photo: amioascension “Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.” I came across this quote a couple of weeks ago and wrote it down in my notebook. What makes a day memorable?I have been asking friends “what is your most memorable day of school?” over the last few weeks. In general, nobody remembers a … Read more
In 2010, 294 billion emails were sent per day for a total of 90 trillion in the full year. 1.9 billion users sent an email during 2010. The average business user in a 1,000 user organisation receives 110 emails per day (of which 13 are spam) and sends 36 emails. (source Radicati Group Email Statistics … Read more
Can we understand a region’s culture by looking at the main cereal crop of five thousands years ago? This is a little thought experiment. This has no basis in science or fact and is merely a little story I am telling today… I very much welcome reflections and comments. Asia – rice Northern Europe – … Read more
“Be water my friend.” Bruce Lee What does Bruce Lee mean? What is it to “be water”? On “being water” What is it to “be water“? Water flows and adapts. It has no plan, but deals with the environment that it finds. It fully explores the space. It has no expectations of what it will … Read more
Two months ago, I was at IESE business school with Verne Harnish and his wife Julie. We were talking about entrepreneurial success and achievement. He shared with me a quote that comes from his father-in-law: “How you do anything is how you do everything.” Verne’s father-in-law has apartments that he rents out. What criteria does … Read more
This post is inspired by a talk “You and your research” by Richard Hamming. One life to live “Now, why is this talk important? I think it is important because, as far as I know, each of you has one life to live. Even if you believe in reincarnation it doesn’t do you any good … Read more
You have to sell. Yes, you. You have to sell. You have to get good at it. (7 steps of the sales process, how to pitch a brilliant idea) You need lots of help. More than you can imagine. You need to learn to ask for it. (Ask better questions, 17 habits for a fulfilling life … Read more
Busy-ness (on the Wrong Things) is the new Laziness “What’s the best thing you could be working on, and why aren’t you?” Paul Graham Richard Hamming suggests that you ask yourself three questions: What are the most important problems in your field? Are you working on one of them? Why not? Paul Graham suggests that … Read more
There are 4 ways of dealing with Anxiety Remove the source of anxiety – avoid the stress. This is a poor coping strategy. There is no growth in capability. There will always be a reduction of my performance levels when the stressor is present. Manage my level of anxiety – learn to auto-adjust down (relaxation … Read more
On 9th August 2010, Ed Stafford arrived at the sea, having walked the length of the Amazon river. Over 860 days of walking, 20,000 mosquito bites, 5,000 leeches, poisonous spiders and snakes. No boss told him to do it. Nobody paid him for it. Why did he do it? How did he keep going for … Read more