Technology continues to evolve and the hardware architectural devices, techno-gadgets,  and toys continue to multiply.  After all, we are living in the 21^st Century.  The technology is smart and we are enjoying the benefits that the applications technology delivers.  In a sense, we and technology are growing up together and learning each and everyday the implications and the effects of these new technologies that are created, mass produced, and distributed to society.

The world has had a glimpse of technology working at its best especially in the wake of disaster.  After the devastation of the Haiti earthquake, for instance, we witnessed the sorrow and pain of a country already suffering from poverty and seeing this reality and strength of the people there touched the world.  And thanks to the technological developments of mobile phones and the Internet, people’s lives were saved and love ones were re-connected.  It was amazing and miraculous to see the role technology played in the midst of this disaster.  There were so many trapped people who were able to calm the fears of their loved ones through cell phones, text messages on social networking sites.  While television provided an inside look at the impact of the earthquake, social networking sites were utilized to post messages and photos of missing love ones.  People were able to communicate they were still alive.  Yes, smart technology can be a shining star in the wake of disaster.

Since that time, technology continues its evolution.  The iPad was recently released with all of its bell and whistles.  The iPhone, blackberry, and net books are smarter, faster, and provide many benefits with their applications.  People are engaging in social networking on a global scale and its impact is still being examined.  Last year, I posted a blog on Women that Network entitled “Social Networking: A Garden of Eden.”  Today, the Garden of Eden theory is holding true as we experience the good and the bad side of technology, or as some may say, the “ying and the yang.”  For all the good technology is bringing into our lives, it has brought significant challenges.  Facebook, MySpace, texting etc. are wonderful tools of communication; however, they leave a trail of information.  They are great tools for surveillance.  As one law enforcement officer stated, “Technology has become a great tool for law enforcement.”  There are many crimes and schemes conducted through the internet including sexual predators, pornography, and recruitment for terrorism, to name a few.  And not to mention elementary and middle school children “sexting” (sending nude photos) through their cell phones.  People’s houses are also being robbed as a result of their “tweets” letting criminals know they’re not at home; some are being denied jobs and fired due to their posting graphic content on social networking sites; others are being killed due to texting while driving.

Just because we have all of these smart technologies at our disposal, we have to apply “common sense” and understand the concept of “people trails.”  Yes, technology will continue to evolve and bring added value, but it can also subtract things from our lives if we do not become smart in our actions.  Nonetheless, we can be assured that technology will continue to be center stage in our lives.  It is the way of the world.  And while there are many challenges associated with the use and applications of technology for good or for bad, it is here to stay.  Be aware, “We the People are providing the content; We the People are compromising our privacy; and We the People need to become smart.  Don’t let technology control your senses.

Tags: Dame Dhyana Ziegler, Ph.D.

March is Women’s History Month in the USA. On a broader scale, March 8 is International Women’s Day, with over 573 events around the world. The Day is a major one of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. Instead of one global theme each year, it is completely up to each country and group as to what appropriate theme they select. To check out your country’s events and the various themes, go to internationalwomensday.com. Join in the celebration, even if from your computer! There is a vast amount of information on this website including jobs, health, business and finance and more. Most importantly, give yourself a pat on the back this month for all that you have achieved!

A friend of mine once told me about a quotation made by the author, Stephen King, in his book, On Writing, in which he states “…to write is human, to edit is divine.” I found this quotation most fascinating and quite honestly, I was more than a little surprised to think that anyone would consider editing as being divine. After thinking about this quotation for some time, I realized that there are many who write—they put their thoughts on paper, communicate with others and some writers may not be concerned with how to spell, punctuate or to use grammar properly. They can be more interested in getting their thoughts communicated—to be creative in whatever they are writing—to cause the reader to visualize a scene or story in their mind’s eye. However, editors can focus too entirely on the rules and can end up sanitizing writing to the point where the writer’s voice may disappear. Perhaps this is what Stephen King meant when he said “…to edit is divine.” As the editor-in-chief for the American Biographical Institute, I make every effort to keep the writer’s voice intact and to make minimal changes to an entry or text while adhering to the rules of grammar.

Recently, while watching a reality show on television about fashion design, I heard the designers’ mentor say to them regarding the designs they were creating “…remember designers, edit, edit, edit.” I thought this was a fascinating way to tell them that their designs should be looked at many times and possibly edited or revised to make them more precise and more accurate for the project. I had never thought of editing being applicable to the world of fashion design but there it was mentioned over and over again by a very popular designer/mentor. This proved to me that editing not only applies to the written word but can also apply to other aspects of our lives. There is a need to review and edit whatever we are undertaking to make sure it is accurate or more precise, while still allowing for creativity to shine through.

At A.B.I., I oversee the creation of a person’s biography for inclusion in our directories. It is important to provide each person with a biography that reflects the important aspects of their lives and their achievements. I take my editing role quite seriously and make every effort to incorporate not only proper grammar, spelling and punctuation, but also creativity and an accurate reflection of the author’s life.

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding”

Have you decided what your new beginnings are to be made of in 2010? For me, I find it difficult to hone in on just one aspect of my life that I wish to improve. There is so much to focus on in just 365 days! I want my resolutions to be purpose-driven, realistic, yet challenging. So, as the New Year is upon us, I am pledging to fine-tune several parts of my life. In fact, I have already started! Here are a few pointers to keep us committed to our resolutions.

Commit your goals to paper, say them aloud, and then actually do them. “I wish” and “I hope” are not at all synonymous with “I am.” There is a huge difference between saying that you will do something and actually doing it. The first step to actually achieving your goals is to make the commitment itself a reality. If you keep your goal to yourself, locked away in your own mind, it is easy to forget and postpone. It also inhibits you from gaining outside support, a vital key to bolstering your efforts when you lose your willpower and get discouraged. For example, if I secretly pledge to lose that dreaded five (hopefully not ten) pounds gained from holiday gluttony, how will my husband know not to keep temptations like sugar cookie cut-outs around me? If we are both aware of my goal, then he can help keep me on-track and be my shoulder to lean on when I need him.

Another great example of this is my actual, current resolution that I am actively fulfilling in 2010. Last year I found myself repeatedly saying, “I hope to one day go back for my master’s degree.” My wishing, hoping, and postponing, I soon realized, was a lot of hot air getting me nowhere. Then, I actually committed by gathering and completing admissions materials, taking the dreaded GREs, and enrolling! So now in 2010 (starting January 12, to be exact) I will find myself back in academia—maintaining my position at Ivy House by day and pursuing my master’s degree at North Carolina State University by night. It is a life-changing, challenging commitment that much planning has gone into. Without my actual commitment and without my husband’s support, I could still be my old 2008 and 2009 self, but I am not!

Remind yourself of the benefits of the better you. Understand the motivation behind your resolution and know why you are about to embark on the journey to where you want to be. Keep these benefits in focus at all times, especially if you are tempted to go off-course. I have a friend that aspired to confidently fit into a bikini by beach season. To keep her focused, she put a photo of her dream bikini on her pantry door. Anytime that she wanted to sneak some sweets, the cute, little bikini would scold her.

Reward yourself for meeting benchmarks. Rewarding yourself for each milestone met will help keep you motivated through your journey to the better you. This is not to say that you should light up to reward yourself for not smoking for a month, or that you should eat a cupcake to celebrate weight loss. Find ways to pat yourself on your back without compromising your goals. When I handed in the last of my admissions materials, for example, my husband and I celebrated by going out on the town for a fun-filled date night. It feels great to be cheered on!

Don’t overwhelm yourself with too many goals and keep your goals realistic. As I said, there is much that I want to focus on in 2010! I would love to start the master’s program while simultaneously reading more books for pleasure, decluttering my guest room (quite the feat!), volunteering more often, journaling and blogging a page per day, becoming more active, and being an all-over Superwoman. However, I have to remind myself that I can’t spread myself too thin. Focusing on too many goals will just make anyone frustrated, miserable, and stressed out. When your goals aren’t manageable, it’s likely that they’ll be stuffed in the “I wish” pile like last year. Think about maintaining the quality of your life, while also maintaining your goals, and creating an environment conducive to success. If you absolutely loathe jogging and your goal is to be more fit, find an alternative, realistic route to get there. Perhaps yoga or kickboxing would be more appealing.

Hopefully these tips will keep us on track in 2010. I’d love to hear back from you about your New Year’s resolutions, including updates on your progess. In the meantime, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and good luck!

Recently I attended a professional seminar that featured many wonderful speakers. The topics were invigorating and inspiring and I was absolutely honored to be in attendance. However, at the start of a fresh lecture, just as I found comfort in my plushy seat, I gradually began to feel—distracted. It was a bit difficult not to feel this way, given the peppering of white electronic auras throughout the vast auditorium. I was appalled.

A suited gentleman seated just one row in front of me boldly cracked open his laptop, click-clacking an email back to headquarters. A woman two seats to my immediate left chuckled at her Blackberry as it whispered one-liners to her. A man to my right kept flapping his cell phone open then shut, open then shut, partly in fidgety play and partly to impatiently check the time on its digital face. As all of this occurred, I felt my focus pan out and analyze not the speaker’s words, but the actions of the other “professionals” in my company. I was embarrassed for each and every one of them, but I bet you that they were so self-unaware that they did not even notice my stares that spoke volumes to their deaf eyes.

If I was so distracted from my little seat amongst hundreds, I can only imagine how distracted and discouraged the speaker was— perched up on the stage, watching rude audience members deliberately and so obviously zone her out. Honestly, if I were in her position, I would have addressed each and every one of the perpetrators via the microphone, exiling them from their velvety seats so that they could take care of their oh-so-important, better-than-thou business elsewhere. Have we all forgotten some very elementary rules in manners? Or does technology rewrite the rules?

My point is simple. In this electronic age we feel the need to be plugged in almost constantly, but we must always remember that there is an off button. There are reasons why we are asked to turn our devices off before entering theatres and auditoriums. Just because you are on “vibrate” or “silent” mode does not mean that you are invisible to others around you, including those on stage. So, please power off!

There are so many ways to express holiday greetings.  I want to personally extend my best wishes to all of you. I hope that whatever holiday you are celebrating throughout the year, you will have happiness and that Peace will come to you. May next year be one of your best ever! I have received numerous holiday emails and try to respond to them all. It is especially exciting to receive e-cards from different countries. I am blessed to have so many friends and colleagues. Just one of the many blessings I can count!

Recently, I was an invited to attend the eighth annual General Hugh Shelton Leadership Forum, offered through the General Shelton Leadership Center at North Carolina State University. The annual seminar series focuses on the importance of leadership development and brings together great leaders from the arenas of academia, civil service, the military, and the corporate world. The forum’s mission is “to inspire, educate and develop values-based leaders committed to personal integrity, professional ethics, and selfless service.” In attending this year’s forum, I truly was inspired and learned so much. This year’s focus was “Leadership, Ethics and Accountability,” and the day was overflowing with great discussion and collaborative thinking. The concepts fostered within these seminars can be applied to any industry, by any employee, by any employer. Since my attendance, I have further internalized these concepts and hope that you will too!

John Allison, chairman of BB&T Corporation and featured speaker, addressed how the lack of ethical leadership is related to problems we are globally encountering today. He shared principles that helped BB&T survive and thrive that can be ushered in to all industries to generate success. He explained that there must be purpose in the work we do—by helping clients achieve success and security, by making the world a better place through our products and services, and by making use of our own lives by doing what we want to do for ourselves. Our values, he explained, enable us to achieve our purpose and mission, defining values as practical habits enabling us as individuals to live, be successful, and achieve happiness. The following ten principles, he explained, must be implemented to ensure that values are upheld and success is achieved:

• Reality: In order to be better, we must understand what the facts are. If we are out of focus with reality, nothing can be achieved. Wishing for something does not make it so. Reality is fact-based and must be preserved in order to obtain and hold authority and ultimately accomplish our goals.
• Reason: Survival is dependent upon the ability to reason logically from the facts of reality. Sound premises, induction, deduction, and integration are all tool of clear reasoning. All concepts within any organization should be logical and fact-based, and all should be able to be traced back to reality. Good teachers develop concepts to be better decision makers and all experimental learners make mistakes and learn from them.
• Independent Thinking: All employees should be challenged to optimally use their individual minds in order to make rational decisions. In this context, we are each responsible for what we do and who we are. Creativity should be strongly encouraged and can only be possible with independent thought.
• Productivity: There should be commitment to the objective and a strong work ethic in order to reach a goal.
• Honesty: Being honest is simply being consistent with reality. To be dishonest is to conflict with reality and is ultimately self-defeating. Keep agreements and mean what you say and know what you mean.
• Integrity: Because we have developed principles logically based on reality, we should always act consistently with our principles.
• Justice: Justice is a sense of fairness. Individuals should be evaluated and rewarded objectively based on their contribution to accomplishing the mission and their adherence to the set of values. Those who contribute most should receive most.
• Pride: Pride is the psychological reward we earn from living with values, being just, having integrity, etc. Pride and a strong work ethic go hand in hand and both feed productivity.
• Self-Esteem: Positive self-esteem should be earned from doing work well. Strong self-esteem enables us to accomplish goals within the context of our mission and, again, feeds productivity and a strong work ethic.
• Teamwork: Teamwork is a mutual supportiveness that allows work to be accomplished. Each individual must consistently act to achieve team objectives with respect.

Each of these ingredients to organizational and individual success was reiterated again and again throughout the forum. Sherron Watkins, former Vice President and whistleblower of Enron Corporation, referred back to these concepts when reflecting on how the lack of ethics and accountability formed the ultimate demise of Enron. James E. Coleman, Jr., Professor of Law at Duke University School of Law, dissected the pitfalls of the Duke Lacrosse case. He shared his perspective on how the role of leadership should address ethics and accountability with public service and how responsible citizenship within local communities will assist to direct out society toward community accountability. Several leaders featured in Secrets of Success: North Carolina Values-Based Leadership, a unique coffee-table book that the General H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Center published through Ivy House Publishing Group earlier this year, discussed their personal experiences and what made them successful leaders. Again and again, these key concepts were driven home with enthusiasm. The lesson to do what is just and right, even if it is not a popular thing to do, was certainly a strong motif of the day.

Overall, the 2009 General Hugh Shelton Leadership Forum was an educational and motivating event that made me reflect on my purpose as a leader, as a mentor, as an employee, and as a citizen to my community and world. It was an honor to be invited to such an inspirational gathering of great minds. For more information on this outstanding event and the General H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Center, please visit http://www.ncsu.edu/extension/sheltonleadership.

For the past few months I have had an increased sense of fulfillment. My work at Ivy House has always left me with that positive feeling of satisfaction. It’s easy to gain that sensation when your career helps others achieve their dreams. I can’t explain the sense of joy I feel when I see an author’s face light up at the first glimpse of their new book. Or when I get enthusiastic phone calls from authors announcing achievements, whether they win a national book award, or see their name mentioned in a newspaper or review publication. My role as publishing coordinator is always a fulfilling one, but lately it’s been amplified. The reason? I have taken the same kind of guidance I give to Ivy House authors and ushered it in new directions. I have become a mentor.

A young and vibrant high school girl approached me several months ago, asking if I could help her in completing a graduation project. She had to choose a mentor to educate her in the ins and outs of the field she was most interested in. In her case, this young, budding writer was thirsty to learn about every facet of the publishing industry—how to choose a publisher, how to submit a manuscript, what is looked for in the evaluation process, how a book is edited, how to market a book, the list goes on. I was more than happy to help this student check the project off her graduation to-do list, but didn’t expect to gain what I did in our meetings.

In our conversations we covered a lot of ground, laughing along the way as we got to know each other. We would volley questions and answers back and forth and, in doing so, I soon realized that I was also learning something. Mentoring was a new way of testing my knowledge about my field. Sometimes I didn’t have an answer, so I would look it up for both of us. After months of meetings, phone calls, and emails back and forth, I also realized that I gained a friend. Last week I got a brief email that informed me that she had enrolled in a writing class this semester because I had inspired her to take classes that could help her develop as a writer. I once explained that taking classes that dealt with her career interest, as opposed to something un-enriching like study hall, could make her a more attractive college applicant. I certainly didn’t realize that I had such an impact on her (and she certainly doesn’t realize how this mentoring experience has impacted me).

If you ever get the opportunity to reach out, take that opportunity and run with it. My mentoring didn’t stop with the completion of this student’s project. I have been here to offer guidance in the college application process—something I wish I had a mentor for when I was an overwhelmed high school senior. Not only have I served as a general sounding board, but as a literary critic as well. Currently, I’m helping her develop her first young adult novella.

January marks National Mentoring Month. Start 2010 on a positive note and research mentoring opportunities in your area and/or respective field. Visit www.nationalmentoringmonth.org to learn more about the power of mentoring.

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Today I received an email from a dear friend who wished me “Happy Girlfriends and Sisters Week.” I did not realize there was such a celebration. I am thankful to her for reminding me that relationships between women are very special, particularly between close friends and family. Those who are confidants, shopping companions, lunch dates, business colleagues, and acquaintances who may have touched our lives briefly, but profoundly. Take a moment to contact or call your girlfriends and sisters and let them know how much you care about them. It takes only a few words to make someone smile and feel appreciated.  By the way, the email I received was from WTN participant, Sharron Stroud, Spiritual Leader and Dean of the Institute of Successful Living in Palm Springs, California. She has just received the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce’s Terra Award acknowledging the contributions of women in the public service sector. Congratulations friend and thank you!

Over seventeen years ago, the Pyramid Technique of Technological Forecasting theory was introduced in a book written by Dr. Molefi Asante, Temple University, and Dr. Dhyana Ziegler entitled Thunder and Silence: The Mass Media in Africa that was published by Africa World Press in 1992.  The Pyramid Technique theory was developed by me and was based on a video letter exchange program between women in Knoxville, Tennessee (USA) and women in Ngodiba Village in Senegal, Africa, where women produced their own video letters to exchange ideas and engage in cross-cultural communication.  The program was funded and sponsored by OEF International and the Delta Research and Educational Foundation which were both located in Washington, D.C. at the time.  The lessons learned through the video letter exchange project created the foundation of the theory which still applies today. 

The Pyramid Technique of Technological Forecasting is based on “declarations” where many people are asked to declare what they see as their needs.  While the entities that funded the project had specific ideas about the technological needs of the people in that village, it was discovered that the people in Ngodiba had basic needs that were different from the funders of the project who had made assessments or assumptions from their ideas of what Ngodiba needed.  That would be considered a top down approach of technological forecasting.   Video was something new to the people when it was introduced to this village; therefore, technology hardware and software had no meaning.  But the people in Ngodiba village knew they needed a millet grinder fixed or technology that would assist a health center.  In applying the theory in this case, the message of their voices assessed their basic needs from the base of the pyramid and not the top.

The Pyramid Technique of Technological Forecasting would begin at the base of the pyramid with an assessment as opposed to the top down approach where many businesses and I would venture to say some governments make assessments and decisions from the top down and waste time and money because they have not conducted a proper assessment that meet their technological needs or applications.  This happens over and over again.  Executive, mid, and/or lower level staff could serve as a major asset in assessing your business or government technological needs.  Their voices are needed.  After all, the people who will have to interact with or use the technologies should have a say so and make their “declarations” based on experiences.   Otherwise, one can find him or herself investing capital in useless hardware and software that don’t apply to the needs of the business or society at large.

On an international level, I discovered that some countries are finding telephony as an answer to their technology need for training and communication purposes with their constituents, especially in remote areas that may not have electricity.  So it would not make sense to have wired and wireless computers where there is no infrastructure.  So assessments also have to be made on the infrastructure that is in place before investing in technology. 

Remember, technology is only effective when it can be used.  Technology should not be applied from the top down of the pyramid but from the bottom up.  In some cases, it may be necessary for some businesses to make decisions from the top for fiscal purposes but it would be wise for administration to seek input.  In the long run, staff and colleagues may have ideas or “declarations” that will be a cost-saving mechanism but more importantly, they will be invaluable in assessing your technology needs.