Low Carbon UK : Go for engineering challenge

Fundraiser: Hugh PorterMy page: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/HughPorter

Hi, thanks for visiting my page - I have created a blog at http://cycle.woodrush.com.

My plan is to cycle from Orkney to Kent raising money for two charities

• The Outward Bound Trust which is dedicated to unlocking potential in young disadvantaged people and
• Help for Heroes - this is about me doing my little bit to show support for these extraordinarily brave and mainly young people.

I intend to look at selected engineering feats (mainly civil engineering) along the route and consider the implications of the big changes I (and perhaps we all) need to make to move to a low carbon economy. I will take David JC MacKay's book Sustainable Energy - without the hot air with me as a reference guide.

Through Virgin Money Giving, you can sponsor me and donations will be quickly processed and passed to charities. Virgin Money Giving is a not for profit organisation and will claim gift aid on a charity's behalf where the donor is eligible for this. I really appreciate all your support and thank you for any donations.

Change reaction

Learning - chinese proverb

"Tell me and I'll forget;

show me and I may remember;

involve me and I'll understand."

Alternative ....in terms of Personal Learning Journals

I hear and I forget

I see and I remember

I write and I understand

NTNON Gramophone (not quite SPIN selling - click here))

......What do I do with my old 78s?

SPIN stands for Situation, Problem, Implication, Needs

NTNON = Not the Nine O'clock News

Memory tips - DOMINIC O'BRIEN'S

The three pillars to learning are

1. good memory techniques, one memory technique for languages is "gender zones". Visualise feminine nouns such as "la cantina" (cellar) in your home or home town; masculine nouns such as "il campo" (field) elsewhere
2. speed reading and to improve speed reading, use a pointer such as a pen to trace along the lines as you read
3. note-taking take effective notes, make mind maps from key words and crystallise original notes down to helpful reminders

If you learn something new, review it within 24 hours to help lodge it in your memory

Reaching your potential - Robert Kaplan (HBR)

Key ideas from the Harvard Business Review article by Robert S. KaplanThe Idea in Brief

Despite racking up impressive accomplishments, you feel frustrated with your career--convinced you should be achieving more. You may even wish you had chosen a different career altogether.

These feelings often stem from a common error: buying into others' definitions of success. To reach your potential, Kaplan suggests taking a deeply personal look at how you define success:

Begin by recognizing that managing your career is your responsibility. Then, follow these three steps:

Know yourself by identifying your strengths and weaknesses and the activities you truly enjoy doing.

Excel at the activities critical to success in your desired role.

Demonstrate character and leadership by putting the interests of your company and colleagues ahead of your own.

Management Gurus - quick and easy guide

By Lyndsay Swinton
If you need to know who's who in management but haven't got time to wade through stacks of books, relax because in a cup of coffee's time you'll be an expert on management gurus through the ages. Read on...

Management Gurus
Frederick W Taylor - Scientific Management - Frederick W Taylor, an American inventor and engineer, is considered the father of scientific management.
Elton Mayo - Human Relations Theory - Elton Mayo formed Human Relations theory after the surprising results of the Western Electrical Company Study.
Abraham Maslow - Hierarchy of Needs - Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist best known for his theory of the hierarchy of needs.
Frederick Herzberg - Hygiene and Motivation Factors - Frederick Herzberg proposed that satisfaction and dis-satisfaction at work resulted from Hygiene and Motivation factors.
Peter F Drucker - Peter F Drucker is an internationally acclaimed management writer, consultant and lecturer.
Douglas McGregor - Douglas McGregor was an American social psychologist best known for Theory X and Theory Y; opposing assumptions about human behaviour behind every management decision or action.

Quality Management Gurus
W Edwards Deming - Total Quality Management & Deming's 14 points - W Edwards Deming was an American statistician, founder of total quality management, Deming's 14 points and statistical process control (SPC)
Joseph Juran - The Quality Trilogy - Joseph Juran's belief that quality does not happen by accident gave rise to the quality trilogy.
Philip Crosby - Zero Defects & Right First Time - Philip Crosby is an American who promoted the phrases 'zero defects' and 'right first time' in quality management.
Tom Peters - Tom Peters' book “In Search of Excellence”, co-authored with Robert Waterman, presents 8 common themes of successful corporations.
Dr Kaoru Ishikawa - Quality Circles - Dr Kaoru Ishikawa gave his name to the Ishikawa diagram, also known as the fishbone diagram or cause and effect diagram.
Genichi Taguchi - Quality Loss Function - Genichi Taguchi is a Japanese quality expert, known for the Quality Loss Function and 'Robust Design'.
Shigeo Shingo - Poka yoke, source inspection, mistake proofing and SMED - Shingo quality teachings were successful as they were practical and action oriented, and contributed to Just in Time (JIT) production

Management Specialists
Ken Blanchard - The Situational Leadership Model - Ken Blanchard is internationally renowned for his situational leadership model developed with Paul Hersey and his One Minute Manager series co-authored with Spencer Johnson.
Dr Meredith Belbin - Team Roles - Dr Meredith Belbin, founder of team roles theory, is a widely respected expert and adviser on organisations and teams.
Honey & Mumford - Learning Style Questionnaire - The Honey & Mumford self-administered learning style questionnaire determines your preferred learning style.

Related Articles
The Johari Window Model - The Case for Cigarettes and Alcohol in the Workplace Increase Self Awareness and Be More Effective In Groups with the Johari Window Model
The Learning Matrix: Smooth your learning journey An already infamous statement from US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reveals a valuable insight into learning. The Learning Matrix is vital knowledge for effective managers.
How To Do A SWOT Analysis: Strategic Planning Made Easy Strategic Planning" sounds a lofty pursuit and perhaps beyond our humble capabilities. Not so with a SWOT Analysis. Learn how to do a SWOT analysis using the SWOT matrix and become an effective strategic planner today, achieving your goals.

Black Swan - the impact of the highly improbable

Nassim Nicolas Taleb

JHP: Everything it says it is on the cover. A great read and one that makes sense of so much....

Managing directors & others - time allocation

Rules of thumb
80% time dealing with customers and people
20% on other issues

All managers should spend circa 30%+ time on people engagement; e.g. 1 to 1s, team talks, etc activities

Schein's Career Anchors

Understanding what inspires you in your career

It used to be that once you decided on a career, you stayed in that career until you retired.

Not so anymore: The notion of lifetime employment has been replaced with lifetime employability. This means that you can’t rely on your employers to maintain your employment: You alone are responsible for your career progression and development.

Career management and planning in this environment is a challenge. So that you remain satisfied and fulfilled by the work you are doing, you need to adjust your career development activities accordingly.

Career development is no longer only about gaining the skills and knowledge you need to move up within one company. Career development today is about achieving flexibility and continuously evaluating and developing your skills in order to remain employable and fulfilled over the long term, regardless of who you are working for, and what industry you are working in.

To achieve this level of flexibility, you need to have a very strong sense of who you are and what you want from your work. Not everyone is motivated by the same thing, and our ambitions vary greatly. Some people thrive on being creative and innovative whereas others prefer stability and continuity. Challenge and constant simulation may be important to one person, while creating a work/life balance is paramount to another.

So, to effectively manage your career, you need to know more than what you enjoy doing: You need to understand WHY you like to do it. You need to figure out what the underlying characteristics of the work are that make the task enjoyable, interesting and stimulating to you.

To help people answer this question, Edgar Schein, a specialist in organisational psychology and career dynamics, identified eight "career anchors.”

stephen covey's seven habits of highly effective people

from Wikipedia....

Covey argues against what he calls "The Personality Ethic", something he sees as prevalent in many modern self-help books. He instead promotes what he labels "The Character Ethic": aligning one’s values with so-called "universal and timeless" principles. Covey adamantly refuses to confound principles and values; he sees principles as external natural laws, while values remain internal and subjective. Covey proclaims that values govern people’s behavior, but principles ultimately determine the consequences. Covey presents his teachings in a series of habits, manifesting as a progression from dependence via independence to interdependence.

 

N.B. Various phrases on this page are registered trade marks belonging to Stephen Covey.

Stephen Covey's principles are protected intellectual property and feature strongly in the Franklin Covey organization's portfolio of products and services.

Communication

Everybody communicates! Modern research shows us that communication has three different but important elements.

WORDS (12%)
the actual written 'symbols' that are spoken - 'the map is not the territory'.

PARALINGUISTICS (35%)
the way the words are spoken; differences in: words, tone, inflection, dialect, tming and errors.

NON-VERBAL (53%)
the physical 'cluster' which is not spoken.

The percentages indicate how much each element contributes to the communication process in a 'face-to face' meeting.

How easy is it to change?

There is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things." Machiavelli

p = h + d where

performance = habit plus drive

"Give me the strength to change what can be changed, the patience to accept what cannot be changed and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other."

Tips and Ideas for Building Writing Skills and Confidence

1. Learn from others. Find role models — people whose writing you like — and study their style. Read with intentionality. Notice what strikes you as good or bad writing.
2. Writing anything is better than writing nothing. Practice makes less imperfect. Make every writing opportunity an opportunity to develop your writing skills.
3. All good writing starts with the initial rough draft. Your first draft is just the starting point. Learn to trust yourself and the process.
4. Don’t fall in love with your own words. Edit ruthlessly. Focus on tight writing. Become best friends with your delete key.
5. Write like you speak. Eschew terminological obfuscation and fancy formality. Write in a conversational me-to-you tone.
6. Let your subconscious do your writing for you. A great deal of writing happens when you are away from the keyboard. Write, put it away and then look at it later on with fresh eyes.
7. When (not if) you get stuck, notice your writing “shoulds.” Acknowledge them and set them aside. Take a break then write an email about what you are stuck writing about.
8. Find a setting that is conducive to writing. Use your favorite font. Play your favorite music. Find your favorite location. Use whatever approach works best for you
 

Mature, Consistent, Optimistic, Creative, Luck .... People with inspiration & vision

Leaders create commitment and are absolutely essential in times of chaos, crisis or change. 'Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.'

'Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought'. Henri-Louis Bergson.

'We are what we repeatedly do.' Aristotle. In leadership the best surprise is no surprise.

'There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.' Victor Hugo.
Stay up-to-date. The closer you are to the future, the easier it is to predict.

Leaders always view a cup as being half full, not half empty. 'A leader is a dealer in hope'. Napoleon I. .

Preparation, Learning & Destiny

'Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.' - Henry Ford
'The man who is prepared has his battle half fought.' Cervantes.

Learning from the past.
'The further back you can look, the further forward you are likely to see.' Winston Churchill.

Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not something to be waited for but rather something to be achieved.

Confusius say

'The essense of knowledge is, living it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance.'
Being unselfish - 'he who wishes to secure the good of others, has already secured his own'.

Definitions; diplomacy and tact

Diplomacy is the art of enabling other people to have your own way.

'Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.' (Abraham Lincoln).

steer clear of the past lane

originally an extract from http://money.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2005/09/15/ccfifty15.xml(Filed: 15/09/2005) Link no longer available


This week: David Varney, HM Revenue & Customs executive chairman

what Mandela taught me

originally an extract from http://money.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2005/09/08/ccfifty08.xml (Filed: 08/09/2005) Link no longer available

Bryan Sanderson, chairman of Standard Chartered and Bupa
There are lots of lessons on people: most of all that they're the most important part of any organisation.