Chapter 4 Stamina

     Today we went over Chapter 4 of Shackleton and discussed how Shackleton was poor at taking rest, although he was a great leader. Whenever I tried to take a nap, my dad used to say "It's not much use if you only sleep for like 30 minutes!" So I was surprised to find out that some people can really refresh themselves by just sleeping till the spoon hits the bowl. This story reminded me of some information I learned from the book called Brain Rules by John Medina. Here's an interesting statistics! "On the flip side, one NASA study showed that a 26 minute nap improved a pilot's performance by more than 34 percent. Another study showed that 45 minute nap produced a similar boost in cognitive performance, lasting more than six hours. Still other researchers demonstrated that a 30 minute nap taken prior to staying up all night can prevent a significant loss of performance during that night" (160). As you can see, what my dad said to me was wrong. Oh don't get me wrong! I don't mean to diss my parent! It's just that after I learned about this truth, I made sure to take a nap whenever I have a part time job at night :)

Yesterday's Class!

     In yesterday's class, I didn't really get a chance to discuss my examples of leadership so here is one! In ICU high school, I used to do dance. Our leader was a girl I was very close to. She started out as a beginner but she worked harder than anyone else and worked her way up. Every time she sees one of her friends, she breaks into a broad smile and her face lights up. I love how she is generous and friendly to anyone. Furthermore, she treats everyone the same.
     Okay...Moving back to how I found this girl a good leader. In high school, we usually had morning practice before the school festival or dance competition. Even though my friend lived 2 or 3 hours away from school, she was always on time for the morning practice. Moreover, she always came to school with earphone stuck in her ears because she was constantly working on image training on her way to school- imagining yourself dancing to the music. She did not neglect even the slightest effort. I was impressed.
     I noticed that my friend set a personal example with visible behaviors as well...One of the strategies brought up in Shackleton. A lot of the time senpai from ICU college came to teach us different genres of dance. Then, my friend always hurried to the front where she could closely observe our senpai's moves. Even before the music starts, she has her long sleek hair pulled back in a ponytail, facing the mirror and ready to dance. I thought this scene was inspiring because it just shows how highly motivated dancer she is and also encourage others to do the same. Most of all, my friend would switch places with the younger students once in a while so that they can see the dancer better which I think is very thoughtful of her.

"All that Glitters is Not Gold!" (Chapter 2)

     What do you imagine when you hear the sentence "Set a personal example with visible, memorable symbols and behaviors" (xxiii)? When I first saw this sentence... My honest reaction was "What!?" or more like "Huh?" with a puzzled look on my face. I took this as kind of like serving as a role model by setting yourself a goal or leaving indelible impression on others by staying bold and confident. It took me a while to get "Symbolism and Personal Example" right. I thought "Set a personal example with visible, memorable symbols and behaviors" meant setting personal examples for yourself. However, it actually meant conveying message for others. In the book there were times when Shackleton intended to convey a message to his men. 

First..."When First Officer Lionel Greenstreet fouled the propeller while attempting to maneuver Endurance" (p.39).

Shackleton helped First Officer Lionel Greenstreet fix the damage and never mentioned about the incident again.

Second..."When Endurance was crushed by the ice..." (p.39).

Shackleton knew it was crucial to get rid of every unnecessary item in order to accomplish a successful sledge march to the ocean. So he threw away this

this

and this!

     I realized that there is more than just telling people what to do. Some people do not like to be told what to do and they may prefer a different approach - through dramatizing "the challenge with visible, memorable symbols and behaviors" (p.40)!

Chapter 1 Vision and Quick Victories

     First of all, I just noticed some things and I wanted to make few comments about the layout of the book. The book follows a similar pattern. It goes on to explain what makes a good leader followed by examples from real life (Tylenol, Intel and etc.). I felt that was very effective in gaining a better understanding about what exactly defines a successful leader.
     

www.alyb.org 

   September 2013  
     
     The whole James Burke and the Tylenol story reminded me of how McDonald faced a similar difficult decision. A woman in Singapore bought a Sausage McMuffin from McDonald. As she bit into it, she thought she saw a baby lizard's tail dangling from her patty. The woman also asked her mom and her mom confirmed that it was a "newborn lizard." Of course, the woman was pretty disgusted and she posted about it on McDonald's Singapore's  Facebook page along with a photo. This incident gathered some attention from other Facebook users. There were 110 comments made on this Facebook post. After seeing the photo, an administrator from McDonald's Facebook page politely replied, "We would like to assure you that food quality and safety is of utmost importance to us and we will be investigating this matter." That said, a McDonald’s employee immediately collected the burger from the woman to be sent for a laboratory test. On September 6th,  McDonald's Singapore posted the laboratory test results showing that the supposed lizard's tail in one of its patty was in fact a chicken blood vein. As you can see, McDonald handled this difficult situation very well. They were polite toward their customer and they were quick to handle the problem. After receiving a clear explanation, the woman actually thanked McDonald for their attention and taking the burger for testing. The two factions came to terms. McDonald is still in business. If we think about this, McDonald and Tylenol are similar in that they both survived their rough times based on their good judgment. 

Wear a SMILE :)

    Gutman made a remark about Barry Obama saying, "I thought his super power came from his super collar!" There is a lot to say about Gutman's presentation on smiling. I think Gutman captured his audience's attention successfully by using his sense of humor. I also admire his cheerful manner. There were so many techniques I have noticed in his presentation. Instead of boring his audience to death, Gutman got his audience involved by asking the question "Who smiles more than 20 times a day?"Furthermore, he provided a surprising fact such as children smiling 400 times a day. Of course, there are always some people we have hard time convincing...but Gutman stated "One smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation of up to 2000 bars of chocolate." This example is effective in that people will get the idea of how powerful smiling can be. In terms of his presentation itself (slideshow), it was easy to comprehend with few words and clear graphs. In addition, I thought he summed up his presentation very well. Most of all, Gutman knows his stuff. He could tell where he got all his information from and how reliable they are. He has self-confidence and he incorporates personal example about super heroes. You know... I think he would really make a great leader refering back to Shackleton's ten strategies to leadership!

 

From the way I evaluate Gutman, I may sound as if I know everything about making presentations. However, that is not true. I'm in no position to assess him. I actually suck at talking in front of a large group of people... so I hope I can become a good speaker like Gutman :)
     As much as I loved Gutman's presentation, I was not convinced about one thing. Charles Darwin believed the act of smiling itself actually makes us feel good. This raised the important question of what happens to people who is smiling on the outside but really dying in the inside? There are those who live with personal problems (Divorce, Disease and etc.) and they feel uncomfortable confiding in others. They often wear a smile in order to hide their true feelings or avoid causing troubles. They are smiling on the outside but are they really feeling good like Darwin says? It must be stressful keeping things to themselves and not being able to talk to anyone...

Moreover, I still cannot believe smiling contributes to longevity. It seems like a coincidence to me!

     By the way, I really enjoyed the whole negotiation skills and the role playing. Thanks for the orange! I am exceedingly fond of food! I decided to be a little creative here :) haha

Interpersonal Communication!

     For me... it was the reading on social intelligence and the biology of leadership that got me thinking about related topics as well as my personal experience. In the reading, Janice praised Cavallo highly. She mentioned that Cavallo was different from the other bosses in that he would rather critique himself than manage around a problem employee. I have a part time job at a fast food restaurant. Even though I do not face much problem concerning my boss, many employees around me complain how my boss treats employees differently depending on whether they are male or female. Others complain that my boss is not trustworthy and that she cannot keep things confidential. You cannot deny the fact that so many employees actually decided to leave because they were not satisfied with my boss. These could all be just a rumor... but if so many employees are not happy with the way my boss treats them... I thought my boss should maybe consider reflecting back on her own performance just like what Janice did. Furthermore, my boss should set an optimistic mood because she tends to change her attitude depending on her mood and leaders should ideally be spirited. This is what came to my mind when I read the part "Many bosses would rather manage around a problem employee than help her get better" (6).
     What took me by surprise was that I read about mirror neurons also in my summer reading. The moment I saw the word mirror neurons in Harvard Business Review, my brain went PING! I remembered reading about it in the summer reading book called brain rules by John Medina. In the book, mirror neurons are described as "neurons scattered across the brain, and a subset is involved in action recognition" (270). The author says this is the explanation as to why a baby stick its tongue back out at you. I was very pleased because I felt like I was a know it all! To be honest, I had a hard time enjoying this book so it even made me happier to discover that it was worth reading the book.

www.eduguide.org

http://www.amazon.com/Brain-Rules-Principles-Surviving-Thriving/dp/0979777747/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378998404&sr=8-1&keywords=brain+rules

Hi!!!

     Today we talked about first impressions, handshake and eye contact. Many of us might think “Handshakes! I can do that!” However, what seems like the most simple thing can actually be quite difficult. It was interesting how some people placed their hands on top to show their power over the others!

     I thought of briefly introducing myself in this first blog post! I currently belong to ICURFC. There are also some players in Stream 1 :) I lived in NY for six years and I'm hoping I can go back there soon! I also have a younger sister that goes to high school. I hope to find new interests in this class!