Books, Screen Plays, Movies--Amazing Transformations

Books are fascinating.  When they are transformed into movies it is amazing what has to be done to condense the book and turn it into more direct action and dialog.  The Harry Potter series of books by J.K. Rowling are full-length books.  The movies are abridged versions of the books that still carry the basic themes and plots.  I recently re-read Dan Brown's DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons, then saw the movies and saw the amazing transformations required to create the screenplay and the film version.  Today I finished listening to The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett.  I am looking at the 1934 film and am again struck by the transformations.  The book has 31 chapters and the film runs for 75 minutes.  That film set the stage for many sequels for which the screenplays were written directly, using the characters developed by Dashiell Hammett.

Turning a book into a screenplay would be a great exercise in creative writing for language students.

Quality Movies--Then and Now

I was asked to rank quality movies today from a broad selection of movies, many of which were classics from the 1940s and 1950s--usually available from Turner Classic Movies.  I was amazed at how many of the "classic" films I consider to be of better quality than newer films.

Avatar is a new movie with new technology and may be in a different category from The Bishop's Wife.  Both are high quality movies, though of very different genres.

The Relationship Between Inflation and Unemployment in the Economy--Animal Spirits Revisited

In their book, Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy and Why it Matters for Global Capitalism, George Akerlof and Robert Shiller show the relationship between inflation and unemployment.  As we move into this second decade of the new millennium, unemployment in the USA is still at 10%.  Inflation is relatively low (no social security increase for cost of living for 2010).  According to the book, zero inflation leads to an increase in unemployment.  When the economy works toward full employment, a nominal amount of inflation--with effective limits and safeguards set by the government--can be expected.

Small Business Consulting--Creating a Niche

Small business consulting--some companies make it their business to target small to mid-sized businesses.  What do small businesses really need?  Can independent or loosely networked consultants create a niche in local small businesses to create "win-wins" for all concerned?

What would these independent or loosely networked consulting professionals need to do to focus on a niche local market?

A story about a Business Opportunity--Is the Time Right Yet?

In October, 2009, I wrote a post about "The Wizard's First Rule".  Part of my motivation for that post was a recent experience of finding what I thought was a consulting opportunity very similar to the consulting opportunity brought to me by a headhunter in November, 1999.  A European-based technology consulting firm, affiliated with Philips in the Netherlands, had started doing business in the USA and was looking for senior business consultants to help with their work in the USA.  I joined AtosOrigin (Origin Technology in Business) and enjoyed almost two years with them until the Netherlands-based firm merged with a French-based firm and AtosOrigin was created.

In 2001, after the terrorist attack in New York City on 9/11, I decided to commit time to teach K-12 students.  Beginning in 2003 I taught in K-12 classrooms for six years.  While teaching I kept my consulting practice going part-time in the background.

What I see in the beginning of 2010 is the opportunity for professional consultants to join together to help for-profit, not-for-profit businesses, schools, and other organizations to meet the emerging challenges and opportunities of the new decade.

What I thought I had found in October, 2009, is an opportunity I want to create in 2010. (See my list of services on my website.)  In my 30+ years of experience with consulting, I have learned that I am better off working in a group of professional colleagues where each can add his or her expertise, experience, and talents for the good of all--including the clients.

Is the time right yet?  We'll see.

Animal Spirits, the Economy, Attitudes and Business Opportunities

A few days ago--in the last decade--I wrote a post looking at animal spirits and the influence of human psychology on the economy.  (I am now on chapter 11 of the book and it is worthwhile to read and/or listen to.)

Five of these animal spirits are confidence,  a sense of fairness, corruption, money illusion, and stories.  As we now enter the new year and the new decade, we can look for a change in how businesses look at the world.  Confidence was shaken in 2008 and in 2009. 

Many businesses can be poised to take on new business opportunities if they develop a willingness to trust and can find trusted advisers to assist them in exploring the opportunities for change.

Those of us who are in business to provide coaching and consulting services to other businesses are now challenged by the evolving animal spirits of the new economy.  What, for example, are the right fees to charge for professional services?  If we charge what we used to charge, many businesses who could use the services will not think they can afford them.  If we reduce our fees to help businesses experiencing a lower profit-margin, will they realize that these are not our standard fees and, instead, are value-added fees to assist them to grow their businesses and to take advantages of new opportunities?

Attitudes in both business and schools are often resistant to outside coaching and consulting.  Our fee structures are not the same as those many decision-makers are used to.  Some schools develop relationships with local universities or community colleges and work with their faculty and graduate students.  Businesses may have a few trusted advisers they know from their circles of business contacts.

While social networking groups such as LinkedIn may offer opportunities for new connections, referrals and personal networking seems to be the most trusted source for new insights. 

We are still evolving into this second decade of the new millennium.  The concept of animal spirits is important in terms of being aware of the influences of human psychology on business and the economy and in helping professionals working in this economy to have insight into business direction and new business opportunities.

Happy New Year 2010!!--and a look ahead with the Avatar movie

Happy New Year 2010!!

The "balls have dropped" (or the fireworks have gone up)--whatever way people celebrate the new year on January 1st, it's happened.  There was lots of celebrating (according to the media photos on television from around the world).

One of the special things about this New Years is that we have a blue moon--the second full moon in a month (the month of December).  This happens rarely and the next occurence at this time of year is projected for 2028.

People have already come forward with their prophecies of better times in 2010 for jobs, for the economy, and for many other areas.

I went to the Delnor Wellness Center this morning and, while there were fewer people than usual, many people were beginning their new year by doing something healthy--me, too, aqua pilates.

I've already needed to open new 2010 folders on my computer for eCommerce and for other activities and have set aside a new storage bin for 2010 receipts, along with putting up the 2010 calendars, all the traditional things needed for the first day of a new year.

An "old wives tale" I remember from childhood is to track the weather (highs, lows, clouds, sun, wind, etc) the first twelve days of the year--as indicators of what those months will be.  While the temperatures will not be exact, a cold day on the sixth of January could mean a cooler month in June.  Clouds and precipitation may also be good indicators except that July in my part of the world probably won't include any snow.

I saw the movie Avatar in 3D today.  It's an amazing movie, heralded as a breakthrough in film-making that sets the stage for whole new experiences.  The movie was amazing and reminded me of Star Wars, though it also has reminders of Medicine Man and Dances with Wolves.  George Lucas' companies were involved in Avatar, along with many more creative people.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and can only imagine what it would be like in 3D at an iMax movie theatre.

Many elements of the book reminded me of concepts I recently came across in a series of books by Robin Hobb,  Forest Mage, Shaman's Crossing, and Renegade's Magic.  The attitudes of the warriors toward the forest people, called specks due to the unique markings on their skin, is similar of the attitudes of the terrans toward the natives of Pandora.  The bonding of souls to the heart of the forest mother is also similar, especially in Renegade's Magic. 

The force in Star Wars was throughout the universe and the mother force behind the tree of souls in Avatar is seen to be exclusively of the planet Pandora.  Even so, the concepts capture the imagination.  

What is interesting about Avatar is that the movie taps into many historical themes in our world culture and, while taking the polarities to extremes to show the drama, much of what is contained in the movie shows "how things work today" in many parts of the world (though not all of the technology).  Even the technology depicted as fully functional in the movie has been heard of in our time.  It will be amazing to see what influence Avatar may have on film-making, technology development, and human progress over the next decade. 

Watching this movie was a great way to begin the new year.