The Faces of Redundancy

Losing your job is a life-changing experience. Shock, disappointment, rejection and trepidation are just some of the immediate reactions. But how a company actually handles the redundancy procedure can impact hugely on how the employee views it. Sarah O'Carroll details the personal accounts of four professionals whose positions fell victim to the economic crisis Geoff Lynch, head of corporate affairs, GE Money The best advice Geoff Lynch ever got was from his manager as he left NAB: "Remember, don't just think of yourself as Geoff Lynch head of media relations for NAB - You are Geoff Lynch."

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Push Beyond Barriers Like an Endurance Athlete

Steve Owens and his team coach endurance athletes – cyclists, triathletes, and runners from all over the world. His innovative, state-of-the-art training equipment measures athletes' heart rate, power output, and energy expenditures, as well as a score of bike computations, such as speed and distance. His team then creates customized training programs. What makes Owens work particularly innovative is that he incorporates "CNS scoring" into the data, which measures an athlete's physical, mental, and emotional stress. "No one really encompasses everything like we do," says Owens.

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Interview with Diane Deacon, co-author with Mike Vance of "Creating MegaResults", "Think Out of the Box", and "Break Out of the Box"

Sometimes creativity and innovation is true... is this it? Walt Disney knew how to do it. So did Thomas Edison and many other giants of innovation. The highest creativity occurs within structure and organization. In work settings we can set up s. At home we need a "kitchen for the mind." "Invention, innovation and originality are the lifeblood of any company, organization or government."

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New Products and Inventions

Molecule That Can Help The Heart Repair Itself

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discoverd a protein that can initiate the repair of heart cells and blood vessel growth after a heart attack.

The molecule, Thymosin beta-4, is expressed by embryos during the heart's development and encourages migration of heart cells. Scientitsts have used the molecule experimentally in mice, and it can begin to take action as early as 24 hours after injection. An examination of the capillary smooth muscle cells three days later showed a significant increase in capillary density near the site of the heart attack.

Further studies are needed to determine whether the same success will occur in larger animals.

Strategic planning: Three tips for 2009

Even in these tumultuous times, strategic planning doesn’t have to be an exercise in anxiety—or futility. APRIL 2009 • Renée Dye, Olivier Sibony, and S. Patrick Viguerie Source: Strategy Practice & McKinsey Quarterly Strategic-planning season has arrived for many companies, and it couldn’t be more different than it has been in years past. Gone are the days of linear trend-extrapolation exercises that produce base, upside, and downside cases. Strategists, now facing the most profoundly uncertain times in their careers, are creating disaster scenarios that would have been unthinkable until recently and making the preservation of cash integral to their strategies.

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