The path

An entrepreneur faces different life perceptions at the various stages of the path. At half way, anxiety turns into a mild restless and this is because we realize there is not endless time left. Life is short and it can be sweet for certain. It depends on us and our choices. You can be either at the top of your own company or in the pursue of your best profession accomplishment you will wish for more, and get conscious of your inner strength as well as what serves you and what doesn't. Again, the searcher at the very beginning of the path.

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Of Dreams and Dragons.....

Everybody has dreams and ideas. Some are ideas that become dreams,
some are illusions, challenges which are feasible or not. It does not
matter how they are born but what we can do of them. I call mine
dragons, as powerful and threatening, glamorous and charming dragons
can be. Who hasn't fallen for "The last one" in Sean Connery's voice?
Whatever the case, fighting against them is always a mistake. Fire and
smoke... strength and power... they can crush you without warning.
Surrender is not that good either. You can spend a whole life waiting
to see them fly in all their glory and die without any glimpse of it.
The smell of the smoke, the uncomfortable presence of the unknown. The
best solution is to tame the beast. Have you ever imagined yourself
being able to fly the highest skies and being able to see the wonders
of the conquered land?

Two weeks ago, John Carpenter, a friend, recommended me a book called "The Dream Manager", by Matthew Kelly. It is about "thinking" your employees, about commitment and relevance. But it is, most of all, about people and their dreams. It's been ages working and talking to and about people, their uniqueness, source of teachers' and bosses' inspiration and desperation, so different they are! People hold different universes inside: undeniable truth! And if an opportunity to make dreams possible is made available, commitment can be forged. I know skepticism and comfort zone walk together, but having an educator's heart, I keep saying: people are fascinating and able of changing - yes, they are! We cannot make other people's jobs, and motivation is one-self's responsibility, but we can offer opportunities and consulting.

Some sentences from the book:

"The employees know things about our business that we don't know."

"Isn't one of the primary responsibilities of all relationships to help each other fulfill our dreams?"

"Help your employees in the direction of their dreams and you will create the most dynamic environment in Corporate America!"

"Don't be afraid to take a big step if it is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps."

Well, let's manage dreams!!!

Non-stop English Immersion - Embrapa Florestas

It was a great educational experience to format Embrapa Florestas Immersion that took place in Guaratuba, PR. During 10 days, on the weeks of 16th to 30th October and 9th to 13th November a group of 16 people had their English brushed up and got prepared to make presentations in English about their projects, projects that are already ongoing or that will be presented national and internationally. They had lectures and workshops on Climate Change and Global Warming, Forest Market, Sustainability, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Team work and Presentation Techniques.

It was hard work but the outcome was amazing. You can appreciate some of their presentations and check the quality of the work. I take the opportunite to congratulate all the students and facilitators on their great achievement. You will be able to check details at On The Road's webpage soon: www.ontheroadidiomas.com.br

Empreendedorismo, e daí?

Gostei muito de participar como uma das palestrantes no evento da Fesp com a palestra "Empreendedorismo, e daí?" Os principais assuntos abordados foram a Desmitificação do Empreendedor e Social Media, a velocidade das informações, o que de fato importa. Tenho conversado com amigos, colegas e alunos a esse respeito e percebo que as questões continuam as mesmas:

• Pode-se ensinar Empreendedorismo?
• Media Social, qual seu uso real para as empresas?

Nada como histórias reais para elucidar teorias. Sintam-se a vontade para contar suas histórias. Aproveitem para dar uma olhada nos links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

http://www.fesppr.br/2008/index.php?ir=ver_noticia&id=1187

I enjoyed the invitation to participate as a Lecturer at FESP event. My talk was " Entrepreneurship, so what?" and the main issues were De-mythifying the Entrepreneur and Social Media : what really matters as information speeds, how should we deal with all that. Talking to al lot of colleagues, friends and students I have realized the main concerns are the same:

• Can Entrepreneurship be taught?
• What is Social Media's role for business?

Nothing like true stories to bring life to theory. Feel free to tell your stories.

Some inspiring link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

and FESP's http://www.fesppr.br/2008/index.php?ir=ver_noticia&id=1187

Social Media Convention Oxford- 18th September 2009

Being able to attend this Convention was a great opportunity. As you can see in the picture, people would twitter or "twitta" (mention to the British accent) during the time the panelists were discussing the evolution, impact and potential of Social Media.

I selected some panelists and participants quotes I'd like to share and discuss with people who are also interested in the subject and possible links to Entrepreneurship Education which it certainly holds.

"If you remove the need to obtain permission people will do exciting things"

Bill Thompson (BBC Billboard)

"If you find yourself in competition to the internet, find your way out"

Richard Sanbrook ( member of BBC's Executive Direction Board and BBC's Journalism Board

"The battle is for attention, anyway!"

Nigel Shadbolt (Artificial Intelligence Professor - University of Southampton)

"It's reconfiguring how we do things, how we communicate to people!"

William Dutton (Director of the Oxford Internet Studies)

and his comment on the popular saying and engineers' view:

"If it ain't broken, don't fix it" versus "If it ain't broken it ain't enough features"

"From all points of society people can be heard."

"If you post at the internet you will be heard - false!"

Matthew Hindman ( professor of political science at Arizona State University)

It seems we are still playing around like Bill Thompson said. The world is in the process of getting smaller through interconnections and infinitively bigger through information access. I have the impression we are recreating our lives, businesses, relations in this other space, in this other media. If values, behaviour, political and social commitments will change due to this new environment or if the new environment is the consequence of its change is open for discussion. What came first?

Social Media, so what?

more information, blogs, webpages:

http://www.markattwood.com/internetmarketing/oxford-social-media-conference/

http://kara.allthingsd.com/20090918/kara-visits-the-oxford-social-media-convention-i-say-twitt-er-you-say-twitt-ah/

http://www.craigbellamy.net/2009/09/21/quick-response-oxford-social-media-convention-2009/

Looking to the future, speakers from industry, media and academia looked forwards to identify the trends and developments which will most likely shape our experience of these technologies in the next ten years.

Plenary Sessions:
- From weblogs to Twitter: how did we get to where we are today and what are the main impacts to date?
- Social media, so what? Assessing the impact of blogging and social media
- Blogging at 20: The future of blogs and social media
Parallel Sessions
- Breaking news: the changing relationship between blogs and mainstream media
- Making science public: data-sharing, dissemination and the public engagement with science
- The growth of the corporate blog
- Parties, campaigns and representation: the political impact of blogs and social media

This Convention was organised in collaboration with the Oxford Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Said Business School."

Website: http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=272

51.7441270447 -1.3272786140

http://www.ippr.org/events/?id=3273

Logistics in English

I would like to thank all my UNERJ Logistics in English students for the opportunity for such a rich info exchange and to tell you that you could show great interpersonal skills, so necessary for progressing not only professionally, but in life. It was great to be with you. I would also recommend the webpage below to keep practicing and learning Logistics in English. I know, I know...I posted it in English....of course! and I know you can read it!

http://www.ubisense.net/content/22.html

Business in English

Foi realizado em 5 e 6 de maio na Amcham - Curitiba o primeiro módulo de Business in English. Projeto desenvolvido pela On The Road especialmente para executivos e empresários. O feedback foi excelente e o segundo módulo sai agora em Junho. Esses cursos básicos são oferecidos para instituições e empresas que tenham a necessidade de utilizar o Idioma como ferramenta de uso diário, adaptada ao nível em que se encontram seus colaboradores. São apresentadas soluções para o uso do telefone, e-mails, apresentações, viagens a negócios entre outros temas. O contato para maiores informações pode ser feito através do número (41) 32648615 e da web: http://www.ontheroadidiomas.com.br/