From The HBR - early 2006

Like all revolutions in thought, this one began with anomalies, strange facts, odd observations that the prevailing wisdom could not explain. Casino gamblers, for instance, are willing to keep betting even while expecting to lose. People say they want to save for retirement, eat better, start exercising, quit smoking—and they mean it—but they do no such things. Victims who feel they’ve been treated poorly exact their revenge, though doing so hurts their own interests.

Such perverse facts are a direct affront to the standard model of the human actor—Economic Man—that classical and neoclassical economics have used as a foundation for decades, if not centuries. Economic Man makes logical, rational, self-interested decisions that weigh costs against benefits and maximize value and profit to himself. Economic Man is an intelligent, analytic, selfish creature who has perfect self-regulation in pursuit of his future goals and is unswayed by bodily states and feelings. And Economic Man is a marvelously convenient pawn for building academic theories. But Economic Man has one fatal flaw: he does not exist.

The Full Article at HBR

HR Trends

My thanks to Fred Lange - HR Architect for this nougat ...

A roundtable for a group of execs met recently to discuss HR trends.
The following is a result of that meeting, 30+ conversations with
other HR execs and some recentpublications.

What are their top concerns ?

Healthcare Costs – Group Ins. anticipated annual rate increases 15-20%
Productivity – Connecting Profitability to People (doing what matters)
Balance – Increase in Work/Life Demands – 24/7 access
Graying – Retirement of Large Numbers of Baby Boomers
Workforce of the Future – Euro/Asia/America Economy
Talent – finding the skilled workforce (US workers 70% in companies
of less than 100 employees)
Ethics - Social Responsibility, Ethics, Capitalism (China & Brazil
challenge capitalism rules/regs)
Green - Man versus Earth, Green, Sustainability

Interesting side bar, more than half the HR execs said they were
working on increasing the "purpose" profile of their business in
their employment branding in response to boomers and Y'ers demand/
interest in finding companies that serve a purpose. (e.g., three
bottles of wine to choose from and labels read: first choice -- the
ingredients; second choice – the bouquet of flavors; third choice –
founding brothers contribute ¼ profits to breast cancer in response
to the loss of their beloved mother. Boomers and Y'ers take third
choice, and if it taste okay, they will buy more).

Opportunity

Love this - thank-you Lorraine ...

"There is no security on this earth: There is only opportunity."

Douglas Mac Arthur

Dubai Trivia

My thanks to Tom Powell for a little bit of Dubai Trivia ...

Dubai, UAE - Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building developed by Emaar Properties, has now surpassed the height of the world's tallest free-standing structure, CN Tower in Toronto.At 555.3 metres (1,821.85 ft), Burj Dubai has now also scaled 150 livable levels, the largest number of storeys for any building in the world. The tower already holds the distinction of being taller than Taipei 101 in Taiwan, which at 508 metres* (1,667 ft) has held the
tallest-building-in-the-world title since it opened in 2004. Burj
Dubai now surpasses the 31-year-old record of CN Tower, which at
553.33 metres (1,815.5 ft) has been the world's tallest free-standing
structure on land since 1976.

"Burj Dubai is setting new world records in construction of super
tall buildings, and the accomplishment of being the world's tallest
free-standing structure is another defining moment for the
multinational team of over 5,000 people who are using their
collective intelligence to make this iconic structure a symbol of
human achievement," said Mr Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar
Properties. "This architectural and construction master-piece is
truly an inspirational human achievement that celebrates the 'can do'
mindset of Dubai."
When completed, Dubai's landmark tower will be the tallest structure
in the world in all four of the criteria listed by the Council on
Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). The council measures height
to the structural top, the highest occupied floor, to the top of the
roof, and to the tip of the spire, pinnacle, antenna, mast or flag pole.

CTBUH, the acknowledged source of information based at the Illinois
Institute of Technology, measures the height of a building from the
sidewalk level of the main entrance to the structural top. This
includes spires but not television antennas, radio antennas or flag
poles. Burj Dubai is billed to scale past the KVLY/KTHI television
mast in Blanchard, North Dakota, which at 628.8 metres (2,063 ft) is
the world's tallest mast and technically qualifies to be the world's
tallest structure, even though it is stabilized with a series of guy-
wires.

More than 320,800 cubic metres of reinforced concrete and 63,300
tonnes of reinforcing steel have been used in the tower's
construction so far.

Burj Dubai became the tallest free-standing structure in the world in
just 1,325 days since excavation work started in January, 2004. More
than 5,000 consultants and skilled construction workers are employed
on site, and the world's fastest high-capacity construction hoists,
with a speed of up to 2 m/sec (120 metres/min), move men and materials.

Structural steel work for Burj Dubai will begin soon, and cladding
work using a high-performance system has been completed on several
levels. The primary cladding materials of reflective glazing,
aluminium and textured stainless steel spandrel panels and vertical
stainless tubular fins accentuate the tower's height and slenderness
to the eye.

Emaar Properties has teamed up with South Korean construction major
Samsung Corporation, New York-based Project Manager Turner
International and global engineering consultancy Hyder Consulting to
develop Burj Dubai based on the design of internationally admired
architect Adrian Smith and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of Chicago.Burj Dubai will be at the centre of Downtown Burj Dubai, a US$20
billion, 500-acre downtown development billed as the most prestigious
square kilometre on earth. The tower will feature residential,
commercial and retail components including the world's first Armani
Hotel and Armani Residences, exclusive corporate suites, a business
centre, four luxurious pools and spas, an observation platform on
Level 124 and 150,000 sq ft of fitness facilities.