Malcolm Gladwell

This man is absolutely genius at summarizing psychological studies on what it means to be human, why we do the things we do and the book I most recently read, why do social epidemics tip (go viral).  Gladwell teaches us 3 main lessons in the book based on both the psychology studies surrounding the issues and many real life examples.  For a Social epidemic to occur you need one of three things to happen and they are based on these Laws.

The Law of the Few - there are a handful of people out there who have the ability to make or break your product.  With Air-walk it was the first cool skateboarder kids who wanted a really good shoe.  The Boston Tea Party was tipped off by a horseback ride by a man named Paul Revere who was a connector and seemed to know everyone as he spread the message in the night that the British were going to invade the next day and that they should come and support.  Basically Gladwell argues there are Connectors (people who know people) and make it their ambition/goal to meet people and build social capital and relationships.  There are Mavins, these are the people intricately focused on details of a product they are guru's on restaurants, cars, soap or any number of things.  They test and study and compare prices, products, quality, etc and then they will tell people about it, if you are making a poor product or charging too much these people will expose it, but they can also play in your favour if you can get them on board and service their needs in a product/social epidemic.  Salesman - these are the charismatic people in our lives who are able to have a conversation and share there thoughts, feelings and emotions without saying a word sometimes, you trust these people and believe what they are selling.

The Stickiness Factor - the message is critical.  Sesame Street studied what makes sense to kids and what confuses them and what they enjoyed and what lost their attention.  They then based their wildly popular show on this principal, making it sticky for viewers (kids).  Blues Clues went one step further recognizing that kids feel self worth and happy if they can answer questions as the show moves along, telling simple stories and connecting the pieces of the puzzle through clues in the show.  To make it even more sticky they repeated their show 5 days in a row for kids to get better and better at solving the puzzle as the week progressed.

The Law of Context - finally the importance of context cannot be overlooked.  New York was able to substantially 80% reduce crime in their city in the late 1990's and early 2000's.   How?  By paying attention to the little things.  The concept is called Broken Windows and is based on the fact that your surroundings influence your decisions and actions.  Basically they got tough on graffiti, petty crime, fare beating at the subway and started cleaning up the perception of the city, this amazingly led to a dramatic decrease in all levels of crime.

Well its a fascinating read, very well written, I know that I have not done it justice in these three short paragraphs.  I encourage you to give it a read, especially if you are interested in starting a social or environmental movement  or marketing in any way.

cheers,

cd

A million dollar question

What is the answer to the man who I just walked by asking for change on the street corner?

I love the stuff that Kiva does, is that what we need in Regina?  Microloans?  Jobs?  Better social programs?

What is the answer, I think I may go back and ask him...

Critical Thinking

I recently took a course at Royal Roads University on critical thinking.  Critical thinking is the act of thinking critically and reflectively about a subject.  Wikipedia defines it as: "Critical thinking has been described as “reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do.”^[2] It has also been described as "thinking about thinking.""  I like to do this when I make big decisions, I do this through the rigor required in my Masters studies, I like this definition and see the value of more of it in our society.  For example making critical decisions on infrastructure, vehicles, housing, emissions control, neighbourhood design, energy infrastructure (coal, nuclear, solar, etc), forestry management, all environmental resource management for that matter, etc is valuable and necessary for us to minimize our impacts on the planet and hopefully maximize both human and ecosystem benefits.  


So why am I writing this post??  Well, I have a problem with critical thinking when it is simply being critical.  I feel like this in the workplace, when reviewing others work, or when asked for feedback or when asking for feedback on a project we jump at the opportunity to be critical.  Many times the conversation goes straight to critical "why we can't do something", rather than a team let's solve this mentality or here's how we "can do" this project... this wears on a person, its like constantly hitting a roadblock, a barrier, I didn't realize it until tonight it hit me.  I recently handed in a draft project for review, and I was afraid to check my email, I didn't want to find another critical message in my inbox... maybe I need to practice more critical thinking, maybe this is just a lot of fluff, but I am asking you to think critically, be constructive, and support your coworkers, friends and family in their pursuits as positively as you can muster, it may mean a lot to them, it probably does and the opposite can just get tiring.


cd

This is bloody brilliant

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_phillips_creative_houses_from_reclaimed_stuff.html

"self propelling prophecy, engineers, designers, architects etc all thing things need to be neat, straight and perfect so customers (people) come to demand neat, straight and perfect and then you get the advertisers who sell us neat, straight and perfect and the colour and trend of the day!"

This guy is saying so much more then recycle products to build better homes.  He is talking about human nature and the irony of our wants and desires and our insatiable appetite for more and social norms that we talk ourselves into.  "we have confused Maslow's hierarchy of needs" - what we want and need is completely confused when we save for designer jeans instead of essentials

"our housing has become a commodity" - we sprawl whenever we can, we have invented excess... "we need to reconnect with who we really are and that is a thrilling opportunity"

The coolest house I ever visited was in Vietnam, Dalat.  Check out the pictures here:  http://hotels-in-vietnam.com/hotels/Dalat/crazyhouse_hotel.html .  That was the funnest most entertaining house I have ever been in!  I want to do more with my home with less...  Work like this video and this crazy hotel in Vietnam should act as inspirations for the architects who still have artistic roots and those costumers who still see perfect not in straight lines but in beautiful recycled and reused functional elements of a home.

There is a huge desire and market for renovations in Regina right now, I don't know anyone in the construction industry that isn't crazy busy, many friends don't even answer their phones when they think it will be new business.  Why are we suddenly soooo caught up in granite counter tops, new kitchens and bathrooms, hardwood flooring, new paint, etc etc etc,  Where is all the old stuff going, Habitat for Humanity only has room for so much stuff... Another benefit of used furniture, recycled and reused stuff is that the off-gassing of potential and probable carcinogens was already done in someone else's home (too bad for the Joneses who keep buying new stuff). I recently heard about a cool project called the Re-house that Waalnut is taking on with the Restore where everything is going to be recycled reused and refurbished, I LoVE it and would love to see more of this kind of thinking.

I promise to think before I renovate!  

Human Nature

http://www.vbs.tv/en-ca/watch/toxic/toxic-garbage-island-3-of-3

Interesting documentary, scary, sad, sad, sad.  What are we doing to our one and only planet???  We are pooping plastic into our oceans without really realizing that we have to eat this...

Some things that resonated with me.  "We live in the happy consciousness era, globalization is inevitable, he who dies with most toys wins, we have more stuff then ever before.  Plastic in our oceans is a symbol of the wrong direction we as a society are taking.  Are society's giving us our bang for our buck, are we getting enough value out of them?"

Also had some interesting conversations on human nature last night and tonight.  Are we inherently bad or good or a bit of both, I like to hope a bit of both... or maybe we are all different based on our own circumstances, upbringing, conscious, morals and social setting... We are good when its expected of us, bad when no one is looking, in pursuit of money and more stuff almost constantly and WIIFM factors into many if not all of our decisions... (Whats In It For Me).

random thoughts, just wanted to capture them!!

One More Minute Dilemma

What would you do with another minute... this video makes the dilemma of live for future generations and delayed gratification vs. me me me and now, live for the moment and forget about tomorrow, that much more challenging...

http://interactive.nfb.ca/#/testtube

I don't know if it is effective, or what its goal is and how to measure it, its a scary thought and a dilemma I often think about, challenge myself on, but rarely take actions...  If we really are down to our last minute, why to I continue to live like a king, while so many around the world struggle to get by... I feel so privileged!

To Mike and Tanya

Congratulations to two friends Mike and Tanya on their recent wedding (last night recent), I had a lot of fun and was glad to share your special day with you both!

When do you come to the understanding that you are with the one you love, that special person that will contribute to your happiness forever?  I see a lot of friends choosing their significant others and reproducing, and I see a lot of others that are not working out.

Falling head over heels, offers the greatest feeling for the soul and mind, the elixir of life I may argue.  The feelings generated from a first kiss, holding hands, gazing into each others eyes, thinking about that person nonstop and how to generate more of that feeling... I guess endorphins are a 'powerful drug'!  So how to keep generating endorphins as years pass, and how do you know when you have met the one, when there are so many wonderful people out there...???

Should logistics trump love?  Should you let where you live and what you do get in the way of love?  Well, not in the movies...  But really if there are many things that contribute to your happiness, friends, family, where you live, what you do, quality of life, enjoyment, satisfaction, etc.  Choosing that person can be very challenging, especially when the logistics don't all match up, and definitely more challenging than the movies make it out to be...

A friend once said to me we have 3 difficult decisions to make and they are all interconnected.  Who you want to spend your life with?  Where you live?  What you do for a living?  Good luck with those!!

"Romantic love is an obsession, an addiction, its like someone is camping in your head (Helen Fisher, TED)"

Mike and Tanya I wish you all the best, I believe you have chosen perfectly!

Remember what Michael Franti says, "if you love somebody better tell them so cause you never ever know when they gonna go, if they love you back, just give thanks cause you can't keep love like money in a bank!"

I leave you with a great TED on Love - http://www.ted.com/talks/helen_fisher_studies_the_brain_in_love.html

Enjoy.

Probly some more focused thoughts on this in future!