Presented by Entrepreneur.com
Carmine Gallo, On Friday October 14, 2011, 5:48 am EDT
Steve Jobs' impact on your life cannot be overestimated. His innovations have likely touched nearly every aspect -- computers, movies, music and mobile. As a communications coach, I learned from Jobs that a presentation can, indeed, inspire. For entrepreneurs, Jobs' greatest legacy is the set of principles that drove his success.
Over the years, I've become a student of sorts of Jobs' career and life. Here's my take on the rules and values underpinning his success. Any of us can adopt them to unleash our "inner Steve Jobs."
1. Do what you love. Jobs once said, "People with passion can change the world for the better." Asked about the advice he would offer would-be entrepreneurs, he said, "I'd get a job as a busboy or something until I figured out what I was really passionate about." That's how much it meant to him. Passion is everything.
2. Put a dent in the universe. Jobs believed in the power of vision. He once asked then-Pepsi President, John Sculley, "Do you want to spend your life selling sugar water or do you want to change the world?" Don't lose sight of the big vision.
3. Make connections. Jobs once said creativity is connecting things. He meant that people with a broad set of life experiences can often see things that others miss. He took calligraphy classes that didn't have any practical use in his life -- until he built the Macintosh. Jobs traveled to India and Asia. He studied design and hospitality. Don't live in a bubble. Connect ideas from different fields.
4. Say no to 1,000 things. Jobs was as proud of what Apple chose not to do as he was of what Apple did. When he returned in Apple in 1997, he took a company with 350 products and reduced them to 10 products in a two-year period. Why? So he could put the "A-Team" on each product. What are you saying "no" to?
5. Create insanely different experiences. Jobs also sought innovation in the customer-service experience. When he first came up with the concept for the Apple Stores, he said they would be different because instead of just moving boxes, the stores would enrich lives. Everything about the experience you have when you walk into an Apple store is intended to enrich your life and to create an emotional connection between you and the Apple brand. What are you doing to enrich the lives of your customers?
6. Master the message. You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can't communicate your ideas, it doesn't matter. Jobs was the world's greatest corporate storyteller. Instead of simply delivering a presentation like most people do, he informed, he educated, he inspired and he entertained, all in one presentation.
7. Sell dreams, not products. Jobs captured our imagination because he really understood his customer. He knew that tablets would not capture our imaginations if they were too complicated. The result? One button on the front of an iPad. It's so simple, a 2-year-old can use it. Your customers don't care about your product. They care about themselves, their hopes, their ambitions. Jobs taught us that if you help your customers reach their dreams, you'll win them over.
There's one story that I think sums up Jobs' career at Apple. An executive who had the job of reinventing the Disney Store once called up Jobs and asked for advice. His counsel? Dream bigger. I think that's the best advice he could leave us with. See genius in your craziness, believe in yourself, believe in your vision, and be constantly prepared to defend those ideas.
Remembering Apple's Steve Jobs.
This article originally posted on Entrepreneur.com
Oct 19, 2011
Mar 3, 2010
Running on Empty: Michael Furdyk
"Never be afraid of failure. Just learn from it. When you're young you have even less to lose."
~Michael Furdyk who started his MyDesktop.com at his 16 years old in 1996 and sold it for over 1 million in 1999. However his another project Buybuddy.com was suffered and shut down in 2001 after 3 years of survival in the market. Now he is managing his TakingITGlobal.org as a non-profit social network to educate youngsters in using technology to solve global problems - INSPIRE INFORM INVOLVE.
~Michael Furdyk who started his MyDesktop.com at his 16 years old in 1996 and sold it for over 1 million in 1999. However his another project Buybuddy.com was suffered and shut down in 2001 after 3 years of survival in the market. Now he is managing his TakingITGlobal.org as a non-profit social network to educate youngsters in using technology to solve global problems - INSPIRE INFORM INVOLVE.
Nov 26, 2009
TED: Dress the Buildings with "Fabrics"
I witnessed the whole construction process of his building "Graduate House of University of Toronto" day to night, day by day from 1999 to 2002. Amazing. Nothing is better than watching the whole building starts from the ground to its climax. It can melt me bit by bit. Want to know how's the feeling from inside out.
Founder of the influential studio Morphosis, and co-founder of the Southern California Institute of Architecture, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne marries conceptual ideas with form, challenging the way we perceive structure, building and the environment.
Widely regarded as one of the world's most provocative architects, Thom Mayne is only interested in exploring the new, the present and the now. For him, architecture is not a matter of producing a readily imaginable building, but is instead a starting point for a larger discussion. The output of his Santa Monica-based studio, Morphosis, shows the results of the negotiations between concept and reality.
As Mayne describes things, the only constant in his professional career has been people telling him something can't be done. But he and his studio continue to produce astonishing work for clients worldwide, including government offices, hospitals, restaurants, residences and schools. Redefining how buildings work both within themselves and within their environment, Mayne and Morphosis are forging dramatic new landscapes for a startlingly modern world.
"Thom Mayne has never been a shy architect. His designs mix technological bravura with the kind of urban grit that you associate with [LA]'s sprawling freeways and giant billboards. Yet underneath the tough veneer lies a strong current of social optimism."~New York Times
Founder of the influential studio Morphosis, and co-founder of the Southern California Institute of Architecture, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne marries conceptual ideas with form, challenging the way we perceive structure, building and the environment.
Widely regarded as one of the world's most provocative architects, Thom Mayne is only interested in exploring the new, the present and the now. For him, architecture is not a matter of producing a readily imaginable building, but is instead a starting point for a larger discussion. The output of his Santa Monica-based studio, Morphosis, shows the results of the negotiations between concept and reality.
As Mayne describes things, the only constant in his professional career has been people telling him something can't be done. But he and his studio continue to produce astonishing work for clients worldwide, including government offices, hospitals, restaurants, residences and schools. Redefining how buildings work both within themselves and within their environment, Mayne and Morphosis are forging dramatic new landscapes for a startlingly modern world.
"Thom Mayne has never been a shy architect. His designs mix technological bravura with the kind of urban grit that you associate with [LA]'s sprawling freeways and giant billboards. Yet underneath the tough veneer lies a strong current of social optimism."~New York Times
Nov 24, 2009
TED: Genius, how we ruin it.
Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius.
Elizabeth Gilbert faced down a premidlife crisis by doing what we all secretly dream of – running off for a year. Her travels through Italy, India and Indonesia resulted in the megabestselling and deeply beloved memoir Eat, Pray, Love, about her process of finding herself by leaving home.
She's a longtime magazine writer, a novelist and short-story writer. Her work has been the basis for the movie, Coyote Ugly, based on her own memoir.
Elizabeth Gilbert faced down a premidlife crisis by doing what we all secretly dream of – running off for a year. Her travels through Italy, India and Indonesia resulted in the megabestselling and deeply beloved memoir Eat, Pray, Love, about her process of finding herself by leaving home.
She's a longtime magazine writer, a novelist and short-story writer. Her work has been the basis for the movie, Coyote Ugly, based on her own memoir.
TED: Schools Kill Creativity
Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.
Why don't we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it's because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. It's a message with deep resonance.
Why don't we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it's because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. It's a message with deep resonance.
TED: Our Brain: Left Brain (Serial Processor) + Right Brain (Parallel Processor)
吉兒泰勒(Jill Bolte Taylor)因為哥哥被診斷出有精神分裂症，日後決定投入研究 人類腦部科學。吉兒神為一位腦神經學家居然親身經歷過一次腦中風 。1996年吉兒在睡醒的那一刻發現自己的腦部出現了問題。一根 血管在她的左腦破裂，並且在中風後的四個鐘頭內，看著自己的腦功 能徹底退化。這段演講吉兒用生動的演講來講述她整個中風過程。
One morning, a blood vessel in Jill Bolte Taylor's brain exploded. As a brain scientist, Jill Bolte Taylor realized she had a ringside seat to her own stroke. She got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions -- motion, speech, memory, self-awareness -- shut down one by one.
Amazed to find herself alive, Taylor spent eight years recovering her ability to think, walk and talk. She has become a spokesperson for stroke recovery and for the possibility of coming back from brain injury stronger than before. In her case, although the stroke damaged the left side of her brain, her recovery unleashed a torrent of creative energy from her right. From her home base in Indiana, she now travels the country on behalf of the Harvard Brain Bank as the "Singin' Scientist."
"How many brain scientists have been able to study the brain from the inside out? I've gotten as much out of this experience of losing my left mind as I have in my entire academic career."
Jill Bolte Taylor
One morning, a blood vessel in Jill Bolte Taylor's brain exploded. As a brain scientist, Jill Bolte Taylor realized she had a ringside seat to her own stroke. She got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions -- motion, speech, memory, self-awareness -- shut down one by one.
Amazed to find herself alive, Taylor spent eight years recovering her ability to think, walk and talk. She has become a spokesperson for stroke recovery and for the possibility of coming back from brain injury stronger than before. In her case, although the stroke damaged the left side of her brain, her recovery unleashed a torrent of creative energy from her right. From her home base in Indiana, she now travels the country on behalf of the Harvard Brain Bank as the "Singin' Scientist."
"How many brain scientists have been able to study the brain from the inside out? I've gotten as much out of this experience of losing my left mind as I have in my entire academic career."
Jill Bolte Taylor
Nov 12, 2009
Nov 11, 2009
Don't try to be original...
"Don't try to be original, just to be good." ~quoted from Paul Rand. Cheers for good health, long life, positive attitude designers.
Nov 9, 2009
【海納百川，有容乃大】
海納百川，有容乃大；壁立千仞，無欲則剛。它山之石，可以攻玉。
Every culture has their strength and weakness. Learn the merits and understand the limits, your world will be bigger and wiser.
Every culture has their strength and weakness. Learn the merits and understand the limits, your world will be bigger and wiser.
Oct 17, 2009
Winners
"The winners do not act like conquerors sending out occupying armies. Instead, they act like welcoming hosts and eager learners. Behaving as fixers rather than destroyers, they turn skeptics into fans." ~quoted from the article of Rosabeth Moss Kanter who is the Earnest C. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School in Boston. Ocotber 2009
Rule of Survival
"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." ~quoted from Charles Robert Darwin
Aug 18, 2009
Creative "Type"
"... However, one of the best ways to provoke creative thinking is to surround the brain with lots of diverse stimulus. Exposure to diverse and random stimulus trigger more thoughts in the brain, which increases the number of new thoughts & ideas that pop up in your brain..."
"Are you one of those people who feel a strong desire to do things differently and break away from the pack? You are reading fast thinking, so chances are you may well be one of those "type". Some recent research actually explored people who feel the need to be different. That is, people who "get off" on doing things differently from the norm and like to go against the grain. The researchers found that people who like being different performed significantly better in a creative thinking task than those who do not get their kicks out of doing things differently..."
"A dose of creativity was just what the doctor ordered... Sometimes, employees can have a hard time justifying to their boss why it's important that they have some "spare time" to think creatively. Hopefully this study gives you some ammunition. A group of researchers have found that employees who have room to think creatively at work, that is, feel challenged by their job, have a fair bit of control over what they do, and actually are encouraged to take time during the day to think creatively, are significantly more likely to be physically healthy. This is in comparison to those whose jobs don't provide the opportunity to think creatively. Specifically, the health advantage of being in a job where you're encouraged to think creatively compared with one where you are not is equal to being around seven years younger." ~ quoted from the article of Amantha Imber, the head of Inventiologist at Inventium.
"Are you one of those people who feel a strong desire to do things differently and break away from the pack? You are reading fast thinking, so chances are you may well be one of those "type". Some recent research actually explored people who feel the need to be different. That is, people who "get off" on doing things differently from the norm and like to go against the grain. The researchers found that people who like being different performed significantly better in a creative thinking task than those who do not get their kicks out of doing things differently..."
"A dose of creativity was just what the doctor ordered... Sometimes, employees can have a hard time justifying to their boss why it's important that they have some "spare time" to think creatively. Hopefully this study gives you some ammunition. A group of researchers have found that employees who have room to think creatively at work, that is, feel challenged by their job, have a fair bit of control over what they do, and actually are encouraged to take time during the day to think creatively, are significantly more likely to be physically healthy. This is in comparison to those whose jobs don't provide the opportunity to think creatively. Specifically, the health advantage of being in a job where you're encouraged to think creatively compared with one where you are not is equal to being around seven years younger." ~ quoted from the article of Amantha Imber, the head of Inventiologist at Inventium.
Jul 16, 2009
Leadership in a Crisis
"The work of leadership demands that you manage not only the critical adaptive responses within and surrounding your business but also your own thinking and emotions. This will test your limits. Taking care of yourself both physically and emotionally will be crucial to your success. You can achieve none of your leadership aims if you sacrifice yourself to the cause. First, give yourself permission to be both optimistic and realistic. This will create a healthy tension that keeps optimism from turning into denial and realistism from devolving into cynicism." ~ quoted from the article of Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky (Partners of Cambridge Leadership Associates and coauthors of The Practice of Adaptive Leadership).
Inventors vs Entrepreneurs
"Raising a child is generally more challenging than creating a child, and the same is true of new products...My take is that product development is a team spot. Inventors don't get that. Entrepreneurs do." ~ quoted from the article of Mike Drummond (Editor-in-chief and co-owner of Inventors Digest)
Jul 4, 2009
Always Looking Up - Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox said "we sometimes see subtractions when we're ill. They're not just subtractions. I'm not me minus anything; I'm me plus this experience. Whether it's good or bad is a subjective thing, but this has assuredly changed my path. And changed the way I look at things. Changed the thing I do..."
The Worst Leaders
1. Lack energy and enthusiasm.
2. Accept their own mediocre performance.
3. Lack clear vision and direction.
4. Have poor judgment.
5. Don't collaborate.
6. Don't walk the talk.
7. Resist new ideas.
8. Don't learn from mistakes.
9. Lack interpersonal skills.
10. Fail to develop others.
~ quoted from the article of Jack Zenger, Joseph Folkman and Scott K. Edinger of "The Inspiring Leader: Unlocking the secrets of How Extraordinary Leaders Motivate".
2. Accept their own mediocre performance.
3. Lack clear vision and direction.
4. Have poor judgment.
5. Don't collaborate.
6. Don't walk the talk.
7. Resist new ideas.
8. Don't learn from mistakes.
9. Lack interpersonal skills.
10. Fail to develop others.
~ quoted from the article of Jack Zenger, Joseph Folkman and Scott K. Edinger of "The Inspiring Leader: Unlocking the secrets of How Extraordinary Leaders Motivate".
Jun 28, 2009
Left Brain +/vs Right Brain
"Creativity (Right Brain) is a distinct personality trait... Many people have very little of it... Other people are inordinately creative, both by nature and by long term training. It generates innovation... Logical Sense (Left Brain) is a distinct personality trait... Many people have very little of it... Other people are inordinately logical, both by nature and by long term training... It calculates to get efficiency... Leonardo da Vinci had both of them.
Traditional left-brain dominant business leaders typically can't tell the difference between good and bad innovations. Nor do they appreciate the skills needed to build and sustain a culture of creativity and constant reinvention... Traditional right-brain dominant creative leaders typically fall in love with an idea and never know when to quit... So a leadership duo that unites right-brain creativity skill and left-brain management skills offers the best way of ingraining innovation in a business, making it valued in all economic climates - truly like a marriage.
Uncreative people have an annoying tendency to kill good ideas, encouorage bad ones, and demand multiple rounds of improvements."
~ quoted from the article of Darrell K. Rigby, Kara Gruver, and James Allen (partners of Bain & Company) in June 2009.
Traditional left-brain dominant business leaders typically can't tell the difference between good and bad innovations. Nor do they appreciate the skills needed to build and sustain a culture of creativity and constant reinvention... Traditional right-brain dominant creative leaders typically fall in love with an idea and never know when to quit... So a leadership duo that unites right-brain creativity skill and left-brain management skills offers the best way of ingraining innovation in a business, making it valued in all economic climates - truly like a marriage.
Uncreative people have an annoying tendency to kill good ideas, encouorage bad ones, and demand multiple rounds of improvements."
~ quoted from the article of Darrell K. Rigby, Kara Gruver, and James Allen (partners of Bain & Company) in June 2009.
Jun 4, 2009
香港人真幸福
香港人，有令人欣賞的中國文化傳統，有英國人統治及教導下的秩序感及西方思維邏輯，有敢言卻不動粗的修養及法治精神。平穩社會盡享地靈人傑。北京，有令人敬仰的首都及學府，有含畜而温文的學者，能考上當地學府的，都是勤奮而進取、文質彬彬的莘莘學芓，大多家境清貧，但卻知書識禮，從不是橫蠻子。廿年前的聲風血雨，總摸不著頭臚，同樣的理念及表達方式，在彼鄰卻換來慘痛的結局。究竟錯在那裹，至今依然不明所以。事過境遷，退而觀之，怒氣應少了一點，瓜籐蓮理，歉意與包容，不能宣之於口，也應在行動上可見一點端倪。煮豆燃豆萁，豆在釜中泣。本是同根生，相煎何太急? 【曹植 七步詩】
We are lucky Hong Kong people, born in Hong Kong with Chinese culture and traditional customs, with British education and respect. We all understand traditional Chinese morals but we also understand our rights and duties. Freedom of speech is never a problem or taboo since we do know the law and order that guard us to maintain a peaceful society. We all know where is the limit and bottomline. Beijing is a mysterious and respectful capital to all Chinese and the highest educational state. The term "Barbarian" is never related to the well-educated and well behaved Beijing people. However what happened twenty years ago is still a mystery. We never believe the common expression would turn into a bloody result. We are shocked, we are all desperate to what we saw. I hope you well, my very dears.
We are lucky Hong Kong people, born in Hong Kong with Chinese culture and traditional customs, with British education and respect. We all understand traditional Chinese morals but we also understand our rights and duties. Freedom of speech is never a problem or taboo since we do know the law and order that guard us to maintain a peaceful society. We all know where is the limit and bottomline. Beijing is a mysterious and respectful capital to all Chinese and the highest educational state. The term "Barbarian" is never related to the well-educated and well behaved Beijing people. However what happened twenty years ago is still a mystery. We never believe the common expression would turn into a bloody result. We are shocked, we are all desperate to what we saw. I hope you well, my very dears.
二十年前的今天
二十年前的今天... 非常痛心的一天，為著他們、他們的父母，非常非常傷心。二十年後的今天... 那痛心的境象，依然瀝瀝在目，不曾忘記，亦不可能會忘記...
Twenty years ago, it was the most heart-breaking day for their situation and suffering. The wound was hidden and not being touched for twenty years but it was already too deep to recover. Take care dears, the road is still far far to go.
Twenty years ago, it was the most heart-breaking day for their situation and suffering. The wound was hidden and not being touched for twenty years but it was already too deep to recover. Take care dears, the road is still far far to go.
Apr 17, 2009
Susan Boyle - Real Talent in the Soul 2009
Susan Boyle said "I wouldn't want to change myself too much because that would really make things a bit false," she told CNN's American Morning... "I want to receive people as the real me, a real person."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&feature=related
The most valuable thing is to get something naturally real from the highly decorated & propagative world. She is a lovely Scottish lady with wisdom of life in soul. Whatever change is only for yourself to feel the best and no need to satisfy what others said since life is your own and only once. No take two as a drama.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&feature=related
The most valuable thing is to get something naturally real from the highly decorated & propagative world. She is a lovely Scottish lady with wisdom of life in soul. Whatever change is only for yourself to feel the best and no need to satisfy what others said since life is your own and only once. No take two as a drama.
