The Small Blog

Sun, March 07, 2010 - 10:55:53

A Small Investment

Grace Groner was, by all accounts, an everyday woman.  Having never married, she lived a modest life, alone in a small cottage in Illinois and worked for many years as an administrator at a local technology company.  But Groner had one big secret—and it had more than a little to do with the power of small.

After Groner passed away in January at the age of 100, her alma mater, Lake Forest University received the surprise of a century.  Grace Groner had bequeathed them $7 million.

Posted by Linda and Robin
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Fri, March 05, 2010 - 10:10:05

Operation NiCE Highlights the Power of Small Talk

One of the things we love most about social media is its uncanny ability to connect us with other NICE- and SMALL-minded folks simply by pressing a button and this week we’ve come across quite a number of amazing bloggers with kindness and simplicity at the core of what they do.  But, it was a post from one of our old favorites, Melissa Morris Ivone of Operation NiCE, which really got our attention.  In her post, “The Power of Small Talk” she tells the story of one of her readers, Julie B., who discovered for the first time that a little seemingly insignificant chit-chat can make a positive difference in the lives of others.  In other words, there’s nothing small about small talk.

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Sun, February 28, 2010 - 12:16:41

The Power of Checklists

Since its release in December, surgeon and New Yorker staff writer Atul Gawande’s book, The Checklist Manifesto, has been generating quite a buzz within the medical community.  In his book, he proposes that physicians, nurses, and hospital staffers could greatly benefit from using one simple tool: a checklist. 

Gawande’s manifesto, based upon research he conducted on procedures commonly used in the aviation, investment, and construction industries, is geared largely toward the medical community. But as, Justin Fox, editorial director of the Harvard Business Review Group writes, the surprisingly transformative power of checklists is applicable to nearly any profession.  And, as long-time devotees, we couldn’t agree more.  In fact, it’s something we discuss in our own book, THE POWER OF SMALL: Why Little Things Make All the Difference.

Posted by Linda and Robin
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Sat, February 27, 2010 - 11:47:42

Unexpected Side Effects Lead to Unbelievable Breakthroughs

Life coaches, confidence experts, and psychologists will tell you that scrutinizing every wrinkle in the mirror isn’t great for your self confidence and we’d have to agree. But what if we told you that by doing just that, one woman inadvertently sparked the inspiration for a scientific breakthrough that revolutionized the cosmetic surgery industry as we knew it?

Well, as a recent report by TODAY medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman explains, that’s exactly what happened when an ophthalmology patient in Vancouver noticed an unexpected, yet pleasant, side effect caused by the therapeutic botulinim toxin forehead injections used to treat her chronic eyelid spasms: her wrinkles were disappearing before her eyes.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Sat, February 20, 2010 - 12:49:02

One Half Can Mean a Whole Lot

How many of you out there could imagine selling your house, buying one half the size, and then donating half of the profits of the sale to charity?  Well, that’s exactly what co-author of The Power of Half: One Family’s Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back, Kevin Salwen, and his family did when they realized the power their little family held to make an enormous impact on the lives of others around the world.

Posted by Linda and Robin
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