TED Tuesday: Life Is Beautiful (A TED Playlist)

"Herr lost both legs in a climbing accident 30 years ago; now, as the head of the MIT Media Lab’s Biomechatronics group, he shows his incredible technology in a talk that's both technical and deeply personal — with the help of ballroom dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who lost her left leg in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and performs again for the first time on the TED stage."

Good Morning Folks,

These TED talks will make your heart ache in the best of ways. Each is a wonderful reminder of the beautiful poignancy of life. How perfect for the season of gratitude and joy!

Playlist (10 talks): Life is beautiful

• 12:03
  

  Shane KoyczanTo This Day ... for the bullied and beautiful

  By turn hilarious and haunting, poet Shane Koyczan puts his finger on the pulse of what it's like to be young and … different. "To This Day," his spoken-word poem about bullying, captivated millions as a viral video (created, crowd-source style, by 80 animators). Here, he gives a glorious, live reprise with backstory and violin accompaniment by Hannah Epperson.

   Watch later · 678 comments 
• 20:27
  

  Andrew SolomonHow the worst moments in our lives make us who we are

  Writer Andrew Solomon has spent his career telling stories of the hardships of others. Now he turns inward, bringing us into a childhood of adversity, while also spinning tales of the courageous people he's met in the years since. In a moving, heartfelt and at times downright funny talk, Solomon gives a powerful call to action to forge meaning from our biggest struggles.

   Watch later · 194 comments 
• 19:23
  

  Anand GiridharadasA tale of two Americas. And the mini-mart where they collided

  Ten days after 9/11, a shocking attack at a Texas mini-mart shattered the lives of two men: the victim and the attacker. In this stunning talk, Anand Giridharadas, author of "The True American," tells the story of what happened next. It's a parable about the two paths an American life can take, and a powerful call for reconciliation.

   Watch later · 113 comments 
• 14:34
  

  Eric WhitacreA virtual choir 2,000 voices strong

  In a moving and madly viral video last year, composer Eric Whitacre led a virtual choir of singers from around the world. He talks through the creative challenges of making music powered by YouTube, and unveils the first 2 minutes of his new work, "Sleep," with a video choir of 2,052. The full piece premiered a few weeks later (yes, on YouTube!).

   Watch later · 265 comments 
• 19:00
  

  Hugh HerrThe new bionics that let us run, climb and dance

  Hugh Herr is building the next generation of bionic limbs, robotic prosthetics inspired by nature's own designs. Herr lost both legs in a climbing accident 30 years ago; now, as the head of the MIT Media Lab’s Biomechatronics group, he shows his incredible technology in a talk that's both technical and deeply personal — with the help of ballroom dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who lost her left leg in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and performs again for the first time on the TED stage.

   Watch later · 284 comments 
• 18:19
  

  Jill Bolte TaylorMy stroke of insight

  Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions — motion, speech, self-awareness — shut down one by one. An astonishing story.

   Watch later · 2806 comments 
• 09:47
  

  Louie SchwartzbergNature. Beauty. Gratitude.

  Nature’s beauty can be fleeting — but not through Louie Schwartzberg’s lens. His stunning time-lapse photography, accompanied by powerful words from Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast, serves as a meditation on being grateful for every day.

   Watch later · 644 comments 
• 20:19
  

  Brené BrownThe power of vulnerability

  Brené Brown studies human connection — our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. A talk to share.

   Watch later · 1794 comments 
• 20:43
  

  Benjamin ZanderThe transformative power of classical music

  Benjamin Zander has two infectious passions: classical music, and helping us all realize our untapped love for it — and by extension, our untapped love for all new possibilities, new experiences, new connections.

   Watch later · 610 comments 
• 18:25

  Sarah KayIf I should have a daughter ...

  "If I should have a daughter, instead of Mom, she's gonna call me Point B ... " began spoken word poet Sarah Kay, in a talk that inspired two standing ovations at TED2011. She tells the story of her metamorphosis — from a wide-eyed teenager soaking in verse at New York's Bowery Poetry Club to a teacher connecting kids with the power of self-expression through Project V.O.I.C.E. — and gives two breathtaking performances of "B" and "Hiroshima."

   Watch later · 631 comments 

  
  

  Have a GREAT Day,

  
  
  
  Mitchell D. Weiner
  Chief Happiness Officer  

  
  
  

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  "Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character"

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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.  
  

  
  

Let’s (re) IMAGINE!

"Let’s (re) IMAGINE capitalizes on our unique visionary skill to see something that does not now exist, not just more of the same of what you have right now."

Good Morning Folks,

A new report from our client, Grant Thornton, reveals 40 percent of businesses worldwide are outsourcing back-office processes or plan to do so in the near future. A catalyst for growth and innovation, outsourcing can free up resources tied into back-office processes and put them into higher value-add functions, helping to drive business growth.

Our clients and prospects are telling us that they want a different experience; that they don’t want to do business in a traditional way.  That’s where "Let's (re) IMAGINE!" comes in. We bring a refreshing and strategic approach focused on delivering real results.

Recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest growing companies three consecutive years, FSO’s founders are industry pioneers who’ve introduced transformative solutions to thousands of the world’s best-known brands, and created tens of thousands career opportunities for a “forgotten-demographic” over 30 years.  

After building two previous outsourcing companies to 100+ million revenue and acquisition, we got back into the business as FSO with a blank canvas and a desire to add value and a personal touch to traditional services. 

At FSO, the customer experience is our greatest differentiator. The corner stone of our strategy has been "Let’s (re) IMAGINE" which capitalizes on our unique visionary skill to see something that does not now exist, not just more of the same of what you have right now. We apply a productive combination of People + Solutions + Technology to enable possibilities previously out of reach.

We start each initial consultation by considering “out of the box” alternatives and options, even as crazy as they may seem:

“You’ve always done it this way. Why?“

“What’s preventing you from growing into all you deserve to be? 

"How do we pursue our goals with the resources we have?"

               “If you could design a firm completely from scratch, and have it any way you    
               want, what would it look like?”

A partnership with FSO helps fuel business growth through innovation, driving down costs, improving business processes, streamlining operations, and helping organizations to become more competitive. 

In addition, customers choose FSO because we .... 

• Improve productivity and service levels.
• Provide five-star, white-glove service and hospitality.
• Control spending and improving profitability.
• Deliver significant and positive changes in employee expertise, attitude and results. 
• Bring your brand values to life and make visitors feel warmly welcomed.

To come up with a custom solution for you, our analysts will go in and take a look back office people, equipment, technology, in order to find cost savings and streamline processes to do business better.

With "Let's (re) IMAGINE," by coming up with new ideas and total solutions, we open our clients to new possibilities and new revenue streams. We (re) IMAGINE their guest experience through a very high-end personal touch and concierge approach creating a unique guest experience – from the First Impression to a complete hospitality experience – FSO are delivering something special.

In today’s fiercely competitive marketplace, there isn’t room for inefficiency at any level or to tie 46% of management time up stabilizing processes. By contrast we'll operate your back-office processes at a world-class level, eliminating the hidden costs in running these departments. Done well, outsourcing can reward companies by reducing their costs, giving them access to expertise they may not be able to afford or find in-house, and freeing them to devote more of their time to their core business activities

Managing an outsourcing initiative is challenging. Doing so with the wrong partner is nearly impossible. If you have any questions concerning your back office, whether it is your traditional outsourced services or you are considering examining some your other supporting office roles, we are here to help.

Call me personally at (212) 204-1193 and we'll take the conversation to the next level.

We wish you a joyous holiday season and all the wealth and success you deserve in the New Year.

Have a GREAT Day. Love Life.

I'll be a seeing you soon.

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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Inspire ME Friday: How To Make Today Amazing

Adopting winning habits is one of the surest ways to get to where you want to go.

TGIF Folks!

As human beings, it can be very easy at times to fall into a rut and get in the habit of having just average days where we seem to not get much of anything done. Here are 20 ways that will hopefully rekindle that passion of yours and help make today ridiculously amazing.

==> 20 Ways to Make Today Amazing by Matt Mayberry (first appeared in Entrepreneur)

1. Engage in consistent action.

2. Constantly picture yourself beyond your current circumstances. 

Dream enormously big and hold that dream deep within your mind, body and spirit.

3. Spend time in solitude to just think and visualize.

4. Write your most important goal on a note card and look at it five times a day. 

Say it out loud and believe with a deep conviction that it will become a reality.

5. Drink tons of water. 

It's impossible to operate to the best of your ability and tap into your full potential if you are dehydrated. Our minds and bodies need water in order to perform at an extremely high-level.

6. Eat to win. 

If you don't want junk results stay away from junk food. The bottom line is that we are what we eat.

7. Get your sweat on. 

One of the best productivity tools that you can utilize is to get a workout in at some point throughout your day. Whether you go to the gym or at home, make the time.

8. Pick up a book for 15-20 min and get lost in it. Just as our bodies need physical exercise, our minds need to stay mentally fit.

9. Spend your time around those who lift you up and encourage your vision, not belittle it. We are the average of the five people we hang out with the most. Pick your company wisely.

10. Make time to grow. 

Carve out 30 min to an hour and find ways to personally and professionally grow.

11. Turn off the music in your car and listen to an audiobook. 

Most of us spend hours in a car daily, utilize that time to better yourself and learn.

12. Keep a journal. 

Record your thoughts, ideas and strategies. We have roughly 20,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. Don't let an idea or strategy go to waste. Never rely solely on your memory.

13. Think of five things you are grateful for right this second. 

It can be something as simple as how beautiful is mother nature or how wonderful your family is. Be grateful for what you have and you will eventually end up having more.

14. Snack on almonds. 

Great source of protein and other minerals and vitamins that will increase your energy levels and keep performance in peak state.

15. Say "I love you" more often. 

Don't let a day go by where you don't tell those you love how much they truly mean to you. Life is short and by simply saying the words "I love you" will bring you an immense sense of satisfaction.

16. Treat others how you want to be treated. In business and in the game of life, people matter. If you want to truly win in both, make every person you come in contact with feel important.

17. Have a green smoothie. 

Instead of turning to caffeine turn to the power of mother nature and blend yourself up a delicious, energizing and healthy green smoothie. One of my favorites is two handfuls of organic spinach, one apple, juice of one lemon, three stalks of celery, and ginger root. There are plenty of recipes available to you online.

18. Take a post-it-note or note-card and write down some quotes that move, inspire and empower you. 

There will be times throughout the day that might upset you or discourage you.Constantly feeding your mind with words that inspire and empower you will instantly get you back on your feet ready to hit the ground running.

19. Cut off all distractions. 

When it's time to work, work. When it's time to relax, relax. Discipline yourself to stay off Facebook and other social media sites when you are working on a computer. If you are in an office, hang up a "Do Not Disturb'' sign if possible. Focus  completely on the task at hand.

20. Take full and complete responsibility for your life. 

Own up to your mistakes and never fall into the trap of playing the ever-so-popular blame game.

Adopting winning habits is one of the surest ways to get to where you want to go. What we do on a daily basis determines the results that we end up with. If you don't like what you have been producing up to this point, then change what you do daily. It's my hope that this list of 20 ideas is of extreme value to help make today utterly amazing for you.

Life is short so never regret anything that made you smile!

HAVE A GREAT and SAFE Weekend!

Be great and (re)IMAGINE!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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"A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind."
 ~~A. von Szent-Gyorgyi

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TED Tuesday: Lorrie Faith Cranor- What’s wrong with your pa$$w0rd?

"So passwords are something that I hear a lot about. A lot of people are frustrated with passwords, and it's bad enough when you have to have one really good password that you can remember but nobody else is going to be able to guess. But what do you do when you have accounts on a hundred different systems and you're supposed to have a unique password for each of these systems? It's tough."

Good Morning Folks,

Abner Goodwin's job title is Systems Specialist so like most IT people he should know best about security right? We'll even some folks in IT can procrastinate changing their passwords longer than filing their income tax. So don't feel bad, but use today's talk to set your browsing on a more secure path.

Abner blogs, "I’ve been an Internet user for about half my life now. That’s been enough time to collect many, many accounts. I have at least 3 email accounts, accounts on the usual social networking sites, and a slew of random accounts for online stores and services. I figure that I have somewhere around 30 personal accounts that I’ve set up over the years. There are many others that I’ve lost track of, consigned to the briny depths of the web to be forever forgotten."

"It’s time for a confession dear readers: I have committed a grievous evil. I have re-used passwords for multiple personal accounts with wild abandon. On top of that, before this article, I had not changed passwords on some accounts for years. What’s worse is I know better than this; I follow best practices for passwords in my professional life obsessively. Seriously, there was an intervention and everything. I guess it would be at this point where I’d say something about the cobbler’s son having no shoes."

"This was pretty much the extent of my super sophisticated personal password scheme. Luckily, I kept the post-it note under my keyboard where no one would ever find it."

"Continuing down this cliche’d path, I’ve heard that people don’t change until the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of changing. For me, the pain came just a few days ago when I received an email from a forum that I belong to. The email stated that they’d been compromised and that the attacker had gained access to their database of usernames and encrypted passwords."

Lorrie Faith Cranor is a Professor of Computer Science and of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University where she is director of the CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory (CUPS) and co-director of the MSIT-Privacy Engineering masters program. She is also a co-founder of Wombat Security Technologies, Inc. She has authored over 100 research papers on online privacy, usable security, and other topics

Lorrie Faith Cranor studied thousands of real passwords to figure out the surprising, very common mistakes that users — and secured sites — make to compromise security. And how, you may ask, did she study thousands of real passwords without compromising the security of any users? That's a story in itself. It's secret data worth knowing, especially if your password is 123456 ...

I found this video on some research Lorrie is doing on the subject very interesting and insightful

Says Lorrie:

 "I always cringe whenever people talk about choosing passwords, but this has some interesting insights into the strengths and weaknesses of various techniques, and it even mentions some I've not heard of before." 

e’ve all heard the common password advice: Choose a random password with a lot of characters, include digits and symbols, don’t use a dictionary word, don’t write it down and change it often. While some of this advice is useful, some of it is counterproductive and probably even harmful. 

Next Friday I will be giving a Game Changer talk at the IAPP Global Privacy Summit in which I will discuss research results—from my own research group at Carnegie Mellon University as well as from others—that demonstrates that what most people thought they knew about passwords is wrong. 

Most humans are not very good at memorizing random things, and they don’t enjoy doing it. While we are impressed by the talent of spelling bee champions, most of us would rather not spend our time on rote memorization. 

It turns out we’re also not very good at coming up with random things, let alone memorizing them. We like to think of ourselves as unique, but we actually think alike more than we want to admit, and we tend to be rather predictable. 

So, when we’re asked to come up with a random password, we do something that seems random to us but is actually what a lot of other people do. We think of some song lyrics, the name of our pet, a cartoon character, a TV show, a sports team or even the name of a friend or family member. Or maybe we trace our fingers on a keyboard and type in a sequence of keys that appear next to each other—maybe diagonally down one column and then up the next, because that seems more random than just going left to right across. If we have to add a symbol, we type an exclamation point at the end. If we have to add a number, it is most likely a 1. And if a capital letter is needed, it goes at the beginning. 

And because this was so much work to not only choose, but to remember, and because we know we’re not supposed to write our passwords down, the next time we have to create a password, we just use the same one we already created.
But what happens when you log in and are told that your password has expired and you have to choose a new one? Chances are you increment the 1 to a 2 or add another exclamation point to the end."

Research shows that forcing users to change their password on a regular basis does not actually increase security. In fact, it encourages users to create weaker passwords and increment them according to a predictable scheme. So, not only does password expiration annoy users, it likely makes their passwords more vulnerable to attack. Have a look:



Here are a few highlights of Lorrie's talk:

• Long passwords with simple requirements can be easier to use and just as strong as shorter passwords with complex requirements.
• Password meters can encourage users to create stronger passwords, but most password meters used on websites today provide positive feedback prematurely.
• Passphrases seem like a good idea, but users don’t find random passphrases more usable than passwords.
• Monkey is the most popular animal to include in a password and among the most popular words to include in a password.

So it seems that at the end of the day, when we make passwords, we either make something that's really easy to type, a common pattern, or things that remind us of the word password or the account that we've created the password for, or whatever. Or we think about things that make us happy, and we create our password based on things that make us happy. And while this makes typing and remembering your password more fun, it also makes it a lot easier to guess your password. So I know a lot of these TED Talks are inspirational and they make you think about nice, happy things, but when you're creating your password, try to think about something else.

Have a GREAT Day,

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer  

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"The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are."
 ~ Carl Jung

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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.  

About FSO Onsite Outsourcing
Recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation's fastest growing companies for the third consecutive year, and lead by industry pioneer, Mitch Weiner, FSO's growth and success can be attributed to making a positive and powerful impact on their clients' bottom lines, as well as their employees' careers and lives.

About Lorrie Faith Cranor

Lorrie Faith Cranor is a Professor of Computer Science and of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University where she is director of the CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory (CUPS) and co-director of the MSIT-Privacy Engineering masters program. She is also a co-founder of Wombat Security Technologies, Inc. She has authored over 100 research papers on online privacy, usable security, and other topics. She has played a key role in building the usable privacy and security research community, having co-edited the seminal book Security and Usability (O'Reilly 2005) and founded the Symposium On Usable Privacy and Security (SOUPS). She also chaired the Platform for Privacy Preferences Project (P3P) Specification Working Group at the W3C and authored the book Web Privacy with P3P (O'Reilly 2002). She has served on a number of boards, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation Board of Directors, and on the editorial boards of several journals. In 2003 she was named one of the top 100 innovators 35 or younger by Technology Review magazine. She was previously a researcher at AT&T-Labs Research and taught in the Stern School of Business at New York University. In 2012-13 she spent her sabbatical year as a fellow in the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University where she worked on fiber arts projects that combined her interests in privacy and security, quilting, computers, and technology. She practices yoga, plays soccer, and runs after her three children.

Getting On Well With People You Work With The Most Fulfilling Part of a Job

"Positive working relationships and feeling good while at work are really important when looking at overall employee health and well being."

Good Morning Folks,

Just under half (42%) of workers felt positive relationships helped them to feel good at work, compared with a mere 14% for hitting their targets.

In the survey of more than 1,400 workers by HR Magazine in the UK, "having a good work/life balance was the second (40%) most common reason for feeling good at work, followed by receiving praise (26%) and earning the trust (16%) of their boss."

The survey also revealed only 4% of workers felt team activities including 'away-days' made them feel good at work.

Organizations with healthy, happy employees can find they see improvements in productivity and results. The survey results demonstrate how looking out for each other's well being and having a good work / life balance is essential."

Ar FSO, It’s to the credit of our fast-paced and results-oriented environment. Our team members are all energized by our growth, leadership position in the marketplace and the integral role they play in our success. At FSO, every team member matters. In fact, due to the very nature of our business, without our people and their unique skill sets and perspective, FSO would not be the leader that it is today.

The FSO culture celebrates the differences of our people and what we all collectively bring to the table. One of our most important characteristics is the diversity of our team members… our backgrounds… the way we think… the way we see the world. All of these different perspectives are critical to our success and speak directly to the culture here.

Clients also say that our company excels at attracting people with a great work ethic and an upbeat attitude. “They are very positive and incredibly helpful, considerate and kind,” said the COO of New York-based media giant, who uses FSO to staff the mailroom and front desk and fill administrative posts. “The first candidate they send me usually nails the criteria I’m looking for, so my time isn’t wasted meeting five people in order to hire the right one.”

This is what underlies the difference between the happiest jobs and the most hated jobs. One set of jobs feels worthwhile, while in the other jobs, people can’t see the point.

The problems in the most hated jobs can’t be solved by job redesign or clearer career paths. Instead the organizations must undertake fundamental change to manage themselves in a radically different way with a focus on delighting the customer through continuous innovation and all the consequent changes that are needed to accomplish that.

We believe in lavishing praise, giving sincere thanks, looking for the best in everyone, never criticizing and catch ‘em being good! We set the precedent, telling people what they are doing right, and specifically why they are of value— raising the bar to a higher level.

The result of this philosophy is happy customers, workers who can see meaning in their contributions and soaring profits for those clients who place their trust in us.

In the spirit of the season.... CHEERS!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"Not happy with their job? Then let me have it. I just want to work."

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