It is quite simple, without memory of an event or experience, no learning can take place; and if no learning takes place no growth in ones abilities can materialise: you are left in a state of stagnation and inertia.
There are three general stages to memory: 1. Registering the information. 2. Storing the information. 3. Retrieving the information. The types of memory are split into three major groups: 1. Sensory memory- a representative example of this type of memory is when glancing at a sheet of data and then glancing away; the first few milliseconds glancing away allows you to still see the data as if it was just in front of you, however this memory lasts for only a few hundred milliseconds and by the time you attempt to recall it the information is gone. 2. Short term memory- this is memory that can be recalled between a few seconds to a minute after first being encountered. Some research suggests that encoding of the information is mainly acoustic rather than visual. 3. Long term memory- through repetition (or the techniques presented in this chapter) information can be stored in long term memory- which refers to periods of years up to a lifetime. Research suggests that Long term memory is primarily encoded semantically. The hippocampus is a part of the brain believed to be essential in the transferral of memories from short term to long term storage. Sleep is considered a crucial component in this process of consolidating information. Without using any techniques, it is sensible to realise that lifestyle choices have a strong effect on cognitive functioning- crucial factors are regular and adequate amount of sleep, balanced diet, physical activity and limiting stress. The Manual- A guide to the Ultimate Study Method (USM); covering Speed Reading, Super Memory, Laser Concentration, Rapid Mental Arithmetic and the Ultimate Study Method (USM) by Rod Bremer Maryam Alavi, vice-dean of Emery University’s Goizueta Business School, argues that the only way firms can continue to have lower transaction costs than the open market is if they become more complex internally in order to respond to the increasingly complex external market.
In the Aspen Institute’s “The Future of Work,” she explained that this was due to the “law of requisite variety” in systems theory, and she argued that a system must be as complex as the environment it is working within: “There are parts of the organization that are going to become more hierarchical because of the uncertainties that they deal with or don’t deal with. And there are parts of the organization that will need to be highly dynamic, open, and changing.”36 Thus the new industrial organizational model. It’s built around “small pieces, loosely joined.” Companies are smaller, virtual, and informal. Most participants are not employees. They form and re-form on the fly, driven by ability and need rather than affiliation and obligation. It doesn’t matter who the best people work for; if the project is interesting enough, the best people will find it. Makers: The New Industrial Revolution by Chris Anderson In the mid-1930s, Ronald Coase, then a recent London School of Economics graduate, was musing over what to many people might have seemed a silly question: Why do companies exist? Why do we pledge our allegiance to an institution and gather in the same building to get things done? His eventual answer, which he published in his landmark 1937 article “The Nature of the Firm,”33 was this: companies exist to minimize “transaction costs”—time, hassle, confusion, mistakes. When people share a purpose and have established roles, responsibilities, and modes of communication, it’s easy to make things happen. You simply turn to the person in the next cubicle and ask that individual to do his or her job. But in a passing comment in a 1990 interview, Bill Joy, one of the cofounders of Sun Microsystems, revealed a flaw in Coase’s model. “No matter who you are, most of the smartest people work for someone else,” he observed, stating what has now come to be known as “Joy’s Law.” His implication: for the sake of minimizing transaction costs, we don’t work with the best people. Instead, we work with whomever our company was able to hire. Even for the best companies, that’s a woefully inefficient process.
As New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman puts it, “It used to be that only cheap foreign manual labor was easily available; now cheap foreign genius is easily available.” Not just cheap because they work for less money; cheap because they’re often working for no money at all, as global volunteers in a project that they believe in while some other job puts food on the table. In short, because we don’t operate the company in a Coaseian model, we’ve got more and smarter people working for us. We minimize transaction costs with technology, not proximity. A social network is our common roof. Skype is the “next cubicle.” Our shared purpose is really shared, not dictated. Yet communities can’t make physical goods by themselves. Somebody has to do the manufacturing, handle the inventory, get the liability insurance, and run the customer support, and that takes money, a legal structure, and real day-to-day responsibilities. Thus, a company. So, in the new manufacturing model, you need a new kind of manufacturing company, too. At its core, it has to incorporate all the skills and learning of traditional manufacturing companies—tight quality control, efficient inventory management, and supply-chain management—so that it can compete with them on basic price and quality. But it also needs to incorporate many of the skills of Web companies in creating and harnessing a community around its products that allow it to design new goods faster, better, cheaper. In short, it must be like the best hardware companies and the best software companies. Atoms and bits. Makers: The New Industrial Revolution by Chris Anderson Conferences are good for mainly one thing.
No, it’s not the coffee and cookies at breaks. It’s not even pricey business enlightenment. They provide a forum to meet the kind of like-minded people who can help you fulfill your mission and goals. Before deciding to attend a conference, I sometimes informally go so far as using a simple return-on-investment-type thought process. Is the likely return I’ll get from the relationships I establish and build equal to or greater than the price of the conference and the time I spend there? If so, I attend. If not, I don’t. It’s that simple. That may seem like an awfully pragmatic view of conferences, but it works. These executives are far from alone in holding such attitudes—stems from an all-too-common misperception that conferences are places to find insight. Wrong. Real, actionable insight mostly comes from experience, books, and other people. Roundtable discussions and keynote speeches can be fun, even inspirational, but rarely is there the time to impart true knowledge. But there may be no better place to extend your professional network and, on occasion, get deals done. Let me give you an example based on sales. In the old model of selling, 80 percent of a salesperson’s time went into setting up meetings, giving a presentation, and trying to close a deal. The other 20 percent was spent developing a relationship with the customer. Today, we focus mostly on relationship selling. Smart salespeople—in fact, smart employees and business owners of all stripes—spend 80 percent of their time building strong relationships with the people they do business with. The slickest PowerPoint presentation can’t compete with the development of real affection and trust in capturing the hearts and minds of other people. Don’t think of your next conference as a business-related retreat. Think of it as a well-coordinated campaign to further your mission. Here are the rules I follow at each and every event I attend: Help the Organizer (Better Yet, Be the Organizer) Conferences are logistical nightmares. There are a thousand different things that go into pulling off a successful business gathering. The mess that can ensue is an opportunity for you to come in and help out—and become an insider in the process. Once you’re on the inside, you can find out who will be attending and what the hot events will be. And you’ll find yourself at all those unlisted dinners and cocktail parties that are thrown for the conference poobahs. The key is to work hard to make the conference a success. Listen. Better Yet, Speak Are you someone who thinks becoming a speaker is a big deal? That’s true for a lot of people. I’m here to tell you it’s not as tough as you might think, but it is also perhaps more important than you can imagine Nothing frightens the daylights out of some people like the thought of spending fifteen minutes talking about what they do in front of an audience, even if the audience is made up of generally receptive folks (like family and friends!). Calm yourself. First, you should know that giving speeches is one of the easiest and most effective ways to get yourself, your business, and your ideas seen, heard of, and remembered, and you don’t need to be Tony Robbins to find yourself a forum of people willing to hear you out. How many people find themselves in front of an audience on any given day? The numbers are shocking. There are thousands of forums and events going on—for every imaginable reason—each and every day. All these forums need a warm body to say something the slightest bit inspiring or insightful to their guests. Most speakers, unfortunately, deliver neither. The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) says the meetings industry is a nearly $83 billion market, with over $56 billion being spent annually on conventions and seminars alone. That ranks conferences—get this!—as the twenty-third-largest contributor to the Gross National Product. The point here is that the opportunity to speak exists everywhere, paid or unpaid. It’s fun, it can be profitable, and there’s no better way to get yourself known—and get to know others—at an event. Study after study shows that the more speeches one gives, the higher one’s income bracket tends to be. How do you become a speaker at a conference? First, you need something to say: You need content (which I’ll discuss in another chapter). You need to develop a spiel about the niche you occupy. In fact, you can develop a number of different spiels, catering to a number of different audiences (again, I’ll get to that later). What if you are at a conference and you’re not a speaker? There are other places to distinguish yourself. Remember, you’re not there just to learn new things from other people—you’re there to meet others and have others meet and remember you. When sessions open up for questions, try and be among the first people to put your hand in the air. A really well-formed and insightful question is a mini-opportunity to get seen by the entire audience. Be sure to introduce yourself, tell people what company you work for, what you do, and then ask a question that leaves the audience buzzing. Ideally, the question should be related to your expertise so you have something to say when someone comes up and says, “That was an interesting question.” Guerrilla Warfare: Organize a Conference Within a Conference True commandos aren’t restricted by the agenda that they receive at registration. Who says you can’t arrange your own dinner while at the conference, or put together an informal discussion on a particular topic that matters to you? Often, creating your own forum is the best way to assure that people you’re looking to meet will be in the same place at the same time. Ideally, you’d like to invite a stable of speakers to your dinner, which will provide a star-studded draw to your little event. Remember, even an unknown becomes a mini-star after their talk at an event. Draft Off a Big Kahuna If you get to know the most popular man or woman at the conference—the one who knows everyone—you’ll be able to hang with them as they circle through the most important people at the conference. Be an Information Hub Once you’ve created an opportunity to meet new people, establish yourself as an “information hub”—a key role of any good networker. How? Go beyond just memorizing the conference’s brochure. Identify information the people around you would like to know, and come prepared. Master the Deep Bump The bump is the main weapon in your conference commando arsenal. Reduced to its essence, it is the two minutes you’re given with someone you’re “bumping into” whom you are looking to meet. Your goal should be to leave the encounter with an invitation to reconnect at a later time. The bump, like other practices, is nuanced. The perfect bump is one that feels both fast and meaningful at the same time. I call this ideal a “deep bump.” Deep bumps are an effort to quickly make contact, establish enough of a connection to secure the next meeting, and move on. You’ve just paid a boatload of money to be at this conference (unless you’re a speaker, when it’s usually free!), and you want to meet as many people as you can in the time that you have. You’re not looking to make a best friend. You are looking, however, to make enough of a connection to secure a follow-up. Creating a connection between any two people necessitates a certain level of intimacy. In two minutes, you need to look deeply into the other person’s eyes and heart, listen intently, ask questions that go beyond just business, and reveal a little about yourself in a way that introduces some vulnerability (yes, vulnerability; it’s contagious!) into the interaction. All these things come together to create a genuine connection. Not possible, you exclaim. Ah, but I’ve seen it done and I do it. The deep bump is not just theoretical mumbo jumbo. There are some people who need just seconds, rather than minutes, to pull off a deep bump. Former President Bill Clinton, for instance, is the master. I’ve watched him up close as he works a line of well-wishers and fans (and sometimes, strident opponents). With each person, President Clinton will reach out to shake his or her hand. Most of the time, he’ll use two hands or clasp a person’s elbow to create instantaneous warmth. He’ll make direct eye contact and, in that fleeting moment, ask a personal question or two. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard different people from the same event comment about how incredible it was to be the sole focus of the man’s attention. And that’s even the Republicans. The profoundness of that connection doesn’t come from the President’s desire to impart his opinion or riff on policy. His goal is at once very simple and powerful. The President wants you to like him (so in his own now-famous words, he “feels” what you feel). When he shows in those brief moments that he likes and cares about you, the human response is to reciprocate. He is finely tuned in to the radio station that we each listen to, WIIFM, also known as What’s In It for Me? I never once heard Clinton ask for a vote or talk about himself when engaged in these quick, casual encounters. His questions always revolved around what the other person was thinking, what was troubling them. Know Your Targets You’re ready to bump. Now you just need someone to bump against. At each conference, I keep a list of three or four people I’d most like to meet on a folded piece of paper in my jacket pocket. I check off each person as I meet them. Beside their name, I’ll jot down what we talked about and make a note about how I’m going to contact them later. And, once you’ve met with and engaged someone, you find yourself chatting again and again throughout the conference. Breaks Are No Time to Take a Break Breaks are where the real work happens at a conference. Make sure and stake out the right place. Have you ever noticed how guests gather in the kitchen or some other central place when you have gatherings at home? One warm and centrally located spot is often the center of any party. The same holds true at a business gathering. Determine where most people will gather, or at least pass, and station yourself there. This might be near the food table, the bar, or the reception area. Be on your game during these times. U.S. News & World Report revealed Henry Kissinger’s technique for commanding a room: “Enter the room. Step to the right. Survey the room. See who is there. You want other people to see you.” Follow Up If you didn’t think I was a nut before, now it’s a certainty. I know I’ve told you to follow up already, but that’s how vitally important I think it is. So here it is again: follow up. After that, follow up again. Then, after you’ve done that, follow up once more. I don’t like to put it off or it might not get done. How many of you have cards from events that occurred months ago or even longer? That’s a lost opportunity. During speeches, I’ll sit in the back and write follow-up e-mails to the people I just met at the previous break. Everyone you talked with at the conference needs to get an e-mail reminding them of their commitment to talk again. I also like sending a note to the speakers, even if I didn’t get a chance to meet them. It’s the People, Not the Speakers You’ve probably already figured this rule out by now. I don’t often find the content of conferences particularly useful. I read a lot. I think about these subjects constantly and talk to a lot of people. By the time I get to a conference, I know the substance of what’s going to be said. Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz The single most important factor to a product’s success is not the founders, not the marketing effort, and certainly not the product. It’s whether there’s a group of people willing to pay for it. I mentioned in the previous chapter: Market comes first, marketing second, aesthetic third, and functionality a distant fourth.
Start Small, Stay Small: A Developer's Guide to Launching a Startup by Rob Walling The info-business does not require talent, just an understanding of your market and a little work. I had no idea how many possible ways there are to create an information product, it reminds me of the Friends episose where they tried to name all 50 states from memory.
Sounds easy. Not so easy. D 41 Types of Information Products Paper and Ink 1. Reports—one to eight pages, addressing specialized topics 2. Tip sheets—one page, very specialized, very how-to, no fluff 3. Manuals—usually published in loose-leaf notebook or spiral-bound format 4. Books 5. Boxed sets of books 6. Home study courses—may include printed product with other types (e.g., audio, video) 7. Tests and quizzes—self-scoring or computer-scoring 8. Seminar or speech transcripts 9. Newsletters 10. Back issues of newsletters or reports 11. Other continuity products, such as “Book a Month” 12. Sets of cards (e.g., reminder cards, recipe cards) 13. Forms (e.g., time management systems, step-by-step processes) 14. Posters 15. Multi-author publications (several authors contribute to one product; each gets to sell it) Audio and Video 16. Audiotapes—live recorded speeches, seminars, consultations 17. Audiotapes—how-to instructions, usually studio recorded 18. Audiotapes—interviews, conversations, roundtable discussions 19. Audiotapes—collections of radio broadcasts 20. Audiotapes—interactive, with a workbook 21. Audiotapes—subliminal, self-hypnosis, etc. 22. Videotapes—live-recorded speeches, seminars, consultations 23. Videotapes—how-to instructions 24. Videotapes—interviews, conversations, roundtable discussions 25. Videotapes—interactive, with a workbook Internet Products 26. E-book—book delivered electronically over the internet 27. Download—customer downloads manuals and audio over the internet after purchase 28. Online videos—entire products are now often delivered through online videos either made using screen shots of PowerPoint presentations or through live-action videos of a live seminar or someone teaching in front of a camera 29. Membership site—customers are allowed to access information on password-protected website 30. Structured lessons—customers are led through a series of lessons; may include examinations Miscellaneous 31. Trainer kits—multimedia, for use in conducting classes, workshops, etc. 32. Memberships 33. Devices (e.g., stress card) 34. Plaques 35. Computer software 36. “Packages”—of a variety of related information products, offered at a special price 37. Continuity programs involving multiple-information products, multiple media 38. Services—tied to memberships or purchases or used as premiums 39. Customized—to different markets, different clients/users 40. Private-labeled—for other marketers, users 41. Licensed Official Get Rich Guide to Information Marketing: Build a Million Dollar Business Within 12 Months by Robert Skrob Fear The first time you try something it’s scary.
How to Avoid It While there’s no way to avoid the fear of starting your company, the following can help put the fear in perspective: The up-front fear is a big indicator that you’re going to grow as a person if you proceed through it. And, frankly, the terror wears off pretty quickly. It’s true. Surprisingly, anything is much easier the second time. And the third. And by the fourth time you can’t even feel the hair on the back of your neck, or the sweat in your palms because it’s no longer there. The terror goes away surprisingly quickly. The interesting thing is that the more you taste this growth, the more you want it. It’s a rush, and it’s addictive. Start Small, Stay Small: A Developer's Guide to Launching a Startup by Rob Walling Process is King "Documenting repeatable processes for anything you will do more than once is essential to your sanity. It’s true; you can fly by the seat of your pants and get by, but it makes you a hostage to your work. If you’ve ever been a manager you probably like process and understand its benefits. If you’re a developer you probably dislike process or see it as a necessary evil. Startups, being lean and mean, seem like the perfect place to eliminate documents, have no systems, and no processes…but that’s far from the truth. Without process it’s impossible to delegate, difficult to bring on a business partner, and easy to make mistakes. With processes in place it’s much easier to sell your product if/when you want to make an exit. The fact is, creating processes will bring you freedom through the ability to easily automate and outsource tasks. We’ll discuss this in chapter Nothing about a Startup is a One-Time Effort Many of us have the dream of launching our startup, investing time in the marketing effort, and from that day forward being able to focus on writing code. The problem is, nearly everything about a startup requires ongoing effort." Again, Process is King Start Small, Stay Small: A Developer's Guide to Launching a Startup by Rob Walling When you start to build your business online, knowing what to measure helps to tell you how to build and what elements matter and what doesn't. Too often people don't create a feedback loop to let themselves see how they are doing. These loops are important as you want to improve fast, and knowing what doesn't work to improve your key measureables is critical to success.
The following list is pretty straight forward, and pretty comprehensive.. Site traffic/ Email list
Sales
Income
To paraphrase Drucker, what gets measured, gets done. Make sure you are going the direction you think you are, and the direction you want. Measure things. D We live in a fast-paced digital world that bombards us with information. Our inboxes are a constant procession of new and old names demanding our attention. Our brains are in constant overdrive trying to keep track of all the bits and bytes and names that cross our desk each and every day. It’s natural that to stay sane, we must forget or ignore most of the data clamoring for a sliver of real estate in our already overcrowded noggins. In such a world, it’s incomprehensible that only a small percentage of us decide to follow up once we’ve met someone new. I can’t say this strongly enough: When you meet someone with whom you want to establish a relationship, take the extra little step to ensure you won’t be lost in their mental attic.
Do you want to stand out from the crowd? Then you’ll be miles ahead by following up better and smarter than the hordes scrambling for the person’s attention. The fact is, most people don’t follow up very well, if at all. Good follow-up alone elevates you above 95 percent of your peers. The follow-up is the hammer and nails of your networking tool kit. In fact, FOLLOW-UP IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN ANY FIELD. Making sure a new acquaintance retains your name (and the favorable impression you’ve created) is a process you should set in motion right after you’ve met someone. Give yourself between twelve and twenty-four hours after you meet someone to follow up. If you meet somebody on a plane, send them an e-mail later that day. If you meet somebody over cocktails, again, send them an e-mail the next morning. For random encounters and chance meetings, e-mail is a fine tool for dropping a quick note to say, “It was a pleasure meeting you. We must keep in touch.” In such an e-mail, I like to cite something particular we talked about in the course of our conversation—whether a shared hobby or business interest—that serves as a mental reminder of who I am. When I leave the meeting, I put the name and e-mail address of the new acquaintance in my database and program my PDA or BlackBerry to remind me in a month’s time to drop the person another e-mail, just to keep in touch. Another effective way to follow up is to clip relevant articles and send them to the people in your network who might be interested. When people do this for me, I’m tremendously appreciative; it shows they’re thinking about me and the issues I’m facing. Here are a few more reminders of what to include in your follow-ups: • Always express your gratitude. • Be sure to include an item of interest from your meeting or conversation—a joke or a shared moment of humor. • Reaffirm whatever commitments you both made—going both ways. • Be brief and to the point. • Always address the thank-you note to the person by name. • Use e-mail and snail mail. The combination adds a personalized touch. • Timeliness is key. Send them as soon as possible after the meeting or interview. • Many people wait until the holidays to say thank you or reach out. Why wait? Your follow-ups will be timelier, more appropriate, and certainly better remembered. • Don’t forget to follow up with those who have acted as the go-between for you and someone else. Let the original referrer know how the conversation went, and express your appreciation for their help. Make follow-up a habit. Make it automatic. When you do, the days of struggling to remember people’s names—and of other people struggling to remember yours—will be a thing of the past. Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz |
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Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” |