May I Recommend...?

It's certainly convenient if you have a great group of friends who love reading books and putting you on to the next great read. However, if you don't hang out with book types, here's a referral site that gives you recommendations based on other's reviews (instead of the Amazon cyborg suggester).

And if you're really not into making your own choices, they have an affiliate site that lets you take a quiz to see if you should really vote the way you think you should. (They actually ask if you think the candidate should be a Mormon...)

Cheers...

High Fives Decision Making

For anyone who has ever had to lead a group writing a mission or vision statement, or planning an event, a lot of time can be spent checking to see how everyone is feeling about how things are going. This "High Fives" method can cut that time dramatically, especially as the group expands beyond 5 or 6 individuals. Here's how it works:

The facilitator clearly states the question or idea and provides the scale below (it is helpful to post the scale on a flip chart before the meeting begins):

5. I can give an unqualified yes to the decision. I'm excited or enthusiastic about it.
4. I can live with the decision. It's OK with me.
3. I am concerned about this decision but will not block the group.
2. I think there is a major problem with the decision and choose to block the group's action.
1. Too soon to make any decision; work needs to be done before the question can be asked.

Each person in the group responds to the question by indicating with a show of fingers his or her level of endorsement of the proposal. When the group responds with “fours” and “fives”, the decision goes ahead. “Threes” indicate a need to discuss the question further, as do “ones” or “twos.”

Cheers...

Latest Productivity Black Hole

As one of my colleague's referred to them, Yahoo's new Widgets are "ridiculously cool!" Download the engine and then pick up a few more of the Widgets from the gallery. One of the guys responsible for most of the coolest ones is Arlo Rose. You can check out his blog at mouselabs.

Enjoy!