(Zuk B. 2011)

My absence from the blog pages, can be easily attributed to my preoccupation with another typing project. One of the more difficult typing projects of my life, (so far)..

As I slowly and methodically ticked off all the formal courses in my MBA program, the last one should have been a quick rush to the finish line.  After all five months to make up a story on a topic that interests you seems like plenty of time.

Having never written a research project, I quickly became frustrated in phase one. ‘Refine the proposal.’  I’m a creative writer, and tend not to think to hard about what will be going into the next line until I get there.

(  not sure what to put in this line * NOTE to self * get back to this line to complete... )

I have immersed myself in a plethora of business books that  teach efficiencies and motivation, how to advance ones career, and 10 habits that everyone should have.  I kept further refining  the proposed project for my professor, by narrowing the subject matter for a little more each e-mail.
Motivation -->  non-monitory motivation -->  only remote employees…Aah OK that will work
And so I was on a venture to gather all the data  I could gather on how to motivate an employee you never see, and comment on how to do so without financial incentives.

Rather than review the 67 page paper at this time I’ll summarize it simply by stating;  hire good people who love their job, and be a good boss by communicating regularly with whatever technology the employee uses to perform their work.

So why did these last few weeks pain me so? - References!
All these great business books, and journal articles, reference the work of a prior author,  and an author before that, a past research study, or a dead psychologist.  Knowing when to reference the last book you read or the original source became a challenge of enormous proportions.  Along the way I would get side tracked by new research studies, interesting articles and new knowledge that would suck me from the task at hand.  At one point I found myself referencing papers from the 17th century (Lock,J. 1689) but stopped short reaching for the Bible ..”In the Beginning…”(Moses, Gen1:1).

I’m pleased to report that I have completed this paper and completed my formal MBA training.  My reading has expanded to include all those non-business books and dog training manuals. I still find myself getting sidetracked on interesting journal articles, and digging for the root of the information source, but this was probably the intention behind this project.

I believe this exercise in research will build on my ability to gather information, and dig to the truth on a topic.  This in turn will allow me to share with you more of:
“Things that I’ve learned”

Go out and Make it a great day,
Love what you read, and always get to the source of your information.

Blaine