LAURA BENJAMIN'S ONLINE MAGAZINE

Dedicated to help your business grow and your people prosper. It's never 'just business' it's always personal.

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Vol. 8, Number 2 - January 29, 2007
Editor: Laura Benjamin
http://www.LauraBenjamin.com
Published continually since 2000
Copyright©Pinehurst Press Ltd., 2007

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. FREE Teamwork Quotes & Funny Quotes
2. People Talk Radio: FREE Teleclasses & Interviews
3. Discussion Point
4. FREE Difficult People Daily Tutorial Tips
5. Mount Rushmore: A Monument to Teamwork
6. FREE Resources
7. The Carla Concept, Human Capacity & Knowledge Transfer

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1. TEAMWORK QUOTES & FUNNY QUOTES
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"You can only be young once. But you can always be immature." (David Barry)
"I intend to live forever. So far, so good." (Steven Wright)
"Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too
dark to read." (Groucho Marx)
"The most dangerous position in which to sleep is with your feet on your
office desk." (Anonymous)
"I hope my ship comes in before my dock rots." (Anonymous)
"Find the good and praise it." (Alex Haley's tombstone)
"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it." (Winston Churchill)

Teamwork Quotes at: www.LauraBenjamin.com/teamworkquotes.htm
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2. PEOPLE TALK RADIO: FREE INTERVIEWS & TELECLASSES
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PEOPLE TALK RADIO: Our new online broadcasting source for compelling
content and engaging interviews with a twist of irreverent humor!

BREAKING IN AND MAKING OUT: Marketing Tips for Independent Business Owners
Laura was a mid-level manager one Friday morning and self-employed single
parent later that afternoon. Tune in to find out what she's learned in ten
years to build an international business, to market successfully despite being
a closet introvert and use a non-tekkie approach to apply technology.
Date: Thursday, February 8
Time: 9am Pacific, 10am Mountain, 11am Central, 12 Noon Eastern

INTERVIEW WITH SUE ROSS, SPEECHWRITER FOR GENERAL'S, CEO'S & DIGNITARIES
Ever wondered how professional speechwriters make their boss look and sound
great? Tune in for user-friendly tips you can use to write your own high
quality speeches. Sue Ross is a former Air Force pilot and speechwriter to
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Date: Friday, Feb 2
9am pacific, 10am mtn, 11am central, 12 noon eastern

Register at: http://www.LauraBenjamin.com/interviews.htm (Did we mention they were free?)

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3. DISCUSSION POINT
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A short discussion point to encourage meaningful dialogue among employees,
managers, human resources folks, and independent business owners. Get the
communication going and find out what folks think about the grey areas.
Our goal: to create lively debate, knowledge transfer and active minds!

DISCUSSION POINT #2: WHY LOGIC PUZZLES MAKE GOOD INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
/http://tickletux.wordpress.com/2007/01/10/why-logic-puzzles-make-good-interview-questions/

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
-Should logic puzzles be used for interview questions? Why or why not?
-Are we at risk, legally, when questions are asked that do not directly relate
to the job description?
-If the candidate refuses to answer the question or gives up, what does that
tell us about their fit with our organization?
-If we use logic puzzles to evaluate problem-solving skills and resourcefulness,
how will we compare candidate answers to one another?

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4. FREE DIFFICULT PEOPLE DAILY TUTORIAL TIPS
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GOT A DIFFICULT PERSON IN YOUR LIFE? Need help now? Get 107 Tutorial Tips
on how to deal with difficult personalities in the workplace, at home or
anywhere else. Each one gives you a short slice of information on how to
cope and shows up each day in your email box without you having to lift a
finger. You can use these tips in the following ways:
- As a team or start-up meeting discussion
- To send out to friends or family who are struggling with a difficult person
- As foundational training modules (with attribution please)
- As short articles for your intranet, association trade magazine, or company
newsletter (with attribution please)
- Or you can use them to help you cope with the person you live with, sit
next to, do business with, or date

And did I mention they are complimentary?
Get them at http://www.LauraBenjamin.com/difficultpeopletips/signup.htm

INDEPENDENT BUSINESS MARKETING TIPS TUTORIAL COMING NEXT! Stay tuned!
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5. MOUNT RUSHMORE
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Over 400 local miners and sculptors worked to carve the faces of Washington,
Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt into solid granite, 7242 ft. above
sea level beginning in 1927 and for the next 14 years.

Gutzon Borglum carved a model of Mount Rushmore first, then adjusted it
nine times to fit the realities of the mountain. Most of his time was spent
on Jefferson to ensure that placement on the mountain would not allow a crack
to run down his nose. (Quality Control)

Do we ever take the time to create a model first, then make the effort to
adjust it to "fit the mountain"? Or do we identify the problem or challenge,
then jump straight to what we think is the right solution? Borglum took the
time to adjust based on lessons learned. He considered another approach when
his first one didn't yield the right results. He worked to create a lasting
monument, not just one that would showcase his skills while he was alive.

Is your organization operating in such a way that you're creating a monument
for the future, or just a showcase for the present time? Are you willing to
do what it takes to keep people safe? There were no deaths or serious
injuries despite the use of heavy equipment and dynamite during those 14 years.
Can we say the same about the casualties in our companies?

Mount Rushmore is a testament to teamwork, persistence, leadership and vision.

If you haven't ever seen Mount Rushmore, I strongly encourage you make the
visit this year. You will be astounded. You will be inspired at the ability
of individuals almost 100 years ago to tackle and complete such a project.
You will realize that your own aspirations are easily accomplished
compared to a project of such magnitude! Read the entire article at:
www.LauraBenjamin.com/articles/MountRushmore.htm

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6. FREE RESOURCES
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TOP 10 MISTAKES COMMUNICATORS MAKE: Complimentary audio download/MP3 program.
Find it at www.LauraBenjamin.com/shows.htm

FREEBIES: The Online Magazine with Something for Nothing at: www.freebies.com
Includes Patriotic items, you pay for postage/handling only

FREE DOWNLOADABLE CLASSICAL MUSIC: Fast Company Magazine Feb 2007 article, p104
entitled "An Unlikely Story" featured an innovative release courtesy of the
Isabella Stewart Museum in Boston MA. "The Concert" series is now available
free. To download this classical music series visit: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (http://www.gardnermuseum.org)

I just downloaded it this evening, burned it to CD and the sound quality is
excellent. Kudos to their "Pod Squad" for making this wonderful concert series
available to classical music enthusiasts for free!

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6. THE CARLA CONCEPT, HUMAN CAPACITY & KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER
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In "Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything", authors Don
Tapscott (The Digital Economy) and Anthony D. Williams prove that smart firms
can harness collective capability and genius to spur innovation, growth and
success. Excerpts include:

"We need to use the entire range of human capacity within our business to
generate customer insights." (Brad Anderson, CEO, Best Buy)

Kal Patel, Best Buy's Executive VP of strategy applied a bottom up approach
to innovation and likened it to the scientific method. "Working together and
sharing their knowledge across organizational boundaries - in much the same
way as they swap songs and videos over the Internet - will be perfectly
normal for tomorrow's workforce."

Want to generate "weapons of mass collaboration" through peer-to-peer networks?
Want to create speed, freedom, openness, mobility, authenticity and collegial
work environments?

Want a simple method to facility knowledge transfer, build creative collaboration
and expand human capacity in your organization? Access the easiest
and most memorable method on the face of this earth at C.A.R.L.A. Concept(TM)

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7. HOUSEKEEPING
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Laura Benjamin International Inc. & Pinehurst Press Ltd.
P.O. Box 63352, Colorado Springs CO USA, Tel: +1-719-266-8088,
Fax: +1-719-785-5768, Cell: +1-719-651-8742
http://www.laurabenjamin.com (more than 300 pages of helpful information)
Copyright(C)Pinehurst Press Ltd. 2007