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Deepening our understanding for capabilities that are critical to succeed in a digitally connected world, and supporting leaders and organizations along their transformational journey
" The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different " - Peter F. Drucker
The Center for the Future of Organization is an independent think tank at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.
We strive to serve as a premier global hub for applied research and practical discourse on new paradigms of Leadership and Organization with special regards to the role of digital technologies as drivers of competitive advantage.
We achieve this through customized research projects and think tanks, executive education and advisory, and by a global virtual platform for knowledge development and exchange.
In the tradition of Peter Drucker, we work across disciplines, combining conceptual depth with practical applicability and ethical responsibility.
In the spirit of bridging communities we work in close collaboration with thought and practice leaders from academia, business, and consulting and a high-level network of corporate supporters from across the globe.
Together, these elements form a unique multi stakeholder network and learning architecture.
Contributing insights and enabling cross-functional dialogues about the challenges of globally networked organizations
Customized Think Tanks and Dialogue Platforms
Formats that connect global thought leaders and senior executives for an in-depth exploration of specific issues
Applied Research that Makes an Impact
No ivory tower research for academic journals but relevant action research that helps organizations to master the challenges of a digitally connected world.
C-level Briefings and Strategic Advisory
Designed to contextualize insights from our research and think tanks to provide tangible and actionable perspectives for transformational change initiatives.
Executive Education and Organizational Development
Interventions that generate awareness about the key challenges of networked organizations and help develop the related individual and organizational capabilities
Executive Peer Networks
Platforms for an ongoing exchange on conceptual frameworks and practical challenges.
In strategic Partnership with
Current Key Projects
Business Ecosystem Leadership and Organization
Towards a Capability Framework for Leaders and Organizations
Leadership and Organization in the Context of Digital Transformation
A Corporate Consortium Action Research Initiative
The Global OSML Index ®
Investigating how Organizations Leverage Social Media for Competitive Advantage
Linking Talent From Academia, Business, and Consulting
Roland Deiser
Founder and Executive Director, CFFO
Roland Deiser is a Senior Drucker Fellow and serves as the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for the Future of Organization. Prior to his engagement with the Drucker School he served for 10 years as a Senior Fellow with the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California (USC).
Roland is a Associate Professor of Political Science and has held teaching and senior research positions at numerous universities in Europe and the United States. He has published three books and more than 40 articles in scientific and professional journals and books. Throughout his career, Roland put a strong emphasis on linking academia with practice. He was the founding Dean of DaimlerChrysler's Corporate University and is the founder and Chairman of the Executive Corporate Learning Forum (ECLF), a global network of more than 60 major multinational corporations from 14 countries that jointly explore how to develop and sustain strategic capabilities in fast changing environments (www.eclf.org).
Roland is an advisor to Fortune 100 companies and entrepreneurial start-ups alike. He has been working in advisory and board positions with major global players such as BASF, Bertelsmann, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Telekom, E.ON, SAP, Siemens, or Xerox as well as with emerging growth companies, primarily in the digital media convergence space. He has also served as an expert for the German Federal and State Commission on the impact of the Internet on the future of universities.
Digital Transformation Challenges in Large and Complex Organizations (CFFO Press 2018)
Designing the Smart Organization: How Breakthrough Corporate Initiatives Drive Strategic Change and Innovation (Jossey Bass, 2009)
Transformers: Executive Conversations About Creating Agile Organizations (ECLF Press, 2014)
Six Social Media Skills Every Leader Needs (with Sylvain Newton, McKinsey Quarterly, 1/2013)
Talent Management in the Creative Age. In Borensztejn, H (ed.): Growing Talent – a Corporate Duty (Marshall Cavendish 2010)
Bernie Jaworski
Peter F. Drucker Chair in Management and the Liberal Arts
Professor Jaworski joined the Drucker School in 2012 after having served as IMD's executive vice president for North America, expanding the Switzerland based school's reach into the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Prior to working at IMD, Jaworski spent a decade as a senior partner of the Monitor Group, a global management consulting firm. During his Monitor career, he co-founded and co-led two of the global practice areas – the e-commerce practice and the executive education unit. Among other activities, he was a senior team member of a number of significant, multi-year corporate transformations.
From 1996 to 1999, Jaworski served as the Jeanne and David Tappan Marketing Fellow and a tenured full professor of marketing at the University of Southern California, where he ranked as one of the top five marketing scholars based on number of publications and citations. He has also served on the faculty at the University of Arizona and as a visiting professor at Harvard Business School, as well as on the review boards of the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Marketing Research. He is the co-author four textbooks on e-commerce and has taught topics including leadership, corporate strategy, and service management. His most recent book is The Organic Growth Playbook (2018), co-authored with Robert S. Lurie.
The Organic Growth Playbook
Bob Pickard
Executive Fellow | PR Counsel
Bob Pickard (@bobpickard) is a respected leader in the international public relations industry, and an expert in corporate communication, social public relations and leadership image. He was recently listed in PR Week of London's 'Global Power Book' as one of his industry's most influential executives.
The co-founder and principal of Signal Leadership Communication Inc., Bob specializes in social media and PR counsel for executives and organizations dealing with digital disruption, especially on image, issues, relationships and reputation.
Before Signal, over 25 years Bob built multinational PR consulting businesses based in the United States, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Canada. His positions included Asia Pacific CEO of Burson-Marsteller, North Asia President of Edelman, and Founding Partner/EVP of Environics Communications.
A member of the Canadian delegation to the UN Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro Brazil in 1992, Bob has a long record of involvement in sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and climate change communication advocacy.
He has often appeared in the media, including The Wall Street Journal, BBC World News, CBC News, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Channel News Asia, China Central Television (CCTV News), The Globe and Mail, etc.
Richard Straub
President, Peter Drucker Society Europe
After stepping down from his executive role in IBM by end of 2005 concluding a 32 years career in the company, Richard Straub has taken on a working portfolio at the intersection of Academia and business. This includes the roles of the Director of Development at the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), Secretary General of the European Learning Industry Group (ELIG) and Senior Advisor to the Chairman IBM Europe, Middle-East and Africa. In preparation of the Centenary Peter Drucker Forum to be held in Vienna in November 2009 he established the Peter Drucker Society of Austria of which he is currently the President.
In the course of his international IBM career Richard Straub held various executive line and staff positions in IBM such as Assistant General Manager PC Marketing for IBM Europe based in Paris, global Chief Learning Officer based in the US and Director of Learning Solutions for Europe, Middle-East and Africa.
For the last 10 years he has been increasingly involved in European Union level industry initiatives in the area of skills, lifelong learning and innovation as Chair of the European Career Space Consortium (ICT skills and new University curricula required for the 21st Century Economy), the Living Labs Policy Group and the Open Innovation Strategy Group.
Richard is married with Ilse and has 2 children and 4 grandchildren. He lives in Paris, France.
Leandro Herrero
Executive Fellow
Leandro Herrero has pioneered the concept of Viral Change™ – an innovative approach to creating large scale behavioral and cultural change in complex organizations. He is the author of several books on the subject of leadership and the management of change, including Homo Imitans, Viral Change, Disruptive Ideas, New Leaders Wanted and The Leader with Seven Faces.
A psychiatrist by background, Leandro spent many years in hands-on leadership positions in global companies before founding The Chalfont Project Ltd, a consulting group dedicated to 21st century organizational architecture and design. He is also the founder and chairman of the Viral Change ™ Global network of companies.
Leandro is frequent speaker at international conferences and serves as a senior advisor to Boards and top management teams of large organizations on issues of change, leadership, human collaboration, organizational branding and innovation. He holds a Medical Doctor degree from the University of Barcelona, and an MBA from Henley College. He lives in Beaconsfield near London, UK.
Mark Abdollahian
Dr. Mark Abdollahian is one of the world's leading experts in data driven strategic decision making, with special emphasis on advanced predictive analytics. His global experience spans national policy, corporate strategy, economic development, finance, public-private partnerships, M&A and business process reengineering.
Mark creates, architects and implements enterprise class data and strategy analytics used by the US Government, the World Bank and the United Nations as well as private sector companies worldwide, including Arthur Andersen, Motorola, McKinsey, Raytheon, British Aerospace, Chevron and DeBeers. Dr. Abdollahian develops, manages and applies behavioral and predictive analytics to strategic and operational issues across government and business, focusing on bringing to market next generation innovations today.
Dr. Abdollahian is author of dozens of articles and two books on data driven strategy across business, politics and economics. He is a board member for several private and nonprofit enterprises and lectures to audiences worldwide. Dr. Abdollahian is a Full Clinical Professor at the Division of Politics and Economics, Claremont Graduate University, cofounder of Sentia Group, and currently chief executive officer of ACERTAS.
In addition to his degrees in Political Science, History, and French from Case Western Reserve University, Dr. Abdollahian holds a Master's degree in Foreign and Defense Policy and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Mathematical Modeling from Claremont Graduate University.
Andrew Binns
Andy Binns works with CEOs and senior teams through major strategic transformations. His specialty is working with successful firms to generate momentum for change from a position of strength. Andy has 20 years of experience working as both an external and internal consultant, at McKinsey and IBM, and as a line manager in technology companies. At the IBM Corporation, was given an award by IBM's Vice-Chairman for his work with IBM's global 'emerging business opportunities.' He leads the Boston-based consulting firm, Change Logic, which applies the research and methods of Andy's co-founders, Professor Michael Tushman form HBS and Professor Charles O'Reilly from Stanford.
Andy is a frequent guest speaker and lecturer both for companies and business schools. Andy has published widely on the topic of innovation, leadership and transformation. He is a co-author of articles on 'ambidexterity' and strategic renewal in the Harvard Business Review and Sloan MIT Management Review, and also, a forthcoming book chapter, with Professor Tushman, on 'Getting Started with Ambidexterity.' He attended Sussex University, New York University, the Chartered Institute of Marketing and Loyola University Chicago, and holds degrees in political science, business and organizational psychology.
Andy is a former Chairman of the Board of Stakeholder Forum, a not-for-profit that works on international governance processes on sustainable development. He is an advisor to 'Social Innovators' through the Boston-based Social Innovation Forum.
Arvind Bhambri
Professor of Strategy and Organization
Arvind Bhambri specializes in strategic change, competitive strategy, global business development, and leadership. He has twice received the Golden Apple Award for MBA instruction. In a 2008 special report on executive MBA programs by the Wall Street Journal, Professor Bhambri was profiled as one of fourteen best Executive MBA professors worldwide. In 2009, he received the Evan C. Thompson Award for Learning and Teaching Innovation.
Professor Bhambri has served on the faculty of USC's Marshall School of Business for more than 30 years. In addition, he has served on the faculty of the Getty Museum Leadership Institute, Bocconi University, University of Hawaii's Advanced Management Program, and the Owner Managed Business Institute in Boston.
He is also a seasoned top executive coach and has been advising top executives and boards on issues of strategy, organization and leadership since more than 30 years. Among other projects, he was significantly involved in the design and implementation of GE's famed Work-Out program.
Arvind holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from Harvard University and a Master in Management from the Indian Institute of Management. He lives in Pasadena, California.
Sven Hackmann
Sven Hackmann is a business leader with an extensive background in technology innovation, business incubation, complex transactional negotiations and venture investing. Throughout his career he has developed strategies and businesses across sectors including transportation, energy, municipal infrastructure and healthcare. His background uniquely combines leadership experience in global corporate contexts with the entrepreneurial start-up world.
Svan currently serves as Managing Partner at Rapid Venture Partners, an early stage innovation and venture development firm, which creates sustainable businesses through de-risked partnership models and superior operating performance. Previously, Hackmann served as Executive Vice President of Veremonte, an international investment and holding company based in London, where he was responsible for developing Veremonte's growth strategy, including acquisitions, equity investments, joint ventures and partnerships. In that capacity, he worked on the development of Formula E, the first FIA sanctioned all-electric race-car series.
Prior to joining Veremonte, Sven spent twelve years in senior leadership roles with Siemens where he was widely recognized as an intrapreneur for supporting the launch of multiple businesses. As Vice President of the Siemens US Cities Program, he was responsible for the organizational development, roll out and ongoing success of Siemens' strategic initiatives related to Smart Cities and infrastructure development in the United States. Within Siemens Healthcare, he was instrumental for developing the company's entrepreneurial healthcare business.
Roderick Millar
Executive Fellow | Editorial Counsel
Roddy Millar is the Co-Founder of IEDP.com, a unique online database for finding (and finding out about) executive education. He is also the CEO of Ideas for Leaders, a fast-growing library of insights from global thought leaders and scholars on issue relevant for managers and executives. In addition, he is the editor-in-chief of "Developing Leaders", a quarterly magazine with a focus on Executive development, learning, and organizational change.
Roddy received his Master degree of Arts in Economic and Social History from St. Andrews University, and his MBA from the University of Houston. He lives with his wife and two children in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Leonard Lee
Leonard Lee is the Founder and Managing Director of neXt Curve, a San Diego-based research advisory firm specializing in helping enterprises identify and pursue value opportunities forming at the nexus of emerging technologies that are shaping an increasingly digital global economy.
Leonard is a former Managing Partner with Gartner Inc. and Associate Partner with IBM and PwC. He has extensive experience helping Global 500 companies drive business innovation and value through digital technologies and has helped top technology firms with their go-to-market strategies for their products and services. As an associate partner with IBM's Electronics Center of Competence, he led collaborations with IBM Research in first-of-a-kind projects applying emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (Watson), advanced analytics and modeling, 3D printing and what is now known as the Internet of Things across a wide range of supply chain, predictive maintenance and resource optimization use cases.
Leonard's experience covers multiple industries, having led innovation and transformation initiatives for leading corporations in entertainment & media, telecommunications, financial services, energy, pharmaceutical, and the technology and electronic industries. Among other projects, he led the integration programs for some of the largest M&A transactions in the pharmaceutical and technology industries, as well as global digital strategy initiatives for an oil & gas major and a leading technology company.
Joseph Pistrui
Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Joseph Pistrui is an accomplished scholar in the fields of entrepreneurship, innovation and family business. His most recent research has focused on entrepreneurial thinking, managing and leading styles with an emphasis on how to best teach entrepreneurial practices to students and executives.
Joseph's long-standing international career is rooted both in academia and management. Over the last 19 years, he has been serving as a Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at IE Business School. During his tenure, he held the positions of Dean for Executive Education, Director of the Entrepreneurial Management Department, Co-Academic Director of the IE-Brown University joint EMBA, and founding Academic Director of the Senior Fellows Program.
While at IE Business School Joseph founded the IE Venture Lab accelerator, co-designed the inaugural IE Brown University joint EMBA, and he served as a founding faculty member of the Global Senior Management Program developed and delivered jointly by IE Business School and University of Chicago-Booth School of Business. Joseph continues to serve as an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at IE University.
Before turning to academia, Joseph worked 25 years in various executive positions, first with Bristol-Myers Squibb in the United States (eleven years) and later as an adviser to global organizations such as AstraZeneca, BBVA, Bosch, BT, Citi Group, DT, Financial Times, HSBC, Microsoft, Rio Tinto, Royal Dutch Shell, Siemens, Thomson Reuters, Unilever, Vestas, and others. His contribution to these organizations has been based on his distinctive ability to navigate between the practice of management and a wide-ranging set of management theories.
In addition, Joseph has been an adviser to countless early stage startup teams, and he has been a co-founder in three early stage educational technology startups. In 2018 he co-founded Kinetic Thinking, a learning and development framework that helps managers to move intentionally among four styles of thinking when facing entrepreneurial situations. The framework with its bespoke models and assessment tools facilitates pathways for personal and professional development and helps organizations build entrepreneurial thinking, as well as managing and leading capabilities.
Joseph holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship from Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from DePaul University, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Ferris State University. He was born in Detroit, Michigan USA, has lived and worked in Europe since 1993, and currently resides in Madrid, Spain.
Recursive & Discursive Mode Of and For Entrepreneurial Action (together with Dimo Dinov, European Management Review, 2019)
The Role of a Manager Has to Change in 5 Key Ways (HBR.org 2018/10)
The Future of Human Work Is Imagination, Creativity, and Strategy (HBR.org 2018/01)
To Seize the Future, Create a Leadership Circle (HBR.org 2016/06
How Managers Can See the Future More Clearly (HBR.org 2015/10)
David Sprott
Henry Y. Hwang Dean, Drucker School of Management
David Sprott is the Henry Y. Hwang Dean and a professor of marketing in the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management and is on faculty at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. His research interests include retailing, branding, influence strategies, and marketing public policy.
He received his PhD in Marketing from the University of South Carolina and earned a BA in Business and an MBA from Kent State University. Prior to his arrival at the Drucker School, Sprott served as professor of marketing and dean of the College of Business at the University of Wyoming. At UW he led a renewed strategic vision embracing the student experience, quality academic research, and economic engagement of the state. Previously Sprott served on the faculty at Washington State University for more than two decades and held the Boeing/Scott and Linda Carson Chair of Marketing, among other leadership positions; he was a recipient of an Outstanding Faculty Research Award from the WSU College of Business.
Sprott's research has been published in leading scholarly journals including Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, and Journal of Retailing. His teaching interests include retail management, leadership, brand management, consumer behavior, sales management, and research methods at the undergraduate, master, and doctoral levels.
Sprott is the author and co-author of numerous publications, including serving as co-editor of Handbook of Research on Customer Engagement, (Edward Elgar, 2019).
He is a member of several marketing and consumer organizations, including the American Marketing Association, Association for Consumer Research, and Society for Consumer Psychology.
How to Succeed in Business Ecosystems: A Capability Framework for Business Ecosystem Leadership
Building on our previous research about Organizing for Business Ecosystem Leadership, the paper defines and discusses nine critical capabilities organizations need to actively shape business ecosystems, leverage their potential, and serve as a constructive, indispensable player in such a dynamically evolving universe.
Structured along the three dimensions of strategy, organization, and relationship management, the nine domains form a powerful combination of structures, systems, and mindsets that provide a tangible guideline for companies who want to thrive in the new ball game.
32 pages | CFFO Press, 2021
Shaping the Future of Transformational Learning. ECLF Conversations and Cases from the Last Five Years
by Roland Deiser (Editor)
How do you design business processes as learning opportunities? How do you become an enabler of an ubiquitous learning culture? How do you support strategic and organizational change and act as an engine for transformation and innovation? What capabilities, mindset, processes, and roles are required for this, and what is the appropriate operating model? What does this mean for the positioning of L&D in the overall stakeholder universe? What does it mean for the identity of the function?
Shaping the Future of Transformational Learning celebrates ECLF's 15-year anniversary by sharing detailed summaries from seven events of the Executive Corporate Learning Forum (ECLF), a network of L&D leaders from about 50 global corporations. The book also includes eleven mini-case studies from ECLF members, featuring practices and strategic initiatives from companies such as Airbus, The Bank of Russia, Bertelsmann, Cisco Systems, Daimler, Deutsche Bahn, ENI, Fiat Chrysler Automotive Group (now Stellantis), Siemens, and more.
Coffee Table Paperback, 412 pages | ©2020 ECLF Press
by Roland Deiser & Suzie Lewis
Podcast Transcript 08/2020
Organizing for Business Ecosystem Leadership
To compete successfully in the digital age, companies must be able to shape and leverage an increasingly complex network of internal and external stakeholders, which constitute their "Business Ecosystem". This means new challenges for leadership, strategy, and organization.
To gain insights into how organizations deal with this challenge, the author conducted a series of in-depth interviews with thought leaders and top executives as well as a global survey among senior leaders that focused on understanding the strategic and organizational capabilities it takes to act successfully within ecosystem networks. The responses point to existing capability gaps and offer perspectives on how to close such gaps.
The first part of the paper identifies 12 key issues that need to be on the agenda of organizations if they want to lead within the context of business ecosystems. The second part reports the results of the survey, revealing the current state of ecosystem engagement.
CFFO Press, 2020
The Agility Challenge – an ECLF/CFFO Roundtable
Over the last few years, agility has become a mantra for many – especially large – organizations. Hosted by Senior Drucker Fellow Roland Deiser, a round table of global thought and practice leaders takes a closer look at the challenges organizations face in their journey towards more speed, flexibility, and innovation power.
Bain's Darrell Rigby, who just released his latest book Doing Agile Right and Amazon's Michael Arena, author of Adaptive Space shed light on the agility challenge from two complementing angles. They are joined in conversation by GE Ecosystem Transformation Leader Peter Cavanaugh, who is currently engaged in a major transformational effort at his company. In the last 20 minutes of this session, Janin Schwartau (Chief Learning Officer at Thyssen Krupp) and Mathew Jacob (Transformation leader at Novartis, previously Shell) are joining the Round Table as guests from the audience.
Click here to view a full video recording of the session.
Virtual Round Table | June 2020
The Three Stages of Disruptive Innovation: Idea Generation, Incubation, and Scaling
by Charles O'Reilly & Andrew Binns
Winner of the 2020 Best Article Award
Facing imminent disruption, many large, established firms have embraced innovation as a way to develop new growth businesses. To succeed in the face of disruptive change requires established firms to master three distinct disciplines: ideation, to generate potential new business ideas; incubation, to validate these ideas in the market; and scaling, to reallocate the assets and capabilities needed to grow the new business. This article illustrates how two successful firms (Amazon and IBM) have developed approaches that address all three disciplines.
California Management Review 2019, Vol. 61(3) 49–71 © The Regents of the University of California 2019
Digital Transformation Challenges in Large and Complex Organizations
Based on in-depth conversations with more than 30 top executives from six major global corporations, the paper discusses nine key challenges large organizations face in their complex journey towards digital maturity. Understanding these challenges and their interplay will help leaders to structure the complex arena of large-scale digital transformation efforts.
The Flipping Point: Deprogramming Management
by Leandro Herrero
Business is working in tunnel vision mode through the lenses of a limited worldview. Prestigious business schools and Big Management Consulting firms produce daily pieces of 'research' that are mere journalistic accounts of what 100 or 300 CEOs say. These CEOs repeat what they have read in the publications of the same business schools and Big Management Consulting firms. The circle of that colossal groupthink is alive and well. Organizations are now fully prepared for the past.
This book of 200 tweet-sized vignettes, twitter-on-paper, which can be read in no particular order, looks at the other side of things – flipping the coin. It asks us to apply more rigor and critical thinking in the way we use assumptions and management practices that were created many years ago.
Paperback: 240 pages | Publisher: Chalfont Project T/A Meeting Minds Publishing (May 18, 2020)
by Bernie Jaworski
Jaworski and Lurie show convincingly how a focus on changing high-yield customer behaviors can consistently drive faster revenue growth. Drawing on decades of client work, they provide a detailed, engaging account of a proven system for accelerating—or even doubling—growth. Their system has been adopted by a host of Fortune 500 firms as their marketing and growth planning process.
American Marketing Association (September 28, 2018)
Transformers – Executive Conversations About Creating Agile Organizations
Transformers features 10 years of executive conversations about contemporary issues of leadership, organization, and transformational learning. It contains close to 100 summaries of speeches, discussions, case studies, and research results from the history of the Executive Corporate Learning Forum (ECLF).
Combining conceptual frameworks from thought leaders with lessons learned from the experiences of dozens of global corporations, the book is packed with insights about how to enable and drive of strategic competence in large and complex organizations.
ECLF Press, 12/2014
Six Social Media Skills Every Leader Needs
by Roland Deiser & Sylvain Newton
With 120,000+ downloads one of the most popular articles in the history of McKinsey Quarterly.
Over the last few years, social media has become an ubiquitous form of communication and collaboration, and in its wake, organizational social-media literacy is quickly becoming a source of competitive advantage. The article describes the impact of social media on leadership and organization, and it provides a six-dimensional framework of personal and organizational capabilities that are key to leverage its potential.
McKinsey Quarterly, 2013/1, pg 63-75
The Art of Strategic Renewal
by Andy Binns, J. Bruce Harreld, Charles O'Reilly III, & Michael L. Tushman
What does it take to transform an organization before a crisis hits? How can leaders initiate major transformations proactively? The key often lies in strategic renewal — a set of practices that can guide leaders into a new era of innovation by building strategy, experimentation and execution into the day-to-day fabric of the organization. It's not easy: leaders find it much easier to resist change than to embrace it.
Sloan Management Review, Nov 2011
The Ambidextrous CEO
by Michael L. Tushman , Wendy K. Smith and Andy Binns
Many CEOs take a backseat in debates about allocating resources to new business exploration, ceding much of their power to middle managers – and the company ends up as a collection of feudal baronies. This is a recipe for long-term failure, say the authors. Their research of 12 top management teams at major companies suggests that firms thrive only when senior teams lead ambidextrously-when they foster a state of constant creative conflict between the old and the new.
Successful CEOs first develop a broad, forward-looking strategic aspiration that sets ambitious targets both for innovation and core business growth. They then hold the tension between innovation unit demands and core business demands at the very top of the organization. And finally they embrace inconsistency, allowing themselves the latitude to pursue multiple and often conflicting agendas.
Harvard Business Review June 2011 Issue
Homo Imitans
Behaviors change culture, not the other way around. Behavioral imitation explains how social change happens, how epidemics of ideas are formed, how social fashions appear, and how company cultures shape and reshape themselves. Understanding how social, behavioral infection works is the basis for the orchestration of any 'epidemic of success,' be it a successful change inside a firm or a counter-social epidemic to tackle negative socio-macro phenomena.
'Homo Imitans' will appeal to anybody interested in social change, with particular emphasis on how Viral Change™ works inside an organization. As such, this is a practitioner's book for any manager and leader of any organization.
The Chalfont Project t/a Meeting Minds Publishing (April 25, 2011)
Viral Change
Viral Change(TM) provides a novel framework for change. Based on recent 'discoveries' across disciplines such as network and behavioral sciences, it shows how a combination of the right language and frame, a small set of non-negotiable behaviors (all spread by a small number of activists) and the creation of 'tipping points', creates lasting cultural change in organisations.
meetingminds; 2nd edition (July 15, 2008)
Designing the Smart Organization: How Breakthrough Corporate Learning Initiatives Drive Strategic Change and Innovation
Filling a gap in the literature, this book offers an innovative interdisciplinary approach to learning for corporate strategic development, linking the domains of strategy, organizational design, and learning. To demonstrate how this process drives the boundaries of the practice way beyond the established notion of simple training and management education, the book is filled with detailed case studies from leading global organizations, including Siemens, ABB, BASF, the US Army, PricewaterhouseCoopers, EADS, Novartis, and more.
These studies reveal how large-scale corporations are using the power of dynamic corporate learning approaches to drive innovation, enhance cultural values, master post-merger integration, transform business models, enhance leadership culture, build technological expertise, foster strategic change processes, and ultimately increase bottom-line results.
Hardcover: 352 pages | Publisher: Pfeiffer; 1st edition (October 26, 2009)
Insights From the ECLF Silicon Valley Learning Expedition
In fall 2011, a group of 20 senior L&D executives from major global players such as GE, Cisco, ArcelorMittal, Fiat, Siemens, Deutsche Telekom, Santander, and others joined an ECLF Learning Expedition to the Silicon Valley which was curated and led by Roland Deiser. The paper features a summary of insights from conversations with various experts, innovators, start-ups, and L&D colleagues from the region. It represents a synthesis of thoughts and feedbacks that were generated by the group, structured into 20 key insights along four domains:
Insights about Innovation
Insights into the Development of Organizational Culture
Insights into L&D, Recruiting, Talent Management, and Leadership Development
Insights into the Future of Work and Organizations
ECLF Report | 14 pages | Los Angeles, 2011
MORE PUBLICATIONS BY ROLAND DEISER
The Agility Challenge – an ECLF/CFFO Round Table
Over the last few years, agility has become a mantra for many – especially large – organizations. Hampered by bureaucracy, cumbersome processes, traditional hierarchical thinking, and other diseases of the 20th-century management paradigm, they seek ways to redesign their structures and processes to allow for fast and flexible responses to the exponentially accelerating pace of change. Hackathons, swarms, shark-tank formats, tech hubs, incubators – initiatives designed to uproot established business and operating models proliferate, fueled by an ever-inventive consulting industry.
More often than not, these efforts are toothless innovation activism that happens on the fringe, in spaces that are disconnected from the core. Can we even turn large tankers into speed boats? This Round Table takes a closer look at this conundrum.
Bain's Darrell Rigby, who just released his latest book "Doing Agile Right" and Amazon's Michael Arena, author of "Adaptive Space" shed light on the agility challenge from two complementing angles. They are joined in conversation by GE Ecosystem Transformation Leader Peter Cavanaugh, who is currently engaged in a major transformational effort at his company.
In the last 20 minutes of this session, Janin Schwartau (Chief learning Officer at Thyssen Krupp) and Mathew Jacob (Transformation leader at Novartis, previously Shell) are joining the Round Table as guests from the audience.
AI in the Context for Corporate Learning
This Round Table, produced by ECLF and the Center for the Future of Organization at the Drucker School of Management, focuses on the emerging role of Artificial Intelligence in the context of Corporate Learning. As digital transformation dynamics trigger massive workforce transformation, large organizations are challenged with the design of quickly scalable learning architectures that allow for highly personalized, just-in-time learning.
Infosys and Siemens – both tech-heavy organizations with a significant headcount of employees – have been leaders in exploring how to leverage AI and ML for this purpose. Their global heads of Learning will be joined in conversation by Professor Tom Davenport, a world-renowned thought leader whose latest book "The AI Advantage: How to put the Artificial Intelligence Revolution to Work" is a perfect fit with the topic.
A full transcript of this video is available upon request. If you are interested, please leave a comment or contact office@eclf.org.
Building Innovation Capabilities
Co-hosted by ECLF and the Center for the Future of Organization, three thought and practice leaders from the domains of Academia, Business, and Consulting explore one of the perennial challenges organizations face: How to build the capabilities to sustain innovation on an ongoing basis.
The "ABC" composition of the panel lends itself to a conversation that bridges conceptual thinking with real-life experience. We address innovation issues such as ambidexterity, ideation-incubation-scaling challenges, the role of innovation ecosystems, and more, and we discuss how to build the necessary capabilities to deal with them.
eclf.org
futureorg.org
Driving Organizational Change
In this inaugural ECLF Virtual Round Table senior executives from Airbus, Cisco, Siemens, and ThyssenKrupp share their perspectives on "Driving Organizational Change" in an informal watercooler chat format.
CFFO Blog
Our blog is not meant to be a one-way street but rather a platform for dialogue and exchange. We invite thought leaders, academics, executives, consultants, and anyone who wants to contribute insights on the Future of Organization to share their perspective and experience. Please contact us if you are interested in a guest contribution.
Please contact us and join our mailing list if you want to learn more about the activities of the Center.


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Q: QGIS – Edits to shapefile attribute table won't save special characters I'm working in QGIS with a Government of Canada shapefile of all 338 federal electoral districts.
The encoding is UTF-8.
In the attribute table, all of the em dashes ("—") that should appear in the riding names have been replaced by question marks.
I've used the field calculator to replace the question marks with the proper em dashes, but those changes won't save properly. If I close and re-open the attribute table, the question marks re-appear.
But if I replace the question marks with non-special characters (e.g. "AAA"), there doesn't seem to be an issue. So the problem seems to be tied to the em dash.
Any ideas on what might be going on?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Hello, my name is Max Eyking. I was born profoundly deaf and grew up in a hearing family. After finishing Year 12 at Forest Hill College, I had a really hard time choosing my career!
When I was still in high school, my father set up a non-profit organisation called New Media Services Cares (NMSC) to support the Deaf community, families and education in the Philippines. I decided I wanted to volunteer with NMSC with the kids who had no experience with social situations, family and education. I was very lucky to grow up with lots of life experience and I wanted to share my experiences with Deaf kids in Philippines.
Two years later, I still work and volunteer for NMSC. It was the best decision to move to the Philippines, I have learnt so much. There is still limited education available for Deaf kids, so my role now is Sport Director and Program Coordinator, I look after all sports events and other programs.


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Tales Of The World Devouring Serpent - Chapter 208
Tales Of The World Devouring Serpent
Chapter 208 - Crocodile-Kaiju
Amidst the rubble-filled ruins, a team of humans was slowly moving forward. There were fifteen people in the team, all wearing white radiation-resistant clothing.
The two leaders were holding a detector-like device in their hands, looking at it from time to time.
The two leaders are scientists from the royal academy of biological science, the rest were soldiers responsible for protecting them. Their purpose is to bring back the remains of the level 5 kaiju.
In the past, their country has obtained a kaiju body, but it was only a level 3 kaiju. They currently don't have any information about level 5 kaiju.
So the Royal Academy of Biological Science organized a team and came to Plymouth to see if they could find the corpse of the level 5 kaiju that died here.
They are naturally prepared, armed to the teeth and wearing protective clothing with no gap, otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to come here.
"Beep ~ Beep ~ Beep"
Suddenly, the instrument in the hand of one of the leaders ahead started ringing and flashing with a red light.
Raleigh halted his footsteps, he glanced at the instrument in his hand with a relieved look.
The fact that the instrument started ringing means that the kaiju body is nearby.
Although it's not certain that it's the level 5 kaiju, this is still good news.
He gestured to the people behind him, signaling them to follow.
As the deputy leader of the Kaiju Research Expert Group, he agreed to the organization's request without any hesitation, then came to Plymouth to search for the body of the level 5 kaiju.
Under his leadership, their team moved forward for about 10 meters. Suddenly, the instrument in the hands of the man next to him started ringing.
Raleigh's footsteps paused, then looked over at the man.
Their two instruments have different functions, one of which detects the energy emitted by the kaiju, and the other detects the concentration of radiation around.
The instrument is now ringing, which indicates that the radiation around them has reached a very high level.
The look on everyone's face changed, everyone looked hesitant. In the end, they all looked at Raleigh, waiting for his decision.
Raleigh groaned, after hesitating a bit, he gritted his teeth and continued moving forward.
They walked forward for about three miles, all while the alarm of the two instruments is becoming more and more urgent. The team of the Royal Academy of Biological Science was forced to stop.
Raleigh was a little bit frightened by the loud sirens of the two instruments. It wasn't just him, the rest of the team weren't feeling good either.
Even a man with strong will can't stay calm in such an environment.
Raleigh looked around, then continued moving forward. He turned over a fallen building, then stealthily moved forward.
However, after taking a few steps, he abruptly stopped, his face was filled with horror.
His team was closely following behind him. The guy at the head of the team almost collided with Raleigh after his sudden halt. Just as he was about to ask him what happened, his breath stagnated.
The people behind them weren't in better shape, they all held their breath while looking forward.
"Damn, what the heck is that!"
Everyone was screaming internally.
Many people felt their legs soften. They could only hold the rocks next to them with their hands. Otherwise, they would have long fallen on the ground.
There is a huge creature not far ahead.
It's a huge crocodile-shaped kaiju, with thick limbs, a slender body, a huge mouth, a long tail, and a body covered with scales.
Raleigh and the rest of the team were behind it, so the kaiju didn't see them.
The crocodile-like kaiju suddenly opened its mouth and took a deep breath, making an extremely loud inhaling sound.
After taking a deep breath, the kaiju lower its head, then quietly laid on the ground.
Time seemed to be still. Raleigh and the rest of the team looked at the monster ahead with a horror-filled expression.
Compared with other Kaiju, this is just a small level 2 kaiju, which can be solved by the military with relatively small losses.
However, they are just a small team of about 10 people with just ordinary hot weapons. Their guns won't even scratch it, facing it would be just delivering food.
Suddenly, Raleigh was awakened by the ringing of the instrument in his hand. He instantly responded and turned it off.
The guy holding the radiation detection instrument did the same.
However, they were still a bit slower, the kaiju in front of them suddenly opened his eyes. He slowly stood up, then turned around and stared right at Raleigh and his team.
A pair of red vertical pupils slowly expanded as it reflected the team of Royal Academy of Biological Science.
"Glup!"
Raleigh swallowed his saliva, his face was a bit distorted. He gestured to his team silently, telling them to slowly back out behind the ruins, then run.
However, the crocodile-shaped kaiju didn't give them any time, it quickly ran towards them.
Under the protective suit, Raleigh's eyes widened, his mind suddenly blanked. The only idea left in his mind is that they are finished.
The kaiju roared loudly, it ran across the ruins like a bulldozer, destroying all the ruined buildings in its path, opening its mouth, it intended to swallow all of them at the same time.
Raleigh's breathing stagnated. The kaiju body got closer and closer to him, finally. He could only see a bloody giant mouth.
His muscles were tense, his body was shivering intensely from fear/
"Wooosh!"
However, right at that moment, a loud rustling noise sounded. From the corner of his eyes, Raleigh saw a huge black shadow constantly getting closer to the crocodile-kaiju.
With a heavy bang, the Kaiju that was going to swallow them flew far away o the side.
Raleigh was shocked and after looking at the direction the kaiju flew in, he was even more shocked.
He saw that the crocodile-kaiju was lying on a fallen building about 40 meters away, wrapped around is a terrifying snake.
Giant Serpent?
Raleigh's face was filled with astonishment, looking at his companions next to him, they were basically the same.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Patil pained at fallacious observations regarding post retirement home
New Delhi, Fri, 27 Apr 2012 ANI
New Delhi, Apr 27 (ANI): President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has expressed pain at some fallacious observations regarding the accommodation in Pune, which she was to occupy after relinquishing the office of the President.
She chose not to react as she has always held herself answerable to the Constitution of the country and her conscience. It was expected that once the facts were made public it would convince the concerned people. But despite clarifications given by the President's Secretariat, it is unfortunate that the misgivings continue to persist.
What has pained the President the most is the fact that she is now being portrayed by some people as one who, by agreeing to accept a defence accommodation for her post retirement home, is insensitive to the cause of war widows and ex-servicemen. But facts are to the contrary.
She has always been proud of our brave jawans who are ever-ready to display their spirit of sacrifice while defending our borders. She has the highest regards for our war widows who have lost their dear ones for the sake of security and integrity of the nation.
To express solidarity, boost their morale and to gain first hand experience of the hardships faced by our Defence Forces, she visited far flung army establishments like those in Tangdhar, Bhadarwah, Leh, to name a few, and several distant inhospitable forward areas in the North East.
She would be the last person to ever think of dislocating or coming in the way of creating facilities for our war widows and ex-servicemen.
Women's issues have always been her concern and those of war widows particularly occupy a very special place in her mind. She has worked relentlessly towards their welfare and would like people to know that as Governor of Rajasthan she personally wrote to 1192 war widows to help resolve their problems. Here is an article which appeared in the Hindustan Times a few years ago which said:
"Away from the media glare, Rajasthan Governor Pratibha Patil is quietly attending to problems of hundreds of war widows. She has asked the war widows to contact or see her personally. Over 1000 letters have been posted in the past one month as the Raj Bhavan gets deluged with responses. Now, Patil receives around two dozen letters every day while a number of widows of martyrs meet her personally with problems. Their letters are being forwarded to the concerned department in the State Government for suitable action." (Anjul Tomar, Jaipur May-2, 2005).
As Governor, she had instructed all the District Collectors of Rajasthan to inform her regularly about the progress in resolving the problems of war widows. Under her directions, a State Level Committee was constituted with the Director, Sainik Kalyan Board, Rajasthan as its Chairman to address the issues affecting the war widows on a priority. The District Collectors were also instructed to organize camps at Sub-Divisional level for hearing the war widows and to solve their grievances expeditiously.
She ensured that the newly constructed 'War Widows Hostel and Rehabilitation Centre' at Jaipur was allocated Rs. 2 crore from the Amalgamated Fund of the Governor to facilitate its smooth functioning. The District Sainik Kalyan Officers were invited to Raj Bhavan, Jaipur and were advised to make wide publicity about the Hostel and Rehabilitation Centre so that no war widow was denied the facility for want of information.
Once there was a news item in Dainik Bhaskar, Jaipur Edition of 9th March 2005 that the Headquarters of Western Army Command would be temporarily shifted to the War Widows Hostel and Rehabilitation Centre. She took up the matter with the Chief Minister of Rajasthan immediately.
The then Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje promptly responded through her letter, that the headquarters of Western Army Command would be relocated elsewhere and that the War Widows Hostel and Rehabilitation Centre would not be utilized as Headquarters of Western Command or for any other purpose.
If as Governor she had pursued the matters of war widows with such passion and concern, and if she had objected to even the temporary shifting of the Western Command Headquarters to the War Widows Hostel and Rehabilitation Centre in Jaipur, would she ever think of dislocating or come in the way of creating accommodation for war widows or occupy a property allegedly meant for any such purpose as her post retirement home?
The accommodation proposed to be allocated to her by the Ministry of Defence was never indicated as one earmarked for war widows. It was to be allotted to her for use as her post retirement residence only during her lifetime with no rights of ownership, transfer lease, etc.
However, considering the fact that the issue has got linked with the issue of war widows accommodation by some people, the President has chosen to forego the aforesaid allotment of accommodation proposed to be made to her as her post retirement home in Pune. (ANI)
Read More: Rajasthan Royals | Jaipur | Sainik School Kapurthala Ndtso | Kalyan Sukha | District Board Ferozpeur | Sainik Colony | Kalyan Pur Bainti | Sherpur Kalyan | Jaipur So | Dharwad Kalyan Nagar | Bijapur Sainik School | P C Hostel | Old District Board Buildings | Sainik School | District School Board | Kasba Jaipur | Nawa Jaipur | Hec App Hostel | Hec Expert Hostel | District Board


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In this Wednesday night service, Elder Philip Conley of Georgia preaches on the ways in which the Apostle Paul laid down his life to share the truth of salvation with children of God. It is important to note that Paul was not trying to do this to gain God's children an eternal home, but to help them enjoy the blessings of fellowship now. The Lord Jesus had already taken care of eternal salvation, and Paul endured to help them receive and enjoy their timely deliverance.


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text:
The MN Movie Man
Follow me on Twitter: @joemnmovieman & Instagram: @themnmovieman
Movies I've Seen
Movies I've Seen – 2012
The Golden Globes – 1/15/12
The Academy Awards – 2/26/12
SAG Awards – 1/27/13
Spirit Awards – 2/23/13
Academy Awards – 2/24/13
Golden Globes ~ 1/12/14
SAG Awards ~ 1/18/14
Spirit Awards ~ 3/1/14
Academy Awards – 3/2/14
Film Independent Spirit Awards ~ 2/21/15
Academy Awards ~ 2/22/15
Golden Globes – 1/10/2016
SAG Awards – 1/30/2016
Spirit Awards – 2/27/2016
Academy Awards – 2/28/2016
Golden Globes – 1/8/2017
Film Independent Spirit Awards – 2/25/2017
Film Independent Spirit Awards – 3/3/2018
Academy Awards – 3/4/2018
31 Days to Scare – October 2012
Bond-ed For Life – November 2012
Tag Archives: Alan Tudyk
31 Days to Scare ~ Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil
by Joe 31 Days to Scare, Movie Review	• Tags: Alan Tudyk, Brandon Jay McLaren, Eli Craig, Jesse Moss, Katrina Bowden, Philip Granger, Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil, Tyler Labine
The Facts:
Synopsis: Tucker & Dale are on vacation at their dilapidated mountain cabin when they are attacked by a group of preppy college kids.
Stars: Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss, Philip Granger, Brandon Jay McLaren
Director: Eli Craig
Rated: R
Running Length: 89 minutes
TMMM Score: (8/10)
Review: Check out the list of any of the "best of" horror films in the last five years and Tucker and Dale vs. Evil will likely be on all of them…with good reason. Effectively lampooning every aspect of the slasher film genre of the last 40 years, this is awesomely funny in addition to being rapturously gory. It's perfectly cast and earns every laugh and groan along the way. So if you're looking to go light on the scares but not venture into stupid or too family-friendly territory, fire up Tucker and Dale vs. Evil for an assured good time.
31 Days to Scare – Last Minute Ideas
by Joe 31 Days to Scare, Movie Review	• Tags: Aaron Poole, Agnes Bruckner, Alan C. Peterson, Alan Tudyk, Alex Drummond, Andy Powers, Brandon Jay McLaren, Bruce Campbell, Christian Distefano, Christopher MacBride, Drew Benda, Eli Craig, Elizabeth Whitmere, Emma Campbell, Ian Anderson, James Gilbert, Jesse Moss, John Brody, Jon Watts, Julian Richings, Katrina Bowden, Laura Allen, Lucky McKee, Marcia Bennett, Patricia Clarkson, Peter Stormare, Philip Granger, Rachel Nichols, Stephanie Beran, Tyler Labine
Boy, where did the time go? October just flew by and, though I went a bit AWOL toward the end, I hope you've found your way to one or two new movies to add to your horror watchlist. Until next year, I leave you with some last minute ideas if you're looking for something different.
Synopsis: Set in 1965 New England, a troubled girl encounters mysterious happenings in the woods surrounding an isolated girls school that she was sent to by her estranged parents.
Stars: Agnes Bruckner, Patricia Clarkson, Rachel Nichols, Bruce Campbell, Marcia Bennett, Emma Campbell
Director: Lucky McKee
Review: The Woods didn't get much attention when it was released back in 2006, bypassing a wide release and arriving for home consumption with little fanfare. Pity. It's quite a good little scare show with some nicely creepy moments. The performances are on target (notably Patricia Clarkson, an expert at mellow menace) and I loved how the forest elements made their way into the school corridors and even the wardrobe of the increasingly tightly wired staff. Though it gets a tad overstuffed toward the end and betrays a bit of its 'girl power' intentions, it's an overall taut watch.
Killer Party
Synopsis: A group of friends get trapped at a baby shower when a mysterious outbreak starts turning people into homicidal maniacs.
Stars: Drew Benda, Stephanie Beran, John Brody
Director: Alex Drummond
Rated: NR
Review: I'm not too keen on films that deal with mass hysteria surrounding the population turning into raging monsters but there's something fun just on the edges of Killer Party that keeps things interesting. This low-budget effort earns high marks for its appealing cast and its attempts to both poke fun at the genre while making a not totally unsuccessful attempt at breaking some new ground. There's a bevy of uber fake blood and guts and at 80 minutes feels too long, but the unexpected moments of humor and the feeling that everyone in front of behind the scenes are pals makes me look forward to the next film from these guys.
The Conspiracy
Synopsis: A documentary about conspiracy theories takes a horrific turn after the filmmakers uncover an ancient and dangerous secret society.
Stars: Aaron Poole, James Gilbert, Ian Anderson, Alan C. Peterson, Julian Richings
Director: Christopher MacBride
Review: Please don't run away when you hear the word found footage, ok? If you pass up The Conspiracy you're missing a golden opportunity to take in a most surprising descent into the secret society the filmmakers discover. Most effective in its final act, the buildup may feel like it's taking too long but the ultimate pay-off is worth the wait. This one gave me some good chills!
Synopsis: A loving father finds a clown suit for his son's birthday party, only to realize the suit is part of an evil curse that turns its wearer into a killer.
Stars: Andy Powers, Laura Allen, Peter Stormare, Elizabeth Whitmere, Christian Distefano
Running Length: 100 minutes
Review: Those with even the slightest fear of clowns likely recoiled at the above poster so let me make this clear…if the sight of Bozo or Ronald McDonald gives you the slightest bit of the heebie jeebies, steer clear of Clown. Though it feels like it should have been shorter and part of an anthology package, Clown gets it right most of the time by not being afraid to go to some dark places. Well designed with solid gore and splatter effects, this one sat on the shelf for a bit before being released but it's well worth a watch. Just make sure anyone with coulrophobia isn't anywhere near the vicinity.
Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil
The Silver Bullet ~ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Trailer #2)
by Joe Movie Review	• Tags: Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn, Chris Weitz, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker, Gareth Edwards, Gary Whitta, Jiang Wen, Lucasfilm, Mads Mikkelsen, Riz Ahmed, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Walt Disney Pictures
Synopsis: Rebels set out on a mission to steal the plans for the Death Star.
Thoughts: Not that it's a very high bar, but this second trailer for December's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is better than most films we've seen so far this summer. Maybe even more than 2015's Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, this spin-off prequel sends waves of nostalgia over the viewer. Director Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) seems to have created a movie made now that feels like it was lensed in the '70s and has cast it with a striking group of fresh faces creeping their way up into the A-List. I'm even more excited to see how this ties into the saga of films that it takes place before and it's a given that the film will be a swell Christmas gift in just a few short months. Watch the first teaser here.
Movie Review ~ Zootopia
by Joe Movie Review	• Tags: Alan Tudyk, Bonnie Hunt, Byron Howard, Don Lake, Ginnifer Goodwin, Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, Jared Bush, Jason Bateman, Jenny Slate, Octavia Spencer, Phil Johnston, Raymond Persi, Rich Moore, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Tommy Chong, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Zootopia
Synopsis: In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a fugitive con artist fox and a rookie bunny cop must work together to uncover a conspiracy.
Stars: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, J.K. Simmons, Idris Elba, Alan Tudyk, Tommy Chong, Octavia Spencer, Bonnie Hunt, Jenny Slate, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Don Lake, Raymond Persi
Director: Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush
Review: Here we are in the first week of March and I think I've found the first truly delightful film of the year. We've just emerged from a season of heavy dramas and a start of the year that featured a seemingly endless supply of disappointments and cheap cash grabs. So to find a film as breezy and bright as Zootopia is most welcome, it's a place you'll want to visit more than once.
Young Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) is an idealistic young bunny rabbit that stands up to bullies and dreams of moving from her country life to Zootopia, an animal metropolis where predator and prey live in perfect harmony. With her sights set on becoming the first rabbit police officer, she overcomes the adversity of being 10 times smaller than her fellow police academy trainees and lands a job in the heart of the city. Relegated to the safety of being a meter maid, Hopps longs for more than just issuing parking tickets, though, and in short order gets involved with a plot to disrupt the peace between species.
It's a surprisingly complex plot that's dreamed up here, giving Disney Animation the opportunity to explore a world of anthropomorphic animals with no human presence. It's also the longest fully animated film produced by Disney since Fantasia in 1940 and carries an earned PG rating for some scary moments. The length and rating may give parents cause for pause but I'd encourage families to get out and see this one because not only does it have a typically Disneyfied message of being true to oneself and kind to others it's wonderfully animated and, at times, hysterically funny.
I like to laugh but don't find myself often truly breaking down in movies so I have to admit that Zootopia hit my funny bone on several occasions. From a delightfully droll spoof of The Godfather to hilarious trip to the sloth-run DMV there are also references to Breaking Bad and a visit to an animal spa that really left me rolling. That the humor feels so genuine is a tribute to the script from eight screenwriters (the film went through some tweaking/reworking several times during production) .
It's such a sunny romp that when there are dark turns, they land with the right amount of nuance instead of stinking of a laboriously false tonal shift. Zootopia is divided into several different sections meant to recreate the inhabitant's native habitat. The city center is your typical city setting while there are occasional detours to a rainforest, desert, and frozen tundra. Each world is designed to look and feel different and Disney animators have gone all out with fine details that keep each section separate yet still related to the others.
The voice talent used here is also one of the most enjoyable casts that Disney has put together in quite some time. Goodwin is a bundle of joyous energy as Judy, as is Jason Bateman (Bad Words) as a sly fox who teams up with Judy in her investigation. Idris Elba (Prometheus) is commanding as Judy's superior officer and J.K. Simmons (Terminator Genisys) pairs nicely with Jenny Slate (The Lorax) as Zootopia's lion leader and his lamb second in command. And any chance to hear Bonnie Hunt (Monsters University) onscreen is welcome in my book.
Zootopia is being released in IMAX and 3D and while I normally go for the biggest and best presentation I can find, this is one that won't suffer from a traditional viewing and in fact may be preferred as the 3D doesn't have the same impact as other films of its kind.
Movie Review ~ Trumbo
by Joe Movie Review	• Tags: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Alan Tudyk, Bleecker Street, Bryan Cranston, Dalton Trumbo, Diane Lane, Elle Fanning, Helen Mirren, Jay Roach, John Goodman, Louis C.K., Michael Stuhlbarg, Trumbo
Synopsis: In 1947, Dalton Trumbo was Hollywood's top screenwriter until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs.
Stars: Bryan Cranston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Louis C.K., Elle Fanning, John Goodman, Diane Lane, Alan Tudyk, Michael Stuhlbarg, Helen Mirren
Director: Jay Roach
Review: Though it's not a great movie, Trumbo has been enthusiastically received by the lords and ladies of Tinseletown and I think I know why. There's nothing Hollywood loves so much as a good redemption story…especially one that it's involved with. Any chance they have to pat themselves on the back is taken with glee, even if it's involving a dark stain on its history that never should have happened in the first place.
Playing like a made for TV movie that could have aired on HBO (where director Jay Roach has seen several of his political projects find great acclaim over the last decade), Trumbo is a hammy take on the years when numerous Hollywood players were put on the blacklist thanks to the McCarthy hearings. Thought to be Communists in a time of great fear of the unknown, friends turned on friends and the mere mention of affiliation with the Communist parties saw careers, not to mention lives, destroyed.
Already explored in countless films/documentaries over the years (including a fictionalized take like 1991's also mediocre Guilty by Suspicion), the way that Trumbo could have set itself apart was not playing like a standard biopic of one man's downfall. Yet it falls prey to every convention, every plot trap, every pothole that you can think of. It may be a mildly diverting piece of entertainment, but it doesn't go beyond the surface.
What elevates the film is the presence of several star players. Helen Mirren and John Goodman have some solid screen time and make the most of it. Mirren (Hitchcock) is Hedda Hopper, the notorious Hollywood gossip columnist with a poison pen for anyone that crosses her. Mirren's demeanor changes on a dime when challenged and the actress balances that sweet/sour persona with ease. Goodman (Flight) is also notable as the hot-headed small-time studio exec that isn't one to be pushed around. And before Diane Lane (Man of Steel) fades into the background as her role becomes mere wallpaper, she's a strong matriarch in a family that's struggling.
These three performances can't save the picture, though, mostly because they aren't the leading player. I've long struggled with Bryan Cranston (Godzilla, Rock of Ages) onscreen, feeling that he's never as good as people think he is and certainly lacking the charisma that made his Breaking Bad character such a legend. He's off the mark here for most of the picture, cartoonishly impersonating Dalton Trumbo's voice and mannerisms that suggest he's older than he really is. It's only when the character actually ages that the performance matches up.
Worst of the bunch is Louis C.K., completely out of his league as a disgraced writer dealt even more devastating blows as he falls from favor. The comedian seems uncomfortable in front of the camera and with his dialogue, never convincing us that he's to be taken seriously as a dramatic actor. It's a woefully poor performance, and put up against the roster of other strong cast members it just can't be considered on the same level.
As a biopic, I guess Trumbo earns marks for its draft of events. It's workmanlike in its execution and the production design is pleasing. Still, I kept waiting for the film to be better, to say something extraordinary…instead of just playing by the rules. Aside from Mirren, Goodman, and Lane…it's a fairly insignificant telling of a painful part of history.
Movie Review ~ Big Hero 6
by Joe Movie Review	• Tags: Alan Tudyk, Big Hero 6, Chris Williams, Damon Wayans Jr., Daniel Henney, Don Hall, Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell, Jamie Chung, Marvel, Maya Rudolph, Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, T.J. Miller, Walt Disney Animation Studios
Synopsis: The special bond that develops between plus-sized inflatable robot Baymax, and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.
Stars: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr., Genesis Rodriguez, Maya Rudolph, James Cromwell, Alan Tudyk, Daniel Henney
Director: Don Hall, Chris Williams
Trailer Review: Here
Review: When Disney agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment for the cool sum of 4.64 million dollars they not only started to churn out live-action superhero movies by the truckload (just do an internet search for the multi-year slate of films recently announced) but they began to develop future animated collaborations with Marvel based on their comic book properties. The first production of this union is Big Hero 6 and if this high energy, vibrantly colored adventure is any indication of what's to come, both Disney and Marvel execs can start looking at purchasing those beach houses in the Hamptons and 40 foot yachts they've been holding off on.
In the city of San Fransokyo, young Hiro (Ryan Potter) is headed down the wrong path, wasting his tech-savy gifts on secret behind closed doors robot battles that may pad his pockets but gets him into hot water with thugs and his watchful brother. A chance visit to his brother's elite school harnessing the best ideas from the brightest minds gets Hiro interested in following his brother's footsteps. When tragedy strikes, Hiro must work with a rag-tag group of awkwardly diverse geniuses and one puffy vinyl nurse-like robot to save the world.
With characters first introduced in 1998, Big Hero 6 is an interesting concoction of East meets West styles and the classic origin story that all films of this type need at their genesis. It plays very much like Guardians of the Galaxy, Disney's surprise hit from August that slipped in at the last minute to be the most enjoyably film of a rather blah summer. Even with echoes of Guardians of the Galaxy dancing in your head, Big Hero 6 emerges as its own entity with a fair share of honestly funny moments and the kind of every color of the rainbow animation that practically leaps off the screen.
It's a rollicking good time and a better film that I thought it would (or could) be. I laughed a lot and even felt some pangs of sadness, another example of the harmony that exists between the comic-book world of Marvel and the wise minds/hearts of the animators at Disney.
A winning film for parents with kids that too young for Iron Man and too old for Frozen, Big Hero 6 is clearly the start of a beautiful animated partnership.
The Silver Bullet ~ Big Hero 6
by Joe Silver Bullet - Trailer Park	• Tags: Alan Tudyk, Big Hero 6, Chris Williams, Damon Wayans Jr., Daniel Henney, Don Hall, Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell, Jamie Chung, Maya Rudolph, November 7 2014, Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, T.J. Miller, Walt Disney Animation Studios
Thoughts: Representing the first animated collaboration between Walt Disney Animation Studios and Marvel, Big Hero 6 has the potential to show off the best of what two proven franchise starters can do when they put their creative talents together. Based on a comic book of the same name, it's interesting that you can clearly see the Disney influence reflected in the look of the film and also a clear indication that this is a Marvel adventure through and through. I've had zero exposure to the source material so I can't tell you how much of a fan base this is coming in with…but Disney had a whopper of a hit last year in the same time period (Frozen) and Marvel hasn't stumbled yet. Expect big things for this big hero.
Movie Review ~ Frozen
by Joe Movie Review	• Tags: Alan Tudyk, Chris Buck, Ciarán Hinds, Edie McClurg, Frozen, Idina Menzel, Jennifer Lee, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Kristen Bell, Maia Wilson, Santino Fontana, The Snow Queen, Walt Disney Pictures
Synopsis: Fearless optimist Anna teams up with Kristoff in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna's sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.
Stars: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk, Maia Wilson, Ciarán Hinds, Edie McClurg
Director: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Review: Perhaps it's the kid that still bounces around within me, but I still get a little twinge of excitement every time a new Disney film is about to open. Though I've long since given up hope that the hand drawn animation of the late 80's/early 90's age of Disney films will ever truly make a comeback, I find myself remaining interested in what projects the studio is working on.
The latest output from the House of Mouse is a wintery musical (very) loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen, refashioned as a tale of sisterly bonds and the embracing of our own individuality. Featuring a welcome return to the musical roots of the Golden Age of the studio, Frozen boasts some very appealing tunes by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez heartily sung by a roster of Broadway actors that help to keep the movie afloat during several slow stretches.
After their royal parents are lost at sea, sisters Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell, Hit and Run) are left to rule the Nordic land of Arendelle. The sisters rarely speak due to a childhood accident involving Elsa's powers to turn anything she touches to ice. With the help of some magical trolls, the royal parents and Elsa decide to keep her away from Anna, adjusting her memory so that no harm can come to Elsa or the villagers that may not understand her powers.
This separation has come at a price, though, because Anna doesn't understand why her sister has cut her off. That all changes when Elsa comes of age to inherit the throne and accidentally unleashes a massive winter freeze on the sunny village and hills of Arendelle. With Elsa fleeing to a wintery castle of her own creation, Anna treks after her to bring her sister home and end the chill of a winter without end.
Bell gives Anna just the right amount of pluck and spunk, not to mention a clarion singing voice that is a nice fit to the various musical styles of the Lopez/Anderson-Lopez score. There's some classic Disney princess-ey whimsy going on here and Bell skips right along with it. Whether she's dealing with a handsome prince (Santino Fontana, also lending strong singing chops) or bumping heads while climbing a mountain with the local (and now unemployed) ice delivery man (Jonathan Groff), Bell keeps Anna in good spirits and great voice.
While Menzel brings her Broadway belt with her for the Act 1 power ballad "Let it Go", there's something about her voice that doesn't match up with the character that's been animated for her. The booming timbre and slightly raspy tones sound great on the CD but strangely feel awkward and out of place when you see it onscreen. It's a disappointing wrinkle and the fault lies with the concept animation, not in Menzel's performance.
I'm not a huge fan of Josh Gad (Thanks for Sharing, jOBS, The Internship) but I have to say that this is probably the most I've enjoyed him in anything so far. As charmingly daft snowman Olaf, Gad pretty much walks away with the movie thanks to his stellar timing and easy-going approach to what could have been a much sillier role. There's a welcome tenderness to this particular character that gives the movie extra oomph.
While the 3D animation is, as usual, crisp and intriguing I found myself less interested in it than I have in previous efforts like Tangled. As pleasing as the voices are and as soothing as the snowflake heavy animation is, it all feels vaguely familiar…and not as original as I wanted it to be. On the other hand, there's something to be said about the magic of a Disney film and how it can somehow overcome its shortcomings. Though initially pleased but not overwhelmed by the film, I find myself humming the tunes and thinking about the characters…and that's nice when you consider how rare animated musicals are nowadays.
A special note, Frozen is preceded by a brand new neat-o Mickey Mouse animated short that gives a nice nod to the black and white cartoon origins of Disney before breaking through (literally) to a more modern day feel. Don't be late…and stay through the end credits of Frozen too!
The Silver Bullet ~ Frozen
by Joe Silver Bullet - Trailer Park	• Tags: Alan Tudyk, Chris Buck, Frozen, Idina Menzel, Jennifer Lee, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Kristen Bell, November 27 2013, Peter Del Vecho, Santino Fontana, Walt Disney Pictures
Synopsis: Fearless optimist Anna teams up with Kristoff in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna's sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter
Thoughts: Disney's update on the classic fairy tale The Snow Queen is sadly not going to be hand-drawn but should continue on in the footsteps of its non-Pixar animated slate that has been doing solid business the last few years (Tangled, Wreck-It-Ralph). Right now, however, snow and ice are the last things that any summer loving movie-goer wants to think about in the middle of June. I'm also getting a strong Ice Age feel from this teaser trailer that makes me hope a full preview with more substantial material is released in short order. Also interesting to note is that aside from lead Kristen Bell (Hit and Run), the voice talent assembled features a healthy roster of Broadway talent with the likes of Idina Menzel (Wicked), Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening), Josh Gad (The Book of Mormon, and June's The Internship), and Santino Fontana (Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella). Could this mean Frozen has some music numbers thawing out…we shall see.
Movie Review ~ Wreck-It Ralph
by Joe Movie Review	• Tags: Adam Carolla, Alan Tudyk, Animation, Dennis Haysbert, Ed O'Neill, Edie McClurg, Gerald C Rivers, Horatio Sanz, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, John C. Reilly, Kyle Hebert, Mindy Kaling, Moore, Rachael Harris, Reuben Langdon, Rich Moore, Roger Craig Smith, Sarah Silverman, Stefanie Scott, Walt Disney Studio, Wreck-It Ralph
Synopsis: A video game villain wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfill his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the whole arcade where he lives.
Stars: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Ed O'Neill, Mindy Kaling
Director: Rich Moore
Trailer Review: Here and Here
Review: Nostalgia filmmaking is not for everyone. As much as something can seem like a slam dunk on paper, movie studios tend to tread carefully with films that might appeal to audiences that don't go to the movies quite as often as they used to. If they get it wrong, they've alienated your base demographic and the repeat business is a bust. If they get it right, they guarantee their product has a longer shelf life. Thankfully, the makers of Wreck-It Ralph fall into the latter category and have delivered a high gloss animated comedy that is a mostly winning treat.
I've always appreciated that the Walt Disney Studios haven't been afraid to look for anti-heroes when creating new work. The central character in Wreck-It Ralph is the 'bad guy' in an 80's style video game that longs to be a winner. Now, he's not asking to be good necessarily…he just wants to win the coveted medal that his nemesis Fix-It Felix achieves every time he defeats Ralph. We are given an inside look at the world inside Ralph's game and see what happens when the arcade closes and the work day ends for the inhabitants of the game.
Yeah, there is more than a passing connection to Toy Story in that aspect but the similarities end there. When Ralph goes "Turbo" (explained in greater detail with a neat-o double twist) and leaves his game for greater glory, he sets off a series of events that threatens to pull the plug on several games. Along the way he enters a first person military game and then winds up in a Candy Land-eqsue racing game (Sugar Rush) where he meets a mischievous glitch that may hold the key to salvation.
The film is a candy color-ed adventure that works on several levels. It's quite creative in its employment of familiar characters to anyone that ever had an Atari or Nintendo growing up. There are enough in jokes and references that don't go too far over the heads of youngsters that adults will get a kick out of things as well. It's also (per usual Disney fare) a strong morality tale of being happy with yourself for who you are, not what people may label you as being.
Reilly is a nice choice to voice Ralph…his genial lunk headed-ness comes across well in an easy-going delivery that allows audiences to feel empathy for our nice-bad guy. Silverman goes wild as glitch Vanellope and Lynch does her normal shtick as a hardened soldier that falls for Felix (McBrayer). Tudyk channels Ed Wynn as the crazed King Candy who is intent on keeping Vanellope out of a big race that the film speeds toward.
With the added benefit of some swell 3D and a perfected Disney sheen, Wreck-It Ralph is an enjoyable film that probably goes on ten minutes too long. It's in these extra ten minutes, gathered from various scenes along the way that you start to feel a bit bogged down by some unnecessary restatements of thoughts/ideas the film has already made clear.
With a curious lack of strong family fare this holiday season, it's no wonder that Wreck-It Ralph has cleaned up at the box office the past few weeks. It's getting some competition in the next few weeks but expect this one to stay on top of them all a while longer. It's typically strong Disney fare that has its heart and brain in the right place.
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text:
Thousands without heat or water after tornadoes kill dozens in US
Residents of a Kentucky town devastated by a tornado could be without heat, water and electricity in chilly temperatures for a "long time", the mayor has warned, as officials struggle to restore services after a swarm of twisters levelled neighbourhoods and killed dozens of people across five US states.
Authorities are still tallying the devastation from Friday's storms, although they believe the death toll will be lower than initially feared since it appeared many more people had escaped a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, than first thought.
"This is a tough morning … but it's OK, we're still going to be all right," Mayfield mayor Kathy Stewart O'Nan said on CBS Mornings. But those who survived faced below freezing conditions on Monday without any utilities.
The aftermath of the tornadoes in central Mayfield, Kentucky (Gerald Herbert/AP)
"Our infrastructure is so damaged. We have no running water. Our water tower was lost. Our wastewater management was lost, and there's no natural gas to the city. So we have nothing to rely on there," she told CBS.
"So that is purely survival at this point for so many of our people."
Across the state, tens of thousands of people were without power. National Guard members were going house-to-house, checking on people and helping remove debris. Cadaver dogs were searching for victims.
Friends hug outside a shelter in Wingo, Kentucky (Robert Bumsted/AP)
Kentucky was the worst-hit in the cluster of tornadoes across several states, remarkable because they came at a time of year when cold weather normally limits them. They left at least eight people dead at the state's Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory and another 12 were reported killed in and around Bowling Green. At least another 14 people died in Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri.
Authorities were still trying to determine the total number of dead, and the storms made door-to-door searches impossible in some places.
"There are no doors," Kentucky governor Andy Beshear said.
"We're going to have over 1,000 homes that are gone, just gone," he said.
A car sits amid the remains of a destroyed house in Dawson Springs, Kentucky (Michael Clubb/AP)
Mr Beshear had said on Sunday morning that the state's death toll could exceed 100. But he later said it might be 50.
Initially, as many as 70 people were feared dead in the candle factory, but the company said on Sunday that eight had been confirmed dead and eight remained missing, while more than 90 others had been located.
"Many of the employees were gathered in the tornado shelter and after the storm was over they left the plant and went to their homes," Bob Ferguson, a spokesman for the company, said.
"With the power out and no landline they were hard to reach initially. We're hoping to find more of those eight unaccounted as we try their home residences."
Sam Willett helps salvage items from a friend's home in Mayfield, Kentucky (Mark Humphrey/AP)
Debris from destroyed buildings and shredded trees covered the ground in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 people in western Kentucky. Twisted sheet metal, downed power cables and wrecked vehicles lined the streets. Windows were blown out and roofs torn off the buildings that were still standing.
Firefighters in the town had to rip the doors off the fire station to get vehicles out, according to Fire Chief Jeremy Creason on CBS Mornings.
"Words cannot describe the bravery, the selflessness that they've exhibited," he said of his employees.
"We had to try and navigate through all the debris up and down our streets. We were responding with ambulances with three and four flat tyres."
Central Mayfield, Kentucky, before and after the tornado (Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies/AP)
Ms O'Nan said historic churches had been destroyed – just a week after she and others had visited them on a pre-Christmas "advent walk".
"Little did we know it would be the last time we did that," she said on Today.
"But we're so, so thankful to have had that opportunity, which will be in our hearts forever – every Christmas, that's what we'll think of."
At the candle factory, night-shift workers were in the middle of the holiday rush when the word went out to seek shelter.
Houses were destroyed (Gerald Herbert/AP)
"It was indescribable," Pastor Joel Cauley said of the disaster scene.
"It was almost like you were in a twilight zone. You could smell the aroma of candles, and you could hear the cries of people for help. Candle smells and all the sirens is not something I ever expected to experience at the same time."
Four tornadoes hit Kentucky in total, including one with an extraordinarily long path of around 200 miles (322km), authorities said.
In addition to the deaths in Kentucky, the tornadoes also killed at least six people in Illinois, where an Amazon distribution centre in Edwardsville was hit; four in Tennessee; two in Arkansas, where a nursing home was destroyed and the governor said workers shielded residents with their own bodies; and two in Missouri.
The weather caused catastrophic damage across several states (Mark Humphrey/AP)
Pope Francis expressed his sadness over the "devastating impact" of the tornadoes.
In a telegram sent on Monday by Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the pope offered prayers for those who died, "comfort to those who mourn their loss and strength to all those affected by this immense tragedy".
In the shadows of their crumpled church sanctuaries, two congregations in Mayfield came together on Sunday to pray for those who were lost.
"Our little town will never be the same, but we're resilient," Laura McClendon said.
"We'll get there, but it's going to take a long time."


text:
Q: How can I get Filled(columns that have not Empty and Not Null Values) Columns Count in MySQL? Can anyone please help me get the count of the filled MySQL columns?
For example:
My Table Structure:

ID
FName
LName

1
ABC
NULL

2

XYZ

In the above table, I have two Rows, and both rows contain one Null and One Empty Value, I just need to get the Count of each row that doesn't have NULL OR EMPTY Value for a specific ID.

Expected Result:
WHERE ID=1, the result would be:
Count = 2 (ID, FName)
WHERE ID=2, the result would be:
Count = 2 (ID, LName)

**I want to use this in WordPress

A: So, after searching for an hour or two.
I'm using this as my solution but I'm not sure if it's good regrading the optimization. Here is what I'm using:
function ranking_mechanism( $currentUserID ){
global $wpdb;
$rank = 0;

$results = $wpdb->get_row(
    $wpdb->prepare('SELECT * FROM TABLE WHERE ID=%d', $currentUserID)
);

$finalArr = (array) $results; // Convert $results as Array(to perform iteration), it(WordPress DB Query) typically return Object by Default
foreach ( $finalArr as $key => $Table ) {
    if( $finalArr[$key] == '' || $finalArr[$key] == 'NULL' ){
        // Nothing to do
    }else{
        $rank = $rank+1; // Increase Rank If Found Value
    }
    return $rank;
}

A: SELECT ID,   (ID IS NOT NULL) /* assuming that ID is numeric and cannot be empty string */
           + (FName <> '' AND FName IS NOT NULL)
           + (LName <> '' AND LName IS NOT NULL) AS `Count`
FROM source_table
-- WHERE ID = ???


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What's going on with Mt. Gox?
If you have a "goxbtc" balance from back in 2014, don't worry, it is still untouched on your account.
As the Japanese trustee works through the bankruptcy proceedings, we will continue to represent the interests of Bitcoin Builder users (and all Mt. Gox depositors) to the best of our ability. If there are any actions we need you to take, we will email you directly, and generally announce them on twitter. We do not expect there to be any.
For any funds you have on Bitcoin Builder, no action needs to be taken at this time. You can choose to sell your GOXBTC to us at a rate of .04 BTC each if you would prefer to forgo the extra time and uncertainty of letting this whole thing play out.
If you had your own mtgox account with any assets in it you should have filed your own personal claim individually. If you were rejected, unfortunately we have no power over that decision by the trustee... we have heard of users with GOXBTC they bought on BB whose claims were rejected, but also ones whose claims were accepted. We unfortunately don't have any special insight into, or influence over, how these determinations were made. We will be happy to assist in any records you might want to show the trustee, keep in mind your full transaction history with us is still up on your account if you sign in.
Our civil rehabilitation claim has been fully accepted (as of course it should have been).
It is still unclear when any distribution might come, but it is likely to be at least a year, if not more.
There is the Coinlab lawsuit to still be dealt with and the next creditor's meeting has been set for October 1st, 2019.