What I Read
Run a Disciplined Innovation Experiment
StandardDisruptive Innovation Explained by HBS Professor Clayton M. Christensen
StandardBook Brief: The Hard things about Hard Things
StandardCreating Shared Value: It’s the Future
StandardA 1959 Essay by Isaac Asimov on Creativity
StandardBook Brief: The Innovator’s Dilemma
StandardWhat is GDPR and why is it important?
StandardThe General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) standardizes data protection law across all 28 EU countries and imposes strict new rules on controlling and processing personally identifiable information (PII). It also extends the protection of personal data and data protection rights by giving control back to EU residents. GDPR replaces the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive, and goes into force on May 25, 2018. It also supersedes the 1998 UK Data Protection Act. Continue reading
What exactly is the sharing economy?
StandardWhen I first attended Davos in January 2013, I asked everyone I met if they’d heard of the term “sharing economy.” Ninety percent of people said no, 5% assumed I was talking about barter exchange, and the remaining 5% acknowledged new technologies and peer-to-peer networks were enabling emergent business models. It was difficult to find anyone who had used Airbnb or BlaBlaCar. Later that year I co-founded the Forum’s Sharing Economy Working Group with other Young Global Leaders, with the goal of building awareness, visibility and expertise throughout the Forum’s communities.
Customer-driven development: 3 ways to make customers part of R&D
StandardYou invested tons of money to develop a new capability in your software. It passed all QA tests, from functionality to performance to security. But customer calls are streaming into your support team, each complaining about how the new release has negatively affected the user experience. The software generates defects if customers use your product in a way that was not specifically tested by R&D, such as in different environments or when run on alternative configurations. Continue reading
The Mini-CEO Archetypes
StandardReframing Growth Strategy in a Digital Economy
StandardBig corporations need new strategies in a world of digital disruptors. That means setting ambitious visions and coming up with concrete action plans. The new C-suite mantra: “What’s your play?” Continue reading
A Product Management Reading List
StandardThere seem to be tons of books out there that claim to be “perfect” for the Product Manager and those wanting to move into a role in Product Management. There are also reading lists across the Internet — some better, some worse. I’ve found the following 18 books to be essential reading for anyone who is or wants to be a Product Manager; the list is in no way a complete list of all the great books, but a shortlist of those that I think are absolute must-reads. Continue reading
How to be Productive
ImageDesign Thinking: Is It Important?
StandardDesign thinking is the biggest buzzword in the design world since flat design. Everyone is talking about it… even non-designers. So what is design thinking? Is it important? Should you care?
Starup = Growth
StandardA startup is a company designed to grow fast. Being newly founded does not in itself make a company a startup. Nor is it necessary for a startup to work on technology, or take venture funding, or have some sort of “exit.” The only essential thing is growth. Everything else we associate with startups follows from growth. Continue reading
Getting Traction: The Bullseye Framework
VideoPeople Wranglers or Individual Contributors?
StandardCompanies are finding new ways to improve the way they run. One of those ways is rethinking the way the company is structured and review the opportunities for career progression. In the most basic form, companies have the choice of opting for a flat or hierarchical structure. Continue reading
The Science Of Persuasion
VideoThe Amazing Lily
Video7 Great Financial Resolutions for 2016, and How to Keep Them
StandardFinancial New Year’s resolutions are really common, but they can be some of the toughest to stick with. If you choose the right resolutions, though, and use the right tools, you should be able to make a big positive difference in your finances this year.
Here are seven different resolutions you might make and a bunch of resources that will help you out. Continue reading
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, in one chart
StandardI’m Sorry, But Agile Won’t Fix Your Products
StandardIf you don’t regularly read Steve Denning’s work, you should. He’s one of the better writers on the future of work. In an article he wrote for Forbes last week, he starts by stating that the Agile product development method has gone mainstream, but poses the question as to whether it has now become a fad like so many other management theories. His conclusion is that Agile is not merely a fad because, Continue reading
The Multi-Generational Workforce: A Personality Analysis (DATA)
StandardIf you thought personality was intrinsic and immutable, chances are you were wrong! Personality does change with age and there is an entire trajectory of traits that dominate a person’s behavior depending on his or her generation. Based on user responses to Good.Co’s personality survey, we were able to unearth personality trends based on age. Continue reading
How to Succeed in a Startup
StandardThree Tips for First-Time Gen-Y Leaders
StandardThe backlash for first-time business leaders, namely those from Gen Y who were born between roughly 1982 and 1994, is at the watercooler, at the company happy hour and even in the carpool home.
Often referred to as the “Me Generation,” members of Gen Y are scrutinized for their perceived sense of entitlement and their workplace tendency to “march to their own drummer.” Continue reading
Top 10 Ways to Lead by Example
StandardGood leaders must lead by example. By walking your talk, you become a person others want to follow. When leaders say one thing, but do another, they erode trust–a critical element of productive leadership. Here are 10 of the many ways to lead by example. Continue reading
Blue Ocean Strategy
StandardPorter’s Five Forces: Analyzing the Competition
StandardWhether you are starting a new business or looking for more insight into your existing company’s prospects, you probably have questions about the competition. One way to answer those questions is by using Porter’s Five Forces model. Continue reading
How to Create a Breakthrough: The Three Critical Elements
StandardTony Robbins says he “lives for breakthroughs.” Whether you want to engage in healthier relationships, shed some pounds or build a successful business, we all have the power to boost our chances at success in every aspect of life. Robbins says breakthroughs share three steps, all equally important: Continue reading
The Age of Unicorns
StandardThe billion-dollar tech startup was supposed to be the stuff of myth. Now they seem to be … everywhere.
Stewart Butterfield had one objective when he set out to raise money for his startup last fall: a billion dollars or nothing. If he couldn’t reach a $1 billion valuation for Slack, his San Francisco business software company, he wouldn’t bother. Slack was hardly starving for cash. It was a rocket ship, with thousands of people signing up for its workplace collaboration tools each week. What Slack needed, Butterfield believed, was the cachet of the billion-dollar mark. Continue reading
These 15 “Soft Skills” Define the A-Team
StandardIn the 1980s and 1990s I placed hundreds of people in management positions. A few dozen got quickly promoted multiple times. I met up with one of them last week who’s now an EVP with an F250 company. Many of the hiring managers who hired these people had similar track records of success. Coincidently, I was at a business conference with a number of them last month. These two events got me thinking about all of these people – the hundreds and the dozens – and what they had in common. Continue reading
3 Top Strategies for Attracting Visitors to Your Website
StandardWith millions of websites out there, getting visitors to your site is often the biggest challenge for business owners. Your strategies for doing so may include search engines, paid search services, and affiliates. Let’s consider them one at a time. Continue reading
20 Great Small Business Ideas for 2015
StandardNew year, new business. If you’re like most people who dream about starting their own business, finally taking that leap is likely one of your New Year’s resolutions. For many would-be entrepreneurs, however, not knowing what kind of business to start is holding them back. Having the entrepreneurial spirit running through your veins is rarely enough — entrepreneurs also need a great business idea to make their dreams come true.
Here are plenty of great small business ideas to get you started. Continue reading
‘No Copy Plugin’ for Websites to Prevent Copycats
StandardRecently I have created a Plugin for Websites which prevents unwanted copycats from doing:
- Right Click
- Cut
- Copy
- Paste
- Select
- Drag
- Key-down
‘SMS Plugin’ for OpenCart that Notifies Store Admin and Customer
StandardRecently I have created an SMS Plugin for OpenCart through which an online shop can be able to send SMS notification to:
- Store Admin
- Additional Store side people
- Customer
In the event of:
- When an Order is placed
- When an Order status is changed
10 Reasons You Have To Quit Your Job In 2015
StandardThis was going to end badly.
My boss screamed at me in front of my colleagues. I had done something wrong of course. I had sent a product to the client without debugging it thoroughly. It was my fault. But I don’t like being yelled at.
And fortunately I was sitting on a job offer that I decided to take that moment. So the next day I said the magic words, “I quit”.
Distracted? 11 Hacks That Will Help You Focus
ImageSound familiar? If procrastination and a lack of focus are problems for you, check out the infographic below by Anna Vital, information designer at Funders and Founders. These 11 tricks to help you get your focus on, if you can pay attention long enough to remember them. Some Cliff’s notes: Classical music and pets are helpful, a cluttered desk and an uncomfortable chair are not.
Check out the rest of the advice and get to work.
4 Reasons Why an Online Business is the Best Investment You Will Ever Make
StandardEntrepreneurs are a rare breed of individuals who are constantly exploring new business opportunities. Some seek out new opportunities on their own while others are constantly being pitched new ideas.
The majority of opportunities, no matter how good they might sound, end up being a complete money-sucking nightmare due to expensive overhead, slow scalability and low margins. Online businesses, however, can be very appealing because they don’t have the traditional hurdles that most new ventures face. The following are four reasons why online businesses are the best investment entrepreneurs can make. Continue reading
Running Lean Canvas
ImageGetting On The Right Line Of Thinking – Think Like an Entrepreneur
StandardHow does one learn to think? If you get lost, here is a line of thinking map.
The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Business Plan
StandardWriting a business plan may sound difficult and dull — and by “may,” we mean “definitely” — but it doesn’t have to be. Yes, we know you’re eager to dive right in on that world-changing business idea, but having your strategy on paper is critical.
The Four Vs of Big Data
ImageShu-Ha-Ri: Measuring Agile Adoption Maturity
Imagehttp://www.slideshare.net/cognizant/shuhari-measuring-agile-adoption-maturity
5 Reasons Business Use the Cloud
ImageCucumber Diet: Lose 15 Pounds In 14 Days!
StandardThis diet is based on cucumber salad which you can eat as much as you want whenever you feel hunger. It is ideal for everybody who doesn’t really want to think about what they are going to eat while dieting because the diet plan is really simple. Continue reading
Product Owner or Product Manager?
StandardCan one person be both a Product Owner and a Product Manager? After spending nearly three years combining the role, I have now come to the conclusion that the answer is no. It is an “or” – you are either a Product Owner OR a Product Manager. Now, that is not to say that one cannot grow from one role to the other, but trying to perform both functions at the same time can be counter-productive. Here are the reasons that have led me to this conclusion.
The Politics of Agile
Standard95 Sartup Advice by Sam Altman
StandardIn honor of the new YC batch starting tomorrow, here is some of the best start-up advice I’ve heard or given (mostly heard):
8 Signs and Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis
StandardDo you have RA?
by Tammy Worth
Rheumatoid arthritis is a serious autoimmune disease that attacks the joints and other body parts.
But RA can be tough to diagnose. Symptoms can mimic other illnesses, or they may flare, then fade, only to flare again somewhere else. Lab tests aren’t perfect—you can test negative for RA factors and still have it. And X-rays don’t show signs until later on.
Here are some tricky rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and hints that they’re due to RA and not some other condition.