Orion over El Castillo
Image Credit & Copyright: Stéphane Guisard (Los Cielos de America, TWAN)
Credits: D. Flores and B. Pichardo (Inst. Astronomia UNAM), P. Sánchez and R. Nafate (INAH)
Explanation: Welcome to the December solstice, a day the world does not end ... even according to the Mayan Calendar. To celebrate, consider this dramatic picture of Orion rising over El Castillo, the central pyramid at Chichén Itzá, one of the great Mayan centers on the Yucatán peninsula. Also known as the Temple of Kukulkan it stands 30 meters tall and 55 meters wide at the base. Built up as a series of square terraces by the pre-Columbian civilization between the 9th and 12th century, the structure can be used as a calendar and is noted for astronomical alignments. In fact, the Mayans were accomplished astronomers and mathematicians, accurately using the cyclic motions of the stars, Sun, Moon, and planets to measure time and construct calendars. Peering through clouds in this night skyscape, stars in the modern constellation Orion the Hunter represented a turtle in the Mayan sky. Tak sáamal.

Millennials just think differently! Faster, Better and more Innovatively

Welcome to the world of warp speed, The Star Wars fantasies of our childhood are the work realities of our adulthood. Truth be told I am envious of my sons generation. Their ability to adapt and change is remarkable and as adults, educators and employers we look to them with pity and consternation. I don’t understand WHY?

They are in fact inheriting a fast paced and even faster evolving landscape and it’s a good thing that what we incorrectly label as ADD is in fact a necessary skill in the 21^st century and their generation has it in abundance albeit we have so tirelessly attempted to quell it with drugs but I’ll leave that rant for a future post. What adults, educators and employers need to do is to find a way to tap into those skills and evolve with the inevitable instead of digging in there heals and singing the same sad mantras of the past. If the last four years have proved anything it is this, “Time stops for No One”. 

 As we sit on the edge of our seats waiting for the next financial shoe to drop or the next fiscal cliff to unfold life and time presses forward and not at a rate slowed down by the financial mess we are in today. It may have in the past but not today. It presses fast forward at warp speed and thank goodness my sons generation keeps on moving forward with it. Demanding better, faster, and fancier innovations. If it were up to me I would declare an international just think like a kid Week! That’s right a whole week to think like kids think.

To “think different”! It was Einstein that said "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them" so a change in thinking MUST COME FIRST! I’m glad my sons generation doesn’t think like mine and I’m certainly happy his generation doesn’t think like my parents generation because if there is one thing that I know for sure it is that his generation is going to have to come up with the solutions needed to fix the things all the previous generations have screwed up and since his generation is also the consumers of the future I’m putting my bets on thinking more like he does than attempting to convince him to think like I did!

Business as usual IS DEAD: Boldness is a requirement!

I think it's safe to say that "Business as Usual is Dead!" Boldness seems to be a necessary skill or better yet a requirement. Companies of today are facing non traditional competitors and what once insured a company’s competitive advantage simply doesn't guarantee the success it once did. Changing the way we think requires a set of skills that many of today's workers aren't equipped with so what's an organization to do?