By Saul Kaplan, on Mon Dec 16, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET We need to try more stuff. Innovation is never about silver bullets. It’s about experimentation and doing whatever it takes, even if it means trying 1000 things, to deliver value.
Making progress on the real issues of our time including health care, education, and energy will require a lot more experimentation than we are comfortable with today. These are all systems challenges that will require systems solutions. Tweaking the current systems will not work. Technology as a sustaining innovation may improve the efficiency of current systems but will not result in the transformation that we all know is needed. We need to learn how to leverage technology for disruptive innovation and to experiment at the systems level.
My mantra is Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast. The imperative for all innovators is R&D for business models and systems. We know how to do R&D for new products and technologies. We need to also do R&D for new business models and systems. It is not technology that is getting in the way, it is humans and the intransigent organizations we live in that are both stubbornly resistant to change. We have plenty of technology available to us. We need to learn how to leverage it to open up transformative ways to deliver value. Designing and experimenting with new system approaches, particularly those that cut across sectors and silos, is the path to the transformation that we need. We must design around the end user and learn how to harness the potential of social media platforms and storytelling to enable purposeful networks.
 I recently watched a 60 Minutes segment highlighting the success of the Harlem Children’s Zone in NYC. Listening to Geoffrey Canada, the program’s founder, was inspiring and reminded me of the importance of systems level change. Everyone wants to know the one thing that makes a program like HCZ successful. What is the silver bullet that will allow the program to be replicated with ease across the country? We are always looking for an easy answer. There is no silver bullet and it is not easy to transform systems. At HCZ it is doing 1000 things with passion to help those children succeed. It is about focusing on the customer, in this case, the children within 100 city blocks in Harlem and doing what ever it takes to help them secure a bright future. There is no one thing. There are a lot of things that were tried, many that didn’t work or add value, and a strong appetite for trying new approaches to achieve the goal.
Systems transformation is all about experimentation. It is about combining and recombining capabilities from across silos until something clicks and value is delivered in a new way. It is never just one thing. It starts with a big idea that gets the juices flowing and attracts others with similar passion to the purposeful network. The big idea has to be translated from the white board on to a real world test bed to demonstrate that the idea is feasible. Starting small and demonstrating progress is key to building credibility and expanding a network of interested stakeholders. An ongoing portfolio of small-scale experiments to fail fast on those without merit and to prioritize those with the potential to scale is critical. Those experiments that demonstrate the feasibility of a new model or approach become candidates for expansion. Scaling fast becomes more likely with the ability to leverage the proof point of a successful real world experiment and the opportunity to leverage a network of passionate supporters.
Systems level innovation is about enabling purposeful networks with the capacity to Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast.
By Julie Rath, on Fri Dec 13, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET 
Looking for the perfect gift for your main squeeze? Stumped on what to request for yourself? From stocking stuffers to splurges, these 8 gifts have you covered.
 1) Grid-It Organizer – Keep your gear in line with this organizer. Great for at-home storage or travel. ($14)
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 2) Hook + Albert Fair Isle Socks – Hook + Albert makes stellar quality socks, and fair isle is a fitting pattern for holiday gifting. ($30)
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 3) Bolin Webb Razor – Form meets function in this deliciously sleek Bolin Webb razor, featuring a MACH3 blade. ($80)
Read the rest of…
Julie Rath: 2013 Holiday Gift Guide
By Josh Bowen, on Thu Dec 12, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET  In fitness motivation can some times be hard to achieve and keep all the time. Therefore we look to quotes to keep us on track and our head screwed on right. From my upcoming book “The 12 Steps to Fitness Freedom” here are my top 12 fitness related motivational quotes. Enjoy!
1. “Strive for progress, not perfection” -Unknown
2. “The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race” -Unknown
3. “Never settle for second when first is available” -Lou Holtz
4. “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed”-Michael Jordan
5. “Procrastination is the assassination of motivation” -Unknown
6. “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going” -Jim Rohn
7. “Ability is limitless” -Unknown
8. “To get something you have never had, you have to do something you’ve never done”-Unknown
9. “The difference between a goal and a dream is a deadline” -Steve Smith
10. “Fear nothing, achieve everything” -Josh Bowen
11. “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will” -Mahatma Gandhi
12. “You want me to do something… tell me I can’t do it” -Maya Angelou
By Lauren Mayer, on Wed Dec 11, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET Even in this rapidly changing world, we can always count on a few annual events – swallows returning to Capistrano, back-to-school sales, and of course the annual Fox News whining about the War on Christmas. According to their complaints, godless anti-religious socialists are trying to ruin the American way of life by asking that governments, schools, and even – gasp – retailers try to be inclusive. Pundits point to some horrid city council that decides to replace its annual Nativity scene with a ‘winter’ scene, or stores that use ‘Happy Holiday’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas’ in their advertisements.
Look, I get it – 77% of the country identifies as Christian, Christmas is a national holiday, and I expect to be bombarded by it for at least a month. And I’m not offended when a Target clerk wishes me Merry Christmas even as she rings up my Hanukkah candles & cards. But I also appreciate the occasional ‘Happy Holidays,’ acknowledging that some of us – in fact, 23% of us – don’t observe Christmas, at least as a religious holiday.
And as for the whining about political correctness in schools, try to imagine what it’s like for Jewish or Muslim kids in a class making Christmas ornaments and preparing for a Christmas concert. Would it be so hard to teach them “Winter Wonderland” or “White Christmas” and save “Away In A Manger” for church?
Sarah Palin is making a whole career move out of this manufactured controversy, with a new book and of course a major book tour, insisting we need to have MORE Christmas and more religious observances in public. In a recent interview she answered a question about other religions being offended by saying, “In my family we have the Menorah out through December on our kitchen table, because I want to teach my children about the Jewish faith.” Which shows just how little she knows about the Jewish faith: Hanukkah only lasts 8 days, and Menorahs get lit and displayed in a window, not left on the kitchen table like a bowl of fruit. (Besides, that type of comment sounds an awful lot like “Some of my best friends are . . . ” But I digress . . . )
Anyway, no matter what holidays we observe at this time of year, it’s a good chance to stop and think about what’s important in life, to count our blessings. So I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Sarah Palin, Bill O’Reilly, et al, for frequently making my job so easy.
By Erica and Matt Chua, on Tue Dec 10, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET How do you distinguish “old” in a city that was founded over 1100 years ago? When some of the “newer” areas are older than the United States of America, it’s all old to me, but to the Egyptians there is an old and new Cairo. The old part is called “Islamic Cairo”, which seems like another redundant name in Cairo, one of the largest Islamic cities in the world. To learn more we set off to explore this “old” Islamic Cairo…here’s what we found.
Signs such as this begin to get old, I mean really old, as almost every building was constructed before “Columbus sailed the ocean blue” which marks old for me.
Old Cairo isn’t a dead city or closed off to be a museum, rather it’s as alive today as it ever was, full of homes, stores, restaurants and mosques.
Read the rest of…
Erica and Matt Chua: Climbing Above Old Cairo
By Mona Tailor, on Mon Dec 9, 2013 at 3:00 PM ET After visiting Lincoln’s birthplace in Hodgenville, KY, my uncle from India shared, “Being in the presence of where great men have been, gives us the opportunity to aspire to some of that greatness.” That quote has stuck with me through the years.
The last two weeks have been filled with reminders of greatness. Our country commemorated the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. I was too young to see JFK in person, but I heard stories from my family members about what he inspired in them. This past week, the world mourned the loss of another leader, Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela was someone I was able to see in person, someone who inspired us all by his own story, and taught us the best way to handle difficult situations. His response to his imprisonment taught us how to work together towards reconciliation. His example is something we can all use as we work to deal with others who do us wrong, or perceived wrong.
I was in middle school when I got to see Nelson Mandela in person accepting an award from the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN. I don’t remember what he said, or if he even said anything at all. I just remember the presence of greatness.
 I did not understand the depth of what this man meant to South Africa until my Sub-Saharan politics class at UK. Quoting the thesis from my research paper, “The South African nation was able to achieve its greatness and strength by the nationalism of its racially different groups, international scrutiny following World War II concerning apartheid, and the realization that a resolution to the racial conflict was necessary.” Nelson Mandela had a hand in each aspect of this to help South Africa achieve that greatness.
Invictus, the movie, captures this nationalism that South Africa experienced. Mandela was able to unify a nation over the World Cup Rugby Match. The title of the movie was inspired from the poem, by William Ernest Henley. Mandela would recite the poem from memory during his time in prison. The ending lines of the poem provide the most inspiration of all.
“It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.”
If Mandela could deal with everything he dealt with in his life, we can deal with what comes our way. That is his lasting impression and his sense of greatness for which we can all aspire.
By Ronald J. Granieri, on Mon Dec 9, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET Click here to download the podcast of December’s “Geopolitics with Granieri”
 Russia’s resurgence raises a host of questions. Specifically, what does this mean for the future of democracy in the former Soviet republic? How have recent shifts in Russian-American relations influenced Russian ambitions in the “near abroad?” What role – if any – will China play in Eurasian politics? Join Host Ron Granieri, as he “interrogates” Stephen Blank, one of the nation’s leading experts on Eurasia, to find out the answers to these important questions and much more!
Dr. Stephen J. Blank is a Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council. He has published over 900 articles and monographs on Soviet/Russian, U.S., Asian, and European military and foreign policies, testified frequently before Congress on Russia, China, and Central Asia, consulted for the Central Intelligence Agency, major think tanks and foundations, chaired major international conferences in the U.S. and in Florence; Prague; and London, and has been a commentator on foreign affairs in the media in the U.S. and abroad. He has also advised major corporations on investing in Russia and is a consultant for the Gerson Lehrmann Group. He has published or edited 15 books, most recently Russo-Chinese Energy Relations: Politics in Command (London: Global Markets Briefing, 2006). He has also published Natural Allies? Regional Security in Asia and Prospects for Indo-American Strategic Cooperation (Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, 2005). He is currently completing a book entitled Light From the East: Russia’s Quest for Great Power Status in Asia to be published in 2014 by Ashgate. Dr. Blank is also the author of The Sorcerer as Apprentice: Stalin’s Commissariat of Nationalities (Greenwood, 1994); and the co-editor of The Soviet Military and the Future(Greenwood, 1992).
By Saul Kaplan, on Mon Dec 9, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET On New Year’s Eve I received one of those blast-from-the past emails, made possible by Google, from a long forgotten friend from high school days. I hadn’t thought about the crew from an after school job 35 years ago at McDonalds forever. (Yes, you heard right, I flipped burgers at McDonalds) The email moved me and provided a wonderful end-of-the-year gift because this friend had taken the time after all of these years to reach out and thank me for the positive influence I had on her life. I had no idea that I had said these things and that my passion for mentoring extended all the way back to high school.
Here is an excerpt from the email. Tell me you wouldn’t have been moved if this popped in to your in-basket on New Year’s Eve.
“Over the holidays I was with a bunch of friends and we were all talking about gratitude, and the fact that we are much more aware of all of the people who have touched our lives in positive ways along the way.
I mentioned that I have always wished I had run into you sometime as an adult so that I could tell you that you changed the entire course of my life when I was 18 and pretty directionless. You told me that I was smart, too smart not to go to college.
So I went. To college, that is.
And then I went to law school.
I have honestly thought about how different my life might have been if you had not done what no guidance counselor or parent or frankly any adult in my life had thought to do….you encouraged me to be more. So, thank you!”
Wow. What a nice way to end the year. I have been thinking about my McDonalds after school job and the crew I hung out with since receiving this uplifting note. I had forgotten how much I learned from my first job serving up greasy fries and how some of the things I took away from that time have stayed with me over the years. I must have barked out to my kids, “Clean as you go” hundreds of times while they were growing up. I know it drove them crazy but you won’t find any of them with cluttered countertops, desktops, TIVOs, or lives. They have no idea that I learned that annoying habit and phrase while working at McDonalds. Clean as you go is important in the kitchen and in life.
I also remembered something this week that I don’t think I have ever shared publicly. I was fired from that job at McDonalds. My best friend at the time decided to steal one of those frozen birthday cakes from the walk-in freezer out in the parking lot. The store manager caught my friend in the act. He confronted me because he knew we were friends and assumed it was a conspiracy (It wasn’t, I swear!). I must have had a big shit-eating grin while denying it (the same one that anyone who knows me has seen many times) because he fired me on the spot. I was devastated at the time because I needed that job to save for college. Looking back at it I can trace the resolve to control my own career, not letting any company or institution think they can control it for me, to that frozen birthday cake and being fired from my first job at McDonalds. I have stuck to that resolve throughout my career.
It is I who should thank my friend (not the one who stole the birthday cake) for having the courage to send me that email on New Year’s Eve. Thank you for bringing back such wonderful memories and for teaching me something important. Because of you I have amended my “clean as you go” philosophy. While it might be necessary to get rid of the clutter in your life perhaps it is more important to hold on to the old friendships and memories that impact your life.
By Ronald J. Granieri, on Fri Dec 6, 2013 at 4:30 PM ET Nelson Mandela was a great man whose life and work was a blessing to humanity. I say that even as I recognize it took me longer than it should have to realize it. Like a lot of campus conservative types in the mid-1980s, I knew little about Mandela while I was in college, but never let that stop me from having a lot of opinions about him, South Africa, and the ANC, and also making a lot of predictions about the future that sound pretty idiotic in retrospect. Truth is, he surprised his enemies and not a few of his friends by his post-Robben Island career. All I can say is that I am delighted to have been proven wrong so decisively by a man who left prison as he entered it, determined to free his people, but then set an example for all people of the politics of racial harmony. His actions and statements after his release transcended mere tolerance, challenging us to build a world where all work together respecting every fellow human being.
Did he completely succeed in translating his vision into reality? Is South Africa a utopia of racial transcendence? Certainly not. Human frailty being what it is, we all still have a lot of work to do everywhere. But in our efforts to do that work, we can all profit from the legacy of words and actions that Mandela has bequeathed to us.
In my faith tradition, we have a word for people whose exemplary lives inspire us to greater good. We call them saints. I use the term here carefully, not wanting to put off secularists, or to provoke reactions from my more religious brothers and sisters. Nevertheless, the ecclesiological analogy is important as we consider the political world. Saints are great not only because of what they believe, but because of what they do with that belief. They do not merely proclaim their personal purity and leave the world to burn. They see their own virtue not as a secret they can hoard and smugly lord over others, but as a responsibility, a trust to be put to use here on earth. Their works, their example, offer a spark of the Divine. That spark can and should kindle in every open heart a redoubled desire to do better, to be better, and to embrace our common human responsibilities.
Nelson Mandela is free from all care now. It is up to us to continue the work he began. His legacy inspires us, offering strength for the challenges to come.
By Julie Rath, on Fri Dec 6, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET 1. Hair product can tend to make your forehead shiny, so wash your face after application to avoid that lacquered look.
2. If the weather is foul, and the party you’re going to isn’t dressy, try wearing a dark wash, slimmer cut pair of jeans with rugged boots. You can even roll your jeans up neatly as seen here:
3. Be prepared for the occasional host who asks guests to remove shoes at the door by wearing dress socks that are in good repair – you could even try a pair of red or green ones (not both!) for subtly festive flavor. I like these which are on sale from J. Crew.
4. Do keep your facial hair trimmed for holiday festivities. The only people allowed to have big furry beards are Santa and Randy Moss. When your facial hair brings to mind a certain fake beard from Jackass: Number Two…that’s a party fail.
5. Make sure your hair isn’t greasy on the day of the party. You should be looking slick…your hair, not so much. If you’re unsure if it looks dirty or not, ask a female friend whom you trust to be straight with you.
6. If you wear cologne, spritz once (or twice max) on your neck, then put the bottle down. While it’s true that in the wild animals are attracted to each other based on smell, less is more when it comes to people.
7. No matter how festive you’re feeling, don’t wear any decorative ties, sweaters, etc. with things like reindeer or Santa on them. See #2 for how to add a dash of holiday spirit. If you absolutely cannot do without novelty clothing items, put them on a patient friend, like Robert.
 8. If you tend to have an everyday uniform like jeans and a t-shirt with a button-down thrown over it, try thinking outside the box for casual party wear. Pair one of your cool graphic t-shirts (no sports team tees please!) with a military cardigan and a nicely fitted pair of dark jeans.
9. If you’re going to a party that calls for “black-tie optional”, and you don’t own a tux, instead of renting one that surely won’t fit right, another “option” would be to wear a black, navy or dark grey suit with a white shirt and a dark either plain or patterned tie.
10. If you wear glasses, make sure the lenses are clean. Ladies want to see your handsome eyes, not the smudges on your glasses.
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