REVIEW GRAPHIC of 18 Oscar Nominated Films

Full size version of the graphic.

Posted via email from Todd's posterous

I've MOVED

You can now find my personal blog at toddchandler.com and quotes and signs on my Tumblr page. Thanks.

There had to be a better way to word this

Posted via email from Todd's posterous

Changing Educational Paradigms

LOVE this presentation by Sir Ken Robinson. The animation from RSA adds a lot to the words. I wish I could get my notebooks to look that good. Enjoy!

Simple Milk Jug Job Aid

We go through a gallon of milk a day at our house. We keep extra gallons in the basement fridge and only one at a time in the kitchen. All too often we're on the last gallon of milk and don't know it until it's too late. A Sharpie marker and just-in-time learning approach to the rescue.

Posted via email from Todd's posterous

Kids Reading Stories

Discovered a wonderful site for kids, especially those learning to read, call Smories. It's a page full of children reading children's stories directly in to the camera. And I love the story of how the idea was born:

We got the idea for smories.com during an extremely long journey in a very dirty Land Rover from the Kalahari desert in Botswana to Cape Town in South Africa... (read the rest of the story here)

Here's one of my favorite stories, Stone Soup.

The Importance of WHY

Wonderful TED video, Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action, that explains the importance of WHY.

9 Helpful Resources Learned at Rise of Social Commerence

I met many cool people and gained several insights from Altimeter's Rise of Social Commerce conference. Here's the list of 9 helpful (or at least very interesting) resources I learned about from the speakers and sidebar conversations:

1. Homophily - "Birds of a feather flock together." Sinan Aral gave a fascinating presentation about how to maximize word-of-mouth influence and social contagion through online networks. He's written several papers on the subject.
2. Air Force Counter Blogging Flow Chart - Charlene Li presented this in her Open Leadership presentation. Looking forward to reading her newest book by the same title.
3. Personalized Cards by Hallmark - Add your own photos and message, tell them where to send this real paper card, and they'll stamp and mail it on any date you want. Can't wait to try it.
4. ModCloth - indie, retro, vintage apparel.
5. diapers.com and soap.com - trying to be the Zappos of household basics. Free shipping and easy shopping, but how do they compare on pricing? I did a quick test by Red Lasering items in my bathroom and comparing them to prices on soap.com. Most were also like Zappos (where you can't pay more online), but a few items that had ecoupons were cheaper, and a few more were equal in pricing. Easy navigation and well designed, but know your prices or just embrace the convenience and be willingly pay more.
6. Polyvore - creative community where anyone can be a stylists. The sight allows you to create your own fashion trends. "Clip + Create + Shop + Share = Polyvore"
7. Tree of Tenere - how the loneliest tree in the world survive for 300 years.
8. Making Meals and Memories - Le Crueset's engaging program to encourage customers to share the fun memories associated with their cookware. Love the viral maps at the end of each story.
9. shopkick - a location-based program that drives traffic to retailers and can't be faked like GPS programs. I just downloaded the app and am headed to Best Buy to collect some kickbucks.

If you attended or watched any of it on ustream, what resources and takeaways did learn?

BEAUTY: Natural vs Man-made

This summer I had an amazing opportunity to to attend the Gemological Institute of America's Diamond Grading Lab followed by 4 days of hiking in southern Utah. I was truly surprised to discover that the two experience had a strong similarity between them. In both, I spend a lot of time viewing nature's beauty, and in both situations, nature's beauty had been enhanced by man.

With diamonds, that's obvious. These crystals take millions of years to form and are eye-catching in their own right, but it's when man cuts and polishes them that they become truly stunning.

Hiking in Zion National Park and then in Bryce Canyon National Park, I made the same observation. The rock formations took millions of years to form and are gorgeous all on their own, but it's man's efforts that cut in trails and create access to to these places that allow us to view them. These switchbacks were created by man:


While the revisions man made to the parks are more about accessibility and to and even larger extent preservation, both are examples of man taking something that is beautiful in it's own right and enhancing it. The challenge for any designer, whether working from scratch or improving on nature, is when to stop because there is a point of diminishing returns where edits start to detract beauty instead of enhance it. And, of course, not everyone agrees to what is actually adding beauty versus subtracting from it. Here's a quote from Lyndon Johnson that was posted at Bryce Canyon on the subject:

What examples of you seen of man enhancing nature? What examples have you seen of enhancements gone wrong?

Best Ride in the Park

One way to stand out in terms of customer service is to ensure associates aim to provide guests with the best ride in the park, an experience so memorable that it compares with the best ride at any amusement park. So for the last six days, I've been doing some serious research on what the best ride in the park actually means as my wife and I dragged our four children to six different theme parks: Universal Studios, Universal's Islands of Adventure, and the four Disney World parks (EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and, of course, Magic Kingdom).

So here's my complete ranking of the best ten rides from those six parks:

1. THE HULK > With the force equal to a jet taking off an aircraft carrier, the Hulk launches you up 150 feet and reaches speeds of 67 mph. With seven inversions, it feels like you spend a third of the ride up-side-down. (BEST RIDE at Islands of Adventure)

2. EXPEDITION EVEREST > The details - both waiting in line and on the ride - are incredible, and it's a fun thrill ride as you plunge backwards in the dark. (BEST RIDE at Animal Kingdom)

3. TOY STORY'S MIDWAY MANIA > You get spun around to pause in front of several large screens that depict realistic 3-D carnival games. The cannon you fire converts from throwing pies, to firing darts, to tossing rings. Engaging, fun, and competitive! (BEST RIDE at Hollywood Studios)

4. THE FORBIDDEN JOURNEY > Wow! I would love to see the behind the scenes of how the flight tansitions from video projected dragon chases to animatronic dungeons. Heck of a journey especially for Potter fans. Wash it down with a butterbeer.

5. LAUGH FLOOR AND TURTLE TALK WITH CRUSH > I know, they're not really rides. And it's two instead of one, but these shows are "ride worthy" and they are very similar. They consist of interactive video presentations. In Laugh Floor (the better of the two), monsters deliver stand-up and have amazing interactions with the audience. In Turtle Talk, Crush comes to the front of a giant aquarium and takes questions from kids. Both are worth seeing at least twice, because it's never the same show. (BEST RIDE at EPCOT and Magic Kingdom)

6. DISASTER > Christopher Walken in person! Well, actually in an unbelievably realistic projection. The live host he interacts with is hilarious, and you should volunteer when she asks for one. (BEST RIDE at Universal Studios)

7. KILIMANJARO SAFARI > Real animals close and in authentic settings. We had a young giraffe stop us by licking the front of the truck.

8. DRAGON CHALLENGE > You know what's cool? Dueling inverted roller coasters. Dueling inverted roller coasters are cool.

9. TWILIGHT ZONE TOWER OF TERROR > You leave your seat as the ride falls faster-than-gravity, and you get a brief, but grand view of the rest of the park. My son asked the bellman if he would ride with us, to which he quickly replied, "No, I always take the stairs."

10. ROCK 'N' ROLLER COASTER > Zero to sixty in 2.8 seconds and Aerosmith!

Agree or disagree? What's the best ride in the park to you?

Classic Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Well, except for this one, of course.

Posted via email from Todd's posterous

Would you like crickets with that?

IMG_0422

 

I love Sonic Drive-ins!  My family and I just recently stopped at one in Columbia, MO for a quick lunch on our road trip to St. Louis, and I couldn't help but notice this sign on there menu board.  The top of the sign has a slit to change out the pictures - pull one promotion out, and slide the next one in.  For some reason several crickets were attracted to this sign and managed to jump down into the slot.  Unfortunately, that made for a very unappetizing poster.  

Posted via email from Todd's posterous

The Third Largest Country is... FACEBOOK?!?

Loved this graphic for an article in The Economist titled "The Future is Another Country." The article also makes an interesting point about what makes a country:

But many web-watchers do detect country-like features in Facebook. “[It] is a device that allows people to get together and control their own destiny, much like a nation-state,” says David Post, a law professor at Temple University. If that sounds like a flattering description of Facebook’s “groups” (often rallying people with whimsical fads and aversions), then it is worth recalling a classic definition of the modern nation-state. As Benedict Anderson, a political scientist, put it, such polities are “imagined communities” in which each person feels a bond with millions of anonymous fellow-citizens. In centuries past, people looked up to kings or bishops; but in an age of mass literacy and printing in vernacular languages, so Mr Anderson argued, horizontal ties matter more.

HOW TO HIRE A-PLAYERS | And the winner is...

Congratulations to SF Varney for winning the autographed copy of Eric Herrenkohl's book "How to Hire A-Players."

HOW TO HIRE A-PLAYERS | 3 Helpful Resources

Continuing my quest to become better at hiring A-Players, I found three helpful resources about the topic:

• 10 Steps to Successfully Sourcing and Recruiting Startup Talent
• Nine Essential Questions for Hiring the Best Candidate
• How to Sell a Job to A-Players

Enter to win a free autographed copy of Eric Herrenkohl's book "How to Hire A-Players" by leaving a comment on my interview with Eric.

HOW TO HIRE A+++ PLAYERS | Never Good Enough

Since reading "HOW TO HIRE A-PLAYERS" by Eric Herrenkohl, I've been looking for opportunities to raise the bar on hiring standards. And this morning, I was struck by a curious point of view. What if your standards are to high? I'm sure it's a far less common dilemma than too low of standards, but still it must exist. What do you think?

Can someone's criteria be so strict that no one will ever match up? If so, what problems can that create? If not, why not? Would love to read what you think in the comments section.

Also, leave a comment on my interview with Eric and be entered to win an autographed copy of his book. Contest ends June 26.

HOW TO HIRE A-PLAYERS | Eric Herrenkohl

I've spent my entire career helping others improve their knowledge, their skills, their understanding, and most of all their performance. After reading Eric Herrenkohl's new book "How to Hire A-Players," I was reminded of the importance that hiring plays in getting strong results.

Eric clearly makes the case that hiring A-players is much more effective than hiring C-players and working to transform them into A-players. It reminded me of the old quote from Robert Heinlein, "Never attempt to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig."

How many times do we determine a performance gap is a training issue when in reality it's a hiring issue? Eric's thought-provoking book really got me thinking (read my 5 big ah-ha's from the book), so I followed-up with him and asked a few questions. You'll enjoy his answers below. Even better yet, Eric agreed to give away a FREE AUTOGRAPHED COPY of his book to one lucky Observation Paper reader. Simply leave a comment to this post and you'll be entered to win. I'll draw the winner on Saturday, June 26.

1. How do you determine whether a performance problem is a training issue or a hiring issue?
You set up a strong training and coaching program, make sure to define the key results you want people to achieve, provide regular coaching, feedback, and accountability, and watch as some people excel, some improve, and others don't make much progress. You had a training issue with those who improved; you had a (mis)hiring issue with those who did not. From there, you create an A-player profile that defines superior performance and performers, start interviewing all the time, keep your couch full of potential candidates, and begin to upgrade the talent level in that key position or positions.

2. How do you create an A-Player profile?
Don't focus as much on the people you currently employ in a role. Instead, focus on the results you want from the job. Get input from people in and out of the organization who really understand the role. Take the time to define what success looks like for the role i.e. if people perform exceptionally well in the job, what results will follow? How will we measure those results? then, assess people currently in the job, compare those results to the profile you have created, and make final adjustments. The end result will be a profile that sets a higher performance bar for the role, and a process that helps people focus on the people they need in the role vs just accepting the people they have.

3. The principles you lay out in the book make a lot of sense, from your consulting experience why don't more organizations follow them?
More and more organizations are following these principles. They are the companies where the CEO is "recruiter in chief" for the business. This does not mean that he or she is mired in HR details. It does mean, however, that the leader of the business talks about creating a team of A-players all the time. Such leaders reject the "hiring to fill positions" mentality. They cast a vision for the business they want and help everybody in the organization to appreciate that finding the next great team member is everyone's priority.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Add your comments, thoughts, or own personal experience to the conversation in the comments section below and be entered to win a free autographed copy of "How to Hire A-Players" by Eric Herrenkohl. Winner will be drawn on Saturday, June 26.

Top 5 Favorite Tips from "How to Hire A-Players"

“If your team is one Great Dane surrounded by Chihuahuas, your ‘big dog’ is at risk.”

That was one of the vivid, concrete points that really jumped out at me in Eric Herrenkohl’s new book, “How to Hire A –Players.” It’s hard to argue with the premise that our organizations would be more effective if we staffed them fully with A-Players, but Herrenkohl goes beyond the motherhood-and-apple-pie maxims, making strong arguments to change the way we approach hiring and offers specific tactics on how to actually build a team of solid A-Players.

The following are my top 5 favorite ah-ha’s from this practical guide:

1. “IF YOU DON’T KEEP HIRING A-PLAYERS, THE ONES YOU ALREADY HAVE MAY START TO LEAVE.” The opening quote at the top of this post comes from that section. Of course, I want all A-players on my team, but I never considered the full impact C-players can have on creating an environment that does not foster and support the continual growth needed for A-players. In a very real sense, A+C+C+C=F. (pages 11-12)
2. “STAY IN TOUCH WITH EVERY A-PLAYER YOU MEET.” Timing is critical. Either you may not have the right opportunity available, or the A-player may not be ready to make a move. Keep in contact and build the relationship, so that when the timing is right, you’re both ready to make the move. Not to mention, you’ll learn a lot from ongoing connections with A-players. (pages 47-48)
3. “STAY AT NETWORKING EVENTS UNTIL THE BITTER END.” The same is true with meetings and workshops, the best dialogues happen towards the end or even after the official ending time. My career has been helped many times by being at the right place at the right time, and I did that by lingering after events. It’s a great way to learn a little more. (pages 85-86)
4. “TAKE THE PROFESSOR, NOT THE CLASS.” Herrenkohl uses this statement to set up his point, “hire the recruiter, not the firm.” I like the professor statement because it has larger appeal beyond hiring A-players. In selecting business partners, if you are looking for long-term continuity, you may want to focus not relying on one person, but for short-term projects, go with the person who will be running the project instead of focusing on the biggest and best firm. (page 146)
5. “INTERVIEW CANDIDATES, DON’T EDUCATE THEM.” This was a big mistake for me early on. I was always selling the job to the candidate (I still catch myself at times). It’s their job to sell us, and it’s our job to get them to open up and elaborate on the details of their previous experiences to determine strengths and weaknesses. (pages 159-160)

The next post will be an interview with the Herrenkohl and a chance for you win an autographed copy of the book. Stay tuned!

WASH HANDS | What's with the Quotes?

Wash Hands
Originally uploaded by Todd Chandler

That law that mandates these signs is silly enough, but what does this restaurant mean by putting quotes around the words "wash hands"? We don't really mean wash hands?

Quotes for Mother's Day

7 Quotes about Mothers

View more presentations from Todd Chandler.