Best of 2008

Best and Worst Managers of 2008

• The best leaders have not only ridden out the crisis so far but also gleaned valuable, often profitable, lessons from it. The worst? Well, some helped set the economic crisis in motion; others became paragons of bad judgment in a time of trouble. Here are the leaders of 2008 with all their successes and failures.

• It’s not easy to measure excellence in a year like 2008. While some managers can be judged by the bottom line, others merely had the good fortune to be running a food company instead of a financial firm. Then again, with volatile commodity prices, succeeding in the food business wasn’t such an easy task.

• BusinessWeek has singled out 12 executives who did a remarkable job of navigating stormy waters. Some have posted stellar results. Others are struggling. But there are lessons to be learned from each of them.

2008 Top Employers to Work For

• Fortune surveyed nearly 100,000 employees from 406 different companies and asked them to evaluate their employers. Click here for the full list of America's top 100 employers, including detailed company profiles, top locations, and contact information.
  

Best Global Brands – 2008 Rankings

• Interbrand takes many ingredients into account when ranking the value of the Best Global Brands. Even to qualify for the list, each brand must derive at least a third of its earnings outside its home country, be recognizable outside of its base of customers, and have publicly available marketing and financial data.

• Click above to see the list of all the 100 top brands

• Click here to see the slide show and get a snapshot of each of the 100 brands.

Best and Worst Tech Products of 2008

• Apple (AAPL) led the charge, updating its bestselling iPhone with innovative new software and hardware, while Research In Motion (RIMM) and Google (GOOG) dipped their toes into the smartphone space with daring designs of their own.

• The year in tech had its share of superb follow-ups, like the practical and hip Flip Mino camera and Mozilla's instantly popular Firefox 3. But there were plenty of spectacular surprises as well, from Google's out-of-left-field Web browser to Netflix's entrance into the hardware business.

• Click above for the 20 best tech products of 2008, as selected by BusinessWeek's technology writers and editors, as well as five highly anticipated products that failed to meet expectations.

Best Business Architecture of 2008

• As commercial construction falls deeper into recession, it seems fitting that the winners of this year's BusinessWeek/Architectural Record awards show the payoffs of investing in smart design.

• The contest, in its 11th year, honors buildings that adhere to the sponsors' semi-official tagline: "Good design is good business." A jury of editors from BusinessWeek and Architectural Record (both owned by The McGraw-Hill Companies (MFP)) analyzed more than 100 submissions from around the world, paying particular attention not to showy facades or flashy foyers but rather to the impact of a design on a company's bottom line.

• Click above to check out the best business buildings of 2008.

Airline of the Year 2008

• For the 3rd time in 10 years, Singapore Airlines has been named World's Best Airline, winning the 2008 Airline of the Year title in the latest World Airline Awards.

• Over 15 million eligible survey interviews were completed during the 11 month Survey period. From Seoul to Sao Paulo, Copenhagen to Cape Town, the scale and breadth of the 2008 survey further strengthens the well-established reputation as the World's Largest Passenger Survey.

• Click above to find the Top 10 airlines of the Year 2008.

• Click here to get the 2008 Worldwide results breakdown in terms of Best Regional Airline, Best by Cabin Type, and Best Low-Cost Airlines.

Click, Ten Truths for Building Extraordinary Relationships, by George C. Fraser

Book recommended by Harold Schroeder. Thank you!

Harold Schroeder always makes it a point to share something interesting and inspirational in the New Year. Thank you so much for keeping up the tradition.

In his email, Harold states “Vishal, as you may know, I believe that ...it is all about relationships. So within that context, I believe the book "Click" might interest you as an inspirational piece for the New Year. The book offers Ten Truths on how to find your social voice, cultivate beneficial offerings to others, and how to truly click with like-minded counterparts. Traditional networking is broken and backwards. A different way of meeting, greeting, and ultimately clicking with colleagues and friends is required. Networking is goal-based. Clicking is value-based. Networking is often selfish and one-sided. Clicking is mutually beneficial. Hope you enjoy the read. Again, wishing you a very happy New Year!”

Brief Summary:

In Click you will discover the Ten Truths for connecting with people. In today’s high-tech, isolated world, individuals have a difficult time connecting with others. Networking offers a venue, but Fraser’s Ten Truths can help individuals truly click:

1. Be Authentic — Be true to real self
   
2. Communicate With Your Heart — Cultivate a new source of intelligence
   
3. Love, Serve, Give and Add Value First — Good deeds return to the giver tenfold
   
4. Nurture Your Relationships — They are the core of personal and professional success
   
5. Bless Them and Release Them — Cut damaging unions loose and move on
   
6. Trust First; Distrust Must Be Earned —Trust breeds more trust, and open communication
   
7. Tailor Your Relationships — Consciously create the "perfect fit"
   
8. Make Peace, Not War, With Words — Use the power of speech and writing for good
   
9. Be Open to Everything — And attached to nothing
   
10. It Takes Teamwork to Make the Dream Work — Seek caring, creative allies

But George Fraser doesn't stop there. He shows you how to go from networking to connecting - when you experience that heartfelt feeling of trust and exciting burst of energy with someone. And then when you each willingly add special value to each other and achieve more together than either of you could achieve alone, that's when you're clicking.

Below you will find a 9-min movie where the author George Fraser talks about his new book Click. I think the first 6-mins of the movie where George introduces the concept of the book is pretty interesting.

Finding Joy - Movie by Mac Anderson

- Shared by Sangeeta. Thank you!

Mac Anderson: “As we all know, for many people, 2008 has been filled with personal and professional challenges. Therefore, I hope you'll reach out to encourage those who may be going through difficult times. Sometimes a kind word at the right moment can change a life forever. There are times when I need to remind myself that life can be complicated, but happiness is really pretty simple. Like everyone else, I have doubts, fears and disappointments in my life, and need to remember what's most important. That's when I turn to Finding Joy. In just a few minutes it puts a smile in my heart when I need it most. The music, the photos and the words always take my breath away".

Click here to watch the inspirational movie "Finding Joy".