I’m finally recovering after a week of the flu and just in time for the weekend.  I wish I could have reversed that, but so it goes.  During that time, I managed to find a new, very dorky hobby I want to get into: Andruino.  Time is short, but any beginning advice is appreciated!   Before we get into this week’s roundup, I compiled 5 tips to avoid getting sick with some help from the CDC:

 

1. Get a flu shot (I never have and I’m the one that got sick)
2. Avoid germs. Wash hands, don’t touch your eyes/nose/mouth, and if you can afford it, don’t take the subway in NYC for the 5 months of flu season.
3. Take vitamin C and drink lots of water through the winter, then at the first sign of a cold/illness, get some Airborne.  When I flew all the time, Airborne worked wonders for me.
4. Exercise.  It is widely known that regular exercise helps to boost the immune system.  That and the body fuels the mind.
5. Be careful dating girls in finance.  Their trading floor setups are breeding grounds for germs and the spread of illness (Of course I’m not bitter).

Now that I’ve battled the illness away, it is time to make up for lost time on both building Dibsie, a social shopping site, and training for a marathon.  Enjoy this week’s roundup.

Roundup Reads for the Week:

•Productivity is something everyone strives for, some believe they are experts, but for the most part, it comes down to figuring out the best system for yourself.  HBR lays out an interesting argument against to-do lists, and I have heard from several office mates that Daniel Markovitz’s strategy works: “To-Do Lists Don’t Work”

•My brother argues that anyone could pull lyrics out of context and apply them to leadership, or anything under the sun for that matter, however as someone that has gone on tour through the midwest in high school with Bob Dylan during his county fair tour, I can’t help but share this: “Lyrical Wisdom: Leadership Lessons from Bob Dylan”

•Some of the bigger news this week is Google’s decision to merge 60+ privacy policies into one sweet little package.  To those complaining, did you ever really read the 60 that were out there anyway?  Anyway, turns out their announcement tries to guess genders and made for a funny little meme as reported by Betabeat: “Google Guesses: Mostly Wrong, Kinda Sexist, and Pretty Funny”

 

•Airbnb has been crushing it and this infographic shows you how, where, and why.  My only question is how long will they keep the apartment renting alive if people are earning around $21K/year off renting their own apartments.  Something tells me the law will step in sooner than later.

 

•I somehow missed this news last week, but Accel Partners, the San Francisco/Silicon Valley VC firm, is finally seeing the light.  They’re opening an office in New York.  Welcome Accel and we’re glad you know where the real money will be made from here on out, Silicon Alley: “Valley VC Firm Accel Parnters Opening A New York Office”

 

•The SmartBrief on Leadership (recommended) tipped me off to Jeffrey Phillips’s blog on innovation.  I like their header, “Why innovators should be killers, not lovers,” but his post is great food for thought on being your own toughest critic: I’ll never Fall in Love (with ideas) Again 

 

Quote of the Week:

Not actually getting political here, but with the US Presidential elections that lie ahead, this Mitt Romney leadership quote stood out for me:

“I stand ready to lead us down a different path, where we are lifted up by our desire to succeed, not dragged down by a resentment of success.”
-Mitt Romney

 

Videos that inspire:
•After living and working in India, I want to wish my friends in India a happy Republic Day. For the rest of you, enjoy this Finnair pre-flight Bollywood dance treat for passengers on Republic Day. If you need a good intro movie for Bollywood, Om Shanti Om, where the song comes from and starring the famous Shah Rukh Khan, is a great start: