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Newsletter – 02 Feb 2009 – Dots and Snow
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I’m writing this newsletter from a London covered in 6 inches of SNOW.
It’s the heaviest falls in 18 years apparently.
Meanwhile my family in Adelaide, South Australia are complaining that they have now had more than 7 days of over 100 degrees.
And I just heard on the news that in Japan they have a volcano erupting.
Don’t we live on an interesting planet?

Last week we talked about a famous American who is currently in the news – President Barack Obama.

Another famous American was also in the news last week, but was probably overshadowed by the great events that were happening – Steve Jobs of Apple Computers.
The news there wasn’t so good for either Steve or Apple, in that it appears that Steve may have to step down from Apple, even if only temporarily, to combat his ongoing illness.

I’ll leave it to the financial analysts and gurus to determine what effect this may have on Apple, but one thing is clear – over the years Steve Jobs has provided Apple with a focus and a vision.
In fact, Steve has often made comments which provide guidance and inspiration for many of us in our lives.

For those of you who aspire to a career in IT or a better job in IT, he had some interesting words to say in a speech made at Stanford University on June 14, 2005.
He talked about “connecting the dots”.
This is a great example of how an odd, seemingly irrelevant bit of knowledge became priceless.
(The full text of the speech can be found at http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html )

In summary, Steve, in his college drop-out days, in fact used to “drop-in” and take odd classes in things he found interesting rather than useful.

One of these was calligraphy – not something you might think would have a very practical use in today’s world. In fact, when Apple designed the first Macintosh computer many years later, it made extensive use of the principles of calligraphy.

Now I’m not suggesting for a minute that you all rush out and enrol in calligraphy classes! But the principle applies.

Many IT jobs require a broad knowledge of a wide range of topics, and it’s the people who have that broad knowledge who can seize the opportunities as they arise.

It’s not always clear just what knowledge you need to realise a better future for yourself.
Some people become ever more expert in a particular narrow subject, thinking that this level of specialisation will help them.

We at Jack's Guides disagree. We believe we are in the era of the “Generalist”, where a broad knowledge about lots of things is more useful than expert status in a narrow field.

In future newsletters we will talk more about this concept of “The Generalist”.

Jack's Guides can show you what you need to know, and how to get that knowledge without spending a fortune.

For our full list of publications see our website at www.jacksguides.com
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This newsletter is published by Kevin Ramsey for Jack's Guides. Copyright (c) 2001 - 2009, all rights reserved.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted without the express written consent of the publisher or contributing editors and or writers.

DISCLAIMER: We disclaim any liability for the use of Any contributed information contained herein.

I hope you've enjoyed this issue of our newsletter. Please let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or requests.

Enjoy and prosper in your chosen career.

Till the next issue.
Kevin Ramsey Founder of Jack's Guides