TED Tuesday: Why So Serious?

As the old saying goes, "you can either soar like an eagle or flock like a duck." In this disarmingly simple presentation, we learn to differentiate clearly between the avians of the business world.

Good Morning,

Today something different. Something funny. A satire of TED talks from The Onion.

A friend recently posted 21 short videos worth more than an MBA, the 13 most inspirational videos of all time, and the 7 most motivational feature films of all time.  Presenting Onion Talks: the most important ideas from greatest thinkers on the planet. No mind will be left unchanged

However, to quote another great motivational speaker in a famous movie: "Why so serious?"

Enough of the serious. The videos in this post are not worth an MBA and are neither inspirational nor motivational. But they're funny as all get out, IMHO.

More than that, they illustrate some fairly important truths about human behavior and the realities of the business world.

Enjoy any or all of my favorite three.

1. Ducks and chickens.
Amazing talk on cultural barriers. This minimalistic approach was very insightful and had an important message on how we should all get past our differences and communicate as the one true race that we are - the human race. Great job.

As the old saying goes, "you can either soar like an eagle or flock like a duck." In this disarmingly simple presentation, we learn to differentiate clearly between the avians of the business world. The duck says quack, while some animals on the farm take quite a different approach. Award-winning animal behaviorist Peter Garcia discusses these contrasting philosophies, and how we can reconcile them for a brighter future. 

VIEW HERE


2. The power of social media.
The world's most successful companies know that social media is a powerful marketing tool, and Cameron Hughes knows how to make social marketing even more effective: by never injecting an ounce of effort into it. No technology has ever had a bigger effect on our business culture than social media. In this groundbreaking presentation, we learn of the true power of social media to increase a company's value proposition.

VIEW HERE

3. The value of patience.
In our fast paced world, we expect everything at once. But Peter Redd says there is merit to waiting for desirable outcomes-- like savoring a delicious homemade pie. A perfect metaphor for a perfect talk.

In a world where everything moves so quickly, it's essential to cultivate the value of patience. Science shows that attentions spans are growing shorter each year and the ability to delay gratification is a strong indicator of life success.

VIEW HERE

Were it not for the conspicuous green logo propped up behind him, one might be excused for failing to realize that this is not, as it seems, a ted Talk, but rather, one of the first in a series that premières today called, “Onion Talks.” A year ago, YouTube announced a list of winning proposals for “YouTube Original Channels,” to expand the platform’s content; among them were ones submitted both by the Onion and ted. Sam West, the head writer of the Onion Talks series, imagined it would be just like ted, “only instead of a good idea, it will be a ludicrous one.” At first, he said, “We actually reached out to ted to see if they were interested in collaborating with us. But when they saw what we were up to, they didn’t really think it was an idea worth spreading.”

“Ideas worth spreading” is the tagline of ted Talks; for Onion Talks, it’s “No mind will be left unchanged.” During a popular ted Talk from last March, the author Susan Cain discussed the merits of being quiet, saying, “Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Gandhi—all these people described themselves as quiet and soft-spoken and even shy;” in an Onion Talk, a lecturer offers, “Did you know that this generation will be ten times louder than their grandparents? If George Washington were alive today, we would not be able to see or hear him.” From Cain’s ted Talk: “At the risk of sounding grandiose, it is the world’s loss, because when it comes to creativity and to leadership we need introverts doing what they do best.” As West and I discussed the irksome self-importance of these lectures, he stopped himself, and said, “I’m sounding all grandiose here.”

Ted has inspired an idea worth spreading, after all, which is that comedy emerges from people taking themselves too seriously. Nathan Heller, in his profile of the program for the magazine this summer, characterized the ted Talk personality like this:

People frequently say that ted has a low irony quotient. Actually there is plenty of irony at TED; what’s missing is a particular kind of irony, the underdog kind… . It is the mood of professionals who wear Converse to work, own multimillion-dollar homes at thirty-two, eat local, donate profits to charity, learn Mandarin, and rock-climb in the Pinnacles on Sundays. It is the friendly, self-effacing irony of winners. There is a joke around the ted offices which distills this West Coast irony for me. It goes, “Oh, so you’ve lost your legs and climbed Everest? So did everyone else.” Continued on The New Yorker...

And you can view the whole series HERE.

Have a GREAT day,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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“Nothing will work unless you do."
 ~~ Maya Angelou

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Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE. 

TED Tuesday: How To Be A More Creative Person by Bill Stainton

"Brilliantly written and delivered. Funny, insightful, eye-opening, and profound. Such a deep and meaningful message wrapped up in humor and fantastic story telling."

Good Morning Folks,

Since the centerpiece of FSO's value proposition is (re)IMAGINE!, I'd thought you'd benefit from watching Multiple Emmy® award winning executive producer Bill Stainton reveal the truth about creativity.

Creativity is born when two or more ideas collide! Bill Stainton delivers an empowering TEDx Talk about  looking beyond our own limitations and collaborating with people that are different than us. What an amazing message for all of us to embrace!

What do Johnny Depp, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and a little old lady from Russia have to do with being more creative?  More important, how can they help you tap into your own creative genius?

Bill Stainton believes that when we isolate ourselves from ideas, experiences, and people that are “different,” we are robbing ourselves, our businesses, our communities, and our world of the creative ideas that are essential to solving our biggest challenges. Only by becoming less isolationist—by “cracking our cocoon” and embracing people and experiences that may at first seem “weird”—will we discover the connections that can lead to breakthrough ideas.

Have a look:

Bill Stainton, you had me at HELLO with that awesome opening line, and I was riveted throughout. Brilliant, such a simple and powerful idea to connect different ideas and with different people. My fondest wish is that this talk is shared generously so others around the world can be inspired to connect the dots and make new connections that inspire creativity and make a fabulous impact.

Thank you for delivering it with such flair and passion. 

Have a GREAT day,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form.TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE. 

Shout-Out Wednesday: "Everyone Raves About His Positive Energy And The Quality Of His Service."

"He does a great job in all that is asked of him. He is always willing to help."

Good Morning Folks,

Here are this week's Shout-Outs. This is exactly the kind of partnership our clients look for with our employees. Great job all!

Christopher — Luxury Retail
“I wanted to let you know Chris went above and beyond today helping find a package that UPS didn’t deliver due to an address issue and wouldn’t have made it here unless someone intercepted. He went down to the street and found the driver and rescued the package!” 

From Our Wall Street / Financial Services Clients

Sasha Russell — Banking
"Sasha has been a breath of fresh air. She has gone out of her way to be helpful.  We had to send out replacement tokens via UPS to over 200 eBanking customers in less than two months. Some of the deliveries were troublesome and she took the patience and time to talk to UPS for me and even request an investigation for problem deliveries. She even suggested a way to send out the tokens in the future to ensure that they would not be damaged during shipping.”

Shaklee — Insurance & Investment
"Shanelle has a positive attitude and a great smile. She is helpful in all that is asked of her and makes things much easier."

At One Of The Largest And Most Influential Architecture, Interior Design, Engineering, And Urban Planning Firms In The World.

Mercedes & Team — New York 
"Kudos to Mercedes and the team for always providing excellent service and continuing to WOW them each and every day. Your hard work and efforts are very much appreciated."

Christopher — D.C. Area

“I just wanted to let you know that Chris has done a great job the past two days while Jamie has been out. We had a crazy day with a lot of catering orders today. I was really impressed with how he took the time to prioritize the day and his attention to detail. He may be the best kitchen floater I've worked with."

At The Headquarters Of One Of The World's Largest Advertising Agencies

(15,000 people in 289 agencies across 81 countries)

Raven  — New York
"Raven has done an outstanding job on numerous tasks. Raven has taken ownership  working on different projects with short notice and staying late to ensure that the tasks were completed. Because of this, the agency has been able to focus on the new company implementation."

Lissette — SVP, Client Relations
"Congratulations to Lissette for providing great services and encouraging her team to excel each and every day. The firm is extremely happy with all her efforts and the work of her team."

Ryan  — Dallas
"Ryan done a great job at growing and managing the team under his leadership. All his extra efforts go a long way in providing excellent service."

DeCorrey — Dallas
DeCorrey is one of our seasoned employees. He is very well versed in his position and responsibilities and impresses time again. He always completes tasks with having to be asked and does so with an amazing attitude and a smile on his face. He is first to assist others in need and has done a great job mentoring some of our newer staff. We know we can count on him to help train new employees the right way and pass on his understating of what it takes to be successful. His determination and kind demeanor is contagious throughout the whole firm."

From The World's Largest Professional Services Firms 

Ezra — New York
"We receive weekly praises on Ezra. He is always extremely courteous, friendly and approachable. He strives to provide the highest level of services every day. Every raves about his positive energy and the quality of his service."

Maria — Los Angeles
"Maria goes above and beyond every day in all that is asked. We are beyond thrilled that Maria is part of the team."

Cristalle — Turnaround & Restructuring
"Cristalle jumped into a high pressure, high standards operation and has done a great job increasing the standards and level of service in a very short period of time.Her reliability, creativity, and excellent service has gotten the attention of not only the end users, but the Senior Partners. As a result of these stellar results she earned a promotion to Lead Associate in only a few short months."

Faiza — New York
"Faiza has been a great addition to the team. She is timely, accessible, friendly and gracious. She is always willing to help and takes her time with the task at hand  to ensure they are completed to perfection."

Nikeisha — New York
"Kudos to Nikeisha for stopping at nothing to find an open space for a team meeting. Once she found a space she was able to secure the room and make all the needed arrangements for the team’s meeting."

From The NYC HQ Of The World's Preeminent Daily Newspaper

Lesleyann — New York
"Thank you for Lesleyann for all her hard work in covering for a co-worker that was out on leave. Lesleyann not only fulfilled her daily tasks but also mastered new skills to be able to cover for her teammate."

Mildred — New York
"Mildred was out on leave and was missed dearly by her team. We are all very happy to have her back."

At One Of The Big Four Mobile Communications Companies

Miguel — Frisco

"Miguel foes above and beyond every day to assist, getting every tasks completed efficiently and with a smile on his face. Everyone comments on how great of a job Miguel does and what an amazing team player he is."

Markiel — Bellevue

"Markiel exemplified his keen sense of awareness last week. He noticed two people that had gained access to the client site but were not being escorted. He immediately jumped in and assist by escorting them back to reception and making sure that the appropriate people were contacted. He provided customer service to the visitors and also made sure to take actions in line with policy and procedure at the client site.

Dexter — Bellevue

Kudos to Dexter for being a good sport and joining the fun. He showed off the onesie and even added some bunny ears. Great job Dexter!!!!

 From Our Clients In Property Management

Sonya Perez – Liberty Terrace

Kudos to Sonya for working as a great secondary lead and assisting with training of new hires. She is also on time for her scheduled shift which helps make sure everything rubs smooth and continued great services.

A couple of weeks ago HQ celebrated National Grilled Cheese. We gave our HQ staff the opportunity to make their own grilled cheese sandwiches. The event was exceptional cheesy and enjoyed by all. Thank you to Office Services for as always putting this all together.

Finally, congratulations to Jonathan (pictured below) and Zachary on being our first Future Leadership Program graduates of 2017. We appreciate all their hard work and commitment and we are very proud of them.

To all of those applauded, CHEERS to you and THANK YOU for working tirelessly to deliver Service Extraordinaire with a smile. I am so proud of all of you, and to count you among the FSO family. Keep up the great work!!

Have a great day and thanks for being a part of our amazing journey.

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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Gratitude — "What a precious gift it is, feeling grateful. Small acts of kindness, thoughtfulness, words or deeds... they contribute to health and happiness."  
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TED Tuesday: Why Rejection Hurts So Much And What To Do About It

"We need to remind ourselves that we’re appreciated and loved so we can feel more connected and grounded."

Good Morning Folks,

We'll go to the doctor when we feel flu-ish or a nagging pain. So why don’t we see a health professional when we feel emotional pain: guilt, loss, loneliness? Too many of us deal with common psychological-health issues on our own, says Guy Winch. But we don’t have to. He makes a compelling case to practice emotional hygiene — taking care of our emotions, our minds, with the same diligence we take care of our bodies.

Psychologist Guy Winch shares some practical tips for soothing the sting of rejection in his TED Talk: "Why we all need to practice emotional first aid."

Rejections are the most common emotional wound we sustain in daily life. Our risk of rejection used to be limited by the size of our immediate social circle or dating pools. Today, thanks to electronic communications, social media platforms and dating apps, each of us is connected to thousands of people, any of whom might ignore our posts, chats, texts, or dating profiles, and leave us feeling rejected as a result.

In addition to these kinds of minor rejections, we are still vulnerable to serious and more devastating rejections as well. When our spouse leaves us, when we get fired from our jobs, snubbed by our friends, or ostracized by our families and communities for our lifestyle choices, the pain we feel can be absolutely paralyzing.

Whether the rejection we experience is large or small, one thing remains constant — it always hurts, and it usually hurts more than we expect it to.

The question is, why? Why are we so bothered by a good friend failing to “like” the family holiday picture we posted on Facebook? Why does it ruin our mood? Why would something so seemingly insignificant make us feel angry at our friend, moody, and bad about ourselves?

Another common mistake we make is to assume a rejection is personal when it’s not. Most rejections, whether romantic, professional, and even social, are due to “fit” and circumstance. Going through an exhaustive search of your own deficiencies in an effort to understand why it didn’t “work out” is not only unnecessarily but misleading.

Unfortunately, the greatest damage rejection causes is usually self-inflicted. Indeed, our natural response to being dumped by a dating partner or getting picked last for a team is not just to lick our wounds but to become intensely self-critical. We call ourselves names, lament our shortcomings, and feel disgusted with ourselves. In other words, just when our self-esteem is hurting most, we go and damage it even further. Doing so is emotionally unhealthy and psychologically self-destructive yet every single one of us has done it at one time or another.

The good news is there are better and healthier ways to respond to rejection, things we can do to curb the unhealthy responses, soothe our emotional pain and rebuild our self-esteem.  Check the talk out:


Rejection is never easy but knowing how to limit the psychological damage it inflicts, and how to rebuild your self-esteem when it happens, will help you recover sooner and move on with confidence when it is time for your next date or social event.

Have a GREAT day,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form.TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE. 

TED Tuesday: David Autor— Will automation take away all our jobs?

"Here's a paradox you don't hear much about: despite a century of creating machines to do our work for us, the proportion of adults in the US with a job has consistently gone up for the past 125 years."

Good Morning Folks,

Here's a startling fact: in the 45 years since the introduction of the automated teller machine, those vending machines that dispense cash, the number of human bank tellers employed in the United States has roughly doubled, from about a quarter of a million to a half a million. A quarter of a million in 1970 to about a half a million today, with 100,000 added since the year 2000.

Why hasn't human labor become redundant and our skills obsolete? In this talk about the future of work, economist David Autor addresses the question of why there are still so many jobs and comes up with a surprising, hopeful answer. Says David, "I don't have the guts to take that bet against human ingenuity. Look, I can't tell you what people are going to do for work a hundred years from now. But the future doesn't hinge on my imagination."

Have a look.

Have a GREAT day,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form.TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE. 

Shout-Out Wednesday: "Always Going Above And Beyond"

"Great job to Greg for providing top notch white glove service. He stepped in and provided coverage so that service could proceed uninterrupted."

Greetings Folks,

Here's some feedback I received on the folks who serve our clients every day:

From The World's Largest Professional Services Firm 

Faiza – Madison Ave
"Several partners from other offices were on site for a very important client meeting  recently and Faiza made herself available to assist the partners. She helped with technology issues and was able to enlist the help of office services to make adjustments to the meeting room."

Ezra – Madison Ave
"Ezra responds to every request quickly and efficiently. No request is too big or too small. He is always available to help in anything and everything that is asked of him. Every morning he checks in  to see what assistance he can provide to them. He is very enthusiastic, energetic and displays positive behavior. He is able to troubleshoot and solves all work related problems quickly and efficiently."

Michael – Madison Ave
"Kudos to Mike for his fantastic job in his support of the site. He always comes through, promptly responding to all emails and calls. He is efficient, pleasant and diligent and makes it easier for the us to do our jobs."

At One Of The Big Four Mobile Communications Companies

Elaine – Frisco, TX
"Kudos to Elaine for her positive attitude and uplifting spirit. She is a pleasure to work with. Her attention to detail ensures that all requests are efficiently completed."

Dwayne – Atlanta
Kudos to Dwayne for assisting in the set-up of office space. Dwayne was able to answer all of the employees questions and advise on other matters. His attention to detail, passion and dedication make him a true asset."

Musa –  Bellevue
"Kudos to Musa for stepping in and helping an fellow coworker with an urgent matter. Musa jumped right in and assisting until the issue was resolved."

From Our Wall Street / Financial Services Clients

Rene – Financial Technology
"Great job to Rene for successfully executing 4 separate events over the course of 2 days. He went above and beyond in preparation to make sure that every detail was covered."

From Our AMLAW 200 Clients

Jamie – Newark
"Kudos to Jaime for always being in at no later than 8AM and assisting with urgent requests at that time. He is always eager to help and friendly in accomplishing his tasks. With his friendly demeanor he helps with everything and anything. He is truly a team player and exemplifies FSO values."

Jim – MA
"Jim is always helpful and recently he has gone above he usually responsibilities and brought some important things to our attention. He provided excellent customer service which is exactly the partnership we look to have with FSO."

Linda  – TX
"Linda has done a great job on a very important project. She has maintained an amazing attitude and steadily worked through to accomplish the task at hand. The work could be tedious at times but Linda provided the concentration the project was owed. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed."

Shawnette – New York City
"Shawnette tackles every project with enthusiasm and excitement. She is respectful, professional and a joy to have as part of the family."

Lisa  – New Client Relations Director, NJ
"In the short time that Lisa’s done a great job motivating her team and encouraging them to take on more and more leadership within their sites. Her positivity is infectious and she is an amazing new asset."

Ezequiel  –  Chicago
"Ezequiel always going above and beyond to WOW end users each and every day. He handles every request with efficiency and professionalism."

 From Our Clients In Property Management

Carmen – Downtown
"Carmen went above and beyond to get to work during the recent snow storm. She knows she works in a high profile building, so she got up a few hours earlier than normal and made it to work in time to open… Business as Usual.  Her hard work and dedication is greatly appreciated by everyone at the Realty Trust."

From The World's Largest Advertising Companies, NYC

Tory  – NYC
"Tory was a key asset in the successful delivery of a project. HE was attentive to the needs of the client, he confirmed information about the project directly with the client and even coordinated pick up of the deliverables. He made all of it a smooth process."

Our success is all about our clients knowing they can always count on us, we will always be there for them, we care about their success and we would never let them down.

To those applauded today, thank for all that you do! The next time you see any of the folks above, please give them a “Shout Out” – for job well done.

Have a GREAT day,

Love Life!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer 

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"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”
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Ted Tuesday: Dr. Dan Gilbert— The Surprising Science of Happiness

"Gilbert's elbow-in-the-ribs social-science humor is actually funny. ... But underneath the goofball brilliance, he has a serious argument to make about why human beings are forever wrongly predicting what will make them happy." 

~~ New York Times Book Review

Good Morning Folks,

I woke up this beautiful morning I wanted to share an inspirational Ted Talk with all of you. When you watch it you may wonder why you hadn't heard of this before, or better yet be surprised that over a million people have already watched it (between YouTube and Ted postings alone). That's the power of Ted.

Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, challenges the idea that we'll be miserable if we don't get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don't go as planned.

Gilbert believes that, in our ardent, lifelong pursuit of happiness, most of us have the wrong map. In the same way that optical illusions fool our eyes -- and fool everyone's eyes in the same way -- Gilbert argues that our brains systematically misjudge what will make us happy. And these quirks in our cognition make humans very poor predictors of our own bliss.

The premise of his current research -- that our assumptions about what will make us happy are often wrong -- is supported with clinical research drawn from psychology and neuroscience. But his delivery is what sets him apart. His engaging -- and often hilarious -- style pokes fun at typical human behavior and invokes pop-culture references everyone can relate to. This winning style translates also to Gilbert's writing, which is lucid, approachable and laugh-out-loud funny. The immensely readable Stumbling on Happiness, published in 2006, became a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into 20 languages.

Dr. Gilbert asks us to imagine two different futures ... One, winning the lottery (yes, I like this ... I will buy a plane, and maybe an island suitable for the construction of a landing strip ... and definitely a sail boat, a small one ... I will recreate the Corona ad and learn to enjoy beer or at least ice cold limeade ... ). The other is become paraplegic.  (No thanks.)

He informs us that "Happiness" data has been collected on these two different groups.

"Because the fact is that a year after losing the use of their legs, and a year after winning the lotto, lottery winners and paraplegics are equally happy with their lives."



The lesson I want to leave you with from these talk is that our longings and our worries are both to some degree overblown, because we have within us the capacity to manufacture the very commodity we seek.

What an inspiration Gilbert is to the very core and spirit of FSO's brand. 

We are pumped, super excited and ready to rock.

Love Life,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form.TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE.