Articulating your goals for the course early in the preparation process can help you organize the course structure.
For many of us, the most difficult step in teaching a course is also the first step: preparing a course. At CTE, we believe that a successful course originates from effective course design, and we provide an introduction to the concept of backward design on this page. We also offer some practical solutions for the many questions that arise when constructing a syllabus (for information on the next stage of creating a syllabus—foregrounding inclusivity—please follow this link). Finally, we understand how stressful the first day of class can be for both yourself and your students, which is why we provide a general overview for how to approach this crucial early encounter with your students.
Course design involves the planning of curriculum, assessments, and opportunities for learning which attempt to meet the goals of the course and evaluate whether those goals are indeed being met. The designing of a course can be adeptly performed through the use of backward design, which is based on the principle of working first from the material and concepts you want students to master. Once you determine these concepts, or learning goals, you can plan how you will assess whether this learning has occurred. This information thus guides which resources and methods of teaching are employed in order to enact learning of course material. For a further breakdown of the course design process, watch this Two-Minute Mentor video with Crystal Lumpkins, of the KU School of Journalism, and former CTE Director Dan Bernstein.
Backward design is related to creating a course map (or course mapping), which conceives of the instructor as a mapmaker, someone who targets a destination and designs the most effective means for students to reach that destination. With such a map as the guide to the course, students and instructors are less likely to get lost along the way toward teaching and learning goals. We encourage you to follow the steps below to begin enacting backward design and map your next course.
After having determined which material will guide the course design, the next step in backwards design is to establish the criteria you will employ to evidence student learning. Instead of using a lone cumulative exam to assess learning, backwards design is guided by the concept that understanding increases across time while students process, reassess, and connect information.
Therefore, assessments to measure this increasing level of understanding should be conducted throughout the semester, using a variety of methodologies such as discussions, tests and quizzes, projects, and assessments in which students analyze their own level of understanding. We encourage you to watch this Two-Minute Mentor video on "Iterative Assignments" for more ideas on how to scaffold student development throughout the semester.
Once key concepts and assessment criteria have been decided upon, you can then focus on which teaching methodologies and activities you will use to help students reach these course goals. In this manner, teaching is driven by the concepts that are crucial to the course, rather than the course being driven by the teaching methodology itself.
When building a syllabus, start with the basic information of the course, including the year and semester of the course, the course title and number, number of credits, and the meeting time/place. Provide your name, office address (and a map if it's hard to find), and your contact information. Indicate whether students need to make appointments or may just stop in. If you list a home number, be specific about any restrictions for its use. Next, clarify what prerequisites, knowledge, skills, or experience you expect students to have or courses they should have completed. Suggest ways they might refresh skills if they're uncertain about their readiness, and give them a sense of how much preparation and work the course will take.
When discussing the course, outline the course purpose(s); what is the course about and why would students want to learn the material? Outline the three to five general goals or objectives for the course, and explain why you've arranged topics in a given order and the logic of themes or concepts you've selected. When discussing the course format and activities, tell students whether the class involves fieldwork, research projects, lectures, and/or discussion, and indicate which activities are optional, if any.
Specify the nature and format of the assignments, and their deadlines.
Give the exam dates and indicate the nature of the tests (essay, short-answer, take-home, other). Explain how the assignments relate to the course objectives.
Describe the grading procedures, including the components of the final grade and weights for each component.
Explain whether you will grade on a curve or use an absolute scale, if you accept extra credit work, and if any of the grades can be dropped.
Explain any other course requirements, such as study groups or office hour attendance.
Clearly state your policies regarding class attendance, late work, missing homework, tests or exams, makeups, extra credit, requesting extensions, reporting illnesses, cheating and plagiarism.
You might also list acceptable and unacceptable classroom behavior.
Let students know that if they need an accommodation for any type of disability, they should meet with you to discuss what modifications are necessary.
In addition to this information, include a course calendar with the sequence of course topics, readings, and assignments. Exam dates should be firmly fixed, while dates for topics and activities may be tentative. Also list on the course calendar the last day students can withdraw without penalty.
Please see examples one and two for undergraduate course syllabi.
We all have experienced some anxiety about the first meeting of a class. Some faculty avoid "first day anxiety" by handing out a syllabus, giving an assignment, and dismissing the class. This only postpones the inevitable. It also gives students the sense that class time is not very important. Most of all, it fails to take advantage of the opportunity to use the heightened excitement and anticipation that students bring to the first day, as well as the chance to direct that excitement toward enthusiasm for the class.
On the first day, make sure that you arrive at the classroom early to ensure that the equipment is working properly and to engage in small talk with students. Greet students at the door as they enter the class. When students enter your classroom, they have any number of things on their mind. To help them focus, many teachers use a hook, or a three- to five-minute activity to engage students at the beginning of class (some instructors use hooks at the start of every class throughout the semester). Ideas for hooks include playing music and asking students to think about how the lyrics relate to a class topic, presenting a question to the class to begin discussion, giving a brief demonstration of a principle you will be discussing that day, or projecting a photograph, cartoon, drawing, or chart related to the day's topic.
Some other recommendations for the first meetings of a course include making sure you start class on time and take attendance. Make note of any absences, and follow up with these students after class by contacting them via e-mail.


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Abigail Dreyer
Cohort: 7
Phd status - In progress
Abigail Dreyer holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in Psychology and English, an Advanced Diploma In Adult Education, a certificate in the Anthropology of Children and Youth in Research and Development and a Masters in Public Health. Her professional memberships include being an Executive member for the Western Cape Network on Violence against Women, a Board Member for the Foundation for Community Work. Her consultancy experience has included work for the Policy Project where she designed and facilitated HIV/AIDS training with Women's groups, Faith-based organisations and Youth. She has also supported the Regional programme by initiating a Health Promoting Schools programme in Lesotho with 6 schools as a pilot study and trained volunteers at Rape Crisis Cape Town and NICRO Women's Support Centre, two organisations that address gender-based violence. She was a participant in the Master Training of Trainers in the CEDPA Women's leadership programme in 2001. She has more than 10 years of project management experience and has more than 7 years' experience in the design, delivery of social and health services at community level. She has worked in 5 of the 9 provinces in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. She is knowledgeable in project management particularly health related interventions, gender, youth, participatory research methodology and advocacy. Her strengths include her ability to learn quickly, and successfully adapt to new and challenging circumstances, her enthusiasm and capability to work with colleagues from culturally diverse backgrounds, her effective interpersonal, group communication and facilitation skills. She has experience and understanding of community development issues, a strong understanding of NGOs and CBO's and a proven ability to adapt research methodology to the implementing context. She is a fellow from the Southern Africa FAIMER Regional Institute (SAFRI) and is currently a lecturer in the Department of Family Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Witwatersrand.
ORCID Profile
Not Filled
Masters of Public Health
Area of Specialization:
Comparative analysis of decentralised training platforms in undergraduate medical education at four South African universities
Area of Research Interest:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Die Stolidobranchia (Gr.: Kiemendarm mit Ausläufern) oder Pleurogona sind sessil lebende Manteltiere (Tunicata, Urochordata) und werden in der traditionellen Systematik deshalb zur Klasse der "Seescheiden" (Ascidiacea) gezählt. Die Tiere sind teilweise sehr häufig. In der Rotalgenzone der westlichen Ostsee kann die Tangbeere (Dendrodoa grossularia) drei Viertel der gesamten Zoomasse stellen.

Merkmale
Die meisten Arten der Gruppe, z. B. die im Mittelmeer lebende Rote Seescheide, sind solitär und werden relativ groß. Tierstöcke bildende Arten gibt es in der Familie Styelidae. Ihr Körper ist ungegliedert, die Eingeweide liegen seitlich des Kiemendarms, der von längsgerichteten Gefäßen und Falten durchlaufen wird. Die unpaaren Gonaden liegen links und rechts an der Körperwand, die Kloakenhöhle entwickelt sich aus einer unpaaren dorsalen Einstülpung.

Äußere Systematik

Die Seescheiden bilden nach DNA-Sequenzanalysen kein Monophylum. Ein Kladogramm zeigt die wahrscheinliche tatsächliche Verwandtschaft der Manteltiere. Die Stolidobranchia sind die basale Schwestergruppe aller anderen Taxa der Manteltiere:

Familien
Die Ordnung Stolidobranchia umfasst drei Familien:
 Molgulidae Lacaze-Duthiers, 1877
 Pyuridae Hartmeyer, 1908
 Styelidae Sluiter, 1895

Einzelnachweise

Literatur
 Wilfried Westheide, Reinhard Rieger: Spezielle Zoologie. Teil 1: Einzeller und Wirbellose Tiere. 2. Auflage. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg/ Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-8274-1575-2.
 Volker Storch, Ulrich Welsch: Systematische Zoologie. Fischer, 1997, ISBN 3-437-25160-0.
 K. Deckert, Gisela Deckert, G. E. Freytag, G. Peters, G. Sterba: Urania Tierreich, Fische, Lurche, Kriechtiere. Urania-Verlag, 1991, ISBN 3-332-00376-3.

Weblinks

 N. Shenkar, A. Gittenberger, G. Lambert, M. Rius, R. Moreira da Rocha, B. J. Swalla, X. Turon: Stolidobranchia. In: Ascidiacea World Database, accessed through: World Register of Marine Species vom 14. Dezember 2015, abgerufen am 1. März 2023.

Manteltiere
Tunicata

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Following the latest developments affecting employment practices in Singapore, the launch of the national Jobs Bank marks the final stage of the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) roll-out since it was first announced in September 2013.
Data Security: Be Smart, Be Safe.
HiringBoss is an industry-leader when it comes to data security. We take data protection seriously- which is why are the only eRecruiting platform in Asia to hold the prestigious Privacy Mark, the officially recogised gold seal of data privacy standards in Japan.
Here at HiringBoss we've been quicker than most (we admit it!) to embrace the futurism of HR...in fact, we like the think we play a small part in leading the way. In this blog, HiringBoss contributor Janine Truitt shares her thoughts on how the virtual workspace has broken down barriers and is making the world of HR and learning a more open, and interesting, place. Do you agree with Janine? Her viewpoint comes from a US-perspective but do her opinions hold weight here in Asia too? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.


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MPS GET BOO-ED OFF
If we were ever in any doubt as to what motivated this generation of politicians, the news about their 9% pay rise going ahead as planned says it all. I read Marcial Boo's comments about their current pay of £67,000 being "miserly" and was fairly taken aback. I'm still struggling to understand how this is ethical. The hardworking people of Britain have been driving the economy out of the recession and having to suffer pay freezes and cuts. So why is it that, at the first sign of light at the end of the tunnel, the politicians, after all that embarrassment of the expenses scandal, are divvying themselves up a big pay cheque?
I was particularly saddened by the comment about needing higher salaries to attract "good people" – is he implying MPs are of a better quality than nurses and teachers? It's like they're putting themselves on a pedestal and they clearly think they make up the higher echelons of life. Aren't politicians supposed to be concerned about helping people and bringing about change, not amassing huge wealth? What about William Wilberforce, who spent his life trying to abolish slavery? I never heard anything about his salary; it simply wasn't the point!
As for referring to £67,000 as "miserly" – that just shows complete and utter disrespect to the British worker. What about firefighters, who risk their lives to help people and nurses who patiently care for and support their patients? Why is it that the people who are driven by the desire to make a positive impact on the lives of others are rewarded less than MPs, who also receive an expenses allowance – there's no other sector in Britain that pays extras like this! Everyone else has to pay for the cost of living.
I believe we should have people in Parliament who are there because they want to make a difference not because they want a meal ticket. My mum, for example; she went into teaching because she genuinely wanted to make a difference and I never heard her complain about her salary. The girls she taught then are women now and some of them still pay her visits even though she's retired. Where are these kinds of people in politics?
Personally, when it comes to our MPs, I think we'd be better off if they made politics more attractive to retired businessmen and women who are actually good with budgets, not a load of people with the commercial intelligence of antelope! What do you think?
Britain leadership people Politics
Summer of 69


This course employs a teaching and learning strategy primarily based on a lecture programme, which highlights effective and ineffective practice from local case study organizations and which gives students the opportunity to apply various marketing and promotional concepts and principles to their own organisation. The lecture content is industry focused and gives students the opportunity to apply concepts and techniques to SME organizations they are familiar with in module study outside the lecture time.
Defining the sales function and its role within the business - relationship to marketing ; sales and the delivery; the 4 basics of the sales role ; application of AIDA ; the sales mix - product, price and presentation - the sales task and requisite skills.
Directing the meeting - effective sales behaviour - ascertaining customer needs and wants - questioning techniques - listening and agreeing terms - ordering priorities.
Presentation guidelines - highlighting features and benefits ; differentiating the offer - selling the price -building value - use of proof ; the sales presentation general guidelines - demonstrating.
The necessity for closing ; risks with closing ; timing the closure - closing methods.


Beneath Okinawa's paradisal surface creeps an infamous and deadly resident: the habu snake. Aggressive and lethally venomous, they are most commonly seen submerged in bottles of awamori (island sake) lining the walls of tourist shops along the main street of Kokusai Dori. However, one attraction offers visitors the chance to come face-to-face with these sinister serpents while they are still very much alive.
Habu snakes in jars of Okinawa's potent local liquor, awamori.
Located inside the popular Okinawa World theme park, just south of the prefecture's capital city of Naha, lies the Habu Museum Park. Part museum and part zoo, it aims to educate visitors about habu as well as entertain, in the hope that learning more about these animals will enable people to better coexist with them.
Inside you can explore numerous snake-themed exhibits – most of which are in both English and Japanese – and learn more about the ecology and history of several of Okinawa's local species of snakes and reptiles. They also hold daily events for visitors, which feature cobras and mongooses alongside the habu. And for those brave souls who would like a closer look, you can try the daily Habu Encounter program.
At the Habu Museum Park in Okinawa World, get to know Okinawa's most deadly resident.
This unique attraction, now available in English as well as Japanese, enables visitors to get closer to habu than ever before through four separate habu-related activities. First, you can try holding a Habu Dome, which is a transparent container with a live habu inside. This enables you to safely see the snake up close from all angles, from where you can admire its distinctive black and yellow markings and peer into its red and gold eyes.
After getting acquainted with the viper you will have the chance to feed one of them, and then try catching one with a special tool known as a snake hook. Finally, you can meet and touch a live habu outside of its enclosure, and have your photo taken with it for posterity – and as proof!
This article is sponsored by Okinawa World.
The Habu Encounter starts at 2.40 p.m., and lasts about 40 minutes.
¥2,500 plus tax for both adults and children. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Entry to the Habu Museum Park is a separate ¥620 for adults and ¥310 for children.
From Naha bus terminal (located next to Asahibashi monorail station), take bus 54 (Maekawa line) or bus 83 (Gyokusendo line) and get off at the Gyokusendo-mae bus stop. The journey takes around one hour and costs ¥580.
Okinawa World is located in the south-east of Okinawa's main island and is about a 30-minute drive from Naha Airport.


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4 NFL Teams Show Interest in Ray Rice
ESPN reports that none of the four teams are likely to pick up the running back this season.
Transcript for 4 NFL Teams Show Interest in Ray Rice
The possible that ray rice may play again in the NFL. His wife breaking her silence about what they have been through after their altercation in the elevator and members of the team that dropped rice now speaking out. Ryan smith at the ravens game today. Reporter: With big games playing out across the NFL with the playoffs on the line, tonight, the former all-pro ray rice is still a man without a team -- for now. Eligible to sign with any club after winning his case against the NFL Friday, ESPN now reporting four teams have shown interest in the super bowl-winning running back. But none are likely to pick him up this season. This weekend, rice's wife, Janay, standing by her husband, speaking out about that brutal attack in the elevator. In my heart in knew that our relationship wouldn't be over. Because I know that this isn't us, and it's not him. Reporter: At the ravens game today, sprinkling of fans wearing his Jersey. Many split on whether or not he should come back. He knocks her out and he is reinstated. I don't agree with that. I don't agree with what he did. And he got punished and let him make his money. Reporter: He wouldn't be the first star to come back. Dante Stallworth was convicted of manslaughter and came back. Michael Vick served 21 months for dog fighting and still plays with the jets. Still, rice has a long way to go. Teens will look at that and say that video is too much for us. Reporter: Too tough to forget. I think no team wants to be a part of that that year. On. Reporter: While rice's former team, the ravens, are unlikely to bring him back, many of his teammates are firmly in his corner. One tweeted, rice will do the right thing. And another says he is glad his friend ray rice will be given a second chance. Tom? Thank you.
Multiple NFL Teams Reportedly Interested in Ray Rice
Where will the star running back play next now that he is eligible to return to the league?
Janay Rice Talks About What Happened in Casino Elevator
Ray Rice's wife breaks her silence and talks about the incident that sparked so much outrage.
Football Firestorm: Ray Rice Reinstated
ABC's Ryan Smith, USA Today's Christine Brennan, and ESPN's Jemele Hill discuss former Ravens' running back Ray Rice's successful appeal and the NFL's handling of domestic violence.
Now Playing: Multiple NFL Teams Reportedly Interested in Ray Rice
Now Playing: Janay Rice Talks About What Happened in Casino Elevator
Now Playing: Football Firestorm: Ray Rice Reinstated
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James Braithwaite (1838 – 7 March 1919) was an English obstetric physician, surgeon and cancer researcher best known for his research on salt and its relation to health.

Biography

Braithwaite obtained his M.D. from London University. He was an obstetric physician and surgeon to the Leeds General Infirmary. He was a Lecturer on Obstetric Medicine in the Leeds School of Medicine and was editor of the Retrospect of Medicine journal. Braithwaite was a Fellow and Vice-President of the Obstetrical Society of London. He was a surgeon to the Leeds Hospital for Women and Children. His father was William Braithwaite (1807–1885), a physician and surgeon from Leeds. He was a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and a Licentiate of the Apothecaries of London.

Braithwaite published a series of papers in The British Medical Journal and The Lancet, which argued that excessive consumption of salt is an essential factor of four factors that cause cancer. The other factors are overnutrition from consuming too much food such as meat, senility or effeteness of the cells and local irritation. He held the view that excess salt is an essential factor but one or two of the other co-operative factors would need to occur with it to cause cancer in the body.

Braithwaite stated that cancer is caused by the excessive use of salt in the diet and cancer is most abundant in those who consume lots of pork. Braithwaite argued that non-civilized people who do not eat salt do not get cancer and that Jewish women have low incidence of uterus cancer because they use little salt and abstain from salty foods like bacon and ham.

Braithwaite's salt and diet theory held that poorer people cannot afford much meat and consume less salt thus they have a low cancer mortality. To support this he cited cancer mortality data from different geographical area in the United Kingdom. For example, after visiting the Picking district which had a high cancer mortality rate it was found that the diet of its residents was meat several times a day with bacon being a staple food. Braithwaite also stated that cancer is unknown among wild animals but is found in domesticated animals because of the salty food they are fed. He concluded that people should consume as little as salt as possible and get plenty of fresh air to prevent cancer. Several physicians disagreed with Braithwaite's theory and there was a heated correspondence about the subject in the British Medical Journal, in 1902.

Braithwaite died in Leeds from pneumonia on 7 March 1919.

Selected publications

On the Micro-Organism of Cancer (The Lancet, 1895)
The Question of Table Salt in Chronic Gout (British Medical Journal, 1898)
Excess Of salt in the Diet as a Cause of Cancer (British Medical Journal, 1902)
Excess of Salt in the Diet a Probable Factor in the Causation of Cancer (The Lancet, 1901)
Is Salt a Probable Cause of Cancer? (The Lancet, 1902)
Excess of Salt in the Diet: With Three Other Factors, the Probable Causes of Cancer (London, 1902)
Salt as a Possible Cause of Cancer (London, 1902)
Cancer Mortality (British Medical Journal, 1903)

References

External links
James Braithwaite - Publications in The Lancet

1838 births
1919 deaths
19th-century English medical doctors
20th-century English medical doctors
Academics of the University of Leeds
Alternative cancer treatment advocates
Alumni of the University of London
Cancer researchers
Deaths from pneumonia in England
English medical writers
English obstetricians
English surgeons
Food policy in the United Kingdom
Salt researchers


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text:
Milking It for All It's Worth
by Lynn Tumpa and R.D. June 8th, 2001 August 29th, 2020
Pushing cow's milk is a just-plain-crazy idea for any mayor to pursue, let alone someone presiding over a 60 percent African-American populace, with substantial numbers of Hispanics and Asian-Americans, too ("Milky Fray," 5/4). Granted, a big-city mayor must keep track of and act on many matters, but can Washington Mayor Anthony A. Williams really be so unaware of what's wrong with dairy?
An estimated 70 percent of adult African-Americans are lactose-intolerant. Ditto for more than half of Hispanics, 95 percent of Asian-Americans, and 15 percent of Caucasians. Translated, that means milk makes them sick with such nasty symptoms as nausea, cramps, and diarrhea.
But it gets much worse. Milk has been identified as a significant risk factor in heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer. Amazingly, it may indeed even contribute to osteoporosis, the very disease the dairy industry incessantly touts milk-drinking as protection against. For instance, as 1997 results from the Harvard Nurses Health Study documented, heavy milk-drinkers suffer bone fractures at double the rate of light milk-drinkers and non-milk-drinkers.
Like the health-destroying tobacco industry, the dairy industry packs lots of political clout. However, as a registered dietitian, I urge Williams and his health advisers to nonetheless show the courage to do the right thing by Washingtonians: become well-informed about dairy's litany of problems and speak out for a healthy diet, free of dairy products.


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DMW Wins 4 2018 Direct Marketing Association "Benny" Awards
Bill SpinkCompany Awards, Press Releases
Annual Competition Recognizes Outstanding Creative and Results
May 18, 2018; CHESTERBROOK, PA – DMW received four "Benny" Awards from the Philadelphia Direct Marketing Association (PhillyDMA). The 2018 Benjamin Franklin Awards for Marketing Excellence, which are judged on a blend of strategic insight, creative excellence and actual in-market response, were presented at the annual PhillyDMA event.
The awards received by DMW were all in results-driven categories for client work and showcase the agency's ability to drive response across a range of direct marketing channels as well as industries:
"We Asked" DRTV spot created for Premera Blue Cross won the Broadcast TV category. The engaging commercial targeted Medicare "switchers" who were already signed up for a competitors' plan. By week five leads had already surpassed goal with just 58% of budget spent. The full 10-week campaign delivered nearly 300% more leads — at one-third of the target CPL.
A Facebook campaign for Delta Dental took top honors in the Interactive Social Media category. These ads generated up to 236% higher click through rates (CTR) directly leading to exceeding enrollment goals. This campaign was the latest tactic in a multi-year cross-channel campaign (view case history) that drove up membership 280% nationwide, with year-over-year digital enrollments up 91%.
The website for Johns Hopkins Advantage MD won in the Interactive – Banner Ads, Website, Microsite, Landing Page — category. The engaging and welcoming site sought to educate and inform while generating leads. Compared to the previous year, 46% more site visitors, 72% more conversions, and engaged visitors spending 51% more time on site contributed to an overall 25% increase in sales over 2016.
"Nothing Is Stopping You DM" was recognized in the Direct Mail B-to-C (lead generation or retention) category for a Philadelphia-based health insurer. The oversized DM piece stood out in the mail pile and practically begged to get opened. This campaign boasted a 170% higher response rate (1.07% vs. 0.39%), yielding 2,000 lead responses.
"As always, we're not only proud of the strategic vision and creative execution from our agency-wide team, these winners reflect our dedication to driving hard, empirical sales results for our clients" said Bill Spink, EVP and Chief Creative Officer of DMW. "Being recognized across varied categories in a competition as tight as the Bennys is a tangible demonstration that we're not only on the right track, but often ahead of it."
About the PhillyDMA Benjamin Franklin Awards
The Benjamin Franklin Awards for Direct Marketing Excellence ("Bennys") honor the significant achievements of direct marketers in the Greater Delaware Valley; recognize outstanding work within the direct marketing arenas; and foster pride, competition and the free exchange of ideas among members of the Philadelphia direct marketing community. This annual competition has been held by the Philadelphia Direct Marketing Association for more than 40 years and represents a hallmark of success in the community.
About DMW
DMW is an award-winning, full-service direct response agency with over 30 years' experience in digital, print, direct mail, DRTV and radio across categories as diverse as health care, software, outpatient medical services, financial products and credit unions, auto and life insurance. Our clients rely on us to produce successful, multi-channel marketing campaigns that feature data insight, media placement and analysis, digital/mobile expertise, and breakthrough creative. We're driven by core values that motivate us to do great work and Inspire Direct Results. To learn more, please visit www.dmwdirect.com.
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Choose a stylish storage solution with this bedroom dresser, featuring elegant moulding, bun feet, and a silky finish. Four larger drawers are great for pants, sweaters, and other larger linens. The top drawers are smaller and lined in felt to protect your more delicate items.
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The Allegra collection is a great option if you are looking for Transitional furniture in the Orland Park, Chicago, IL area.
Browse other items in the Allegra collection from Darvin Furniture in the Orland Park, Chicago, IL area.


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Q&A with Night Skies Photographer David Akoubian
Jade Lang
Milky Way over rock formations
David Akoubian
Have you ever wanted to learn how to photograph the night sky? Here are tips from a pro on why to venture out with your camera in America's national parks.
David Akoubian is from North Georgia and has been a professional nature photographer for over 22 years. He fell in love with Tamron lenses when he was just starting out, and since then has become a Tamron image master teaching classes and workshops. He's always had a passion for night skies and was a natural choice to lead the Night Skies Photography Workshops in Rocky Mountain National Park, Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park with National Park Trips Media in 2016.
Photographer David Akoubian
Q: How has night photography changed over time?
A: In the days of film you couldn't [photograph night skies]. Film didn't have the ability to capture all the beauty of the skies and stuff. Over the last couple of years digital photography has opened up a completely different opportunity to shoot the night skies, particularly the Milky Way, and capture it with detail. Really, during the past two or three years I've gotten to go to some really great places to photograph, and it gave me something else to shoot as well. Digital sensors capture so much more light whereas film could never do that. It's just a different avenue for me to photograph nature.
Q: What can photographers expect from their Night Skies Photography Workshop Experience?
A: We try to get people ready to go into the field before we ever step out. The biggest thing we saw this year was the majority of the people who went out with us had never experienced seeing the Milky Way so vividly with the naked eye. Getting out into the national parks allowed them to get away from light pollution and everything else. The national parks are so much more than elk and bears. There's a whole different world out there at night and I think this exposed a lot of people to that and encouraged them to get out and do it again.
Q: What's your advice to people interested in photographing in nature, especially in the national parks?
A: The national parks offer so much to the people. Too many times we go in and we photograph sunrise, we photograph sunset and that's it. There's so much more to it than that if you're willing to spend the time and the effort. It opens up, not only a different aspect of what our country has to offer in our national parks, but what photography has to offer as well. Anything I can do to encourage people to get outdoors is my goal in life because I live in the middle of the mountains. I see this every night. I encourage people to get out there and explore. Don't always do it during the day. Do it at night. And definitely take advantage of the workshops when they're offered because you've got someone who's literally going to hold your hand when you go out there and set your camera up for you and make sure that when you walk away you have an understanding of what you did and how to do it again.
See David's work at his website: www.bearwoodsphotography.com
Jade Lang is a writer with National Park Trips Media and studied journalism, philosophy and Spanish at CU-Boulder. She loves music, animals, Corepower Yoga, and traveling.
2019 National Park Photography Workshops
National Park Trips Media and Tamron have teamed up to offer Photo Workshops inside your favorite national parks.
Capture the Milky Way at Night Skies Photo Workshops in National Parks
"Experiencing the parks at night through the lens of a camera is one of the coolest things I've done and the images... are absolutely stunning."
Behind the Shot. Stories About the 2017 Winning Photos
The three winners, Roger Twilley, Matt Meisenheimer, and Tony Prince, are all hobbyists—none is a professional photographer by trade—but their images were no accidents.
24-Hours in the Grand Canyon Photo Story by Grant Ordelheide
What do 24 hours in the Canyon look like? From sunrises to afternoon rainbows, and night hikes lit by headlamp, every hour in the park brings surprises.
8 Photography Tips for Grand Canyon Sunrises and Sunsets
The Grand Canyon is an epic place to capture the light at sunrise and sunset. Pro photographer Ken Hubbard shares his tricks to get the perfect shot.
We received 3,000 spectacular photo entries to our 8th Annual National Park Photo Contest and the winners have been selected.


What kind of a dietary regimen would be recommended during the 30 days?
> day of ibogaine?  How many people have you placed on this regimen?
>> awareness and the origin of trauma to name but two.
>> being to me a constant ritual of rebirth followed by growth.
>> I have been thinking about the same thing for some time.
>> least 75 other ways to achieve an altered state of consciousness.
>> Many of them safer than ibogaine.
>> cause early symptoms of ibogaine "overdose".
>> lower doses are more acceptable, due to side effects of the drugs.
>> Any ideas, Ken?  I am also asking this question.
>>> with low dose ibogaine or iboga extract ?
>>>> session held during the International Harm Reduction conference.
>> to your free Windows Live Space now Click here!
>> Get 5GB of online storage for free! Get it Now!


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Ys: Memories of Celceta Coming to PS4 in Japan
by Alex Fuller · February 8, 2019
Nihon Falcom has announced that it will be releasing Ys: Memories of Celceta on PlayStation 4 in Japan. The PlayStation 4 version of the game will be officially titled Ys: Memories of Celceta: Kai and be released physically and digitally on May 16, 2019.
Ys: Memories of Celceta is a complete remake of Ys IV and was originally released for PlayStation Vita in Japan in 2012. XSEED Games released the game in North America in 2013, with a PC version released worldwide in 2018. Those looking to learn more about Ys: Memories of Celceta can check out Michael A. Cunningham and Mike Moehnke's reviews of the PlayStation Vita version.
Tags: Nihon FalcomPS4YsYs: Memories of Celceta
Hajimari no Kiseki Gets Asia Switch, PC Release Date
by Ryan Radcliff · Published April 29, 2021 · Last modified May 1, 2021
The Outer Worlds Gets New Gameplay Footage
by Matthew Wall · Published February 13, 2019
Star Ocean: The Divine Force Demo Available
Slayer says:
February 11, 2019 at 12:19 pm PST
I would like to play this on my ps4.


My name is Trevor Smith Diggins. I live in southwestern Ontario, Canada. I'm a communications guy and a theatre consultant. Performance is my specialty in business and arts.
For theatre stuff, I can be reached via Theatre Ontario Talent Bank.
You can also follow me on Twitter. Or Facebook.


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Taliban said- Hindu-Sikh now safe in the country: Akhundzada's minister met the minorities, promised to provide security
The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has assured full security to the Hindu and Sikh communities who have left the country. The Taliban said in a statement – the security situation in the country is now much better than before. We appeal to those from the Hindu and Sikh community who have left the country to return.
The special thing is that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs of the Taliban government has also issued a statement in this regard. Taliban leaders have also met some people of the Sikh community present in Kabul regarding this.
The image of the Taliban
On August 15 last year, the Taliban captured the whole of Afghanistan, along with Kabul. After this there were many attacks on Hindu and Sikh community. Most of the attacks were blamed on the Islamic State Khorasan group. Some minorities also died. Since then, the Taliban regime of Hebtullah Akhundzada has been engaged in an exercise to improve the image.
On July 24, Dr. Mullah Wasi, the top official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called delegations of the Afghan Hindu and Sikh communities for talks. During this, the resident assured the community of complete security. Vasi said- We want that the people of Hindu and Sikh communities who have left the country, they should come back.
Afghan army also active
After this meeting, the Afghanistan Army also issued a statement on social media. It also promised to provide security to the minority community. The statement also referred to talks between Vasi and the Hindu-Sikh community.
After this exercise, finally the Taliban government also issued a statement. It told how the attack of the Islamic State Khorasan group on June 18 was foiled by Taliban security forces in the past. This attack has been done on Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul. Around 30 Sikhs were present in the gurdwara at the time of the incident. However, a Sikh devotee and a Muslim guard of the gurdwara were killed in the firing.
Tags: Afghanistan Taliban
China's 15 million youth unemployed: Government policies led to layoffs in many institutions; Babus being made in government offices with engineering degree
Live telecast the execution of the murderer of the girl student: the demand of the Egyptian court from the government; Said- The souls of the killers of women should tremble


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PAX East 2019: 'Killer Queen Black' Offers Party Game Fun
by Charles Hartford 04/04/2019 11/12/2021
Killer Queen Black is a fast paced 4v4 party game developed by independent developer Liquid Bit. The gameplay is intuitive, fast paced, and requiring only minutes to learn, but offers an endless amount of strategy to keep people coming back for more.
There are three separate paths to victory a team can take. The first is an economic victory, obtained when one team gets its hive filled with berries. Next is a military victory, obtained when one team kills the opposing queen three times. And the last is a through a snail victory, obtained when one team has ridden the snail to their side's goal.
In each match, three players will be workers, and one randomly selected player, will play the queen. Both types of players have special aspects that help their team in ways the other cannot. The workers are the only characters that can gather the berries to fill the hive or can ride the snail. They are also very mutable, as there are three stations around the map which, if activated by the queen, can upgrade workers in a number of ways lending them to various specializations.
The queen on the other hand is the only character at the start of the game that can attack. She is also the only flying unit, and the only one that can activate the transformation stations. She is a powerful character, but must be used casually since dying three times with her loses the game. Workers can die an infinite number of times, and the only penalty to that is that their respawning slows your progress.
Now, there is a truly sublime beauty to this setup that you could completely miss if not pointed out, and yet it is sheer genius. There is no UI in this game. Everything that needs to be kept track of is right in the playing field. How many lives does the queen have left? Check her egg count. How close is the snail to a goal? Look at his track.
It's all right in front of you leaving the entire screen to be used to facilitate the onscreen shenanigans. No cluttered screen, just fun. The clutter-free screen feels even bigger with the wrap around movement reminiscent of so many old arcade cabinets. With things falling off the bottom appearing at the top again, and the some for side to side travel, the game utilizes every inch of the screen for play.
The graphical presentation is crisp clean and vibrant. Utilizing plenty of color, keeping the environment in tune with the high energy fun going on within it. Even though things could get hectic with all eight characters jumping, or flying, around, I never lost track of myself in all the commotion. Though keeping track of where all the win conditions currently stand is a very different, though challenging and fun, matter all together.
With Killer Queen Black slated for a Q3 launch on discord and switch, with Q4 releases to Xbox One and Steam, and cross-platform play being available players should have more than enough fun with the six launch maps to warrant the 19.99 price point.
Charles Hartford
Lifelong geek who enjoys comics, video games, movies, reading and board games . Over the past year I've taken a more active interest in artistic pursuits including digital painting, and now writing.
I look forward to growing as a writer and bettering my craft in my time here!


Healing path acupuncture always seems to have blog posts that resonate with what I have been going through or thinking about. I would highly recommend following their blog! Here is a particularly wonderful post about autoimmune conditions, their frightening prevalence in our society, and why you should really listen to your body's warning signs to avoid getting one.


An RCMP vehicle and several items of police equipment have been recovered after having been stolen last week.
On Tuesday, March 12, 2019, between approximately 10:15 and 10:35 p.m., an unmarked RCMP vehicle was taken from the parking lot, located in northeast Calgary. The vehicle also contained police equipment, including police identification and a police badge, soft body armour, pepper spray, handcuffs, and a Smith & Wesson handgun.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, March 13, 2019, the vehicle was recovered from a church parking lot, located in the 2800 block of 19 Street N.W.
Several additional items have since been located by Calgary police, including the police badge. The firearm and soft body armour were recovered on Sunday, March 17, 2019.


She stood before an alarming crisis, one that she had hoped to avoid for as long as ever she lived—the crisis of meeting for the first time the person whom she knew best in the world.
"What will he be like?" did not worry her. She knew what he was like. If he turned out different, it would be a mistake. She would be getting a false impression of him, and she would know that it was temporary and would fade. She was more afraid of herself, and wondered if he would know how to discount the temporary, and false, in her. Too much was at stake, and for herself she would not have taken the risk.
The story probably has autobiographical origins in Taylor's own long and intense correspondence with the writer Robert Liddell. Theroux and Deborah Treisman, the magazine's fiction editor, discuss this background and Taylor's moving portrayal of English village life in the podcast, which you can hear by listening above or by downloading it for free from iTunes.


Not that's a common misconception. You don't have a legal right to defame somebody else. Defamatory speech is not protected by the First Amendment. There are also other types of speech you can't yell fire in a crowded theater. So not everything that you say is protected by the First Amendment.


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The Art and Science of Finding the Right CEO
Lessons from P&G's obsession with succession
A.G. Lafley
Noel Tichy
From the Magazine (October 2011)
Reprint: R1110C
Choosing a new CEO is the most important job of a company's board of directors. No other decision has such a profound impact on a firm's strategy and performance. Yet the topic of succession often gets shoved aside by concerns that seem more pressing. No one pays attention until the CEO's departure is imminent—and by then it's too late to adequately vet and train a replacement.
A.G. Lafley, in contrast, began pushing the directors at P&G to begin the search for his successor as soon as he took office as CEO. From then on, the first board meeting of the year was devoted to that issue. In this article, Lafley describes the rigorous processes P&G established to ensure that it would always have a slate of strong internal CEO candidates. Among other things, P&G set up many opportunities for direct, in-depth interaction between the board and candidates; established clear leadership criteria and continually measured people against them; and developed various scenarios the company might face and identified who could best steer the firm in each situation. Lafley himself took responsibility for seeing that the company developed as many potential CEOs as it could. He became P&G's head leadership coach, responsible for training its top 500 executives.
P&G's disciplined approach paid off by producing not only a first-rate successor but a contingent of senior executives who've led the company to tremendous growth.
Idea in Brief
Planning for leadership succession is the most important job of a company's board of directors.
But boards and CEOs often neglect this key responsibility because other business matters seem more pressing.
At P&G, A.G. Lafley and his board began the process of selecting and developing succession candidates as soon as Lafley took office.
Succession planning demands the same coherence, discipline, and thoroughness that governance, enterprise risk, and strategic oversight do.
Artwork: Vincent Fournier, Space Project: Iram Observatory #02, 2006, France
Foreword: On September 30, 2010, when Hewlett-Packard announced the appointment of Léo Apotheker, formerly of SAP, as its new CEO, it marked the third time in a little more than a decade that the board of the iconic tech firm had passed over its internal candidates and selected an outsider to lead the company. Less than two months before, Mark Hurd had unexpectedly resigned from his post as CEO, amid a media-fueled firestorm over allegations of unseemly behavior.
The majority of commentators focused on Hurd's conduct, and others questioned the severity of the board's actions. Yet among the academic, journalistic, and investment communities, surprisingly little attention was paid to what was arguably the most critical issue raised by this incident: the lack of an adequate CEO succession plan at HP.
Hurd showed poor personal judgment, but the far more serious lapse by both him and the board was the failure to put in place a process that would have yielded at least a few internal candidates who were ready to step into the CEO job in the event of his departure—planned or otherwise. (Remember that Hurd's predecessor, Carly Fiorina, had also left the company precipitately, having similarly failed to institute a formal succession process.)
Indeed, uncertainty and confusion in the wake of a CEO's departure seem to be more the norm than the exception these days, even at many of the finest companies. And according to a survey of more than 1,000 directors conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the magazine Corporate Board Member, nearly half of board members are dissatisfied with their companies' succession plans. Poor succession planning could explain why CEOs don't stay in office as long as they once did. The median tenure of a Fortune 500 CEO has fallen from 9.5 to 3.5 years over the past decade. Shorter tenures also make it harder for the next generation to get adequate vetting or preparation before stepping in.
Part of the problem is that boards typically don't get started on succession until the last year or two of sitting CEOs' terms. By then, a board has effectively opted out of the process, as it is presented with only one viable candidate—the incumbent's anointed heir—leaving no real choice.
For these reasons, we set out to capture key lessons from the succession process put in place at Procter & Gamble when A.G. Lafley was CEO, as well as from experiences he and I have had in other industries—A.G. as a director on boards of other companies, including GE, and as a special partner at the private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, and I as an adviser to CEOs of global companies on succession and leadership development.
This article discusses some of the practices P&G instituted to build an internal leadership pipeline—one that produced numerous strong CEO candidates. A.G. had nine years to cultivate a team to lead the company into the future—a rare luxury. But the lessons from his experiences are generalizable. The process can be shorter but just as effective, and we've seen these practices work not just at large multinationals but at small and medium-sized companies, privately held companies, and not-for-profits.
—Noel M. Tichy
Boards—like CEOs—have plenty on their plates. Planning for events that appear to be far in the future, like succession, and that don't obviously influence day-to-day business results might seem to be a luxury or even a waste of precious time. Many CEOs don't push their boards to discuss what might happen when they leave, because they don't want to think about it—unless they know their departure is imminent. By then it's probably too late to start preparing succession candidates.
Nonetheless, choosing the next CEO is the single most important decision a board of directors will make. The selection of a CEO has a profound impact on a company's strategy, its execution, and, ultimately, its business and financial performance. All companies should have a plan for handling the normal transfer of power as well as for dealing with emergencies like health incidents, untimely death, and other unanticipated events.
Unfortunately, no such plan was in place at P&G in June 2000, when I was suddenly thrust into the role of CEO. The company had drifted, but I was determined to get it back on strategic course, operating with discipline and executing with excellence. Along with my presiding director, Norm Augustine, and my chairman and mentor, John Pepper, I was also committed to getting the P&G board and management team working well together again.
My leadership team and I devoted the first 100 days to improving execution with key customers and suppliers, and to making a few simple strategic choices that would turn out to be powerful enablers of company performance. We agreed that our focus would be to reinvest in core businesses and core strengths, ramp up in emerging markets, and build the beauty, health, and personal-care businesses organically and via acquisition. We also committed to strengthening P&G's leadership and management from top to bottom.
Nothing was more important to the short- and long-term health of the business than leadership development and training. We had to produce a cadre of executives who could help P&G regain its leading position in core businesses, expand into new categories and markets, and create a truly global enterprise that was well positioned for profitable growth—all at once.
So when Norm and I sat down to define the four core responsibilities of the board, we put CEO succession (and executive leadership development) at the top of the list, followed by strategic oversight at the corporate level, overall governance, and enterprise risk. Then, to signal more-intentional and ongoing involvement of the outside directors in the succession process, we changed the name of the Comp Committee to the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee.
The Four Kinds of Leadership Judgment: A Framework for Selecting a CEO
Ultimately, the choice of a CEO is a calculated bet on how good that leader's judgment will be when it comes to selecting the right people, setting the organization's direction, and handling the inevitable crises all organizations face.
With Warren Bennis, I have developed a framework that will help in examining a leader's past judgment calls and predicting future calls. The framework identifies four levels of leadership intelligence: judgment about yourself; judgment about your immediate team; judgment about your organization; and judgment related to stakeholders (decisions that involve your board, suppliers, customers, and community). Good leaders need capabilities at all four levels. The chart to the right presents the core issues—regarding people, strategy, and crises—in each area for which leaders must exercise judgment.
Great leaders are defined as such because a high percentage of their judgment calls are good. The key to such high performance is possessing knowledge that goes beyond a "just the facts" analytical capability. It is possessing deeper knowledge of the four domains.
Personal Judgment
People Personal judgments about your ambitions, role, and capabilities
Strategy Personal judgments regarding your career and life strategy
Crisis Personal judgments made during times of crisis and introspection
Team Judgment
People Judgments about who is on and off your team
Strategy Judgments about how your team evolves to meet business demands
Crisis Judgments about how your team operates and with whom during a crisis
Organizational Judgment
People Judgments about organizational systems for ensuring quality and capability of people in the organization
Strategy Judgments about how to engage and align all organizational levels in strategy execution
Crisis Judgments about how to work with the organization through times of crisis
Stakeholder Judgment
People Judgments about which stakeholders are important and how to engage them
Strategy Judgments about engaging stakeholders to frame, define, and execute strategy
Crisis Judgments about dealing with key stakeholders during times of crisis—N.M.T.
Source: Judgment, by Noel M. Tichy and Warren G. Bennis (Portfolio, 2007).
One of our main goals was to develop a slate of strong internal CEO candidates on a continual basis. We believed this was the safest and surest path to a smooth succession. For one thing, our own executives would have industry knowledge and experience and a proven track record of results. They would have completed assignments that tested their mettle—their leadership, judgment, and character. Their past performance would, we believed, be the best indicator of their future potential. To check our assumptions, we benchmarked internal candidates against strong external CEOs that our directors knew. We concluded that an outside option wasn't needed and wouldn't be as good a fit for P&G.
Involve the Board Early and Often
Norm and I did not want to put our board in the position of having to make a last-minute decision on P&G's next CEO. (I was sensitive to the fact that I was the first "accidental CEO" at P&G, selected in a hurry after the sudden departure of my predecessor. Norm was determined not to let the directors put off the process until the last minute or, worse, be left with effectively no decision—one CEO candidate recommended by the incumbent.) We both wanted the directors to be engaged and personally involved.
Once the directors had agreed with us on their four core roles, we changed the way the board worked. We had six meetings a year. The annual shareholder meeting and an off-site visit to one of P&G's businesses accounted for two of them, but each of the other full board meetings was dedicated to one of the four responsibilities. And the first meeting of every year was devoted to CEO succession and executive leadership development.
At first, the idea of spending four hours on leadership and succession wasn't met with much enthusiasm. I'd just stepped into the job—where was the urgency? And the company was still struggling to regain its footing. The directors believed that they—and I—had other, more important things to do. Still, that first meeting turned out to be productive. In an extended executive session—attended by the outside directors; the global HR officer, Dick Antoine; and me—we entered into a spirited discussion of emergency CEO candidates and the first of many discussions of leaders with mid- and long-term potential.
We also wanted to regularly give the directors firsthand exposure to P&G's future leaders so that they could form personal impressions of candidates. Every director was encouraged to meet at least twice a year with business or functional leaders without any corporate P&G managers present. In addition, we set aside time before and after every board meeting for directors to interact with P&G's senior executives on virtually any subject of their choosing.
Once a year the directors and the management team would go to an international business location to meet directly with regional and local leaders for a full day—and also meet with their consumers, customers, business partners, and other external stakeholders. Teams of two directors would talk with the local leaders and then report back to the full board on what they had learned, their conclusions, and any required actions.
I could go on, but the point is, we were completely "open kimono." We set up and ran a totally transparent CEO candidate evaluation process with no constraints. The best directors really got to know P&G's leaders, across the businesses and around the world. We force-fed them enough of these opportunities that even the least proactive board members still had far more contact with and insight about P&G's leaders than boards have at most other companies.
Rethink the Role of the CEO
With the ultimate CEO succession decision resting squarely with the outside directors, I had to create a new and different role for myself as CEO. (Initially, this caused understandable ambiguity and some discomfort for me.) On the board I became the catalyst for CEO succession. With Norm, I led an inquiry process that was rich in dialogue and debate and focused on identifying and assessing the slate of internal candidates.
It was my responsibility to develop as many potential CEOs as we could—leaders who would be ready and able at any time to lead P&G under any circumstances we faced in the global economy, the consumer products industry, and our company—not to call out the one best candidate. My objective was to groom more horses for the race. I wanted horses that could run in all kinds of conditions and on all kinds of tracks. And I wanted the race to be a long one. I also wanted the board to be in a position—when it was my turn to hand over the reins—to choose the person who best met P&G's standards and best fit the specific needs the company would face over the next decade.
As part of this process, I led the development of criteria for the job, scenarios the company and industry might face in the future, and a list of ideal experiences that would prepare someone to be CEO. The directors and I worked on all these things collaboratively, in and out of board meetings, continually improving them to reflect the board's best judgment. Directors routinely requested my assessments of how candidates measured up against the CEO criteria and the various scenarios, and they counted on my candor. I made a point of knowing and understanding the contenders as well as I could. In the end, my opinions became an input that informed the board's collective judgment and its final decision.
In the company, and especially with the top 500 executives, I assumed the role of leadership coach, with the responsibility for identifying, training, and evaluating people with the highest potential. The top 500 belonged to the company and were on loan to the business units and disciplines. My job and the job of my executive team was to make sure we enabled every leader to develop to her or his fullest potential.
We elevated leadership development to the same level of importance as business strategy. We put in place capabilities and systems to manage talent, such as performance assessments, assignment planning, formal leadership training, and so forth. All business reviews now began with an evaluation of the strength of the organization and included specific development and growth plans for key executives in every unit and function. A rigorous talent assessment always preceded the review of actual business and financial results, strategies, and operating plans.
We treated every review that was part of the annual rhythm of running the business—the strategy review, the operating plan and budget review, the innovation strategy and plan review—as another opportunity to interact, start a conversation, and coach and teach P&G's developing leaders. We changed the format of these reviews from formal presentations to one-on-one dialogues between the business leader and me to enable a more candid and direct exchange and provide an opportunity for teachable moments.
Every month, I got a report from every president and general manager. Each one updated me on his or her business—how it was really doing and what was being done to improve its performance. These letters regularly triggered further direct discussions between the business leaders and me.
In addition, every month I had one-on-one conversations with 15 to 20 high-potential leaders to talk about what they were learning and how they were addressing their biggest business and organizational opportunities.
While the letters were structured and focused on improving the performance of the business, the calls and meetings were unstructured and free-flowing. The executives were expected to choose the agenda and to lead the conversation. But they also knew that any question from me was fair game—and that I wouldn't be bashful about my expectations of them or mince words when giving them feedback. These were private talks, with just the two of us. No other meeting or review afforded me deeper insight into the individual capabilities and personalities of P&G's future leaders.
All these interactions, formal and informal, written and oral, changed the context and the content of the conversations between the potential candidates and me. I learned not only what they thought but also how they thought. I was able to observe firsthand their ability to influence peers not under their direct command. I could discern whether they were comfortable working from principles. I could test how they dealt with ambiguity, change, and pressure. I could get a feel for their self-control and self-awareness. Were they team players? Could they clearly define problems and opportunities? Could they make a call, be decisive, take a stand? Over the course of nine years, hundreds of meetings, and literally thousands of conversations, the ongoing dialogues I had with each individual helped me develop a deep understanding of every potential CEO candidate.
After every trip to a business I would share my impressions of P&G leaders with other key senior executives—the head of HR, the CFO, the chief technology officer, the vice-chairs—and, of course, with the directors.
Over time the list of candidates grew longer as the company's leadership development process kicked into higher gear and as we got to know the leaders in the organization better. By the middle of the decade we had multigenerational lists of candidates from age 35 to 55. We categorized them as "obvious CEO candidates" (ready to go), "front-runners" (ready in the next two to three years), "rising contenders" (judged likely to be CEO contenders at some point, but whom we needed to further develop and monitor), and "future prospects" (younger leaders showing significant promise). We vetted candidates thoroughly; we assessed their recent and cumulative performance. We continually raised the bar on what really constituted outstanding performance or outstanding leadership. As a result, candidates would move on and off and up and down the lists. My eventual replacement, Bob McDonald, was on one of these lists every year from the program's inception, in 2001, to his election, in 2009.
A Continuous and Evolving Process
Within my first year on the job, Norm and I, with the help of Dick Antoine, had created and led a succession process that was ongoing, not episodic, a priority for the board, and supported by appropriate resources, necessary capabilities, and systems.
This process did more than identify a broad and deep pipeline of qualified leaders, some of whom could develop into bona fide CEO candidates. It also provided a disciplined succession planning process for the 30 or so other top executive positions: the presidents who ran the businesses and the executives who oversaw the functions of the company—the CFO, the CIO, the chief legal officer, the global technology officer, the head of global HR, and so on.
Grooming managers for C-suite jobs takes several years. We put candidates through their paces. If they did well in a small business, we gave them a larger, more complex one. If they did well in a developed market, we sent them to an emerging market. We identified "crucible" assignments—critical jobs that were more challenging and often more complex than what they were accustomed to. These were the testing grounds for some of our highest-potential candidates. We planned the next two assignments out for many promising leaders. And because no single line or staff assignment can prepare someone for all aspects of the CEO's job, I thought it was urgent to start the process right away. You never know how much time you have to get ready for a transition, and the time you're given to develop leaders is precious. You should always do everything you can to prepare the strongest to step up.
So we kept raising the standards for the potential CEO candidates. We challenged them to manage acquisitions—and some tough divestitures of venerable P&G brands and businesses. We stretched them with the Gillette integration—the largest, most complex, and first really global acquisition P&G had ever done. We asked them to create and test new business models and start new businesses.
The process continued to evolve. In addition to the annual full board meeting dedicated to executive succession, the board's Leadership Development and Compensation Committee would review at least one critical element of leadership talent development (such as the development of women and minority leaders or leaders for emerging markets) four times a year.
We constantly refined the CEO criteria. We updated the range of future scenarios—identifying threatening trends—and worried about blind spots and whether we were looking around every corner. It became clear that in a more volatile, uncertain, competitive global world, the CEO job we were going to fill would only get more difficult.
All the directors had seen their share of effective and ineffective CEOs. Individually and collectively, they brought a wealth of experience to the table. They probed for potential weaknesses in candidates and challenged certain strengths. Some served as skeptics. Others dug into leadership styles and behaviors.
Define Criteria and Measure People Against Them
There are many theories about what makes a perfect leader. But most of them are useless when it comes to selecting a CEO. The process of choosing a CEO never will be scientific—nor should it be. Nonetheless, a clear list of must-haves is critical. For the senior-most positions at P&G, we agreed on a 10-point list of criteria (which is fewer than 100 words long). It also captures the essence of our requirements for a CEO. Some of the criteria have evolved over time, but they still reflect the leadership qualities we initially began looking for.
P&G's Criteria for Senior Executives
Character, values, and integrity
Proven track record: business, financial, and organization performance
Capability and capacity builder
High energy and high endurance
Visionary and strategic leader
Inspiring, courageous, and compassionate
Productive relationships with colleagues, partners, and other external stakeholders
Embraces change. Leads transformational change
Calm, cool, and resilient in the face of conflict and criticism
Institution builder. Prioritizes greater good and longer-term health of the company
As our list shows, we've learned that we must go beyond the obvious business and financial results and assess potential performance based on intangibles. To borrow a poker term, business and financial results are "jacks or better" and do not help us discriminate among contenders. And even qualities like IQ can be deceiving. The smartest guy in the room doesn't always have the EQ (self-awareness, intrinsic motivation, empathy, and social relationships) or the judgment (common sense tempered by experience, maturity, and training) to be the best possible CEO.
With our criteria to guide us, we held in-depth, highly personal competency and learning-focused interviews with a cross-section of potential candidates of various ages. These were conducted by Dick Antoine; his successor, Moheet Nagrath; and Bill Conaty, the former global human resources officer of GE, whom we brought in as a consultant. We also sought feedback from external executives with knowledge of the candidates. Some of the best insights actually came from these outside sources—other CEOs, suppliers, customers, investors, and partners.
What individual candidates sought psychologically was another important insight into their leadership qualifications. Some candidates just needed to understand their assignment and their performance, while others needed occasional reassurance. Still others needed more frequent hand-holding. Ideally, we were looking for candidates who were self-confident, self-sufficient, and self-directed.
The CEO job is an incredibly lonely job, which is why you need EQ to go with IQ, the ability to connect and collaborate, real courage, and impeccable judgment. The board needs to understand all these variables.
Explore Multiple Scenarios and Plan for Contingencies
For at least 20 years, companies have used scenario planning in developing business strategy. We applied the same technique to CEO succession.
A scenario is a coherent description of how the future might look. You can't know what actually will happen, but you need to make some educated guesses and imagine multiple versions of the future. You should look at a range of possible shifts and developments in the global economy, core industries, technology, channels, customers, competitors, and of course your own company's strategy and business model. How will these changes affect the specific skills and experiences the organization will need in its CEO? Which aspects of your strategy and business model do you expect to remain more or less constant? In our case, we felt that our core household-care businesses had ample room for growth and that our branded innovation model was still creating significant value. We believed that our beauty, health, and personal-care businesses would offer additional growth. And we still saw major opportunities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America; some of our competitors had been there since colonial times, and we had a lot of ground to make up.
On the basis of these assumptions, we believed that over the next five or 10 years we'd probably be looking at an evolutionary strategy, not a revolutionary one. We would need a CEO with significant international experience, who would continue the rapid expansion into emerging markets and bring operating discipline, productivity improvements, and a streamlined approach to our global operations.
Six Things I've Learned About CEO Succession
It's a horse race.
More horses are better. More candidates mean you have more choices, more breadth and depth of leadership, more leaders performing at their peak and delivering better business results, and more leaders to take on more business opportunities. But the horse race doesn't have to be public. It doesn't have to divide the organization, and it doesn't have to distract from the business.
It's not personal.
It's not about you, the incumbent CEO. It's about the institution and its future. Throughout the process, in every interaction with the board or any director, in every interaction with an executive or a potential candidate, you have to set your personal feelings and relationships aside. No favorites, no appearance of favorites.
It's hard to let go.
It would have been easy for me to agree to stay on until I was 65. I was a known entity with a proven track record—a safe bet for the board. But I was convinced that would be the wrong decision and that it was better to transition sooner rather than later. I felt my successor should ride the economic recovery (however modest it would be) behind an evolutionary strategy and a new leadership team. Our industry was relatively stable. P&G's business model was still competitive. The company's results were solid, and as an organization we had the skills and experience required to execute our strategies. If we waited another two or three years, we would risk losing top candidates and effectively pass over an entire generation of strong P&G leaders. My successor, Bob McDonald, was more experienced and far better prepared to be CEO in 2009 than I had been in 2000. Still, it was hard to get my board to let go. But with the help of Jim McNerney, Norm Augustine's successor as presiding director, we were able to persuade the directors, in a series of individual and group discussions, to embrace a change in leadership and support the new CEO.
The process will never be perfect.
By its very nature it is messy and imprecise. No one anticipated a global financial crisis or the worst global recession since the Great Depression, but we adapted our business strategy and tested the final CEO candidates against more-uncertain and volatile scenarios before making a final decision.
Move over, move out, move on.
The day Bob McDonald took over, he was sitting in the CEO's office and led the executive team meeting. I had already moved out of that office and to another floor in the building. Before the year was out, when the transition criteria were met, I retired as chairman and moved on…out of Cincinnati…and on to the next chapter in my life.
CEO succession forces the board to up its game.
A more rigorous, inclusive, and ongoing succession process builds the board's ability to work with the CEO and fosters strong relationships between the board and the management team.—A.G.L.
Remain Flexible but Focused
The choice of a successor isn't a done deal until the votes are cast and the announcement is made. It can change at any time, which is why I refused to talk about it, despite obsessive curiosity on the part of the outside world. I was continually asked, "Who is your likely successor?" "Who is most like you?" and "Who is your favorite?" It didn't matter who was most like me; I had taken over under different circumstances at a different time. All the candidates were my favorites. They were developing and growing and making significant contributions to the business. The only time I allowed anyone to pin me down on any successor was when the board asked, "Who should step up in the event of an emergency?"—a question we revisited every year. And the person I'd choose in that case wasn't necessarily the person I'd choose to lead the company under a normal transition.
You should also keep in mind that as the incumbent CEO nears retirement age, the conduct of some candidates inevitably and understandably starts to change. After I turned 60, a few potential successors started to get anxious, and some unhealthy behavior began to creep in. People would try to carve out fiefdoms. They would try to enlist supporters. They would pay more attention to where people sat and who presented at various company events. I tried to mix things up to keep everyone involved—and to keep people guessing and a little off balance. I tried not to give away any hints about how the company was thinking about succession. Still, unwelcome things happen. The media publish stories speculating about certain candidates; analysts write reports evaluating potential CEOs. It can stir people up.
Virtually all the candidates were assigned important company projects. Such projects offer opportunities that broaden people and test their thinking and skill at influencing others in a high-performance team setting. We also asked candidates representing a range of generations to lead or participate in special task forces that focused on one aspect of the company that required transformation, such as taking innovation to the next level, accelerating emerging market growth, enhancing productivity, or simplifying the way we worked. If outsiders followed these assignments carefully, they might have been able to identify some of our top development players, but that risk was worth it because these projects kept people focused on building the business. When the global financial crisis hit in the fall of 2008, we were well along in succession planning. While it was vital to continue to run an orderly process, it was doubly important that we not take people's attention away from the business challenges at hand.
As I saw at P&G, when the hour of succession nears, different candidates begin to follow different strategies. Some move on—they leave to become CEOs at other companies. Some decide that they are going to run the race to the end. They're confident in their leadership. They're still growing, learning, and developing. They believe they can make a difference and are willing to take a role other than CEO if it's still important to the company. Others get to a point where they know they've made the short list but choose to opt out of the race altogether. Sometimes they stay with the company; sometimes they move on to a new vocation or career.
Selecting the next CEO, in addition to being the most important responsibility of the board, is one of the most difficult tasks a board will ever undertake. Two-thirds of all corporate directors admit they don't give succession planning sufficient energy and time. At P&G, we have discovered that engagement and open and spirited discussion, deliberation, and debate among the directors and between the directors and the CEO is the way to avoid this problem and unleash the real power of an ongoing succession process.
Though leadership development at P&G entails a substantial investment of executive resources, it has paid off thus far. Over the course of the decade, sales doubled, profits quadrupled, and P&G's market cap increased by more than $100 billion, making it one of the 10 most valuable companies in the U.S. P&G has grown its market share and profit margins in all its core businesses; built a competitive and global beauty, grooming, and personal-care business; and quadrupled the size of its business in emerging markets. What's more, the leadership development process has allowed us to build more meaningful relationships among top executives and the board, making for a better quality of dialogue and higher levels of trust that carry over to other important board responsibilities like risk management, governance, and strategy.
An open and transparent succession process depends on the proactive involvement of all directors. Its ultimate success is determined by judgment—informed decisions based on both the insights of the outgoing chief executive and the collective wisdom of the board. No other issue demands more candid and open discussion. No other issue demands more collaboration and mutual support between the board and the CEO. And no other issue does more to put the greater good and long-term health of the institution ahead of personal or other short-term considerations.
As the hour of succession nears, some candidates move on, but some will run the race to the end.
A version of this article appeared in the October 2011 issue of Harvard Business Review.
Read more on Boards or related topics Leadership development, Leadership transitions, Succession planning and Leadership
A.G. Lafley, the recently retired CEO of Procter & Gamble, serves on the board of Snap Inc.
Dr. Noel Tichy is a professor of organizational behavior and human resource management at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.


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Plains All American (PAA) Q2 Earnings Miss, Revenues Beat
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. PAA reported second-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of 23 cents per unit, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The bottom line also declined 8% from the year-ago figure.
For the quarter under review, the partnership reported GAAP loss of 37 cents per unit against earnings of 13 cents in the year-ago period.
Total revenues of $9,930 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7,595 million by 30.7%. Further, the top line improved 207.9% from $3,225 million reported a year ago.
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. Quote
Highlights of the Release
For the quarter under review, Plains All American's total costs and expenses were $10,166 million, up 237.1% year over year. This increase was owing to higher purchases and related costs.
Total adjusted EBTIDA for the quarter was $579 million, up 10.5% from the year-ago period.
During the quarter, the Transportation segment's total volumes were 6,248 thousand barrels per day (Mbls/d) compared with 5,914 Mbls/d in the prior-year period.
Net interest expenses decreased 0.9% year over year to $107 million.
Segmental Performance
In the Transportation segment, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $433 million increased 25.1% from the year-ago figure, primarily due to lower tariff volumes in multiple areas served driven by the impact of excess pipeline capacity in most regions of the country.
In the Facilities segment, adjusted EBITDA summed $140 million, down 19.5% from the year-ago figure. This fall was primarily due to the impact of asset sales and reduced NGL intersegment fee structure based on market conditions.
The Supply and Logistics segment reported adjusted EBITDA of $5 million against ($8) million in second-quarter 2020.
Financial Update
As of Jun 30, 2021, current assets were $5,676 million compared with $3,665 million at 2020-end.
As of Jun 30, 2021, Plains All American had a long-term debt of $8,389 million compared with $9,382 million on Dec 31, 2020.
As of the same date, its long-term debt-to-total book capitalization was 47%, down from 49% at 2020-end.
Plains All American expects 2021 adjusted net income to be 96 cents per unit. The partnership's 2021 adjusted EBITDA expectation is $2,175 million.
Plains All American expects average daily volumes in Transportation and Supply and Logistics segments to be 6,050 Mbls/d and 1,400 Mbls/d, respectively.
Zacks Rank
Plains All American currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Other Releases
Devon Energy Corp. DVN reported second-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of 60 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 53 cents per share by 13.2%.
CNX Resources Corporation CNX reported second-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of 18 cents per share, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 25 cents by 28%.
Continental Resources CLR reported second-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of 91 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 57 cents per share by 59.6%.
Devon Energy Corporation (DVN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (PAA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
CNX Resources Corporation. (CNX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR) : Free Stock Analysis Report


Win was 1st win and 1st podium for Stig Blomqvist.
Second place was 1st podium for Per Eklund.
Third place was 1st podium for Jean-Luc Therier.
Win was 1st win and 1-2 win were 1st to 2nd podiums for Saab.
Third place was 4th podium for Renault-Alpine.


The IEEE Power & Energy Society (IEEE PES) is the world's largest forum to share the latest technological developments in the electric power industry, to develop standards that guide the development and construction of equipment and systems, and to educate members of the industry and the public sector.
This meeting is a space where the beneficiaries of the 2018 IEEE PES T&D LA Student Travel Award receive information about all the programs, benefits and scope that the society currently has for the volunteers of its student chapters.
Attendees will receive privileged and unique information from society, motivating them to increase participation in PES initiatives and the organization of events and activities related to our society with the aim of sharing experiences to increase the PES presence in the region.
Specialized Engineering Design Engineer, IEB S.A.
Electrical Engineer from the Francisco José de Caldas District University, in Bogotá, Colombia.
IEEE member since 2013. He led the IEEE PES Student Chapter as Vice President (2014) and President (2015). He also led his IEEE Student Branch as President (2015). During his tenure, the IEEE Student Branch achieved the 2nd Place in the Success Cases Contest at IEEE Student Branches Regional Meeting, Guatemala (2015), 2nd Place in the IEEE R9 TISP Contest (2015), 1st Place of Success Cases Contest at IEEE Student Branche National Meeting, Bogotá (2015), 1st Place in the IEEE R9 Membership Development Contest (2015) and Exemplary Student Branch in R9 (2015-2016). In	addition, his IEEE PES Student Chapter was in the top 10 of the PES High Performing Student Branch Chapter Program occupying the 6th place (2014) and 7th place (2015).
He is currently a member of the IEEE PES Membership Development Committee, Chair of the Membership Committee, Editor of the IEEE Links Magazine and Specialized Engineering Design Engineer at IEB S.A.


Gemma Collins looks every inch the beach babe in her latest Boohoo range.
The Reality TV star Gemma Collins channels the spirit of Baywatch's Pamela Anderson - as she models her new range of swimwear packed full olf sass.
The TOWIE favourite even sports a red swimsuit and emulates the Baywatch scene by the one and only Pamela Anderson in a scorching shot.
This is the second range the star has released with the retailer, after being brought back "due to popular demand".
The star is fronting the summer collection which will be available in all sizes from a UK 6-24.
In true Gemma style, the campaign was photographed in Essex's holiday hotspot, Marbella.
Items also include a hot pink swimsuit with the word "Candy" emblazoned on the front, and pretty matching bikinis and kaftans.
Boohoo says the collection "takes you from pool to party with a selection of slogan swimsuits, glamorous maxi kaftans and relaxed knot tie shirts in luxurious fabrics and bold baroque prints. All inspired by her unique and daring style, there is something to get everyone looking poolside glam".
The collection will be available to buy from May 23 on boohoo.com here with prices starting from £18.