3D printer could build a house in 20 hours | The Sideshow. An engineering professor, Behrokh Khoshnevis, at the University of Southern California, is really thinking big: He has figured out a way to build housing with a giant 3D printer. Here's how it would work, according to the blog Pop Sci. The apparatus, instead of being the size of your typical laser printer, would actually be somewhat bigger than the house it would build through a concrete layering system called Contour Crafting. The professor explained the process in a speech at the TEDx conference, which you can watch.
(Start at 4:30 to see the animation demo.) In the video, the professor demonstrates how the machine lays down a concrete foundation, puts up walls, even inserts wiring and plumbing, and eventually constructs an entire building, which Professor Khoshnevis says can be completed in less than a day. (All that's left to add are doors and windows. ) Robotics could even be used to add details like tiles, says the professor. Conservation of anxiety. Events scale. The magnitude of our impact and the impact of our decisions can vary wildly, depending on the stakes.
You can decide which chocolate bar to buy or you can decide whether or not to take a job. Our fear, though, can't scale. It doesn't work that way. The screaming fear in your stomach before you give a speech to 12 kids in the fifth grade is precisely the same fear a presidential candidate feels before the final debate.
Bigger stakes can't lead to more fear. And, in an interesting glitch, more fear often tricks us into thinking we're dealing with bigger stakes. Not only that, but we have trouble overlapping our fearful moments. Fear has very few gradations and it has a ceiling. This is why we're able to teach ourselves to confidently give a speech to 10,000 or make life or death decisions in the battlefield. No need to fool yourself. Converting viral traffic. Getting stuff to go viral is sexy. It's a miracle when it works. It makes you famous. Everyone wants to get tweeted, liked, mentioned on a blog, spread by email and watch the numbers go up and up and up.
The thing is, drive-by viral traffic doesn't convert. 50,000 visitors might end up buying just 23 items. Ultimately, if you want to get elected, make a sale or even change minds, you can't survive on viral traffic, no matter how big the tsunami is. After I started talking about permission marketing, the question readers wanted answered was, "how do I get permission in the first place? " Ten years later and the ego pendulum has clearly swung in the direction of the virus.
How many eyeballs are passing by is a useless measure. Don't try to convert strangers into customers. Yes to spreading ideas. Don’t Quit Before You Reach the Tipping Point. The great Aikido master, Ikeda Sensei, says: “Aikido works. My aikido works. Your aikido may not work.” His point is simple and profound (and all you have to do is get close enough to him on the dojo mat and you will feel its profundity as you fly through the air, landing on your back).
Ikeda Sensei has spent a lifetime on the mat mastering the fundamentals of his art. He has worked to gain a deep understanding of the principles of aikido. Ikeda Sensei’s aikido works because he didn’t quit, he didn’t give up, and he didn’t walk off the mat. Why “It” Isn’t Working The reason that whatever you are trying isn’t working is not because it doesn’t work. The reason what you are trying isn’t working is because you are giving up too soon. You’ve decided to work with a new approach to making cold calls. You adopt a new sales process. Your company has a new offering. Aikido works. Questions What did you try and give up on before you should have? What should you be giving more time to now? 12 Most Effective Words for Leaders to Use and Live By. I’ve got nothing against books on leadership. Or formal training for managers. Or advanced degrees, like MBAs. But leading is not a formula. It’s about approach and mindset. Great leaders inspire respect. They are, universally, authentic, genuine and humane.
And they also employ these words and traits… 1. Empathy leads to rational, thoughtful solutions. 2. No need to explain this one. 3. Yes, employees should take direction from their managers — as long as it’s legal and socially appropriate — without grumbling or shirking. 4. Saying this is good, of course. 5. Respected leaders try to consider all reasonable requests from the perspective of how to say “yes” more frequently than “no.” 6. Leaders inquire, instead of dictating. 7. This is more difficult than asking, but even more important: great leaders take the time to really listen.
Extra resource: 12 Most Powerful Words in Business 8. Inspired leaders help those around them whenever they can. 9. 10. Nobody is perfect. 11. 12. Keith's Root Notes : When You Feel Boxed In. If I were to tell you to write anything you want in any style you want and get it to me whenever you want, when do you think that would happen? Now, if I were to tell you to find an interesting parallel between Pinterest and flea markets, and I were to want it by Noon tomorrow, what would happen then? We are most creative when we are bound by limits. Restriction creates tension. And tension creates art.
Great stories are built on tension. Great songs are built on tension. Great relationships are built on tension. No limits, no tension. As a writer, I could write whatever I wanted, then try to find publications in which to publish my work. Instead, I first find publications I admire, then write for them. Likewise, I can spend my time trying to find readers for my words. Instead, I spend my time trying to find words for readers. Creativity is the ability to find freedom in structure. Don't give up! Keith. Baby boomers leaving behind. Baby Boomers experience “leaving” geographically and emotionally throughout life, resulting in some major changes. Good, bad or mediocre, it happens to all of us.
We begin our adult life by leaving home after graduation or at the age of accountability (or after our parents kick us out), a huge liberating and educational adventure. Often our next step is leaving single life for marriage. At times that included leaving your native state to make a new, more prosperous life. Thus we were leaving friends and family behind. Some friends and loved-ones were leaving for war in Viet Nam. Many of us were stay-at-home Moms which was not a crime in those days. In the speed of light our kids grew and they were leaving home for college or marriage. Many of us were saddened and fearful of our sons and daughters leaving (for yet another) war when they voluntarily signed up for the military leaving their friends and family behind. Leaving the to-do list unfulfilled will be regretful. Impresarios. At the seminar I did in July for college students, we talked a lot about impresarios.
(You can read one student’s take on it here). Weave together resources and opportunities and put on a show. That’s what impresarios have always done. You rent the opera hall, find the singers and sell tickets. You see an opportunity, connect people who can benefit from it and make something happen. I challenged the group, 20 strangers who had just met, to orchestrate an ebook of brainstorms and opportunities for their fellow students (and to finish it in just 80 minutes).
The magic of the impresario opportunity is that it can start on the tiniest of scales. But actually becoming an impresario is far more difficult than it looks. PS I’ll be talking about this and more advanced tactics with an entrepreneurial focus at my upcoming seminar on the 20th. Traits of a Truly Entrepreneurial Mindset. I've spent most of my life working with small-business owners. And what I've learned is that most small-business owners don't truly understand how to think like an entrepreneur. And, because of that, the vast majority of small businesses--and the people who create them--remain today what they were when they were started: jobs for the people who created them. They aren't entrepreneurs at all, but are instead what I call "technicians suffering from an entrepreneurial seizure. " Seventy percent of all small businesses are sole proprietorships, meaning that their owners are self-employed. They have created a job for themselves, but have not learned how to create a business, meaning they could step away and still have the thing run.
Please don't misunderstand me; I am not negative about small business. In short, entrepreneurship is not about information; it's about perspective. Some call it "mindset. " What is a truly entrepreneurial mindset? That's the point of your business, isn't it? Analogies, metaphors and your problem. Innovation is often the act of taking something that worked over there and using it over here. Your problem, whatever it might be, probably has a solution somewhere in the world. And your organization is probably stuck because they don't know what to do, and more important, don't have the guts to do it. An example in the real world that's precisely about your particular problem, then, is fabulous because it not only shows you what to do, it gives you the confidence to do it. Louis CK had the same problem of many comedians--too much time, not enough money. What were they waiting for? "Oh, that's a fine example of how a company in the hockey stick industry grew, but we make lacrosse sticks.
If you're waiting for a proven case study, directly on point, you're going to wait too long. The skill, it seems, is having the desire and the guts to seek out examples by analogy instead of insisting on being a follower of someone with guts. What's your average speed? Internet Marketing Evolution! Is This The DEATH Of The OptIn List As You Know It? Is there an easier way to develop a community of customers? The answer is YES and I can prove it! So you’re starting a website that you would like to eventually get conversions for an information product, affiliate ads or even maybe for a business opportunity. You’ve been told that the only way to do that is to generate traffic and grow a list of people who opt-in and subscribe to get information from you.
For new internet marketers this can be a daunting task. But let’s think about how the subscriber list has evolved. The purpose originally was to convince those in your target market to allow you to send them information that they were interested in, allowing you to have them get to know you, thereby trusting the email marketing of products you would promote and develop a community of loyal followers that buy what you recommend. Say Hello To The Evolution Of Internet Marketing! So you have auto searching, auto-following and unfollowing set daily and you then basically leave it alone.
To Boost Both Productivity And Morale, Start A Campaign For Clarity. Ambiguity. It’s an increasingly common space within which most organizations operate. Rapid change, increased complexity, and competing interests all make predictability and certainty tougher to achieve. But there’s a big difference between ambiguity that’s externally produced--such as not knowing which political party will be in office in January and how the election will shape regulations, or how quickly a key supplier will recover from a natural disaster--and the type of ambiguity that organizations inflict on themselves.
If you’re like most leaders, you probably find yourself operating in a virtual house-of-mirrors much of the time, with insufficient clarity around what your customers really think about the work you and your team deliver, how you’re really performing (especially operationally), and what’s really at the root of a problem. While there are many areas where ambiguity commonly lurks, here are three areas you should begin with: Annual goals & priorities How Work Gets Done. A Personality Test for Entrepreneurs : Lifestyle. A new book identifies four main types of entrepreneurs and shows readers how to discover their own strengths.
August 02, 2012 Do you have what it takes to become the next Howard Schultz or Mark Zuckerberg? A new book may not only help you answer that question, but also surprise you with new-found self-awareness. Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck: What it Takes to be an Entrepreneur and Build a Great Business is the work of a trio of accomplished entrepreneurs and advisors-turned-venture capitalists. Tony Tjan, Dick Harrington and Tsun-yan Hseih interviewed hundreds of executives and business builders across the globe, including Google cofounder Sergey Brin and Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. Among the many insights they discovered is that having a high degree of self-awareness may be the best marker of a successful entrepreneur, even more so than having a high IQ. Four Attributes A heart-dominant person kicks things off with passion and fire. Luck appears to be chaotic and unpredictable.
Test Yourself. Management Secrets: Core Beliefs of Great Bosses. A few years back, I interviewed some of the most successful CEOs in the world in order to discover their management secrets. I learned that the "best of the best" tend to share the following eight core beliefs. 1. Business is an ecosystem, not a battlefield. Average bosses see business as a conflict between companies, departments and groups. They build huge armies of "troops" to order about, demonize competitors as "enemies," and treat customers as "territory" to be conquered. Extraordinary bosses see business as a symbiosis where the most diverse firm is most likely to survive and thrive. 2. Average bosses consider their company to be a machine with employees as cogs.
Extraordinary bosses see their company as a collection of individual hopes and dreams, all connected to a higher purpose. 3. Average bosses want employees to do exactly what they're told. 4. Average bosses see employees as inferior, immature beings who simply can't be trusted if not overseen by a patriarchal management. 5. 10 Quick Steps to Becoming a Virtual Entrepreneur. What Business Should I Start If I'm Unemployed?
By Arturo F Munoz "What business should I start? " Isn't that the biggest hang-up inexperienced entrepreneurs face? But amazingly enough it is the same type of hang-up that millions of job hunters confront when unemployed "What job should I start applying for? " Isn't that how it goes for the typical job hunter? What business should I start should also be asked in terms of job hunting. When you do so, you soon come to realize that no matter what you label it, you'll be in business the moment you're hired to do that work. Ponder it the following way, if you wish to wear the job hunter's hat during this thinking process. How cool is that? Do the work for one buyer and you're an employee. It took marketing. But more importantly to the point of this article, what did it NOT take to get you from employee to business?
So why do we have so many unemployed people all around? One reason is because they don't know how to answer the question "What business should I start? " OPTIMISTIC. Five ways to put fear (emotional clutter) aside and get the help you want. How to Delegate Effectively. (16) Karl Miller (KarlMiller) INTENTION. How to Start Conversations That Make Instant Connections. An Entrepreneur's Life: Gary Vaynerchuk | Video. How Big Companies Are Becoming Entrepreneurial. The theater of the mind. Tips for Boomers Looking to Launch their Own Business in Retirement. Average boomer will hold nearly a dozen jobs over a lifetime - Herald and News: Inside News.
EMPOWERED. Declining Employee Loyalty: A Casualty of the New Workplace. What's Driving Americans to Retire Abroad? Money -- or Lack of It. 5 Ways To Build A Better Business Through Blogging. WISDOM. GROWTH. Starting a New Business Overnight for Survival. INVOLVEMENT. PROCRASTINATION. CLARITY. You Can’t Succeed Without a Platform. The Secrets to Building a Lucky Network - Anthony Tjan. More Texas seniors receiving food stamps. MARATHON. Will It Be You? ADEQUATE. Opinion: Start-ups key to economic revival - Rep. Mike Honda and Rep. John Carney.
Yesterday's over. How to Continue Working into Retirement. One In Four Working Baby Boomers Say They'll Never Retire, Survey Finds. Douglas LaBier: Can You Break Through Midlife Fears of Loss and Change? Help for Anyone Starting a 1-Person Business, Especially Those 45 and Older. STRUCTURE. Power of Consistency: 5 Rules. Small business: Hands-on owners can get an edge in business. Understanding buy-sell agreements — Business. Staying small gives owners control | Entrepreneur. The Small Business Guide to Getting Ready for Vacation. COMPLEXITY. 11 Quick Reasons To Be An Entrepreneur. Small Business Owners: The New Xtreme Athlete. Read This Before Naming Your Startup. How I Figured Out What I Wanted To Do With My Life. Exploring Independence from Your Business. Baby Boomers now spend more on technology than any other age group | Baby Boomer Gold. Family Attorney Investigates the "Gray Divorce" Trend.
Late boomer bloomers: Older workers carve out new careers to stall retirement. 5 Basic Truths & Golden Secrets Of Those Who Succeed. Pubs/bulletin/2012/PDF/scf12.pdf. The Best Age to Start Your Innovative Startup. What's scarce? What's on your list? Easy Fix for Retirement Problems: Work Longer. Before you raise money (assets and expenses) PATH. How to Make 6 Figures in a 30-Hour Work Week : Money. A lesson from a great architect. Press Releases. Ira Wolfe: 3 Ways Baby Boomers Can Stay Relevant In A Changing Job Market.
Outsmart. Online Products & Customer Development [video] | Serial Entrepreneur Steve Blank’s Stanford Lecture. Entrepreneur Personality Traits - The $50,000 Test... Innovation vs. Fundamentals Myth | Smart business limit innovation. The Art of Small Business Entrepreneurship. 140 Resume Power Verbs That Work | DreamResume. Studies: Economy, Health Forcing More Baby Boomers To Retire | News. Baby Boomer Generation Retiring With More Debt | News. Seven marketing sins. TIMING. STRATEGY. How to succeed. Robert S. Tipton, Change Management Pro, 9 Stages of Transformational Change. The Third Age - Never give up: Don’t count the years, keep living - The Explorer: Aging Well: aging, gerontology, Leading Through Change: John Caplan. Want to Be More Successful? Change Your Mornings.
The Dip, revisited, plus audio bonus.