June 1, 2009

Table of Contents:

Keeping Up: Current Events

Another Cup, Please!

On functional MRI scans, coffee has been shown to activate parts of the brain that help focus attention on tasks at hand. Results from a long-running study even show that drinking coffee cuts the risk of dying early from a heart attack or stroke.

Online Ads Are In!

Almost half of all adults who use the Internet in the U.S. now rely on classified sites, according to a recent study.� That number has increased faster than online banking, travel booking, and shopping on e-commerce sites like Amazon.com. Craigslist gets the vast majority of classifieds business, with eBay taking second place.�

Do you work in bed?

If you do, you are not alone. About a quarter of workers in the UK reported using a mobile device such as a laptop in bed before they went to sleep. About 57 percent of those surveyed say they work from bed between 2 and 6 hours every week.

Keys to Your Career (2 of 3)

Learn who the boss is. The fact is that even when you reach your "terminal" job--the Holy Grail that you have been working for, even then, you will have a boss.�Ironic, isn't it?�You will probably be the boss in many settings, but "relativity of power" is something that good leaders have to learn.�Whether it is shareholders, employees, Directors or peers, we all have someone to answer to.�It's just that simple.�Remain open to answering whoever happens to be in the "boss" role today.

Give the Gift of Keeping People on Track

So you would like to present a new idea or solution to your key stakeholders, or you have been presented with a new set of new parameters and need to persuade others of a different approach.� What do you do?� How do you begin?

Editor’s Note

The June 2009 issue of Personal Excellence features an article by Suzanne Updegraff, the President of EDSI, entitled Show Gratitude.� Click here to check it out.

The May 2009 issue of HR Magazine  has a very interesting statement: �Building personal accountability among employees should be the heart and soul of a company�s business strategy.� In our opinion, only those companies that are proactive in this area during this economic downturn� will come out stronger.� Pulling back is reactive and not positive for talent development.� EDSI�s course, Increasing Personal Effectiveness�is all about personal accountability.

Book Report

Re-Th!nk
Ric Merrifield

Our book report this time features re-th!nk, A Business Manifesto for Cutting Costs and Boosting Innovation, by business architect, Ric Merrifield (Pearson Education, 2009). This title cuts through trendy advice about the current economy and focuses on smart tenets of business thinking.�

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Situation Room
Hostile Take Over

Jackie, a highly successful bank manager in Minneapolis has been having trouble at her job ever since the bank was bought out by its competitor. She was shocked by the take over, and felt betrayed that she hadn't been let in on the plans before they were announced to all of the employees. She has based much of her career identity on the fact that she works for a local bank that supports the community.

Now she walks around the office with a chip on her shoulder. She seems short tempered, and is outwardly sarcastic about the new ownership, even in front of customers or employees of the other bank, who are now her colleagues. The branch manager sat down with Jackie and attempted to let her blow off steam about her feelings. This only seemed to fuel her feelings and justification for her behavior.

What would you do?

What do you do?

Send in your solutions!

Author Profile

Clark Aldrich

For this issue of The Performance Report, we met up with Clark Aldrich, who is a �globally recognized industry guru�covers topics such as virtual experiences, games, simulations, educational simulations, social impact games, practiceware, game-based learning/digital game based learning, immersive learning, and serious games.

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