Jan 19
We all use email, but, sometimes we use it too much or use it inappropriately. To get the most out of email we need to use it carefully and judiciously. These are 10 tips to get the most out of emailing.
1. Use different email accounts for different purposes.
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Jan 18
Turning a good idea into a successful innovation requires the glass to be full. A half full glass simply isn’t enough. There are many things involved in bringing a product to market successfully or turning an idea into reality and each one of them needs to be right, or at least close enough. The innovator starts the process with a set of resources and draws upon them until the idea, product or invention “sells”. This innovation process is like starting with a full glass that has holes in the bottom of it. The challenge is to find ways to plug the leaks before the glass drains completely and then make the glass overflow. Here are 5 ways to profit from good ideas.
- Assume your idea is terrible. Assuming an idea is terrible can be quite liberating. This is not the same as not believing in what you are doing and it is not about being negative. On the contrary, it is about changing the frame of reference to give due consideration to the real operating conditions. Consider the advantage of having accurate maps and a compass to navigate from one place to another rather than a ball of string and a vague idea. Having an accurate understanding of the conditions has its advantages. It prevents people and companies from squandering resources on dead ends or irrelevant excursions. Anyone moving forward who is positive, highly motivated and well equipped with accurate, relevant information and sound plans becomes virtually unstoppable. Eliminating the tendency to rely on untested assumptions can be done by simply assuming a product or idea is a terrible one and then taking steps toward making it better.
- Know your customer, industry and business well enough to publish a book. Writing is a process that distills thought. Corporate innovators are often asked to prepare detailed plans. Companies employ a variety of planning tools and they can be tremendous aids in working through the necessary thought processes. Everyone seeking funding who has approached professional finance people to get a project financed is aware that he or she is expected to come with a written business plan. The thought process that goes into the writing is more important than the document itself.
- Steal from others and let others steal from you. Copy, copy, copy. Originality is overrated. The advantages of duplication over originality are numerous. Something that has already become tried and true is just that: tried and true. That decreases the risk and uncertainty considerably. Duplicating something is less costly than producing an original. Something that has been in use has likely had a lot of the bugs knocked out of it and has already become perceived as useful and acceptable. For manufactured products, it is almost always less risky, faster, cheaper and easier to incorporate an existing part already in production than to design and make an original.
- Create a powerful network of outside advisors. The importance and value of having a powerful network of outside advisors cannot be overstated. Famous inventor Thomas Edison surrounded himself with the most powerful people in the world. He needed a great deal of help to develop his grand visions so he went to whatever lengths were needed to get that help. As an example of an Edison gathering, he had United States President Herbert Hoover, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone at his 82nd birthday party in Fort Myers, Florida on February 11, 1929. Successful people are usually more than happy to share constructive insights and where appropriate will exercise candor if something seems off.
- Involve and embrace passionate customers in the development and marketing processes. For most types of innovations, there are ways to actively engage end embrace passionate leading customers in the development and marketing processes. This can happen at an early stage or long after a product or service has matured. Bringing customers in close can be a tremendous aid to the innovation process. Innovators would be remiss if they did not consider this approach.
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Jan 17
Your brain needs exercise just like a muscle. If you use it often and in the right ways, you will become a more skilled thinker and increase your ability to focus. But if you never use your brain, or abuse it with harmful chemicals, your ability to think and learn will deteriorate.
Here are 5 simple ways anyone can squeeze a bit more productivity out of the old gray matter.
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Jan 15
When we think of a genius we think of someone who was a prodigy in their childhood and later went on to capitalize on their mental powers and make a success out of their lives, perhaps finding the cure for cancer or joining NASA to help launch man into outer space. As a general rule these are people we hold up as an exception to the rule, a run against the norm. We believe that their incredible mental abilities have allowed them to stretch beyond the limits of normal of humanity; however, this is not the case.
Oddly enough, scientists believe that it is the physical formation of the brain that determines a person’s intelligence. A brain with a greater quantity of gray matter in the cerebral cortex, the portion of the brain which controls its higher functions (the lower portions of the brain control bodily activities, such as breathing and the pumping of the heart) will bless a person with a greater intelligence.
- It is believed to be the reason that many children who possess above average intelligence come from parents who possess a great deal of intelligence; the physical structure of the brain is handed down genetically.
- Is it impossible for a person who does not have an excessive quantity of gray matter in their brain to be intelligent? Certainly not! The ability of the brain to function is based greatly on the ability of its neurons to connect with each other.
- An increase in neuron connection equals an increase in brain activity, which equals an increase in the thought process and the ability of the brain to respond more quickly in certain situations.
- There are many situations that result in an inability of the neurons to connect with maximum efficiency. One of the most common is sleep deprivation, an epidemic that is sweeping across the globe as men, women and children of all ages attempt to accomplish more in a day than it was ever intended for them to do. Drug and alcohol use will also have a negative effect on the ability of the neurons to connect properly.
- The good news is that everyone’s brains operate by these same fundamental principles, regardless of the amount of gray matter present. What does this mean? It means that by successfully increasing the ability of the neurons to connect anyone can increase their intelligence.
- How can one increase the connection of their neurons? By using them! The brain can continue to produce new neurons into old age; the degeneration of the mind that accompanies the golden years is generally caused by disease or disuse rather than a natural body process.
- By continuing to exercise the brain through reading and academic puzzles anyone can increase and maintain their brain power, even if they aren’t your average genius.
- If you ever think that genius can only be born, you can be seriously wrong.
In 1952, an experiment was done by Aaron Stern on his daughter, Edith, which proves the world that given the right environment and strategies, a person’s intelligence can be developed and trained. Edith was truly a genius who obtained a PH. D. degree at the age of 18.
- In short, Aaron Stern trained Edith from the time she was born. Playing classical music to her, using picture cards and flash cards to teach her everyday even she was only a few weeks old. At the age of 5, she had finished reading the entire encyclopedia Britannica.
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Jan 12
Ratan Tata showcased the world’s cheapest car in the Auto Expo 2008. Auto Expo is the biggest auto exhibition of India where the world’s top automobiles companies come to showcase their automobiles and auto components. This year Tata Motor’s unveiled their much waited world’s cheapest Rs One Lakh or $2500 car Nano. Ratan Tata said “It fulfills the need of the common Indian who aspires to move from a two-wheeler to a four-wheeler”.
Here are few pictures taken from the Auto Expo
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