Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Better by Atul Gawande - How to Improve Performance

In the book, 'Better,' Atul Gawande, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, offers five suggestions for "becoming a positive deviant."

Ask an Unscripted Question
Don't Complain
Count Something
Write Something, and
Change

Of these five, my favorite is Count Something. By taking charge of quantifying the effectiveness of my work, I can become and experiment of one and find ways to improve my own best performance.

I rely on counting something far more as a runner than I do at my workplace. How can I bring the lessons I have learned in improving my running performance to my job?

This book inspired me with stories of how health care facilities around the world have innovated in achieving their mission of improving performance - of becoming Better.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

New Cornell Certificate -Marketing Strategy for Business Leaders

I received this message from the eCornell Alumni group on LinkedIn:

New Program Announcement:
Marketing Strategy for Business Leaders

eCornell’s newest online certificate program is "Marketing Strategy for Business Leaders" (see http://tinyurl.com/4ra8f3h ). This 6-course program provides the MBA-level marketing concepts and tools leaders and managers need to make informed decisions and set direction for their company, business unit, department or product line:

* Marketing Concept & Strategy Essentials
* Applied Marketing Concepts & Decision-Making Tools
* Marketing Research & Analysis
* Brand Equity: Creating & Communicating the Value of Your Brand
* New Product Successes & Failures
* Distribution Strategy & International Marketing

Request more information about this new program--including program start dates--at http://www.ecornell.com/l-marketing