Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Learn Together
I have found it to be of great help to talk to other co-workers about what they are learning and getting together to learn. An example of this is a couple of Koelbel staff have brought their ipads in to show some of us how they work, let us practice on them and learn how to download from the ALD website. We are able to ask questions and learn as we go. Questions come up during the training that we can all brainstorm about. Many staff, myself included, learn best by seeing and doing. We are trying to get together every couple of weeks.
Tech News
Here is a good site to keep up with whats happening in the Tech world:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/technology/
Announcing a NL Team Event Focusing on Technology Competencies
In the spirit of increasing our technology competencies across Neighborhood Libraries, we’ll be starting a new blog to talk about tech issues and trends. This will be a place to talk about what you’re learning, what you’d like to know more about, and what is frustrating or exciting you when it comes to technology, serving patron needs through technology, or trends you’re noticing. Like our other team events, participation is strictly voluntary. And like our other team events, there will be prizes! We’re calling our blog Tech Talk. Hope you like it!
Here’s what you need to know:
· Jenny P will give you access to the blog, notification of which you will get through email. Once you have access, the game is on. You will have to find your way to Tech Talk and get started on your own or with the help of a techie at your site.
· Officially starts March 1st but if you want to start earlier, that would be great too
· Post a tech learning or tip and contribute to discussions by remarking on other people’s comments as well
· Each month, Jenny P, Lori G and I will choose a NL Techie of the Month based on random criteria. We might like someone’s comments on another’s post. We might like the tech idea presented. We might like the discussion generated by a particular post. You’ll never know what makes a winner, so keep it interesting with great posts on new tech discoveries you make and commenting on the discoveries of others.
· The Techie of the Month gets more than a title! There is also a $10 Amazon.com gift card at stake as well as notice of your accomplishment on the NL staffnet page.
· Supervisors will also be participating as they have goals to reach around technology to meet too.
· Our plan is to keep this going throughout 2011. We want our excitement about technology and helping each other learn to be ongoing.
The above is from an annoucement via email from Donna
Here’s what you need to know:
· Jenny P will give you access to the blog, notification of which you will get through email. Once you have access, the game is on. You will have to find your way to Tech Talk and get started on your own or with the help of a techie at your site.
· Officially starts March 1st but if you want to start earlier, that would be great too
· Post a tech learning or tip and contribute to discussions by remarking on other people’s comments as well
· Each month, Jenny P, Lori G and I will choose a NL Techie of the Month based on random criteria. We might like someone’s comments on another’s post. We might like the tech idea presented. We might like the discussion generated by a particular post. You’ll never know what makes a winner, so keep it interesting with great posts on new tech discoveries you make and commenting on the discoveries of others.
· The Techie of the Month gets more than a title! There is also a $10 Amazon.com gift card at stake as well as notice of your accomplishment on the NL staffnet page.
· Supervisors will also be participating as they have goals to reach around technology to meet too.
· Our plan is to keep this going throughout 2011. We want our excitement about technology and helping each other learn to be ongoing.
The above is from an annoucement via email from Donna
Friday, February 12, 2010
Outstanding: 47 Ways To Make Your Organization Exceptional
By: John G. Miller
658.401 MILLER, New York : G.P. Putnams Sons, c2010.
This book is a quick, easy read. John Miller, a Colorado author, has fresh yet simple ideas on how to make an organization outstanding and on being a better employee. Essentially he has 47 ideas, which are also chapters, but only a few pages each. The author goes back to the basics even quick to point out that it’s not yet another book on leadership; it’s truly about changing the way we think and the way we do business. Below is a couple of chapter titles and summary’s that I found refreshing and inspiring.
• “See Everyone As a Customer.” The author defines a customer as “anyone who has a legitimate expectation of me.” By viewing everyone as a customer, we realize that our job is really to serve. That may be externally or internally, but the core base is to serve someone.
• “Make Meetings Meaningful.” Miller goes on to describe that often times in companies, we are in so many meetings during the day that we don’t get anything accomplished in our job. He suggests many different ways of handling meetings and here their core topics:
o Have a clear leader
o Use a list or agenda
o Keep your list or agenda small and relevant
o Focus on the right things
o Meet at the right time
o Consider your meeting space
o Invite the right people
o Prepare
o Be punctual
o Control tangents
o Stay Standing! – this was an interesting idea that talked about “no chair” meetings where they are quick, talking about critical information and solving the problems without adding extra pieces. By standing, its sets the ground for the quick meeting.
• “Do What You Promise.” Whatever you say, you do. We build teams and establish collaborations when we build trust by following through on what we said we would do.
• “Listen in All Directions.” The first part of this chapter is about how multitasking can be considered being rude to a customer or coworker. He suggested that we put distractions aside and really listen and communicate. He also went on about listening to the customer and management listening to their people which were excellently fresh. One idea was to never do a survey, unless you are ready for the feedback. Getting defensive or doing nothing with the feedback, shows your intent to not really listen.
• The last chapter, “Be Outstanding.” The author writes, “the message is this: if we want an outstanding organization, then each of us must be personally outstanding.” His message is very clear that we all have a personal accountability to action. We each represent a piece of the puzzle and if we perform outstanding, we better help our organization become that way as well.
By: John G. Miller
658.401 MILLER, New York : G.P. Putnams Sons, c2010.
This book is a quick, easy read. John Miller, a Colorado author, has fresh yet simple ideas on how to make an organization outstanding and on being a better employee. Essentially he has 47 ideas, which are also chapters, but only a few pages each. The author goes back to the basics even quick to point out that it’s not yet another book on leadership; it’s truly about changing the way we think and the way we do business. Below is a couple of chapter titles and summary’s that I found refreshing and inspiring.
• “See Everyone As a Customer.” The author defines a customer as “anyone who has a legitimate expectation of me.” By viewing everyone as a customer, we realize that our job is really to serve. That may be externally or internally, but the core base is to serve someone.
• “Make Meetings Meaningful.” Miller goes on to describe that often times in companies, we are in so many meetings during the day that we don’t get anything accomplished in our job. He suggests many different ways of handling meetings and here their core topics:
o Have a clear leader
o Use a list or agenda
o Keep your list or agenda small and relevant
o Focus on the right things
o Meet at the right time
o Consider your meeting space
o Invite the right people
o Prepare
o Be punctual
o Control tangents
o Stay Standing! – this was an interesting idea that talked about “no chair” meetings where they are quick, talking about critical information and solving the problems without adding extra pieces. By standing, its sets the ground for the quick meeting.
• “Do What You Promise.” Whatever you say, you do. We build teams and establish collaborations when we build trust by following through on what we said we would do.
• “Listen in All Directions.” The first part of this chapter is about how multitasking can be considered being rude to a customer or coworker. He suggested that we put distractions aside and really listen and communicate. He also went on about listening to the customer and management listening to their people which were excellently fresh. One idea was to never do a survey, unless you are ready for the feedback. Getting defensive or doing nothing with the feedback, shows your intent to not really listen.
• The last chapter, “Be Outstanding.” The author writes, “the message is this: if we want an outstanding organization, then each of us must be personally outstanding.” His message is very clear that we all have a personal accountability to action. We each represent a piece of the puzzle and if we perform outstanding, we better help our organization become that way as well.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Speaking Up
"When speaking up becomes a necessity" Grace Notes by Natalie Costanza-Chavez, Denver Post, 9/6/09.
"We all live lives of contradition. A ditch that takes no more than a hop-kick to traverse or a canyon gaping and bottomless divides us from who we strive to be, how we strive to live, the good we know we owe. This is not always easy to attend to.
The need to reconcile our contradictions lives somewhere how and deep inside. There's a voice --cricket-thin and consistent as a bell -- this we know. But, it's not always easy to attend to.
When we ignore it, we shift uncomfortably. We feel the small pings or pangs and shove them away like old lemon peels -- best to avoid the examination, the taste. "
At Neighborhood Libraries team meetings we've talked about our need to continually inform and educate our organization on cultural inclusiveness at all levels.
Natalie continues, "We have an obligation to tend to ourselves...we also have an obligation to tend to our own conscience...when something is wrong, be silent for no one. Speak your piece, even if you have to clear your throat repeatedly, even if you shake while you utter, even if it's the hardest thing you'll ever do...when conscience sounds, we need to speak and then, sometimes, more voices speak, and a chorus begins, builds, rises, into the still air finally breaking it beyond silence."
This article resonates with me as I one day at a time, one person at a time, strive for cultural inclusiveness at all levels.
Cindy McFadden
"We all live lives of contradition. A ditch that takes no more than a hop-kick to traverse or a canyon gaping and bottomless divides us from who we strive to be, how we strive to live, the good we know we owe. This is not always easy to attend to.
The need to reconcile our contradictions lives somewhere how and deep inside. There's a voice --cricket-thin and consistent as a bell -- this we know. But, it's not always easy to attend to.
When we ignore it, we shift uncomfortably. We feel the small pings or pangs and shove them away like old lemon peels -- best to avoid the examination, the taste. "
At Neighborhood Libraries team meetings we've talked about our need to continually inform and educate our organization on cultural inclusiveness at all levels.
Natalie continues, "We have an obligation to tend to ourselves...we also have an obligation to tend to our own conscience...when something is wrong, be silent for no one. Speak your piece, even if you have to clear your throat repeatedly, even if you shake while you utter, even if it's the hardest thing you'll ever do...when conscience sounds, we need to speak and then, sometimes, more voices speak, and a chorus begins, builds, rises, into the still air finally breaking it beyond silence."
This article resonates with me as I one day at a time, one person at a time, strive for cultural inclusiveness at all levels.
Cindy McFadden
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else
Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin
-->Call#153.9 COLVIN; New York : Portfolio, 2008.
I was very excited to read this book. The title captivated me as did the beginning. The thoughts of what does really separate World-Class performers from everybody else really resonated with me. Not only did I want to find out what separated them, but also how to get there. This book is very thorough with the topic. It covers world class performance, to applying the principles in our lives and organizations, to teamwork, to great performance in the young and old and finally to having the passion of great performance. It starts strong but then I find it tapering, maybe because there was a lot of scientific aspects of the book that I found unrelatable. However middle to end, the books finishes strong like how it started.
Great performers focus not only on the outcome, but also on the process to achieve their goal. World-class performers believe that all of their work will pay off in the end. They are very good at self-observation and will critique themselves on specific areas, systematically judging themselves. After they have critiqued themselves, typically they will adapt and try the task again, this time most likely better than the last time but also continuing a self analysis. Great performers aren’t necessarily good at remembering but at making mental models of what they want to accomplish and how they will accomplish it. The book breaks it down like this, great performance comes from:
· Well designed practice activities
· Coaching
· Repetition
· Feedback
· Self regulation
· Building knowledge
· Mental models.
Applying world class performance in the workplace often means that the workplace needs to seek out those that they think can become exceptional performers. The author gave an example from GE and they could look and tell if someone would be a great performer from their 1st day at work! They looked at how well they interacted with their coworkers whom they did not know or hadn’t met and this one thought made them look at how well they would succeed. I found this fascinating! The author went on to include that even though we value experience, experience is not what makes great performers as sometimes it actually makes some people perform worse. People’s best performance is usually exhibited from the beginning of their work and will continue much like how they started. They also said that typically 10 years of teamwork is what earned the best results. The author also made a point to say that knowledge of one’s domain did not equal their years of schooling on the topic. “Innovation doesn’t strike, it grows.” Too much familiarity with a topic can blind someone to a reasonable solution. Passion develops.
It also went on to talk about parents developing high performers which was very interesting if you are a parent of someone younger.
All in all, a great book. If you read it and the first part doesn’t stir you, it does get better in the middle and stays consistently captivating till the end!
-->Call#153.9 COLVIN; New York : Portfolio, 2008.
I was very excited to read this book. The title captivated me as did the beginning. The thoughts of what does really separate World-Class performers from everybody else really resonated with me. Not only did I want to find out what separated them, but also how to get there. This book is very thorough with the topic. It covers world class performance, to applying the principles in our lives and organizations, to teamwork, to great performance in the young and old and finally to having the passion of great performance. It starts strong but then I find it tapering, maybe because there was a lot of scientific aspects of the book that I found unrelatable. However middle to end, the books finishes strong like how it started.
Great performers focus not only on the outcome, but also on the process to achieve their goal. World-class performers believe that all of their work will pay off in the end. They are very good at self-observation and will critique themselves on specific areas, systematically judging themselves. After they have critiqued themselves, typically they will adapt and try the task again, this time most likely better than the last time but also continuing a self analysis. Great performers aren’t necessarily good at remembering but at making mental models of what they want to accomplish and how they will accomplish it. The book breaks it down like this, great performance comes from:
· Well designed practice activities
· Coaching
· Repetition
· Feedback
· Self regulation
· Building knowledge
· Mental models.
Applying world class performance in the workplace often means that the workplace needs to seek out those that they think can become exceptional performers. The author gave an example from GE and they could look and tell if someone would be a great performer from their 1st day at work! They looked at how well they interacted with their coworkers whom they did not know or hadn’t met and this one thought made them look at how well they would succeed. I found this fascinating! The author went on to include that even though we value experience, experience is not what makes great performers as sometimes it actually makes some people perform worse. People’s best performance is usually exhibited from the beginning of their work and will continue much like how they started. They also said that typically 10 years of teamwork is what earned the best results. The author also made a point to say that knowledge of one’s domain did not equal their years of schooling on the topic. “Innovation doesn’t strike, it grows.” Too much familiarity with a topic can blind someone to a reasonable solution. Passion develops.
It also went on to talk about parents developing high performers which was very interesting if you are a parent of someone younger.
All in all, a great book. If you read it and the first part doesn’t stir you, it does get better in the middle and stays consistently captivating till the end!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sheila's notes from Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely which may prompt more discussion -
maybe something on the order of "What does this have to do with library services?"
Most people don’t know what they want unless they see it in context or in comparison with other things. Everything is relative. “…the more we have, the more we want (pg. 21.)”
People respond to free…
…instill a sense of purpose… Emotions influence behavior.
Deadlines and boundaries often need to be dictated authoritatively.
Keeping our options open and obsessing on the “just in case” can be a waste of time, resources, and productive results. Life is about choices, so choose already. Multiple options are burdensome.
We fall in love with what we have.
Presentation matters.
Expectations shape stereotypes. We see what we expect to see. Expectations change the way we perceive and appreciate experiences.
Placebos run on the power of suggestion, which is very powerful.
People cheat when they have a chance but not as much as they could. People do better when reminded of morality at point of temptation. People are less likely to steal cash than stuff.
maybe something on the order of "What does this have to do with library services?"
Most people don’t know what they want unless they see it in context or in comparison with other things. Everything is relative. “…the more we have, the more we want (pg. 21.)”
People respond to free…
…instill a sense of purpose… Emotions influence behavior.
Deadlines and boundaries often need to be dictated authoritatively.
Keeping our options open and obsessing on the “just in case” can be a waste of time, resources, and productive results. Life is about choices, so choose already. Multiple options are burdensome.
We fall in love with what we have.
Presentation matters.
Expectations shape stereotypes. We see what we expect to see. Expectations change the way we perceive and appreciate experiences.
Placebos run on the power of suggestion, which is very powerful.
People cheat when they have a chance but not as much as they could. People do better when reminded of morality at point of temptation. People are less likely to steal cash than stuff.
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