Like that post very much ! great quote: “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing — that’s why we recommend it daily.” !

I think Lady GaGa, Steve Jobs or Mahatma Gandhi share three characteristics of being great leaders: Strong shared vision, Influencer and role model, read more here: http://wp.me/ptOFQ-SX

Hi Caterina early bird or late owl may not be the issue but the hours and quality of sleep may be. A study was done on 4188 employees at four US corporations who were surveyed about sleep patterns and completed the Work Limitations Questionnaire.
Sleep disturbances contribute to decreased employee productivity at a high cost to employers.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20042880

Although I have been exposed to many cultures and complex situations with 20 years of expatriation, I am not sure if I am more creative than a person same age who is curious by nature, never lived abroad but love solving difficult problems and therefore developed an" out of the box thinking". Attitude is key, willing to learn from others and trying to understand without judging is more important in creativity than being an "expat" expert. I also think entrepreneurs are often more creative than international people working for big global companies.
Regarding IQ tests and other "standard" testing, bilingual or multicultural children might score bellow average because they did not learn country specific facts like knowing historical key dates for example or simply did not learn the metric system. However I think people who lived in multiple countries are often more tolerant and accept difference as the norm. Therefore they might be more prone to benefit from cross-fertilizations of different ideas. Adaptation to a new cultural environment requires a lot of flexibility and creativity so maybe international people have a competitive advantage in a world becoming more global everyday but it is not a guaranty, it depends very much on individual mindset and behavior.
My recent post JAPAN BOSSES ON COMMUNICATING WITH HQ

Interesting post Heather. You are perfectly right about this special use of the negative form in French. But you may have noticed that French won't use superlatives like "great" or "wonderful" for little things as often as Americans do. French are well known for their critical thinking and there is more emphasis on the negative that on the positive in conversations. If you ask a French person "comment ca va ? ", the equivalent of "How are You ?" people are more likely to answer with a complain while in the US people almost always respond: " I am fine thank you! even if terrible things happened to them. Compared to my son who is truly bilingual English/French since birth, I can see my limits. I may call myself fluent in English but native speakers have richer vocabulary and understanding of specific cultural contexts. The good thing is I am an avid learner and really enjoy perfecting my understanding of the American culture through its language(s). For example I am really interested to learn colloquial expressions.

Hi Catarina, well written article. I have seen many times people who post negative or provoking comments on Linkedin group discussions just to be noticed ! It is hard not to respond . Sometimes you can beat them at their own game, but at the end the damage is done. Just one sarcastic post can destroy a nice conversation because people are afraid to be criticized in public. It's a shame!

Hi Brian,
Have you identified the types of headaches and problems US companies have in Asia? Where in Asia ? China? Japan? Thailand ? Asia is vast and highly diverse in cultures, religions, ways of doing business. etc. Once you decide on your targets, list your skills: What is your expertise? how can you solve your target companies ' problems? Then Look at Linkedin and other Job websites and search in your network people who can introduce you to get an interview. Do your homework first and know what to ask precisely, you will get no help if you say " I am looking for ex-pat work." what do you have to give first ?
Good luck
Anne

I totally agree with the statement: “The movement away from mass education toward individualized attention is critical for inculcating creativity”

My son is in 3rd grade at the International School of Brussels and they use an individualized coaching approach providing support in how to use strategies in maths for example. Once the children learn by heart the basics they are able to creatively apply various solutions to the same problem. For example if you ask 26+11 then they can suggest 26+10+1 or 20+10+6+1

Kids have more creativity than adults in general because they have assimilated less rules than adults. Also trying new things is less natural to adults because based on their past experiences they may think this idea is impossible.

One last word about computers, video games, movies and “screens” in general, I think they can be excellent tools to stimulate creativity and imagination, but like everything else it should not become an obsession and parents have to limit the time spend online by their kids

Thanks for the mention

I like the Title "Twitter Is The New Water Cooler" 20 year ago it was also near the smoker corner that hot issues and gossips were discussed. Since I quit the corporate world in for becoming a consultant and coach I quited smoking too just like that , cold turkey. So yes Twitter is definitively a better alternative for wired workers.

Heather,
You made a good point about "languages on a verge of extinction". French is a very good example. It used to be the language for diplomacy, royal families, nobles and rich merchants especially in the XVIII century. That is the reason why still today in the United Nations the two official languages are English and French, but duplicating documents have become unnecessary expensive so French will probably be eliminated. I think English is the language of business and globalization and will keep this status in the 22 nd century even if the number of people speaking Spanish or Mandarin. So the challenge for the "Ugly Americans" is not language but cultural literacy in a "glocal" economy.