Workshop targeted to individuals in career transition - www.jumpstartyourjobsearch.eventbrite.com

Here's an email I got yesterday from our Table VII/Founders' Café friend David Akers, who now happens to be collaborating with one of our friends from the Women's Enterprise Network, Kathy Miracle. I'll post the attachment, the Seminar Flyer, separately.

Greetings and salutations,

Over the past 12 months or so, I have received resumes forwarded by many of you of friends, colleagues, and new acquaintances that are networking as part of a job search. It is my practice, as Dave Janus well remembers, to meet someone new each week and “Pay it Forward” to the extent that I can help that person in their respective endeavors. So the forwarded resumes, the volume of which at times is overwhelming, are welcomed nonetheless as a way for me to meet one of my civic and professional commitments.

Along the way, in dozens of meetings, I began noticing that I was doing far less connecting of people and much more coaching. The people with whom I met needed a lot of help in being more effective in networking, in making it easy for others to help them, and in learning how to follow up in a meaningful way. I started having the meetings in my office, with access to a whiteboard, rather than at the nearest coffee shop. And I began drawing the same four drawings, over and over again.

The response from job-seekers was overwhelming – thank you for showing me such simple tools to accelerate my networking and my job search; I never thought about doing those things; it’s so easy to make it easy for people to help me; I wish I’d known these tools years ago, etc., etc.

Then Kristopher McCrone (who has coached literally thousands of people through interviewing effectively) approached Katherine Miracle (who works with individuals to help them package a prospective hire’s Return on Investment for an employer), Jeff Nischwitz (who is one of the most effective networkers around), and me about putting together a short seminar to help people seeking jobs in today’s tough economic environment. Each of us brings specific tools and practices to the table, and each of us has a commitment to helping job seekers be more effective and succeed.

We are holding our first workshop on April 2, 2009, at Lockkeepers in Independence. Registration begins at 7:30 AM and the event runs from 8 AM to 11:30 AM. I’ve attached a flyer that provides an overview of the event itself and registration details. You can also go to www.jumpstartyourjobsearch.eventbrite.com for more information.

My guess is that each of you, like me, is besieged with resumes right now from friends and colleagues and others, all seeking your assistance. Please send them a copy of this email and encourage them to leverage what they will learn in this workshop to take control of their career search. They can’t know what they don’t know about seeking a job until they attend this session.

Thank you for your consideration.
DJA

David J. Akers
President, Celeritas Limited
5422 East 96th Street, Suite 150
Cleveland, OH 44125
p 216.839.1500 c 216.280.5801
f 216.503.4247 e dja@celeritasltd.com

Henry Gomez: Ward 15 residents angry about City Council redistricting have many questions, few answers - Inside Cleveland City Hall

Sometimes, I wonder if all this furor, this hubbub about redrawing the ward lines, is worth the attention it gets. Regardless of where we draw the lines, we get the same insipid governance from the mayor and a challenged, albeit smaller, city council; the subset of problems remains the same; the scenery really doesn't change that much at all; the service doesn't get much worse, because it can't, in this Midwestern equivalent of a third-world country, our beloved banana republic with a side of pierogis. Henry here recounts how more of the chickens are coming home to roost as Brian Cummins, last year's avid supporter of Council reduction, gets himself reduced into oblivion, and Callahan reminds us all of the way things were, from his unique inside perspective.

. . . And we still don't know what will happen on the East Side, where another council member is expected to lose most of his political base and be pitted against a colleague.

Despite all of this instant drama, local blogger Bill Callahan reminds everyone that this had to have been expected - most of all, perhaps, by Cummins. Cummins, as I should have noted in this weekend's stories, advocated an even deeper council downsizing. He felt the cuts favored by Sweeney and suburban businessmen were not enough at a time when Cleveland was bleeding population.

Callahan had a front-row seat to Cummins' proposal. He was a member of the Charter Review Commission that studied various downsizing plans and ultimately backed the one pushed by Sweeney - but not until 2013, when hard Census numbers would be available.

The ballot initiative ultimately passed by council called for the redistricting to take effect this year. And city voters approved the plan last November by a wide margin.

Nowhere in the charter amendment did it say that existing neighborhood boundaries had to be protected. It didn't even say the council would try to make such accommodations.

Now, people are angry because they see the effects of this amendment coming to life. To those in Brooklyn Centre, take a look at Ohio City. Since the last redistricting earlier this decade, Ohio City has been shared by three council members. . .

Ward 15 residents angry about City Council redistricting have many questions, few answers - Inside Cleveland City Hall - cleveland.com

revisiting our regional strengths: cut throat on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

Sometimes, you just have to do an inventory and remember what you're good at.  In the case of Cleveland, it's punk.

Searching for attitudinal compatibilities, using the phrase "Welcome to Cleveland. Now go home," I ran across these fine upstanding young men, and I find what they're delivering refreshing. It reminds me of the time in the late 1960s and early 1970s when WMMS made this place really exciting on the music front--it's raw, irreverent, and basically healthy, a jubilant nihilism born out of great love.

I wonder if Cleveland City Council will finance the next punk dinner, as they did to the tune of $1,000,000 for the Rock Hall banquet, run by those who know the words, but not the tune. I wonder if these punks got any of the money for the arts from that cigarette tax that Eric Fingerhut and Tom Schorgl touted a few years back? Where is all that money going, by the way--how much is it, and who has benefited?

I wonder if they want to help us get some of that money back?

cut throat on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

forming a theory of urban secession, a two-way street

It is my thinking that Brooklyn Centre, Ohio City, and Old Brooklyn at this point have sufficient grounds to begin to ask to secede from the City of Cleveland and each become its own governing entity. In the coming trend towards regionalization, each of these areas needs to have parity and equal standing with each of the existing suburbs in Cuyahoga County.

If at one time it was advantageous to annex, at this point, I have a feeling that it's advantageous to detach each previously annexed area from the dysfunctionality of the City of Cleveland and its conflicted public servants, who now think they're rock stars and not accountable to their fans for their actions. The governance is not as attractive as it was when the annexations occurred; back then, the politicians had a more humanistic bent and a holistic view of the universe and mankind. Individual rights were paramount, and the welfare of the group was assured so long as the rights of the individual were held inviolate and common-sense, sustainable, economical, efficient practices prevailed. There were efficiencies and economies of scale to be achieved.

Today, the world is changing quickly, going from a hierarchical structure to a networked structure, vertical to lateral, and Cleveland government is not. I don't think those boys and girls read or think a whole lot. I see little evidence that they are lifelong learners.

Here's a snippet from Wikipedia with reference to the thinking of Jane Jacobs on the topic of secession, on which few agree, it seems. What I do know is that I want out, and I don't want to have to move and give up a nice neighborhood to escape stupidity and abuse, waste and compromised representation, withholding of services and pitting of neighbors against neighbors. I want to live in a small town again, and we have that already in Brooklyn Centre, except for our form of government. Lately, I like being close to Cleveland's downtown, but not part of Cleveland. It's a values thing.

Modern theorists of local civic economies, including Robert J. Oakerson and Jane Jacobs, argue that cities reflect a clash of values, especially of tolerances versus preferences, with views of the city varying from a pure community to that of a pure marketplace. Suburbanites have a strong tendency to view the city as a marketplace since they do not participate in its street life voluntarily, nor do they consider the city to be a safe and comfortable place to live in. By contrast, those who choose downtown living tend to see it as more of a community, but must pay careful attention to their tolerances (for smog, noise pollution, crime, taxation, etc.). Ethics and thus politics of these interest groups vastly differ.

Secession (the setup of entirely new legislative and executive entities) is advocated by certain urban theorists, notably Jane Jacobs, as the only way to deal politically with these vast differences in culture between modern cities and even their nearest suburbs and essential watersheds. She stated that "cities that wish to thrive in the next century must separate politically from their surrounding regions." She rejected the lesser "Charter" and less formal solutions, arguing the full structure of real regional government were necessary, and applied to the urban area alone. In particular she rejected the idea that suburban regions should have any say over the rules in the city: "they have left it, and aren't part of it." Jacobs herself lived in an urban neighborhood (The Annex, Toronto) which would have been paved over in the 1970s by a highway project to serve the suburbs, the Spadina Expressway, had the proponents of urban secession not stopped it. Jacobs likewise took part in blocking the development of the Cross-Manhattan Expressway in the 1960s, opposing Robert Moses. These freeways are examples of the clash of urban community versus suburban market interests.

Advocates of highway development and suburban participation in urban government theorize that cities which protect themselves from the suburbs, forcing them to become self-sufficient small towns, cutting off the freeways, forcing commuters into subways, etc., are committing suicide by forcing business out into the suburbs. Advocates respond that cities depend more on their quality of life to attract migrants and professionals, and that telecommuting makes it possible for workers in the city to live anywhere, coming into town less frequently, without the rush.

Urban secession - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the antidote for ward division: secession

There's been a furor yesterday and today in Ward 15 of the City of Cleveland about a tripartite division of what is one of the Cleveland area's most intrinsically valuable suburbs, the park neighborhood from which the beautiful Cleveland Zoo sprang. Part would go to Joe Santiago to the north, part would go to Joe Cimperman to the east, and another part would join Tony Brancatelli, connecting by jumping over Newburg Heights.

I'm quite tired of arguing over basic common-sense issues with the city government here in Cleveland. It takes a lot of time and energy that could be way better spent.

I am proposing quite simply that we in Ward 15 secede, become the Village of Brooklyn Centre once more, lower our overhead, and take back our governance. This should take the population of the City of Cleveland down to less than 400,000 as of the next census, and perhaps that will qualify them for some sort of emergency-aid intervention as they waddle up to the DC trough.

We in Brooklyn Centre already have the fire station, the police station, two libraries, the hospital, two cemeteries, a lovely park adjacent to the Zoo, a number of churches, good basic housing stock, and great freeway access and transit routes. What we need now is to be freed from stupidity and the abusive actions of deeply conflicted politicians, like Marty Sweeney and Kevin Kelley. We can't afford them.

If you're wondering what it's like to live in Cleveland and be subject to the inept ministrations of these two disgraces to my Irish heritage, try to imagine what it would be like to be walked by your dog.

a heads up from George Nemeth: Podcasting Goes Mainstream - eMarketer

George found an article that gives some excellent background material on the practice of podcasting, on which MeetTheBloggers capitalized beginning with its first session in August of 2005 (with our current Cleveland law director, Bob Triozzi, then a mayoral candidate). George has always been an early adapter. Podcasts accompanied by text renditions of the podcasts seemed an efficient way to span generations of users. Attempts to integrate video were of mixed result.

Last night at a public meeting at the Jones Home about ward division here in Cleveland, Anthony Fossaceca of the Ohio Daily Blog was recording the session, the flip charts, and the wall-chart presentations with a FLIP video camera, which he said was the smallest one FLIP offered and held one hour of video content, which could then be uploaded to the internet immediately. This seemed to be an excellent medium choice to marry to podcasts and text.

I'd like to have a presentation format that offered all three media. Add something like Betsey Merkel's Mogulus for live streaming video, and you have the perfect dialogue-type presentation, coming at you live and with interaction, able to be uploaded to YouTube quickly, available later in podcast format, and text-searchable. Two or three people could produce this easily.

Last night, though, it was comforting to have Henry Gomez Joe Frolik of the PD there, to pick up on the patter that only full-time journalists can share, and TV crews from 5 and 23 or 25. And, it was really fun to see people from all the wards coming together to, essentially, give the whole ward-healing process a big "WTF"? It's good to know we all agree on the basics, which is that this is more about the City Council itself than it is about any of us, or economies, or efficiencies, or improving the quality of life for each of us, or protecting individual rights. Gloria points out that we as a community may have voted for the ward revisions, but we certainly didn't want it all used for political infighting.

Podcasting Goes Mainstream - eMarketer

agendas and minutes of the Village of Bentleyville Council

I was looking for an old friend and stumble across this Village website that can serve as an example for all cities and nonprofits that have an obligation to have public meetings and a duty to communicate the agendas of these meetings as well as the minutes to interested parties, in a readily accessible, open, transparent format.

Here, with Bentleyville, it's simple: The agendas are in one column, and the minutes are in the next.

       Minutes & Agendas

2009 Council Agendas                            2009 Council Minutes

   (meeting date)                                           (meeting date)

2008 Council Agendas                             2008 Council Minutes

   (meeting date)                                           (meeting date)

What's so difficult about this? Why can't everybody do it this way?

I also like the way they present themselves, down to the tagline:

Village of Bentleyville

Founded 1831

Serve, Preserve, Conserve

Simplicity. Basics. There's a premium for it, and Bentleyville's a prime example.

Village of Bentleyville Council

Amazon.com: Survival Tactics: The Top 11 Behaviors of Successful Entrepreneurs: Ted Sun

While we were out dabbling in community dialogues and MeetingTheBloggers, one of our friends published a book, in mid-2007, and we missed it. Gloria and I completed Ted Sun's Leadership Academy over a 6-month period in 2004 in Columbus, along with a few other members of our professional think tank, The Money Foundation. We found it very worthwhile, and it has informed a lot of what we do since then. We recommend him, his courses, and the book. He tells me he has another due out in a few months.

One of his websites is at http://www.executive-balance.com/DrTedSun.html, and it links to the others. Here's the review from Amazon.com:

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Sun provides an amalgam of his dissertation survey results, workshop notes, business parables, and secondary literature from business, leadership, and motivational psychology in this research-based guide to entrepreneurial success. The crux of the book is the 11 chapters devoted to the traits that most highly correlated to entrepreneurial success in Sun's survey of entrepreneurs. Each of these behaviors is elaborated with material from the literature and exercises for personal reflection and development. Sun's book is engagingly written, is based in solid survey research and entrepreneurial experiences, has clear citations, and draws on a wide variety of popular thought.... Recommended. General readers, practitioners, and aspiring entrepreneurs.”–Choice
“Sun outlines 11 core behaviors of successful entrepreneurs and how readers can develop these qualities. Using research with entrepreneurs and his own experiences as a basis, he explains the behaviors--constant learning, technical proficiency, self-confidence, co-dependence, risk taking, being reactive, employee training and development, team-based decisions, being surprised, measurements and responsiveness, and action without full information--and how these can transform leadership style. Exercises are presented to help readers understand their beliefs and values and challenge and change them.”–Reference and Research Book News

Product Description
According to a recent Gallup poll, seven out of ten high school students report that they want to start and run their own business. Every year, five million Americans launch their own ventures, according to the Small Business Administration. By any measure, the movement toward entrepreneurship is increasing each year. While many resources provide practical information to guide the entrepreneur or small business owner through the challenges of establishing, managing, and growing their business, few tackle the more personal side of entrepreneurship in a rigorous fashion.

As Ted Sun argues, "countless people are entering entrepreneurship in one form or another. Most have no clue how to be one." Drawing from extensive primary research conducted with entrepreneurs in a variety of fields, Sun dispels common myths and misconceptions about entrepreneurship and identifies eleven core beliefs, behaviors, and qualities of successful individuals, including technical proficiency, team-building skills, and the ability to make decisions without complete information. Moreover, through numerous illustrative examples, diagnostics, and other interactive elements, he shows the reader how to learn and develop these qualities. The result is a practical guide to the art of entrepreneurship--a primer for reducing stress, building confidence, balancing work and life priorities, becoming more productive, and increasing your chances of success.

About the Author
TED SUN is President and CEO of Executive Balance, an executive development and consulting firm for small and large organizations and Director of Eastern United States for the Institute for Transformative Thought and Learning, providing educational strategy, research, think tank, and change leadership services. He is also a part-time Lecturer in the School of Education, The Ohio State University, Adjunct Professor at Southern New Hampshire University, and Lead Faculty at the University of Phoenix Graduate Business School. His work on entrepreneurship has been featured in a wide variety of publications and broadcast media, and he has presented his research at the Global Conference on Business and Economics, among many other conferences.

Amazon.com: Survival Tactics: The Top 11 Behaviors of Successful Entrepreneurs: Ted Sun: Books

Notable Local Deaths: Lipman Z. Rabinowitz . . . Cleveland.com

Here is a note, an obituary, a brief journalistic epitaph, about a quiet man I worked with at New York Life years ago, in the '80s. He loved computers; he and another guy, whose name I can't dredge up right now, were the resident experts. As a matter of fact, I got my first computer, an IBM A/T, through a New York Life buy-in program. For a bit more than $10,000 in 1985, I think it was, we got the A/T, a Hayes modem, Ashton-Tate MultiMate, and a monitor with green letters on a black background.

I never knew that Lip, as some called him, had such an interesting background.

Notable Local Deaths: Lipman Z. Rabinowitz, Windsor James Smith, Charles B. Womer, Rev. Hubert W. Riedel

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Lipman Z. Rabinowitz went from rabbi to early computer educator to underwriter.

Rabinowitz, 80, died Feb. 9 in Israel, where he had moved from Beachwood four years ago.

He was born in Chicago, served as an Army chaplain in Japan during the Korean War, held pulpits in several states and marched for civil rights in New Orleans. He lost his first wife after three months, when a drunken driver killed her and hospitalized him for six months.

Starting in 1967, Rabinowitz opened data-processing schools in downtown Cleveland and elsewhere. But colleges soon crowded him out of the field. He went on to become a top agent for New York Life.

Rabinowitz led several Jewish groups here, including Fuchs Mizrachi School and the Cleveland Kosher Committee.

His survivors include his second wife, Renee, who married him 52 years ago, and three children. His funeral was in Israel.

Notable Local Deaths: Lipman Z. Rabinowitz, Windsor James Smith, Charles B. Womer, Rev. Hubert W. Riedel - Cleveland.com

How To: Assemble A Board of Advisers - business guidance - recruiting advisers

Today is the third anniversary of the opening of this eponymous blog on March 2, 2006, as an augmentation to GloriaFerris.net and to save a long-standing marital relationship. Perhaps now it--the blog, that is--needs a board of advisors. See what Inc. has to say about all that:

An advisory board is a rare species in the small-business ecology, yet assembling such a board may be one of the most important steps a CEO can take to assure an enterprise's success. Besides offering credibility and contacts, advisers working together provide guidance sharpened by boardroom debate, something individual mentors can't match . . .. For family businesses, boards are invaluable, particularly when it comes to the delicate matter of succession. "A board has the willingness to bring the subject up, in a supportive and patient way," says John L. Ward, a professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and author of Creating Effective Boards for Private Enterprises. "Then once it's on the table, it creates a forum of safety for the conversation."

Unlike a board of directors, which has formal legal authority over a company and a fiduciary duty to its shareholders, an advisory board won't make decisions for you and has no obligation to the owners or liability for the company's actions.

See more at the link below. There's some good value there:

How To: Assemble A Board of Advisers - business guidance - recruiting advisers