The majority of the movie’s plot is dedicated to the law suits of Eduardo Saverin, who starts as Facebooks CFO by providing Zuckerberg with one thousand in start-up funds, and twins with the last name Winklevoss, who claim they originally had the idea for Facebook and are Olympic rowers and well connected at Harvard. The exact events that transpired between the Winklevoss twins and Zuckerberg and Saverin,whom  Zuckerberg declares as his best friend despite the law suit, are unclear, but it is made clear that the twins and Saverin settled for billions and signed confidentiality agreements.      

It is worth noting that the former and sometimes controversial Treasury Secretary under Clinton, Larry Summers, was the President of Harvard University during the time period portrayed in the movie. His character is written into the movie because the well connected Winklevoss twins manage to get an appointment with him to address their charges that Mark Zuckerberg stole their intellectual property, the idea for Facebook.  Summers does not want to get involved with the Winklevoss twins’ complaint and tells them that Harvard students generally believe being your own boss is preferable to getting a job working for someone else. He then urges them to develop another idea like Facebook. If this really occurred, it is telling of Summers inability to conceive the importance of an idea like Facebook; the former Treasury Secretary was evidently behind the times. It also displays the intent of a Harvard education: ingenuity, innovation, and the desire to create.

The Social Network is an intelligent, noteworthy example of the type of film that only comes around once in a decade. By the way, Facebook’s estimated net value is approximately 25 billion dollars, and Mark Zuckerberg is the world’s youngest billionaire. Friend me…

The Social Network Official Trailer

Above the office chatter and sports talk radio with alumni and fans of the remaining ten Big 12 teams, there is a real need to figure out why all the moves have happened and if more will come. The NCAA has become a system predicated on maximizing TV revenue dollars (especially in BCS football). Every school is out to make sure that they get their share– it’s a business. This all makes sense to me, and I’ve blogged on the subject before.  Fans, alumni, students, and faculty naturally appreciate and benefit by their institution’s ability to generate more revenue.  It remains unclear to me how much academics and the relative reputations of schools factor in; for example, I’m not so sure if it was important to the Pac-10 or Big Ten that Colorado and Nebraska are members of the prestigious AAU (Association of American Universities).  My sense is that it probably is important and plays a part in conference decisions, although a smaller part than the strength of a school’s athletics department.

The Omaha World-Herald featured an article on June 13th where the author used IRS documents to show the 2008-2009 revenue sharing that occurred in the Big 12. It provides the best insight into Nebraska’s move that I’ve seen and can likely be applied to other schools as well.  The article reports the following:   

“In the Big Ten, revenue is shared equally. In 2007-08, IRS filings show, each school received about $18.8 million. In 2008-09, final figures haven’t been openly filed, but the estimate is $20 million to $21 million each.

The Big 12 reported revenue from four primary sources: TV contracts ($69.9 million); bowl games ($31.7 million); NCAA shares ($28.9 million); and ticket sales ($11.7 million).

Oklahoma moved to No. 1 in revenue share in 2008-09 at $12.2 million (24.5 percent increase). Texas was second at $11.8 million (12.7 percent) and Kansas third at $11.5 million (25 percent).

Iowa State was 11th at $8.9 million (20.3 percent) and Kansas State 12th at $8.4 million (2.4 percent).

That makes the top-to-bottom spread in Big 12 revenue $3.8 million.”

With Nebraska eighth on the list and Colorado seventh, it is easy to see that these two institutions moved from Big 12 profit-sharing that they likely believed was unfair with hopes of achieving higher revenue in another conference. It remains to be seen if conference moves have come to an end or if the Big 12 is reminiscent to an unhappy marriage doomed to end in divorce. In this case, divorce unfortunately has ramifications for unions in other conferences. The University of Memphis with backing from FedEx’s CEO Fred Smith recently made news with the possibility of Memphis buying its way into a BCS conference and don’t forget Utah which still could end up in the Pac-10.  Here’s to a happier and stronger ten team Big 12. It is time to reaffirm conference marriage vows and move on without further disruption to college athletics.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100613/BIGRED/706139829/1141#nebraska-drops-to-eighth-in-big-12-revenue

I initially thought this book was a Christian addition to the recent literature that references the end of times, which has been especially popular with the Mayan 2012 prediction gaining traction through the recent motion picture film (2012) and documentaries. Storm Warnings doesn’t really qualify as part of this kind of work. Billy Graham is updating his earlier work on the subject of the apocalypse written in the aftermath of the Cold War. He begins in the first few chapters by recapping the natural disasters, terrorist strikes, and social and political conflicts that have plagued the world since the crumbling of the Berlin Wall and the publication of his last book. Graham explains his experiences ministering in Germany and Russia during the Cold War and emphasizes his concerns about a world that he believes is becoming more detached from God and morality. It isn’t until about page 80 of the work that he begins to discuss the book’s central thesis which is essentially a description of the Bible’s Book of Revelations that equates contemporary events as possibly being those prophesied in Revelations.

Graham is excellent at providing the context of the Book of Revelations, written by John the Apostle during his captivity by the Romans on the Island of Patmos. He also cites the work with verses that highlight his points and illustrate his biblical scholarship. Chapters 9, 12, 13, and 14 give Graham’s insight into the returning of  the four horsemen as described in Revelations, and he concludes the work in its last two chapters with a description of Christ’s final and triumphant return. The themes that Graham repeats point to the difficulties that the prophecy of Revelations reveals for the world’s final days and that many parallels can be made between the contemporary world and the prophecies. Graham urges his readers to read and understand the prophecies contained in Revelations as preparation and as a reminder of the importance of steadfast faith in the Gospel, especially in times of difficulty.

Billy Graham is providing believers and non-believers with protection from an upcoming storm that is clear in today’s natural, economic, and physical disasters. He is providing an easily read and understood description of the Book of Revelations and the importance of salvation and faith.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers.

I received an advanced reading copy of Open Leadership by Charlene Li, founder of the Altimeter Group and coauthor of the bestselling book, Groundswell, and I am so impressed by this book, which will be available on May 24th.  It is commonly understood that social media is a powerful and creative force that impacts all facets of life in the Information Age, but surprisingly little analysis of precisely how social media is changing the way we do business has been done.  There is a sizable amount of literature that addresses how social media can be used to market and promote entrepreneurial efforts, but little has been written of how social media affects large fortune 500, multinational firms.  I think Charlene Li’s work speaks to both large and small firms and is just as applicable to the public sector as it is to private enterprise.  It provides the framework for organizational leadership to exploit emerging technologies that benefit both customers and employees.

Li introduces the book by explaining the power of social media through two case studies.  In the first, she shows how the Red Cross benefitted by developing a blog, Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter page.  In her second example, she shows how a homemade YouTube segment caused United airlines to reconsider and change its checked baggage policies; however, she emphasizes the changes in leadership and organizational culture that are required to allow an organization to be truly “open.”  The reader is reminded that open leadership is more than just opening a Twitter and Facebook page.  So what is open leadership? Li defines it as, “having the confidence and humility to give up the need to be in control while inspiring commitment from people to accomplish goals.”  She further explains that it consists of five new rules: respect that your customers and employees have power; share constantly to build trust; nurture curiosity and humility; hold openness accountable; and forgive failure. 

Li also reminds her readers that open leadership, while about transparency and engagement, requires successful organizations to decide how much they are willing to share and just how “open” they are willing to become.  Again, she provides several case studies and the tools to help the reader determine how open their particular organization should become.  For example, Apple has been notoriously “closed” and not found the sharing of information beneficial to its operations.  Apple’s strategic goals have not required openness; Apple is successful in producing world-class products.  Li refers to this determination of organizational strategic goals, in terms of openness, as determining the size of an organization’s “sandbox.” Basically, does the organization benefit from a larger, more open and transparent sandbox?   

I found two sections of the book more helpful than others: chapter five which outlines how to structure a social media guideline and chapter seven which defines open leadership traits.  In chapter five, Li provides examples of successful social media guidelines and provides step-by-step instructions for creating one.  Chapter seven defines leaders as either pessimistic or optimistic and individualist or collaborative.  A self-assessment is provided to help decide which of Li’s four leadership archetypes one falls in, and advice is provided on how to alter specific leadership archetypes that aren’t conducive to open leadership. 

As I write this review, Pakistan is blocking YouTube and other web sites because of content that the government has cited as unacceptable.  The power and appeal of social media are unquestionable and largely inescapable.  Is your organization poised to survive in a connected, globalized Information era?  If not, it’s time to become empowered through social technology.

http://www.charleneli.com/open-leadership/

Henri Daniel-Rops, a French writer and historian, wrote Histoire sainte de mes filleuls in 1955, and it was originally translated and published as The Book of Books: The Old Testament Retold in 1956.  He introduces the Bible which in Greek means “Book of Books” in the first chapter and tells his readers the purpose of his work, “If you read to the end all that I am going to tell you here, you will know a good deal about the “Book of Books”; more indeed than a lot of grown-up people, and I do not think that you will find your reading tiresome.” Henri Daniel-Rops is attempting to tell the great stories of the Old Testament in a way conducive to the interests and learning of children.  In this regard, he both succeeds and fails.

From the creation story of Adam and Eve to Abraham of Ur and Moses and the Ten Commandments, the Old Testament’s stories do come alive as entertaining and well told stories; however, some stories are noticeably omitted (such as, the story of Job, which consumes the entire Book of Job) and the reading level here is probably closer to High School material than Elementary or Middle School.  The book’s context reveals itself in the text, and this adds to its more advanced reading level.  For example, he compares a certain period in Israel’s history to the Middle Ages of Europe, and he also compares the reign of King Solomon and its splendor, including the construction of Solomon’s Temple, to France’s King Louis XIV’s affluent court.  

I found the book enjoyable though and will not hesitate to share it with my kids augmenting Henri Daniel-Rops’ Bible stories with my commentary and explanation.  Finally, the Table of Contents provides a topical synopsis of each chapter: there are twenty chapters, and the book is only 164 pages.  This topical reference is nice and extremely useful, but I believe scriptural references are needed.  I found myself trying to figure out exactly what Books, chapters, and verses of the Old Testament contained each of the stories, as further reference.  Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a concise and accurate synopsis of the Old Testament in a storybook format.

Sophia Institute Press provided me a complimentary copy of this book for review.

It is understandably difficult to “review” a bible, and the most useful critiques of bibles generally address the translation, presentation, and organization of particular bibles as a way of matching bibles to the preferences of individual readers.  The Dad’s Bible is a New Century Version (NCV) translation derived from the original Hebrew and Greek texts of God’s Word, and it is notably clear and direct making it easy to understand.  The NCV also has subject headings throughout that show the subject and often the speaker in sections of text which I’ve always found extremely helpful in orienting the reader to selected verses on a specific subject. 

The Dad’s Bible is not a study bible, and some may find the print a little small; however, its presentation is unique and helpful.  An introduction is provided for each Book of the bible, and five footnotes that are found throughout the bible offer more information and commentary.  Three of the footnotes are added commentary that is directly concerned with helping father’s become better dads, husbands, and people through the reading of scripture: “Walking in Authority,” “Godly Character,” and “Dad’s in the Bible.” A fourth section, “Passing It On,” is extra content that allows the reader to easily share personal experiences and knowledge with children.  The fifth footnote, “Building Your Children,” is a few articles that address specific roles of a father: protection, affection, discipline, etc.        

The bible concludes with a question and answer section and a topical index.  The question and answer section is again focused on providing children scriptural based answers to sometimes difficult questions.  The topical index references verses that address specific topics that are of immediate interest.

 This bible fills a niche in bibles by providing guidance and instruction in a well-organized format to current and future fathers on being God’s man, and more importantly how to pass scriptural knowledge on to one’s own children.  I highly recommend it. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Saint Augustine of Hippo is one of the great philosophers of Western thought, and he is most well-known for his works Confessions, which outlines his journey to accept the Christian faith, and The City of God, which was written in response to the fall of Rome and provides a theological view of history. St. Augustine, of course, produced many more writings in his lifetime, and Fr. Cliff Ermatinger consolidates his writings on the subject of prayer and neatly presents them in a question and answer format. Fr. Ermatinger provides his readers with the benefit of his research into St. Augustine’s massive body of writings as he delivers the material in a well documented format for those who wish to reference St. Augustine’s original works. Although the book is only 125 pages in length, it is no easy read; however, the book’s value is in its ability to offer difficult material in a volume that is easily referenced by question. Fr. Ermatinger provides this caution in the book’s introduction, “The depth of many of St. Augustine’s responses is such that to read too many of them in one sitting can cause a degree of spiritual indigestion.”

The first three questions presented in the book are examples of why this book is so valuable to anyone interested in the subject of prayer: What is prayer, what happens in prayer, and what do I need to begin to pray? I hesitate to summarize the book because there is so much included in each of the questions, but the point is made repeatedly that life is for praying while heaven is for praising asserting just how important prayer really is. It is the essence of man’s spiritual life on earth. The book’s 101 questions address everything concerning prayer: how to pray, what to pray for, the types of prayer, effective prayer, etc. My favorite part of the book addresses what to ask for in prayer and emphasizes the importance of the Lord’s Prayer. For those interested in prayer, this little volume is educational and invaluable.

Sophia Institute Press sent me a complimentary copy of this book for me to review.

“To anyone across America who recognizes their mortgage can make or break their financial dreams–and those who don’t. This book was written expressly for you.” Robert J. Bernabe

If you enjoyed Thomas Stanley and William Danko’s The Millionaire Next Door or any other personal finance book that stresses living debt free as the preferred method for financial success, you’ll enjoy Bernabe’s Mind Your Own Mortgage. This work was motivated by the recent financial meltdown that resulted in and from depressed real estate markets nationwide. As a former lending professional, Bernabe attempts to provide a straightforward guide to the mortgage industry for today’s mortgage customer. Bernabe makes the case that mortgages constitute the largest portion of debt that people hold, and he attempts to change the mindset that mortgage debt is somehow good or acceptable by asserting that mortgages often become traps that result in a lifetime of debt. I particularly like his “Give, Save, Live” plan of giving 10 percent, saving 10 percent, and living off of 80 percent of what you make.
Bernabe makes three key points: a mortgage should be treated like a commodity, refinance only to lower the total cost of a mortgage, and manage a mortgage to achieve early pay-off. Thinking of mortgages like commodities, Bernabe recommends a strategy for evaluating rate, points, lender fees, and third-party fees of mortgages to evaluate the real cost of mortgages being considered. The goal is to avoid price manipulation that might be waged by a mortgage salesperson. Bernabe stresses that refinancing is a tool to lower the total cost of the mortgage; the point is made that refinancing to lower monthly payments is not always a good idea. Lastly, Bernabe asserts that mortgages must always be managed with the intent of paying them off as soon as possible.

Overall, the book is a good read and should prove helpful to anyone, “who recognizes their mortgage can make or break their financial dreams–and those who don’t.”

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers.

http://www.mindyourownmortgage.com/home

Do you define your surroundings, or do your surroundings define you?  I’ve had friends who have boasted that they could live anywhere, suggesting that “place” is not of primary importance.  It’s been my experience that one’s environment is likely the single most important factor in shaping one’s beliefs, values, and assumptions (i.e. culture).  I’ve been thinking about this lately as “culture” has become a catch phrase among academics in the social sciences.  “Culture” has been used to describe the actions of both nationalities and government and business organizations.  Truly understanding different cultures and academically defining “culture” is complex, interdisciplinary work, which many academic articles can attest.  I believe that the assertion that environmental conditions greatly impact human development is simpler than the debate over culture (both what culture is and how it affects groups).

There is no established framework for systematically analyzing how an individual can change as a direct result of environmental factors, although it is generally accepted that the environment is an important part of one’s development.  For example, the one, single most important factor in predicting the future success of American school children is their parents’ socio-economic status.  It should come as no surprise that the socio-economic status of the parents can generally be determined by simply knowing their zip code (environment).  Another example is found in the practices of addiction recovery centers that immediately try to separate addicts from their earlier environments and daily routines.  It appears that just a simple change of environment can alter even addictive behaviors.      

It is then important to decide if your environment is constraining.  Conversely, is a certain “place” advantageous to your personal development?  The attributes of environments are obvious with geography being only one component: social (opportunities, education, etc.), economics (jobs, housing prices, etc.), and weather (shapes activity schedules, may impact health, etc.).  I have lived in TN, VA, GA, SC, NC, KY, KS, and Korea.  Each of these locations are at their essence very different, and if I’m introspective enough, I can discern some change in myself (often a personality change or new understanding gained from a different perspective) that resulted from each place. We say people are “more cultured” when they travel widely or live abroad for some time; therefore, we subconsciously recognize the importance of “place” by acknowledging those who are likely better to understand it. 

In conclusion, yes, I could conceivably live anywhere, but only with the knowledge that every environment brings with it a new frame of reference on life, a new and different “culture.”   Note. The picture that I’ve included here is of the monument at Mt. Nebo in Jordan where Moses saw the promised land that God promised to the Israelites, as described in the book of Deuteronomy in the Bible’s Old Testament.

I have never taken part in Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (FPU), but I have listened to his syndicated radio talk show and participated in other church sponsored financial planning programs (classes). I really think that basic financial literacy programs like FPU and the financial literature that Ramsey has produced over the years is invaluable. The problem is that most people who need financial education are not those going out to buy Dave Ramsey publications (or others like his) or listening to financial talk shows on radio or television. I think Ramsey says it best, “Personal finance is 80 percent behavior and only 20 percent head knowledge.”

His book breaks down into several sections, such as Debt, Saving and Investing, Budgeting, Retirement, and more, and he presents the information contained in each section through a question and answer type format. The information he provides is extremely basic, but it is straightforward and really is a good template for basic financial planning in 169 pages. There are specific questions and answers for more advanced financial concerns, i.e. should I use a 529 Savings Plan or Education Savings Account (ESA) to save for my child’s college education, but the majority of the information makes up Dave Ramsey’s thesis. He is essentially saying don’t go into debt (except for a mortgage and even then he insists on 20% down on mortgage principal); if you are in debt, sacrifice and work systematically to get out of debt; tithe 10% and give to charity as you can afford; establish an emergency account; fully fund 15% into pre-tax retirement plans and a Roth IRA; get a will and term life, life insurance that is about ten times annual income. Of course, this is an oversimplification– the book says much more and in more detail.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers.