PowerPoint Is Evil

PowerPoint Is Evil:

'Power Corrupts. PowerPoint Corrupts Absolutely' says Edward R. Tufte, professor emeritus of political science, computer science and statistics, and graphic design at Yale.
Imagine a widely used and expensive prescription drug that promised to make us beautiful but didn't. Instead the drug had frequent, serious side effects: It induced stupidity, turned everyone into bores, wasted time, and degraded the quality and credibility of communication. These side effects would rightly lead to a worldwide product recall.
Yet slideware -computer programs for presentations - is everywhere: Several hundred million copies of Microsoft PowerPoint are churning out trillions of slides each year. Slideware may help speakers outline their talks, but convenience for the speaker can be punishing to both content and audience. The standard PowerPoint presentation elevates format over content, betraying an attitude of commercialism that turns everything into a sales pitch. Read the full story: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html

(funny) If you too believe PowerPoint is Evil…

Watch this funny YouTube Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL_-1d9OSdk
Spotted in edition 95 Gurteen Knowledge Letter http://www.gurteen.com/

The Earth Charter - Change Agents in Action

The Earth Charter - Change Agents in Action

The development of the Earth Charter is a great example of how a small group of change agents can have a major global impact. The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society for the 21st century

Spearheaded by change agent Mikhail Gorbachev, The Earth Charter was created by the largest global consultation process ever associated with an international declaration with inputs from more than 5000 people. The Earth Charter has been endorsed by thousands of organizations representing millions of individuals. Many thousands of individuals have also endorsed the Earth Charter

The 4 principles of the Earth Charter:

1. Respect and Care for the Community of Life

2. 2.Ecological Integrity

3. 3.Social and Economic Justice

4. 4.Democracy, Non-Violence and Peace

Learn more about the Earth Charter http://www.earthcharter.org/

The Leader's Guide to Storytelling:

The Leader's Guide to Storytelling:
Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative
A book by Steve Denning April 2005 by Jossey Bass

Steve Denning is an Australian who worked in the World Bank. The book is a comprehensive look at the role of storytelling in meeting the most important leadership challenges today, including motivate others to action, build trust in you, build trust in your company (branding), transmit your values, get others working together, share knowledge, tame the grapevine, create and share your vision, solve the paradox of innovation, and use narrative to transform your organization.

The Leader's Guide to Storytelling offers a detailed account of why each type of story works and how it works, with numerous examples from business settings of each type of story and practical templates so that to assist leaders to construct their own story.

For me, this book is full of gems and plain good advice. I found the first gem in the first page of the introduction. It opened me up to new possibilities for leadership. Denning writes “storytelling and leadership are both performance arts. They involve at least as much doing as thinking. In such matters, performers will always know more than they can tell”. http://www.stevedenning.com/

Research points the finger at PowerPoint (Article)

If you have ever wondered why your eyes start glazing over as you read those dot points on the screen, as the same words are being spoken, take heart in knowing there is a scientific explanation. It is more difficult to process information if it is coming at you in the written and spoken form at the same time.

The Australian researchers who made the findings may have pronounced the death of the PowerPoint presentation. They have also challenged popular teaching methods, suggesting that teachers should focus more on giving students the answers, instead of asking them to solve problems on their own.

Read the full article http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/04/03/1175366240499.html

Pope Benedict XVI on Leadership - World Youth Day

Pope Benedict XVI on Leadership - World Youth Day

At the World Youth Day in front of 400,000 people, Pope Benedict XVI issued a leadership challenge:

“Dear young people, let me now ask you a question. What will you leave to the next generation? Are you building your lives on firm foundations, building something that will endure? Are you living your lives in a way that opens up space for the Spirit …? How are you using the gifts you have been given ….? What legacy will you leave to young people yet to come? What difference will you make?”
Read the full text: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20080720_xxiii-wyd_en.html