Keep your eye on the Blog Ladies & Gentlemen.
We’ve got an announcement this Tuesday at 10 am and you’ll hear it here it first.
Hint: What do an elephant, flamingo and Tendenci Software have in common?
Schipul Book Club: Win The Giving Tree + a Moleskine of Your Very Own
“Once there was a tree…and she loved a little boy”
It’s that time again! Every month we give away a copy of one of our favorite Schipul books and since Schipulites LOVE Storytelling, that is this month’s theme!
What better book to Demonstrate “Story” than the Shel Silverstein classic The Giving Tree? Using very simple writing and line drawings, Silverstein proves a little can go a very long way in telling a powerful tale. We’ve got a copy with your name on it.**
Can’t wait? You can also watch an animated version of the book narrated by Silverstein himself!!
We’ve got a double whammy for you this month so that’s not all!!
Long before the netbook became the new notebook, legendary artists such as Van Gogh and Hemingway used the real deal made by French booksellers to capture their ideas and jot notes. These little books were called Moleskine’s. The last French bookseller that sold Moleskine’s closed it’s doors in 1986 but the little books and the genius they inspired was not gone forever!
In 1998 a tiny Milanese bookseller brought the books back and as happykatie so elqouently puts it “happiness is a fresh Moleskine” so we think you need one of your very own! Use it to draw your own pictures and flex those storytelling muscles!! Practice makes perfect right?
So how do you get your Giving Tree and your Moleskine? Comment below!! What organization do you think is awesome at telling its story? It can be anyone from the pizza place down your street to the biggest cell phone company. We want to know!
We’ll be picking winner this Friday (the 29th) at 3 pm so follow us on twitter to get the announcement!
**Oh and a word to the wise: If Hallmark Cards make you cry, you may want to read The Giving Tree behind closed doors. Especially if you’ve never read it before…. I know I’m a cheese ball but I tear up every time!
We Heart Photography and so does NPTA! Check out their Big Picture Contest
Calling all Pharmacy Technicians!! One of our clients, The National Pharmacy Technician Association wants to highlight YOU and all the cool things you do with their Big Picture Contest…. and give you a chance to win a Canon Powershot digital camera package in the process!!
Photos of, with or by Phamacy Technician Students, Educators or Trainers are eligible. The contest is all about you!
Head on over to NPTA’s Big Picture Page to get registered ro receive a copy of the rules.
Happy Shooting!!
Friday Fun – Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act
We all need a chocolate fix every now and then and Mars has got your back! Mars has passed the “Mars Real Chocolate Reliefe Act” to give you and yours a chance to register for a FREE Mars Bar ever single Friday. This means you can get your Twix on and save money at the same time! Just be one of the first 250,000 people to register every Friday Morning.
I know I’ve got my alarm set….
Firestorm Breaks Down the Swine Flu Pandemic: How to Get Your Organization Disaster Ready
Is your Organization and family prepared for Disaster? If the answer is no, then the time to get prepared is now. Don’t know where to start? Schipul client Firestorm recently hosted a great Webinar with some great advice for you and yours.
The Webinar was led by Firestorm CEO, Harry Rhulen, the first Doctor to identify the SARS disease in the United States, Dr. Stephen Cunnion, and Founding Partner of Global AgriTrends, Richard Fritz, and they definitely crammed our brains!
Dr. Stephen Cunnion explains Swine Flu:
- The swine flu is not transmitted by eating pork. People catch the flu from other people passing the germs.
- The first reported case was on March 22nd. The gestation of the influenza virus can be up to a week long so we still don’t have exact facts and figures.
- The flu virus is the number one cause for lack of productivity for companies any given year.
- The BEST WAY to avoid contracting the Flu is the use of Hand Sanitizers and the avoidance of super crowded places.
How is the Flu transmitted?
- Directly via human to human contact, droplet or airborne contact
- Indirectly via objects handled by someone who has contracted the flu
Why do we discount risk?
- Time alters our perception of risk.
- We think “It can’t happen here.”
- “It can’t happen to me.”
- “It won’t be so bad.”
- “I’m smarter & better prepared!”
What can you do to prepare for a Disaster?
- Predict: It is important for you to understand the magnitude of the disaster you’re facing.
- Plan: Before a disaster strikes, you need to identify your primary stakeholders (family, employees, customers, etc). Bases on that identification, define a course of action and implement a plan that will be used should disaster strike.
- Perform: Contain the spread of the infection (Hand Sanitizers!!) and ensure the continuity of operations by using your Disaster Preparedness Plan.
Check out these great Disaster Preparedness and Swine Flu Resources:
- Center for Disease Control & Prevention Swine Flu FAQs
- Good Health Habits Can Help Stop Germs
- FREE In Case of Emergency Plan Outlines for Family and pet
Something to keep in mind if you’re a decision maker at your company, Duty of Care is a legal obligation on you to perform with care anytime you are faced with a decision that could harm those in your employ. This Duty falls under the Business Judgment Rule, which calls company decision makers to make an “in good faith decision” regarding facts that they are presented with, whether or not those fact lead to action or a decision to disregard the threat. You can read more about the Business Judgment Rule here.
Firestorm CEO Harry Rhulen will be in Houston at the end of May for a visit. If you are interested in more information on Disaster Prep or in having him come speak to your organization, email Katie Laird for information.
The primary objective in ANY Disaster Preparedness plan is getting your family ready first. Click here to download a free PDF of Firestorm’s book, Disaster Ready People for a Disaster Ready America. The book reminds readers that they are their own first responders as it guides them through the steps they need to take to get their Disaster Plans in order.
Schipul Book Club: Want to win a signed copy of Outliers?? Here’s How!
Okay. It is not a secret that we Schipulites LOVE Malcolm Gladwell. But it wouldn’t align with our commitment to knowledge sharing if we didn’t spread the love to our community right? This week we are giving away a copy of Outliers!
And here is a little icing on your Outliers cake…. we’ve got a copy for you that has been signed by the one and only Malcolm Gladwell!
I can hear you now…. “Come on Maggie! Stop talking and tell us how to win it!”
Easy. Just leave a comment on this blog post telling the world who your favorite Outlier is and explain to why they are your favorite. Next Wednesday we’ll use a random number integer picker to randomly determine which comment takes the cake. Whichever number is first on the generated integer list will be the winner!
Think this sounds too tough? I’ll get you started with an example of my own.
The Outlier I respect the most is my best friend Monica. She never lets an opportunity to improve herself slip through her fingers. She is a force to be reckoned with and someone I look up to every day.
And that is all it take folks! You can be as wordy or as wordless as you want as long as you have a favorite Outlier and the reason why you love them.
So comment away 🙂
Outliers: Outrageously Talented or Just Plain Lucky?
Malcolm Gladwell is a master storyteller; he leads readers down winding yellow brick roads and provides them with insight into the mystifying and foresight into their future. He explains those “simple truths” about life and society usually kept secret by Sociologists in a way that your average Joe can understand and embrace them. It is little wonder Time Magazine named Malcolm Gladwell one of their 100 Most Influential People in 2005.
He helped us examine the tiny things or the “levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable” in The Tipping Point and he explored the power of the trained mind to make split second decisions in Blink. In Outliers, Gladwell irrevocably proves that there iS no magic apple you bite into to obtain success. Success is a beautiful balance of nature, nurture and a little bit of luck…. Combine those three things with the 10,000 hours Gladwell insists you need to obtain “expert status” and it looks like an insurmountable hill to climb.
Through various case studies and real stories (which this gal loves!) he highlights the “hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunists and cultural legacies” underlie that magical thing we call success. Is Gladwell content with these circumstances to remain the status quo? No, he is not.
Gladwell insists that “to build a better world, we need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and arbitrary advantages that today determine success-the fortunate birth dates and the happy accidents in history-that provides oppotunities to all.”
Outliers is DEFINITELY on our Schipul Suggested reading list!
Have you read Outliers but haven’ quite gotten your Gladwell fill? Join us Wendesday for “An Audience with Malcolm Gladwell” brought to you by the Greater Houston Partnership. We’ll be at the Hilton America’s Houston at 11:30 am! We hope you can make it out!!
Check out my personal blog for more MagsMac ramblings on Outliers. I am fascinated!
Schipul’s New Look for a New Year!
Everyone around the office is making New Year’s resolutions. I’m going to work on time management, Fayza is focused on more detailed tweets, and Glen is going to eat more veggies.
Our graphic designers and programming team caught the resolution bug and decided it was time to revamp the Schipul site to align with Schipul’s resolutions. Last year one of the things we really tried to focus on was telling our story and teaching our clients how to tell theirs. Check out how we incorporated that onto our homepage!
Right at the top is our brand-spanking new Stories module. It can feed from a number of different places and works as a one-stop-shop for all of our friends and family to see what is going on at Schipul. Even better? After a new more tweaks it will be added to our arsenal of Tendenci modules!
So check out our new site and leave us comments and feedback. Just for grins, here’s a screen shot of what Schipul.com looked like ten years ago:
Stefan Sagmeister shares “Happy Design” at TED
Every Monday morning we have a training session in our weekly meetings. This Monday’s training featured a TED talk by Stefan Sagmeister focused on happy moments in his life that were enriched by design.
One of the most profound moments in Stefan’s talk is when he discusses the moment in his life when he decided to only work on projects that matter to him. Although focused on design, Stefan’s message is applicable to whatever career you may have. Are you doing something that makes you happy?
You’ve Got 7 Seconds to Make a First Impression
A few of us attended the IABC Houston luncheon last Thursday and it was great! The speaker was Carol Kinsey Goman, the author of The Nonverbal Advantage and President of Kinsey Consulting Services. Carol has been dubbed a “Change Mangement Specialist” and focuses on how executives can ignite their work force during times of change or dispel fears through times of turmoil using non-verbal communication.
I took a lot from Carol’s presentation; she gave a lot of great tips on using non-verbal cues to your advantage in business situations. One of the most important things she talked can be carried over into your everyday life. Granted, this is a lesson we’ve all heard 100’s of time but It is nice to hear it again every once in a while.
First impressions are important; Carol gave some tangible tips on making them great:
- Attitude: Choose the attitude you are going to bring when you meet someone new and BRING IT. Leave negative emotions and feelings at the door when meeting someone new, because through your non-verbal cues, the person you are meeting will sense your bad attitude.
- Eyebrow Flash: Your eyebrows unconsciously go up for a flash of a second when you encounter someone you like or know. When you meet someone new, give them an eyebrow flash! People subconsciously like people with big, innocent eyes and when your eyebrows go up, your eyes automatically get bigger.
- Eye Contact: This one is pretty simple. When meeting someone for the first time, look them in the eye long enough to register their eye color.
- Smile: When someone smiles at you, the reward center in your brain (your orbital cortex) automatically “lights up;” this is why it is so important to smile when you first meet someone.
- Lean In Slightly: Like the eyebrow flash, we subconsciously lean towards things we like. So lean in a little bit when you meet someone! It shows you’re interested and engaged.
- Shake Hands: This is the most important tip of all! According to Carol, we live in an essentially touch-free society, that is why we need to optimize on this initial touch. Palm to Palm, Web to Web!
For more tips from Carol, check out her blog, Speaking of Change!