The Manoj Sharma Blog

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Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:11:42 PDT

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True Wealth Moment #1 by Manoj Sharma

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:16:58 PDT

True Wealth Moment #1 by Manoj Sharma

Don't Engage In A Conspiracy Of Convenience

Don't stand by idly when you know your or someone else's decision is wrong. Do not allows errors in judgement to prevail, hate to be harboured and jealously to be fed.

Doing so is to engage in a conspiracy of convenience. A conspiracy of convenience, where you conspire with yourself and/or others and make it just too convenient for you not to do anything. This will allow small wrongs to escalate into bigger wrongs.

You may feel the trouble of avoiding a conspiracy of convenience is just too much to undertake and the burden not worth your time to bear. But that would be an error of judgement, because the pangs of your consciousness will slowly, but surely eat away at your heart.

The wrongs you allow to pass will not set themselves right on their own. Do not mistake your curious silence as a noble act of self-resistance. To not bring up and assist to correct (with respect of course), a henious act no matter how small, is to partake in the henious act itself.

To mindlessly support someone in the wrong, for whatever reasons, with no care for the ethical and spiritual crime being perpetuated is to kill the wealth in your heart and undo all the good you have done.

An ill-conceived war between your consciousness and your ego will slowly, but sure erupt from within you. Know that it is your responsibility to avert the disaster of a conspiracy of convenience, and when you do so you allow yourself to live a wealthier life.

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com

If you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above please feel free call me at now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

Be Happy by Manoj Sharma

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:23:44 PDT

Be Happy by Manoj Sharma

Everybody deserves to be happy - be happy at work, at home and at play, be happy in the company of others and especially to be happy when alone.

It has been suggested that the key to a great life is to bring happiness into it. Notice that I mentioned the word "bring". It is in the bringing of happiness that happiness unravels in a human being's life.

To bring happiness, one has to contemplate....

1) What happiness actually is and is not.
2) What the causes of happiness are.
3) Why is there an absence of happiness in the first place.
4) What actually causes the absence of happiness.

Consider that being happy requires one to "be with what is, as it is and not how they would want it to be" and then you will give yourself a chance to bring happiness into your life.

Upon understanding the above truth, I can guarantee, you will bring happiness into your life and then, happiness will on its own accord, start to create itself over and over again.

As you mull over the above, read the following Chinese Proverb too and allow it to seep deep into the heart of you.

"Grant yourself a moment of peace, and you will understand how foolishly you have scurried about.

Learn to be silent, and you will notice that you have talked too much.

Be kind, and you will realize that your judgement of others was too severe."

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com

If you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above please feel free call me at now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

8 Angles To Freedom by Manoj Sharma

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:50:57 PDT

8 Angles To FREEDOM by Manoj Sharma

It seems everybody desires freedom in some shape or form. So the question must be asked, "What does freedom really mean to us?"

While there are multiple uses of the word freedom and almost everybody strives or hides under its umbrella, there are in principle only a few angles to it.

Freedom ultimately it seems to limited to...

1) The state of being free from any confinement and/or restraint.

2) The release from obligation and/or duty.

3) The ease of movement of any type.

4) The acceptance of any genuine manner and/or speech.

5) The immunity from a general norm.

6) The liberty taken on ones own accord.

7) The privilege enjoyed due to come circumstance.

While the above 7 angles are the most common and often strived for it is the 8th that is most meaningful.

To discover the 8th and possibly ultimate angle to freedom, we need to first consider that freedom means nothing until it is contrasted against a background of the absence and/or perceived absence of freedom. Consider the following 7 examples and see if they can shed significant light on your consciousness.

1) There needs to be a state of confinement and/or the perception of confinement for freedom to have any meaning.

2) There needs to be obligation and/or duty and/or the perception of obligation and/or duty for there to be a release from obligation and/or duty.

3) There needs to be restrictions and/or the perception of restrictions for there to be any ease of movement of any type to be appreciated.

4) There needs to be nonacceptance and/or the perception of nonacceptance for any acceptance of any kind.

5) There needs to be a lack of immunity and/or the perception of a lack of immunity for there to be immunity from a general norm.

6) There needs to be the inability to take liberty and/or the perception of an inability to take liberty for liberty to be taken.

7) There needs to be an unprivileged circumstance and/or the perception of an unprivileged circumstance for there to be a circumstance in which a privilege is enjoyed.

From common parlance, we can glim that seems people genuinely believe that freedom is something external and separate from them.

But the 8th Angle of FREEDOM suggests something entirely different.

Ultimately FREEDOM is...

8) The power to exercise choice and make decisions without constraints from within or without.

The truth that all of humanity needs to wake up to, to discover its humanity, is that FREEDOM is only of value when it is the consequence of choices and decisions made without constraints from within and without.

Ultimately, FREEDOM is not doing and/or having whatever you please, FREEDOM is being pleased with whatever you are doing and/or have.

Contemplate it!

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com

If you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above please feel free call me at now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

Is this the start of a chain of cataclysmic events?

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:21:26 PDT

Is This The Start Of A Chain Of Cataclysmic Events?

Continental cuts 3,000 jobs, grounds planes.

Nation's fourth-largest airline takes 67 airplanes out of service and slashes payroll in response to high fuel prices.

By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com June 5th 2008

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The crisis facing the airline industry, propelled by out-of-control fuel costs, claimed another victim on Thursday.

Continental Airlines said it is eliminating about 3,000 jobs, or 6.7% of its staff, and grounding 67 mainline aircraft in an attempt to cut costs amid record oil and fuel prices.

The airline - the nation's fourth-largest by miles flown by paying passengers - said it was facing the worst industry conditions since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"The airline industry is in a crisis: Its business model doesn't work with the current price of fuel and the existing level of capacity in the marketplace," said Larry Kellner, Continental's chairman and chief executive officer, and President Jeff Smisek in a letter to employees. "We need to make changes in response." In recognition of the company's crisis Smisek and Kellner said they would not be paid the remainder of their 2008 salaries and will refuse payment under the company's annual incentive program. "The move to decline their salaries is symbolically important, but the company's image will still be weighed down by the impending layoffs," said DePaul University transportation expert Joe Schwieterman.

New airline economics

The company said the 3,000 job cuts will come starting in September, and it expects most will be made with voluntary severance packages. After 9/11, Continental cut 12,000 staff, then about 21% of staff, in reaction to the terrorist attack and the drop in demand for flights that followed. "These record fuel costs have fundamentally shifted the economics of our businesses," the letter said.

Continental estimates that the year-over-year rise in jet fuel amounts to about $50,000 per company employee. Many airlines have hiked fuel surcharges to fares and added fees to once-free benefits, such as food and checked baggage.

This latest move by Continental most likely means that passengers will need to pay even more to fly, according to Schwieterman. "There's going to be enormous upward pressure on fares," he said. "Consumers are going to feel this in a big way."

Continental would not offer further comment beyond the press release. Despite other cost cutting attempts, Continental said its increased fares will lead to fewer passengers, which will necessitate a reduction in its capacity. The airline said it will trim its domestic mainline departures by 16% starting in September by accelerating the retirement of much of its Boeing 737 fleet.

Customers should expect crowded planes as airlines reduce capacity."The bad news is that airplane load factors could be pushed to 90%, which greatly affects the perceived quality of service," said Schwieterman. "The good news is that if they can shrink by as much as 20%, the airlines will become financially stable."

Fuel fallout may not be over

The last time U.S. airlines were under this much pressure from fuel prices - in September 2005 - two of them, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, filed for bankruptcy.

On Wednesday, No. 2 airline United announced it was grounding 100 planes and cutting up to 1,600 jobs. But it may not be long before another airline makes a similar announcement. Some analysts believe that airlines will continue attempt to show Wall Street that they have a handle on the fuel crisis."The cuts have been bigger than we expected, and more are still to come," said Schwieterman. "Low cost carriers haven't yet played their hand."

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com

If you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above please feel free call me at (65) 6338 5669 now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

Is this what's happenig in our world?

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:27:59 PDT

Is this what's happening in our world?

Is this the gridlock of our global socio-economic situation?

Boss says to Secretary: For a week we will go abroad for a meeting, so make the necessary arrangements.

Secretary make a call to her Husband: For a week my Boss and I will be going abroad for a meeting, so please look after yourself.

Husband make call to his Secret Lover: My Wife is going abroad for a week, so let’s spend the week together.

Secret Lover make a call to Small Boy whom she is giving private tuition: I have work for a week, so please do not come for class.

Small Boy make call to his Grandfather: Grandpa, for a week I don't have class because my Teacher is busy. Lets spend the week together.

Grandpa (The Boss) makes a call to his Secretary: This week I am spending my time with my grandson. We cannot attend that meeting.

Secretary make a call to her Husband: This week my boss has some work, we cancelled our trip.

Husband make call to his Secret Lover: We cannot spend this week together, my Wife has canceled her trip.

Secret Lover make call to the Small Boy whom she is giving private tuition: This week we will have class as usual.

Small Boy make a call to his Grandfather: Grandpa, my teacher said this week I have to attend class. Sorry I can't keep you company.

Grandpa make call to his Secretary: This week, we will attend that overseas meeting after all, so make the necessary arrangement.

And so the gridlock goes on....

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at (65) 6338 5669 now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

What Is The Difference Between Truth, Marketing, Hope and Lies

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:43:26 PDT

What Is The Difference Between Truth, Marketing, Hope and Lies?

Read the following article from the the WashingtonPost.com on Tuesday the 3rd of June 08, till the absolute end and draw your own conclusions.

Clinton's Count Doesn't Add Up

You have to admire Hillary Clinton for her ability to reshape reality to her preferred outcome. She seems to assume that if she says something loudly enough, and repeats it often enough, it will become true. Her victory speech in Puerto Rico was a minor masterpiece in carefully parsed self-delusion. Unfortunately for her, it takes more than conviction to win the Democratic nominating contest.

The Facts

Whatever Clinton might say, there is considerable doubt about her claim to be "winning the popular vote." The only sense in which that is true is if she includes all the people who voted for her not only in Florida but also in Michigan, an election that she previously said "is not going to count for anything." She also has to exclude the 230,000 "uncommitted" voters in Michigan, most of whom would have probably supported Barack Obama had he been on the ballot, and caucus participants in four states -- Iowa, Nevada, Maine and Washington.

The best running tally that I have seen on various definitions of the popular vote comes from Real Clear Politics. It shows that if all the votes are included, and the uncommitted Michigan vote is awarded to Obama, the Land of Lincolner ends up with a slight lead in the overall "popular vote." He also has a small lead in the popular vote including Florida but excluding Michigan and the caucus states.

The more important point, of course, is that the popular vote has nothing to do with the Democratic presidential nominating process, which is decided by delegates. After the Puerto Rico primary, and the rules changes adopted over the weekend, most estimates now put Obama within 45 votes of the 2,118 needed to secure the nomination. Clinton, meanwhile, is 200 votes away from the magic figure. That is hardly "a slight lead" in the delegate count.

Contrary to Clinton's wishful thinking, it seems highly probable that Obama will nail down the number of delegates needed to win the nomination after today's primaries in Montana and South Dakota, where there are a total of 31 pledged delegates. In order to win the nomination, Obama needs roughly 20 percent of the remaining pledged and unpledged delegates, while Clinton needs around 80 percent.

Clinton's campaign also likes to claim that more Americans have voted for her "than anyone in primary history." That is an artful formula, because it neatly sidesteps the controversy over the disputed elections in Florida and Michigan. It may or may not be true, depending on how you define your terminology.

The Pinocchio Test

This is one of those cases where the candidate can provide some data to back up his or her claim, but the claim itself is essentially meaningless. To paraphrase Hillary Clinton, "the people have spoken" and they have chosen their candidate. That candidate is . . . Barack Obama.

ONE PINOCCHIO: Some shading of the facts.

TWO PINOCCHIOS: Significant omissions or exaggerations.

THREE PINOCCHIOS: Significant factual errors.

FOUR PINOCCHIOS: Real whoppers.

THE GEPPETTO CHECK MARK: Statements and claims contain the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

Do you do this?

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:01:00 PDT

Do you do this?

"For a knight that has an overlord, life is here today, uncertain tomorrow. Therefore he realizes everyday that he has this one day to serve, so he does not become bored or neglect any of his duties. Because he does every task that very day, it stands to reason that he does not overlook anything or forget anything.

In contrast to this, when you think you will be on the job forever, then trouble starts. You get bored, so you become inattentive and lazy. You begin neglecting even urgent matters, to say nothing of less pressing affairs, putting them off to the next day or claiming that they've already been arranged, or fobbing them off to colleagues or flunkies. Since no one takes personal responsibility for taking care of them, tasks pile up and there is nothing but snafus. These are all mistakes that come from counting on having time in the future. You should be most wary of this.

For example, if you are assigned to a certain number of days a month on watch, you should be sure to figure out the route from your home to your post. calculate how long it will take you to get there, and set out to be slightly early for the time of the changing of the guard. If you dawdle over tea, tobacco, and family talk, leaving home late for a post that you have to work in any event, suddenly you are in a blind rush, galloping to your post in a big sweat. Fanning yourself even in winter, you may try to quip that you were late because you have a little bit of bothersome business. That is moronic. The watch duty of a warrior is security duty; no one should show up late for work for any personal reason whatsoever.

Now then, there are those who understand this much and so always show up for work early themselves, yet they become restless waiting for tardy colleagues, fidgeting and yawing, and hate to stay inside the governor's mansion even for a while, being in a hurry to go home. these are unseemly things of recent times." -- from the Bushido Shoshinshu of Taira Shigesuke

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

Four Major Transformations by Herbert Meyer

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:46:46 PDT

Four Major Transformations by Herbert Meyer

Currently, there are four major transformations that are shaping political, economic and world events. These transformations have profound implications for American business owners, our culture and our way of life.

1. The War in Iraq

There are three major monotheistic religions in the world: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. In the 16th century, Judaism and Christianity reconciled with the modern world. The rabbis, priests and scholars found a way to settle up and pave the way forward. Religion remained at the center of life, church and state became separate. Rule of law, idea of economic liberty, individual rights, human rights - all these are defining points of modern Western civilization. These concepts started with the Greeks but didn’t take off until the 15th and 16th century when Judaism and Christianity found a way to reconcile with the modern world. When that happened, it unleashed the scientific revolution and the greatest outpouring of art, literature and music the world has ever known.

Islam, which developed in the 7th century, counts millions of Moslems around the world who are normal people. However, there is a radical streak within Islam. When the radicals are in charge, Islam attacks Western civilization. Islam first attacked Western civilization in the 7th century, and later in the 16th and 17th centuries. By 1683, the Moslems (Turks from the Ottoman Empire) were literally at the gates of Vienna. It was in Vienna that the climatic battle between Islam and Western civilization took place. The West won and went forward. Islam lost and went backward. Interestingly, the date of that battle was September 11. Since then, Islam has not found a way to reconcile with the modern world.

Today, terrorism is the third attack on Western civilization by radical Islam. To deal with terrorism, the U.S. is doing two things. First, units of our armed forces are in 30 countries around the world hunting down terrorist groups and dealing with them. This gets very little publicity. Second we are taking military action in Afghanistan and Iraq. These are covered relentlessly by the media. People can argue about whether the war in Iraq is right or wrong. However, the underlying strategy behind the war is to use our military to remove the radicals from power and give the moderates a chance. Our hope is that, over time, the moderates will find a way to bring Islam forward into the 21st century. That’s what our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is all about.

The lesson of 9/11 is that we live in a world where a small number of people can kill a large number of people very quickly. They can use airplanes, bombs, anthrax, chemical weapons or dirty bombs. Even with a first-rate intelligence service (which the U.S. does not have), you can’t stop every attack. That means our tolerance for political horseplay has dropped to zero. No longer will we play games with terrorists or weapons of mass destructions.

Most of the instability and horseplay is coming from the Middle East. That’s why we have thought that if we could knock out the radicals and give the moderates a chance to hold power, they might find a way to reconcile Islam with the modern world. So when looking at Afghanistan or Iraq, it’s important to look for any signs that they are modernizing. For example, women being brought into the workforce and colleges in Afghanistan is good. The Iraqis stumbling toward a constitution is good. People can argue about what the U.S. is doing and how we’re doing it, but anything that suggests Islam is finding its way forward is good.

2. The Emergence of China

In the last 20 years, China has moved 250 million people from the farms and villages into the cities. Their plan is to move another 300 million in the next 20 years. When you put that many people into the cities, you have to find work for them. That’s why China is addicted to manufacturing; they have to put all the relocated people to work. When we decide to manufacture something in the U.S., it’s based on market needs and the opportunity to make a profit. In China, they make the decision because they want the jobs, which is a very different calculation.

While China is addicted to manufacturing, Americans are addicted to low prices. As a result, a unique kind of economic codependency has developed between the two countries. If we ever stop buying from China, they will explode politically. If China stops selling to us, our economy will take a huge hit because prices will jump. We are subsidizing their economic development, they are subsidizing our economic growth.

Because of their huge growth in manufacturing, China is hungry for raw materials, which drives prices up worldwide. China is also thirsty for oil, which is one reason oil is now at $60 a barrel. By 2020, China will produce more cars than the U.S. China is also buying its way into the oil infrastructure around the world. They are doing it in the open market and paying fair market prices, but millions of barrels of oil that would have gone to the U.S. are now going to China. China’s quest to assure it has the oil it needs to fuel its economy is a major factor in world politics and economics. We have our Navy fleets protecting the sea lines, specifically the ability to get the tankers through. It won’t be long before the Chinese have an aircraft carrier sitting in the Persian Gulf as well. The question is, will their aircraft carrier be pointing in the same direction as ours or against us?

3. Shifting Demographics of Western Civilization

Most countries in the Western world have stopped breeding. For a civilization obsessed with sex, this is remarkable. Maintaining a steady population requires a birth rate of 2.1. In Western Europe, the birth rate currently stands at 1.5, or 30 percent below replacement. In 30 years there will be 70 to 80 million fewer Europeans than there are today. The current birth rate in Germany is 1.3. Italy and Spain are even lower at 1.2. At that rate, the working age population declines by 30 percent in 20 years, which has a huge impact on the economy.

When you don’t have young workers to replace the older ones, you have to import them. The European countries are currently importing Moslems. Today, the Moslems comprise 10 percent of France and Germany, and the percentage is rising rapidly because they have higher birthrates. However, the Moslem populations are not being integrated into the cultures of their host countries, which is a political catastrophe. One reason Germany and France don’t support the Iraq war is they fear their Moslem populations will explode on them. By 2020, more than half of all births in the Netherlands will be non-European.

The huge design flaw in the post-modern secular state is that you need a traditional religious society birth rate to sustain it. The Europeans simply don’t wish to have children, so they are dying.

In Japan, the birthrate is 1.3. As a result, Japan will lose up to 60 million people over the next 30 years. Because Japan has a very different society than Europe, they refuse to import workers. Instead, they are just shutting down. Japan has already closed 2000 schools, and is closing them down at the rate of 300 per year. Japan is also aging very rapidly. By 2020, one out of every five Japanese will be at least 70 years old. Nobody has any idea about how to run an economy with those demographics.

Europe and Japan, which comprise two of the world’s major economic engines, aren’t merely in recession, they’re shutting down. This will have a huge impact on the world economy, and it is already beginning to happen. Why are the birthrates so low? There is a direct correlation between abandonment of traditional religious society and a drop in birth rate, and Christianity in Europe is becoming irrelevant. The second reason is economic. When the birth rate drops below replacement, the population ages. With fewer working people to support more retired people, it puts a crushing tax burden on the smaller group of working age people. As a result, young people delay marriage and having a family. Once this trend starts, the downward spiral only gets worse. These countries have abandoned all the traditions they formerly held in regards to having families and raising children.

The U.S. birth rate is 2.0, just below replacement. We have an increase in population because of immigration. When broken down by ethnicity, the Anglo birth rate is 1.6 (same as France) while the Hispanic birth rate is 2.7. In the U.S., the baby boomers are starting to retire in massive numbers. This will push the ‘elder dependency’ ratio from 19 to 38 over the next 10 to 15 years. This is not as bad as Europe, but still represents the same kind of trend.

Western civilization seems to have forgotten what every primitive society understands you need kids to have a healthy society. Children are huge consumers. Then they grow up to become taxpayers. That’s how a society works, but the post-modern secular state seems to have forgotten that. If U.S. birth rates of the past 20 to 30 years had been the same as post-World War II, there would be no Social Security or Medicare problems.

The world’s most effective birth control device is money. As society creates a middle class and women move into the workforce, birth rates drop. Having large families is incompatible with middle class living. The quickest way to drop the birth rate is through rapid economic development. After World War II, the U.S. instituted a $600 tax credit per child. The idea was to enable mom and dad to have four children without being troubled by taxes. This led to a baby boom of 22 million kids, which was a huge consumer market that turned into a huge tax base. However, to match that incentive in today’s dollars would cost $12,000 per child.

China and India do not have declining populations. However, in both countries, there is a preference for boys over girls, and we now have the technology to know which is which before they are born. In China and India, many families are aborting the girls. As a result, in each of these countries there are 70 million boys growing up who will never find wives. When left alone, nature produces 103 boys for every 100 girls. In some provinces, however, the ratio is 128 boys to every 100 girls.

The birth rate in Russia is so low that by 2050 their population will be smaller than that of Yemen. Russia has one-sixth of the earth’s land surface and much of its oil. You can’t control that much area with such a small population. Immediately to the south, you have China with 70 million unmarried men - a real potential nightmare scenario for Russia.

4. Restructuring of American Business

The fourth major transformation involves a fundamental restructuring of American business. Today’s business environment is very complex and competitive. To succeed, you have to be the best, which means having the highest quality and lowest cost. Whatever your price point, you must have the best quality and lowest price. To be the best, you have to concentrate on one thing. You can’t be all things to all people and be the best.

A generation ago, IBM used to make every part of their computer. Now Intel makes the chips, Microsoft makes the software, and someone else makes the modems, hard drives, monitors, etc. IBM even outsources their call center. Because IBM has all these companies supplying goods and services cheaper and better than they could do it themselves, they can make a better computer at a lower cost. This is called a ‘fracturing’ of business. When one company can make a better product by relying on others to perform functions the business used to do itself, it creates a complex pyramid of companies that serve and support each other.

This fracturing of American business is now in its second generation. The companies who supply IBM are now doing the same thing- outsourcing many of their core services and production process. As a result, they can make cheaper, better products. Over time, this pyramid continues to get bigger and bigger. Just when you think it can’t fracture again, it does. Even very small businesses can have a large pyramid of corporate entities that perform many of its important functions. One aspect of this trend is that companies end up with fewer employees and more independent contractors.

This trend has also created two new words in business: integrator and complementor. At the top of the pyramid, IBM is the integrator. As you go down the pyramid, Microsoft, Intel and the other companies that support IBM are the complementors. However, each of the complementors is itself an integrator for the complementors underneath it. This has several implications, the first of which is that we are now getting false readings on the economy. People who used to be employees are now independent contractors launching their own businesses. There are many people working whose work is not listed as a job. As a result, the economy is perking along better than the numbers are telling us.

Outsourcing also confused the numbers. Suppose a company like General Motors decides to outsource all its employee cafeteria functions to Marriott (which it did). It lays off hundreds of cafeteria workers, who then get hired right back by Marriott. The only thing that has changed is that these people work for Marriott rather than GM. Yet, the headlines will scream that America has lost more manufacturing jobs. All that really happened is that these workers are now reclassified as service workers. So the old way of counting jobs contributes to false economic readings. As yet, we haven’t figured out how to make the numbers catch up with the changing realities of the business world.

Another implication of this massive restructuring is that because companies are getting rid of units and people that used to work for them, the entity is smaller. As the companies+ get smaller and more efficient, revenues are going down but profits are going up. As a result, the old notion that ‘revenues are up and we’re doing great’ isn’t always the case anymore. Companies are getting smaller but are becoming more efficient and profitable in the process.

Implications Of The Four Transformations

1. The War in Iraq

In some ways, the war is going very well. Afghanistan and Iraq have the beginnings of a modern government, which is a huge step forward. The Saudis are starting to talk about some good things, while Egypt and Lebanon are beginning to move in a good direction.

A series of revolutions have taken place in countries like Ukraine and Georgia. There will be more of these revolutions for an interesting reason. In every revolution, there comes a point where the dictator turns to the general and says, ‘Fire into the crowd.’ If the general fires into the crowd, it stops the revolution. If the general says ‘No,’ the revolution is over. Increasingly, the generals are saying ‘No’ because their kids are in the crowd.

Thanks to TV and the Internet, the average 18-year old outside the U.S. is very savvy about what is going on in the world, especially in terms of popular culture. There is a huge global consciousness, and young people around the world want to be a part of it. It is increasingly apparent to them that the miserable government where they live is the only thing standing in their way. More and more, it is the well-educated kids, the children of the generals and the elite, who are leading the revolutions.

At the same time, not all is well with the war. The level of violence in Iraq is much worse and doesn’t appear to be improving. It’s possible that we’re asking too much of Islam all at one time. We’re trying to jolt them from the 7th century to the 21st century all at once, which may be further than they can go. They might make it and they might not. Nobody knows for sure. The point is, we don’t know how the war will turn out. Anyone who says they know is just guessing.

The real place to watch is Iran. If they actually obtain nuclear weapons it will be a terrible situation. There are two ways to deal with it. The first is a military strike, which will be very difficult. The Iranians have dispersed their nuclear development facilities and put them underground. The U.S. has nuclear weapons that can go under the earth and take out those facilities, but we don’t want to do that. The other way is to separate the radical mullahs from the government, which is the most likely course of action.

Seventy percent of the Iranian population is under 30. They are Moslem but not Arab. They are mostly pro-Western. Many experts think the U.S. should have dealt with Iran before going to war with Iraq. The problem isn’t so much the weapons, it’s the people who control them. If Iran has a moderate government, the weapons become less of a concern.

We don’t know if we will win the war in Iraq. We could lose or win. What we’re looking for is any indicator that Islam is moving into the 21st century and stabilizing.

2. China

It may be that pushing 500 million people from farms and villages into cities is too much too soon. Although it gets almost no publicity, China is experiencing hundreds of demonstrations around the country, which is unprecedented. These are not students in Tiananmen Square. These are average citizens who are angry with the government for building chemical plants and polluting the water they drink and the air they breathe.

The Chinese are a smart and industrious people. They may be able to pull it off and become a very successful economic and military superpower. If so, we will have to learn to live with it. If they want to share the responsibility of keeping the world’s oil lanes open, that’s a good thing. They currently have eight new nuclear electric power generators under way and 45 on the books to build. Soon, they will leave the U.S. way behind in their ability to generate nuclear power.

What can go wrong with China? For one, you can’t move 550 million people into the cities without major problems. Two, China really wants Taiwan- not so much for economic reasons, they just want it. The Chinese know that their system of communism can’t survive much longer in the 21st century. The last thing they want to do before they morph into some sort of more capitalistic government is to take over Taiwan.

We may wake up one morning and find they have launched an attack on Taiwan. If so, it will be a mess, both economically and militarily. The U.S. has committed to the military defense of Taiwan. If China attacks Taiwan, will we really go to war against them? If the Chinese generals believe the answer is no, they may attack. If we don’t defend Taiwan, every treaty the U.S. has will be worthless. Hopefully, China won’t do anything stupid.

3. Demographics

Europe and Japan are dying because their populations are aging and shrinking. These trends can be reversed if the young people start breeding. However, the birth rates in these areas are so low it will take two generations to turn things around. No economic model exists that permits 50 years to turn things around. Some countries are beginning to offer incentives for people to have bigger families. For example, Italy is offering tax breaks for having children. However, it’s a lifestyle issue versus a tiny amount of money. Europeans aren’t willing to give up their comfortable lifestyles in order to have more children.

In general, everyone in Europe just wants it to last a while longer. Europeans have a real talent for living. They don’t want to work very hard. The average European worker gets 400 more hours of vacation time per year than Americans. They don’t want to work and they don’t want to make any of the changes needed to revive their economies.

The summer after 9/11, France lost 15,000 people in a heat wave. In August, the country basically shuts down when everyone goes on vacation. That year, a severe heat wave struck and 15,000 elderly people living in nursing homes and hospitals died. Their children didn’t even leave the beaches to come back and take care of the bodies. Institutions had to scramble to find enough refrigeration units to hold the bodies until people came to claim them.

This loss of life was five times bigger than 9/11 in America, yet it didn’t trigger any change in French society. When birth rates are so low, it creates a tremendous tax burden on the young. Under those circumstances, keeping mom and dad alive is not an attractive option. That’s why euthanasia is becoming so popular in most European countries. The only country that doesn’t permit (and even encourage) euthanasia is Germany, because of all the baggage from World War II.

The European economy is beginning to fracture. The Euro is down. Countries like Italy are starting to talk about pulling out of the European Union because it is killing them. When things get bad economically in Europe, they tend to get very nasty politically. The canary in the mine is anti-Semitism. When it goes up, it means trouble is coming. Current levels of anti-Semitism are higher than ever. Germany won’t launch another war, but Europe will likely get shabbier, more dangerous and less pleasant to live in.

Japan has a birth rate of 1.3 and has no intention of bringing in immigrants. By 2020, one out of every five Japanese will be 70 years old. Property values in Japan have dropped every year for the past 14 years. The country is simply shutting down.

In the U.S. we also have an aging population. Boomers are starting to retire at a massive rate. These retirements will have several major impacts:

Possible massive sell-off of large four-bedroom houses and a movement to condos.
An enormous drain on the treasury. Boomers vote, and they want their benefits, even if it means putting a crushing tax burden on their kids to get them. Social Security will be a huge problem. As this generation ages, it will start to drain the system. We are the only country in the world where there are no age limits on medical procedures.
An enormous drain on the health care system. This will also increase the tax burden on the young, which will cause them to delay marriage and having families, which will drive down the birth rate even further.

Although scary, these demographics also present enormous opportunities for products and services tailored to aging populations. There will be tremendous demand for caring for older people, especially those who don’t need nursing homes but need some level of care. Some people will have a business where they take care of three or four people in their homes. The demand for that type of service and for products to physically care for aging people will be huge.

Make sure the demographics of your business are attuned to where the action is. For example, you don’t want to be a baby food company in Europe or Japan. Demographics are much underrated as an indicator of where the opportunities are. Businesses need customers. Go where the customers are.

4. Restructuring of American Business

The restructuring of American business means we are coming to the end of the age of the employer and employee. With all this fracturing of businesses into different and smaller units, employers can’t guarantee jobs anymore because they don’t know what their companies will look like next year. Everyone is on their way to becoming an independent contractor. The new workforce contract will be, ‘Show up at the my office five days a week and do what I want you to do, but you handle your own insurance, benefits, health care and everything else.’

Husbands and wives are becoming economic units. They take different jobs and work different shifts depending on where they are in their careers and families. They make tradeoffs to put together a compensation package to take care of the family. This used to happen only with highly educated professionals with high incomes. Now it is happening at the level of the factory floor worker. Couples at all levels are designing their compensation packages based on their individual needs. The only way this can work is if everything is portable and flexible, which requires a huge shift in the American economy.

The U.S. is in the process of building the world’s first 21st century model economy. The only other countries doing this are U.K. and Australia. The model is fast, flexible, highly productive and unstable in that it is always fracturing and re-fracturing. This will increase the economic gap between the U.S. and everybody else, especially Europe and Japan .

At the same time, the military gap is increasing. Other than China, we are the only country that is continuing to put money into their military. Plus, we are the only military getting on-the-ground military experience through our war in Iraq. We know which high-tech weapons are working and which ones aren’t. There is almost no one who can take us on economically or militarily. There has never been a superpower in this position before.

On the one hand, this makes the U.S. a magnet for bright and ambitious people. It also makes us a target. We are becoming one of the last holdouts of the traditional Judeo-Christian culture. There is no better place in the world to be in business and raise children. The U.S. is by far the best place to have an idea, form a business and put it into the marketplace. We take it for granted, but it isn’t as available in other countries of the world.

Ultimately, it’s an issue of culture. The only people who can hurt us are ourselves, by losing our culture. If we give up our Judeo-Christian culture, we become just like the Europeans. The culture war is the whole ballgame. If we lose it, there isn’t another America to pull us out.

About Herbert Meyer

Herbert Meyer served during the Reagan administration as special assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence and Vice Chairman of the CIA’s National Intelligence Council. In these positions, he managed production of the U.S. National Intelligence Estimates and other top-secret projections for the President and his national security advisers. Meyer is widely credited with being the first senior U.S. Government official to forecast the Soviet Unions collapse, for which he later was awarded the U.S. National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the intelligence community's highest honor. Formerly an associate editor of FORTUNE he is also the author of several books.

What Does Your Organization Need To Do To Profit From This Economic Downturn? by Manoj Sharma

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:03:09 PDT

What Does Your Organization Need To Do To Profit From This Economic Downturn? by Manoj Sharma

People everywhere are aware that the global economy has taken a downturn. Your organization as part of the global business community either has already or will most likely be impacted in some shape or form. Regardless of the impact, thinking ahead what are some of the things you need to pay attention to, to ensure your organization makes the best of this change in economic climate? Below is a short list of things you might want to consider to have your organization bound back stronger still.

Focus on making things better.

Take everything you have and figure out how to make it better. Then keep making it better and even better still till the downturn is over. Know that if you make something truly great, everybody will want it and your market share, along with your profitability and fulfillment levels will certainly increase.

Distinguish creativity and invention from innovation.

When it comes to business, don’t confuse creativity with invention and innovation. Creativity is mind set related and is about making new connections. Invention is skill set related and is about creating new things in a physical reality. Innovation is business set related and is about inventing a new way to add value to other people’s lives. Innovate with a clear focus on increasing your top line, bottom line and customer engagement or you will waste both your time and money.

Go with your educated gut feeling.

Seize the opportunity to get customer feedback. Don’t directly ask your customers what they want through a survey as they won’t understand your business as well as you and cannot see it from your perspective. Do however ask your employees to ask your customers what they want. Then get your employees to improve on what your customers want.

In a downturn your employees need to be prepped to further engage your customers and potential customers. They need to establish an educated gut feeling and innovatively engage in internal innovation dialogues to create products, services and experiences that emotionally turn people on.

Embrace the age of disruption.

You are in the age of disruptions, short attention spans, and faster half-lives. You are on a maniacal roller coaster ride. While going on this maniacal roller coaster ride start to pay closer attention to value propositions and core values. Learn to build greater value propositions and lean how people are actually buying to coincide with their core values. This will give all your subsequent marketing a new competitive edge once the economy picks up.

Transcend your industry.

From the year 2000 onwards the business world has become rich with organizations that transcend industries and consolidate industry wide value propositions. Your organization needs to conjure up value propositions so compelling, ingenious and new that they upend industries. To profit from the above you also need to identify the biggest market possible and work towards capturing it in the down cycle. Get professional assistance on this as it will reap huge dividends.

Dedicate yourself to discovery and excellence.

Now dedicate or re-dedicate yourself to discovery and excellence. Discover what the hugest leap forward may be and strive to excel at it. Do not necessarily attempt to go for it alone. Collaborate with willing parties, bring together value propositions, clarify individual and collective gains and you will magnify your chance of success. People are far more willing to collaborate in downtimes when a new angle is needed, than uptimes when everyone is too caught up in busyness.

Strip away the fat.

Strip away the fat and get lean. Identify the few things you need to do well right now and do them exceedingly well. Do not get consumed with doing everything, it will be too much for you to handle. In the world of sports the downtime is called post-season and it is a time for athletes to recuperate followed by a pre-season which is the time for them to train and shape up. In the world of business the downtime, is called a downturn and the pre-season, is called a troughs.

Stop selling.

To benefit from creating a lasting value proposition, you need to stop selling and focus on having people fall in love with you, our ideas, your ideals, your products, services and experiences instead. Now is the time to ignore fads and look for the established principles that give rise to them instead. Now is the time to stop attempting to get people to buy what they don’t want to and to figure out what they need, want and desire instead. Now is the time to cease attempting to fool people through your marketing campaigns and learn to communicate clear, truthful value propositions.

Answer the “Wouldn’t it be great if….” question.

Work with your team and identify 10 propositions that would be great for both your customer and you. Then find workable solutions to them. If you can’t find workable solutions, innovate workable solutions. Also conduct a “100 New Ideas and Ideals Workshop” and then focus on the few you feel it would be best for you to focus on.

Know the impermanence of all cycles.

Appreciate that creation, maintenance and destruction is a cycle of life. Get clear that your life is brief and then you die. Know that you can only do that many things in your life time. So take the opportunity to figure out how you’d like to live your life, what you would like to bring to it and then go out there and do it with a spirit of excellence. Your reward for doing this now will come when the economy picks up.

Examine proficiency, personality and potential.

You need people who have great mind sets and skill sets to create great business sets. Quickly re-evaluate all your people. Where is the proficiency great and where is it poor? What personality traits do you think would assist your business grow and what personality traits can you do without in a hurry? Who is living up to their potential and who is not? All these are important questions as your people are either your competitive assets or competitive liabilities.

Re-evaluate people, products and processes.

Take the time to re-evaluate your investment in people, products and processes. If you hired well, it would have taken you a long time to get your people together and most will probably work well. Get rid of the poor performers and those who have not capitalized on living up to their potential. Enhance the value propositions of your products or innovate new ones. Tidy up your processes to become more optimal. Invest whatever you can in your research, development and innovation so you can compete better when the economy picks up.

I trust this will assist you to take the problems that come around in a downturn and turn them into profitable opportunities. How well and how fast you do the above will determine your success in the years ahead.

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to call me at DIFFERWORLD! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

What Are Some Of The Most Important Challenges You Need To Address Now? by Manoj Sharma

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:28:44 PDT

What Are Some Of The Most Important Challenges You Need To Address Now? by Manoj Sharma

Everybody from Individuals, Teams, Organizations, Communities and The World are facing a set of Problems, Issues, Difficulties, Obstacles and Challenges.

While everybody professes that they would like to overcome their problems, issues, difficulties, obstacles and challenges, few actually do what is actually required to do so. Most put in some variety of a structured and unstructured effort, but ultimately, almost all, continue largely down the "same-old, same-old" path, barely experiencing the "different-new, different-new". While the smart get professional assistance to save themselves time and money, the foolish attempt it on their own.

Ask yourself, how many from the list below do you realize you desire, but remain as yet unachieved for you? Once you are done, identify how many things are on your list.

I would like to...

Elevate my consciousness?
Expand my conscientiousness?
Experience true contentment?
Be expansive in my thinking?
Interact with greater sophistication?
Remove my pretenses?
Be more productive?
Apportion my time better?
Get myself into shape?
Inspire others to live a better life?
Delegate more effectively?
Be financially independent?
Just be happy?
Eat healthier?
Be more influential?
Be more compelling?
Communicate more effectively?
Be a confident speaker?
Represent myself/ my organization better?
Write artfully?
Be more creative?
Improve the overall quality of my life?
Improve the overall standard of my living?
Assist to improve others lives?
Live the way I'd really like to?
Be incredibly empowered?
Boost my / my organization's profitability?
Assist to increase my family's / friend's financial well-being?
Assist my community in a multitude of ways?
Expand my professional and/or personal network?
Stop selling and find buyers instead?
Relax?
Stop wasting time?
Stop wasting money?
Be a magnificent asset and not a liability?
Not burn out and pace myself well?
Put life and not work at the core of my life?
Be more astute?
Be more aware?
Be a better listener?
Enjoy work-life harmony?
Be wiser?
Be more worldly?
Accelerate my learning curve?
Start a new business successfully?
Further grow my existing business?
Avoid the pitfalls of life?
Not be so reactive?
Build a great reservoir of goodwill?
Increase my knowledge base?
Redesign my entire life?
Re-orientate myself for greater fulfillment?
Rethink my purpose?
Strive for greatness?
Clear out physical, mental and emotional clutter?
Stop being so mediocre?
Be clear?
Interact powerfully?
Be ahead of the curve?
Remove dissonance?
Enhance my education?
Build upon my strengths?
Eliminate my weaknesses?
Cleanse my perceptions?
Be patient?
Be self-directed?
Be focused on my targets?
Be devoted to causes that matter?
Be a congruent personality?
Be a person of substance?
Achieve my goals faster and better?
Be highly disciplined?
Be magnanimous?
Be masterful?
Be a pillar of my society?
Be of great value to others?
Be dignified in my dealings?
Be more proactive?
Be highly responsible?
Be innovative in finding solutions?
Establish fabulous skill sets?
Stop procrastinating?
Weight out and seize opportunities faster?
Accurately appreciate the possibilities of situations?
Stop struggling?
Start winning?
Be involved with something
Invest more quality time with myself / my loved ones?
Deal better with stressful situations?
Be generous and prudent at the same time?
Know my fear and desire motivators?
Understand my empowering and limiting strategies?
Live more dynamically?
Have higher energy levels?
Enjoy more vacations?
See the world?
Broaden my horizons?
Be more respected by others?
Just chill out?
Be peaceful?
Be a solid leader?

How many things are on your list?
What are you going to do about them?
And when?

Also, feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

Where Does Your Business Stand In The Mind Of Your Customers by Manoj Sharma

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:31:40 PDT

Where Does Your Business Stand In The Mind Of Your Customers by Manoj Sharma

Which of these 12 levels are your customers predominantly at?

Poor awareness of you, your products, services and ideas
An awareness that you exist but no awareness of your products, services and ideas
An awareness of you and a brief awareness of your products, services and ideas
An good appreciation of your value propositions but no idea of how it benefits them
A good appreciation of your value proposition and a good idea of how it benefits them
A very good appreciation of their benefits from your value proposition and a good mind share to contact you when they need them
An immediate request for you to quote when they have a challenge that needs to be addressed
A full understanding of why they should engage you regardless of other pressures
Engaging you on win -win terms
A great experience of you, your value proposition and your products, services and ideas
Immediate engagement of you, whenever they require your products, services and ideas
Promotion of you to others to also engage your products, services and ideas

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

Lies, Illusions, Delusions and The Truth by Manoj Sharma

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:53:35 PDT

Lies, Illusions, Delusions and The Truth by Manoj Sharma

People reveal their true identity most accurately, in the lies they tell behind closed doors to themselves, more so than the lies they attempt to cover up in the publics eye.

There is a state of mind present in the early stages of unconsciousness of all in all human beings; a state of mind in which we conveniently lie to ourselves to, strangely, hide the truth from ourselves. Some call this a defense mechanism, a convenient pretense and/or an artful fake. Whatever the name we accord to it, the truth is it the individual ego's attempt towards self-preservation.

The individual's ego, hiding in the shadows, having convinced the host that it does not exist, does this by creating an illusion than it deems more conducive to its aims. Fundamentally there is nothing wrong with this, but at the same time, let us acknowledge that there is also nothing right about this either. It is just that, like the rest of life, unconsciously there is a choice that has been made, and in every choice lies a cause to which, there is a consequence. The consequence in this case being, the illusion is created so unknowingly and masqueraded so normally, that naturally over time, it systematically creates a delusion. A delusion that by design is separated from reality and over time moves further and further away from truth.

While most of these lies are trivial, all of these lies are significant. Why? Because behind closed doors, when one is only with oneself, the liar and the lied to, are one and the same. The liar is both the perpetrator of the crime and also the victim of the crime. But, neither the perpetrator nor the victim takes responsibility for the act.

So, a state of 1) Denial is the first to set in, because, "It wasn't me!" is the loudest thought that echoes in the recesses of the mind. Followed by a combination of....

2) Arguments - internally or externally with yourself or others
3) Blame - always of others to project and escape - physically, mentally and emotionally
4) Complaints - to other unconscious victims in the pursuit of company and comfort
5) Excuses - disguised as reasons (know that a reason is a one time event, that ceases to be once one is conscious of the reason, but excuses, regardless of circumstances, are repetitive)
6) Fault - rarely of oneself and if so, almost always at the expense of taking responsibility
7) Guilt - as a strategy towards not having to face the truth
8) Hatred - of anybody who attempts to lift the veil and destroy the delusion
9) Ignorance - as the maintainer of status quo

"Genuine" protest, disbelief and outrage are also often observed. But the ability to take ownership, hold yourself accountable to be a leader in your life and subsequently to correct is what is missing to escape the clutches of a vicious circle in which the lesson to be learned remains unlearned are distinctly absent.

Slowly but surely, the unknowing victim become the willing victim. Unless and until, consciousness is brought to the now willing victim or arises in the now willing victim, the pattern has no choice but to continue, the lies get compounded, the illusion becomes more real, the delusion separates the person further from reality and the opportunity for truth is all but lost. This creates in congruence, the unraveling from which becomes tougher and tougher.

The time to do something about is now. If not you, who? If not now, when?

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

The Planet In Peril

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 04:14:33 PDT

The Planet In Peril

GLOBAL WARMING: Time now for ruthless measures, not compromise.

By Nirmal Ghosh, Thailand Correspondent

INFORMATION that emerged last year set off alarm bells on global warming, but we may still be oversleeping. Some of the world's foremost climate scientists now say that global warming is far more advanced than was believed at last year's Bali conference on the Kyoto Protocol.

Proposed targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases - the main drivers of global warming - under the Kyoto Protocol and beyond, they say, are looking outdated. The impact of climate change is happening at lower temperature increases and more quickly than projected.

The most striking symptom of this is the Arctic's floating sea ice. It is headed towards summer disintegration as early as 2013, a century ahead of the projections of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

In what scientists describe as 'positive feedback', the warmer the planet gets, the faster it warms.

For instance, a warmer planet sparks more forest fires - which in turn pump more carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air, warming the planet further. When the Arctic region's frozen peat known as permafrost melts, it releases methane - a greenhouse gas 21 times more powerful than CO2 - which again further drives global warming.

In fact, the data shows that we are now producing more CO2 at the same time as the ability of the planet's surface to absorb it is falling - mainly because of deforestation.

'POSITIVE FEEDBACK' PHENOMENON

For instance, a warmer planet sparks more forest fires - which in turn pumps more carbon dioxide into the air, warming the planet further. When the Arctic region's frozen peat melts, it releases methane, which again further drives global warming.

The combination of these factors creates 'positive feedback', accelerating global warming.

In the words of the Climate Code Red report released this month in Australia: 'We have already created the conditions for extremely dangerous climate change...that will induce further, and possibly uncontrollable, feedback.'

The report was done for Friends of the Earth by the think tanks Carbon Equity and Green Leap Strategic Institute.

It is almost too hot for many in the government and corporate sectors to handle. They remain locked in what the report calls 'failure-inducing compromise'.

The Australian report brings together a far more up-to-date picture than the IPCC report did. Because of time lags, the IPCC report contained data which in many cases was already outdated by the time the report was published.

Code Red brings together views from a range of scientists involved in climate change research, including some of the world's foremost thinkers on the subject like Dr James Hansen of Nasa's Goddard Institute of Space Studies.

Dr Hansen told an Australian radio station last week: 'As it stands now, we will lose the Arctic sea ice without any more greenhouse gases, because there is (already) additional warming in the pipeline.'

He added: 'Talking about a date (by which we should reduce greenhouse gases) which is quite a distance in the future is...a way for politicians to get out of doing something now. They put off the target to a date when they'll be out of office.'

The 101-page Code Red report concludes that the climate 'will not respond to incremental modification of the business-as-usual model'.

The summer melting of the Arctic's floating ice - supplemented soon by melting in western Antarctica - will trigger a sea level rise of 5m or more by 2100.

Meanwhile, many coastal cities and their fresh-water supplies will be compromised by salt water. Marine life will be affected by acidification.

The report warns that if the acceleration is too rapid, humanity will no longer have the power to reverse the processes it has set in motion. The planet will look very different from now - and the changes will come within the lifetimes of most adults alive today.

Warning against 'trading off thousands if not millions of species, and perhaps hundreds of millions of people, by opting for compromised goals', the report's authors, Mr Philip Sutton of Green Leap and Mr David Spratt of Carbon Equity, say global warming demands an emergency response beyond 'business as usual' and 'politics as usual'.

It is not that the IPCC did not warn of this. But the IPCC's data had by late 2007 been outstripped by growth in greenhouse gases - not only from countries like India and China but also from developed nations such as Australia.

Another problem, the Code Red authors contend, is scientific reticence. Many whose work centres on climate change have struggled to gain recognition on the issue and remain concerned about being dismissed as 'alarmist' and 'crazy'.

'Now that the science is showing that the situation is far worse than most scientists expected only a short while ago, this ingrained reticence is adding to the problem,' they said.

There is also pressure - mainly from industry and countries heavily reliant on fossil fuels - to dilute worst-case estimates.

The report does not include the views of professors Steve Rayner of Oxford's James Martin Institute of Science and Civilisation, and Gwyn Prins of the Mackinder Centre for the Study of Long Wave Events at the London School of Economics. But it echoes what they wrote at the time of last year's Bali conference: 'Kyoto has given only an illusion of action. It has become the sole focus of our efforts and, as a result, we have wasted 15 years.'

What do the scientists and the authors of the Climate Code Red report advocate? They draw on the example of World War II to show that human society can indeed change.

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour in December 1941, America's military imperatives demanded 'a rapid conversion of great swathes of economic capacity from civil to military purposes'.

'Within weeks, car production lines became tank lines and manufacture of passenger cars ceased for the duration of the war, new methods to mass- produce military aircraft were devised, and consumer spending was dampened by selling 'war bonds' to fund the cost of rapidly expanding military production and control inflation,' they say.

'Price controls were introduced and rationing of key goods was mandated. Yet the economy, real wages and profits all grew, though civil rights were significantly curtailed.'

It is just such a response that is needed to deal with global warming. Humanity will have to change the way its societies and economies are structured - both by using new technologies and ruthlessly eliminating or taxing greenhouse gas emissions.

That means fundamental changes - but not intolerable ones compared to the ravages of global warming. As Mr Sutton and Mr Spratt write: 'We can do without jet-transported Californian spring cherries at our fresh food markets in the middle of a cold Melbourne winter.'

The Shell Must Be Cracked Apart by Meister Eckhart

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:47:21 PDT

The Shell Must Be Cracked Apart by Meister Eckhart

"The shell must be cracked apart if what is in it is to come out, for if you want the kernel you must break the shell.

And therefore, if you want to discover nature's nakedness, you must destroy its symbols, and the farther you get in the nearer you come to its essence.

When you come to the One that gathers all things up into itself, there your soul must stay" -- Meister Eckhart

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

If You Cannot by Manoj Sharma

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 07:56:45 PDT

If You Cannot by Manoj Sharma

If you cannot find happiness right now, where else do you expect to find it?

If you cannot seize the opportunity right now, where else will you be able to seize it?

If you cannot learn the lesson right now, where else will you learn it?

If you cannot see the truth right now, where else will you see it?

If you cannot elevate your consciousness right now, where else will you elevate it?

If you cannot correct your thinking right now, where else will you correct it?

If you cannot listen right now, where else will you listen?

If you cannot shed your ignorance right now, where else will you shed it?

If you cannot allay your ego right now, where else will you shed it?

If you cannot be of service right now, where else can you serve?

If you cannot enjoy the moment right now, where else will you enjoy it?

If you cannot put in the effort to appreciate this right now, where else can you appreciate it?

It is now or never. Know that now is all there is and ever will be. The rest is simply the delusion of believing in an illusion.

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

The Many Are Riding On the Backs Of The Few And Something Needs To Be Done To Assist Right Now by Manoj Sharma

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:43:38 PST

The Many Are Riding On the Backs Of The Few And Something Needs To Be Done To Assist Right Now by Manoj Sharma

Failure is lurking at every corner in your organization and is rarely spotted, because the accepted norm when it comes to success is a case of stumbling forward on the effort of the few. Whether you have realized this or not, it is absolute true. Don't take my work for it, do however think about it! And please note this is not a criticism, but an observation and a call to raise consciousness.

Possibly like you, I too never realized the extent of the problem, but the more I work with organization around the world, the more obvious this is becoming to me. The many are riding on the backs of the few and something needs to be done to break this cycle, especially if your organization is to fulfill its function in the world.

Arguably...

the global population explosion,
the opening up on trade boundaries,
the convenience of travel,
the improvements in communication,
the gravitation towards cities,
the mobility of the global workforce,
the availability of higher education,
the creation of jobs,
the pursuit of capitalism,
the explosion of consumerism and
ultimately the money multiplier effect...

...are more responsible for the explosive growth the world is experiencing then the efforts of the masses.

If you are paying attention, allow me to suggest that the symptoms of the above can be clearly seen within the structure of organizations. Yes, your organization too. Without getting into too many specifics, see if you can link the relationship between what is stated below and the fact that "The Many Are Riding On The Backs Of The Few".

In organizations, the many, are more often in a reaction, waiting for directions, trying to get away with the minimum they need to do, lost in apathy, stuck in inertia and haven't escaped the effects of past ills, while the few are Proactive - Eager, Energetic and Make Things Happen.

In organizations, the many, are actively or passively caught in arguments, blame, complaints, denial, excuses, fault, guilt, hatred and ignorance, while the few are Responsible - Reliable, Accountable and take Ownership.

In organizations, the many, are unimaginative, mundane, boring, stale, repetitive, dead and unquestioning, while the few are Innovative - Creative, Inventive and Imaginative.

In an organization, the many, are half-hearted, hesitant, indecisive, uncertain, uninterested and convenience-driven, while the few are Committed - Devoted, Purposeful and Whole-Hearted.

In an organization, the many, do the ordinary, pedestrian, common, mediocre, normal, regular and typical, while the few deliver Excellence - Extraordinary, Exemplary and Noteworthy results.

Being intelligent and extrapolating the obvious, do you really need any further proof that The Many Are Riding On The Backs Of The Few?

So, where do your people stand when it comes to Proactivity, Responsibility, Innovation, Commitment and Excellence?

What do you know you need to do about it now?

How can we assist you meet your ideals?

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

Opportunity by Manoj Sharma

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:37:00 PST

Opportunity by Manoj Sharma

"Contrary to conventional understanding, the truth about opportunity is that, an opportunity can only exist in the right here and right now - you either seize it immediately or you miss out on that opportunity forever!

The illusion that the same opportunity is there later, is exactly that; an illusion resulting from muddled thinking. Very few people understand this fundamental point and therefore many miss out on the opportunity to live a wealthier life." -- Manoj Sharma from KNOWING - An Illuminating Experience

Happiness by Kitaro Nishida

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 07:58:37 PST

Happiness by Kitaro Nishida

"If my heart can become pure and simple like that of a child, I think there probably can be no greater happiness than this." - Kitaro Nishida

The Fewest Things by Socrates

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 07:54:05 PST

The Fewest Things by Socrates

"Those who want the fewest things are nearest to the Gods." - Socrates

In Dwelling - The Tao Te Ching

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:12:47 PST

In Dwelling - The Tao Te Ching

"In dwelling, live close to the ground.

In thinking, keep to the simple.

In conflict, be fair and generous.

In governing, don't try to control.

In work, do what you enjoy.

In family life, be completely present."

-- The Tao Te Ching

Warning - Mind Control Made Easy or How To Become a Cult Leader

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:31:53 PST

Warning - Mind Control Made Easy or How To Become a Cult Leader

The following clip shows you how cults and cult like organizations operate. It shows how cults and cult like organizations masquerade as educational, personal development, self-help and quasi-religious groups.

It shows the basic inner workings and strategies of these cults and cults like organizations, how they prey on people's psychological, physiological, sociological and financial needs and bait them with other benefits before slowly ensnaring even the most intelligent minds into become their stanchest supporters.

How cults and cult like organizations strive to gain devoted followers, who are ultimately willing to leave their families for them, give their money to them, give up their bodies and lives to them, consider them God, and in extreme cases even kill for them.

How cult and cult like organizations structure themselves "like an onion, with the most benign and helpful features on the outside and the most kookie, controlling and evil parts at the secret inner core."

How cults and cult like organizations "use deception" don't "tell you who they really are", "lie" "leave out important information" or "distort information" and "recruit you" under the guise of wanting to "share something meaningful with you".

How they establish front groups such as, "we are a bible study group", "we are a management course", "we are a meditation centre", "we are a world peace organization", "we are a personal development centre", "we are a drug rehab centre" and so on.

How they promise to fulfill your dreams of, "unconditional love", "secrets to self improvements", "being special", "saving the world", "special powers", "personal power", "psychic power", "past life connection" and even "telekinesis".

How they lure you and "offer you something free and make you feel obliged to give back something in return". How you will hear things like, "we gave you that free dinner, the least you can do is come to our weekend intensives".

How they use time pressure on you. You will hear things like, "this is your only chance to make it, don't blow it", "it is important to make this commitment NOW", and "this is an issue of burning urgency".

How they will "diminish doubt", "separate you from others you know", "surround you with happy true believers", "start with a prolonged period of love bomb you, surround you with unconditional love and attention", "act friendly and interested, get information and hone your weak spots" get you to "tell them about yourself", "take a personality test" and then use this information to "manipulate you". All this will happen gradually, you will think you are being helped and no matter how intelligent you think you are, you won't even realizing where it is really going.

Gradually over time, after two or three seminar, some higher curriculum or after progressing up to higher levels, "demand" will be made of you and that it when it all starts to really operate like a cult.

What the clip does not show is how cults and cult like organizations recruit people from the upper echelons of society and get them to give credibility to their cause. How cults and cult like organizations sway key government divisions and get their nod to continue with their activities. How cults and cult like organizations work with leaders of commerce and get entire organizations to undergo their seminars.

Know that for cults and cult like organizations to survive as global entities they would have to hone and refine their approach so that even the most discerning can be indoctrinated. This should alert you as to how much longer they have been playing the game and preying on the unsuspecting. You become wise you might need to appreciate that they have been at it for decades and almost certainly for a period of time much longer than you have been discerning of them.

Watch the clip and learn their activities for yourself.

Also for more information on cults and cult like organizations please go to...

And have an open, discerning mind on what you read.

http://www.rickross.com/
http://www.culthelp.info/
http://www.freedomofmind.com/

Five Questions for Creatively Re-Thinking your Organization and Business by Manoj Sharma

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:08:45 PST

Five Questions for Creatively Re-Thinking your Organization and Business by Manoj Sharma

Thinking is truly the hardest work in the world. Anybody who believes otherwise obvious hasn't really done some great, fresh, breakthrough thinking. Another thing that is true is that people rather get the answers than have to think them through.

If you are willing to do the work, here are some questions that, will force you to rethink things through when it comes to your organization and business.

Ask the following questions and see what answers you are able to come up with.

What would you do differently, what would happen if...

1) You start to realize everything your organization does has everything to do with energy of the quantifiable and unquantifiable kind?

2) Your "competitors" started to provide more and more products and services for free?

3) You truly started to formulate your strategies based entirely on your customers demands, even if they seem to be to your determent?

4) A true appreciation of the "principles of abundance creating new scarcities" permeated every facet of your thinking, actions and results?

5) You realized "attention, reputation, conversion, retention and expansion" were the key metrics you need to measure both for your organization and your people?

What are the answers you came up with and what new questions arose as a result of it?

As usual, please feel free to send me your thoughts and comments to Info@DifferWorld.com And if you'd like to explore how you, your teams and your organization can benefit from the above and other DifferWorld initiatives please feel free to drop me a note by clicking here, or call me at DIFFERWORLD at SKYPE now! For more, please go to http://www.differworld.com and http://www.manojsharma.com

Do You Really Know Anything About Money?

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 05:13:20 PST

Do You Really Know Anything About Money?

Watch this clip entitled Money As Debt and see for yourself.

Nonviolence by Gandhi

Info@DifferWorld.com (Manoj Sharma) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 07:04:21 PST

Nonviolence by Gandhi

"I wanted to avoid violence. Non-violence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed. But I had to make my choice. I had to either submit to a system that I considered had done an irreparable harm to my country, or incur the risk of the mad fury of my people bursting forth when they understood the truth from my lips. I know that my people have sometimes gone mad. I am deeply sorry for it and I am, therefore, here to submit not to a light penalty but to the highest penalty. I do not ask for mercy. I do not plead any extenuating act. I am here therefore to invite, and cheerfully submit to the highest penalty that can be inflicted upon me for what in law is a deliberate crime, and what appears to me to be the highest duty of a citizen... I owe it perhaps to the Indian public and the public in England... To the court too I should say why I plead guilty to the charge of promoting disaffection towards the Government established by law in India.

Affection cannot be manufactured or regulated by law. If one has no affection for a person or a system, one should be free to give the fullest expression to his disaffection, so long as he does not contemplate, promote, or incite to violence. But the section under which mere promotion of disaffection is a crime. I have studied some of the cases tried under it; I know that some of the most loved of India's patriots have been convicted under it. I consider it a privilege, therefore, to be charged under that section.

In my opinion, noncooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good. But in the past, noncooperation had been deliberately expressed in violence to the evil-doer. I am endeavouring to show to my countrymen that violent noncooperation only multiplies evil, and that as evil can only be sustained by violence, withdrawal of support of evil requires complete abstention from violence." -- Gandhi