Productivity Blog

via The Seattle Times by Jon Talton Top of the News: The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index seems consistent with recovery, coming in at 53.6 for November; any number above 50 signifies expansion in the sector. Unfortunately, the reading sagged from 55.7 the month before, tripping up what economists had hoped would be a steady climb out of recession. A deeper look shows that the index provides no relief … Continue reading →

Via The Wall Street Journal By JOANN S. LUBLIN and ROGER CHENG WASHINGTON—U.S. corporations remain hesitant to give the gift of a new job this holiday season, except for a select few. That’s the sentiment among chief executives gathered here at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council. Leaders from across the corporate landscape spoke of cautiousness in rebuilding work forces reduced severely during the worst economic downturn in generations. “We … Continue reading →

THE UN-COMFORT ZONE with Robert Wilson The Examined Life “Hola!” “Hola. ¿Qué tal?” “Bien. ¿ y tu?” “Bien.” Paul and I were sixteen years old and had taken highschool Spanish for a year. We called each other every night on the phone and spoke to each other in our new language. More than anything we wanted to test our skill with a real Spanish speaking person, but we did not … Continue reading →

Via The New York Times By STEVE LOHR IN government, as in business, crisis can fuel creativity. These days, the pressure to rethink things is particularly intense for state and local governments, which have far less leeway than Washington to borrow in bad times. “The economic pressures will force us to be more efficient and change how we deliver government services,” says Sonny Perdue, the governor of Georgia. Mr. Perdue … Continue reading →

THE UN-COMFORT ZONE with Robert Wilson How Cool are You? My sons recently started talking about being cool, and I recalled my own teenage years and the need to be cool. That driving desire dictated the clothes I wore, the music I listened to, and what subjects I became conversant in. And, yet despite all my motivation and effort, it remained elusive. When I look back, I can see that … Continue reading →

FROM THE CHAIRMAN … Robert A. Jacobson, MPS Global 360/The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today in the USA Today that on average “Workers spend 1.7 hours a day doing nothing, costing businesses $4.4 USD billion a day.” Now can you imagine what that is on an annualized basis???? And can you imagine how damaging that is to the bottom line and to profitability around the world???

VIA REUTERS By Sven Egenter GENEVA (Reuters) – Switzerland knocked the United States off the position as the world’s most competitive economy as the crash of the U.S. banking system left it more exposed to some long-standing weaknesses, a report said on Tuesday. The World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness report 2009/2010 showed economies with a large focus on financial services such as the U.S., Britain or Iceland were the losers … Continue reading →

THE UN-COMFORT ZONE with Robert Wilson King George III asked Benjamin West, his American painter, what George Washington would do if he prevailed in the Revolutionary War. West replied, “He will return to his farm.” The British monarch incredulously said, “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.” On December 23, 1783 Washington did just that and retired to Mount Vernon – despite the encouragement … Continue reading →

By Robert Wilson On June 29, 1863, a 23 year old First Lieutenant received an unexpected promotion. The freckle faced, strawberry blonde, who graduated at the bottom of his class at West Point, was elevated directly to the rank of Brigadier General in the Union Army. He completely skipped over the traditional ranks in between of Captain, Major, and Colonel. As you can imagine such a promotion was met with … Continue reading →

Via PC World by Rick Broida Wait, did you read that right? Turn off Outlook’s you’ve-got-mail alerts? Why on Earth would you want to do that? In a word: productivity. Think about it: New messages are constantly flowing into your inbox, and by default Outlook alerts you to each and every message. That’s not much different from a co-worker popping his head into your office every five minutes to ask … Continue reading →