Teamwork That Works

Today's culture misrepresents leadership traits since the leader alone can not achieve success.  In reality, the team as a whole works towards a common goal.  Human resource professionals often needt to encourage effective teamwork within their company.  Teams often face many obstacles, such as vague goals, cultural barriers, and unclear individual responsibilities.  According to http://www.teamworkandleadership.com/2009/08/your-top-ten-obstacles-to-teamwork-teamwork-tuesday.html, the number one response many Linkedin users gave was the lack of a competent leader, perhaps because of a mispreception of a leader's duties.
For a successful team, the leader must view himself or herself not as only as a delegator, but as a person that values each member of the team and that encourages creativity.  But a high-performing team needs more than an effective leader. The team needs clear goals and responsibilites, as well as a willigness to make changes, if necessary.  By constantly evaluating its progress, the team can work effectively towards successful completion.

Innovation in Architecture

The problem: Sears needed office space for its many employees in Chicago.  The solution: an innnovative design by structural engineer Fazlur Khan, a Bengladeshi-American, where nine tubes cluster together to create a super-strong skyscraper.  Known as the Sears Tower and now renamed the Willis Tower, this building is the tallest in the United States. 
The creation of the Sears Tower led to other buildings that used the tubular design, such as the Citigroup Center.  Advantages of this design included more window space and the use of less steel.  For an image of the Sears Tower, you can see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fazlur_Khan.

A Waste of Time or Not?

Cheap entertainment that every household should have might be one way to define television.  Or, perhaps you believe that tv is a waste of time, since you can spend those minutes on more important activities.  Reading, visiting loved ones, or jobhunting might be more worthwhile.  I've heard of households that have a tv set in every room of the house, including the bathroom.  In contrast, some people don't even own one televsion.  I suppose the best solution is to watch tv in moderation, when you have the spare time.  After all, time is a precious resource-once its gone, it won't return.

Too Good to Keep

Throwing away new clothes is company policy, if that company is Walmart.  The retail giant is probably guilty of dumping bags of merchandise, instead of donating those items to charity.  You can read http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/nyregion/06about.html for more information.
One possible reason for the odd behavior is that the store doesn't want people to return those items for a refund, according to http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread532542/pg1.  If that's the case, then Walmart should only give returns when the customer has a receipt.  The company should adjust its secret policy, or at least openly admit that it throws out unsold merchandise.

A Whole New Way

Welcome to a whole new way of communication--through blogging.  As you can tell, I've added a game widget, along with some pretty fish.  But, the words are the heart of any blog, so please feel free to comment on any of my posts, or my blog in general.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  And don't hesistate to create a link to my blog, if you'd like.
I'm also creating a schedule of topics, so you (and I) will automatically know what each day's post will be cover.  We'll see how this format works out.  Be sure to give me your input as we go on this adventure.

To Believe or Not to Believe

In my former professional life, I sent strangers my writing; or, as the industry jargon goes, queried editors to publish my work.  Some editors rejected the articles, but offered words of encouragement.  Others weren't so nice.  For instance, one charming magazine editor said, "The words are so boring (yawn)..."  But, I didn't believe her--in fact, I wanted to prove her wrong.  I sent the same article to another publication, and received a check within weeks.

The lesson learned from this incident is simple, but applies to any profession: personal success doesn't come from others, but from yourself.  You decide whom to believe, so you can shut out the negative talk. Eventually you will be successful!

Friend or Foe?

"What's HR?" I've heard people ask. HR, or human resources, is a not-so-new department in most companies.  You might have heard of "personnel department," another, older name for HR.  These people handle payroll, recruiting, hiring, possible harassment, and more.  Employees may think that HR is their best friend, but human resources is ought to protect the best interests of the company.  Sometimes HR may be part of layoffs, unfavorable performance appraisals, and other "bad" events.  Nevertheless, this department is vital to a company's success and will probably grow in importance.

Anger vs. Gratitude

I've observed that, as human beings, we have a tendency to remember situations where we've been angry much more than when we've felt gratitude.  For example, we probably will recall -over and over- a driver who didn't give us room for a right turn or one that kept us from merging on the freeway. 
However, when we look at situations of gratitude, they only seem memorable for a few minutes. We may have felt grateful for the person who let us go first at the stop sign, when the right-of-way wasn't ours, but we soon forget this incident.
Some people might have trained themselves to focus on the positive incidents in their lives and to "forgive and forget" the bad ones.  The rest of us should inspire to be like them.

Poetry and Music

An updated kind of poetry is spoken word, with its distinctive rhythm, repetition, and rhyme, giving its creators a unique way to express themselves.  A similar form of poetry is the nasheed, Islamic music that focuses on promoting goodness and gratitude towards God.  The formats vary, with some nasheed containing no music, like that of Yusuf Islam. Meanwhile, artists like Zain Bhikha may use the drum or another instrument.

On the other hand, Islamic rap is a new form of music, with its strong beats and equally strong themes.  For Muslim teens, Native Deen is one popular rap group, whose songs sometimes deal with drugs, drinking, and other problems of society.

To hear nasheed and Islamic rap, here are a few links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L-GOHa5-YQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpjIsSdsT6A&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAfUMfCtcDA

Steel Barrier For Gaza

The Egyptian government is putting up an underground steel barrier at its border with Gaza.  The point is to prevent humanitarian supplies from reaching the Palestinians.  Innocent people are using this route for supplies since their town is under siege and, politics aside, every human being is entitled to food and medication.  Whatever problems exist in the region, the solutions do not lie in promoting starvation.  Too often both sides of a dispute sacrifice other's lives for their own agendas.

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The World's First Lipstick

While women are naturally beautiful, who can deny the power of lipstick?  Lipstick first appeared way back in 1000 CE when Abulcasis, an Andalusian-Arab Muslim, gave a description in his 30-volume medical encyclopedia.  The huge book got translated in Latin, leading to the spread of lipstick know-how. Some people think that Egyptians created lipstick, but their mixture of iodine and bromine caused sickness, besides giving lips color.  So, Max Factor, Revlon, and others can credit Abulcasis, or Abu al-Qassum al-Zahrawi, for today's popular lip embellishment: the lipstick.