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- Book Review: What the Robin Knows
- Best Project Management Tools for Small & Virtual Teams
- Tech and Design Firms Lead Entrepreneur Award Finalists
| Book Review: What the Robin Knows Posted: 03 Jun 2012 08:00 AM PDT
He's not psychic. He's just paying attention. Jon was mentored in the outdoors from the age of ten by Tom Brown, Jr., one of the best known trackers in the country. Brown was himself mentored from the age of seven by an Apache elder, shaman, and scout named Stalking Wolf — so Jon has been taught ways of observing the world that go back thousands of years. His new book, What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World, is about what Jon calls "deep bird language." Bird language consists of the variety of calls that birds make — calls of alarm, of courtship, of hunger. It's a language understood not only by other birds, but by all the creatures of the forest. Birds, after all, have a bird's eye view, seeing potential threats before others. So if a wren sends out an alarm, the fox near her den wants to know why. Jon Young is fluent in the language of birds and claims that anyone else can become fluent as well. Learning this language, he says, will rewire the brain, fundamentally changing the student's experience in the world. He writes:
I am convinced that the book will become a classic, changing the way many people observe the natural world we too often take for granted. What the Robin Knows passes on the knowledge that every hunter-gatherer tribe has always had, because they've needed it in order to survive. Bird language is not new. It is simply been largely forgotten. You might be thinking, well, I'm not interested in birds, so what does this have to do with me? Read on and I think you'll understand. I love some of the lessons in Jon's work. The first is that the most useful information is often found not in the exotic, but in the everyday. Jon tells beginning students that the robin — the common robin, found in every backyard – is far and away the most important bird to study. "For one thing," he writes, "this bird is so handy. For another, it's one of the most expressive of all birds, vocally and in its body language." Most of us hardly see the robin in front of us. But for those who are tuned in, the robin is a news ticker, announcing the comings and goings in the neighborhood — the presence of a hawk, for example, or of a child approaching a nest. Jon talks about two kinds of zones that are useful to think about in many other contexts. The zone of disturbance is the degree to which we set off alarms among birds and animals as we walk through the woods. Most of us are clumsy and noisy and rather self-absorbed in our journey through the world. That's why we might walk in the forest and see nothing: the creatures heard us from a mile away and simply moved casually out of our path before we ever knew they were there. But we can learn to reduce our zone of disturbance by tuning into the natural world, slowing down, and paying attention. When we do that, our energy changes and the birds and animals can sense that we present no danger. When he was in college, Jon could sit under a tree in which an owl lived, and the owl wouldn't move an inch. When other students tried, though, they sent it flying off for cover. So we can reduce our zone of disturbance. Conversely, we can expand our zone of awareness, which is our ability to take in and process the information available to us. At first, the behavior of the birds in your backyard might seem random. But that's an illusion, because as Jon writes, "There is nothing random about birds' awareness or behavior. There is too much at stake— life and death." And what's interesting is to think about how we might benefit in our family and work life if we train our brains to read the information available to us in the world. Social cues, body language, tone of voice: every piece of data can tell us something if we're paying attention. Jon Young is a friend of mine, so I'm not an entirely objective reviewer. But it's not often that a book comes along that offers an entirely new way of seeing the world. This is one of them. What the Robin Knows is for everyone who wants to experience life in a deeper, richer, and more subtle way. Photo Credit: Jon Young |
| Best Project Management Tools for Small & Virtual Teams Posted: 03 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT I’m kind of a productivity tool junkie. I love trying out new ones, and I’m constantly on the quest for the perfect productivity tool. My favorite ones to check out are project management tools – so many of them are all really similar, and a lot of them are downright unwieldy if you’re working with a team of say, five people or less. (As many small businesses, especially small online businesses, are nowadays.) And trying to find something well designed and easy to use, to boot? Yikes. However, there are a few that really stand out – not only are their design & usability great, but they’re more streamlined and work just as well for smaller teams as they do for larger teams. And in fact, two of the three options below are even great for solopreneurs – which is surprisingly hard to find (especially given how fast that market is growing). Rule.fm So far, Rule is my favorite out of what I’ve tried. It has a great interface that’s well designed & easy to used, lots of nice features (drag and drop calendar with color coding that syncs with Gcal, for example!). It has some nice additional features without being unwieldy or cluttered, and it’s easy to hit the ground running using it (it took me about an hour of use to feel really comfortable with it). They’re still adding features like recurring tasks, but the team has been very responsive to any questions or issues I’ve had. Good for: People managing small teams who need functions like the built in CRM, documents, and wikis. Price: Free 30 day trial, plans start at $19/month Mobile: Mobile site is in beta, no app Producteev Producteev is a nice middle ground between Rule and Flow. It doesn’t have CRM or wiki functionality, but has the ability to have several different workspaces, assign tasks visually on a calendar, have recurring tasks, easily quick-add tasks, and it also has a great mobile app. It’s lacking a few things I wish it had (like color coding) but is still a great choice, especially if you’re looking for something more streamlined & focused. Good for: People managing small teams with several different projects who might not need extra features, but want something easy to use. Price: Free for one user, starts at $20/month for teams Mobile: Yes (iPhone app) Flow Flow is a task/project management tool with a streamlined designed and a simplicity that can be deceiving (as it has a lot of features that you might not realize at first). You can easily assign tasks, create projects & task lists for projects, create recurring tasks, and view all of your tasks laid out on a weekly or monthly calendar (in case you can’t tell, I’m a big proponent of being able to see tasks on an actual calendar & not just in a list!). Good for: Very small teams (like two or three people) or solopreneurs (this is actually one of the only tools I’ve seen that would work just as well for a solopreneur as a business owner with a team). People who love a very clean design & layout, and who need mobile apps. Price: Free trial, after that $10/month for each user, with discounts kicking in after three users (30%, i.e. a team of 3 people is $20/month) and ten users (50%, so a team of 10 people is $50/month) Mobile: Yes, iPhone & iPad apps What’s your favorite project management tool? Will you be checking out any of these? Featured Photo Credit: YouTube |
| Tech and Design Firms Lead Entrepreneur Award Finalists Posted: 03 Jun 2012 02:00 AM PDT This year, Ernst & Young is calling attention to tech companies, designer furniture, eco-minded corporations and even a yogurt producer as icons of entrepreneurship. The Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year Program bills itself as "the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs." The finalists, announced this week, include co-founders, presidents and CEOs of tech companies such as 10gen, AppNexus and SNAP Interactive; Design Within Reach, Inc., a store that sells classic and modern furniture; and Chobani, Inc., a food company known for its Greek yogurt. Some of the finalists are in health care, such as eHealth Global Technologies, a medical record and diagnostic imaging exchange company, while others are in energy (such as Viridian Energy, which provides an alternative supply to local utility companies) and environmental management (such as Ecology and Environment, Inc.). Two microsale websites received a tip of the hat: ideeli, which offers designer brands at deep discounts, and Totsy, "a private sale site for moms" Fashion companies also were recognized. Rent the Runway, a website that offers women a chance to rent designer apparel, and Rebecca Minkoff, LLC, known for designer handbags, were two of the finalists. But perhaps the candidates for the award can toast themselves with another nominee. Tequila Avion, a recent entry to the liquor industry, is also a finalist. The winner will be announced June 19 at a ceremony in New York City. Find more information and the complete list of the finalists at the Entrepreneur of the Year web page from Ernst & Young. Featured Image: Ernst & Young |
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