Getting to the Point | The Exkalibur Newsletter | July 21, 2017
In this week’s Getting to the Point newsletter, our Featured Article, Would you listen to the Most Beautiful Woman in the World?, offers a simple recipe for ignoring barbs from strangers that can get under your skin. Our Business Brief, includes some fascinating connections between our natural tendency to lie and how willing we are to admit our mistakes and correct them. The dilemma for leaders is apparent when the proven science about our disposition to lie collides with our reluctance to admit our mistakes. There’s more in our Business Brief:
- Are CEOs Being Held to a Higher Standard?
- The Cost of Cyber Attacks is Astronomical
- Why Do We Care About Medical Mistakes? How About Our Own?
- One More Time: Team Culture Eclipses Everything, and
- Are We Humanoids Underrated?
In our Geeking Out, there’s some amazing science about storing a movie in living bacteria, creating realistic video that’s fake, and a discussion about extraterrestrial ice on earth? We’ll also consider one of the most unique trailers you’ve ever seen when you Do This.
Around the Web, you may find Another Sign of the Apocalypse and learn why the gap between black & white infant mortality is growing, why we all seem to be predisposed to lying and how some big money is being made from dead celebrities. You’ll also want to consider how the advantages of taking some time off can sustain and extend a career in our Wide World of Sports segment.
Take a break and you’ll share the laughs from the most hilarious parenting tweets of the year in our Humor segment, find a great movie to watch and another great book from the pen of Ben Coes in Fiction.
Monday’s Quote of the Week
Getting to the Point | The Exkalibur Newsletter | July 14, 2017
It’s been an interesting week, so we’re Getting to the Point with valuable insights to help you Become a More Effective Leader along with a wide range of information from the worlds of medicine, science, technology and popular culture.
Start by taking the quiz in our Spotlight segment to see what you really know about the human body. Then you can catch up on the evolution of Spam … yeah … both kinds … and wash that down with your third cup of coffee, which will reportedly make you even healthier than you already are.
Then, turn to the Featured Article where we talk about how the 2 Minute Rule can help you rule your domain. In the Business Brief, you’ll also find out the #1 thing that people want their CEOs to improve, a quick primer on signs that a recession may be on the horizon, how you can improve the decision-making in your organization and what companies can do when the founder’s culture starts to fail. If you’re ready to start Geeking Out, you’ll discover elevators that go sideways and scientific tools made from paper.
When you’re ready for a quick turn Around the Web, I’ll offer some free, spot-on marital advice, you’ll learn what a vinculum is and get a further update on the insurance fraud accompanying the opioid epidemic. If it’s too hot where you are, revisiting the ice bucket challenge might help where you’ll also learn about the value that may start in the southern end of a northbound goat.
I still can’t stop laughing at the story in our Humor section … and you may still be laughing when you learn about the latest “sport” that isn’t. You’ll probably stop laughing, though, when you get to my latest rant in The Political Landscape, but I just couldn’t help myself. Of course, there’s critical updates on the Emmy nominations announced yesterday and … finally … the return of Game of Thrones on Sunday. I’ll also share my latest mystery novel find and we’ll celebrate the tremendous legacy of 102 year-old Herman Wouk.
The 2 Minute Rule … Rules … Until It Doesn’t
You may be using something like the “Two Minute Rule” to help you get quick things done quickly.
But what are you doing with everything else?
You’ll Be Surprised When You Try This Experiment
You might be thinking,
“Two Minutes? You can’t get anything done in 2 minutes? What’s this guy thinking?”
I get it. So here’s a little experiment I want you to try.
- Stop doing anything.
- Set a timer for 2 minutes.
- How long does that feel?
It feels even longer than 2 Minutes, doesn’t it?
The key is that you can get important tasks DONE in a couple of minutes if you’re prepared to take advantage of it. But, you’ll also see when you take a look at Why You Should Implement the 2 Minute Rule … and When You Shouldn’t, that it’s only a one trick pony.
The more important question is what are you doing to get control of and manage everything else that doesn’t fit that simple rule?
Monday’s Quote of the Week
Getting to the Point | The Exkalibur Newsletter | July 7, 2017
I hope you got to enjoy one of the more than 16,000 fireworks displays across the country this past Tuesday as we celebrated our nation’s 241st birthday.
This week we’re Getting to the Point with insights from the business world as we fulfill the promise of The Exkalibur Organization to Help you Become a More Effective Leader. Our Featured Article describes the one thing you can be sure is missing when projects don’t get done. In our Business Brief, you’ll also read articles from leading journals about the best way to lead your team, how to learn more about your competition and what Google is doing with its Hacker SWAT team. You’ll also find an inspirational quote and see how superior performance leads to skyrocketing salaries … in the sports world. If you use your IOS devices (iPhone or iPad) to manage your photos, you’ll appreciate this tip in From the Apple Tree.
Of course, we can’t overlook the Centennial Celebration at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Championship in our Spotlight segment and the origin of a summer favorite, the popsicle. You may also be stunned to learn how deep is the ocean and what happens to our brain when music gets in there.
There’s a lot to learn about that three-pound jelly roll in our heads, too, so the scientists will help us understand more about our brain and its flaws and biases in our Around the Web segment. You’ll also get an underground tour of our nation’s super-bunker in the Cheyenne Mountain, learn of another sad byproduct of the opioid epidemic and what happens when we stop making babies.
Of course, there’s always a little Humor around and I’ll offer some additional ideas about more serious reading you can enjoy during your summer vacation as well as the latest beach read from John Grisham. You’ll also learn why movie producers are concerned about them rotten tomatoes.
Enjoy the beautiful weekend!
This Has Been My Universal Experience: No Momentum? No Results!
How often have you started a project which ran out of steam?
It’s not because the idea is no longer valid or the results desirable … but because other priorities jumped in line … energy was diverted to new projects … and the original project died on the vine.
Isn’t it interesting that Sir Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion perfectly predicted this?
“An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”
In other words … if an object is in motion, it tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by another force which slows it down … like unexpected obstacles, new priorities, emergencies … really, anything that gets in the way.
I’ve described this phenomenon in greater detail in Why the Lack of Momentum is the Most Lethal Force in Your Business because I want you to create and harness the concept of Momentum. You’ll find that while it’s invisible to the touch, it’s paramount to the energy that’s needed to successfully complete … almost anything.
So, the next time you find a project flailing about … and its energy dissipating … be sure to consider what you can do to jumpstart that project and renew its energy
About Me
I am a leadership coach and a professional author and speaker, facilitating leadership groups among CEOs and senior business leaders in the SF Bay area.
I am the author or more than 125+ newspaper columns published by the SF Bay affiliate of the NY Times among the 500+ articles here. I have also written 3 ebooks about Leadership & Business Finance.
I have been married forever to a beautiful woman and have one spectacular daughter who has dedicated her life to helping children with life-threatening illnesses. Read more ….
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