“Been there, done that” has become synonymous with boredom or lack of challenge for some people. For others it is a mini retirement statement. We think it can represent a great place to look for new opportunities. Maybe you or someone you know has made money in one area then gone on to try something a new area and ended up with lousy results. A bit like Michael Jordan once having left the NBA to play baseball. Google keeps trying to find other ways to make money besides its simple service of... More »
It looks like much of the gold that was brought to China for this year’s Olympics will remain there after the games’ end. Michael Phelps’ legendary 8 gold medals for the US team helped the Americans bring up their count but not nearly enough to keep them in the top spot for winning gold since the fall of the Soviet empire. Even if you discount a few from China for biased judging, they still won this year’s Lycra War. This 29th Olympiad became China’s great coming out party. Everyone was invited and... More »
Do you have a trophy room? This is a place where you keep your various trophies, certificates, award plaques, autographed trinkets and other things that remind you of past accomplishments. This could be a fireplace mantle, space on a bookshelf, a downstairs room or a building depending on what you have been up to. If you have one of these, be careful to avoid getting stuck in the past. They tend to have common features – mainly dust. Watch out because you might be stuck in the past. Or are you “the... More »
Kodak needed the ultimate productivity boost to avoid get shuttered out of business when the photography industry went digital. It is hard to imagine a worse case scenario than the one that was faced by Kodak. This 125 year old Fortune 500 company entered the new millennium with 70% of its revenue and profits coming from its traditional businesses that were based on manufacturing and selling film cameras, photographic films and papers. A few days ago, we interviewed Jeff Hayzlett, Kodak’s Chief Business Development Officer and Vice President along with David Lanzillo,... More »
918 Shares There’s a new movie out promoting the idea that we should all be jumping out of airplanes, eating caviar and visiting the Wonders of the World before we finally croak. But is preparing a bucket list full of cliché items the right thing to do? Is it productive? Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman star in The Bucket List. It’s a hilarious flick about two terminally ill men who escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die. The movie is... More »
Procrastination is a dirty word. It doesn’t need to be. Procrastination that stems from a lack of discipline, causes you to lose sight of your goals, and results in decreased productivity deserves a bad rap. But what about postponing or avoiding things that can otherwise cause us pain and frustration if we apply the go-forward, “get it done” approach? Is this type of procrastination such a bad thing? We don’t see it as a bad thing. In fact, we suggest that you include strategic procrastination among your most important tools for increased... More »
21 Shares There are things people consume to stay awake longer, become more energetic or somehow increase productivity in other ways. They are usually things that people enjoy consuming – often in large volumes. Coffee, Coca-Cola (and other caffeinated soft drinks), and tea are the global big three productivity-enhancing drugs of choice. Most users think they are such great products that they can’t get through the day without. We suggest that quick energy boosts are a problem and that for optimal long-term productivity, users should kick the caffeine habit. #1 productivity-enhancing drug: COFFEE Coffee... More »
What do you do once you achieve your big goal and make it to the top? This can become a big problem if it looks like the only way you can go is down. Professional athletes and aging celebrities all face this issue. The problem can be one of maintaining the position if this is what you want or figuring out where to go next while avoiding a big let down. There are various strategies for maintaining a position once you have achieved a milestone. Steve Rubel recently wrote about Jay Leno’s... More »
4.8K Shares 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.... More »
182 Shares The paperless office concept has been around since the 1960s or ‘70s, much like the flying car. For many people, this has been little more then a myth. How can we get rid of the paper while our offices are filled with photocopiers and fax machines and the postal carriers and couriers keep bringing in reams of the stuff daily? What about the need to keep receipts for accounting and tax purposes? And what about the contracts and other legal documents? It is hard, but getting easier to do every day.
1.1K Shares Thomas Edison is widely known as the greatest inventor the world has ever known. Nikola Tesla is also known as a great inventor and many people say he was more brilliant than Edison was. In our last post, two weeks ago, we discussed Edison’s 5 million page note-taking system and received a reaction from some of Tesla’s fans. Should we really care who was brighter? Or is it productivity that really counts? Who was the more productive of these two famous men? Edison is famous for inventing the phonograph, incandescent light bulb,... More »
535 Shares Famous inventor Thomas Edison is probably the most experienced note-taker in the world. His diary which is still maintained as an important part of the United States historical record contains five million (5,000,000) pages. Important developments such as his work on perfecting the light bulb and electric lighting systems are captured in great detail. He never met a sheet of paper he didn’t like. What lessons can we take from his work today, a century later? How did his note-taking help him to become the world’s most famous inventor with over a... More »
The emphasis on getting things done (GTD) through technologies, tools and psychological tweaks has helped us become able to achieve new heights in productivity. This is great since the more things that we can finish, the sooner we can get on to other (often bigger and better) things. That could mean picking up more money, vacation time or opportunities to try new things – whatever is important at the time. But don’t be in too much of a rush to close a file or finish grinding out the last 10% of a... More »
18 Shares Donald Trump may have gone out and trademarked the term “You’re Fired”, but he is going to have a hard time competing with Facebook. Everything is public. Act as though it is going to be on the front page of the New York Times tomorrow. Facebook just announced that in a matter of a few days or weeks, it will become indexed by the colossal Google search engine. People are now also able to search for listings from the welcome page without first signing up as a member. Welcome to the front... More »
Making a positive impression on someone you met through a networking event or online need not be a difficult or use much of your time or resources. The following 15 quick ways to make a positive impression are designed to be easy to implement and most only take a few minutes to do, depending on where you are at. The list is geared toward network-savvy professionals, especially those who are actively involved in expanding their business or ideas. Most of these 15 ways do not require having an in depth knowledge of... More »
