Winding Down 2014: The View From the White House :-)

As we write this, the ball has "officially" dropped in New York and it will be The New Year in California within the next few hours.      In the spirit of the mission of this Channel within the Outsider Network, we decided to release this published by the White House as it looked back to 2014.   Despite all the disagreements with President Obama's policies and outlook, what has been produced by the White House and led by Pete Souza is history and worth noting--

Happy New Year:

Winding Down 2014: Ideas To Motivate & Educate

As we wind down 2014 here in the network of "Outsiders", this advisory received from the team @ Give More underscored the implicit message of our mission for this channel--to create a road to constantly educate and empower.   This captures it all....as we gear up to "onward" and "upward" for 2015!!!

Happy  new year to all :-) 

The Quickest Professional Evaluation 2 questions to help measure your professional value. (For me, this is everything.) Click here to read the full thought

Pushing It Even the best in the business get pushed. That's where the magic happens. Don't let your ego get in the way of enjoying more! Click here to read the full thought

Better Stories Behind every interaction you have and every experience you create, there's a story. What do you want it to be? Click here to read the full thought

Cultivating Thought When Chipotle asked the question 'How can we make things better?' ... everybody won. What could you do? Click here to read the full thought

Shine What if each of us viewed everything we needed to do as an opportunity to shine? A true story to inspire you and your team to keep two-twelving. Click here to read the full thought

Regardless Of Circumstances A tribute to the late Maya Angelou. Until her passing in 2014, I had no idea she was such a bad@ss. Click here to read the full thought

Winding Down 2014: On the Power of Music & The Kids of #Heartbeat

Heartbeat is an organization of Palestinian and Israeli Kids that has come together using the power of music. The clip (available on the heartbeat site @ heartbeat.fm) is a plea to be different and for a change for the better. When the kids were intereviewed on the BBC World Service as part of the BBC's 2014 review, it was remarkable how wise they were and how the "Education Road" is ever so long for the World to embrace and realize as we look to 2015. It is indeed an Oasis of hope in an otherwise dark scene in the Middle East right now:

Happy Holidays From the #Outsiders

   

We here @ Outsiders wish all the very best on this joyous Season as we bid farewell to 2014 and embrace the advent of 2015....

Happy Holidays!!!!

Winding Down 2014 (Third in a Series): A Gift of Knowledge (Courtesy of the Team @ ExecuNet)

As we wind down 2014, we continue to share thoughts & ideas throughout #outsiders.  To live up to the mission & objectives of this #Outsider Channel, we wanted to report on this courtesy of the Team @  ExecuNet  which we hope all enjoy:

"Innovation is different from invention. Innovation results in paying customers." — Adam Bryant Dear Mike, Right about now, most of us are in that yearly scramble for holiday gifts. If you’re anything like me, you’re nowhere near done shopping. While it might be an easy present to guess under the wrapping, a good business book can make the perfect gift for a colleague, client, customer or yourself. Still, sometimes the right one is hard to find. Here are a few suggestions for the list-makers out there. These books can make a day at the office go from good enough to awesome, and take anyone’s career, company, and business life to greater heights: Four Seconds: All the Time You Need to Stop Counter-Productive Habits and Get the Results You Want, by Peter Bregman A handbook of practical wisdom we can all use to stop counterproductive habits and create the life, work and career results we want, without the stress. (40% discount for ExecuNet members) Getting to Yes with Yourself (and Other Worthy Opponents), by William UryA lesson on how to get out of your own way and create the results you want. If you adopt the winning strategies in this book, you’ll come out ahead in business and in life. How to Be a Power Connector: The 5+50+100 Rule for Turning Your Business Network into Profits, by Judy Robinett A masterfully crafted guide to building authentic, powerful, and profitable relationships. Business Without the Bullsh*t: 49 Secrets and Shortcuts You Need to Know, by Geoffrey James James tackles essential workplace skills and techniques, including how to be a great boss and colleague (and survive bad ones); navigate office politics; ask for a raise; and deal with stress. Improvise: Unconventional Career Advice from an Unlikely CEO, by Fred Cook Fred is anything but a typical CEO. Filled with colorful anecdotes, his book also offers exceptionally insightful and practical tips on how to change your perspective at any stage of your career and use your rich life experiences to fuel your ambitions. The Best Place to Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace, by Ron Friedman Game-changing advice for working smarter and turning any organization-regardless of its size, budgets, or ambitions-into an extraordinary workplace. The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer Once you’ve read this book you will never return to the old and outmoded theories of employee motivation again. It’s a must-read for those wants to be good leaders, or those wishing they worked for one. To your next success!

Mark Anderson ExecuNet President Mark.Anderson@execunet.com

Winding Down 2014 (Second in A Series): A Gift of Knowledge (Courtesy of the Team @ GovLoop)

We here @ #Outsiders first got "wind" of GovLoop a number of years ago and began an engagement process that continues even today as the Public Sector continues to be challenged on all front.  These resources are a "gem" for both Public & Private organization.   

As Part of the on-going year end review here in the Channels of #Outsiders, we hope all find this of interest:

	YOUR GIFT OF KNOWLEDGE
	Thank you for making GovLoop part of your holidays this year and for sharing the Gift of Knowledge with a coworker! It's all the awesome people like you who help to keep the GovLoop community growing, active and engaged. Here's our best guides, blog posts, infographics, and online training videos from 2014. Enjoy and happy holidays!
	15 Government Instagrams to Follow Government can be beautiful! See how agencies are creatively connecting with their constituents through the social platform. #ReadNow Set Yourself Up for a Stellar 2015 Let us help you help yourself. Follow these tips to set attainable goals for 2015. Ready, Set, Goals! The Internet of Things: Preparing Yourself for a Connected Government How will the "Internet of Things" affect government and how is it already being utilized? Get the 411 on IoT 6 Stages of an Email That Works Are you taking advantage of the power of email? Here's how to leverage it for communication success. Embrace Email 10 Benefits of Going Paperless You don't have to be a tree hugger to appreciate the benefits of going paperless. Go Green Creating a Great Individual Development Plan to Grow Your Career An effective IDP can drive your career forward; a deficient one can stall it. Find out the do's and don'ts. Get Growing You Know You're a Govie When... …you have conversations in acronymns. We've got GIFs that define your life as a government employee. Read On, You Govie Your Citizen Engagement Checklist Technology has disrupted traditional engagement tactics - read through 18 success strategies to better connect with citizens. Get Engaged From the State House to the County Clerk If you're a state or local govie, these 15 success stories will inspire you. State/Local Stand Up Creating a Stronger Democracy: GIS on Capitol Hill Maps can have a powerful effect on today's government by changing how lawmakers are visualizing and acting on data. Harness The Power of GIS Public Speaking Tips and Tricks If picturing your audience naked doesn't cut it anymore, find out more effective ways to nail your next presentation. Public Speaking 101 Work Smarter, Faster, and With Less Stress Learn 20 valuable productivity tips to work smarter, not harder - without even breaking a sweat. Stress Less

Winding Down 2014: First in A Series

2014 is fast becoming history.    As we "wind down" the year here in #outsiders, we wanted to report on the highlights from +TED  that underscores a sense of wonder that the World has and how we hope to build upon it throughout the Channels of Outsiders in 2015:

THIS WEEK ON TED.COM DECEMBER 20, 2014

TALK OF THE WEEK The Year in Ideas 8 minutes · Year in Ideas 2014 What were the most powerful ideas of 2014? Watch this video recap of the Year in Ideas — and click through to an interactive playlist of great talks from the past year. Watch now »

View of the Week: On Productivity Ideas

As we bid farewell to 2014, we will continue to share thoughts & ideas that lives up to the envisioned objective of this channel: To Educate & to be a hub for ideas.    What we shared over Twitter earlierl this month is one example which is courtesy of the team at +Fast Company  which is ever so critical as all have increased demands on their time:

“@FastCompany: How to make to-do lists better, faster, and more fun http://t.co/JOojxSYB8i pic.twitter.com/FG6yfiZvdr”hope all enjoy this 🙏💥

— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) December 7, 2014

On 2014 (First in a Series): On the Best Apps From the Apple App Store & Other Thoughts

For this edition of "View of the Week", we wanted to report on the latest from Apple's App Store.  The newsletter reflects their view of the Best of 2014 which we hope to evaluate and review throughout the ensuing number of weeks.    This is as We also wanted to note the article from +Inc. Magazine which is also noted for reference and can be accessed by clicking here.  It is just amazing how 5 years have passed since the APP Store was born:

A Beautiful Day: The Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony 2014

We here at #Outisders noted in the "Visions" channel as we were witness to history today on the Nobel Peace Prize This beautiful ceremony is now available in its' entirety which is now available here:

On the "Prowl" For the Day: As 2015 is Before Us....On the Leading Lights of Tech

+Mashable  just published this and noted how this story may go "viral".     It is not that shocking as one sees this.  We can't help but hope that #Outsiders will make this list someday!! :-)

We congratulate all the leading tech luminaries for this distinction:

10 best tech companies to work for in 2015

Guess which search engine company trumps all other tech companies?

View of the Week: Briefly re: "Rosewater"

Rosewater is a film directed by the Daily Show's Jon Stewart.   Jon Stewart is well known as the King of Fake News, yet his insights have been invaluable to shape the narrative about America and the World.

He decided to take on Roseweater, the story of Maziar Bahari.   As we here @ #Outsiders hope to release a column on it soon, we wanted to share this "View of the Week" on the thoughts at the time as we were able to attend a preview of it which featured a post show featuring Jon Stewart and Maziar Bahari--hosted by Stephen Colbert: 

Post by Mike Pouraryan.

This is as negotiations continue with Iran on the Nuclear Question.    The yearning for peace is shared by many as epitomized by this collage put together by the team at the National Iranian American Council during Thankgiving in the United States: 

Will this transformation be realized? 

An #Outsiders Newsflash: #Orion Returns

#Orion is now coming back to Earth and there is live coverage on NASA TV: 

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream & #Orion just splashed down as it was fabulous to be Witness to History:

@mikepouraryan : Witness 2 history #Orion as it just splashed down @ Stable One ...congrats to the entire #NASA_Orion team for this fab day

— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) December 5, 2014

On the Prowl w/Comments from SCOTUS Blog On Relist Watch

As the unrest in the after of the #EricGarner Decision and the continued fallout of Michael Brown, the US Supreme Court has been hard at work working through a number of interesting and challenging cases as noted in this very revealing updated from SCOUT Blog which we here at #Outsiders will be commetning on as targets as far and wide as the EPA, the American Disabilities Act & a number of interesting and challenging procedural issues.    Quite a read @:  Relist Watch

On the Prowl In the Spirit of #GivingTuesday: On What's the latest from #edX

#GivingTuesday 2014 continues.  In this spirit and in line with the "mission" of this #Outsider Channel, please note this we received from the team at +edX .    Over 350 Courses are currently available for free to all to review.   We here @ #Outsiders hope all have an chance to check it out.

The gift with infinite returns - share edX today!

This #GivingTuesday give the gift of education by telling your friends or family members about edX. Ask them to join you in a course, let them know about an interesting new course or introduce them to the more than 350 free courses available on edX.    Starting This Week The Science of Happiness UC BerkeleyX Enroll Today   "A Christmas Carol" BerkeleyX Book Club Enroll Today The Civil War & Reconstruction: 1861 - 1865 ColumbiaX Enroll Today   ISSCC Previews: Circuits and System Insights IEEEx Enroll Today Explore All edX Courses Get a head start on your New Year's resolution. Intro to Nutrition - Food for Health WageningenX “You are what you eat”- learn the fundamentals of nutrition and how it can affect human health. Starts: January 12, 2015 - Learn More Share:    The Body Matters McGillx Did you know that physically active obese individuals live longer than inactive thin individuals? Starts: February 25, 2015 - Learn More Share:    Jazz Appreciation UTAustinX Listen and learn about the artists, eras, and musical methods that make jazz a great original art form. Starts: January 20, 2015 - Learn More Share:    Adventures of Huckleberry Finn BerkeleyX Book Club Explore Mark Twain’s 1884 novel, Huckleberry Finn, which has an important place in American literature and history. Starts: January 2, 2015 - Learn More Share:    Want to kick start your own business?  U.Lab: Transforming Business, Society, and Self MITx Learn how to create profound innovation in a time of disruptive change... Starts: January 7, 2015 - Learn More Share:    Entrepreneurship 101: Who is your customer?  MITx You have an idea for a product, but do you know who will want to buy it? Starts: January 9, 2015 - Learn More Share:    Innovation and Commercialization MITx Taught by distinguished practicing innovators and covering human process of innovating to innovation ecosystems. Starts: January 13, 2015 - Learn More Share:    Climate change to China — learn something new.