Ap History Essay example - 1048 Words

Zinn Questions – A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn Chapter 1 – Columbus, the Indians and Human Purpose 1. According to Zinn, what is the main purpose for writing A Peoples History of the United States? * Zinns purpose for writing this book is because he wants to tell the various point of views of the common people. 2. What is Zinns thesis for pages 1-11? * Zinns thesis for the first eleven pages is to tell/ describe events the way they happened. He starts with Columbus but he doesn’t complement him for being a hero but as a fake. He described him as he was. 3. According to Zinn, how is Columbus portrayed in traditional history books? * Columbus was portrayed as a hero, a peaceful explorer,†¦show more content†¦8. What was the ultimate fate for the Arawak Indians? * The ultimate fate for the Arawak Indians was death. They either died of sickness or were killed. Most of the Arawak Indians died on ships because of the living conditions. Others were killed because they couldn’t complete a difficult task appo inted to them. 9. What was the significance of Quetzalcoatl? * Quetzalcoatl was the Aztec God that was said to come back in human form. When the Spaniards encountered the Aztecs the people thought that it was Quetzalcoatl. This made it easy for the Spaniards to gain a good foothold on the new world. But Herman Cortez then started a death march through the towns turning Aztec against Aztec. 10. Compare the strategies and motives underlying the conquest if the Aztecs by Cortez and the conquest of the Incas by Pizzaro. * The tactics were the same and for the same reasons the empires were conquered -- frenzy in the early capitalist states of Europe for gold, for slaves, for products of the soil, to spur growth in wealth. 11. What were the major causes of war between Powhatans and the English settlers? * The major cause for was in was in the winter of 1610, some English settlers ran away to the Powhatans village to be at least fed. When the summer came, the colonies governor sent a messe nger to the village to take back the English settlers but they wouldn’tShow MoreRelatedAp History Compare and Contrast Essay: Egypt and Mesopotamia1296 Words   |  6 PagesEthan Sua 10/16/10 Mr. McGrath AP World History A Compare and Contrast Essay of Egypt and Mesopotamia Egypt and Mesopotamia developed different and similar political and religious civilizations. Mesopotamian civilizations such as the Sumerians, the Akkadian kingdom, the Assyrian empire and the Babylonian city-state, were all too dependent on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Egypt’s natural isolation and material self-sufficiency fostered a unique culture thatRead MoreEssay on Ap Us History How Effective Th467 Words   |  2 Pages Before the Constitution, there was the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was a new national government that reserved freedom, sovereignty, and independence for the states. The Articles of confederation provided an effective form of government for western lands, on the contrary, foreign relations were not were not as well benefited from it. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Confederationamp;#8217;s major contributions were Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance ofRead MoreWorld History AP8768 Words   |  36 Pagesof free people running the affairs of state, and of equality for all citizens before the law. Political participation in Greek city-states was much wider than in Persia, but it varied considerably between city-states and over time. Early in Greek history, only the wealthy and wellborn had the rights of full citizenship, but middle- and lower-class men gradually obtained these rights in some city-states. †¢ Nowhere was participation universal. The widest participation occurred in Athens beginning inRead MoreAp Us History Definitions1466 Words   |  6 PagesAs a result, the Church of England has had a huge influence on modern day religion, and politics, and still exists today. †¢Columbian Exchange – This exchange between the Eastern and Western Hemisphere may be one of the most significant events in history. It was the exchange of many fruits and vegetables, in addition to animals, medicines, and diseases. Although there were some negative effects from the exchange, such as the introduction of smallpox to the western hemisphere, the overall impactRead MoreAP Us History DBQ977 Words   |  4 PagesDBQ American expansionism in the late 19th century and early 20th century was, to a large extent, a continuation of past United States expansionism, while also departing with previous expansionism in some aspects. During the period of time between the late 19th century and early 20th century, America was going through significant changes. After a revolution in Cuba against the Spanish, as well as the Americans starting the Spanish-American War, the Americans received several territorial concessionsRead MoreQuestions for Ap Us History3870 Words   |  16 PagesSTATES HISTORY SUMMER 2013 READING ASSIGNMENT CHAPTER 1: Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress (pp. 1-11) 1. According to Zinn, what is his main purpose for writing A Peoples History of the United States? To tell history from the viewpoint of the victims and not overlooking what the country has done to become what they are today. It includes the cruelty and hardships the people had to go through. 2. What is Zinns thesis for pages 1-11? He will be as blunt as he can to show what history hasRead Moreap us history dbq1672 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿1.All of the following statements are true about Herbert Hoover’s responses to the Great Depression EXCEPT: B.:-) He saw the Depression as akin to an act of nature, about which nothing could be done except to ride it out. 2.Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program attempted or achieved all of the following EXCEPT C.:-) supported the creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. 3.The â€Å"New Immigration† was made up primarily of D.:-) persons from Southern and Eastern Europe. Read MoreAp American Historyï ¼Å¡ Slavery953 Words   |  4 PagesAnalyze the origins and development of slavery in Britain’s North American colonies in the period 1619 to 1776. Support your answers with evidence from the assigned readings. The Root of Slavery in Colonial America 1619-1776 The colonists did not choose Africans for slavery simply because they were unease by their alien skin tone or because they belittle the people’s lack of civilized background. In fact, the first Africans to arriveRead MoreAp World History : Michael Foley1337 Words   |  6 PagesAP World History Michael Foley 1A: We can examine painting that ancient artists drew, the homes they built, the tools they had, listen to oral history, and much more. There is indeed a benefit to studying history in this way, since it gives a hands-on account of what was there 12,000 years ago, allowing us to see and deduce for ourselves how ancient civilizations operated. 1B: The first civilizations formed at around 10,000 BCE, when humans settled around the Fertile Crescent to plant crops likeRead MorePre Ap World History II950 Words   |  4 PagesShelby Thomas Mrs. Voorhees Pre-AP World History II 10 March 2017 Adolf Eichmann On March 19th, 1944, Lieutenant Colonel Karl Adolf Eichmann, stood at the head of one-hundred and forty military vehicles. It was his twenty-eighth birthday. On this day, he was doing no other than finding Hungary’s 750,000 Jewish individuals; deciding if anyone was physically fit to be transferred to labor camps or to be executed on the spot. Contrary to popular belief, Karl Adolf Eichmann was the enforcer of the

The Life of Ernest Hemingway - 523 Words

On July 21, 1899 Ernest Miller Hemingway was born in Cicero (Oak Park), Illinois. Clarence and Grace Hemingway, Ernest’s parents, raised him and his five siblings in the suburbs and spent time at their cottage in northern Michigan. This is where Ernest learned his love of the outdoors. His father taught him to row a boat, start a fire, clean and cook a fish, make a wild-onion sandwich and handle a gun (Reef, 2009). In high school Hemingway began to write for his school newspaper Trapeze and Tabula. After graduating he became a journalist for the Kansas City Star. Working as a journalist helped form his distinctively strip down writing style (biography.com). He wrote in short declarative sentences and used vigorous english. In 1918, Hemingway went Italy during the first world war and served the red cross as an ambulance driver for the Italian army. He served in the red cross for thirty-four days until he was wounded on July 8, while delivering cigarettes, chocolate, and postcards to Italian soldiers (infobase) by a trench mortar shell. He was sent to a hospital in Milan and had 227 shell fragments removed from his leg. In the hospital Hemingway met nurse Agnes von Kurowsky who he quickly fell in love with. The relationship was short lived and its devastating end provided inspiration for one his most famous works, A Farewell to Arms. After Italy, Hemingway moved to Toronto and became a journalist for the Toronto Star. While working for the star he traveled to Chicago, whereShow MoreRelatedThe Life of Ernest Hemingway1411 Words   |  6 Pages(shmoop.com). Ernest Hemingway was an honest and noble man. His life was highlighted by his successful writing career that brought him fame, fortune, but ultimately loneliness. Ernest Hemingway fell into a hole of drinking and depression (lib.utexas.edu). It was odd for Hemingway to become so emotionally unstable after having a happy childhood, quality experiences, and a successful writing career. Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park Illinois in 1899. Oak Park was the town in which Ernest spent hisRead MoreThe Clouded Life Of Ernest Hemingway2032 Words   |  9 PagesThe Clouded Life of Ernest Hemingway â€Å"Every man s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another,† (Hemingway). The details of Ernest Hemingway’s life are nothing short of remarkable. The dash between the dates on his gravestone more than distinguish him from the notable mid-century authors he competed with. The life and works of Hemingway has stimulated the minds of people all over the world for the last one-hundred and sixteenRead MoreThe Life of Ernest Hemingway Essay1007 Words   |  5 PagesThe Life of Ernest Hemingway Ernest Hemingway relied on experiences and the time period that he wrote the novel The Sun Also Rises. Hemingway used symbolism and irony to express his own experiences that he went through after the war, in this novel. Gertrude Stein named the generation of adults that lived during World War I, The Lost Generation.People thought the phrase holds true to some people who fought or were involved in the war. Hemingway quotes Stein in passages saying The world remainsRead MoreLife And Death By Ernest Hemingway Essay1231 Words   |  5 PagesTwo short stories and one segment from a story that I have broke down have all been composed by the creator Ernest Hemingway, concentrating on the subject of Life and Death. Ernest Hemingway is a twentieth century American author, short story essayist and columnist. He was conceived on July 21st 1954 in Oak Park, Illinois. In the midst of his lifetime he was incorporated into World War I. He went to Italy to drive a crisis vehicle in the warzone. His relationship in the World War probably left aRead MoreThe Life of Ernest Hemingway Essay1191 Words   |  5 PagesErnest Hemingway â€Å"But man is not made for defeat, he said. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.† (Hemingway, 29). This is one of the lines that Ernest Hemingway uses in one of his books, titled, â€Å"The Old Man and The Sea.† It was published in 1952, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize the following year. The story of an old fishermans journey, his long and lonely struggle with a fish and the sea, was considered to be the most popular of all his works. Fortunately for this well-known author, heRead MoreErnest Hemingway s Life As A Writer1074 Words   |  5 PagesErnest Miller Hemingway was born July 21, 1899 in Chicago, IL to Clarence and Grace Hill-Hemingway. Ernest’s parents were a physician and a musician, respectively, and were both well educated individuals who encouraged their children to follow in their footsteps educationally. Ernest Hemingway began his career as an author and journalist at the age of seventeen. Ernest took a high school course in Journalism ta ught by Fannie Biggs, which was taught, as though the classroom were a newspaper officeRead MoreEssay on The Life of Ernest Miller Hemingway3853 Words   |  16 Pages The Life of Ernest Miller Hemingway   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were several writers in the twentieth century, and among them was Ernest Miller Hemingway. Hemingway had a interesting, but strange life. By analyzing and exploring the literature and biographies of Ernest Hemingway, one will be able to understand the life of Ernest Hemingway and see the major contributions he had to literature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. Hemingway was born in the Hemingway family home, which was builtRead MoreEssay on The Life of Author, Ernest Hemingway638 Words   |  3 PagesThe Life of Author, Ernest Hemingway Earnest Miller Hemingway was borin in Oak Park Illinois. After graduating from high school, he got a job at a paper called Kansas City Star. Hemingway continually tried to enter the military, but his defective eye, hindered this task. Hemingway had managed to get a job driving an American Red Cross ambulance. During this expedition, he was injured and hospitalized. Hemingway had an affinity for a particular nurse at that hospital, her name wasRead MoreThe Theme Of Masculinity In The Short Happy Life Of Ernest Hemingway1689 Words   |  7 PagesHow can Hemingway make the themes in the books based on his experiences and thoughts? Hemingway writes the books based on his experiences and thoughts like masculinity from a character to showing his self-confidence, death from alcohol which is showing the self-injury, fatalistic heroism like the character, Schatz from the book, A Day’s Wait and nature from mountain and safari (Africa) in The Snows of Kilimanjaro and The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber or other books. Hemingway puts the meaningfulRead More The Troubled Life of Ernest Hemingway Reflected in His Writing2492 Words   |  10 PagesThe Troubled Life of Ernest Hemingway Reflected in His Writing The period between World War I and World War II was a very turbulent time in America. Ernest Hemingway most represented this period with his unrestrained lifestyle. This lifestyle brought him many successes, but it eventually destroyed him in the end. His stories are read in classrooms across America, but his semi-autobiographical writings are horrible role models for the students who read them. Hemingway’s lifestyle greatly influenced

Personal Philosophy of Nursing Free Essays

Nursing is a profession that needs a courage, compassion, and patience. It is not just a matter of giving assistance to the doctors nor an attendant to the hospital units. Nurses are doctor themselves. We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Philosophy of Nursing or any similar topic only for you Order Now They are the ones who do the monitoring and caring for the patience. They help the ill to recover not just physically but also mentally given the fact that they are the ones who stay there beside the patience. Their presence are great help in recovery of every patience, that is why, a nurse should not only perform or do the job of being a nurse just for the sake of fulfilling that profession. Instead, a nurse, with worth compassion should be able to correlate with other people for better accomplishing of the job. Anyone could nurse the ill person but legally speaking, professional nurses are the ones who could legitimately check an ill person confined in hospitals since they are the ones who are into the nursing practice and are knowledgeable and skilled enough to do the duty. In a perspective of a professional nurse, a person goes beyond the biological definition in usual. Rather, it is a human being that deserves an equal treatment among people in the society. No matter what their status in the social strata, there should always be an equal treatment of people especially when it comes to health service. That is why, it is important for every nurse to be more professional in their job and thus, should not be biased in any cases. The health is very important to monitor for a nurse. It is the state of the body or condition of the body ideally free from any illnesses and hazards of any kind of disease whereas ideally, is the nurse first goal for the patients. In any health education, a nurse has the responsibility to disseminate information in maintaining good health and how to have one. A person should always know how to have a proper care of his body for him to have a good health so as to avoid diseases that might cause poor body condition, or worst, death. The environment is the physical set up of the surrounding. It determines and contributes a lot for the recovery of one person who had just been sick. It should be conducive enough for revitalization of one’s health. It should not be a kind of place that is prone to hazardous elements of pollution. Not just the physical set up here is being counted but also the people around are part of the environment that is why, physically and emotionally, environment is very important aspect in nursing the patient. Reference: Retrieved on September 30, 2007 from the Microsoft Encarta 2007. How to cite Personal Philosophy of Nursing, Papers Personal Philosophy of Nursing Free Essays A definition of a Philosophy is â€Å"when someone contemplates, or wonders, about something that serves as the blueprints or guides that incorporates each individual’s value and belief system. † (Chitty Black, 2007, p. 318) Personal Philosophy of Nursing is the core values and beliefs that a nurse upholds when taking care of another human being. We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Philosophy of Nursing or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is the belief that each individual no matter what disease, race, or economic status they have will get treated with the highest regards to compassion, integrity, and respect that they deserve. I Melissa Fielding believe that my personal nursing philosophy on September 13, 2009 would be to treat others as I would want to be treated. I would like to think that each individual patient has earned my compassion, integrity, and respect that they deserve. I choose nursing as my profession, to be able to take my compassion, knowledge, values and beliefs and apply them to the very ones who cannot take care of themselves. I believe that the very core of nursing is to maintain a good relationship with my patient and to be a patient advocate and to treat every human being with dignity and respect. My main focus for nursing to â€Å"practice compassion and respect in all professional relationships, by valuing the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of the health problems. †(, 2001, p. 1). I will take into consideration each patient who may not be the most pleasant patient as a sign that the patient is afraid of not knowing what is going on with them and I will maintain a calm, professional and reassuring manner with them. My vision for myself as a nurse is to remember to â€Å"promote health and wellness. †(Core of Nursing, 1999) to those in need without prejudice. I would like to provide the best care to all patients remembering that they come from all different backgrounds. To live out my philosophy of nursing, every day I must remember about my patients that I will continue to treat my patients the way that I would want myself or a family member to be treated with allowing them to be involved in the decision making regarding their care, respect, care, compassion, and dignity. I will continue to involve the family members in the decision making by being sympathetic to their own sensitivities, needs, encouragement and fears. I will continue to treat my fellow colleagues with respect, knowing that they can be a help in my values and beliefs when taking care of patients. I will continue to take care of my own health by staying fit, eating right, and getting plenty of rest which will allow me to be the best nurse I can strive for thus being the best caregiver my patients can look forward to. In conclusion, I feel that the philosophy of nursing is a combination of core values, and beliefs that teaches us to treat each human being with the respect, compassion, dignity, and uniqueness, regardless of disease, social or economic status, or race that they deserve. My focus with each patient will be to allow them to have the right to be involved in the decision making of their care as well as allowing their family members to be involved in the decision making. I will maintain my beliefs and values by treating every patient, or coworker with respect that they deserve. I believe that each person has a calling in life and it takes a special person to become a nurse. Nurses have to have a very strong belief and value system in order to give patients the care and compassion they so deserve. I believe that by continuing education and always looking for new ways to learn is the very core and philosophy of nursing. How to cite Personal Philosophy of Nursing, Essay examples

Mcdonalds Ethical Issues free essay sample

From what we have read and interpreted from the case, the main issue is the ethical criticism of the fast food giant, McDonald, in Europe. By referring to the case, the organizational ethical issues which are filled around McDonald consist of food health, ill-treatment of animals, exploitation of children, and destruction of rainforests. Besides, anti-globalization, anti-American, anti-McDonald’s activism, and Europe governments had also been the concerns and ethical challenges for the fast food giant. First of all, we will touch the field of food health. In this situation, McDonald’s as the world’s leading fast food company has inevitably been first in the firing line. The problem in obesity and health eating has confronted the company. The company has criticized for providing unbalance menu and insufficient nutrition information about their food. Consequently, it actively encourages consumers, especially teenagers and children to make unhealthy choices. This can be seen by its promotion of ‘Supersize’ portions in their menus. The multinational company has also been claimed for its standard fare of its high calorie burgers and fries as the major factor of spiraling obesity rate among the consumers. In 2002, the fast-food chain was accused of misleading young consumers about the health of its products. This lawsuit was brought on behalf of two New York children with great publicity that brought harms to the company. Another critical issues of McDonald’s organisational ethics is the claim that the company’s ‘exploits children’ with its advertising. The company was blamed for misleading the children about their food with the use of attractive advertisements to encourage the youngsters to choose their food and hence causes health problems to them. Besides, the organization also responsible for being cruel to animals. This could be referred to the incident that McDonald partial responsibility on the destruction of South American rain forest. By causing their natural habitats to be gone, it was considered as one of the ill-treatments to the animals. Low wages to the employees, ‘strongly antipathetic’ to unions, and especially the risks of the health of regular and long-term workers have also concerned the company along this time. In addition, these incidents had brought great damages to McDonald as it had attracted massive international publicity and media coverage as a wealth of information that critical to the company’s reputation are available through TV programme, documentary film, media articles, books and also a website known as ‘McSpotlight’. Moreover, the big-Mac was ‘under attack’. McDonald’s was at a crisis in 2002 as the company posted its first ever quarterly loss. Its share price was at a lowest by 2003. And the profits for McDonald’s in UK plummeted by 70 percent. This showed the circumstances from the unethical deeds by the fast-food giant. Such incidents can be taken as one of the major problems face by the world-leading fast food restaurant. The company has been performed well in the international market. Somehow, its accusations on the organisational ethics had caused the company to encounter such crisis in their business. This is rather a bad impact to McDonald’s either in its strategic planning or its managerial board management and decision making. Furthermore, the company might found it easy to enter the market of United States but it was another story in Europe. Europe is not so positive about the corporation’s approach and had protested it for the past few decades. As the fast-food giant enters the market of Europe, the anti-McDonald’s activists had also grown rapidly in the foundation of the fast food restaurant. One of the examples which can best explain such sayings is the story of Bove, a French sheep farmer and union leader. This ‘McHero’ became a folk hero as he held a campaign to defend small, local producers to stop the intrusion of the American multinational company. Another issue that we can talk about is the McLibel story which has been the legendary law trial in UK. Not only in Europe, the company has been facing the same problems at the rest of the world since the numbers of anti-globalization protesters was on the rise after millennium. The above occasions can be related with the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States forces that makes the anti-American feeling to grow among the international. Thus, this issue should be a critical concern for the big-Mac. Criticizes / Comments Based on the analysis, as a fast-food giant in the international market, the company should be more responsible in their production of food. It should concern about the nutrition in their burgers, fries, and beverages. As most of their customers are young teenagers and children, health issue can be the major factor in determining its business future. From the case, McDonald was irresponsible in delivering their nutrition information to their customers. They give insufficient knowledge about their food. Thus, such actions lead to the unhealthy food choice by the youngster. Moreover, the misuse of the advertisement in exploiting the children is also an action that said to be unethical in the operation of business. They mislead the children in their advertisement and take the health of the children at risk. The company should get warning and their lessons in such issue so that the benefits of customers can go under the consideration. Recommendation We would recommend that to solve the problem of pollutions with McDonald’s packaging and also the destruction to the South American rainforests, the company can use recycling paper bag instead of new paper bag (packaging) to reduce uses up resources and especially to reduce plastic bag in Asia countries. Though the operations expenses may increase the fast-food giant needs to be more concern to the social responsibility and provide a greener environment to the better life of every human being in world. In terms of healthy eating options, we also recommend that the soft drink such as Coke, Sprite and etc should be replace with less sugar, sugar-free or healthier beverages. For instance, we suggest milk to be served especially to the children in ‘happy meals’ as milk consists of high calcium and other vitamins which are useful for the healthy growth of the children and reduce diabetes among young people as soft drink contains a high amount of sugar. So, this step can be executed to encounter the problem of exploiting children. Other than that, we think that the amount of vegetables is not sufficient in burger. So, we should add more vegetables such as tomato which contains high vitamins that are good for health. The vegetables should be fresh to be eaten too for the sake of good health.

Mcdonalds Ethical Issues free essay sample

From what we have read and interpreted from the case, the main issue is the ethical criticism of the fast food giant, McDonald, in Europe. By referring to the case, the organizational ethical issues which are filled around McDonald consist of food health, ill-treatment of animals, exploitation of children, and destruction of rainforests. Besides, anti-globalization, anti-American, anti-McDonald’s activism, and Europe governments had also been the concerns and ethical challenges for the fast food giant. First of all, we will touch the field of food health. In this situation, McDonald’s as the world’s leading fast food company has inevitably been first in the firing line. The problem in obesity and health eating has confronted the company. The company has criticized for providing unbalance menu and insufficient nutrition information about their food. Consequently, it actively encourages consumers, especially teenagers and children to make unhealthy choices. This can be seen by its promotion of ‘Supersize’ portions in their menus. The multinational company has also been claimed for its standard fare of its high calorie burgers and fries as the major factor of spiraling obesity rate among the consumers. In 2002, the fast-food chain was accused of misleading young consumers about the health of its products. This lawsuit was brought on behalf of two New York children with great publicity that brought harms to the company. Another critical issues of McDonald’s organisational ethics is the claim that the company’s ‘exploits children’ with its advertising. The company was blamed for misleading the children about their food with the use of attractive advertisements to encourage the youngsters to choose their food and hence causes health problems to them. Besides, the organization also responsible for being cruel to animals. This could be referred to the incident that McDonald partial responsibility on the destruction of South American rain forest. By causing their natural habitats to be gone, it was considered as one of the ill-treatments to the animals. Low wages to the employees, ‘strongly antipathetic’ to unions, and especially the risks of the health of regular and long-term workers have also concerned the company along this time. In addition, these incidents had brought great damages to McDonald as it had attracted massive international publicity and media coverage as a wealth of information that critical to the company’s reputation are available through TV programme, documentary film, media articles, books and also a website known as ‘McSpotlight’. Moreover, the big-Mac was ‘under attack’. McDonald’s was at a crisis in 2002 as the company posted its first ever quarterly loss. Its share price was at a lowest by 2003. And the profits for McDonald’s in UK plummeted by 70 percent. This showed the circumstances from the unethical deeds by the fast-food giant. Such incidents can be taken as one of the major problems face by the world-leading fast food restaurant. The company has been performed well in the international market. Somehow, its accusations on the organisational ethics had caused the company to encounter such crisis in their business. This is rather a bad impact to McDonald’s either in its strategic planning or its managerial board management and decision making. Furthermore, the company might found it easy to enter the market of United States but it was another story in Europe. Europe is not so positive about the corporation’s approach and had protested it for the past few decades. As the fast-food giant enters the market of Europe, the anti-McDonald’s activists had also grown rapidly in the foundation of the fast food restaurant. One of the examples which can best explain such sayings is the story of Bove, a French sheep farmer and union leader. This ‘McHero’ became a folk hero as he held a campaign to defend small, local producers to stop the intrusion of the American multinational company. Another issue that we can talk about is the McLibel story which has been the legendary law trial in UK. Not only in Europe, the company has been facing the same problems at the rest of the world since the numbers of anti-globalization protesters was on the rise after millennium. The above occasions can be related with the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States forces that makes the anti-American feeling to grow among the international. Thus, this issue should be a critical concern for the big-Mac. Criticizes / Comments Based on the analysis, as a fast-food giant in the international market, the company should be more responsible in their production of food. It should concern about the nutrition in their burgers, fries, and beverages. As most of their customers are young teenagers and children, health issue can be the major factor in determining its business future. From the case, McDonald was irresponsible in delivering their nutrition information to their customers. They give insufficient knowledge about their food. Thus, such actions lead to the unhealthy food choice by the youngster. Moreover, the misuse of the advertisement in exploiting the children is also an action that said to be unethical in the operation of business. They mislead the children in their advertisement and take the health of the children at risk. The company should get warning and their lessons in such issue so that the benefits of customers can go under the consideration. Recommendation We would recommend that to solve the problem of pollutions with McDonald’s packaging and also the destruction to the South American rainforests, the company can use recycling paper bag instead of new paper bag (packaging) to reduce uses up resources and especially to reduce plastic bag in Asia countries. Though the operations expenses may increase the fast-food giant needs to be more concern to the social responsibility and provide a greener environment to the better life of every human being in world. In terms of healthy eating options, we also recommend that the soft drink such as Coke, Sprite and etc should be replace with less sugar, sugar-free or healthier beverages. For instance, we suggest milk to be served especially to the children in ‘happy meals’ as milk consists of high calcium and other vitamins which are useful for the healthy growth of the children and reduce diabetes among young people as soft drink contains a high amount of sugar. So, this step can be executed to encounter the problem of exploiting children. Other than that, we think that the amount of vegetables is not sufficient in burger. So, we should add more vegetables such as tomato which contains high vitamins that are good for health. The vegetables should be fresh to be eaten too for the sake of good health.

Organizational Challenges and the Role of Leadership

Introduction The global economic recession, which began in 2007, emphasized the importance of leadership in modern organizations. Such scholar as Warren Bennis argues that these challenges can force educators and managers to reconsider their understanding of leadership if they want to better respond to various challenges (2007, p. 1).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Challenges and the Role of Leadership specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These individuals will have to change their attitude toward communication, decision-making, and structure of their organizations. There are numerous definitions of this concept; overall, it can be understood as the ability to influence and inspire other people and make them committed to ones ideas and strategies (Northouse 2009, p. 5). Many researchers such as Penny Tamkin and Stephen Overell believe that post-recession leaders will have to meet much higher standards in order to sustain their companies during this recession (2009, p. 1). Furthermore, special attention should be paid to negotiation strategies since they are an integral element of leadership and have to reflect the interest of an entire organization. This paper is aimed at analyzing the impacts of economic recession on leadership theory and practice. In particular, it is necessary to single out those aspects of leadership and negotiations practices which become important during this crisis. Economic crisis and its impact on leadership Overall, the ongoing economic recession prompted many people to reconsider modern definition of leadership and leaders. Many corporate executives as well as educators understood this term as the exercise of power and authority within hierarchical structure of the organization (Tamkin Overell 2009, p. 8). Yet, this strictly functional interpretation of this concept overlooks the responsibilities of leaders and their roles. The fallacy of this defini tion has been eloquently illustrated by numerous corporate scandals which broke out during the recession. It has become apparent that many corporate executives failed to take into account the interest of different stakeholders, especially investors, customers, and employees. This crisis showed that some foundational principles of should be reevaluated. This is one of the reasons why a group of scholars under the guidance of Craig Perrin suggested a new model for evaluating the work of leaders. Their framework singles out several aspects or â€Å"zones† of leadership, namely 1) people; 2) society; 3) business; 4) reflection, and 5) ingenuity (Perrin et al, n.d. p.6).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There are several peculiarities of this model. First of all, it expands the range of a leader’s responsibility. This person has to be accountable to shareholders, emp loyees, and community. This responsibility and accountability were often overlooked by corporate executives before the recession. The second principle is that he/she should be aware about the incompleteness of his/her knowledge (Perrin et al, n.d. p.8). Although this recommendation may appear to be self-evident, it is particularly relevant in the light of economic crisis which was largely caused by irresponsible managerial policies and complete confidences in ones knowledge and decision-making skills. Additionally, this zonal approach to leadership attaches great importance to ingenuity and innovation. According to Perrin et al, the efforts of corporate executives were focused on the preservation of status quo and gaining short-term profits. As a result, their organizations were unable to respond to challenges such as economic recession. It is worth mentioning that many managers attempted to predict and measure specific risks to which their organizations were exposed. This is why th ese organizations were unable to respond to various economic, social, and technological changes. Thus, the ability of leaders to adapt quickly to changing environment becomes crucial during the time of turmoil. In addition, many practitioners and scholars indicate that a leader should be able to see opportunities for the organization and explore them (Tamkin Overell 2009, p. 18). In other words, this person should have a vision of how the company can grow in the long term (Ihlenfeldt 2011). Unfortunately, this aspect has often been neglected executives. To some degree, the ideas of these scholars are supported by corporate leaders whose companies survived the recession. For instance, one can mention Herbert Henkel who restructured the company Ingersoll Rand, developed contingency plans, and reduced inventory long before the recession (Carey, Patsalos-Fox, Useem 2009, p. 2). His ideas were highly unpopular, and many people believed that he had been almost incompetent. Yet, his poli cies helped the company sustain itself during the crisis. His example indicates that a leader should have the courage to do the unpopular thing. Moreover, he should be able to see the challenges which an organization can face.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Challenges and the Role of Leadership specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The crisis has shown that autocratic management is not the most effective way of leadership because it essentially slows down the exchange of information and decision-making within the company. A good leader is a person who can empower other people (Tamkin Overell 2009, p. 18). To better illustrate this point, we can mention Eric Foss who is the CEO of Pepsi Bottling Group. This corporate leader emphasized the importance of involving board into decision-making (Carey, Patsalos-Fox, Useem 2009, p.5). This cooperation enabled the company to see the magnitude of oncoming rec ession and work out contingency plans. Responsibility and integrity can also be viewed as an attributes of leadership. They can be the key to the survival of a company. In this case, one can mention Terry Lundgren, the CEO of a retailing company Macy. Inc. He warned both investors and employees about future crisis and this helped him gain the trust of these people (Carey, Patsalos-Fox, Useem 2009, p.6). He preferred to say something very unpopular, but in this way he averted panic among investors and workers. Overall, corporate managers described in this paper preferred democratic style of leadership. Similarly, we can mention the companies which failed during recession. One of them is Lehman Brothers. Its executives lacked the qualities typical of leaders, especially integrity and sense of responsibility toward investors and employees. Moreover, they preferred autocratic style of leadership. There are numerous theories and models of leadership, for instance, one can mention trait theory, transformational leadership, role models approach, style theory, and so forth. They describe the character traits of a leader and his/her behavior (Ephross Vassil 2005, p. 53). It is rather difficult to say that the economic recession called a dramatically new approach. Yet, these challenge demonstrated that leadership should be closely tied to such things as social responsibility, ability to innovate and make organization more agile, empowerment of other people, and understanding of ones limitations. These are the main concepts that were highlighted by the recession.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Negotiations concepts and economic recession Negotiation is one of the most important activities in which leaders participate. Such researchers as Chia-Jung Tsay and Max Bazerman point out that very often corporate executives prove to be extremely egocentric and overconfident (2009, p. 7); as a result, they disregard the interests of other stakeholders. Additionally, these scholars identify another fallacy which leaders should definitely avoid, and it is motivated illusion (Tsay Bazerman 2009, p. 8). The thing is that many senior executives tend to be over-confident in their ability to control events which can hardly be predicted (Tsay Bazerman 2009, p. 8). The recent economic recession highlighted these errors. It demonstrated that many corporate leaders were over-confident and egocentric. Therefore, they endangered their companies. Overall, a person, who takes part in the process of negotiations, must know his/her limitations, especially if we are speaking about knowledge and co ntrol. Otherwise, negotiations will essentially be fruitless. Thus, a leader, who takes part in negotiations, should avoid cognitive biases which prevent him/her from taking irresponsible decisions. On the whole, negotiation is an inseparable component of leadership. Those people, who are responsible for the management of different organizations, can negotiate with their business partners, competitors, colleagues, and so forth (Lewicki Hiam 2006). Additionally, the process of negotiations should certainly reflect the interests of the main stakeholders. Unfortunately, very often it is driven primarily by ambitions of corporate executives, willingness to achieve short-term gains (Silkenat, Aresty Klosek 2009). The leaders should represent the entire organizations. Therefore, they need to think about the effect of negotiations which is dependent on their company. Thus, managers and leaders should focus on intellectual and ethical elements of negotiation since they are equally necessa ry for the success. Again, the significance of ethical and intellectual elements was emphasized by the crisis which was caused by unscrupulous business policies, orientation toward short-term results, and the belief in ones infallibility. These pitfalls have to be overcome by modern leaders. Conclusion Recession is one of those organizational challenges which prompt leaders to display their best qualities in order to sustain their companies. The failure of many executives to cope with their duties calls for a new type of leadership. It is possible to single out several elements of leadership, in particular, vision, social responsibility, empowerment of other people, willingness to improve ones professional qualities. These elements are essential for the sustainability of profit and non-profit organizations. This essay has touched upon negotiations as an important element of leadership. This activity has to reflect the interests of various stakeholders can effect the organization. Th e changes notion of leadership can have significance implication for the training of future business administrators. Moreover, it can affect the policies of different organizations. References Bennis, W. 2007, ‘The Challenges of Leadership in the Modern World’, American Psychologists, vol. 62, no. 1, pp. 2-5. Web. Carey, D., Patsalos-Fox, M. Useem, M. 2009, ‘Leadership lessons for hard times’, McKinsey Quarterly, pp. 1-9. Web. Ephross, P. Vassil, T. 2005, Groups that work: Structure and process, Columbia University Press, NY. Ihlenfeldt, W. 2011, Visionary Leadership: A Proven Pathway to Visionary Change, AuthorHouse, NY. Lewicki, R. Hiam, A 2006, Mastering business negotiation: a working guide to making deals and resolving conflict, John Wiley Sons, NY. Northouse, P. 2009, Leadership: Theory and Practice. SAGE, London. Perrin, C., Blauth, C., Apthorp, E. et al., Developing the 21st-century leader: A multi-level analysis of global trends in leadership c hallenges and practices. Web Silkenat, J., Aresty, J. Klosek, J. 2009, The ABA guide to international business negotiations: A comparison of cross-cultural issues and successful approaches. American Bar Association, NY. Tamkin, P. Overell, S. 2009, After the collapse: Post recession leaders and leadership. Provocation Paper 5, The Good Work Commission. Web. Tsay, C. Bazerman, M. 2009, A decision-making perspective to negotiation: A review of the past and a look into the future. Working Paper, Harvard Business School. Web. This essay on Organizational Challenges and the Role of Leadership was written and submitted by user Cody D. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Uncommon Author - An Interview with Eliot Peper

Uncommon Author - An Interview with Eliot Peper Uncommon Author - An Interview with Eliot Peper â€Å"For someone who loves a book, would make their day? What would make them happy or make them think of it again or think that it’s cool? And I’m always struggling with that.†Update! We interview Eliot again for the release of the sequel to Uncommon Stock - come check it out!Eliot Peper is the nicest man in the world. At least, that’s how we felt coming away from our interview. His first novel, ‘Uncommon Stock,’ a startup thriller, is both an indie success story and the debut book from Colorado’s FG Press. Eliot’s background is in venture capital and consulting for the tech industry, including spells running his own startups. We met to talk about what it was like transitioning from entrepreneur to authorpreneur, and what it was like working with the newly-minted FG Press.Edit: As of 2016, FG Press has closed its doors. Eliot Peper is now a full-time indie author.- -REEDSYYour first novel is about startups. You’ve had pl enty of experiences in the business world, but had you written much before?ELIOT PEPERI hadn’t written fiction since high school, but I had experience with storytelling. My background was in startups -  I was a founder, then an early employee at a couple of different startups, and then an entrepreneur-in-residence at a VC fund. As you guys I’m sure know yourselves, the fuzzy front-end of building a business, most of it’s storytelling. You’re trying to pitch investors, you’re trying to bring in talent, you’re trying to tell people about the problem you’re trying to address; you’re always telling stories whether it’s to customers, investors, partners, team members -  that’s a lot of what you do on a day-to-day basis. So I’d been doing a ton of that, but I’d not been doing anything like writing a novel.REEDSYI thought it was interesting how widely your book was picked up by the b usiness community. A lot of business writing is generally non-fiction, right?ELIOT PEPERNon-fiction is interesting for obvious reasons. Most non-fiction is â€Å"Here are the lessons I learned doing something,† or with biographies â€Å"What did this person learn through living their life?† For business, I find fiction particularly interesting because it gives you this secret window inside the character’s head.There’s a boatload of non-fiction out there about business -  â€Å"I built GM, or I was the CEO of X company, so here are the things you should think about when starting a company or in your daily life.† But it doesn’t show you that, as I’m sure you guys are experiencing right now, when you’re building a business it’s a human experience, right? Especially for founders who are struggling through their first company or their first couple of companies. It’s a crazy emotional roller coaster. The hum an side of startups doesn’t get a lot of exposure because everyone wants to talk about advice and best practices. Few people want to talk about how it destroyed their relationship with their wife; or how they were sleeping with their co-founder; or how for their series B round they were about to get a ten-x valuation bump on the first round until lead investor had a heart attack the night before and it fucked up their entire company. That stuff happens all the time. I’ve been shocked by the shit that goes down in Silicon Valley.People don’t talk about that stuff publicly in a non-fiction context -  they don’t want to make that their sort of public life. The beauty of fiction is that you can experience that alongside the character. You can give people a window into what it’s like to be the startup or to be in business. And I think for people interested in learning about entrepreneurship that’s really special because there’s a lot more to it that just lean product development.REEDSYYeah, like you don’t need to have abstracted a principle for a story to be useful to someoneELIOT PEPERI’m sure you guys are experiencing this if you have advisors or mentors that you’re going to for advice. You’ll talk to one guy and he’ll say â€Å"Well, in my last business we did this, and we learned that you have to do X.† Then you talk to someone else and they’ll give you the exact opposite advice based on a totally different anecdote.A lot of business non-fiction is like that -  it’s a lot of anecdotes, and it’s really easy to mythologise people. So you look at the big names like Steve Jobs or whatever, and once they’ve achieved success it always feels like you can retroactively go back and say why they achieved success in the past. That’s a really weird thing to do. From a scientific process perspective that’s really bad, b ut that essentially covers all narrative non-fiction. You have to have that â€Å"What did you learn at the end of the fable?† ending, and I think fiction gives you a lot more freedom in that sense. You’re exploring just how humans wrestle with and overcome obstacles. Those obstacles could be killing Gilgamesh, or it could be taking a company public.REEDSYIt’s like parables, basically, or Aristotle’s version of Ethics. He doesn’t try to say what bravery is, he just says â€Å"Bravery is Achilles.†ELIOT PEPERI think the human mind is wired to understand complex problems through stories. It’s boring to read a complex problem that isn’t part of narrative.REEDSYHow have you applied your startup background to the daily routine of writing? I feel like a lot of startup advice is of the ‘work smarter, not harder’ variety. Can you apply that to writing?ELIOT PEPERI think the process of writing is very grinding, in terms of the actual drafting of the manuscript. I don’t even know how you would go about doing that smarter. I don’t really outline, I just spend time brainstorming constantly. On a walk I’ll think about where the characters are, where things are heading, what the next scene should be, what the final scene should be. I feel like I’m in good shape if I know the next scene I’m gonna write, and some kind of North Star that the climax will be. If I have more than that planned out it usually gets stale or I don’t stick to it anyway. I have to spend time immersed in the world psychologically, then I sit down, start writing, and there’s very little I can do aside from forcing myself to make the time, sit in front of Word, and not go on twitter. A lot of it is knowing how to be diligent and how to have discipline.That corresponds to business. It’s way too prevalent with my friends in tech and the startup world who are like â€Å"Oh my God I wa s up until 4am finishing this last release!† To me that’s like saying â€Å"Oh my God, I’m terrible at managing my time!† You know, that’s basically what you’re saying. It was less that I tried to take the lesson ‘work hard at all costs,’ and instead take the lesson ‘only do what matters.’ That’s really difficult to do.As an author it’s so easy to spend all my time blogging and emailing and pitching journalists or influencers to try and get more coverage for the book, to do events, to do signings, to just be on Twitter and Facebook or whatever promotional tools you’re using. You can let that suck away all your time. But at the end of the day the people who read my books, my actual readers, they just want the next book -  they don’t give a shit what I post on Twitter. To an extent, me having a public face, at least they can feel like they’re getting to know me.But you rea lly have to look back and say â€Å"I need to be spending at least the majority of my time doing what actually matters.† In business it’s just as difficult. It’s very easy to spend your time just being external facing when the only reason people are going to be interested in you is to improve their lives by solving a problem. If you’re not solving that problem in what you’re doing every day, that’s a problem.I think that’s probably the one lesson I took from business. The ‘work smarter, not harder’ side’s more relevant in the PR side of things and how you connect with readers. We’re trying to experiment with that. I have a twitter account for the protagonist of ‘Uncommon Stock.’ We built a real website for the fictional startup in the book. We got Foundry Group, the VC firm, to announce an investment in them on April Fools day. That’s sort of fun. My dearest hope is that if I do something that delights my readers, that when they’re at happy hour tonight and they’re quaffing a beer, they’ll say to their friend â€Å"OK, they actually did this.† If that happens that’s one more word-of-mouth referral. Anything I can do to inspire or delight my readers, that’s what I’m going for.REEDSYIt seems like delighting a reader is much healthier than growth hacking.ELIOT PEPERYeah. If you look at the public discourse about how to get readers, the majority of it is the growth hacking kind of stuff. It’s all about how can you engineer your own success and manipulate people into liking you, and I don’t know -  I don’t really like to be manipulated as a reader, so I don’t really want to do that as a writer.REEDSYDo you have any role-models in the self-publishing space?ELIOT PEPERI like Hugh Howey. He’s the wà ¼nderkind, right? But he’s also really personal and personable. He shares what he does, and it feels real. Or, you know Neal Stephenson? He’s a prototypical Big 5 author; he’s been a best-selling author for decades, he has a huge audience, in that sense he’s very mainstream. But he writes on Slashdot and other random forums all the time. The people writing for the New York Times Book Review would never have heard of these places. He’s interesting because if you go to his website, it’s pretty minimal. It’s sort of lame. But he’s also on Slashdot and all these random place, writing super in-depth, honest answers to forum questions from trolls. I find that compelling because it’s like â€Å"That’s pretty cool, you’re just being real, that’s who you are, you’re a sort of goofy nerdy guy, you read Slashdot so you started writing there too.† It’s been very popular. His forum posts turn into memes that people share around writing blogs -  I think thatâ €™s fun.You don’t even have to stick to publishing. Macklemore self-published his first albums, was never signed by a major label, and was able to build a fan-base because his songs are awesome and he made funny videos for them. Now he’s turned that into having some of the top-listed songs over the past couple of years. That’s pretty cool, that’s pretty fun. With the writers I admire most the biggest thing is they write really good stuff, but the other part is in the rest of their lives they come across as really genuine.REEDSYWhat sort of relationship are you building between yourself and your readers?ELIOT PEPERI try to think of writing as literally storytelling. I don’t just hand over the manuscript and that’s that. I try to think of it like I’m literally sitting at a campfire talking to people. If you’re sitting at a campfire with your friends, you don’t want to be awkward, right? It’s better to tell a sto ry they want to hear. And afterwards you’re still their friend. It’s not like the relationship is over -  you’re going to roast marshmallows over the fire and have a conversation about it. That’s how I look at being a writer. I can connect with my readers in a new way or share something with them they might not otherwise know. Like on my blog I write about business because some of my readers are interested in startups and that’s part of why they read my stuff, but I also share personal stuff because if they like my book they might want to know more about me.Do you know Joss Whedon? I find him really interesting. I’m not very sophisticated about films, but what he’s famous for is that while many of the shows he’s made haven’t been that popular in terms of ratings, the people who did watch it were obsessed with it. He’s had the highest aftermarket sales of anyone. The prototypical guy for this is George Lucas. He turned a weird 70s sci-fi movie into the underlying mythology of America, and represents some enormous amount of toy sales and other crazy external licensing sales.The guys who are now doing all these superhero movies are obsessed with Joss Whedon because they’re trying to do the same with these comic book franchises. So they’re trying to take X-Men and turn it into these multiple blockbuster movies but also have video-games and all these other ways fans can experience the story. Joss says he has one question in mind that I think applies to every authors, and that’s â€Å"What can you do that would really delight your fans?† For people who really like your story, how can you double down and give them extra stuff that they would just want more and more of if they really love that story? There’s a really wonderful essay on this, that’s also relevant for early-stage entrepreneurs, called ‘1000 True Fans’.I’m still figuring that out. If people read Uncommon Stock, what more would they want? I know they’d want the sequel because they’re all asking for it, so that’s good -  I’m working on that. But beyond that what are other things that, for someone who loves a book, would make their day? What would make them happy or make them think of it again or think that it’s cool? And I’m always struggling with that.If I was constantly thinking about how I could sell more books, I wouldn’t enjoy the experience of being a writer much. If I want to look at the world cynically, my experience becomes cynical.REEDSYIt’s a bad filter on the creative process.ELIOTYou’re going to have a filter no matter what. If your filter is ‘how can I create something that people will love,’ that’s a fun filter to have. If your filter is ‘how can I create something that people will buy, not only is that less fun from the creativ e perspective, but it’s also very difficult to ascertain. It’s not obvious what people will buy. If you’re trying to select for that, it doesn’t mean you’re going to have any higher chance of success than someone who’s just trying to create something that people will love, and they’re going to have a much better time doing it.REEDSYYou worked with FG Press on ‘Uncommon Stock’ -  what was that like? Did it free you from the commercial pressures traditionally published authors work with, like having to earn out an advance?ELIOTFirst of all, FG Press gives no advances. You have a 50/50 split on all royalties. A typical big-5 contract gives the author about 15% -  that’s fancy math, but that’s more or less what it breaks down to. FG Press is giving a much larger cut on royalties and they’re giving no advance, and I wanted it that way. I think the advance system sets up the wrong in centive. Then the author is writing a book and selling it to a publisher, rather than selling it to a reader. The people who are important to me are my readers. My publisher is important to the extent that they help me either produce something better or do something that makes my readers more happy. I would self-publish in a heartbeat if FG Press was not providing those things for me.The commercial pressures are tied to advances, but the reason that authors are subject to those pressures is because they want the advance. That’s where things can get messy, and that’s part of what FG Press set out to try to do differently. Does that create different challenges? Of course. If you’re not giving advances, the writer has to support themselves until book sales start coming in -  if they do. That’s not a universally good decision -  you need to choose which risk factors you want to take on to produce the kind of content you want to make. T hat’s what they’re doing, that’s their model, and that’s why it’s different. They’re betting that authors who publish through them willingly want to build a readership and want to earn money based on how popular the damn book is, regardless of whether a high-level editor thinks you have potential.REEDSYWhat is FG Press offering their authors in exchange for the initial 50%?ELIOT PEPERFirst of all they’re writing the checks for the initial production costs. It’s true, they take that financial risk, so that’s great for authors who can’t write the checks to take the risks for editing and production. That’s useful and it shows that they’re committed to the title. It just doesn’t cost that much to produce a book. The part where they really add value is through helping to establish a community of readers. As a -  very personal -  example I was sharing my book with Brad becaus e I thought he would like it, and he’s a well-known guy among people who might also like it. If he likes it and writes a review of it, it could be really useful for helping me connect with new readers.When I wrote the book and we released it, that was super useful. Not only did he post about it but he talked to TechStars. TechStars bought ‘Uncommon Stock’ on a license for all of TechStars -  present and future founders. So every TechStars person now gets sent a digital copy of Uncommon Stock. I’d have never been able to achieve that on my own because I don’t have those relationships and I don’t know those people. But working with FG Press it was really cool to be able to do things like that. Or as another example, Foundry Group issued a fake investment. Would they have done that if I was a random self-published author? Probably not, right? So there have been many opportunities working with them for serendipity in terms of working with them that have definitely benefitted me hugely and that I really appreciate that I think also benefit readers. That was a cute stunt, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that for readers.Honestly, the way that I see it at the end of the day and the way that I think FG press is trying to build themselves and the philosophy they take to the table is that they want to just create a publishing model that makes common sense for authors and book production, and then they want to treat everyone like a friend. I’m doing a panel at a tech event. I called FG Press and said â€Å"Guys, I have this opportunity with this big panel -  wouldn’t it be fun if we could like get excerpts of the book to everyone going?† So we’re creating this co-branded landing page where everyone can go pick them up if they want to. Then FG Press said â€Å"If you’re looking for people for the panel, here are a couple of CEOs in the Foundry portfolio that cou ld be a good fit.† So that’s awesome, it makes the panel even better. And so I get to meet a bunch of CEOs who give me good material for my sequel. It’s an all-around everybody-wins.REEDSYHow important was it working with an editor?ELIOT PEPERFirst of all, I need an editor, and I think anyone who thinks they don’t is crazy. If you want to produce something that’s really fun to read, it needs to be edited by someone who knows what they’re doing.I had a couple of different stages. I shared the drafts with Brad but he wasn’t providing on-going feedback and I didn’t want him to. When I’m working on my first rough draft feedback slows me down, it doesn’t speed me up. I need to basically vomit onto the page, and then take that sack of shit in Word format and try to make it better. My first filtration process to try to make it slightly better was sending it to a couple of beta readers who I’d been really selective with. These were people who I had to trust would both be super honest -  not just say it was nice or whatever. I had to know that they’d give me lot of constructive negative feedback.They also each had a specific perspective they could add. One of them for example was probably the top Angel investor in San Diego, and he also studied Literature at Stanford. And so he has this dual perspective of knowing a lot about the English language and loving books, but also being very involved in tech and early-stage startups. I had a friend from grad school, who ended up being my developmental editor, who used to be an editorial exec in Hollywood. She had the whole movie perspective on how those structured plot elements. Movies are incredibly structured stories, and I don’t know that stuff. Having her perspective to help inform where the story could be improved was really useful. They sent back feedback in different forms. Some sent an email with high-level thoughts, s ome people sent me page references. I thought it through, took it on balance, incorporated it.Then I wanted to do a more in-depth, structural look at it because, as I said, I don’t really outline. That’s how I feel comfortable in the creative process but it means more work at the end because you end up having things that don’t work or don’t make sense or aren’t tight enough in terms of plot and character development. So I did three rounds of developmental editing with my friend from grad school. We made a lot of notes, had a couple of phone conversations, and then I would go through and address the problems I thought were important. We did three of those, and each got more gritty. The first one, she didn’t even make notes. She read it, wrote down thoughts, talked through some of the high-level issues. The next one was more scene-oriented, and the final one was more paragraph-by-paragraph.Once we were done with that, I did one more round of b eta readers, different people, got different feedback, incorporate it†¦ and that’s when Brad was giving a lot of detailed feedback. Finally, once we were satisfied with the content we moved onto language. So I did a round of copyediting, then two rounds of proofreading before formatting it for Kindle and print and all that.REEDSYThanks for your time Eliot.