Many people are wondering what is a "Hybrid" Matrix and how does it work.
Monday, December 6, 2010
3 Ways to Identify a Leader
You may have learned that MLM is all about Leadership; to identify leaders, help them to develop and to duplicate this process ? again and again. Then comes t
Source: http://www.betternetworker.com/articles/view/personal-development/leadership/3-ways-identify-leader
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Military chaplains debate 'DADT' role
Washington (CNN) -- As Congress debates the repeal of the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, military chaplains are doing their own soul-searching.
About 3,000 chaplains currently serve in the military, endorsed by a multitude of faiths, including Christian, evangelical Protestant, Jewish and Muslim denominations. It's a unique culture where chaplains of various beliefs serve alongside one another counseling and caring for an equally diverse congregation of armed service members.
"Some of the most intense and sharpest divergence of views about Don't Ask, Don't Tell exists among the chaplains," states the Pentagon report, released last week, on the potential impact of repealing the policy. The report concludes that allowing openly gay or lesbian troops to serve in the military would have little lasting impact on the U.S. armed forces.
Among the issues raised by chaplains, according to the report, is whether a change in policy would hinder ministers' religious expression, particularly for those faiths that consider homosexuality immoral.
"Chaplains who aren't able to proclaim what they believe is true about this issue ... means that the soldier then, the airman, the sailor, the guardian, the Marine aren't able to get the full opportunity to hear religious faiths," retired Army Chaplain Brigadier Gen. Douglas Lee tells CNN.
A chaplain for more than 30 years, Lee now serves as executive director of a Presbyterian group that endorses military chaplains from six denominations. A clergy member must be endorsed by a religious group or denomination in order to serve as a chaplain.
Lee and dozens of other former military chaplains signed a letter earlier this year to President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates urging them not to repeal "don't ask, don't tell."
"I fear and many others fear that down the road, knowing the other agenda items that are on the plate of those promoting a homosexual lifestyle, (there) would be a concern that chaplains would be restricted from proclaiming their faith tenets," says Lee.
Chaplains provide counseling, guidance and perform religious rites, such as baptisms and marriage, for service members.
Another retired chaplain who served for 20 years says he counseled gay and lesbian service members who confided their struggle over hiding their sexual orientation.
"For me it was very disheartening," retired Air Force Chaplain Col. Jerry Rhyne tells CNN. "I tried to bring them hope and encouragement to live their life to the fullest and to help them deal with their issues."
Rhyne, who spoke to the Pentagon group that issued the report on "don't ask, don't tell," supports the repeal, arguing it's a matter of justice.
"The scriptures and Gospels tell us we need to love our neighbors as ourselves. If you provide ministry on that basis, you can't reject somebody on their lifestyle, but you have to love them as a human being. That's a key element of providing chaplain services to military personnel wherever they are."
Rhyne says if a chaplain is unable to provide religious services because of a conflict of beliefs, they are required to find another chaplain for the service member.
"The issue should not be upon the chaplain's comfortability but it ought to be on how we provide pastoral care to the service personnel," says Rhyne.
Rhyne agrees with Gates that safeguards are in place to enable chaplains to maintain their religious beliefs and still serve a diverse community.
In a briefing last Tuesday, Gates said, "There is an obligation to care for all. But it also is clear that the chaplains are not going to be asked to teach something they don't believe in."
Despite the divergent views, the Pentagon report found that repealing "don't ask, don't tell" would have little impact on the chaplain corps. Only three out of about 145 chaplains who participated in the study suggested they would quit or leave if the law were changed.
The chaplains CNN spoke to seem to suggest the same.
"Chaplains will always help people, always have ... always will, no matter who comes their way," says Lee.
CNN's Kate Bolduan contributed to this report.
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website application development website designers and developers
Police: Missing siblings feared dead
(CNN) -- Police in Mobile, Alabama, said Sunday they are "actively searching" for the bodies of two young children believed killed by their father and stepmother.
Authorities began investigating a missing persons report on Jonathan DeBlase, 3, and his older sister Natalie, 4, on November 19. However, the children have not been seen since late June, said Officer Christopher Levy, spokesman for Mobile police.
The children's father, John Joseph DeBlase, 27, was arrested Friday. He faces two counts of aggravated child abuse and two counts of abuse of a corpse, Mobile police said in a statement. Stepmother Heather Keaton was arrested earlier in Louisville, Kentucky, and faces two counts of willful abuse and neglect of a child, police said.
Keaton went to police in Kentucky and asked for a restraining order against DeBlase. The couple had been living in Louisville, Kentucky, but had apparently separated, Levy said.
According to police documents from Louisville, Keaton told investigators she felt DeBlase "may have murdered his children because he said that they were nonresponsive," CNN affiliate WKRG reported. She said DeBlase had told her "choices were made ... and he had to do what he had to do."
Keaton told police she feared for her own life because of events that took place six months prior in Mobile, Levy said. "When she was explaining why she needed this emergency order of protection from him ... it was told to them (investigators) that the kids were dead and it had occurred in Mobile."
WKRG said Keaton approached authorities November 18. Levy said police were notified and began investigating a day later.
Keaton, identified as Heather Leavell-Keaton by WKRG, was arrested Tuesday night, and police began looking for DeBlase.
On Friday, Mobile police were notified by the Santa Rosa County, Florida, Sheriff's Department that DeBlase had been found, police said. He was returned to Mobile.
"Detectives have determined that both John DeBlase and Heather Keaton are responsible" for the children's deaths, the Mobile police statement said. "Police will continue to search for the children."
Mobile Police Chief Micheal T. Williams told reporters Friday that police believe the children are dead, based on what DeBlase has told them.
"He's given us an indication of a location where they may be, where he remembers burying the children," Williams said. A team of investigators, searchers and cadaver dogs would be looking in the area over the next few days, he said.
Williams would tell reporters only that the location was within 100 miles of Mobile. But the Mobile Press-Register newspaper reported that searchers on Saturday looked for the bodies near Vancleave, Mississippi.
Asked about the corpse-abuse charge, Williams told reporters, "It certainly means that there has to be a dead body, so that body was treated in a manner that wasn't consistent with the way that we normally treat our deceased."
Levy said Sunday the corpse-abuse charge was "going to be more in reference to him taking their bodies and leaving them in the woods."
Jackson County, Mississippi, Sheriff Mike Byrd told the Press-Register on Saturday that the boy's body might have been tossed on the side of a Mississippi road.
"From what we understand, the father was going to bury the child about six months ago. He had a shovel and everything, but the ground was too hard," Byrd told the newspaper. "He's not real sure where. Whether he's telling us the truth or not, we just don't know."
Byrd said Keaton and DeBlase have each accused the other of killing the children. The two agree that at least one child's body is in the Vancleave area, he said, according to the Press-Register.
Attempts by CNN to contact Byrd on Sunday were not immediately successful.
Williams said Friday that DeBlase was being "somewhat cooperative," and police want to gain as much information as they can while his cooperation lasts.
"We are actively searching," Levy said Sunday. Police still aren't sure about the circumstances leading up to the deaths of the children, he said.
Keaton waived extradition in a court hearing Wednesday in Kentucky, WKRG reported. She will be brought to Mobile to face the charges against her.
The children's mother, Corrine Heathcock of Mobile, told WKRG on Thursday that she hadn't seen her children in more than a year. DeBlase took the two children when the couple divorced, she said. "I didn't have a steady place to live. I didn't have a job." She said when she attempted to see the children, DeBlase picked fights with her and stopped answering the phone.
Heathcock pleaded publicly for her ex-husband to come forward as police were searching for him. "Turn yourself in," she said. "Where's my children at? I want them home ... if they're dead, I want to bury them. They deserve that."
Asked how no concerns were raised despite the children not being seen in months, Levy said, "No family members, no friends, no neighbors, none of them reported them missing ... And that's probably one of the most disturbing parts of the whole thing, that we're finding out six months later that they've been gone."
He said several people have come forward in the media and said they believed the children were being abused, but did not notify anyone.
"That's my question for them, is 'Where were you a year ago when they were actually in danger?'" he said.
CNN Radio's April Williams and CNN's Rick Martin contributed to this report.
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Are You Experiencing a Drought Season in Your Business?
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World?s Most Important Msg
Elevator Pitch: Shustir
The Pitch: "About half of the nation's 29 million small businesses don't have a website. Many others have trouble attracting online shoppers. Shustir is a virtual marketplace that combines e-commerce and social media. Retailers and service businesses can set up online stores on Shustir for free. Each store includes a blog, which can automatically post updates to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Shoppers use Shustir to find local businesses and become fans of stores they like. For $25 a month, businesses will be promoted as featured sellers and gain higher rankings in our search results. We're relaunching the site this fall with new features, including a haggling function that will let shoppers and business owners communicate directly to strike deals. We're raising money for marketing and development."
Co-Founders: Shu Kim and Khanh Pham
Location: New York City
Employees: None
Launched (Beta): May 2009
2010 Projected Revenue: $6,000
2011 Projected Revenue: $315,000
2012 Projected Revenue: $1.1 million
Number of Businesses That Have Signed Up So Far: 18,300
Number of Unique Visitors Per Month: 20,000
Funding Sought: $500,000
Previous Lives: Kim and Pham worked in the real estate group at Lehman Brothers for eight years.
Off to a Promising Start
It is impressive that Shustir has signed up more than 18,000 businesses. Based on that alone, I'd take a meeting with the founders. But if it weren't for that number, I'd be a lot more hesitant. Right now, the company is relying on very low monthly fees. It's not clear whether it will be able to produce enough revenue that way, especially if businesses are signing up only to get a free website. But if Shustir has found a way to engage small businesses, it could partner with other companies, such as Groupon, that target these types of small businesses.
Jon Chait
Partner, Dace Ventures
Waltham, Massachusetts
Can It Attract Shoppers?
Shustir's general premise is correct: Many businesses are still doing things the old-fashioned way, and many have trouble marketing. But businesses don't just want to get online -- they want online consumers to buy things. It's unclear what will drive consumers to Shustir. The site is too broad. The founders should focus on an industry, a particular geography, or a theme -- like finding deals -- that would give people a reason to come to the site. Small-business owners won't pay $25 a month if Shustir doesn't attract enough consumers.
Maha Ibrahim
General partner, Canaan Partners
Menlo Park, California
Revamp the Business Model
Online stores and social networking features are nothing new. Having a Web presence can take many forms these days. There's so much exciting stuff happening with GPS -- matching mobile shoppers with local businesses. But Shustir has no compelling technology. It's also in a stiffly competitive landscape. I think the company needs to rethink its business model. Many businesses have a hard time finding technical services. If Shustir could be a one-stop shop for social media, mobile, SEO, and advertising, that would be more promising.
Jennifer Thayer Naylor
Managing director, Golden Seeds
New York City
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/inc/channel/start-up/~3/gQpCV8BX5dQ/elevator-pitch-shustir.html
Elevator Pitch: ShopKeep
The Pitch: "Point-of-sale software can be expensive -- some popular applications cost close to $1,000. ShopKeep is an affordable Web-based point-of-sale system designed for small businesses. Because our software runs online, retailers can track sales and manage inventory from anywhere. What's different about our software is that it also runs locally on the cash register, so even if a store's Internet connection goes down, the business can still ring up customers. ShopKeep works on both PCs and Macs, and it integrates with QuickBooks and e-commerce software. We're raising money to hire a sales team and launch an online advertising campaign."
Founder: Jason Richelson
Location: New York City
Employees: Two
Product Launch: April 2010
2010 Projected Revenue: $20,000
2011 Projected Revenue: $300,000
Price: $49 to $129 per month per register
Number of Customers: 60
Funding Sought: $500,000 to $1 million
Background: Richelson came up with the idea for ShopKeep after co-founding The Greene Grape, a wine and grocery chain with three locations in New York City.
Hire a Marketing Expert
This pitch makes me a little nervous. It sounds like Richelson has sold this software to some customers door to door, but there's no indication that he knows how to acquire customers efficiently. Before ShopKeep tries to raise money, it should hire someone with strong Web marketing experience who can help the company lower its cost of acquiring new customers. This isn't the sort of business that's going to provide big returns for investors -- point-of-sale software companies typically sell at two to five times revenue -- so ShopKeep needs to get everything right.
Jon Chait
Partner, Dace Ventures
Waltham, Massachusetts
Prove It Can Scale
ShopKeep is in a fairly crowded space, and selling to small businesses is challenging. It tends to require more capital to reach this market: You have to have a lot of feet on the street. But using commissioned salespeople means giving up a lot of margin. I don't think ShopKeep should look for venture funding. Instead, it should raise seed funding from friends, family, and angels and focus on gaining adoption in a specific geography or vertical market, such as convenience stores. If ShopKeep can show evidence of scale, it will be more attractive to investors.
Dan Ciporin
Venture partner, Canaan Partners
Westport, Connecticut
May Be a Lifestyle Business
ShopKeep is a very nice application that clearly grew out of a retailer's frustration with traditional point-of-sale systems. This has the potential to be a lifestyle business with a recurring revenue stream, but it is not likely to be funded with outside equity capital. At least half a dozen other companies offer virtually identical solutions at even lower prices, and those firms have been unable to ramp up sales significantly. Paying a sales force to sell a low-priced product like this is unlikely to work. Richelson would be better off trying to find a scalable, self-service way to market and sell online.
David S. Rose
Chairman, New York Angels
New York City
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/inc/channel/start-up/~3/hPCd-v6xKyk/elevator-pitch-shopkeep.html
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