Look at how he handled the publicity following the killing of Osama Bin Laden, and there’s little doubt Barack Obama is one of the smartest persons ever to become President. Look at how his fellow Americans are celebrating, and you can see why even Sarah Palin stands a chance in the US.
If you’re serious about software, you should make your own hardware.
- Steve Jobs
1. Try to find the higher purpose in what you are doing. Reframe even the most boring tasks.
2. Help someone. Ask yourself everyday at work: “how can I help someone today?”.
3. Find a way to get outside every day. Sunshine and nature and fresh air are vital to happiness.
4. Listen more than you speak.
5. Stop judging others.
6. Focus on what you can control.
7. Keep your promises and do what you say you are going to do.
–> Full post here.
If you sign up for the initiative path and continue on it when others fret about “quality” and “predictability”, you will ultimately succeed. The crowd won’t stop worrying, because worrying is what they enjoy doing. But that’s okay, because you’ll be making a difference and using your newfound leverage to do more and more work that matters.
- Seth Godin, Poke the Box
As Sergey Brin famously said, There’s nothing but search. In a similar vein, Doc Searls once said that the web was filling in two specific and very real needs, the need to know, and the need to buy. On the other hand, dear Mr. Marketer, none of us feels any impelling need to be advertised to. Or targeted. Or sliced and diced. Or to have a relationship we didn’t even know we had with a company we don’t care much about – hey, that’s you, toothpaste sellers of the world! – managed (since when did we become so romantic to manage relationships?) by somebody whose sole aim is to sell more stuff to us. As RageBoy said, these are all just MTDs, or Marketing Transmitted Delusions.
When I’m watchin’ my TV
and a man comes on to tell me
how white my shirts can be…I Can’t Get No Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones
You know a field is red hot and ripe for innovation when everybody starts suing everybody else over just about anything: Microsoft sues Barnes & Noble over the Android-based Nook; Apple sues Amazon.com – the only company with .com in their name proper not to have folded – over using App Store, which apparently is a trademark, in connection with their mobile software developer program.
I’ve had my fair share of crappy jobs, as we all have. You know what? I never hated a job because of what it took from me – all jobs take a lot from you, especially the best ones.
I hated a job because it never allowed me to give enough to the world.
That’s all I ever wanted: my best self, playing my best game.- Hugh MacLeod, Evil Plans, via Simone
I don’t know where Marissa Mayer read that, apparently
credit card companies know with 98% accuracy two years before that you’re going to get divorced.
But I see a business model here. What if you and your boyfriend or girlfriend could submit your credit card purchases before you get married and get an educated guess from them about the chances – how much more or how much less than the standard 50%? – of your future marriage falling apart?
Google has the functionality of a really complicated Swiss Army knife, but the home page is our way of approaching it closed. It’s simple, it’s elegant, you can slip it in your pocket, but it’s got the great doodad when you need it. A lot of our competitors are like a Swiss Army knife open — and that can be intimidating and occasionally harmful.
— Marissa Mayer, VP Consumer Products, Google, as quoted in Userfocus, via PB
The NY Times, in addition to showing you what your friends are sharing on Facebook and Twitter, is now offering recommendations via an in-house recommendation engine. The digital newspaper is now made up of what the editors think is important, what your friends share and what you read.
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