse and repeat

blog post by Jennifer Gilhool, 6.4.2013 "You are connected to work 24/7. You don't need your lap top to be connected. You are connected via BlackBerry, iPhone and iPad to name just a few. These devices no longer provide flexibility. Instead, they tether you to the office. They enable you to work all the time and anywhere. And, now, many companies believe that is the definition of flexibility: "'What flexibility means today is not part time,' the head of work-life at one large organization told me recently. 'What people want is the ability to work anytime, anywhere.' That's true if your target labor pool is twenty-somethings and men married to homemakers. The head of HR at another large organization asked, when I described the hours problem, 'What do you mean, how can we get women to work more hours?'" - Why Men Work So Many Hours, Joan C. Williams, May 29, 2013 Harvard Business Review Why Your Manager Doesn't Want You To Innovate Ron Ashkenas Ron Ashkenas Contributor LinkedIn: Busting 8 Damaging Myths About What It Can Do For Your Career 85 Broads 85 Broads Contributor Someone has taken the "human" out of "Human Resources" departments across America. And, this behavior is not limited to operations in America. I work for a multi-national corporation that cannot seem to wean itself from the 24 hour work day. Colleagues in China often begin their day with a 6:00 a.m. meeting and end it with a meeting that begins at 10:00 p.m. or, worse, 11:00 p.m. To combat this problem, the company leadership agreed to a global meeting policy. The policy provides that global meetings should occur only between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. and that no meetings should occur on Friday nights in Asia Pacific. Further, the policy provides a 10 hour fatigue rule. In other words, there should be 10 hours between your last meeting of the day and your first meeting on the next day. First, if you need a global meeting policy, you are in

Top 100 websites for women at end of 2012 Did a call in from Forbes groups to identify sites with "informative and compelling content, smart navigable design, engaged communities, and a voice that speaks to and for the female reader that's kept fresh, timely, and in-the-know by savvy staffers and impassioned writers. ... Does it have that amorphous and often indefinable quality that inspires us to share--with out social networks and in e-mails and conversations with our moms, sisters, friends and colleagues."

post by Meghan M. Biro, July 28, 2013 on collaboration success. Excerpt: The fact is there is nothing more important to leadership and organizational success than collaboration. It exponentially increases the odds of amazing things happening. But it can be tough to achieve. Bringing people together and then igniting and nurturing a collaborative effort is a key test of leadership and workplace culture. Technology provides amazing tools to make this happen. It is nothing short of a game-changing community-builder. 1. Build an online infrastructure for social learning and networking 2. Set limits 3. Get it off your chest 4. Ignite inspiration 5. Be yourself

"Openlab Workshops' mission is to use open source and free software tools and knowledge to both enable and inspire people's creativity. We are part of the open source and free software community because of their idealistic emphasis on transparency, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration. Since 2009 we've developed and taught over 24 workshops in such topics as programming for artists and designers using Processing, interactive lighting, livecoding, Arduino, and sound generation and analysis."

My cousin Evan Raskob's Openlab Workshop site. They are f2f workshops, but the concept is to bring diverse people together to create and share knowledge about digital art and technology.

"Something successful entrepreneurs should aim to have: Conviction. Being an entrepreneur is not the easy road to success. Sure, you're your own boss-making the conversation in which you ask for a raise far less awkward-but the hours are long, the market always crowded, the naysayers plenty. There will be discouraging news. But the ability to stand behind your decisions is essential. No one else can tell you what you want for your company, and don't let them try. Drive. As an entrepreneur, time is not on your side. The best-laid plans are those that are executed as swiftly as possible. Don't sit on an idea or wait until you've had a chance to "sleep on it." Act now. Innovation. The original brainchild might have been the thing that got you excited enough to take the leap into entrepreneurship. But longevity will depend on continually coming up with new ideas, from products to ways to market them to which audiences to target. Not all of these ideas will be winners. But having them is not optional. Inspiration. You may be your only employee. Or you might have a team that looks to you to engage them, foster their talents, and involve them in the bigger picture. Those employees who feel excited about, and part of, the overall vision will be encouraged to grow alongside you, and work hard for you. Focus. Establish your daily, weekly, quarterly goals and go after them. Connect dots on a daily basis. Avoid distractions, and distracting people. Independence. It's a lonely road, entrepreneurship. Though your goal is to foster community within your company, there will be days when you wish everyone else would be willing to work as hard as you are, to want it as much as you do. But realize that your company's success does mean more to you than it does to anyone else. Be willing to go the road alone on those days when everyone else has seemingly pulled off for lunch. That's what'll make the difference."

short video by Kathryn McClendon on many women not seeing themselves as leaders yet have a long list of accomplishments to show that they are. Distills leadership to three actions: Inspire. Persuade. and Influence. 8.5 minutes long. Talks about her leadership table of women who have touched her life. Women of courage include her mother who immigrated from Guyana with two year old child (speaker). Claudette Colvin--an unwed, pregnant teenager who refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, ALA months before Rosa Parks emerged. Marian de Forest--Buffalo, NY woman who became a playwright and journalist. Founded Zonta. Set a place for yourself at table of four.

Meghan Casserly of Forbes interviewed 20 young female entrepreneurs and how to use Twitter to find mentors and those that can give you advice as you build your business. All agree it is essential to have mentors, not just 1, and a support group of women in the same stage as you are or a little ahead in building a business.

blog post by Beth Kanter on social media guidelines, March 20, 2013, yet another practical body of knowledge to become comfortable with in working with orgs on using social media for learning, promoting, educating, inspiring, etc. excerpt Social Media Guidelines or what some call a social media policy summarizes your organization's social media goals, how staff will participate (dos and do nots), identifies legal and privacy issues, a social media work flow, and staffing needs.

article by Martin Dewhurst and Paul Willmott, September 2014 on new leadership skills required in age of new information technologies Machines force executives and senior leaders to: 1. open up their companies through crowdsourcing and social platforms within and across organizational boundaries 2. create data sets worthy of the most intelligent machines 3. "let go" in ways that run counter to a century of OD 4. executives...able to make the biggest difference through the human touch. ...questions they frame, their vigor in attaching exceptional circumstances highlighted by increasingly intelligent algorithms ... tolerating ambiguity and focusing on the "softer" side of management to engage the organization and build its capacity for self-renewal. 5. turbocharged data-analytics strategy, a new top-team mind-set, fresh talent approaches, and a concerted effort to break down information silos...transcend number crunching..."weak signals" from social media and other sources also contain powerful insights and should be part of the data-creation process. 6. ...early movers will probably gain insights of unstructured data, such as email discussions between representatives or discussion threads in social media. 7. ...dashboards don't create themselves. Senior executives must find and set the software parameters needed to determine, for instance, which data gets prioritized and which gets flagged for escalation. 8. ...odds of sinking under the weight of even quite valuable insights grow as well. Answer: democratizing it: encouraging and expecting the organization to manage itself without bringing decisions upward. ...business units and functions will be able to make more and better decisions on their own. 9. 8 will happen even as the CEO begins to morph into a "chief experimentation officer," who draws from acute observance of early signals to bolster a company's ability to experiment at scale. 10. need to "let go" will be more significant and the discomfort of s