We have seen that philosophers of all ages have sought both to understand how the world works, and to discover the key that explains it all – better yet, that unlocks it all; that enables us to manipulate the laws of physics at will. We seek the secret core at the center of all the complexity, the buttons we can push that will unfailingly produce the results we want, so that we can go back to ignoring all the impossibly...  Read more...

We have seen that philosophers of all ages have sought both to understand how the world works, and to discover the key that explains it all – better yet, that unlocks it all; that enables us to manipulate the laws of physics at will. We seek the secret core at the center of all the complexity, the buttons we can push that will  unfailingly produce the results we want, so that we can go back to ignoring all the impossibly convoluted unfolding of events between the pushing of those buttons and the emergence of the consequences we desire.

These instincts run so deep in all of us that we typically either pursue them or cheer on those who do. The truth is, actually, that they run even deeper than that: we are so anxious to believe in the veracity of our world view, so eager to see everywhere evidence of it, that we can sometimes deceive ourselves with the most extraordinarily self-manipulative glibness – often reinforced with subtly oppressive intimidation – for generations or more.

Eventually, the evidence just becomes too much to resist. We are forced to revise our world view. And then we start all over again.

We certainly aren’t immune to that sort of thing in management, are we? We want desperately to see the organizational world one way or another, and we endeavor desperately – even artfully – to interpret or create facts that support our view. Those apparent facts that don’t do that – well, we say dismissively, everyone knows they’re irrelevant; essentially just background noise struggling vainly to obscure the signals only we have the wit and insight to make out.

It surely can easily be said, though, with respect to the physicists, that however much like the rest of us they ultimately are revealed to be, they have done much real, measurable good.

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Top 5 Companies in the Application Software Industry With the Best Relative ...Comtex SmartrendAutodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) ranks first with a gain of 2.48%; Informatica (NASDAQ:INFA) ranks second with a gain of 1.97%; and SuccessFactors (NASDAQ:SFSF) ranks ...and more »  Read more...

Top 5 Companies in the Application Software Industry With the Best Relative ...Comtex SmartrendAutodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) ranks first with a gain of 2.48%; Informatica (NASDAQ:INFA) ranks second with a gain of 1.97%; and SuccessFactors (NASDAQ:SFSF) ranks ...and more »

It’s been a while since I was on a bike.  All for good reasons, I haven’t actually been home in about 3 weeks.  I mean, you do need to have a bike available to you and decent roads to go for a ride.  I’m not sure that 3 weeks in NYC qualify.  First, I’m afraid of the incredible dust in the city – while I’m not afraid of traffic, I am extraordinarily afraid of dust and allergies that stay with me for days.  Back to the point...  Read more...

It’s been a while since I was on a bike.  All for good reasons, I haven’t actually been home in about 3 weeks.  I mean, you do need to have a bike available to you and decent roads to go for a ride.  I’m not sure that 3 weeks in NYC qualify.  First, I’m afraid of the incredible dust in the city – while I’m not afraid of traffic, I am extraordinarily afraid of dust and allergies that stay with me for days.  Back to the point though.  This morning, I went on my first bike ride since May 15 when I rode a meager 52 miles.  (yes, I have a diary of all this stuff, and yes, it’s fully GPS’d)  Just 3 months ago, I was riding about 80-90 miles without really suffering too much.  But this morning, I rode an easy 48 miles, and I swear my legs were about to fall off.  In what amounts to about 3 weeks, I have gone from barely competent to completely incompetent.  What is worse, in about 3 months, I have gone from decent to my current state.  There is good news though.  With hard work and

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Absence figures may not be what they seem, reports Health and Safety Bulletin.  Read more...

Absence figures may not be what they seem, reports Health and Safety Bulletin.

A reader writes:

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Would you like to learn how to use your brain's natural functions to help generate progress and a breakthrough? Check out this podcast! During this 25 minute podcast, I chat with Dr. Ellen Weber, author of several books and the...  Read more...

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Richard Wiseman's new book 59 Seconds is a wee cracker! Like his blog, previous books and even his iPod apps this book is an easy and enjoyable experience - the kind that you can dip in and out of, picking up interesting tips along the way. For each topic, Wiseman discusses a number of research experiments and then gives a number of concrete suggestions on how you can quickly implement these findings. The book is...  Read more...

Richard Wiseman's new book 59 Seconds is a wee cracker! Like his blog, previous books and even his iPod apps this book is an easy and enjoyable experience - the kind that you can dip in and out of, picking up interesting tips along the way. For each topic, Wiseman discusses a number of research experiments and then gives a number of concrete suggestions on how you can quickly implement these findings. The book is...

Work dress codes , particularly business casual , are popular on the site as are the picture galleries we've made that illustrate the requirements of each of the dress codes Yet recently, I ... Read Full Post  Read more...

Work dress codes , particularly business casual , are popular on the site as are the picture galleries we've made that illustrate the requirements of each of the dress codes Yet recently, I ... Read Full Post

Despite an overabundance of unemployed workers available to fill jobs, a surprising number of employers say they are getting an underwhelming response, and many are having trouble filling open positions.  Read more...

Despite this excess of workers to available jobs, a surprising number of employers say they are getting an underwhelming response, and many are having trouble filling open positions. There are now 5 unemployed workers on average for every job opening. Some 15 million Americans are looking for work. And youth unemployment across the world has climbed to a new high, according to an International Labor Organization report studying the “lost generation.”  For example, only 20 people show up at a job fair showed up at a Central Pennsylvania convenience store chain job fair last week, which was hiring for 35 to 40 jobs.  And just a few weeks earlier, just 6 people showed up at a free Employment Skills Boot Camp in Cumberland County (PA), aimed at helping displaced workers create or update resumes and practice techniques to increase their interview skills. The problem is not isolated to Pennsylvania.  A Wall Street Journal recently reported that a manufacturing plan in Ohio, has been struggling to hire a few toolmakers. "It's bizarre,” Dan Cunningham, chief executive of the Long-Stanton Manufacturing Co. “We are just not getting applicants. This is as bad now as at the height of business back in the 1990s.” The owner of a lawnmower shop in Indiana says he has been looking for a good mechanic so he can guarantee a one-week turnaround on repairs. He received only two responses to an Internet ad he placed a couple of months ago, even though the job can generate income of more than $40,000 a year. At the airline Emirates, job fairs held in Miami, Houston, San Francisco and Seattle attracted an average of about 50 people each.  That’s a fraction of the number of candidates who apply at similar fairs in other countries: as many as 1,000 apply at some events in Europe and Asia. These jobs require little more than a high-school diploma and fluency in English. They include free accommodation and medical care, and starting pay of about $30,000 a year. A drawback is likely that Americans ...

SuccessFactors Inc. (SFSF) CEO & PRESIDENT Lars Dalgaard sells 13500 SharesGuruFocus.comCEO & PRESIDENT of SuccessFactors Inc. (SFSF) Lars Dalgaard sells 13500 shares of SFSF on 08/12/2010 at an average price of $19.88 a share. ...  Read more...

SuccessFactors Inc. (SFSF) CEO & PRESIDENT Lars Dalgaard sells 13500 SharesGuruFocus.comCEO & PRESIDENT of SuccessFactors Inc. (SFSF) Lars Dalgaard sells 13500 shares of SFSF on 08/12/2010 at an average price of $19.88 a share. ...