Follow the Thought Leader

October 23, 2008
Reality Check – Looking for a Few Great Leaders| posted by Cy Wakeman We are certainly in challenging times in our business world today. We have been in challenging times in the past and – let me make a profound prediction – we will be faced with challenging times again at some point in the future. Here’s the reality check: the fact that times are challenging is not the source of our pain. The source of our pain is the absence of great leadership based in reality.
We must be willing to admit that our way of leading is simply not working and not creating the results or the quality of life that we would like. These times call for a new type of leader. We need leaders who are willing and able to recreate mindsets in order to change circumstances and lead in a new and revolutionary way.
The revolution begins with a few good leaders practicing Reality-Based Leadership. A Reality-Based Leader is one who is able to quickly see the reality of the situation, conserve precious team energy and use that energy to impact reality. Better yet, a great Reality-Based Leader anticipates the upcoming changes and capitalizes on the opportunity inherent in the situation. As with all great revolutions, a manifesto is needed. So here it is … Reality-Based Leadership is a new wave of leadership based on the following principles:
We, as Reality-Based Leaders, Refuse to Argue with Reality.
The average leader spends two hours a day arguing with reality, an argument you will surely lose, but only 100 percent of the time. Reality-Based Leaders work instead to quickly identify the facts of the situation and focus on following simple instructions – doing the next right thing that would add the most value.
We, as Reality-Based Leaders, Greet Change with a Simple “Good to Know.”
Today’s leaders seem to greet each and every change with surprise, panic and blame.Even change that should be anticipated often elicits a reaction of surprise, shock or disbelief. The moment of surprise is followed by anxiety or a low level of panic about how to lead forward, ending with a dose of blame focused on others’ lack of leadership, poor decisions or failures. Reality-Based Leaders greet change with great anticipation for the possibilities and a simple “good to know.” They move quickly to understand the new reality and search for ways to deliver results in spite of the facts or limited circumstances.
We, as Reality-Based Leaders, Value Action over Opinion.
In the past, leaders were encouraged to make sure employees felt that their opinions counted – as if opinions created value in organizations. Reality-Based Leaders are clear that the highest value the talent under their leadership can offer is to implement with excellence. To deliver results time after time, leaders need the ability to resist editorializing and instead move to lead in the execution of imperfect plans with excellence. In a nutshell, leaders add the most value when they understand that action, rather than opinion, adds the greatest value.
We, as Reality-Based Leaders, Work with the Willing.
A leader operating under today’s worn-out philosophies spends, on average, 80 hours each year on a single person in a chronic state of resistance. The average return on this hefty investment? At the most, 3 percent. By working with the willing, efforts move forward and others join up or move outside of the organization either by choice or behavior. Reality-Based Leaders play favorites – they favor those who use their talents to work with, not against, the organization.
We, as Reality-Based Leaders, Lead First and Manage Second.
In changing and challenging times, ineffective leaders are tempted to work diligently to perfect the circumstances of their employees. This approach has put managers in charge of creating engaging environments and has led to a great deal of over managing and under leading. Reality-Based Leaders know that engagement is correlated to personal accountability. Instead of working to perfect the circumstances of their people, Reality-Based Leaders work to “bulletproof” their employees, creating employees so resilient that they are unfazed by the challenges at hand.
We, as Reality-Based Leaders, Make the News, Rather Than Report the News.
It is easy to report the news, update the team on the challenges at hand and make doomsday predictions about the future. Assessing the situation in the past tense and critiquing others’ responses to the circumstances is easy, but not effective. Reality-Based Leaders instead work to solve problems.
Intrigued? Stay tuned to this blog as I delve into the details.
Remember, Cy rocks and you rock. Lead on my friend.

Recent Comments | 1 Total
October 24, 2008 at 8:52pm

Alonso Sarmiento Dear Sir.
It is absolutely true what You say. Things do not just planning it; but doing. Unfortunately this is understood when one already gained experience through years of struggle against conformism.
Alonso Sarmiento Llamosas
http://alonsosarmiento.googlepages.com

Ten Forecasts for the next 20 years

Forecast # 1: Everything you say and do will be recorded by 2030. By the late 2010s, ubiquitous unseen nanodevices will provide seamless communication and surveillance among all people everywhere. Humans will have nanoimplants, facilitating interaction in an omnipresent network. Everyone will have a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. Since nano storage capacity is almost limitless, all conversation and activity will be recorded and recoverable. — Gene Stephens, “Cybercrime in the Year 2025,” THE FUTURIST July-Aug 2008.
Forecast #2: Bioviolence will become a greater threat as the technology becomes more accessible. Emerging scientific disciplines (notably genomics, nanotechnology, and other microsciences) could pave the way for a bioattack. Bacteria and viruses could be altered to increase their lethality or to evade antibiotic treatment.— Barry Kellman, “Bioviolence: A Growing Threat,” THE FUTURIST May-June 2008.
Forecast #3: The car's days as king of the road will soon be over. More powerful wireless communication that reduces demand for travel, flying delivery drones to replace trucks, and policies to restrict the number of vehicles owned in each household are among the developments that could thwart the automobile’s historic dominance on the environment and culture. If current trends were to continue, the world would have to make way for a total of 3 billion vehicles on the road by 2025. — Thomas J. Frey, “Disrupting the Automobile’s Future,” THE FUTURIST, Sep-Oct 2008.
Forecast #4: Careers, and the college majors for preparing for them, are becoming more specialized. An increase in unusual college majors may foretell the growth of unique new career specialties. Instead of simply majoring in business, more students are beginning to explore niche majors such as sustainable business, strategic intelligence, and entrepreneurship. Other unusual majors that are capturing students' imaginations: neuroscience and nanotechnology, computer and digital forensics, and comic book art. Scoff not: The market for comic books and graphic novels in the United States has grown 12% since 2006. —THE FUTURIST, World Trends & Forecasts, Sep-Oct 2008.
Forecast #5: There may not be world law in the foreseeable future, but the world's legal systems will be networked. The Global Legal Information Network (GLIN), a database of local and national laws for more than 50 participating countries, will grow to include more than 100 counties by 2010. The database will lay the groundwork for a more universal understanding of the diversity of laws between nations and will create new opportunities for peace and international partnership.— Joseph N. Pelton, "Toward a Global Rule of Law: A Practical Step Toward World Peace," THE FUTURIST Nov-Dec 2007.
Forecast #6: The race for biomedical and genetic enhancement will — in the twenty-first century — be what the space race was in the previous century. Humanity is ready to pursue biomedical and genetic enhancement, says UCLA professor Gregory Stock, the money is already being invested, but, he says, “We'll also fret about these things — because we're human, and it's what we do.” — Gregory Stock quoted in THE FUTURIST, Nov-Dec 2007.
Forecast #7: Professional knowledge will become obsolete almost as quickly as it's acquired. An individual's professional knowledge is becoming outdated at a much faster rate than ever before. Most professions will require continuous instruction and retraining. Rapid changes in the job market and work-related technologies will necessitate job education for almost every worker. At any given moment, a substantial portion of the labor force will be in job retraining programs. — Marvin J. Cetron and Owen Davies, "Trends Shaping Tomorrow's World, Part Two," THE FUTURIST May-June 2008.
Forecast #8: Urbanization will hit 60% by 2030. As more of the world's population lives in cities, rapid development to accommodate them will make existing environmental and socioeconomic problems worse. Epidemics will be more common due to crowded dwelling units and poor sanitation. Global warming may accelerate due to higher carbon dioxide output and loss of carbon-absorbing plants. — Marvin J. Cetron and Owen Davies, “Trends Shaping Tomorrow's World,” THE FUTURIST Mar-Apr 2008.
Forecast #9: The Middle East will become more secular while religious influence in China will grow. Popular support for religious government is declining in places like Iraq, according to a University of Michigan study. The researchers report that in 2004 only one-fourth of respondents polled believed that Iraq would be a better place if religion and politics were separated. By 2007, that proportion was one-third. Separate reports reveal a countertrend in China. — World Trends & Forecasts, THE FUTURIST Nov-Dec 2007.
Forecast #10: Access to electricity will reach 83% of the world by 2030. Electrification has expanded around the world, from 40% connected in 1970 to 73% in 2000, and may reach 83% of the world's people by 2030. Electricity is fundamental to raising living standards and access to the world's products and services. Impoverished areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa still have low rates of electrification; Uganda is just 3.7% electrified. — Andy Hines, “Global Trends in Culture, Infrastructure, and Values,” Sep-Oct 2008.

Nanotechnology Breakthroughs
of the Next 15 Years
Nanotechnology — the manipulation of materials and machines at the nano-scale — one billionth of a meter — promises exciting new developments. Interviews with a group of nanotechnology experts yielded this list of likely developments:

Two to five years from now:
Car tires that need air only once a year.
Complete medical diagnostics on a single computer chip.
Go-anywhere concentrators that produce drinkable water from air.
Five to 10 years
Powerful computers you can wear or fold into your wallet.
Drugs that turn AIDS and cancer into manageable conditions.
Smart buildings that self-stabilize during earthquakes or bombings.
10 to 15 years
Artificial intelligence so sophisticated you can't tell if you're talking on the phone with a human or a machine.
Paint-on computer and entertainment video displays.
Elimination of invasive surgery, since bodies can be monitored and repaired almost totally from within.
You'll see remarkable developments now on the horizon, such as:

New double-duty power plants could ease the water crisis. A new process to remove salt from seawater and make it drinkable can be powered by the excess heat from electric power plants. A small operating prototype shows that tapping the waste heat from a 100-megawatt power plant could produce 1.5 million gallons of fresh water daily. The cost would be only $2.50 per 1,000 gallons — well below that of conventional desalination methods.
New System Reads Body Language — The truth is in your eyes — and your mannerisms. A system developed by University of Manchester scientists uses a camera and artificial intelligence to process patterns of non-verbal behavior. The system can assess levels of deception, aggression, exhaustion and even the initial stages of Parkinson's disease.


You'll see remarkable developments now on the horizon, such as:
The GNR Revolution — The convergence of genetic engineering, nanotechnology and robotics may change the very meaning of “human” as we shape our evolutionary destiny.
A New Strategy for Globalization — As business breaks down borders and corporations roam the world in search of profits, we need to be sure the international system is built on a foundation of cooperation and consent.
Learning for Ourselves: A New Paradigm for Education — Why learning should be taken out of the hands of antiquated school systems and put into the hands of learners, according to a leading education consultant.
New double-duty power plants could ease the water crisis. A new process to remove salt from seawater and make it drinkable can be powered by the excess heat from electric power plants. A small operating prototype shows that tapping the waste heat from a 100-megawatt power plant could produce 1.5 million gallons of fresh water daily. The cost would be only $2.50 per 1,000 gallons — well below that of conventional desalination methods.
New System Reads Body Language — The truth is in your eyes — and your mannerisms. A system developed by University of Manchester scientists uses a camera and artificial intelligence to process patterns of non-verbal behavior. The system can assess levels of deception, aggression, exhaustion and even the initial stages of Parkinson's disease.

A Quest for the Perfect Potato

Martin Mejia / AP Pervuvian farmers have surprised the experts by adapting farming methods to rising temperatures.
Experimenters: Farmers in Huancavelica plant potatoes 3,950 meters above sea level
By Lucy Conger | NEWSWEEK
Published Jul 26, 2008 From the magazine issue dated Aug 4, 2008
Peru is considered to be one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change. On the steep slopes of Chopcca, a community of 10,000 residents in the Andes, the rains come later, don't last as long and end more abruptly than they did only a few years ago. Frosts and hail hit earlier and more frequently. Fewer clouds drift by to moderate the extremes of temperature. Water shortages loom. In May, Mount Pastoruri, formerly a tourist attraction in the central state of Ancash, was removed from the list of snowcapped peaks because a third of its white cover has melted away. A 2002 study by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in Britain found that the country's fragile mountain ecosystems, dependence on glaciers for water and extreme poverty make the job of adapting to the changes of global warming particularly difficult.
In the past few years, however, a funny thing happened on the way to catastrophe. Peruvian peasants have surprised the experts by coping with the warming. Small farmers in the Andean highlands have responded to changes in weather patterns by altering their planting season and varying their crops. Vulnerable mountain farmers are applying ancient strategies of risk diversification and a combination of homegrown experimentation and scientific know-how to adapt to the new weather patterns and their side effects.
It's difficult to overstate the challenge that these farmers face: a destructive synergy of climate change, overpopulation and land degradation runs the 8,000-kilometer stretch from Venezuela to Chile. As natural pasture is turned over to food crops, and population pressures decrease the amount of time fields lie fallow, virgin soils quickly grow depleted of nutrients and livestock go undernourished. "All the factors that create habitat degradation are made worse by climate change," says Stephan Halloy, director of the Andes biodiversity science unit for Conservation International.
The Andean farmers have felt the heat. Because of warming temperatures, crops now grow at higher altitudes than they did a few years ago. Farmers in Chopcca used to grow maize at 3,300 meters above sea level, but now plant at 3,600 meters. Pests have followed the crops to higher altitudes. In a remote corner of Cuzco province, native varieties of potatoes are being attacked by late blight, a fungus-like water mold. The Andean potato weevil, or potato white grub, eats potato leaves, and its larvae bore into the tubers underground. "We're in a war here with the Andean weevil," says Víctor Soto Ataypoma, mayor of Ccasapata, a village in Chopcca.
The campesinos have a natural weapon against climate change: the rich diversity of crop strains that flourish in the Andes's diverse system of habitats. Of the 34 known varieties of climate, Peru is home to 28 of them, and 70 percent of the country is covered by rain forest. Peru has 2,700 native varieties of potato and 35 types of corn, suitable to different climatic circumstances, including length of growing season, water and nutrient requirements, and pest resistance. Plant breeders and agronomists have stepped in to help Peru's farmers take advantage of this resource. In Chopcca, Yanapai, an agricultural NGO, has expanded the stock of native varieties of potato and tested organic methods for controlling pests. "Keeping alive a diversity of native varieties in a seed bank and complementing them with improved seeds should help the farmers adapt to climate change," says María Scurrah, a Cornell-trained plant breeder and coordinator of Yanapai.
This type of assistance has proved fruitful for other troubled farmers. In Cuzco province in 2003, when the temperature rose just enough to allow late blight to develop, farmers lost 90 percent of their harvest on 400 hectares. With some help from the International Potato Center in Lima, part of a worldwide network of research centers focused on staple crops, the farmers tested a score of potato varieties. They settled on two hybrids that were best adapted to local conditions and were resistant to blight. "Now that they produce enough for themselves and to sell at market, they are going to have a cash income," says Manuel Gastelo, a plant-breeding researcher at the International Potato Center.

A similar willingness to adapt has helped farmers cope with a shortened growing season for potatoes. In Huancavelica, the harvest this year was completed on June 2, nearly three weeks ahead of the usual harvest date of June 21, which didn't give the crop enough time to mature. "The potatoes are small," says Víctor Palomino Matamoros, 56, gazing at a communal field planted at 4,300 meters above sea level. Farmers in other parts of the country report that native potatoes now must be harvested as much as two months earlier than they traditionally have been. Fortunately, highland farmers learned from their ancestors to plant their crops in plots that are staggered at different altitudes. That flexibility, together with a modern penchant for experimentation, has allowed them to fine-tune their crops to prevailing weather patterns. In Chopcca, farmers experimented with 125 local varieties of potato. Farmer Juanita Quispe planted one variety last year on Dec. 8 "as a test," she says, and harvested nothing. Then her neighbor, Soto Ataypoma, found that wallash and ducis varieties mature more rapidly, "in three or four months," she says. By focusing on these two varieties, village farmers have increased their yields.

Adapting to shifting climate, of course, can be a hit-or-miss affair. On the one hand, potato farmers have taken advantage of the shorter growing season for potatoes by planting more cereal crops, such as corn, which require less rainwater. On the other hand, squeezing cereal crops into whatever growing season is available doesn't always work; crops can fail to fill out, leaving puny grains. Extreme cold, which stunts growth, can also foil the best-laid plans. During this year's growing season, temperatures were so cold that cow manure used as fertilizer never rotted to combine with and enrich the soil.

This being the international year of the potato, Peru's farmers have gotten a publicity boost. Agronomists, agribusiness and supermarket chains in Peru have promoted native varieties of potatoes. Frito-Lay has led the way with its Papas Andinas, made from traditional Andean varieties with marbled markings and sold as a premium product in high-end supermarkets. To sell to multinational food companies, Andean farmers would have to produce more consistently plump and sturdy potatoes. Adapting to global warming is the only path open to the Peruvian farmers. When the history of climate change in the early 21st century is written, they will deserve a special mention.

Member Comments Posted By: lawyerinperu @ 09/06/2008 12:44:38 AM
Comment: Sir.
Even when the narrative that makes Lucy Conger of the efforts of Peruvian farmers to continue planting and harvesting potatoes, is somewhat idealistic, obviating the harsh life that have campecinos to 3600 meters above sea level, without much variety of foods Without sanitary facilities, without any form of communication, without roads or telecommunications, schools, etc., what is most troubling of this story is that an enormous extension of arable land on the coast of Peru and in the jungle, which are being devoted to plant alien species to produce fuel, displacing native plants that for thousands of years kept the ecosystem of the area. It is imperative that developed countries take a firm decision not to buy or use combustibes obtained in land where native crops have been displaced to get bio fuel.
Alonso Sarmiento Llamosas, Lima, Peru
http://alonsosarmiento.googlepages.com

Life on the Amazon Rives, in Perú

Wednesday, Aug. 06, 2008 By CHRISTOPHER TAYLOR GO WILD:
As the MV Aqua cruises the Peruvian Amazon, travelers can see black caimans, howler monkeys and pink dolphins.
Most travelers associate Brazil with the Amazon and Peru with the Andes. Yet, some two-thirds of Peru is actually covered by dense Amazonian rain forest. Since it's far too massive to experience by air, the best way to take in Peru's Amazon basin is on the water — sailing along its vast expanse in a riverboat. And while there are many traditional boats that allow you to cruise the river in luxury, the new MV Aqua will give your trip a touch of cool.
From the port city of Iquitos (about an hour by plane northeast of Lima), the 12-cabin Aqua delves deep into the 5-million-acre (2 million ha) Pacaya Samiria Reserve in placid pursuit of rare pink dolphins, giant river otters and elusive black caimans. The three-, four- and seven-day journeys include daily excursions on skiffs — manned by guides from the local Bora and Yagua tribes — into remote Amazon villages.
The Aqua's thoroughly modern design is by Lima-based architect Jordi Puig, who relied on the Amazon's natural bounty for both innovation and inspiration. Decks, floors and furnishings on the 130-ft. (40 m) vessel are crafted from Amazonian hardwoods such as shihuahuaco, cabreuva and caoba. Gray slate from Brazil was used to finish cabin walls, and the bedding is made from Peruvian cotton. There are no TVs in the cabins — only huge windows that provide panoramic views: "Nature's plasmas," says Aqua CEO Francesco Galli Zugaro. Meanwhile in the kitchen, baby-faced Peruvian chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino — veteran of two Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy — sources many of his ingredients (from fat river escargots to Amazonian basil) directly from Iquitos' Belém market to create dishes such as bass ceviche with sweet plantain and hearts-of-palm soufflé.
When you dock back in Iquitos after an adventure in the Peruvian Amazon, you may need help getting your land legs; maybe go for a hike in the Andes, just a short plane ride away.

First Buzzed By:
Alonso Sarmiento

Amazonas River in Perú
Sir.
As a Peruvian, I appreciate the description that makes Christopher TAYLOR of our Amazon River; because it actually its a beautiful scenery and the travel by river on a boat its an unforgettable experience and Iquitos city is friendly to the extreme. htt://alonsosarmiento.googlepages.com

They Teach Happiness at Harvard

In Tal Ben-Shahar's positive psychology class, students learn that happiness isn't just an accident, it's a science
by Matt Mabe

An entire industry has been built up around the pursuit of happiness. A stroll past any bookstore window demonstrates the explosive popularity of the feel-good, self-help movements of recent years. And whether these products are genuine paths to ultimate happiness or just pleasure-peddling scams, the trend seems likely to hold.

Now, even the Ivy League is getting in on the act, layering serious academic research onto the pop-psychology phenomenon to develop a "science of happiness." Known as "positive psychology," the field was pioneered at the University of Pennsylvania and came to Harvard a decade ago when an elective course on the topic was first taught.

Why Students Flock to Class
Since then, Positive Psychology has become the most popular undergraduate course at Harvard, eclipsing the previous longtime title holder, Introduction to Economics. The success of the course, which focuses on the psychological aspects of a fulfilling and flourishing life, indicates a growing desire by young people to make their lives more meaningful, says Tal Ben-Shahar, a Harvard psychologist who has taught the class since 2004.

"Students are attracted to this kind of class because they feel that it's making a real difference in their lives," says Ben-Shahar, whose charismatic personality and compelling lectures helped drive explosive growth in enrollment after he began teaching the course. Ben-Shahar says the quest for happiness has always been an innate human yearning, dating back to the times of Confucius and Aristotle. "The difference today is that for the first time we have a science of happiness."

To be sure, the course has its doubters. James Coyne, a psychologist and researcher at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine says that Harvard's class and others like it offer little more to increase happiness than does a motivational speaker on a lecture circuit. The sense of euphoric bliss after a compelling presentation is natural, he says, but rarely lasts. "People always readjust to their baseline and go back to normal," says Coyne.

But the point of Positive Psychology is to combine the fun of popular psychology with academic rigor. The course's syllabus reads like a 12-step recovery program with lesson titles such as "Can We Change?" "Setting Goals," "Relationships," and "Self-Esteem." But the list of course readings dispels any notion that the class is what Harvard students call a "gut," or easy credit. Articles, essays, and research reports from vaunted science publications like the Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy and Psychology Today are juxtaposed with Ben-Shahar's own book on the subject, Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment.

Despite the heavy workload, the popularity of Positive Psychology has soared. In 2006, more than 850 students filed into the auditorium for the semester's first lesson, up from just 20 in 1999 when the course was launched. Many credit the class's success to Ben-Shahar himself, whose on-campus popularity coupled with media attention has made him a quasi-celebrity in the field of psychology. (He even appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in 2007.) But Ben-Shahar insists it's the science that is the real draw.

A Skeptic's Conversion
Elizabeth Johnston, who was in Ben-Shahar's section in 2004, began the course with skepticism. "I was one of the naysayers," she recalls. "I said this is crazy, I can't believe this; I want a real psychology class." But as the semester progressed, Johnston says she became a believer. She was fascinated partly by the course literature and message, and partly by Ben-Shahar's colorful personal anecdotes, which she says were inspirational.

Before taking Positive Psychology, Johnston was obsessed with grades and focused completely on her future. She says the class taught her to enjoy living for the moment and to express gratitude more openly, among other things. "A lot of people think positive psychology means walking around with a smile on your face," says Johnston, who went on to earn a master's degree in positive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. "It's not that. It's learning to take the good with the bad and learning to make the most of your life."

The phenomenon of positive psychology appears to be catching on. Today, more than 200 courses on the subject are taught across the U.S. and Ben-Shahar has given seminars about it as far away as China. "The role of a university is ultimately to improve the quality of people's lives," he says, adding that that is precisely what positive psychology is intended to do.

Matt Mabe is a reporter in BusinessWeek's Paris bureau .

Reader Discussion
Thank you for submitting your message.Most Recent Comments
View all 3 comments
Alonso Sarmiento

Aug 29, 2008 1:12 AM GMT
Dear Sir. Usually we remember those happy times of childhood, when we had no worries and life was simple for us under the care of our fathers and enjoying the games and friends. Well the saying goes "all times past was better." A major concern of adults to have. Having to live, having to survive or having to waste. Even the Declaration of Independence and the universal laws propose that human beings seek the "pursuit of happiness." However, often stays in the way the enjoyment of life and we just satisfied with the enjoyment of things. The religion and philosophy help us greatly to find happiness, even when our lives seem filled with suffering; because being happy is more a state of consciousness that a body enjoyment. http://alonsosarmiento.googlepages.com
Welton

Aug 21, 2008 3:10 PM GMT
I'm a rising senior at Harvard and I've never heard anyone call an easy credit class a "gut".
Jerry C. Welsh

Aug 21, 2008 12:38 PM GMT
To be sure, there are attitudes and practices underlying the feeling of happiness. But that doesn't mean that happiness is achievable through science. There's a lot of luck and timing in happiness and there's no easy way to overcome those two variables.
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Who Feels Successful?

A person once asked me what it feels like to be successful.
I didn't know how to respond because I don't regard myself as a success. A scrambler, yes. A striver, certainly. A success? I'm not so sure about that.
The more I learn about various subjects, the more I'm humbled by the vast amount of material I haven't even studied, much less mastered. Others may see what has been done while I see all that remains undone.
There is another aspect to this feeling: the sense that to declare oneself a success is a bit smug. Smugness can be the prelude to decline. Many a dunce is a self-proclaimed genius.
This doesn't mean that the achievement of various goals cannot be appreciated. That is not only wise but necessary if the demoralization of the treadmill is to be squelched. Watching the clouds, having a good cup of coffee, and quietly reviewing how something was achieved can be as good as it gets.
There is another crucial point and I draw it from the Army's three elements of leadership:
Be - Know - Do.
Too often, society defines success in the realm of "Do" instead of "Be." In assessing our own progress, we need to avoid that trap and recognize that making progress both in Being and Doing is important. Our internal advances may well outweigh any external ones.
There is much wisdom in the old line that "He who conquers himself is greater than he who takes a city."
4 Comments:
At 7:25 AM, Eclecticity said...
OFTB.
At 10:19 AM, supercynic said...
"The more I learn about various subjects, the more I'm humbled by the vast amount of material I haven't even studied, much less mastered. Others may see what has been done while I see all that remains undone."Somehow you managed to get inside my head and put my exact thoughts down in the written word. I couldn't agree more.
At 5:07 PM, Michael Wade said...
Eclecticity,Thanks much!Supercynic,I think we are not alone in such feelings. Those thoughts, however, may ultimately be a strength.
At 1:11 PM, Alonso Sarmiento said...
Like everything in the life, successful being is relative, following several situations like the cultural surroundings, the historical stage in which lives or has lived, the age of the individual, its beliefs ethical morals and, its ambitions or projects, as well as the form in which the others assess these situations. Perhaps that one could be considered successful Who did not refuse to live. That is to say, that one that took advantage of every moment and each resource that gave the life mainly him and, lived.

How The Long Tail Applies to Law Firms

For the next issue of Law Technology News Monica Bay, Editor-in-Chief, asked me how law firms can apply the lessons of the new book The Long Tail, Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson. This topic will be the cover story of the next issue. With her blessing, here's a sneak preview of my comments:
As I see it, a new book proves that the day of the full-service, general practice law firm is over. Clients don’t want generalists, whom they see as jacks-of-all-trades, masters-of-none. They want an expert in their particular problem. This is very good news for litigation boutiques, IP firms and specialty practice firms.
Clients want the needle in the haystack, the lawyer who knows how to solve their precise problem, and thanks to the Web, clients can find them. For lawyers this means:
It’s time to examine your client base and identify the industries in which the firm has experience (not the strong practice groups). Clients, even the GC, see themselves as a member of an industry, not a customer of a practice group. Industry experience is one of the first things clients look for on a law firm Web site. Many law firms make the mistake of “marketing their organization,” that is, using their internal administrative structure to shape their marketing and structure their Web sites. This is a mistake. On the other hand, firms that market themselves as industry experts are “organizing around the market,” and presenting themselves in the way clients buy.
It’s time to identify the firm’s high-margin, most-profitable practices and start blogs about them. The prime example is the blog of Dennis Crouch, of Counsel at McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff in Chicago. The blog, "Patently-O," gets 50,000 visitors per week. The blog has brought in Fortune 500 companies and referrals from lawyers he’s never met. He makes a point about writing about client interests, not about the services the firm has to offer.
The Long Tail illustrates why we no longer watch the 11 PM news and why we don’t use the Yellow Pages anymore. People can get all this information online, immediately and up-to-the-minute. Law firms that make themselves findable by pinpoint Web searchers will thrive.

Comments

Interesting that anon chose to hide their identity, because they are dead wrong and have completely missed the point of the Long Tail (assuming they read it). Marketing yourself as a specialist in dispute resolution is, in effect, saying that you are a lawyer, but it says nothing about your expertise, experience, personal interests, big cases you've won or negotiated for clients, etc.
At the end of the day, most of us want to know that the people we work with are multi-talented, but when we go looking to solve a problem, we look for someone who has solved the exact problem before. Since marketing is about describing how you solve customer problems, a narrowly focused problem domain that is described in the customer's words is much more likely to get you qualified leads and enthusiastic customers than saying "I'm a generalist."
For example, let's say I was just attacked by my neighbor's pit bull. Do you think I'm going to go online and type in 'dispute resolution' as a query? If yes, I question whether you have the intelligence to handle any case I need litigated. Much more likely that someone will search for 'pit bull lawsuit' or 'vicious dog attack'. If one lawyer has talked about the evidence that a plaintiff needs to be successful in such a case in their blog, and shows up in the search as a result, which lawyer do you think gets the case - the blogger or the dispute resolver? I'll guarantee you that the generalist doesn't even get noticed, let alone get the call.
Unfortunately for anon, their thinking is like 99% of the rest of the world. It is focused on self - it is a features-oriented approach to selling, and in a world of differentiation, it simply doesn't work. Customer-centric marketing focuses on how the buyer thinks about the problem, which is almost never in terms of general skills and attributes. Of course, if all lawyers advertise themselves as generalists, then no one wins, but if only a few advertise as specialists, everyone else loses. It's simply the way the world works.
Posted by: Paul August 16, 2006 at 08:26 AM
I agree with Alonso. The same procedural issues dominate 90% of all litigation, whether it be family law, commercial, torts, environmental, etc. That a lawyer who "specializes" in something such as, say, adoptions, or dog bite cases, or "complex" contract disputes, is necessarily any more effective than a "generalist" litigator is a farce. The issues that appear in cases accross the board are disputes over the rules of procedure and evidence. A good lawyer, who deserves to get hired by a client, can learn any substantive area (except perhaps extremely complex areas such as tax) in 8 to 10 hours with legal encylopedias or online research.
A lawyer should market herself as a "specialist" in dispute resolution and navigating the government-imposed "law" of procedure to get to the desired end result. Whether it is a divorce, environmental permitting dispute, contract dispute, is irrelevant to a good lawyer.
Smart clients can figure that out. In other words, a good lawyer can be a "specialist" in 12 different layperson "practice areas," because we lawyers describe our practice areas as overly-fact-based, to allow communication with laypersons, even though the facts or "type" of case are less important as far as getting to the end result.
Posted by: anon August 10, 2006 at 09:59 AM
I am completely in agreement with you in the sense that the clients look for a lawyer who solves his specific problem. I consider that always it had thus to be, from the time of the origin of the lawyer profession; nevertheless, it is not necessary to forget that the lawyer is a professional in Law and must also know the other areas that concern the case which they put to its care. I think that the indispensable thing in a lawyer is its capacity of analysis and criterion, as well as a method and disciplines in application of the Law. In order to arrive at it, the lawyer to have to read to the classic ones, to study the reasoning applied to previous cases and to exert its capacity of imagination to find the specific utility for its client.
Posted by: Alonso Sarmiento August 10, 2006 at 09:45 AM

Susskind: Are Lawyers Becoming Obsolete?

Law Practice
Posted Oct 23, 2007, 01:40 pm CDT By Martha Neil
A well-known lawyer and information technology expert is publishing a sequel to his decade-old book, The Future of Law, and the future he now foresees for many traditional attorneys isn't a bright one.
"Richard Susskind argues that that lawyers and the legal profession in their present shape face extinction—or at least are 'on the brink of fundamental transformation,' " reports the London Times.
Information technology and outsourcing of specific portions of what used to be a lawyer's job are eroding and will eventually eliminate the practice of law as we now know it, Susskind predicts. Thus clients, he contends, are increasingly unwilling to pay expensive lawyers for advice, research and drafting that “smart systems and processes” can do better.
But even though Susskind's new book, in draft form, is being published online by the London Times in six weekly excerpts (here is the first), it's not too late for those who disagree to have their say.
He is inviting online comments on his work so far, and intends to incorporate them in the final version of the book. It will be published next year by Oxford University Press, the newspaper reports.
“The challenge I lay down is for lawyers to ask themselves, with hands on hearts, what elements of their workload could be undertaken differently—more quickly, cheaply, efficiently or to a higher quality—using different methods of working,” says Susskind. In other words, as the Times puts it, "what are the core indispensable legal skills lawyers have and what can be replaced by less costly workers supported by technology or by lay people armed with online self-help tools?"

One Response to “The End of Lawyers?”
Alonso Sarmiento LLamosas Says: November 15th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Certainly some practices of the legal profession may be disappearing while technology is replacing mechanisms and procedures, but the spirit and rationale of the legal profession is more alive than ever and is constantly renewed and also dinamic and grows to apace. The complexity that has reached the modern society requires rely increasingly in specialists in the law and go to them with increasing frequency. Meanwhile, lawyers we can be grateful for the technology that provides us with a growing capacity an increasing ability to act, a wealth of information and networking with almost all parts of the world in real time. I doubt therefore that our profession is coming to an end. On the contrary, I think that we are reaching a point where our involvement is indispensable. Since ancient times, in all cultures, there has been a counselor, an advocate, a prosecutor and a judge. After thousands of years, these characters still exist in many forms and will continue continue to exist forever. (Sarmiento & Du-Pont Law Office in Perú)


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Posted by Ronald Burdge - 8 months, 4 weeks, 4 hours, 34 minutes ago
Lawyers could certainly learn a thing or two from more efficient business operations, as long as we bear in mind that we are first a profession and that makes our business model fundamentally different from Macy’s and McDonalds. But that probably won’t happen until big corporations (who are the ones paying the bulk of legal fees to the profession) realize that they shouldn’t pay so much for legal services (just looking at the huge percentage that have cut outside legal services and you see that may be starting to happen). As that happens more and more, lawyers will realize that they can’t keep increasing their billings forever (the profession hasn’t awoken to that one yet). Lawyers need to take a serious look at their business model and find a way of giving better quality service at lower cost or the consumers of that service will do it for them.
Posted by Tom DeCaro - 8 months, 4 weeks, 3 hours, 34 minutes ago
Perhaps we could standardize every transaction. This would go along way towards reducing or eliminating lawyers. While we are at it, we could standardize every human interaction. That would eliminate lawyers completely. For example a husband and wife, if they are involved in interaction 3.2 would be entitled to select transaction 5.3, 7.4 or 10 .7 to resolve their marital difficulties. Short of this, lawyers in some form or another are here to stay. The distinguished colleague who insists on writing everything out longhand and handing it over to someone else for typing and endless revision could completely change his thought process and his method of operation which has served him so well over the years because the noise machine insists on more efficiency. Bottom line, if lawyers are obsolete that means humanity is following a very close second into the obsolescence limbo.
Posted by anonymous - 8 months, 4 weeks, 3 hours, 28 minutes ago
Profession is being destroyed by the unmanageable spider web of unclear, voluminous and frequently contradictory rules of the courts and the court system. Since the courts are a monopoly, there is no incentive to make them customer-friendly. Immense inefficiency in the system makes every litigant and every client a victim and prisoner. I know many people who just surrender their rights to defend a claim or prosecute a claim due to the destruction of their freedom, their time and their wealth. Generally, only large corporations can afford to enforce their rights. A single case could sink an individual or small business. Solution - courts, law firms and legal service providers must allow free competition to do its job instead of hiding behind monopoly power. Start by eliminating restrictions on advertising. Completely destructive and unnecessary. Founded on sound principles but it merely acts to protect valuable information that potential clients can use to make buying decisions. When your competition is advertising prices based on value to the client, many may rethink their billable hour method of valuing their services. Invasive, burdensome, outrageously expensive discovery turns most cases into a nightmare for clients. Someone should analyze the cost-benefit here and determine whether billions of dollars translates to valued results for clients as a whole.
Posted by carter - 8 months, 4 weeks, 3 hours ago
Anonymous,
Good to hear from someone else who advocates liberty. To your comment I would add that the monopoly state bar associations and licensing requirements should be terminated.
Posted by Richard Barron - 8 months, 4 weeks, 2 hours, 44 minutes ago
In my opinion lawyers can quite often better utilize their analytical and advocacy skills for their clients in the context of mediation, a seemingly difficult paradigm shift for many attorneys. This reluctance is explained, in part, by the fact that while mediation normally reduces dispute resolution costs for the client, it normally reduces billable hours for legal counsel. It seems important, thus, to reflect upon the long term benefit to both the public and the profession of clients who see us as professionals who are able to resolve their disputes in a prompt, humane and economical manner. This, alas, is not the prevailing current view.
Posted by Mike Mills - 8 months, 4 weeks, 2 hours, 41 minutes ago
What is the practice of law?? Things lawyers used to do decades ago have been taken over by specialized (and probably more efficient entities, such as title insurance compoanies, tax preparers, insurance adjusters, paralegals, etc) So what is the practice of law? I submit that the trend of non-lawyers taking over the tasks that lawyers traditioally did secades ago will probably continue,. Does that make lawyers obsolete?? I submit that some of the things that lawyers do will become obsolete, and the “practive of law” will become more sharply defined.
Posted by Richard Morley Barron - 8 months, 4 weeks, 2 hours, 39 minutes ago
n my opinion lawyers can quite often better utilize their analytical and advocacy skills for their clients in the context of mediation, a seemingly difficult paradigm shift for many attorneys. This reluctance is explained, in part, by the fact that while mediation normally reduces dispute resolution costs for the client, it normally reduces billable hours for legal counsel. It seems important, thus, to reflect upon the long term benefit to both the public and the profession of clients who see us as professionals who are able to resolve their disputes in a prompt, humane and economical manner. This, alas, is not the prevailing current view.
Posted by Overworked Lawyer - 8 months, 4 weeks, 1 hour, 17 minutes ago
The legal system is designed to provide every protection to someone who could be put to death or someone trying to recover billions in damages. Then, when some client wants to fight tooth and nail “for the principle of it” there are way too many and too expensive tools with which to fight.
The solution is harsh but fair. Almost every dispute with less than 100k in assets should have a mandatory exchange of court ordered discovery, a 1 hour mediation, a 1 hour summary trial before a judge, and a discretionary only appeal. Lawyers would still fight, but the fight could only go 3 rounds.
However, the screaming and moaning over taking away the right to jury trial, the unfairness of it all, etc. will prevent it. For the party in a fight, its the most important thing in the world to them and they just won’t let it go easy. Look at the judge with the million dollar pants. Judge Judy should have taken care of that case in 5 minutes. As it is, everyone outside of the system wants tit cheaper and more efficient. The parties in the system (or at least one of them) just wants to win.
Posted by Page - 8 months, 4 weeks, 38 minutes ago
The suggestion that lawyers are becoming obsolete is ridiculous. For thousands of years, lawyers have been the keepers of the law, and advocates of people who need someone to speak for them, whether in court, negotiations, contracts, or otherwise. While the laws change, technology changes, and the tools we have to work with change, but the basic premise of the practice of law remains the same… People in difficult situations will always want the sage advice of a counselor that they trust, and value the ability of that counselor to help them put their case in the best light possible.
Posted by Jim - 8 months, 4 weeks, 31 minutes ago
Having seen a number of “do-it-yourself” legal documents that lay people have used without any understanding of the content or meaning being conveyed by the document, I am quite certain that the demand for lawyers will remain strong, either to do the job right from the beginning or to sort out the mess created by “do-it-yourselfers.”
Posted by Andy the Lawyer - 8 months, 4 weeks, 4 minutes ago
If Mr. Susskind wants to prove the courage of his convictions, he should pledge that the next time he’s indicted or sued, he will hire a layman with a computer and Internet access to defend him.
Posted by new york 2L - 8 months, 3 weeks, 6 days, 20 hours, 58 minutes ago
I guess the same can be said of most professions - do we really need general internists as doctors - can’t we just go to the myriad medical websites and put in symptoms to get a diagnosis. Yet the doctors are still around.
Posted by Tax Esq - 8 months, 3 weeks, 6 days, 20 hours, 22 minutes ago
Kudos, Tom Decaro, for your insightful post. Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Posted by Pete - 8 months, 3 weeks, 6 days, 20 hours, 15 minutes ago
As a dirt lawyer, I don’t see how I’m going to be replaced. A title company will never opine on the effect of encumbrances upon the title. As commercial lenders become more sophisticated, as commercial loan documents become longer, who is going to understand them other than an experienced dirt lawyer.
Posted by Martin Perlberger - 8 months, 3 weeks, 6 days, 17 hours, 50 minutes ago
It is good lawyers who will never become obsolete as long as the society is free and open. The others have been obsolete for centuries.
Posted by Irwin ironstone - 8 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes ago
Law has already changed. However, it will continue to change and hopefully, allow middle class individuals to afford legal services. One step in that direction is online law schools. these, eventually, will be allowed and reduce the debt associated with going to law school full time. Many other technical innovations will also reduce costs. video conferencing will help to eliminate travel time and the associated costs when arguing motions. The issue of UPL cannot be applied to internet practice when there is limited jurisdiction. the result will be that lawyers in ohter countries will be used to draft papers at far less than American lawyers currently charge. We speak of a civil Gideon, and justice in this country - but in reality both are lacking.
Posted by sounder rajan - 8 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 23 hours, 34 minutes ago
Liigation lawyers can never become extinct.As long as advocacy skills and court craf are there it gives the winning edge. In a free Society the Profession has to stay despite -Out Sorucing” which can only be back office maneouveres.

Core competence: 6 new skills now required of lawyers

Up till now, the necessary and sufficient skill set for lawyers has looked something like this (in alphabetical order):
Analytical ability
Attention to detail
Logical reasoning
Persuasiveness
Sound judgment
Writing ability (okay, that one’s apparently optional for some)
This list doesn’t include such characteristics as knowledge of the law, courtroom presence, or integrity — these aren’t “skills,” per se, so much as information one acquires or basic elements of one’s character. Even innovation, which I prize so highly, is first and foremost an attitude and willingness to think and act differently.
Rather, I’m concerned here with actual skill: a ready proficiency or applied ability acquired and developed through training and experience. Your degree of character, diligence and intelligence are innate characteristics; skills are what you acquire through their application. If you possessed these six skills in sufficient abundance, you were fully qualified to practise law.
Well, not anymore. From this point onwards, while these skills remain necessary, they’re no longer sufficient: they constitute only half of the set necessary to practise law competently, effectively and competitively. Here’s the new six-pack, the other half of tomorrow’s — no, today’s — minimum skills kit for lawyers (again in alphabetical order).
1. Collaboration skills. This isn’t just about “working well in a team,” essential as that is. This is about the ability to function in a multi-party work environment such that the process and outcome transcend the collective contribution — the whole surpasses the sum of the parts. Thanks to technological and social advances, this is how work is going to be done from now on. Lawyers who collaborate well possess the ability to identify and bring out the best others have to offer, to submerge their own positions and egos where necessary, in order to reach the optimal client outcome. Collaborative lawyers trust the wisdom of the group; lone wolves and isolationists don’t do any good anymore.
2. Emotional intelligence. If you just rolled your eyes at this entry, you probably subscribe to the belief, drilled into us in law school and in practice, that lawyers have to detach themselves emotionally from their cases and clients in order to offer the best advice. That’s idiotic. Clients need our empathy, perspective and personal connection to feel whole and satisfied; colleagues need our engagement, respect and understanding to be their best and help us succeed; everyone needs us to listen better than we do. Distant, detached lawyers are relics of the 20th century — the market no longer wants a lawyer who’s only half a person.
3. Financial literacy. This is a widespread issue, recently identified by The Economist as a factor in the subprime meltdown and other economic woes. But there’s no excuse for lawyers to remain so steadfastly clueless about money: running a business, balancing a ledger, understanding tax principles, working with statistics, calculating profit margins, even explaining the rationale behind their fees. Too many lawyers with Arts degrees just shrug and say, “I was never good with numbers” or “They never taught me that in law school.” Not good enough: every client and every case involves money in some way, and every lawyer in private practice is running a business of one size or another. Financial literacy is essential.
4. Project management. It’s a growing refrain among clients, a chorus of frustration that most lawyers have zero skills in project management. Some lawyers wouldn’t even be able to define it: planning, organizing, and managing resources to successfully complete specific objectives while maintaining scope, quality, time and budget restrictions. Lawyers seem pathologically unwilling to estimate time or budget costs (invoking the almighty “it depends” clause) and incapable of creating and managing a plan of action, presumably for fear of failing or being caught shorthanded. But today, everybody project-manages: it’s SOP in corporate life, and lawyers are the only ones in the business chain who seem to have missed the memo.
5. Technological affinity. Gerry Riskin recently called out the legal profession in a timely post on this subject: “too many lawyers pride themselves on their IT incompetencies, believing that it makes them somehow charming and brilliant.” Lawyers have grown accustomed to going unchallenged on their technological backwardness, and even tech-savvy new lawyers eventually succumb to firms’ glacial pace of tech adaptation. Here is a fact: technological affinity is a core competence of lawyering. If you can’t effectively and efficiently use e-mail, the Internet, and mobile telephony, you might as well just stay home. And if you don’t care to learn about RSS, instant messaging, Adobe Acrobat and the like, clients and colleagues will pass you by.
6. Time management. Virtually every lawyer I meet says the same things: “I’m just so busy. I have so much to do. I don’t have any time for myself.” And yes, law is demanding, hard work. But a substantial part of lawyers’ difficulties in this regard lie with their inability to prioritize their tasks and manage their time. Lawyers are terrible at saying “no,” they’re awful at delegating work into more efficient channels, and amazingly, many are still compensated not by the tasks they accomplish but by how long they take to do them. Lawyers who won’t or can’t learn to manage their time will continue to blame their Blackberrys for their difficulties, if they don’t burn out or get fired first.
So there you have it: six core skills that lawyers simply must possess if they want to make a living in the 21st century. Law schools need to teach them; governing bodies need to test for them; law firms need to make their lawyers expert in them. They’re not optional, there are no excused absences, and the test is starting right about now.

10 Comments »
[...] with Penelope Trunk’s views on BlackBerries, found through another excellent post on Law 21, Core competence: 6 new skills now required of lawyers, but her post Stop blaming your Blackberry for your lack of self-discipline is still worth reading, [...]
Pingback by Priority fruit « Lawslot July 4, 2008
Lawyers need all the skills of any good business person.Don’t lawyers know that they are running a business? If not they should learn real quick.
And don’t forget “customer service”.
Steve Coleman
Comment by Steve Coleman July 4, 2008
Dear Sir.Being a lawyer is an honor, responsibility and a livelihood. In that order. Not Reverse Sort. These has been for centuries. The technology, glamour, the paraphernalia do not do best lawyers, only lawyers better marketed; but not always the result is a satisfied customer.The job of an attorney is to achieve the best RESULT for his client within the justice and law. In that order. the other can be made call lawyers but uniquely they are operators of the law.That does not clear that the lawyer always must be a man of his time and to make use of the technology as a work element (as in its time the mail or the telegraph were used); but not like a requirement to exert the right and justice.
Comment by Alonso Sarmiento July 5, 2008
[...] Furlong, “Core competence: 6 new skills now require of lawyers.” This has nothing to do with information and privacy, but I think it’s quite smart. [...]
Pingback by Information Roundup - 6 July 2008 « All About Information July 6, 2008
[...] required courses in typical law school curriculum, but I totally agree with Jordan Furlong’s post on Law 21 detailing the 6 skills lawyers should have [...]
Pingback by Do the Teach This in Law School? « Halo July 6, 2008
As a practicing lawyer who moved into the business and IT world, I would have to applaud Jordan for calling attention to the fact that it is time for the legal profession to catch up with the rest of industry.
For me being a lawyer isn’t simply an honour. It’s a client service industry. In order to compete, you have to adapt.
To set the legal profession apart as being immune to the changes that are happening in all other sectors including health care, business and IT, is folly.
To wrap yourself in arcane principles that were created to mystify and intimidate is also folly and it will leave you in the dust bin of history.
Comment by S. Rosalind Baker July 7, 2008
[...] — callkm @ 9:14 pm Law 21’s Jordan Furlong has a great post this morning, “Core competence: 6 new skills now required of lawyers“. In it, Mr. Furlong points out that the traditional analytical and communications skills are [...]
Pingback by Re-skilling the modern lawyer : a challenge for librarians « KM Librarians July 7, 2008
Well put again. There’s not a whole lot I can say, other than I agree wholeheartedly. I think this is particularly important for solos and smaller firms, where it’s more difficult to justify arcane practices by reliance on “pedigree.” I’m aiming to provide (or facilitate) guidance on these issues with NextLex.
Comment by J Goodwin July 8, 2008
I would add marketing skills (as for any business) and knowledge management awareness. Beyond a certain point in your career, general management skills are required (in particular people development, coaching, etc.)
Gastón BilderInternational Legal Counsel, Community Relationships
Visit http://www.derechoyrse.blogspot.comJoin http://groups.google.com/group/dcorporativo
Comment by Gaston Bilder July 9, 2008
[...] great post for lawyers to read is up over at Law21 (first saw the post on Legal OnRamp). The post, “Core competence: 6 new skills now required of lawyers” highlights a new six-pack of skills today’s lawyers need to have to be successful and [...]
Pingback by Thinking Outside of the Box While Literally Thinking About the Box July 10, 2008

Why the Brain Follows the Rules

People are incredibly social beings, and we rely heavily on our interactions with others to thrive, and even survive, in the world. To avoid chaos in these interactions, humans create social norms. These rules and regulations establish appropriate and acceptable ways for us to act and respond to each other. For instance, when waiting in line, we expect people also to wait their turn. As a result, we get upset when someone decides to cut in line: they violated a social norm. But how are social norms maintained? And what makes us comply with social norms? Primarily, the answer is that, if we don’t follow the rules, we might get in trouble. Numerous studies demonstrate that, when the threat of punishment is removed, people tend to disregard social norms. The neat and orderly line disintegrates.It remains unclear, however, how the brain processes the threat of punishment when deciding whether or not to comply with a social norm. A recent study conducted by neuroscientist Manfred Spitzer and his colleagues at the University of Ulm in Germany and the University of Zurich in Switzerland tried to shed light on this mystery. The researchers put 24 healthy male students in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner to see what parts of the brain were activated during a two-person social exchange with real monetary stakes. In this game, a research participant (“Person A”) was given money, and had to decide how much he wanted to give to another person (“Person B”) and how much he wanted to keep. In one variation of the game—the “punishment threat condition"—Person B could punish Person A if he or she believed that Person A had divided the money unfairly, or violated the “fairness social norm.” In another situation, there was no punishment threat and Person A could act freely without worrying about the consequences. The researchers sought to find out how much more money Person A would give to Person B under the threat of punishment, and what brain circuits are associated with this change in behavior. Not surprisingly, the threat of punishment made people act more fairly. In the “punishment threat condition” people split the money close to equally. However, when Person B had no recourse, the people given the money acted very differently and gave away, on average, less than 10 percent of the money. One of the interesting things about social norm compliance, however, is that there is tremendous individual variation. Some people would never cut in line or act unfairly, whereas others don’t think twice about it. Using a questionnaire, the researchers measured each participant’s “Machiavellism,” a combination of selfishness and opportunism, which is often used to describe someone’s tendency to manipulate other people for personal gain. Sure enough, the people with high Machiavellism scores gave less money away when there was no punishment threat and were best at avoiding punishment when the threat of punishment was present. Therefore, these individuals earned the most money overall. When the researchers looked at the brain activity of people playing this simple game, they found a consistent pattern. One region in the frontal lobes, the orbitofrontal cortex, seemed to be responsible for evaluating the potential for punishment. In other words, it figured out whether or not violating the social norm would get us in trouble. A second brain region, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, was responsible for inhibiting the natural tendency to keep most of the money (this would be the greedy thing to do) if this action might lead to future punishment. Interestingly, these brain areas only were activated when the threat of punishment came from a real person, and not a computer that was programmed to act like a real person.Furthermore, just as Machiavellism personality traits influenced how people behave, these traits also relate to what is happening in the brain. The orbitofrontal cortex was most activated in the more self-interested, opportunistic people. This finding makes sense because, if the orbitofrontal cortex is helping people detect and evaluate threats, then it should be most active in people who are worried about getting punished. This study can also help us understand what might be happening in the brains of people who struggle to follow social norms, which is what happens in mental illnesses such as psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder. Of course, many different variables not studied in this experiment can also affect social norm compliance. Even a norm as seemingly straightforward as “fairness” can get pretty complicated pretty quickly. The social norm of fairness, after all, does not always mean an equal distribution of goods. Someone may deserve more based on effort, talent or simply the feeling of entitlement that comes from social status. For instance, one could argue that in the non-punishment situation, Person A was put in a position of power, because he or she was given complete control of the money. On the other hand, when Person B is given the right to punish Person A, Person B is now put in a superior position of power. And accordingly, the social norm for Person A changes: it is no longer acceptable for him to keep all the money for himself. This adjustment suggests that the brain activity evident in the Spitzer study could, in part, be related to changes in power and status between the punishment and non-punishment condition. In fact, in a recent study, we found that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was more activated when interacting with a person who is in superior social position.We may have a long road ahead to understand the complexity of the brain mechanism underlying human social behavior fully, but Spitzer and his colleagues should certainly be commended for their efforts and well-designed research experiment on social norm compliance. Although questions remain and the interpretations are not completely straightforward, this study takes us one step closer to solving the puzzle of the social brain.

Execupundit.com: Who Feels Successful?

Execupundit.com: Who Feels Successful?
Like everything in the life, successful being is relative, following several situations like the cultural surroundings, the historical stage in which lives or has lived, the age of the individual, its beliefs ethical morals and, its ambitions or projects, as well as the form in which the others assess these situations. Perhaps that one could be considered successful Who did not refuse to live. That is to say, that one that took advantage of every moment and each resource that gave the life mainly him and, lived.

(Tomado de http://www.newyorker.com marzo 8, 2008)

The Stress of Poverty Changes the Brain

A Neural Correlate for Social ClassMauricio DelgadoRutgers UniversityMembership in a high social class is thought to contribute to good mental well-being and physical health. Low socioeconomic status, in contrast, increases one's vulnerability for developing psychiatric or chronic medical conditions, research suggests. Various aspects of socioeconomic status could affect personal health in different ways, but most scientific attention has focused on the role of stress. Surprisingly, the most stressful part of being of lower socieconomic status might not be feelings of deprivation, as might be expected, but rather the subjective perception of our lower social standing. Although epidemiological associations between low socioeconomic status and stress, and their consequences on mental health have been well documented, there have been fewer attempts to understand the neural pathways through which status and stress may interact in human society. That is the goal of the intriguing study by Peter Gianaros and colleagues entitled "Perigenual anterior cingulate morphology covaries with perceived social standing." Gianaros and colleagues take advantage of the idea that the subjective perception of low socioeconomic status is a strong predictor of future health. They use a computational structural neuroimaging method to investigate if brain volume of neural substrates linked to stress varies according to perceived social standing. Subjective social status and the anterior cingulateThe authors recruited 100 middle-aged volunteers from a Pennsylvania community registry and acquired three important measures from each. First, participants provided information that qualified as an objective indicator of personal and community socioeconomic status (for example, educational attainment and household income). Second, they received the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status. In this scale, participants were presented with a 10 step "social ladder" and asked to place an "X" on the step they perceived as their social standing in comparison with the rest of the United States in terms of income, education and occupation prestige. Finally, the authors also acquired structural neuroimaging data using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This technique allows investigators to quantify an individual's total gray matter volume in targeted brain regions, which can highlight specific deficits in clinical cases, as well as show the presence of greater aptitude with different executive skills (associated with increased brain volume in certain regions.)To examine general changes in brain volume among the 100 volunteers, the authors selected three specific brain regions previously linked with chronic stress and social standing in non-human animal research: the anterior cingulate, the hippocampus and the amygdala. All three are thought to be critical components of a circuit that integrates autonomic and emotional responses to environmental stimuli and thereby direct the appropriate behavioral response (for instance, coping with stressful situation). The authors found that a lower subjective perception of one's own social status correlated with reduced gray matter in a specific subregion of the anterior cingulate, the perigenual area. This result was consistent even when objective indicators of social status (such as income) were controlled for during subsequent analyses. In addition, subjective social status ladder rankings did not correlate with gray matter volumes in either the hippocampus or the amygdala. This evidence suggests a role for the perigenual area of the anterior cingulate in the subjective perception of social standing, which may, in turn, contribute to health-related issues. The Next StepThis finding builds on data showing that the perigenual area of the anterior cingulate cortex has a potential role in adaptive responses to emotional and physiological stimuli such as stressors. The region is connected with other brain structures, such as the amygdala and hippocampus, involved in learning and memory, emotional processing and the brain's response to stress. Thus, based on the role of the perigenual area and its connectivity, we can infer that decreases in brain volume in the perigenual cingulate cortex have an impact on a broad set of functions related to maintaining emotional stability and wellbeing. The fact that such decreases in brain volume are greater for individuals that perceive themselves as lower on the totem pole highlights a neural mechanism for why low socioeconomic status contributes to poor health in the long run. Although this study is an excellent step toward answering questions related to stress, mental health and social status, there is clearly more work to be done. For instance, one potential interpretation of the authors' findings is that chronic stress over many years has led to the observed decrease in brain volume. Research in non-human animals , however, predicts that chronic stress should also affect regions such as the amygdala and hippocampus--finding that was not observed. Longitudinal studies, aimed at tracking brain volume changes over an individual's lifespan, might shed light on some of these remaining issues. A larger and more diverse sample of participants encompassing all ranges of socioeconomic distribution, cultures and racial composition also would be helpful and more generalizable to the overall population. In addition, understanding the underlying genetics in future studies may provide the means to identify individuals who are more at risk at developing anxiety problems due to their subjective perception of social standing. In such cases, an individual with potentially poor coping abilities would be afforded specific treatments or training necessary to increase emotion regulation capabilities and decrease stress levels early on in life, in turn promoting better health over the long term.--Edited by Mind Matters at 02/19/2008 7:43 AM

Abogado en el Perú

Servicios de abogado en materia civil comercial tributario laboral propiedad intelectual municipal.
Defensa en juicios, demandas, reclamos ante la administración pública.