Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .
IN OUR WORLD
Here it is, the last remnants of 2010. They are kind of like that ember in the fireplace that is just about out but can still spring to life. The spark is the dawn of a new year (damn, not sure why I sound like some bad coffee house poet).
I want to take this time to say, THANKS to all my friends and clients that helped me make 2010 a hugely successful year.
- I finished the year with having the opportunity to work 25 different clients in 15 completely different industries. It’s that kind of challenge that keeps me on my toes. From wheat production to wafer thin electronic chips it was a fantastic experience.
- I visited 51 different cities, many times not really knowing what city I was in. The scary part was that only 4 of them were first time visits for me. I would like to say “hi” to all my new friends in Coralville, Iowa.
- My newsletter readership jumped to 5,000.
- The Repeatable Successful Acts platform, the result of two years worth of research, launched and has been a grand slam home run. It is in play at over 12 different companies with more to come in 2011.
- Three new programs launch in 2011 and I already have bookings for all three.
Thanks to all of you.
By the way – The 2010 Top 10 and Bottom 5 annual movie review list is ready. The only way to get it is to “ask for it.” Let me know you have an interest and I will get it to you.
HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE
AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Here is a short thing you should know.
The Harvard Business School just published a management study. What do you think stops managers from becoming great? No big surprise – THEMSELVES. Most simply stop improving themselves. They dedicate all of their time to the tasks at hand and forget about their own skills.
The questions they need to ask are:
How Good am I?
Do I need to get better?
Start with really knowing what you do. At the end of the day, you are responsible for the performance of a group of people.
How do you do that?
You exert influence through managing yourself, your team and your network.
Take some time in 2011 to spend on yourself. Work on your skill sets. Get better at what you do and watch your career move forward.
ENTERTAINMENT
MOVIES: Somewhere: This is the new Sophia Coppola. It looks pretty good and you know you won’t get any big movies at this time of year.
NetFlix Fans: The American: Very interesting, filmed in a minimalist style. I like Clooney in a very understated role.
TV: This is the dead zone time of year for TV. Nothing really good will happen until the first part of next year. So, check out all the obscure channels like G-4 or the National Geographic channel.
BOOKS: The Sherlockian – Moore: The hunt for Arthur Conan Doyle’s lost diary and a murder to be solved by a Holmes scholar.
MUSIC: One of my favorite “tiny” songs by Cat Stevens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-jvAdDx0-4
WEB SITES: I was told – “DON’T POST THIS WEB SITE”. But it’s the end of the year so what the hell. WARNING – WARNING – very funny stuff but not for the easily, or for that matter, anyone that can be offended because these guys offend everyone.
SOUTH OF NORMAL
The folks at Merriam-Webster listed the Top 5 most searched words and they are – in order
1. Austerity – Guess during rough time’s people forgot what it meant.
2. Pragmatic – Time to get more practical, but people wanted to sound smarter.
3. Moratorium – No more drilling in the gulf.
4. Doppelganger – Huh, why would the German root word for Twin get a heavy search?
5. Shellacking – What the Dallas Cowboys got this year.
Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com
Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.
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