Death in the city of lights/ David King

Dr Marcel Petiot. Convicted serial killer in 1944 Nazi-occupied Paris.

You’ve got a serial killer. You’ve got WWII. Interesting combo.

50 to 60 victims?

At the time of discovering his misdeeds, he was a married man with a wife and a 16 year-old son.

Like most stories about serial killers, the telling is in the investigation and hunt for the killer, rather than the kills.

It is a story of Nazi occupation of France, as much as a story of a serial killer in war-time Paris. Interwoven to the hunt for Petiot are stories of personalities like Albert Camus, Sartre and Pablo Picasso, who were residents in 1941 Paris. Also the dubious and colourful underworld characters.

Chpt 15 War in the shadows – guerrilla tactics (terrorist tactics if seem from Germany’s eyes) against the Nazi occupational forces in Paris.

Epilogue: author explains that he first started researching on the Marcel Petiot case when he was preparing for one of his lectures on WWII.

10 ways to change the world in your 20s/ libuse binder

2009 publication. A primer and how-to book on environmental/ social activism. US context, I.e. many organizations and NGOs mentioned exist only in the US. Interspersed with case studies of people in their 20s who are active/ successful environment/ social-related volunteerism/ activism, businesses.

Written primarily for people in their 20s, though it’s equally relevant for anyone interested.

Appeals to those motivated to do something good for people other than themselves. The pointers are pragmatic and grounded, and covers enough ground as an introduction. But may be insufficient for those who are already aware of the broad strokes and require depth. Could also appear as simplistic at first reading for some parts, e.g. “get help from celebrities” but I think as a primer it’s enough.

Ratings on the impact/ expected commitment on time, cost, lifestyle.

Covers areas like material goods, personal hygiene, food, water usage, energy usage, travel, ideas for environmental advocacy.

Green America “21 things you didn’t know you can recycle”.

Most plastics do not biodegrade but photodegrade (need sunlight to do so). And when degraded they only become smaller pieces and may still enter our food and water systems.

On “decoding plastics”: the different grades of plastics, their toxicity to humans, their recyclability. Plastics are numbered:
1-2: recyclable, like PET and HDPE plastics used for bottled drinks, soap bottles. But not for repeated use, as they have been shown to leach chemicals after repeated washing or heating.

3: non-recyclable; vinyl or PVC; potentially hazardous as they leach lead and plasticizers.

4 -5: recyclable; plastics used for food storage and wraps. Safe for repeated use.

6: polystyrene or styrofoam. Potentially recyclable but not yet practical to do so (too light weight). Leaches a carcinogen, styrene, as it breaks down.

7: anything that isn’t graded from 1 to 6 is put under this category. Contains both recyclable (e.g. Plant or Corn-based plastics; polylactide) and non-recyclable/ non-biodegradable plastics (polycarbonate)

On how to launch a campaign on our own:
– research
– Messenging
– partnership
– communications
– build media relations
– help from celebrities

A section on why global warming should matter to you.
Carbon footprint calculator. See EarthLab, carbonfund.org
Reducing waterprints (rate of using potable water, and also indirect usage of producing the goods we consume).

Standing ground: an imprisoned couple’s struggle for justice against a communist regime/ Kay Danes

“‘never give up hope, even when it seems hopeless,’ they said” – chapter 10, ‘Innocence Lost’.

2009 publication.

Engaging read, if you give it a chance beyond the first few pages. It’s in a personal narrative style so there’s no creative hook at the start. But the unfolding series of events was intriguing. In the end, Kay Dane does make a compelling case that they have been wronged, willfully imprisoned and extorted by Laos government officials.

Story of an Australian couple, kerry and kay danes, and their year-long imprisonment in Laos. Written by the wife, Kay (33 at the time of her ordeal). They were embroiled in a power struggle of a sapphire mine in Laos, of which they were made scapegoats.

Husband was ex-SAS. Took up a job managing a security services company in Laos. Family moved to Laos. Wrote that life in Laos was dangerous and yet offered new perspectives to their children.

Description of the ways there was corruption among staff and blatant extortion by Laos government officials.

Expanding their security/ personnel protection business to Thailand.

Corruption and theft by employees, in spite of higher salaries.

Embroiled in a dispute between client company and local dissidents. Hints of criminal associations and potential inside betrayal. Increased tensions and risk to personal safety.

Kerry’s creative and steadfast resolve to overcome problems. But an unappreciative and unsympathetic head office.

Dispute comes to a head; seizure by Laos government of client premises and property. Kerry concludes business/ security services. Death threats. Kay deciding to relocate to Thailand. Reported by government planted spy.

Kerry taken into custody; Kay arrested at the border; unexplained charges.

Sending the children, 11 and 9, back to Australia.

Kay summarily incarcerated in prison. No charges read. Husband whereabouts unknown. Fear, uncertainty and despair. Unsympathetic guards, cruelty. Meeting cell mates. Knowledge that husband was alive. First meeting.

Kindness from fellow prisoners.

*”you do not let them see you are scared, Kay,” she said.*

Showing a guard sincerity and kindness.
Friendships among prisoners.
Death of a fellow foreigner detainee.

“life In Laos is cheap”

Media reports, inaccuracies, lies, family’s attempts at public support. Australian government into the fray.

Unexpected appointment as the prison doctor.

False promises all round.
Laos Vice-minister officially appointed to look into the case.
Settling into a sense of normalcy.
New prisoners.
An unexpected chance to speak to her own children.
International press attention. Foreign investments to Laos somewhat stalled.
Bombings and signs of continued armed confrontation within Laos.
Seemingly unending delays, false claims, stalling for time.

Sixteen weeks since their detention without trial.
Intervention by the Australian prime minister. Diplomatic channels.
Gradual letters from home. Badminton in the prison.
Unexpected treat: ice cream!

Yet another lot of foreign prisoners. Torture.

Catching a bird. Setting it free.

Court date.
A friend risking his safety to testify for them.
Danger in the night.

Outpour of international support. Detractors also.

Showdown in court.
Conviction.
Incredulity.
Anger. Despair.

Dignity.

Finally,
Freedom. Farewell.
Free, but not completely.

Closure.

Tales of inspiration: stories of faith, hope and love that will touch your heart and make you believe/ werwinkski, c.a.

Christianity-faith focused. Series of individual anecdotal accounts, describing encounters with the Christian faith, prayers, angels. Most come across as having a philosophical slant rather than outright evangelical.

Stories read like readers’ letters to a Christian magazine. Nothing particularly moving or touching (if you were expecting stories to be like ‘ for the soul’ style). Won’t instantly make all people believe, if that’s what the title implies.

Probably for Atheists, the stories are more ammunition on self-fulfilling prophesies. To staunch Christians, the stories could be affirming their faith.

Creating personal presence: how to look, talk, think and act like a leader/ dianna booher

2011 publication.

Reads like a blog. Anecdotal mostly (not saying this was good or bad; just was). Chapter on “think like Hollywood”, on telling a story as part of putting points across, was quite a nice section, and the “think on your feet” on dealing with tough questions.

4 parts:
– look (body language, handshake, movement, dress, surroundings)
– talk (choice of words, physical voice qualities,
– thinking
– act.

Logic, emotions, character.

Work desk. Does it say a competent person works here, or that the person is overwhelmed and disorganized?

Use of space.
Passion.

(aside: I like this quote cited in the book. Sir Ken Robinson, on the state of British Education system: “… Picasso once said this. He said that all children are born artists. The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up. I believe this passionately, that we don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it.”)

Chapter 15: Think on you feet.
Pause rather than utter um, ahs.
Respond rather than react to the question.
never repeat a faulty premise that was in a loaded question.
Summary statement, elaborate (with facts or concise points), give one example, conclude/ re-state.

Dining etiquette. What are your utensils.
BMW – left to right: bread, meal, water.

In the arms of the sheikh/ kaori himeki

Manga with English text. Pulp fiction storyline. Good for quick flip on a Sunday no-brainer morning, those sort of days.

Self-made girl meets aloof but nobel hearted sheik prince. Warms his heart and he also makes her fall for him inevitably. Kidnap/ assassination risk, to spice things up.

Strategic thinking: a nine step approach to strategy for marketeers and managers / Simon Wootten & Terry Horne

Suggests that one can think strategically if one can think through these 9 steps (involving a combination of thinking, communication, and planning skills):
1. Gather strategic intelligence
2. Make strategic assessment
3. Create strategic knowledge
4. Make strategic predictions
5. Develop strategic vision
6. Create strategic options
7. Take the strategic decisions
8. Create and communicate the market-led strategy
9. Plan and manage projects to implement the changes

Steps 1-3 are to “escape from the past/ create usable knowledge”. Steps 4-6 are to “focus on the present/ Direct present action”. Steps 7-9 are to “invent the future/ improve future performance”.

Cites Charan: strategic thinking involves thinking for yourself as yourself, and as another. Involves thinking clearly and expressing clearly what you think.

That strategic leaders need not necessarily be found at the top of the organization. Leaders have to be prepared to listen.

“Questioning and thinking will feed your thinking… Once you understand, you will need to communicate your understanding.”

Key to comms: 20 minutes max (attention span), 3 things (images, stories, facts etc to reinforce those 3 points).

Comms is one thing; getting ppl to be motivated to move in the same direction is key.

Motivation comes from belief. Belief is based on 2 components: a thought plus a feeling. Left & right brain (I.e. idea with an optimistic emotional image that listener can identify).

Direction of the comms is from the past (story or an experience), via the present (idea or opinion), towards the future (plan or action). Quantify the risk of being wrong; there is always a chance of being wrong. Thinking of the future also requires an imagination of what the future might be; supported by critical thinking to decide if the idea is desirable or feasible.

Five basic thinking skills: memory (use aids; take notes), imagination, empathy and emotion (feeling), numeracy, verbalise (talk it out, think aloud).

That prediction can be aided by talking to experts/ older people, younger/ would-be consumers, broad general knowledge (“luck favours the prepared mind”).

Ethical thinking, use morality as a guide. Quotes Abraham Lincoln: “when I do good things, I feel good. When I do bad things, I feel bad. That is my religion.”

(List of questions that critical thinkers ask)

16 stages for thinking about complex & turbulent situations (see
Horne & Doherty, 2003)

Steps:

1. Strategic Intelligence – What’s changing out there: TEMPLES
Technology
Economy
Markets
Politics
Law
Ethics
Society

2. Strategic Assessment – Considerations for a self-assessment:
money, management, mental muscle
Morales, mores, market reputation
Materials, movement, machines

3. Strategic knowledge = strategic intelligence + strategic assessment

Strategic Predictions: scenario planning; change nothing (assess impact of this on customers, competition, finance etc); worse case scenario.

4. Strategic Vision. Consider CATSWORLD in developing a strategic vision:
customers, actors, transformation, sub systems, “way we do things here”, owners, resources, limitations/ legal, decisions (how they are made).
Create a optimistic view of the future; determine a hopeful strategic direction; set motivating markers, milestones, review points.
Keywords: optimism, positive future, possibilities.

5. Strategic Options:
identify obstacles, worse fears, worse case scenarios, also best hope. Then identify how those may be removed/ reduced; or how obstacles may be removed to get to “best hope” case.

6. Apply creativity in identifying options (this is where ethics come into play). Suggests speaking to individuals in addition to brainstorming.

7. Strategic decisions. Talks about checklist of areas to consider, aided by intuition.

8. Create & comms the market-led strategy:
A sample of the executive summary provided (which is based on the earlier steps). Talks about how to present.

9. Plan & manage projects to implement the changes.
Managing resistance (suggest at least 70% will resist to some extent). Considerations: has anyone else done this? What is the picture at the end? Who will keep selling the benefits of change? Whose decisions will be crucial? Who owns the change? Who are the main stakeholders of the change?

Resistance to change; sometimes disguised as supportive suggestions., e.g, form working committees.

On project management.

Appendix.
A chart showing a flow diagram. Assessing staff. Delegate to those with high abilities & high motivation. Encourage/ sell/ praise those with high abilities but low motivation. Tell/ direct those with low ability but high motivation. Train those who are low in abilities and motivation.

List of reading references relating to strategic thinking and leadership.

The digital handshake: seven proven strategies to grow your business using social media/ Paul Chaney

eISNB: 9780470538456
2009 publication.

Book is aimed at, in my own words, those who perceive a need to explore social media for business but are uninitiated or lack practical experience on how to start. Attempts to provide breadth of social media tools and best practices rather than depth. And probably alert such readers to concepts that might not be apparent to non-social media users, e.g. Online reputation monitoring.

Beginning chapters dwells quite a bit on the background, context and need.

In later chpt 6, he repeats the social media mantra that “markets are conversations” and “participation is marketing”. That if a marketeer was unwilling to adopt this shift from traditional marketing mindset, then use of social media marketing will not be effective.

A recurring theme about online engagement (chpt 8): seek to understand if you want to be understood; key to successful engagement is to be genuinely interested in others. Give before receiving.

He considers these as the three big platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, twitter. That businesses must participate in these platforms.

Mentions JetBlue’s CEO (2007) posting a video apology; suggests a willingness to issue apology with honesty and humility are also key aspects of social media message and audience’s expectations.

I also think it’s about companies differentiating themselves through their messaging. E.g. If it’s not the norm for CEOs to publicly apologize on YouTube, then you gain credibility if you do it well. If it’s the norm and you do it well, then it’s the norm.

Chpt 5. “Motrin moms”, “Dell hell”

Makes the point it was media that helped people to be social.
Social media as both a tool & a mindset.
Not just a marketing channel or online campaign.

Social media is not just a marketing channel. “social media is not a channel, a campaign, or a one-night stand. It is about building relationships, participating in conversations, and being part of a tribe.” “the customer has a face and a name.”

The Internet is fragmented; “a massive network of small towns” (all the more to use social media as a niche marketing tool? And if social Media’s strength is to allow connections to be made very fast and easily, how can we use this to our advantage?)

2006 Jakob Nielsen. Community participation pyramid. 90% lurkers, 9% contribute from time to time but have other priorities, 1% participate a lot and contribute to most of the activity/ may seem like they don’t have a life offline; fast to respond to what they just posted.

7 proven strategies to grow the business.

1) chpt 7 blogging. “the living breathing part of the business”
Ten considerations:
– why use a blog? (thought leadership? Share info? Personal marketing?)
– what’s the core message and tone? (warm/ humorous/ formal/ informal)
– who will blog?
– is the company prepared to engage in conversation and not control the conversation? (moderate comments or not? Leave some comments as they are? Not read too much into it?)
– set company blogging policy and guidelines
– monitor what’s being said about company and industry.
– decide on blog platform; will it be part of company website or apart.
– identify ways to market the blog (suggests joining online conversations is the way)
– develop a plan to track statistics (I.e. measurement and metrics)
– know your keywords (how ppl may find your blog and your competitors)

Suggests blogging is still alive and well. Serves as a lightweight CMS and also acts as the “social media headquarters” in the context of facebook pages, twitter feed etc.

How to create a successful blog:
– identify the community (I.e. focus); write with the community in mind (suggests thinking in terms of community, not target audience)
– write with google in mind (keywords, frequency); Chris brogan: 10:1 ratio for on-topic and off-topic posts
– find, follow, converse with influential bloggers
– suggests writing Top 10 posts from time to time (“people like lists”)
– write “informative high-value content” so that others may link/ talk about it
– establish a presence in social mediashphere (being on active platforms, being active; carry the conversations over; actively participate in relevant social media areas)

2) chpt 8. Social networks strengthen social graphs
Creating social profiles; he cited experience of a customer referral from a social media profile he forgot he created vs expensive ad he paid. Reminds that one should complete the profile before starting to announce; looks incomplete otherwise.

In social media, “participation is the price of entry”; “markets are conversations”. Work the rounds. Don’t pitch until people know you. Cites principles from Dale Carnegie’s “how to win people” as a way to engage. Surmises that focus is on the other person; trying to engage people while focusing on “I” (our own interests) is the sure path to failure.

Amber Naslund, community management director Radian6: “give first, and often, getting happens naturally”.

Author recommends 3 core social platforms to firm up one’s social graph: LinkedIn (business suit), Facebook (casual attire), twitter (cocktail hour/ after hours). These are listed by degrees of formality/ informality.

See http://www.linkedintelligence.com/smart-ways-to-use-linkedIn

Facebook. leverage on fb page; says fb ads have only a 0.008% click through rate or 80 times per 10,000 views. Suggests focus on basics like Wall, Photo and status updates. Facebook share; Facebook connect.

See See Facebook Lexicon; tool to spot and compare trends in fb.

Plaxo – cross between Facebook and LinkedIn. More business oriented.
Ecademy – similar to LinkedIn but with face to face element. More popular in europe.
Biznik – community for businesses, not job seekers.
MySpace mentioned but not as a biz tool.

List 10 commandments for effective social networking:
1. Pull, not push
2. Win the right to be heard (participate)
3. Content is king, conversation is queen, conversion is the prince
4. Authenticity and transparency are social media cornerstones
5. Don’t have to be active on every platform. But have to be at where the customers are
6. Give, and you shall receive
7. don’t throw the marketing baby out with the bath water
8. Social media is a mindset, not a toolset
9. Be yourself, whomever that may be
10. Social media is not a religion (I.e. experiment, not adhere to dogma)

Chapt 9, online communities
Idea of Pastoral care; recasting the vision; reminding (reinforcing) provide encouragement among the 10% active contributors, providing content for consumption (by 90% lurkers). Community meetings; meetups (offer how-to seminars/ webinars). Kick out trolls.

List of free/ freemium community platform tools (e.g. Kickapp, ning, wordframe)

Chapter 10, microblogging, twitter
Author calls twitter the social instant Messenging service. Offers these tips:
– Earn the right to be heard.
– don’t follow if only to pitch
– provide value to the community/ give a reason for ppl to follow
– mix business with pleasure
I would add: understand conventions and norms. But don’t be afraid to try and then genuinely apologise if you do make mistakes)
(idea: get course participants to read tweets. Then ask them to review their actions; whether they try to find out more about the bloggers/ tweeps and what made them convinced they are authorities on the topic)

http://www.Tweetscan.com
http://www.twemes.com

Dell case study.
Brief mention of jaiku, plurk, yammer

Chapter 11, web video

Chapter 12, podcasting

Chapter 13, social media PR
http://www.Pitchengine.com
http://www.prweb.com
(doesn’t quite say how; more of why and what tools)

Chapter 14 – other social media marketing tools
Tagging, making content shareable, reviews (tap on to customer enthusiasm)
Getsatisfction.com, rss (covers this relatively more; http://www.feedforall.com), photosharing, wiki

Part 3 – putting it all together
Email marketing + blogs (use blogs to fill between publishing cycles)

Chapter 16 – listening
“share of voice”
Tone of voice; sentiment analysis: positive or negative sentiments.
Monitoring online reputation

http://www.boardreader.com
(more lists of fee based online reputation monitoring service)

Chapter 17 – engagement
Either join an existing conversation or start a new one. “get a seat at someone else’s table” or “set our own tables” and lay out the seats. Talks about earning the right to be heard.

Ways to respond (at other people’s tables): comment on blogs, participate in forums and message boards, join and actively participate in niche communities. Author considers these as the big three: LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter.

Set own table: start a blog, create an online community, start a FB page, start a weekly online show.

Chapter 18 – measure
Suggests it’s less about investment ROI but more on influence or ROE (engagement). also suggests measurement should have all three elements of justifying investment, influence, engagement.

Don’t measure everything. But on the “right thing”.

Google analytics, online reputation monitoring (includes twitter)

Concluding chapter: that effects of social media are still being played out. Repeated that “conversations are markets” and “participation is marketing”.

Buy me: new ways to get customers to choose your products and ignore the rest/ Marshall Cohen

2010 publication. US-focused.

More descriptive; not quite focused for some chapters, I felt. Some read like opinion pieces.

Context is about consumer purchasing behaviour in a time of thrift and credit consciousness in the wake of the global financial crisis and downturn. Consumers who “think twice about very single purchase”. Also consumers who rely on reviews online, posted by people they don’t know; buying based on need more than wants.

Author calls this the Great Compression (economic squeeze) Vs Great Depression.

The age of thrift.
Analyzing some root causes of the crisis. “false wealth” and “liar loans”; inflated home loans beyond the value of the home and the ability of the borrower to repay; housing bubble.

Price is critical but more so value.

His view was that consumers now expect deep discounts as a given. One problem being that retailers are starting discount periods earlier and earlier before actual holiday seasons. That retailers need to give consumers a dose of “Discount Detox” before consumers feel comfortable about making full-priced purchases again. He provided a few case studies on how some retailers have protected their brand image and still offer discounts or encourage year-long purchase (e.g. anticipate their need for seasonal goods, before the start of each season; maintaining a discount policy for goods that are ready to be “retired”; creating artificial scarcity for products to create perception of high value/ demand & customer satisfaction).

New retail rules
maxims: Stick to product core focus. Size of business does not mean better run. Multi-tier product offerings (different classes of the same product type). Service is a key differentiator. Exceed expectations. Product can “sing solo”. Multiple marketing messages. Offer distinctive products.

Chpt 5 – suggests it’s always better to take a calculated step and deal with the consequences, than to do nothing at all. Note: real estate tends to be the last to be sow signs of recession and also last to show signs of a pickup.

Chpt 6 – the new consumer.
How they are locked into long term payments; some sales tactics tricked consumers with freebies that has them inadvertently agree to paying long term commitment to regular top ups. Or automatically replenishing/ topping up the purchase when consumer’s stocks are low. “make it a given that consumers will be using your products for an extended period of time.” (is that ethical, I wonder)

Chpt 7 – global consumers; case study of Crocs.

Small message, big impact: how to put the power of the elevator speech effect to work for you/ Terri L. Sjodin

http://www.smallmessagebigimpact.com
Communications; Sales; marketing message

Monroe’s Motivation Sequence:

• Attention – be noticed in a favourable way
• Need – the psychological core of the sequence; use solid evidence to stir minds and feelings
• Satisfaction – provide the audience a solution to the need
• Visualisation – project the audience to a future where they can see themselves enjoying the benefits from adopting the plan
• Action – tell the audience what you want from them; what they have to do to make it all happen

It’s not about scoring each time, but advancing the ball with each “elevator pitch”.

Structure, sound reasoning, a sense of progression (for the listener, in terms of where the speech is going).

Introduction (the hook; attention step)
the body (three main points; the need, the satisfaction, visualisation)
the conclusion (summary; complete the visualisation step, transit to the close)
the close (action step in Monroe’s sequence; call for action)

Different type of talking points for different audiences:
– 3 questions approach: why choose you/ your pdt; why your company; why act now?
– past-future-present method: discuss where your listener was in the past; what I happening to them now; how their future can be improved/ where can you take them?

Three benchmarks:
– compelling case/ evidence in the message
– creativity (in content)
– authentic delivery

How to make the case more persuasive than informative: presenting the need.
The “so what” test. Six typical cases:
– time
– money
– sanity
– fun
– ease of use
– security

Always conclude; always have a close.

Being creative: using analogies, definitions, statistics, testimonials, hypothesis, alliteration, metaphors, personification. But use them not for their own sake but to fit the message.

“polish comes from practice, charisma comes from certainty”

Prepare a variety of views on the same pitch.

Summary: 10 basic steps to crafting an elevator pitch
1. Define your intention
2. Examine scenario (who are your audience; profiles; needs)
3. Draft core outline
4. Build case (most compelling arguments)
5. Don’t forget to close
6. Be creative
7. Speak in your own voice
8. Write it out
9. Practice
10. Use it

Presents examples of an outline/ preparatory notes. Sample of an evaluation form.

appendix has forms, templates, diagrams referred in the book.