Edifice

A mini emailterview with a Mr Joe Wikert (VP - John Wiley & Sons, Inc)

2005-07-25T20:11:00.000-07:00

This is really exciting! An reply from:: Mr Joe Wikert
Vice President and Publisher, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Professional/Trade division.

Some insights to Corporate Blogging from a Corpoate Leader's point of view. Thanks Joe.

# What motivates you to blog despite your schedule?
I have to admit that I caught the blog bug earlier this year. I
agreed to start a blog in order to sign Robert Scoble and Shel Israel
to write a book for us. After first thinking it would be a burden, I
quickly discovered I not only enjoyed writing the blog, but also
reading other blogs. Now that I've been involved in a blog for a few
months, I find writing the posts is a nice change of scenery for me.
It enables me to do something outside my regular daily activities,
despite the fact that it's related to those activities. It's also fun
to communicate with readers of the blog and get their opinions.

# What are the advantages do you see for a top-level executive to blog?
The #1 benefit is accessibility. You make yourself available for
anyone to comment on what you're doing. Related to that, it's a great
way to stay involved with some of your key stakeholders. In my case,
it's an excellent opportunity to share my experience with new and
experienced authors. I'd like to think I'm opening a door for them to
publish with my company (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), but even if they
don't, it's good to know you're helping to spread information to the
authoring community. Even if it's not my post that's delivering the
information...it often is the comment from other authors that has the
most value.

# How long have you been blogging?
I started in February.

# How do you the future of blogging as a medium of an organization's
marketing / communications strategies?
I don't think blogging as a platform replaces anything, but it helps
extend the PR arm of the organization. You have to be careful to not
simply try and turn a blog into a highly polished PR vehicle, however.
I think it's much more important for employees with non-PR functions
to pick up the torch and create their own blogs. Taken together, they
become a wonderful, more human way of presenting the company.

# What will advise other top-level execs who like to start a blog?
As Nike says, "Just do it". It's a bit daunting at first, but you
probably won't regret it.

# Is blogging already a part of your corporations culture?
No, but I'd like to think it's heading in that direction.

# Why did you choose to blog instead of setting up a a forum?
Primarily because of the original deal with Robert Scoble and Shel
Israel, noted above. I'm glad it's a blog though because it gives me
a lot more flexibility to add and change elements along the way (e.g.,
new books from my group at Wiley, other books that caught my eye,
etc.)

Conscious >> Sub-Conscious >> Super-Conscious ??

2005-07-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

con·scious : 'kän(t)-sh&s:: perceiving, apprehending, or noticing with a degree of controlled thought or observation
sub·con·scious : "s&b-'kän(t)-sh&s:: existing in the mind but not immediately available to consciousness

su·per.con·scious : 'sü-p&r -'kän(t)-sh&s
:: a state of mind where your thoughts and creativity sudden unleash a level of ability beyond your usual, concievable limits.

Never heard before?? Well I just got to know about it not too long ago too. I was listening the Disk 5 of Brian Tracy's "Philosophy of Success".

Brian mentioned about the ability of our minds to sometimes turn out unexpected positive results that astonishes even ourselves.

Remember the time when you were cracking your head to resolve a seemingly unsolvable situation, and then, on the verge of giving up .. Then SUDDENLY .. an idea just hit you out of the blue and just put everything into place? That was an idea that makes you go : " Did I actually come out with that?? "

That is just an overly simplified example. The audio went on to mention how Mozart, at the age of 5, could write masterpieces .. first-time-right!

I am a believer in the immense potential of the human mind. I've seen how hypnotism is able extend one's fingers by almost 1/2 centimetre. How you could rest a person, back downwards, on 2 chairs; one supporting the ankle and another the skull. No support in between. To further accentuate the point, another person was asked to sit on the tummy of the subject. And, gosh, she remained horizontal like a bridge!!

So, what if we can tap into this potential of our brain? Well, ideas will start to flow .. solutions will spring out of your grey-matter like a jack-in-the-box .. you can gain extreme clarity of your situation .. you can achieve so much more.

The truth is that the mere knowledge of it's existence is futile if you do not know how to unleash. And I'll be a real jerk if I have caught your attention this far and just left you in a lurch, not knowing what to do about it.

There are 6 ways to tap into this potential .. 3 passive and another 3 active .. I've only used one of them and I am already yielding some results. And that is results during my very first use.

IT is call Mind-Storming .. and I think it was created by Earl Nightingale.

Very simple write down the challenge that you have, and RESOLVE to write out AT LEAST 20 solutions! Yes. I said AT LEAST ! It can be any solution. It can be dumb, it can be ridiculous, it CAN BE anything at all. Just resolve to never lift your butt off the chair till at least 20 solutions have been penned down.

The whole idea is to literally FORCE the solution out of your mind. Some can be the opposites of another, some can be similar, some can even mean the same thing.

To better illustrate this, I shall use my very own real-life example ::

I am a salesperson, and I sell seminars. I am handling this particular event that could not seemed to sell. We are lost for unique qualities that distinguishes our event from the gazillion out there.

So, I resolved ( and insisted my team-mates to do the same) to come out with at least 20 unique selling propostions on 1) The Speaker 2) The Topics Covered ..

I started. And trust me .. .. My name is Edmund and I'm your friend ..

.. the first 6 to 7 were really easy .. these were things that we've been saying for the past couple of weeks. Things that were the obvious.

.. 8th to about the 13th/14th .. MAN!! . .. .. this is the toughest part! You seemed to run out anything to write. Literally! Your mind seemed blank at this point .. but .. Press on ..

.. by the time you hit the 15th or 16th .. That's when the magic happens! Ideas seemed to flow like a stream and there seemed to be so much more to write. Some of these were very similar to the previous ones, BUT , they were much better articulated than the previous ones that seemed to be the perfect phrase to plug into my sales pitch.

Don't believe? Well try it! It cost nothing to believe in something. If it does not work, then, well .. you are still in the same predicament as you are. BUT, what if .. what if it really WORKS??

If you really want more information, you can visit :: www.briantracy.com.

University of Life

2005-07-08T11:42:00.001-07:00

Imagine .. An university that ::

Has a guaranteed admittance policy
Allows you to choose any subject that you like, and to major in
Allows you to learn at your own pace
Has got NO exams and grade you according to your daily activities
NO one ever fails, though you have the option of quiting
Grants you virtually unlimit attempts at the subjects you are doing
Permits you to change any subject anytime

Wouldn't that sound like an ideal university??

Well .. such an university does exist! It is UL .. University of Life ..

Hurghh?? What relevance is that with life?? Well .. a great deal ..

Life is a journey. Generally a long one (At least I wished for mine to be). One that inevitably will present you with unlimited opportunities.

1.) Has a guaranteed admittance policy
Or you can look upon it as a glamorised conscription.

Like it or not, we are automatically enrolled the minute we breathe our very first breath. Since that very fateful breath, we continually engage in learning. Learning to walk, learning to talk, learning every possible through the use of all our senses.

2.) Allows you to choose any subject that you like, and to major in

This is, as many philosophers will say, the POWER OF CHOICE. We have every right to choose what we want to become.

No? Why not?

We may be borned poor. BUT, we do not have to stay poor.

I know of someone who was form a very humble background who could not afford the luxury of a good education. He CHOSE to lead a very different life. Buying second law books and reading in the candle-lited nights, he made it through to becoming a lawyer! That's not all .. he eventually went on to lead a nation and became one of the most famous presidents ( if not the most famous president ).

Who is he? Mr Abraham Lincoln

Another person I know has lost the functions of his legs, but not the desire to race, through polio. He went on to become a para-olympian, became a neuroscientist, and now is actively involved in charity events. He is someone whom I respect a great deal.

I have done several charity events with him, and each encounter is an inspiration one. Wheeling himself up the slopes, gritting his teeth during the climb, but never failing to exude that warm and sincere smile at the end of it.

His is the pride of Singapore. Dr William TAN Kian Meng.

Some articles on him ::
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Article 4
More information can found about him in Google Singapore.

3.) Allows you to learn at your own pace
"I am too old to learn!"

Isn't that a common remark we all hear? Successful people never stop learning!

Colonel Harland Sanders actively began franchising his chicken business at the age of 65.
Coach John Wooden never ceases to keep up to date now at the age of 95.
Dr John C. Maxwell only learnt the importance of health in his 50s when he had an heart-attack.
George Orwell once lived as a tramp and dishwasher in London just to experience life.

4.) Has got NO exams and grade you according to your daily activities

Think again, do anyone ever become successful overnight? (Discounting sweepstakes winners)

Isn't one's success an accumulation of hardwork? You slog in the day and stay up late in the night. Doing everything that is congruent with you desired outcome.

Just like a bodybuilder did not sculpt that magnificent body because of one week of intense and extreme body, success is never so. It takes a lot of learning, working, more learning, and more learning.

Failure, on the other hand, is also never coincidental. No one wakes up one morning and find that he had suddenly became a failure. Chances are he had slacked, partied, and wandered a little too much.

Just like no one suddenly ends up in a poor state of health. It must be due to smoking, drinking, poor dietary habits, over-indulgence, stress .. etc. Then, one day, a major illness befalls. These are all results of negative daily HABITS!!

The good news is no matter what state one is in, unless terminally ill or dead, it is still POSSIBLE to turn things around.

If you are overweight: change your diet and for Chirst's sake EXCERCISE!
If you are failing behind in your career: get help, work harder, improve your competency ..

By the basic Law of Cause and Effects, if you wanna change the effects of your actions and mindset, CHANGE!

5.) NO one ever fails, though you have the option of quiting.

It took Thomas Edison more than 5,000 failed experiences to discover a light buld that works economically! The scientific world thought that he was mad and wasting his life and wasting money. At that time, it did looked like he REALLY is a failure. In fact, he will be remebered as a failure in the human history. BUT, he pressed on. Now he is the talk of almost every household. The moment the electrical light buld turns on, not many parent will tell the son that the lightbuld was invented by Thomas. Not the inventor that filled the most, but the one that invented the most items ever.

"Many of life's failure are those who gave up without knowing how close they were to success."
~ Thomas A. Edison ( "before I was born" to "before I was born")

That is a quote by him that continued press me on each time feel dejected and hopeless.

The next time, if you have given your best and still feel like a failure - turn on the lightbuld. And remember the man who have failed more than you.

.: Welcome to Aedificre :.

2005-06-30T08:09:00.001-07:00

aedificre :: Late Latin (tr.v.ed·i·fied, ed·i·fy·ing,ed·i·fies) 1. To instruct especially so as to encourage intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement.

This is the aim of this site. This is a project that I have been wanting to embark on but it never quite got out of the lab.

How this idea came about?
It all began when I read Getting Entrepreneurial ! end of last year. It mentioned about 2 important questions that any entrepreneur should think about ::

What do I love doing?
What am I good at?

First, I love reading. It' ironic cause when I was young, my mum had a hardtime trying to get me to even interested in picture books. Textbooks were the abt the only (I had no choice) books that I read .. ..

It was not till my army days that I started to get interested in reading. But .. geesh .. interested and doing are 2 different things. I had much problem even finishing the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ..

Then came my Uni days .. well .. let's just I did manage to complete to complete things that are of extreme interest to me .. That would be IT magazines ..

Later, I graduated and got a job. Reading became a little more .. but .. still limited very much to mags and websites ..

Then .. I joined an MLM company WBG .. unlike many other MLM companies out there, it focus is greatly on improving ones mind through continued informal self-education. That was when I got in touch with books from some of the most remarkable authors like ::

Dr. John C. Maxwell (My faourite Author)

Brian Tracy

Dr. Stephen Covey

Napolean Hill

Dale Carnegie

Jim Rohn

Ken Blanchard etc .. ..

They have inspired me great in my thoughts and attitude towards many things in life .. I can't say that I am great success but .. well .. Success is a journey, not a destination .. so I hope to share with others the things that I've learnt in the books that I've read.

As for the things that I am good at .. I wouldn't exactly say that I am an excellent copywriter (in fact I am an engineer by training) .. I guessed that you should have seen by now that I have started with "How this Idea came about" and now I've spent a bulk of the writing on other thingd .. that's me .. ;) ..

Seemed like I've already covered quite a bit .. and that should include why I wanna start this site .. my mini life story .. I'll probably stop here for a while ..