Get your brain in motion

Category: Training (Page 34 of 40)

Thinking is an activity

The theme of Diplocalendar 2013 was inspired by Mark Twain’s quotation that: “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them”.

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Diplomats, like many other professionals, must read, understand, synthesise and make sense of newspapers, magazines, emails, official reports and so many other things related to their daily work. But there is so much else to read both for pleasure and to deepen our knowledge.

The selected book suggested for the month of March that supports professional development and is relevant to management in diplomacy is Edward De Bono’s Thinking Course

Twitter for diplomats: A guide to the fastest-growing digital diplomacy tool

DiploFoundatwitter4diplomatstion and Istituto Diplomatico of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have published Twitter for Diplomats by Andreas Sandre (@andreas212nyc).

It is the first publication in a series designed to analyse how social media diplomacy helps create – and maintain – a true conversation between policymakers and citizens, between diplomats and foreign public.

The book is not a technical manual, or a list of what to do and not to do. It is rather a collection of information, anecdotes, and experiences. It recounts episodes involving foreign ministers and ambassadors, as well as their ways of interacting with the tool and exploring its great potential. It wants to inspire ambassadors and diplomats to open and nurture their Twitter accounts – and to inspire all of us to use Twitter to better listen and open our minds.

‘Social media exposes foreign policymakers to global audiences while at the same time allowing governments to reach them instantly,’ explains Italy’s Foreign Minister, GiulioTerzi (@GiulioTerzi) in his preface to the book. ‘Twitter has two big positive effects on foreign policy: it fosters a beneficial exchange of ideas between policymakers and civil society and enhances diplomats’ ability to gather information and to anticipate, analyze, manage, and react to events.’

Twitter for diplomats is a practical and engaging guide for making the work of diplomats more effective and impactful. You can consult the online version from Diplo’s publication site or you can download it here.  Read Andreas Sandre’s post about the publication. For information about the printed version please write to diplobooks@diplomacy.edu.

10 keys to success

Skmamun, blogger of ‘Time To Us‘, provides us some advices about success.

Here are the top ten keys to success:

1. Optimism. Think positive.
2. Faith. Believe in yourself, God and your country.
3. Planning. Know what’s important each day; set your priorities accordingly.
4. Determination. Have the courage to stand alone when taking the big risks in life.
5. Vision. Think big, dream big, keep success in your mind.
6. Attitude. If you think you can’t, you’re right. Winners have positive attitudes.
7. Goals. Set goals. Plan how to achieve them.
8. Perseverance. Try and try again until the goal is achieved. Never give up.
9. Knowledge. Learn to accept your mistakes, but make them only once.
10. Enthusiasm. Choose work you like. Enjoy the challenges.

Read other advices at: http://goo.gl/OIoTQ

Stress and bubble wrap

Laurie Barkman in her blog Passionate Performance has published an interesting article about everyday stress.

When we learn how to manage stress, when we control the stress instead of allowing it to control us, we enjoy richer, deeper, stronger relationships. We work better, we feel better … we live longer.

The question is how do we do that? What can we do to bring our minds, our lives back to a healthier place?

Barkman’s answer to this question is in her article at: http://goo.gl/7Opb6

Image source: http://goo.gl/IGNxB

Have no enemies

Cameron’s article Have no enemies published on his blog Manager’s diary draws a difference between not liking someone, and having an enemy.

“You won’t get along with everyone you work with, but working with those people is one of the things that define leadership. People err in their business when they begin to think of their teammates as their foes.”

Image source: http://goo.gl/bTN8b

The happy secret to better work

A decade of research, proves that happiness raises nearly every business and educational outcome. Raising sales by 37%, productivity by 31%, and accurancy on tasks by 19%, as well as myriad of health and quality of life improvements.

In this fast-moving and entertaining talk, psychologist Shawn Achor, in his Ted Talk, argues that actually happiness inspires productivity.

Teambuilding

J. Adair , a British academic who is a leadership theorist, describes a team as “a group in which individuals share a common aim and in which the jobs and skills of each member fit in with those of the others”.

So, how do you build a high performance team?

Teambuilding written by Eric Garner, downloadable for free at Bookboon.com, provides  some advices to transform a group of people into a winning team.

Acknowledging , appreciating, accepting , are the 3 A’s features of great teams and stand in contrast to the 3 C’s  of poor teams : Criticising, Complaining, Condemning.

Bookboon provides a collection of valuable free ebooks for professionals

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