The Brain Behind LinkedIn, Read Reid and Understand!

Read this book!

The Start-Up of You: Entrepreneurial Strategies for Navigating the New Realities of Your Career

Open Discussion on the Book Written by Reid Hoffman with Ben Casnocha

Tuesday evening 02.21.12 at 7

Greetings All,

Prior to publication we discussed this book by LinkedIn co-founder and CEO Reid Hoffman. We based our August 16, 2011 discussion upon an interview by Thomas Friedman. “The Start-Up of You” book is now out and it is infinitely cosmic and incalculably multidimensional.  Reid illuminates the new realities for the career realm and for where the responsibility lies like no one else has. You may not like it but he lays it out.

Reid Hoffman is a genius that has proven his magnitude and worth numerous times over and in numerous ways.  His fingerprints are on such entities as LinkedIn, PayPal, Facebook, Zynga, Mozilla, Greylock Partners, and many others. Mr. Reid is a venture capitalist, angel investor, and philanthropist that makes a difference.  If you want to truly understand the mind that conceived and drives LinkedIn you will find a way to read this book.

Our $timulus discussion for Tuesday evening will have but one primary question. That question was posed on a Highway 101 billboard back in 2009 asking the pithy question:

“A million people could do your job. What makes you special?” ~ Hwy 101 Billboard

Join us, won’t you?

Monte

THE START-UP IS YOU VIDEO:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF3zSo9jFuk

$timulus: An Open Book and Networking Group

Barnes & Noble in the Streets of West Chester

(I-75 Exit 19 Union Centre Blvd., Past The Rave Theater)

9455 Civic Centre Boulevard, West Chester, OH 45069

Every Tuesday evening at 7:00 P.M. (Weather Permitting)

There is no charge for $timulus!!!

Monte at 513.769.6313 or montewashburn@gmail.com

Paul McKenna “Can Make You Confident!”

I Can Make You Confident: The Power to Go for Anything You Want

Open Discussion on the Book Written by Paul McKenna, Ph.D.

Tuesday evening 02.14.12 at 7

Greetings All,

Is your lack of confidence undermining you in one or more spheres? The last few years have knocked many folks down a rung or two on the confidence ladder. It shows in the way they present themselves when giving an elevator speech, presentation, when networking or when in an interview. Even in the very goals and targets that they set. Some have confidence issues saturating their entire essence. Others may lack confidence only in certain dark corners. The lack of confidence can be seriously self-sabotaging.  Over-compensation often yields equally disastrous effects. Yet exactly what confidence is and where and how to get it is ambiguous at best. Getting the “confident” balance could just be the magic key that you are looking for.

Paul McKenna is a massively successful British non-fiction author.  His reputation grows stateside having had some hugely successful books this side of the pond. He tackles the tough issues such as weight control, smoking cessation and even insomnia with his joke-generating book “I Can Make You Sleep.” Not a claim many authors would desire attached to their books. In the context of creating confidence he tackles the relevant issues of self-esteem and motivation. The touchy territories of romance, sex and relationships are also attended to. His successful clients include the elite of Hollywood stardom, Olympian gold medalists and contenders, world-class rockers, business tycoons, and royalty.

I am most confident that you would benefit from this book and of our review and discussion of the topics therein.

“Confidence” Points for Discussion:

• What does it mean to be “confident?”
• Where do you get “confident?”
• What “motivates you?”
• Is “Believing in Yourself” just a cliché?
• Do you fully grasp the relevance between “confidence” and “achievement?”
• How badly does the lack of “confidence” hinder “motivation?”
• “Over-confident?” What’s “TOO MUCH?”
• What does your posture say about your “confidence level?”
• Can you “fake it until you make it?”
• What is the connection between “shyness” and “confidence?”
• What kind of “confidence” does it take to leave a bad situation?
• Sustaining change- “small and gradual steps” vs. leaps of “grandeur”
• Have you ever tried or considered trying “hypnosis?”
• Where do your “self-beliefs” come from and can you change them? How?
• How much would “personal transformation” be worth to you?
• What area of your life would you first desire to “overhaul?”
• Can “NLP” provide you with an “off-switch for fear?” How?

 “I am not a has-been.  I am a will be.”  ~Lauren Bacall

Following $timulus we move to Steak & Shake for tea and crumpets served with confident elegance.

Join us, won’t you?

Monte

Is "CONFIDENCE" the magic key you are looking for?

$timulus: An Open Book and Networking Group

Barnes & Noble in the Streets of West Chester

(I-75 Exit 19 Union Centre Blvd., Past The Rave Theater)

9455 Civic Centre Boulevard, West Chester, OH 45069

Every Tuesday evening at 7:00 P.M. (Weather Permitting)

There is no charge for $timulus!!!

Monte at 513.769.6313 or montewashburn@gmail.com

Loveland Intermediate School Nook In Education

Loveland students take possession of their own Nook Color eReaders and immediately sit down to register them and set up their e-mail accounts.

MAJOR NOOK HAPPENING!

Five hundred factory reconditioned Nook Color devices with full warranties are now on-site at Loveland Middle School in Loveland, Ohio. 95% of the devices have been claimed by very excited 7^th grade students and parents during a two-day delivery event. The faculty has had their Nooks for a couple of weeks now.

It is an honor to be able to team with Loveland on this pilot project. And delivery is just the beginning of seeing what the Nook can really do in education. Taking advantage of the “Barnes & Noble Managed Content” the books and apps will be delivered directly to the devices via the cloud. Looking forward to helping the faculty, parents and students save money and maximize their Nook Colors.

Special “THANKS!” to Christine Olsen and Dr. John Marschhausen of Loveland and the to the entire Barnes & Noble staff at store 2170 in West Chester, OH.

Line out the front door for NOOK pick-up. Glad it was a gorgeous day.

Getting closer to my NOOK- just a few more feet and some paperwork.

Still a couple of hours before Super Bowl kick-off so plenty of time to play with our Nooks and to start decorating the covers.

NOOK helps make reading, learning, and studying more enjoyable for today’s students plus it’s a great value. And no more heavy backpacks!

Ask for more details: montewashburn@gmail.com or contact your nearest Barnes & Noble Store.

Read Forever!

Per William Bratton: “Collaborate or Perish!”

Collaborate or Perish!: Reaching Across Boundaries in a Networked World

Open Discussion on the Book Written by William Bratton and Zachary Tumin

Tuesday evening 02.07.12 at 7

Greetings All,

A dire warning: “Collaborate or Perish.”  Is it true? The world is shrinking daily and the problems that once seemed distant are now directly affecting you or they are threatening to. Can you ignore the growing din? Many think that they are truly collaborating yet often run in the same tight circles without accomplishing much. William Bratton offers a new, wider, and more intense view of collaborating than ever before. He shows the pertinence of building staunch collaborative networks that can affect social, political, military, educational, corporate, environmental and global change. What’s in it for you? Lots, if played correctly.

Bratton has served as top cop in Los Angeles and in New York City and senior researcher Zachary Tumin sits high at the Harvard Kennedy School. Together they have developed the model and scorecard for forging, validating, and judging effective collaborative relationships. They speak to a wide and diverse cacophony of exploding demands and situations. Some of their “collaborators” were once “competitors or adversaries.” Bratton’s expertise was born of needing to makes substantial changes with siren-blaring immediacy.

You can be one of the connected or the unconnected, you decide.

“Collaborate or Perish” Points for Discussion:

• Are you a “collaborator” or do you prefer to work alone? Is it working for you?
• How are “collaborating” and “networking different?”
• How really connected are you? Expand
• What does “vision” have to do with collaboration?
• Do “boundaries” have to be: “barricades?”
• How do you “rightsize problems?” Why?
• In the digital New World Order it is all about “platform” Do you have one?
• What does it mean to “make collaboration pay in the right currency?”
• Is “personal collaboration” different from “corporate collaboration?”
• In what ways does “technology help or hurt collaboration?”
•  How do you know when you are successfully collaborating?
• Ultimately, is what you are doing creating solutions? For what?

 “It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” - Charles Darwin

Following $timulus we move to Steak & Shake for more collaboration.

Join us, won’t you?

Monte

 

Are you a collaborator or a “Lone Ranger?”

$timulus: An Open Book and Networking Group

Barnes & Noble in the Streets of West Chester

(I-75 Exit 19 Union Centre Blvd., Past The Rave Theater)

9455 Civic Centre Boulevard, West Chester, OH 45069

Every Tuesday evening at 7:00 P.M. (Weather Permitting)

There is no charge for $timulus!!!

Monte at 513.769.6313 or montewashburn@gmail.com

“Small Message, Big Impact” Elevates Your Elevator Speech!

Small Message, Big Impact: How to Put the Power of the Elevator Speech Effect to Work for You

Open Discussion on the Book Written by Terri Sjodin

Tuesday evening 01.31.12 at 7

Is your career elevator going in the right direction?

Greetings All,

Is your “Elevator Speech” stuck between floors? Are you bored hearing it yourself? Is it getting you the results you desire? It goes by many names. Some call it an “elevator speech, power message, unique selling proposition, TMAY, pitch, spiel, shtick…”  What is it that you want to convey and accomplish?”

The review will be presented from the hardcopy edition of the book but I will be adding this one to my personal Nook Library as it is more archival and searchable in that format. Clearly this is one for both the 3-D and digital bookshelves. Neglecting Sjodin’s advice could cost you in numerous ways.

This book we will empower to forge high impact communications that move others to acceptance, action, forward communicate and drive positive change. Terri Sjodin offers an entertaining, dynamic and compelling architecture to revamp and regenerate your own existing ideas with additional spice and clout. Heeding Sjodin’s advice could yield high rewards.

 “Elevator” Buttons for Discussion:

• Your “elevator speech”- who cares and why does it matter?
• Can your “elevator speech” be too polished?
• Does your “elevator speech” work in both oral and written forms?
• The long and short of it? What’s too little and too much?
• What does “attention span” have to do with it? Monitored how?
• What does it mean to “earn the right to be heard today?” 
• Are there some individuals that just seem to be born for great communication? Name some!
• Can others on your personal or professional team properly convey your “elevator speech?”
• What gets you diverted and causes your message to be distorted or missed?
• What makes a great message “sell?”
• What does it mean to “find your own authentic voice?”
• Facts and information are great but is it “COMPELLING?” and “INTRIGUING?” How do you know?
• Ever been video-taped presenting?

“Your elevator speech is a verbal business card or billboard.  In order for it to be effective, it must be compelling.  You want it to draw in the prospect, yet leave them wanting to know more.” 

– Leah Grant, NASDAQ

Next stop, following $timulus is Steak & Shake, where the conversation is always elevating.

Join us, won’t you?

Monte

  

How is your elevator speech received?

$timulus: An Open Book and Networking Group

Barnes & Noble in the Streets of West Chester

(I-75 Exit 19 Union Centre Blvd., Past The Rave Theater)

9455 Civic Centre Boulevard, West Chester, OH 45069

Every Tuesday evening at 7:00 P.M. (Weather Permitting)

There is no charge for $timulus!!!

Monte at 513.769.6313 or montewashburn@gmail.com

“Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?” asks William Poundstone…

Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?: Trick Questions, Zen-like Riddles, Insanely Difficult Puzzles, and Other Devious Interviewing Techniques You Need to Know to Get a Job Anywhere in the New Economy

Open Discussion on the Book Written by William Poundstone

Tuesday evening 01.24.12 at 7

Can you get "Smart Enough?"

Greetings All,

This is the one-hundredth post for this blog. I am not smart enough to work at Google, nor do I aspire to. Yet still, it seems that Google is the new epitome of W-2 and 1099’d success in these days. It demands consideration though of “what is ‘smart enough?’ to work at Google” or anywhere else that you might have ambitions. The equation appears to be a long and contorted one. Is it really? Or is it a delicate balance of many of the same standards that we confront on a daily basis? Research has shown that the traditional interview isn’t a very good predictor of actual job success.  The Google model of detailed “work sampling” offers a much better gauge as it illustrates flexibility, openness and creativity.

This intelligent book is for dedicated brainiacs, coder monkeys, interview mercenary guerrillas, seasoned contract workers, puzzler fanatics, consultants, analysts, and those addicted to challenge. Also still it should be considered seriously by those facing staunch challenges in an excruciatingly tight market, and those looking to add razor-sharp edge to their interviewing arsenal.  This book will certainly tweak and turbo-charge your thinking processes. It will also give you some peace of mind that in hiring matters “smart enough” is rarely a “mathematical definitive” and often (like horseshoes) more of a “theoretical approximation.” Because sometimes close enough is good enough.

Scary thought, even Wal-Mart uses some of these interview techniques.

 “Smart Enough” Discussion Points:

• Are you “Smart Enough to Work at Google?” How would you prove that?
• Can you get “smarter?” How?
• Who decides “smart enough?” and how?
• Once “smart” is confirmed what other factors must be proven? How?
• What if you had interview without words or digital devices?
• How much money is “Smart Enough” worth these days?
• Is the algorithm weighted toward “smart” or something else?
• What percentage of “smart” is generated from “experience?”
• What percentage of “smart” is generated from “strategy?”
• What percentage of “smart” is generated from “creativity?”
• What percentage of “smart” in generated by “confidence?”
• What part of “smart” is pure “dumb luck?” That includes guessing!
• Why do the interviewees hate “offbeat questions?”

 

“A neat little manifesto on interview technique…Touring through a huge number of puzzles, he provides a truly exhaustive account of all the factors you’re meant to consider when thinking your way through the solutions. Tackling [them] is incredibly gratifying, when you’re not withering under the baleful eye of a potential employer.” – (New Scientist Culture Lab)

Our conversations are always intelligent, even if not so by Google hiring standards. We continue the discussion at Steak & Shake following $timulus.

Join us, won’t you?

Monte

Just how smart do you have to be today to gain entry at Google, or anywhere else?

$timulus: An Open Book and Networking Group

Barnes & Noble in the Streets of West Chester

(I-75 Exit 19 Union Centre Blvd., Past The Rave Theater)

9455 Civic Centre Boulevard, West Chester, OH 45069

Every Tuesday evening at 7:00 P.M. (Weather Permitting)

There is no charge for $timulus!!!

Monte at 513.769.6313 or montewashburn@gmail.com

Positivity, Motivation and the Value of Faith in the Job Search/Career, Moving On and/or Just Plain Starting Over In Life…

Positivity, Motivation and the Value of Faith in the Job Search/Career, Moving On and/or Just Plain Starting Over In Life…

Guest Facilitated by Jenny VanDenBurg and Darian Johnson

Tuesday evening 01.17.12 at 7

Greetings All,

Jenny Vandenburg and Darian Johnson will be guest hosting at $timulus this Tuesday evening. Official NOOK business calls me away.  Jenny and Darian are long-standing group members both know for their dedication to maintaining strong values and attitudes of positivity, strong faith in job search and career moves, starting over. Both are entrepreneurs that have been through a great deal. From catering, H/R, business operation, cookies, patent paralegal orchestration, and entrepreneurial pursuits and jumping fighter jets off the U.S.S. Enterprise off of Iraq- Jenny and Darian have a much to share.

How do you maintain a positive attitude when nothing “positive” is happening? How do you “start over” when it has been years in the same industry, job, relationship and you just don’t feel that you can? Are there any safe moves or places to be these days? What next? What about lack of support or conflict from significant family members and such? Where do you go with health or emergency issues? How does one handle it when even the small issues start to feel overwhelming? What else is there to do when there is seemingly “nothing left to do?”

It will be a great discussion.  It always is.

Life is a series of collisions with the future;

it is not the sum of what we have been,

but what we yearn to be.  - Jose Ortega Gasset

Join them, won’t you?

Monte

 

Thoughts count!

 $timulus: An Open Book and Networking Group

Barnes & Noble in the Streets of West Chester

(I-75 Exit 19 Union Centre Blvd., Past The Rave Theater)

9455 Civic Centre Boulevard, West Chester, OH 45069

Every Tuesday evening at 7:00 P.M. (Weather Permitting)

There is no charge for $timulus!!!