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The Propeller – 🍀 St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish! 🍀 – 3-17-2024

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Supercharge Your Office 365 with These Tech Tips

Feeling stuck in an Office 365 rut? You might be surprised at the hidden features and clever tricks that can turn you into a productivity powerhouse. Here are a few tips to get you started:Master the “Tell Me” (Search) Function: Stuck searching for a specific feature? Utilize the “Tell Me” box (usually located at the top of your Office program.  In some versions it is simply called “Search”). Type in a brief description of what you need, and voila! “Tell Me” acts as your personal Office assistant, guiding you to the right tool.Silence the Inbox Chaos: Feeling overwhelmed by email? Take advantage of Focused Inbox, which prioritizes important messages and filters out distractions. This keeps your mind focused on what truly matters.Shortcut Your Way to Success: Keyboard shortcuts are your time-saving friends! Learn a few basic commands (like Ctrl+C for copy and Ctrl+V for paste) and watch your workflow soar.Become a OneNote Ninja: Take notes, organize ideas, and collaborate seamlessly with colleagues using OneNote. This digital notebook is your one-stop shop for capturing and sharing information.Smart Lookups for the Win: Need a quick fact check or definition? Highlight a word or phrase and use Smart Lookup. This nifty feature brings relevant information right to your screen, eliminating the need for context switching.These are just a taste of the many ways to elevate your Office 365 experience. With a little exploration and these helpful hints, you’ll be conquering your workday in no time!

The Sparrow and the Snake
Sometimes trying to fix a problem only makes it worse.China learned this lesson the hard way in the 1950s.As part of the Great Leap Forward movement, the Chinese government launched a campaign to eliminate four pests that were seen as harmful to agriculture: sparrows, rats, flies, and mosquitoes.The campaign targeted sparrows because they were believed to eat too much grain. People were organised to destroy sparrow nests and eggs, and noise-making tactics were used to exhaust the birds.But this campaign ultimately led to the Great Chinese Famine and the deaths of millions of people.Why? It turns out that sparrows also eat a lot of insects, including locusts.Without the sparrows to keep the locust population in check, the locusts destroyed crops and caused food shortages.The government only considered the immediate, first-order effects of eliminating the sparrows. They did not anticipate the long-term, second-order effects on the ecosystem and food supply.Another great example of a failure in second-order thinking was dubbed the “Cobra Effect,” a phenomenon that occurs when a solution to a problem actually makes the problem worse.In colonial India, the British government paid people to catch cobra snakes so that there would be fewer of them.Suddenly dead cobras came flooding in—more than the British had ever anticipated.Why? The Indians were smart. People realised they could make money by catching and selling the snakes to the government, but they could make even more money by breeding them specifically to turn in for the bounty.When the government realised this unintended consequence, they stopped the bounty program. But instead of reducing the cobra population, this decision led to a decrease in the number of cobras being bred and an increase in the wild cobra population.Don’t just think about the consequences of your actions—think about the consequences of the consequences. What happens if I do this, and what possibilities does that change unlock?Consider the range of possible outcomes. Ask why, when, and “then what?” See through your blind spots.
Add Harvard and MIT to your Resume

For those of you looking to advance in your current career, gain skills for side hustles, or trying to find a cheaper option to college for kids…This is a platform created by MIT and Harvard with over 4,000 courses. Their vision is to provide a world where every learner has access to education without the barriers of cost and location. Most of the courses are free.  Check it out here:  https://www.edx.org

Winning Habitudes

Did you know I wrote a book?

Read about this Habitude and the other 98 in the book “Winning Habitudes: 99 Habits and Attitudes of Leaders, Visionaries, and Achievers” by me!It is available in Print, Audiobook, and E-Book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Audible. https://amzn.to/2O0Zh2y and https://www.winninghabitudes.com

 

 

 

Leprechauns supposedly hide their gold. Maybe they should invest in Index Funds!

 

This is re-published from the weekly email sent by Leonard Mack entitled The Propeller. To subscribe, visit https://www.LeonardMack.com/subscribe and read it every Sunday evening.

This intellectual nourishment is intended for informational purposes only. One should not construe anything herein as being legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

My rule is this – I have no advice to give, only experience to share. I have no interest in being a guru or telling people what they should do. Rather, I share my own experience because there is no right or wrong. Your mileage may vary.

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