Jason Womack

I'm a bank - well, with the help of Kiva.org!

Ok for the first 3 people to suggest loan recipients, I will loan to entrepreneurs at www.Kiva.org.

If you'd like to recommend someone I loan to, simply @ me over at Twitter: @JasonWomack

Over the past 3 years, I've made over 170 loans...and, I'll continue doing so! That's right, I found out how to be my own bank! I loan money, I get repaid, and I do it again. Will you join?

What is Kiva.org? Check out www.OjaiKivaClub.com and this incredible visualization...

Intercontinental Ballistic Microfinance from Kiva Microfunds on Vimeo.

What happens when 620,000 lenders fund 615,000 entrepreneurs, students, and other microfinance borrowers around the world?

Five+ years of Kiva loan activity, in full color. Thanks to all the lenders, borrowers, partners, and team members who brightened this map - and helped to change lives in the process.

http://www.kiva.org

Are you willing to get better...Really?

Go find a geek. Someone who understands gmail, Outlook, Excel and other basic tools.

Pay her to sit next to you for an hour and watch you work.

Then say, "tell me five ways I can save an hour a day."

Whatever you need to pay for this service, it will pay for itself in a week.

via sethgodin.typepad.com

I dare ya... what do you think when you see this?

Ok, all, for years I've maintained that the number one cause of procrastination is self-talk. I think it is the most limiting factor we face. Why?

Simple: Talking to ourselves keeps us safe. When we have an idea, and then the other voice kicks in, we re-think, re-prioirtize, re-view that idea.

However, with where YOU are heading, making your best better, isn't it a fact that you're going to have to start thinking differently? Acting differently? Doing things differently? Yes.

And, it's going to start with your thinking. I have a challenge: Watch and do this video. And, as you do it, ask yourself, "What am I thinking?"

via www.youtube.com

I learned about Khan Academy from www.TED.com

It's this kind of stuff that makes me sit back and think..."Hmmmm, what could we do, if we did what we thought? If some idea I have could help someone learn, grow and lead, how could I get it out there?"

 

Thank you, Michael Skapinker...you gave me 2 things to think about regarding creating possibility

I read a great article in the Financial Times this morning written by Michael Skapinker titled, "How poor students become top scientists." Over the past 2 weeks, I have had some incredible experiences that have pushed me in a direction of reaching out to youth.

1. I recently spent a morning with Frances Hesselbein in New York City. Actually, it was just 30 minutes...And, that one meeting has really encouraged me to move further toward my own personal best. After we sat down and shared stories of working with students (she the former CEO of the Girl Scouts of America, and me a high school teacher - teaching US History and Spanish Language), I realized that there is something more for me to do there. So, within 6 days, I had found, signed up for and contributed to a Career Day series of presentations at a local high school in Santa Barbara. Jodi and I shared our experiences of starting, building and enjoying our companies over the past 16 years of working, growing and living together.

Reading Mr. Skapinker's article, I realized we're not alone in wanting to help students. Reading this article, I learned about The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. A group that I've got to find out more about! A general purpose of this group is to identify what students are doing and can do to rise above where they are...this sounds great.

2. Our online community, Mastering Workplace Performance Online, is growing. Reading the article in the Financial Times today, I saw this line: "What distinguished high achievers from poorer backgrounds, apart from spending longer in the classroom, was their attitude."

Reflecting on this community of just about 100 members, I realize that the one characteristic that we ALL share is an attitude of improvement. Though we all come from different backgrounds, industries and experiences we are all considering the future and our possibilities from a perspective of (a) possibility and (b) accountability.

 

What are you thinking about, as you move toward your best?

One thing sure to make the difference in 2011

Mark McDonald

Thanks Mark, when I read this line in your recent article, a big smile appeared on my face!

"The fortitude to make long term investments in their people, their careers and skills." f
via blogs.gartner.com

Looking out at a new year, it's easy to see opportunity and challenge coming our way. As leaders, we are tasked to see the future while we simultaneously manage the present. What would it take for you to be able to do that better?

If you DO manage people in an effort to get things done, consider the different ways you can support them on a daily and weekly basis. Chances are someone you work side-by-side with could become more effective, more productive and more efficient...If they only knew that opportunity exists!

Sometimes, it's hard to know how to "encourage" someone to grow. (And, this is the reason I wanted to share the above article link with the "Your Best Just Got Better" community.) In many years of coaching and mentoring I have found a GREAT way to encourage someone to get better is to...

How (artful) some people see the world

My brother and I spent a LOT of time with our Atari and Nintendo systems as kids. I'll be honest, I really stopped video-gaming just as I left high school (Tetris was all the craze, if you're wondering when THAT was!). So, to see a video like this brings back memories of Kaboom, Frogger, Space Invaders, Pac Man...to me, the classics.

Managing time = Looking at things differently

Our The Womack Company newsletter went out today; the topic: Practice on the small things so you can perform on the big ones. In my email inbox this morning was one of the "reviews" I get each day with links to "cool-stuff-I-probably-need-to-at-least-know-about." Here's one:

As I sat and watched the video for 5 and a half minutes, i reflected on the seeming dissonance between this overall want (at least the want I get from clients) to "save time, work more efficiently, have more time at the end of the day to do what I want..." and a general apprehension toward just how much the digital world, cyberspace and technology take over (take control).

I remember the first time I used a "self-checkout" service in a store. Looking around, I realized that an entirely new experience was possible! No more "cranky clerks." I know, I know, it's not the most positive way to look at the world; however, I am continually surprised by the different levels (positive AND negative) of customer service which exist out there.

Of course, as I see this video, MY thoughts turn to the learning/leadership/learnership models that could exist following the "Internet of Things." If you've been reading this blog for a while now, you know I'm a huge fan of Wayne Hodgins. I met him in the year 2000, and have followed his stuff ever since. His entire methodology - when I met him - was: What are the basics of what we're doing, and how can we do those more effectively. Good stuff!

What do rewards do? (And, what do we do about it?)

Over the past few months, I've seen some of Dan Pink's work (TED Talk - see below, book "Drive," and a great RSA Video - click here).

Just the bio from his website is convincing,"Daniel H. Pink is the author of several provocative, bestselling books about the changing world of work."

 

If you thought you "knew" what rewarding and incentivizing the people around you (as a manager, a leader, a mother or a father...) you GOTTA see his stuff!

 

Give someone feedback - today

So, we are 1/3 of the way complete with this session of Mastering Workplace Performance Online. (If you're interested, see the #MWPOnline site here.)

The first 5 lessons are out, and we have 50 people participating in assignments (discoveries?) that make our best...Better. You know, the most amazing thing about building this course is that I'm DOING the course at the same time. Yup, I'm reviewing my "at my best when." I'm picking "5-day experiments" and I'm Recalibrating my "philosophy of productivity."

That's all well and good; however, today it got a whole lot better (thank you Brian!). I asked several participants to "let me know how it's going." And, I got the most amazing "eyejot" in my email box earlier. What a treat, I tell ya!

So, here's my takeaway: Get out there, find someone you know who has done something you needed/used/benefited from, and let them know. Take it from me, it's AWEsome!