More info on Eat to Live! Great blog explaining the plan better than I could! Check out his revised food pyramid! <3!!!
Nutritarianism: a diet made for efficient eating
Dr. Fuhrman, physician, nutritional researcher and author of NY Times best seller “Eat To Live”, has developed a new diet and food pyramid based on efficient eating. That is, eating the least amounts of foods for the highest nutritional gain. His method for determining these foods is as simple as his explanation:
“Health = Nutrients / Calories (H = N / C). Low-calorie, nutrient dense foods are at the base of the pyramid, and high-calorie, nutrient poor foods are at the top. As nutrient density decreases, the quantity of room in the diet decreases.” (source)
Dr. Fuhrman is a researcher in preventative health, and believes that many diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes can be prevented by a high nutrient-rich diet. He has developed his own food pyramid (pictured above) and challenged the USDA’s food pyramid saying that it, “reflects the American diet as it is” not how it should be.
He points out that eating low-nutrient and high calorie foods such as snack foods, dairy products, and red meat. He calls these types of foods “toxic foods” and he means this literally. These are the foods that lead to many fatal diseases. He explains that eating these foods “leads to increased cellular toxicity with undesirable levels of free radicals and advanced glycation end products (AGE’s), lipofuscin, lipid A2E and other toxins that contribute to the development of chronic disease.”(source) The after effects are another stage he calls “toxic hunger” that is the desire to eat more low nutrient foods, and lots of them. This is a huge factor in weight gain as well as the reason calorie counting diets does’t work.
Fuhrman is not the first person to suggest this type of diet, many whole foodists like Dr. Colin Campbell, Dr. Robert Lustig, and countless other preventative health researchers.
To find out more about the Nutritarian Diet visit www.drfuhrman.com
Business school claims to be similar to the real world, pushing us to sharpen our presentation skills. As cocky as it sounds, I’ve always been a good presenter. I did theater for twelve years, and I’m not the least bit nervous in front of a group. That being said, I was all nerves and energy yesterday at my end of summer internship presentation.
In the room were 6 executives, all listening to the recommendations I’d spent researching all summer. I had 20 minutes (or so I thought) to present. I launched right in, and calmly and articulately presented my 11 initiatives in exactly 20 minutes. At the end, I took questions. There were a few logistical questions, but overall, the feedback was good.
When my boss emailed me later that day, her feedback was good but with a few adjustments (because I have to present again to our India office). She told me to go slower, leave room for questions and conversation DURING the presentation. When you are trying to get people engaged with your projects (looking for approval), you want them to feel like they can engage as you talk about it. Unlike school presentations, where you are under time constraints, or presentations such as venture capital pitches, a business presentation is all about buy-in.
I noticed a similar trend when I observed the other MBA interns presentations last week. They were constantly interrupted, executives taking notes, asking people to follow-up, getting clarification from other managers, etc. Three presentations “won” the opportunity to present to the CPO, and the ones that won were arguably the most engaged presentations. There was an interaction factor with the audience as well as the space in the presentation to field these questions.
When presenting an idea in school, we sometimes forget that in the real world, our ideas should spark enthusiasm, concern (if the news isn’t good) or any other range of emotions other then boredom and disinterest. In school, there is a disconnect because the audience often isn’t “real.” They are not invested in the outcome the way people are when they are actually at a job they care about. In retrospect, my presentation was still pretty good, but it lacked a personalization to my audience that I hope to bring out on Wednesday.
In an effort to share what I’ve learned, here are a few tips for presenters:
- Never assume someone has done their homework. If there was a pre-read assigned, or some other knowledge assumption, just start off the presentation by asking who has read the material. It will help you to contextualize your presentation as you go if you know who is up to speed.
- Keep your slides in ppt simple and create animations that allow the eye to follow your presentation. It’s not a bad thing to have a lot of words on one slide, as long as it is organized and you can guide your audience to focus on what you are talking about. A simple rectangle with transitions can focus the eye in a clean way. You don’t have to be a ppt expert!
- Tell a story. You need to have a beginning, middle and end. You need to have characters and the highs & lows. Think about this as you build your presentation and make sure the conversation you have with your audience feels like story time.
- It can’t possibly be all bad. When presenting situational analysis, it is important to build off of both the positive and negative. Especially in corporate presentations, people don’t want to be told everything their doing is a “failing,” so you need to be especially aware of the politics involved.
- You are selling your recommendations. Be upbeat, excited, and enthusiastic. If you don’t think these are interesting ideas, your audience sure won’t.
- At the end of a presentation, everyone wonders, “what now?” Make sure to include clear next steps with possible owners. If you don’t want people to assume that you’ll be taking all of this on, then include who (or what department) you intend to collaborate with.
- Don’t read your slides. If you want to just recite your slides, then you might as well not present, just send them to people. A presentation is to creatively engage your audience. You can read some of the slide information, but they should be crafted as jumping off points. Make sure you add context that your slides cannot provide.
Good luck and enjoy! Presentations, while anxiety creating, are also one of the most rewarding things you can do in your career. The instant gratification of seeing people’s reactions is much better then sending a report that could lead to false reactions.
Yahoo! Feet
Nothing like team bonding over mani/pedis! (Very glad my team is all ladies!)
Comic-con has catered to their audience en masse. They realize the expanding demographics and realize how intimidating the conference floor can be to some attendees. To expand corporate sponsorship marketing, they have gone outside, to the city of San Diego. Right now I am sitting at the CNET & Gamespot Base Station, a great, fun resource at Lou & Mickey’s, a restaurant across from the convention center. They offer free wifi (something the conference does not), giving away free things, doing karaoke, and currently I’m drinking a delicious free glass of wine paired with some free coconut chicken. They hit my needs completely, and they also are marketing like crazy their brand. Will this set in? Will this effect my purchasing? No. Probably not. But it will stick in my mind a bit more then it would have, thanks to their efforts. Especially since someone awesome just brought me a cupcake.
As I briefly mentioned, a month ago I began my summer internship at Yahoo! in Sunnyvale, CA. Coming from entertainment, the tech industry is all new to me. Luckily, Yahoo! has a media component to it that is somewhat comforting. I’m not totally illiterate here. I have been working on a cultural transformation team led by Chief Product Officer Blake Irving, a Graziadio alum.
This project has been extremely exciting thus far, using my background in cross-cultural business to evaluate some of the overseas offices. Most importantly, it has been super exciting to dip my feet into a new industry. Yahoo! does an amazing job of creating an internship environment that is informative about the industry, fun events, and creating projects that matter to the company. I interface with high level executives everyday and see the value in my work on the company website and in other avenues. I immediately felt silly calling myself an intern, flabbergasted by the level of responsibility that was entrusted to a position I normally considered “coffee bitch.”
One thing I have learned about Yahoo in my short time here is that they see the value in teaching instead of using interns as a pair of hands. The accessibility is amazing and it has afforded me a level of comfort in Silicon Valley that, quite frankly, I was damn scared of. Being a career transitioner, an internship feels like square one. You feel as if you are a nobody who knows nothing. I was blessed to be taken into a company where they value intellect and present the learning curve with a a pair of spiderman shoes. Overall, I can’t share much more about my direct job responsibilities…but to all my adoring readers, just know…I am so freaking happy everyday and isn’t that why I’m spending a billion dollars on grad school?
Today was day one of my amazing summer internship working for Yahoo! It was mainly just orientation, meeting my team, and getting some awesome swag. I will be updating as frequently as possible throughout the summer regarding my experiences, my reflections, and anything else fun I do while up in the Bay Area. It’s almost surreal to be somewhere so different from my former entertainment life, but I gotta say, it doesn’t suck. How’s that for a profound observation? More of this genius coming your way over the next 10 weeks.
Pretty much in love with this little kid. His mom needs to get him an agent STAT!
(by whatucalldat)
1553. Mini Warbler Performing Teenage Dream. DAYUM, THIS LITTLE ASIAN KID GOT SWAAAAG.
I don’t know near enough Chinese. I wish I had started studying Mandarin earlier. According to one of our guest speakers, an American who has become fluent in Mandarin, it takes 10 years or 10,000 mistakes to learn Mandarin. I’m okay with making a lot of mistakes, so I’m hoping it’s a little faster then 10 years.
I cannot thank my professor, Tian Renner, enough for what few phrases she was able to drill into my head during our brief trimester together. The first night, when 2 girls and I went out to dinner, we were surprised to find that many of the restaurants near our hotel did not speak any English. One girl was vegetarian and one only wanted rice. Luckily, I knew how to order both of those! I was feeling confident, successfully navigating one dinner.
That confidence had definitely waned after two weeks in China. In Shanghai, confused cab drivers yelled at me. In Shenzhen, cab drivers literally rolled up their window because they didn’t know where I wanted to go. In Guilin, I paid much more then I should have a few times and on three occasions ordered food by praying since I didn’t know what it was. I just hope I didn’t eat horse, a supposedly common item in that region.
In Beijing, it took 30 minutes to get my money back from a deposit on a metro card.
That being said, my Mandarin may have improved throughout the trip. I heard more then I expected. I began to understand what people were saying back to me. However, when I spoke to people in Mandarin, they assumed I was fluent and I was treated to a fast barrage of words I didn’t understand. So, eventually, I started hiding my Mandarin, only using it when necessary because I was trying to avoid assumptions. When I did use it with Chinese speakers who understood some English as well, they always complimented my pronunciation, so at least I got that right.
I think understanding a little bit here and there, combined with reading body language, I was able to get by. I know I have a long way to go before I will be fluent, and I wish Pepperdine offered a secondary Mandarin course, but these experiences have given me faith that over time (maybe 10 years?) I’ll get it right. I can’t wait to continue learning this beautiful melodic language.
Peppered into our busy days were important cultural visits. One of our speakers said: “If you don’t like the Chinese people, their culture and their history, don’t even think about doing business here.” Many people see the financial opportunity in this growing economy and want in, thinking perhaps they can act in a Western way and get things done, or hoping that maybe they can change the Chinese. Forget it. So, in an effort to get a glimpse of Chinese culture, we attended a few events and sites for some additional perspective. In an effort to keep this brief, I’m going to mention a few key observations.
Luzhi Village
Called “China’s Venice,” this canal filled village has an ancient history. Part of it is still in ruins, occupied by poorer Chinese who sell from their doorstep or storefront. But one key section has been preserved and restored and it was gorgeous. It was interesting to see the crumbling present mixed with the beautifully restored history. It was a reminder of the disparity in wealth in China and how old this country really is. 
Jade Buddha Temple
4 key components influence Chinese thought: Buddhism (Zen), Taoism (Feng Shui), Confucianism (Do unto others), and Communism. While technically religion is not a key component in a communist society, the rich histories of these other school’s of thought still permeate the Chinese psyche. This temple in Shanghai was a key reminder of the Buddhist history and combined the rich tradition of jade sculpture. Two key pieces punctuated the site and the reverence and respect and burning incense was definitely there.
Suzhou Museum
About an hour outside of Shanghai is Suzhou, a now vibrant Industrial hub for China, rich with it’s own stunning history. This museum was very interesting, because, unlike American museums, the art was often in the practical aspects of life. Instead of creating art for art’s sake, the beauty on display was apparent in the architecture, ancient tools, writing instruments, and household items. Many of the things on display had a functional purpose, including a beautifully sculpted porcelain pillow. Another aspect that I loved was the “garden.” It was a brick courtyard with a lovely bridge and a few small plants. It was a concrete garden and focused on the functional aspects of the space and the water that flowed through it. It reminded me of some of the principles of Feng Shui, which I’m sure was a key factor though I did not get confirmation. 
Shanghai’s Famous Acrobat Troupe
It’s difficult not to be impressed. People should not be able to move with such fluidity, grace, flexibility and intention as these acrobats can. I was in awe throughout, seeing some amazing daredevil motorcycles, fun jumping tricks, and romantic silk work. However, the thing that probably caught my attention the most was the straight face that 90% of the performers wore. They were focused and careful, probably because they had to be, but did not plaster a fake smile on their face the way Western performers do. At first it was jarring, it seemed like they weren’t having fun, but I realized that if one person was smiling and others weren’t, they stuck out. This show was never about the individual, it was about the fluidity of the group and the unity of their movements. I wonder if this explains their straight face?
Overall, the cultural experiences were a fun and informative glimpse into the cultural, which I continued through my own personal travels. More about that in other blogs.
During the Shanghai course, we had many speakers mention “Guanxi.” This is basically the relationship you have with someone, whether that be friend or business relationship. This guanxi is crucial to building a personal brand in China and it goes even further to address the reputation you achieve through these relationships. At it’s basest level, it’s networking but unlike the networking we do in America in 3 key ways.
The Bragging Trend
This is not a society of “I”s but “We”s. When our highly accomplished speakers came to talk to us about their companies, even if they were President of the entire organization, it was always about what “we’ve” accomplished. Rarely, if ever, did I hear them mention what awesome thing they’ve been able to achieve or how they’ve come so far in their career. That being said, they were very, very proud of their accomplishments, going so far as to show long slideshows detailing what their company has achieved and all the milestones they’ve reached. There is a definite bragging trend in the way they present themselves, however, it’s a communal accomplishment and that seems to be a key difference from Americans. I know that I have personally waxed on about all the achievements I’ve made and how far I’ve come. In fact, it is not an uncommon interview question in the US and one that I think most people answer with some huge personal achievement. So how can you build a personal reputation in China if you don’t talk about yourself?
A “Doing” Reputation
When we network in America, we are always looking at what someone can ultimately do for us. And when we figure out how we can connect and potentially build, it is rarely about getting to know each other and the excitement of working together, as people. However, part of networking in the US is that, because of this lack of personal stake, some things never get done. It’s all talk. In China, you have no relationship, no reputation until you do something about it. This goes beyond just the relationship but to the way deals are negotiated. We were told that “Yes” means “Maybe” or sometimes, “No,” and “No” means “Maybe.” The reason for this ambiguity is largely due to the fact that no deal is really done until the work has been commenced, and even then, sometimes deals are negotiated further if someone has not been forthright with the amount of effort or resources needed. In the US, once the contract is signed, we assume someone will follow through, and if they don’t, they broke the law so we’ll just sue them. This is not how things are done in China, the relationship comes first, and therefore, mediation and respecting the actual work is what achieves things and builds someone’s “doing” reputation.
Managing “Face”
So, you know what you’ve achieved and can talk about it in a humble, communal way. You follow through and understand how that factors in to creating relationships. The third component to building guanxi is managing “face.” In China, everyone is highly sensitive to the impact a certain action can have on their “face” or reputation. This could be as simple as accepting a meal or drinking with a potential business colleague, where they are trying to demonstrate respect and trust toward you, and if you decline, you have embarrassed them or made them regret that decision of trust. Or, it could impact whether or not you get a job. In a country of over a billion people, resumes are not enough to differentiate you. You must be keenly aware of the relationships you are building and if you are respected, trusted, and have a solid reputation. This is why someone’s “face” is so important. Almost everyone in China is hired because they are referred to the position. Family and village relationships play a key role, like what region your family is from, as well as who you have helped in the past or who you have shown respect toward. If you can be trusted AND if you can demonstrate that you know how to respect others, then you are more likely to be hired or selected for a project or acknowledged as a business colleague. Managing both your “face” and giving weight to other’s “face” is a key component to building guanxi in China.
