Happy Holidays from Barnes & Conti
Our
Holiday Gift to You:
Holiday eBook from Kim Barnes!
Five Things I Know...
Thoughts for the New Year
Including “Five Things I Know About...”
- Creative Idea Development
- Culture and Innovation
- Dealing with “Difficult People”
- Influential Listening
- Internal Consulting
- Resolving Long-Term Conflicts
- And much, much more
Download for tablets/iPads/laptops/desktops
Influence Ripples
Recently I’ve been fascinated by the “ripple effect” of events in history. I’ve been watching and reading Steven Johnson’s new book and television series, “How We Got To Now” and have been taking a course by Tamim Ansary, an Afghan-American scholar, called Ripple Effects: An Alternative View of World History. Both deal with the way that ideas and events have fascinating and seemingly unpredictable effects through time, colliding with other ideas and trends to form new constructs and huge waves of change.
The invention of the printing press makes people aware that they are far-sighted and leads to the development of spectacles—and then to the application of the skill of grinding lenses to the creation of the microscope, leading to the ability to diagnose more diseases. The observation of a swinging lamp by a young Galileo moves us forward to mechanical clocks and eventually to the Industrial Revolution, which moves manufacturing out of the home and leads to the rise of feminism as young women go outside of the home to do their work.
So—as we see 2014 winding down and begin to think ahead to 2015, we might want to consider that our acts of influence may have long-term and consequential impacts that we can’t foresee. The potential “ripple effects” of what we choose to act on—and the lost opportunities where we choose to stay silent or turn away—should make us more thoughtful and strategic in exercising our influence. What do you want to change? Whom do you want to move toward taking action? Where will you stand up and make your voice heard? Which ideas do you want to see ripple their way into a positive and possible future?
Your influence matters. Happy New Year.
2014: 20 Years of Exercising Influence!
Just in case you missed it, 2014 was the year that Exercising Influence turned 20. Tens of thousands of people all over the world have taken our most popular course. We celebrated this influential milestone by inviting several thought leaders to record podcasts about how they exercised influence (or perhaps, failed to do so when they needed to).
In case you missed the podcasts—and we added one or two since you last heard from us—they are still available online as part of our Virtual Influence Celebration. Kim Barnes also contributed several themed articles and blog posts which are also available for download.
Things to Watch in 2015
- Exercising Influence™ is going virtual! Be on the lookout for this new virtual offering in 2015.
- Kim Barnes is working on the third edition of Exercising Influence, the book. More details to come in 2015!
In a few weeks Kim’s second novel in her Organizational
Development Murder Mystery series will be out on Amazon as paperback
or Kindle. Look for Murder on Retreat, a Corporate Mystery if
you dare! - Around February we will start a corporate mystery podcast series where the mysteries are solved by Sarah Hawthorne, the main protagonist and Organizational Development Consultant from Kim's Murder on Retreat, a Corporate Mystery.
- The first five people to email us their question for Sarah (see above) will win an autographed copy of Murder on Retreat, a Corporate Mystery. Here is a sample question: “Dear Sarah, whenever I request something of my manager, no matter how big or small, he or she has to get clearance from his or her boss. Why is that?”
The Miracle of the Light Bulbs
A True Story about Family Relationships
During the Holidays
by Joel Kleinbaum
Editor's Note: At Barnes & Conti, a number of us have lost loved ones recently. If nothing else, we are reminded that many of you are celebrating the holidays while missing near and dear family members. With that in mind, we reprint this story which was written for the Barnes & Conti Holiday Newsletter back in 2004.
I
grew up in the cold, snowy climate of Minneapolis, Minnesota. In
Minnesota, if you’re not Swedish, then you’re Norwegian,
or at least Danish. Well, I’m not Scandinavian at all. In
fact, being Jewish, we barely even acknowledged Christmas, except
to enjoy the elaborate lights and decorations of our neighbors.
Growing up amidst the Scandinavians, my mom tried to make Hanukkah extra special (this was in the days when Hanukkah was not nearly as commercialized as it is now). One year, she constructed an electric Star of David using two wire coat hangers, aluminum foil, blue and white tinsel, and a small string of blue Christmas lights. That Star of David hung in the Kleinbaum window on Hanukkah until my brother and I grew up and left home.
When my mom passed away—not even two years ago—we found the old Star of David stashed away in my mom’s basement. My brother graciously let me pack it up and take it home.
Last Hanukkah, my wife and I decided to hang the old Star in our window. It had been sitting in mom’s basement for over 25 years; would that little string of lights still work? Would the light bulbs even light? And if they wouldn’t, would we even be able to replace them without going to an antique hardware store?
We plugged it in and—surprise!—every single bulb lit up bright Hanukkah blue! I couldn’t help but think of the original miracle of Hanukkah, when that one little jar of oil—not enough for a day—burned for eight days. And my mom’s little blue Hanukkah bulbs burned just as brightly after gathering dust for 25 years!
Perhaps even more miraculous, even though it was the first Hanukkah ever without my mom, she was still “with us”—through that Star she had made so many years ago.
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In this Issue:
- Our Holiday Gift to You: Five Things I Know... Thoughts for the New Year eBook by B. Kim Barnes
- “Influence Ripples”
by B. Kim Barnes - 2014: 20 Years of Exercising Influence
- Things to Watch in 2015
- “The Miracle of the Light Bulbs” by Joel Kleinbaum
- Featured Art (above): “American Window” (Dove excerpt), by Marc Chagall
- Barnes & Conti Virtual Feast (See below)
Interested in Increasing Your Influence Skills?
Join us February 25 for an in person Exercising Influence session! Hold your spot today!
February 25, 2015, 8:30 am
Berkeley, CA
Barnes & Conti Virtual Feast 2014
The Barnes & Conti Virtual Feast is now a 14 year-old tradition. Along with our holiday potluck, we started sharing favorite holiday recipes with our friends, colleagues, partners, and customers (some of you fit in several or all of those categories!) The virtual feast has become so popular, that we continue making the virtual feast the centerpiece of our holiday newsletter.
Recipes in this Year's Feast
Walnut Stuffed
Mushrooms
Eric Beckman, Barnes & Conti’s President, contributed this appetizer
especially for mushroom lovers.
Broccoli and Cheese
Soup
Elaine Turcotte, our Operations Manager, likes to make this delicious,
comforting soup.
Braised Lamb Shanks
A classic recipe from the collection of Kim Barnes. This dish is
both elegant and comforting.
Mjeddrah: Middle
Eastern Lentils and Rice
Joel Kleinbaum, our internet guy and noted home chef, contributed
this Middle Eastern Classic. You can serve it as a side dish with
Kim's lamb, or as a vegetarian main dish.
Rita's Christmas
Cabbage
Senior VP of Business Development, Lauren Powers, contributed another
family favorite.
Grandma Rose's
Rugelach
How could we not have dessert? Lauren Powers contributed this recipe
several years back. It is such a winner that we are sharing it
with you again.
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