Saturday, October 25, 2014

Experience not Theory Drives Business

You cannot run a business, or anything else, on a theory.
Harold S. Geneen

As Geneen points out theory per se is not able to drive a business. It may inform the business person in his/her thinking but it is experience that is the true business engine.

If you want to improve then try new things, make more mistakes and clamber up the experience curve.

Business is an applied science rather than a theoretical one.

DK

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Sunday, October 19, 2014

The Secret to Accurately Predicting your Future

Today's quote is related to future success. It is increasingly difficult to predict the future based on the past, but Peter Drucker has the answer:

“The best way to predict your future is to create it”
― Peter F. Drucker


Following others will not help you here. You have to forge your own future. This is what entrepreneurs do. They create their own reality. You won't find them looking for success in increasingly crowded market spaces, but instead they are creating new spaces where they have first mover advantage.

Be a leader not a follower.

I can recommend a fantastic book on this by Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal, called From Zero to One.

Good luck with your business pursuits.

Regards

DK

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Friday, October 10, 2014

Controversy in Silicon Valley

Mark Z from Facebook is making waves again after blocking drag queens in SFO from using Facebook as they won't use their real names. The Chronicle of Higher Education has a very thoughtful article on this titled Silicon Valley’s Empathy Problem by Ian P Beacock. The quote below taken from the article is illuminating:

Empathy doesn’t seem to be a very popular tool among Silicon Valley’s leading digital dreamers. To its great credit, the tech industry promises to improve the world. Yet it’s hard not to notice its passion for issues that look like problems only to people who look like Silicon Valley itself: overwhelmingly white, male, young, educated, and affluent.

Inequality soars, and the world unravels, but from Silicon Valley we’re presented with apps and services designed to save us from those most heinous of tasks: parking, doing laundry, and (gasp) buying groceries. If solipsism is the conceptual motor of the industry, it should be no surprise that we read with some regularity about tone-deaf Google Glass wearers or start-up whiz kids, unable to imagine why their actions could possibly alarm others.

To be fair, coding workshops and computer-science classes don’t ask budding developers to imagine the lives of others and see the world for the complex, uncertain place it really is. That’s what the humanities are for.

When I teach students about the First World War or Berlin’s Golden Twenties, I’m challenging them to suspend their assumptions and step outside themselves to make sense of a foreign world. Novels make similar demands. Art historians help us see that the world can be expressed and perceived in a million different ways. In other words, the humanities encourage the use of empathy as a way of thinking and solving problems.

The liberal arts get short shrift in Silicon Valley—why fill out your college degree when you could be dropping out and diving into programming languages on a Thiel Fellowship? The humanities don’t necessarily trump coding literacy. But the insights of both will be essential if this age of mobile technology is going to live up to its promise and create a world we all want to live in.

Technology without a human face is dangerous and when Silicon Valley is so skewed by the demographics of its innovators there is a real need for some balance. For myself a background in the humanities, science and technology has been very enlightening and beneficial.

Have a great day and a profitable week and read a good book :)


DK

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Sunday, September 28, 2014

Creativity is so Disruptive

Creators and innovators build their own roads while they are traveling them. Creativity can be nurtured but not taught.

As Robinson points out in his famed TED talk, Schools Kill Creativity, the end product that universities produce is university professors. To get to be a professor you need to get A's on your academic journey. This means you have to parrot what you have been taught. Original thought rarely gets an A grade because it doesn't fit the norm.

There is reason that Jobs, Gates, Ellison and Zuckerburg left university before graduating, and that is that the university system rewards conformity, not creativity. They got frustrated by the sausage factory of conduit based education.

Being creative brings a newness that challenges the status quo. It's hard for professors when their students have thought patterns and ways of thinking different from the prevalent educational dogma. How do you mark the work of Jobs, Gates, Ellison and Zuckerburg when you don't understand what they are saying.

The world is a better place because these original thinkers bucked the trend and struck out on their own.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Check out this excellent TED Talk on Nowism

I listened to a very thought provoking video on TED Talks. John Ito, the Director of the MediaLabs at MIT. He basically explains the change in business model that the Internet has brought about. He shows the move from a publish or perish to a deploy or die mentality. I would be interested in your thoughts on the talk.

The content still has me thinking 3 days afterwards...

Here is the link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsjTVGIw4z8

ENJOY


DK

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Monday, July 28, 2014

I love my Samsung Tablet/Phablet

After being an iPad person for years I decided to buy the new Samsung Tablet the SM-T705. I have been very surprised how good it is. Light, thin and very easy to use. I feel that Apple is stagnating but Samsung is continually innovating.

I am writing right now using this device. The voice recognition is flawless and the Samsung apps superb. The Google range of Apps work seamlessly compared to the iPad.

I still plan to buy another iPad mini for the toolbox, but it may be some time away.

From a historical perspective the phone component is reminiscent of holding the first brick cell phones, big but much lighter at 42g.

Let's see if the euphoria continues...

Monday, July 14, 2014

A Tip from Napoleon Bonaparte


It is said that Napoleon Bonaparte had a habit of leaving his mail unopened for one month. That way it was very easy to see what was still important.

You need to ask yourself how many of your emails are really important? I have just returned from 3 weeks holiday and I had over 500 emails. The vast majority of them were no longer current.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

The Power of Plus One (+1)

Have you heard of the power of one?

In business terms it means doing one thing everyday that will build your business. Often you realise that you have 10 must do activities. Then you feel overwhelmed and do nothing at all. If this is your situation just do one thing on the list every day. After 10 days your list will be complete!

But I will let you into a secret here. If you do one thing on your list often you will be motivated to do more. The secret is to act.

Action takers are winners.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Cut out the Meetings

“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be 'meetings.”
― Dave Barry

If you want to succeed in business cut out the meetings. They waste time, drain enthusiasm and demoralise people while having the illusion of being effective.

I avoid meetings at all costs so that I can get the necessary work done. If you must have a meeting then follow these three steps:

1. Have clear written meeting objective(s)

2. Provide no chairs or food - standing up prevents people sleeping, looking at lap tops and getting comfortable

3. Take minutes and give all attendees something to do - this will keep the time wasters away as they don't want to work.

To the Top

DK

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Friday, April 11, 2014

Business is an Applied Art

You cannot run a business, or anything else, on a theory.
Harold S. Geneen

Geneen has it right which is why he was a titan in the business world. He headed up ATT when it grew to its zenith. Theory doesn't win the fight against pragmatic business experience. That's why it is good to experiment and learn new business skills from doing them.

Inactivity is the big business killer. Couple it with apathy and you are dead in the water.

Every failure is a learning opportunity, every success is an earning moment.

If you don't learn you won't earn.

Be bold and muck in.

DK

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The Afterglow of Satisfaction

Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.
Theodore Isaac Rubin


Doing easy things is, well, easy.

The real accomplishment in business comes from doing the challenging work. I have spent today sweating out a new web campaign, it has been frustrating tying everything in.

Doing the video was the hardest part! Actors make it look so easy as do newsreaders, but when it is my dearly beloved and myself (plus a recalcitrant iPad) it has a difficulty level way above normal. Keeping from laughing is a challenge, trying to speak naturally is a challenge, and the technology of course was just playing up.

Still completion brought the afterglow with it.

Go well

DK

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Dr Kelp's Latest Quirky Find

Hi all

Just a quick message with a quirky find. I have seen a site called SheriHitz advertised quite a bit online. They had a compelling lifetime offer so I joined up. I didn't do much with it until recently when I tried out their multi-site option.

This is a feature I have not seen used before. Basically you submit your sherihitz multi link into other manual surf exchanges and you get credits when someone views the site in the new site. You get credits for unique hits but also for repeat visitors.

I have spent some time surfing there today and I have been surprised how many extra credits I am getting from this tool.

The best thing is that all surfers get paid cash for surfing. The higher your upgrade the more cash, but free members get cash as well. Where it gets interesting is that you get cash up to 6 levels down and the multiplier effect works there as well.

If you want to give it a try go to SheriHitz Signup

Kind Regards

Grant

DK

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Saturday, April 5, 2014

Never Fear Business Fear

If you listen to your fears, you will die never knowing what a great person you might have been.
Robert H. Schuller

Schuller's quote applies equally to both your business and personal lives. Playing safe will constrict your ability to succeed. Risk and Fear are necessary but you have to keep them under control.

One of the initial investors in Apple who owned 10% of the company sold his shares for $2900 because he feared the company was going to go under. In 2011 these same shares were valued at $10.1 Billion dollars. This is an extreme example of the losses that can come from fear. The best thing to do with fear is look at it straight in the eye and think what is the worse thing that could happen if I took this risk and ignored the fear. Often the potential benefits far outweigh the downside of not proceeding.

Be bold, be strong and overcome your fear. Take Action Now.

DK

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Look out - the Future is already here

As William Gibson, who coined the term “cyberspace”, has said: “The future is already here— it is just unevenly distributed.”

You have the opportunity to apply the future now. Look for the leading edge, adopt and your present will be the future of your competitors.

There is no standing still in business, the environment is fluid and the change is continual. See this as a challenge rather than a threat.

Do something today.

DK

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Saturday, March 29, 2014

Edison on Rules

Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.

Thomas A. Edison


Rules bound businesses very rarely have the flexibility to accomplish things. The lack of rules is why start up companies can move to get innovative products to market quickly. The best job I have had to date was as the Chief Information Officer/CTO of a medical software company. We were small, fleet of foot and were able to focus on getting things done.

While I recognise that rules are necessary as organisations grow, make sure that the rules help the business. Some people insist on applying rules rigidly and this drives innovators and get it done people mad.

Review and reality check your rules now and release the creativity in your business.

Ciao

DK

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Thursday, March 27, 2014

There is only ONE Boss

There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.
Sam Walton

It is easy to lose sight of the prime reason we are in business for. To serve our customers. If senior managers and boards stopped playing silly games and power plays the customer would be satisfied and the bottom line would be met.

The bigger the organisation, the bigger the chance of being disconnected from the customer.

Treat your customer like the Boss and watch your business grow.

Ciao

DK

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Saturday, March 22, 2014

Are you the Prod or the Prodder?

I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact, if anything, I am the prod.
Winston Churchill

Are you the prod in your business? If you are then you are in the right place. Successful business owners are self starters and do not need to be prodded. Laziness or a lack of self-starting initiative will kill your business.

Winston Churchill was a prod from his youngest days and he accomplished much in his lifetime.

Get up and get going.

Ciao

DK

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Monday, February 24, 2014

It is as easy to Sell High Ticket as Low Ticket

Many Internet Marketers do not realize a little known fact and this is that it is as easy to make High Ticket as Low Ticket Sales. Many people feel very comfortable selling low cost products and services but if you are advertising in the right places it is as easy to sell high ticket items costing $5000 as it is to sell products costing $10.

The other fact is that it is much more lucrative to sell high ticket items and some of the profit can be used to buy paid advertising. Another little known fact is that people buying high ticket items tend to be repeat customers.

How do I know? Because I buy and sell high ticket items. I have spent over $10K this month in business products and services. Whenever I see an opportunity I take it. Small thinkers make small sales, big thinkers make big sales.

If you want more information on this Click Here.

DK

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Saturday, February 22, 2014

Recession Proof, Bullet Proof High Ticket Sales

I just want to share with you an email I got from Matt Lloyd today. It challenges the conventional wisdom of what to do in a recession and also provides a system to back this up.Click the links in the post below to view the video where Matt explains his approach.


Recession-Proof, Bulletproof Income...


Argh... I've had a many of arguments about this lately...

Do you keep catching wind of this little thing called a
'Recession' ?

I wasn't even aware of it, as I try to stay clear of the
NEWS, that seems to only find everything bad that
is going on in the world...

And my business definitely hasn't been touched by
it anytime recently...

Here's the reason why:

There's only one way that I know how to keep yourself
Recession-Proof, and I can sum it up in one word:

...LUXURY.

"What!?" ...you may be asking.

How cute of you...

Listen: Here's the Hard Data taken from the nerds
working for Billion Dollar brands that go out and
collect all this information:

Despite the economic collapse, sales of luxury, high
ticket goods remained steady.

(Interlude: Not steady for me. My income has rapidly
gone up recently thanks to High Ticket and MTTB.)

Now, there are a LOT more affluent people than there
was a decade ago...

And surprise surprise, they're looking to spend...

On hobbies they like...

On making themselves better...

On bigger homes and nicer cars...

And on investing in Home Business and Money-
Getting Opportunities...


...Like MOBE teaches you to do:

http://trck.me/261628/

Even considering an economic downturn, people may
make slight modifications in their lifestyle, however,
they do NOT change their fundamental behavior.

...It's why Starbucks is crushing it even though a
Hot, Creamy, Mocha may cost ya $6.00.

Here's a simple solution to any money woes you may
be having, or a way for you to generate a NEW cash-
windfall if that's where you're at in life...

Luxury.

High Ticket.

You NEED to be offering them in your business...

Simple as that.

People are looking to spend $2k, $5k, $10k, $50k+,
IF it's beneficial for them...

And smart companies offer these options for their
customers.

Think G.M.

They offer a High-End Hummer for around $100k.
And they sell lot's of em.

But they also offer a cheaper model now, the
Hummer H2, more around $30k...

You need to offer BOTH...

If you're not offering these types of products and
opportunities in your business, then know that
someone else IS...

...And they'll get your hard-earned sale rather than
you.

How would that feel?

You do all the work...

Attract the sale...

Then...

Your competitor does nothing besides positioning
themselves better than you and they get the big
commission...

It don't feel good!!

Don't worry though, because worry will get you
nowhere. Flattery and taking Action will get
you FAR though!

MTTB will teach you everything you need to know
about Luxury offers, and better yet, you'll have the
opportunity to generate $1,000, $3,000, and $5,000
commissions...

http://trck.me/261628/

And you don't even have to create a product, sell
on the phone, or any of that crazy stuff!

We know you're busy and likely not Superman, so
you can leverage our System instead, and make your
chances of success that MUCH easier...

This all makes a lot of sense to me,

Grant
http://drkelp.co.uk

DK

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Friday, February 14, 2014

Business Schools Drive Conformity of Thought

Even though I have undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in business I find that business schools are becoming centres of conformity. Business is widespread and diverse and there is no one, right way of educating business students. Of course the best business education is hands on and involves starting or buying your own business.

As a friend of mine said recently, "business schools are now more about business (their own) than school". The early MBA programs worked because they were different and gave a general business grounding to their students. Now days the focus is heavy analysis and number crunching and very big corporate business. Big business represents a very small slice of American business life. Many very successful people have made large amounts of profit from small and medium sized "non sexy" businesses that provide essential services such as garbage disposal, recycling and truck spare parts and wrecking to name but a few.

If I was having my time again, I would have invested the money spent on getting my Masters in Business into a business venture of my own. Instead I spent many years in consulting that was well paid but where 2/3 of the day rate went to the consulting company.

So think seriously before spending what has become an increasingly large amount of money on your MBA. You are likely to get a much better ROI from investing in your own business where you keep the profits.

DK

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Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Self Education will make you a Fortune

Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.

– Jim Rohn

I just found the quote above and it is very true. If you look at the great entrepreneurs most of them were self starting and self taught. Many such as Gates, Branson, Rose, Karp and Zuckerburg dropped out of college or didn't go to college at all. College will help you to understand how the world works now, but only rarely will it teach you about what is to come or what is happening at the fiery leading edge of real innovative thought.

Entrepreneurs are by nature confident in their own abilities and don't need any outside affirmation or degrees to bolster what they do. They just go out and do it.

Taking the formal education route in business (esp. MBA's at Ivy League schools) will leave you burdened with debt that will cripple your ability to be truly innovative. The money spent on formal education could have been diverted into developing your own business or furthering your innovations.

I am not against formal education as I have graduate and post graduate degrees but I have learned more on how to succeed by self education and learning from business projects that stretch my skills and gain me experience.

Formal education will indeed help you to make a living (though many MBA's are struggling to get jobs and pay off debt) but what you learn by yourself may be the pathway to a fortune. Following conventional wisdom will not equip you to handle and think about the next unique, groundbreaking advance.

DK

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Thursday, January 16, 2014

From Teacher to Learner

I just read this quote and it resonated with me when I applied it to business.

Anything that turns your expectations of yourself upside down and flip-flops the teacher into a student again is a salutary experience that will force you to reconsider how learning works.

I have recently had this experience of flipping from teacher to pupil when I took an online course run by a new program I have invested in. It was great to be the learner with the usual information asymmetry reversed. I learned heaps and the 21 step course was paced exactly right for maximum information uptake. I will write more about this new program once I have got my first payments through.

DK

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Friday, January 10, 2014

Empire Avenue - Must Join Business Social Network

I have been using Empire Avenue for well over a year now. This is like a Business "Facebook" which tracks your worth via a share value that reflects your social network scores across many social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Four Square, Google Plus and of course Empire Avenue itself.

My EA share value has gone up from 70 to 102 EA in the last 6 months. The top networkers are worth in excess of 1200 EA per share

Click the link below to check out the site.


Check Out Empire Avenue Now

DK

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