An Area Accurate Map

Peters vs Mercator map
Uploaded by ACerminaro.

"Which is bigger, Greenland or China? With the traditional Mercator map (circa 1569, and still in use in many schoolrooms and boardrooms today), Greenland and China look the same size. But in reality China is almost 4 times larger! In response to such discrepancies, Dr. Arno Peters created a new world map that dramatically improves the accuracy of how we see the Earth.

The Peters Projection World Map is one of the most stimulating, and controversial, images of the world. When this map was first introduced by historian and cartographer Dr. Arno Peters at a Press Conference in Germany in 1974 it generated a firestorm of debate. The first English-version of the map was published in 1983, and it continues to have passionate fans as well as staunch detractors.

The earth is round. The challenge of any world map is to represent a round earth on a flat surface. There are literally thousands of map projections. Each has certain strengths and corresponding weaknesses. Choosing among them is an exercise in values clarification: you have to decide what's important to you. That is generally determined by the way you intend to use the map. The Peters Projection is an area acurate map."

Read more at Peters Map

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Tips for Employers for a Litigation-Free Holiday Season

See this Vedder Price article for a good summary of measures employers may take to avoid the legal pitfalls and potential litigation that can frequently arise during the holidays. Found via the newsletter from Employment Law Information Network.

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CMU receives $3M from Kauffman Foundation

"Carnegie Mellon University is one of several colleges and universities to receive grants from the Kauffman Foundation to help grow programs that encourage entrepreneurship among students and faculty.

Pittsburgh-based CMU received $3 million to help create a minor in entrepreneurship and innovation, and a master's degree in engineering and technology innovation."

Read more in this Pittsburgh Business Times article.

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Apple Over the Fence

A little girl saved the life of Hermann Rosenblatt during the holocaust. Fate brought her back into his life. Later, he had heart bypass surgery and his mother came to him in a dream, saying "You've got to tell your story, so that your grandchildren will know who their grandfather was." And what a story. So we will never forget, read about it in this aish.com article.

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Would Any Other Brand Smell as Sweet?

Understanding brands and brand management is important for everyone. Even if you never have to write marketing copy or develop a logo, you should understand the basics of branding as it reaches into all areas of a company.

These BNet resources cover many aspects of branding from strategy to repositioning.

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12 Days of Christmas Price Index Rises

Since 1984, PNC Bank has been tabulating the PNC Christmas Price Index, a tongue-in-cheek analysis of the cost of goods and services given in the holiday classic The Twelve Days of Christmas. This year to buy all of the 12 gifts on the holiday carol's shopping list - from the partridge in a pear tree to the 12 drummers drumming and all the gifts in between - it would cost $18,920.

To enjoy this year's flash presentation, visit The True Cost of the 12 Days of Christmas and click on the presentation link. The PNC Christmas Price Index provides an interesting perspective on the events and news that helped shape the economy during the year.

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The Defining Dozen Business Plan Questions

"To write a good business plan, you have to know the answers to the “Defining Dozen” questions...

1. What’s your business idea?
2. How does your idea address a need?
3. What model suits you best?
4. What’s so different about what you offer?
5. How big is the market and how big will you grow?
6. What’s your role going to be?
7. Who's on your team?
8. How will customers buy from you, and how much will they pay?
9. How much money do you need, and how much will you make?
10. Where's the startup money coming from?
11. How will you measure success?
12. What are your key milestones?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you should be prepared to write the actual business plan document."

Read more in this article from StartupNation.

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Resources on Strategic Partnerships

Strategic partnerships in which entrepreneurial companies team up with larger companies can be a tremendous growth opportunity – if they’re set up carefully, with plenty of research to identify the right partner, clear communications about goals and values, and a formal agreement that details the rights and duties of each partner in the relationship.

A new collection of articles on strategic partnerships has been posted on the Kauffman eVenturing™ (www.eVenturing.org) site for growth-oriented entrepreneurs. Particular emphasis is on the needs of technology-based businesses.

The collection, authored by entrepreneurs and legal experts, covers product/technology development alliances, distribution/reseller arrangements and co-marketing programs. The collection also includes sample strategic partnership agreements and worksheets.

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Martin Luther King

Accurate information should be a goal for a search on Google for Martin Luther King. 

So... let's do a little Google-bombing:

Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King

If you want to know why we are doing this, have a look here.  Even better - join in the project and do some good.

Thanks to Scoble for raising the profile of this project.

As suggested in this Rethink(IP) post.

Technorati tags: MLK, Martin Luther King, Thanksgiving, Do Good

 

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Primer on Choice of Business Entity

Attorney Imke Ratschko writes: "Articles on choice of business entity are a dime a dozen. Here is one that stands out from the crowd." Please see her post for an active link to an excellent resource.

Technorati Tags: business, management, entrepreneurship, startup, legal

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Domestic Violence Legal Landmine

"A legal landmine awaits unsuspecting employers with regard to domestic violence in the workplace. A misstep could expose an employer to possible claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, failure to accommodate and tort claims...

Assisting domestic violence victims requires a multidisciplinary approach from many resources including law enforcement, health care, social services and the community. Employers can be a proactive partner in this process by working with domestic violence organizations and legal counsel to create a domestic violence workplace program, which includes the following steps:

...Develop a written domestic violence policy...
Provide regular ongoing training...
Provide access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that is experienced in providing services to victims of domestic violence....
Know...[and]establish relationships with domestic violence resource organizations..."

Read more in this San Diego Source article found via the Employment Law Information Network newsletter.

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Tutorial Guide to Financial Statements

Do you think a balance sheet is a parlor trick involving bed linens? Do your eyes glaze over when your accountant hands you the financial statements? Are you curious about what all those numbers mean?

Then, check out Baruch College's Guide to Financial Statements - Online Tutorial for a step by step, easy to follow, informative overview of the basics.

You need never fear an annual report again.

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The Transformative Power of Thanksgiving

"Gratitude can be a powerfully transformative practice...Practicing gratitude can actually improve our emotional and physical well-being...

Here are daily practices anyone can try.

1. See the giver behind the gift...

2. Ask yourself three questions every day... 'What have I received today? What have I given? What trouble have I caused?'...'As we become aware that we've received so much more than we've given, not only does that cultivate gratitude, it also cultivates often a sense of wanting to give something back to the world.'

3. Practice even when you don't feel like it. 'One of the mistakes people often make in our culture is thinking you have to feel grateful to practice gratitude...You can practice anytime'...

4. Make thank-you your mantra...

5. Create a simple family ritual. 'In our family, every evening when we have dinner, we say our thank you's...I's not a formal prayer of any kind, but just what we're grateful for in the moment, and that's all. It brings us back, it's a touchstone to the miracles of life that we may have been overlooking.'

6. Bow to life. 'I do three bows in the morning...The first bow is to my self as part of the universe. The second bow is to my family, children, and friends to acknowledge and appreciate them. The third is bowing to the universal life force and what is. Doing this helps me let go of controlling, and instead open to the flow of life...'

Read more in this article from Beliefnet.com.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

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Establishing Outsourcing Contract Service Level Measures

"Properly identifying and developing service level metrics is a major factor in building a successful outsourcing contract. The development and governance of these metrics involves tasks that must occur while the contract is being negotiated (pre-contract) and tasks that occur after the contract has been signed (post-contract).

Far too often, the customer and the provider agree to incorporate service level "place holders" into the contract. Their intent is to revisit the assignment of service level measures at some point after the commencement of the engagement. However, once the contract is signed, it is very difficult to bring everyone back to the table to negotiate additional terms and conditions. The lesson learned is obvious: establish your service levels prior to contract negotiation."

Read more in this article from BNET.com.

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Ten Schools of Strategic Management Thought

"The Ten Schools of Thought model from Mintzberg is a framework that can be used to categorize the field of Strategic Management.

1. The Design School...sees strategy formation as process of conception
2. The Planning School...sees strategy formation formal process...
3. The Positioning School...sees strategy formation as an analytical process...
4. The Entrepreneurial School...sees strategy formation as a visionary process...
5. The Cognitive School...sees strategy formation as a mental process...
6. The Learning School...sees strategy formation as an emergent process...
7. The Power School...sees strategy formation as process of negotiation...
8. The Cultural School...sees strategy formation as a collective process...
9. The Environmental School...sees strategy formation as a reactive process...
10. The Configuration School...sees strategy formation as a process of transformation..."

Read much more in this article from 12manage.com.

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How To Build an Effective Board of Directors

Fred Wilson has been sitting on early stage company boards for over 15 years. He shares ten keys to establishing and working with an effective startup board of directors.

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To Patent or Not to Patent, that is the Question

Guy Kawasaki recently posted:

"The most valuable outcomes of a patent are often impressing your parents and filling up space in your MySpace profile. (The exception to this rule is biotech, chip design, and medical devices where a patent really means something.)

As a startup, it’s highly unlikely that patents will make your company defensible because you won’t have the time or money to do battle with a Microsoft-esque competitor. Sure, every few years you hear that Microsoft has to pay a company tens of millions of dollars, but 'suing Microsoft' isn’t a viable (or attractive) business strategy."

Guy Kawasaki then asked the intellectual property attorneys at Rethink(IP) to respond to his comments. They did, noting that:

"Sometimes, you've got to realize that 'patent everything' is not the best strategy...and then develop a big-picture intellectual property strategy that is custom-tailored to the startup and its industry. Be brave and accept the fact that patents just might not be the whole enchilada in that picture."

Read the complete Rethinker's response here.

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Honor the Fallen in Flanders Fields

Poppies
TigerTigerTiger.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.


"The poem 'In Flanders Fields' by the Canadian army physician John McCrae remains to this day one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915.

The most asked question is: why poppies?

Wild poppies flower when other plants in their direct neighbourhood are dead. Their seeds can lie on the ground for years and years, but only when there are no more competing flowers or shrubs in the vicinity (for instance when someone firmly roots up the ground), these seeds will sprout.

There was enough rooted up soil on the battlefield of the Western Front; in fact the whole front consisted of churned up soil. So in May 1915, when McCrae wrote his poem, around him bloodred poppies blossomed like no one had ever seen before."

Find much more on this poem and its author here.

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"When You Come Home" Honors Troops

Beliefnet honors the men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan with this presentation featuring photos from Beliefnet readers.

You may also with to visit WhenYouComeHome.com to share your pictures, video, audio, and messages. You may find yourself or your loved one in one of Beliefnet's upcoming tributes.

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Must Be 77 Ways To Motivate Your Workers

This NebGuide by John E. Barbuto, Jr.
identifies five sources of motivation and suggests 77 (yes, seventy seven) strategies leaders can use to get the best performance from their people, stating:

"What separates exceptional leaders from ordinary leaders is the ability to inspire and motivate employees. In recent studies, researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln examined sources of motivation of Nebraska workers in urban and rural settings. The results have demonstrated that five unique sources of motivation exist:

Intrinsic process - motivated by FUN
Instrumental - motivated by REWARDS
Self-Concept-External - motivated by REPUTATION
Self-Concept-Internal - motivated by CHALLENGE
Goal Internalization - motivated by the cause or PURPOSE

Each of the five sources requires different organizational and leadership characteristics to tap into them.

Exceptional leaders will find ways to tap into each source. Those who tap into just one or two will motivate only a small percentage of their workers and be less effective. However, leaders who understand the different ways that individuals are motivated will be able to effectively motivate their workers."

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