VIZ Think Conference '08

I think I speak for many when I say I wish I could be in attendance at the VIZTHINK conference going on this weekend in San Francisco, CA. My friend, Jamie Nast will be speaking there and she has featured some idea maps that relates to my business on her blog. Thanks Jamie!

With interest rates at 5.25% and an ambassador like Jamie Nast, 2008 is starting off to be a great year for mortgages!!!

Book Report: It's not about the Bike

I finished Lance's 2001 edition of It's not about the Bike this past summer. The book was an inspiration to read from the stand point of overcoming health obstacles and also remembering to stay passionate about your work. In his book, Lance portrays himself as the quintessential underdog, fighting against great odds to become somebody important, a goal that would materialize in the form of winning the largest bicycle race in the world seven times -consecutively.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars. ...(read more)

Book Report: 747, a Lesson in Leadership

I recently finished 747: Creating the World's First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures from a Life in Aviation. The book details some of the history, engineering challenges, and leadership challenges from the life of Joe Sutter, Chief Engineer for the worlds largest and profitable aircraft currently in Production (at the time of this writing) the Boeing 747 Jet. This is a great book for any aspiring engineer or aspiring engineering manager. 5 out of 5 stars. See my detailed book review.

Top Ten websites from 2007

In my last post, I discussed the important role of recent innovations on the web. To add to that, the following is a collection of web sites that helped me stay connected to important information and trends on the web in 2007. Most of these are buisness, networking, or productivity related but also a few fun ones. Please add your's to the list by adding a comment to this post and provide a short statement that explains why you like your site or what you use it for.

1. http://www.snap.com/ - "Picture in Picture" web browser -awesome!!!
2. http://www.linkedin.com/ - professional networking site.
3. http://www.lds.org/emp/network - LDS networking group.
4. http://blogsearch.google.com/ - Blog search engine
5. http://scholar.google.com/ - Scholar search engine
6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR85o0-8sRA&watch_response
7. http://www.google.com/reader - best RSS Reader
8. http://citilend.vlending.com/officers-detail.aspx?LONum=8 - my page
9. http://www.zillow.com/ - real estate trend & mapping data
10. http://www.google.com/analytics/ - the best website reports counter
11. http://www.amfam.com/agentlocator/myHomePage.do?agent=JPOPE The number one producing insurance agent for American Family Insurance (my brother-in-law)

Additionally, I've included a few blogs that I like:

1. http://www.ldscio.org/ - Joel Dehlin
2. http://www.themortgagereports.com/ - Dan Green
3. http://www.larryhendrick.com/motivate/ - Larry Hendrick

These are just a few real good ones. Please add your own. I will update this list in the next blog entry.

2008 -The year of professional networking & wikis

Well 2007 was definitely a year of radical innovation on the Internet. It seems that almost everyone I know has a web presence, such as a blog or website. As I reflect back on some of the new Internet trends that are beginning to take shape including social and professional networking, wikis, RSS feeds, RSS readers, and even the new Google Blog search engine, I am struck by two major epiphanies.

1. There is so much STUFF to learn through these new Internet tools that you can literally get lost in all the information.


2. In a world of increasing connectivity and traffic, the key is not trying to stay well connected to all of it by yourself, but rather to keep in touch with about six to ten OTHER people who are well connected themselves.

I came to this realization through a series of steps that started with reading an article written by sociologist Mark Granovetter entitled, The Strength of Weak Ties. Granovetter helps to see how broad social network have more value than narrow and deep ones. But as I began expanding my network, I realized there is some redundancy of information among the various outlets. This led to a surprising conclusion, that I can stay just as connected through a few quality contacts as I can through scores of mediocre contacts. Napoleon Hill explains this in his timeless book, Think and grow rich. Rockefeller, Ford, Carnegie, all maintained what Hill calls a "Matermind", made up of about 6 to 10 trusted busines associates.

It's a powerful concept once you see it, but just as 90% of the wealth of the United States is owned by the top 1% of the wealthiest citizens, so too I believe that 90% of the best knowledge out there is also possessed by a relative minority. Finding that upper crust knowlege, and linking to it through blogs, wiki's, emails, and any communication is going to be a huge benefit for personal innovation. So what I have done is connected with people who are highly specialized in one discipline or field that I am interested in but who also have broad interests outside their field. In this way, I have expanded by knowledge base vicariously through others. It's awesome.

I'm really looking forward to 2008.

Book Report: Power NetWeaving

Last week I recommended Crucial Conversations. This week I have found the next level, after crucial conversations, you are ready for "Power Netweaving" by Robert S. Littell. The book contains an innovative way of professional networking that can be mostly understood by reading the first chapter. Bottom line: Playing the role of match maker with business people in your network indirectly enhances your image in their eyes and contributes to your own succes. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.