Quought for the day #42 – Timothy Johnson

By Rajesh Setty on Tue 06 Feb 2007, 5:00 AM - 2 Comments

Chief Accomplishment Officer of Carpe Factum, Inc (formerly Delta Project Solutions, Inc.). Teaches MBA classes as well as consult on project management issues. Tim is the author of Race Through the Forest – A Project Management Fable and various articles. Other books and articles in progress. His clients have included Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, Teva Neurological Pharmaceuticals, Orchard Place (Children’s Psychiatric Center), ING, Wells Fargo, and Principal Financial Group, as well as some smaller local organizations.

What drives Tim: Passion and Balance. Passion for what works. Passion for creativity. Passion for accomplishment. Passion for solid leadership. Balance among my family, my faith, and my career.

Tim’s Quought for the Day:

What am I accountable for accomplishing in 2007?

Tim’s note accompanying the Quought: 
This is not the same as “what do I need to do?”  I’m asking two
things with this question:

1.  What do I need to get DONE (i.e., finished)?  A lot of us start things – how many of us finish them?  And, are the things I need to get done the right things for me?

2.  How do I effectively own the accomplishment (i.e., possibly working through others to lead them in making the accomplishment happen)?  We’re all busy people.  How can we leverage those around us to create something
greater than we could do on our own?  How do we tap into the servant-leader within to envelop those more talented and bring them along on our journey?

Note:
Quought = Question that provokes thought. Questions are important. Thinking is important. Questions that make you think are very important!

PS:
Squidoo Lens: The Power of Questions!

Posted under Main Page, Quought for the Day.

Quought for the day #41 – Atanu Dey

By Rajesh Setty on Mon 05 Feb 2007, 5:00 AM - 2 Comments

Dr. Atanu Dey is a contrarian and delights in pointing out which bits of conventional wisdom is not all that wise. Thus he argues, for example, that the solution to the problems of rural India lies in urban areas; or that information and communications technology will not solve problems that are not at their core technical problems. He is not exactly a Luddite, as he has an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and post graduate degress in computer science. He changed his profession late in life and attended UC Berkeley where he received his PhD in economics. While at Berkeley, he was also a Reuters Digital Vision Fellow at Stanford University in 2001-02, During that period he created a model for development called “RISC — Rural Infrastructure and Services Commons” and co-authored the concept paper with Vinod Khosla.  He has worked for Hewlett Packard in the Silicon Valley and is currently Chief Economist at Netcore Solutions in Mumbai. Atanu blogs at http://www.deeshaa.org on India’s Economic Development.

Atanu’s Quought for the Day
“Is there any technology that was ever developed for the poor and which eventually ended up benefiting the poor?”

Note:
Just shows that I have a bird-brain. When I received this question from Atanu, I wrote back saying, should we slightly modify the question to put the responsibility back on the reader – “”What could you do to develop a technology that would benefit the poor worldwide?”
Atanu quickly responded

Thanks Atanu for the clarification

Note:
Quought = Question that provokes thought. Questions are important. Thinking is important. Questions that make you think are very important!

PS:
Squidoo Lens: The Power of Questions!

Posted under Main Page, Quought for the Day.

Quought for the day #40 – Kimberly Wiefling

By Rajesh Setty on Sun 04 Feb 2007, 5:00 AM - Leave Comment

Kimberly Wiefling is the founder of Wiefling Consulting, a scrappy enterprise enabling individuals, teams and organizations to achieve results that seem out of reach or nearly impossible through leadership and project management excellence. A physicist by education, she spent 10 years at HP in technical leadership and project management roles, then 5 years in the wild and crazy world of Silicon Valley start-ups before leading one to a glorious defeat during the dotcom bust of 2001. Vigorously scrappy, she reemerged, consulting on leadership and project management worldwide – from Armenia, to Tokyo, to the Silicon Valley. Kimberly is the executive editor of The Scrappy GuidesTM, a regular contributor to the “Project Connections” newsletter, (70,000+ subscribers weekly), and her radio show, “The Scrappy DialoguesTM”, airs occasionally on www.wiefling.com, and she is the lead blogger at www.SVProjectManagement.net .

(click on the button to read the background for this series)

When something that seems like it might be “bad luck” happens . . .

When I feel like asking “How?” because it seems impossible . . .

  What would make that possible?

When I want to demand “Why?” . . .

   Help me understand . . .
(Not exactly a question, but gets a lot less defensiveness in people than “why?”)

Note:
Quought = Question that provokes thought. Questions are important. Thinking is important. Questions that make you think are very important!

PS:
Squidoo Lens: The Power of Questions!

Posted under Main Page, Quought for the Day.

Quought for the day #39 – Tom Clifford

By Rajesh Setty on Sat 03 Feb 2007, 5:00 AM - 2 Comments

Thomas is an internationally recognized award-winning documentary filmmaker.  Tom likes to tell people his films are like “MTV meets PBS!”

Tom’s passion is branding organizations and transforming individuals through remarkable storytelling and authentic documentary filmmaking.  

For over 20 years, organizations like The Travelers, Deloitte, Lincoln Financial Group, Epilepsy Foundation, Honeywell and Timex have counted on Tom’s films to tell their story authentically and with eye-catching results.  His films capture the “spirit” and culture of companies by empowering employees to tell their story from their personal ‘lens.’

“The Men Who Brought the Dawn,” a film featuring the airmen who flew the atomic missions to Japan and co-produced by Tom, is a part of the permanent collection at the Smithsonian Institution.  

Tom’s films have been shown at The NFL Hall of Fame, PBS, AFC Championship and others.

If every physical creation is first created mentally, then what will you be creating in 2007?

Note:
Quought = Question that provokes thought. Questions are important. Thinking is important. Questions that make you think are very important!

PS:
Squidoo Lens: The Power of Questions!

Posted under Main Page, Quought for the Day.

Quought for the day #38 – Professor Srikumar S. Rao

By Rajesh Setty on Fri 02 Feb 2007, 10:52 PM - 2 Comments

Professor Srikumar. S. Rao is the Louis and Johanna Vorzimer Professor of Marketing at the C. W. Post campus of Long Island University and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. His course – Creativity and Personal Mastery – is one of the highest rated courses at Columbia Business School and has been written up in major media including the New York Times, Fortune and Business Week.

Dr. Rao has also served as a marketing advisor to the national board of MENSA. He is interested in programs for gifted children and the development of special instructional materials for them. His other interests include tennis, squash, karate, table tennis and chess; Eastern philosophy and meditation; and Wodehouse, science fiction and creative writing.

(click on the button to read the background for this series)

Dr. Rao’s Quought for the Day is:

If you learnt that, owing to unfavorable business conditions, your salary would be cut in half how would you react? Would you scramble to adjust your finances so you could continue? Or would you immediately look elsewhere?

If the latter, you are wasting your life. Think about it.

Note:
Quought = Question that provokes thought. Questions are important. Thinking is important. Questions that make you think are very important!

PS:
Squidoo Lens: The Power of Questions!

Posted under Main Page, Quought for the Day.

Quought for the Day #37 – Kelley Bell

By Rajesh Setty on Wed 31 Jan 2007, 10:55 AM - 2 Comments

Kelley Bell is a writer, graphic designer, martial artist, and seminar leader who resides happily in Ohio with her husband and two children.  She is a self proclaimed Eco-Feminist and Progressive thinker.

Kelley is a freelance writer, co-author of a soon to be published work on Women in the martial arts, and has written a companion book for her seminars called: Reach for the Stars: A Guide Book to Extraordinary Living. She is in the process of completing her first novel, and writes on a freelance basis for various publications.

Kelley is active in many areas.  She works hard to promote women as participants in the political arena.  She speaks frequently to groups on the subject of women’s empowerment.  She teaches the philosophies of Integrated Medicine, preventative health care and meditation, and she works tirelessly to protect our environment.   She is an amateur historian, mythology buff, and naturalist who loves Falconry, and offers seminars to educate the public about conservation, and the spiritual connections we have to our natural world.

Kelley’s Quought for the Day

Kelley’s note accompanying the Quought
I do not believe one can find a complete answer from any single question, any more than one could fill an entire ocean with only one cup of water. I do have a theme of which I think would be a good start, but it would lead to many questions, as all theories do:
 
Imagine you are at the very end of your life, looking back on your hopes, dreams and accomplishments.  If you could go back, start over, and write the script for your life, what would you dream it to be?
To answer this, you must ask, “What matters most?”
And from there, the real question is;
“What steps must I take, right now, today, in this very moment, to make that dream awaken?”
 
If you can answer these questions, everything else in life then flows, like a crystal clear river.
For then the only question is, “Am I doing what matters right now?”

Note:
Quought = Question that provokes thought. Questions are important. Thinking is important. Questions that make you think are very important!

PS:
Squidoo Lens: The Power of Questions!

Posted under Main Page, Quought for the Day.

Quought for the Day #36 – David Moxam

By Rajesh Setty on Tue 30 Jan 2007, 9:46 PM - Leave Comment

David Moxam serves as the President & CEO Authentix, David leads a team of PhDs, engineers and industry experts that work with Fortune 500 companies and governments around the world combating the issue. The firm’s pioneering work has been the subject of numerous broadcast and print stories and in 2006, Mr. Moxam was recognized as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Technology. Personally committed to using advanced technologies for the betterment of society, a mission statement principle of Authentix, Moxam serves on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce board of directors where he co-chairs its Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy technology program. He also serves on the Board of the Texas Nanotechnology Initiative, was one of the founders of the NanoTX conference, and serves on the board of Compassites Software Solutions in Bangalore, India.

Prior to joining Authentix, Mr. Moxam spent 15 years running global operations for companies such as EDS, Telecom Canada and Starpoint Solutions.

David’s Quought for the Day

David’s note accompanying the Quought:
This is the one question I asked myself several years ago that significantly changed my life and perspective …

Note:
Quought = Question that provokes thought. Questions are important. Thinking is important. Questions that make you think are very important!

PS:
Squidoo Lens: The Power of Questions!

Posted under Main Page, Quought for the Day.

Quought for the Day #35 – Ashwin Rangan

By Rajesh Setty on Sat 13 Jan 2007, 11:37 PM - 2 Comments

Until recently, Ashwin Rangan served as the Chief Information Officer of Walmart.com. Prior to this assignment, he served as senior vice president and chief information officer of Conexant in Newport Beach, CA (www.conexant.com). Ashwin was a member of the founding team that spun-out Rockwell Semiconductor Systems (in January 1999) and created Conexant. Prior to joining Rockwell Semiconductor Systems in 1995, Rangan served as senior manager of Demand Management Systems at AST Computer in Irvine, CA, until AST was acquired by Samsung Electronics.

Ashwin serves on the board of Suggestica.

My $.02: The quick recipe for unhappiness is to not know what makes you happy. If you don’t know what you want, whatever happens, it won’t be what you “wanted.”

(click on the button to read the background for this series)

Here’s Ashwin’s Quought for the Day

Note:
Quought = Question that provokes thought. Questions are important. Thinking is important. Questions that make you think are very important!

PS:
Squidoo Lens: The Power of Questions!

Posted under Main Page, Quought for the Day.

Quought for the Day #34 – Christine Clifford Beckwith

By Rajesh Setty on Thu 11 Jan 2007, 9:17 PM - 1 Comment

Christine Clifford Beckwith is an internationally recognized expert on overcoming adversity through humor,  as well as a popular deliverer of Selling the Invisible Presentation.  A former monthly columnist of Professional Speaker magazine, Christine is a Certified Speaking Professional, a designation accorded only seven percent of all professional speakers.

Her experience taught her how to market and sell products, services and
herself. Now, Christine Clifford Beckwith shares that message with
others. Christine Clifford Beckwith has definitely cracked “the glass
ceiling.” At the age of 40, she was Senior Executive Vice President for
SPAR Marketing Services, an international merchandising and information
services firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She currently serves as the CEO/President of The Cancer Club and Sales Director for Beckwith Partners.

My $.02: The quought and the explanation are just fantastic. We are all at loss of words when something bad happens to someone close to us. If you have faced that problem, think about Christine’s question and you may have an answer.

(click on the button to read the background for this series)

Christine’s Quought for the Day:

 
Christine’s thoughts on the Quought:
When friends and family learn that someone is facing adversity, they often don’t know what to say. They don’t want to say the wrong thing, so they often end up saying nothing. Humor is a great connector of people. It breaks down communication barriers and puts people at ease. So the next time you hear bad news from someone you care about, ask yourself, “Is there a way to make this person laugh, if even for a moment?” A shared gift of laughter is a priceless gift to the spirit.

Note:
Quought = Question that provokes thought. Questions are important. Thinking is important. Questions that make you think are very important!

PS:
Squidoo Lens: The Power of Questions!

Posted under Main Page, Quought for the Day.

Quought for the Day #33 – Ben Yoskovitz

By Rajesh Setty on Wed 10 Jan 2007, 11:39 PM - 1 Comment

Benjamin Yoskovitz has over 10 years experience as an entrepreneur, primarily focused on web and software development businesses. His expertise lies in developing easy-to-use, quality web-based software, client/customer management and operations. Benjamin started blogging earlier in 2006 at Instigator Blog ( http://www.instigatorblog.com), focusing on small business, entrepreneurship, technology and marketing. More recently, Benjamin has joined b5media, launching Startup Spark ( http://www.startupspark.com), a blog focused on entrepreneurship. As well, he’s helping a fellow entrepreneur with a project of social experiments at Gifter.Org (http://www.gifter.org ).

My $.02: Think about Ben’s question and it may motivate you to re-look at the tasks that are keeping you busy today.

Here’s Ben’s Quought for the Day

Ben’s note accompanying the Quought:
This is a question you’d ask yourself. It might come across a bit “nasty” at first, but that’s not the intention. As well, it’s not about caring about what other people think; you can’t be successful worrying overmuch about what other people think.

It’s about looking inside yourself and figuring out why what you do matters. It’s about honing in on your “personal elevator pitch” and focusing not on what you do, but why it matters (and being able to express that quickly!) And not why it matters to you, but to others. People are busy, attention is spread thin, if you want to stand out and make a difference, you need to know why others should care. Walk the walk, talk the talk and people will care.

Note:
Quought = Question that provokes thought. Questions are important. Thinking is important. Questions that make you think are very important!

PS:
Squidoo Lens: The Power of Questions!

Posted under Main Page, Quought for the Day.