The 7 Habits by Steven Covey

Habit 1: Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Choice

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind: Principles of Personal Vision

Habit 3: Put First Things First: Principles of Integrity & Execution

Habit 4: Think Win/Win: Principles of Mutual Benefit

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: Principles of Mutual Understanding

Habit 6: Synergize: Principles of Creative Cooperation

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal

The Clock and the Compass

Stephen Covey's book First Things First decribes a common conflict that frustrates many people in our society. One half of the conflict is "The Clock" which drives us to accomplish more tasks with higher quality and less time. The other half of the conflict is "The Compass" which allows our personal values and life mission to guide us, to think long term. Ideally we reconcile this conflict and align our efforts to better serve both our short term and long term goals.

How have you resolved this conflict in your life?

Online Storage Options

Each of the free or low cost online storage services for individuals and SMBs have their own strengths and weaknesses. Just when I think I have found the perfect compromise and am ready to settle down on one product, I find out more about what it can't do and also I find out more about what the other services can do!




I have an evolving list:



http://www.sugarsync.com/ backup and synchronization



http://www.dropbox.com/ backup and synchronization



http://www.mozy.com/ backup




http://www.live.com/ for MS Office docs and others



docs.google.com for Google docs and others



idisk.me.com for any docs



So, dropbox vs sugarsynch vs office live vs google docs vs idisk?

Am I missing your favorite tool or service?

Country Wisdom

A traveling salesman is walking down a country road, and passes a farm. In the middle of the field he sees a farmer, standing under an apple tree. The farmer holds a pig in his arms. The salesman stops and watches as the farmer walks around the tree with the pig, and holds it up so that the pig can eat about four apples in this manner.

“Mr. Farmer,” yells the salesman, “wouldn’t it take a lot less time if you just put the pig on the ground, and let him eat the apples that have fallen of of the tree?”

The farmer pauses in his work, turns to the salesman and says, “Well, maybe, but really, what’s time to a pig?

Kenya School Project Flourishes with Community Support
http://www.almanacnews.com/news/show_story.php?id=6217&e=y

Kenya Help nonprofit
http://kenya-help.org/

[creative commons photo of D'Arnaud's Barbet at Lake Baringo, Kenya by aftab on Flickr]

Simple

Unexpected

Concrete

Credible

Emotional

Story

When Limbo Ain't Vertical

I had the chance to talk with a King Lear character outside of Peet's Coffee in Los Altos the other day who ask me, "Do you know when limbo ain't vertical?" He motioned toward heaven and hell, then paused for my response. I was slow to respond and a broad smile grew on his face revealing five missing teeth, all in horizontal alignment, absense, limbo. Then he motioned across the street and into the Peet's shop, looking to me for acknowledgement and some type of reaction.

[creative commons photo from Max Sparber on Flickr]

First Pancakes

I really never throw out the first pancakes. Sometimes they're overcooked, sometimes undercooked, occasionally splotchy, and sometimes they are absolutely perfect. The producers of the wheat flour, eggs, and milk worked hard to get their best to me, so I think I owe it to them and to myself to not waste good food.

My little one reminds me everyday of how precious our first efforts at walking, talking, and writing are. It is a little more challenging to consider my first PowerPoint, first departmental budget, or first sales pitch to be special or meaningful to me or anyone else.

Do you throw out your first pancakes?

[creative commons photo from Solcita on Flickr]

Muda: waste that does not add value
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muda_(Japanese_term))

Mura: unevenness, inconsistency
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mura_(Japanese_term))

Muri: overburdened, unreasonableness or absurdity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muri_(Japanese_term))

Chop wood. Carry Water.

http://www.interluderetreat.com/meditate/chop.htm

That's how camels are made...

Shaker, not Quaker