"Why, why can't you make it simple?"

Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo's quote in the first paragraph of his story in The Australian this weekend highlights how even one of the most influential technology leaders in Australia still struggles with our interface with our wonderful innovations...

I love technology - I say as I write this using a Bluetooth keyboard linked with my 3G smartphone, emailed as I sit here at the Brisbane Art Gallery. But we need technology that makes our life better. It's only when our use of technology is applied towards making our life better that there's any point using it!

That's why, once I've finished this message, I'll be writing in my Moleskine with my Parker fountain pen... Technology applied to beautify and enhance our lives...

My company, ShirtsandSuits.com struggled with that difference. We came up with a way to give people custom-made business shirts and suits at department store prices. But it wasn't until we realised that people buy feelings and experiences rather than the basic product... Our clients want to be well dressed, they want convenience and they want personal service. Now, technology is the price of entry into the market.

Getting great service

Have you noticed that when you are nice to service workers, they tend to be nice to you?
A few politely playful remarks - a little flirting even! - a smile and a peaceful state of mind gets me almost invariably superior service. It's really about giving people good service, even when you're the customer.

MIT Commencement address - hiring & firing, management style

Commencement speeches give leaders the opportunity to contribute something of great value to a group of students preparing to study. More common in America, these speeches have been known to be delivered by great leaders from a range of fields. The commencement address delivered at MIT a few weeks ago provides a few interesting reminders of the role of economics in our modern world; that economics allows us to understand what we have done to work towards our current state of prosperity with indications as to what we might need to do to build towards the future.

... taking full advantage of new information and communication technologies may require extensive reorganization of work practices, reassignment and retraining of workers, and ultimately some reallocation of labor among firms and industries. Regulations that raise the costs of hiring and firing workers and that reduce employers’ ability to change work assignments--like those in a number of European countries, for example--may make such changes more difficult to achieve. Likewise, in product markets, a high degree of competition and low barriers to the entry of new firms in most industries in the United States provide strong incentives for firms to find ways to cut costs and to improve their products. In some other countries, in contrast, the prominence of government-owned firms with a degree of monopoly power, together with a regulatory environment that protects large incumbent firms and makes the entry of new firms difficult, reduces the competitive pressure for innovation and the application of new ideas. Competition is one of the key benefits of free and open trade; companies that are exposed to global competition tend to be much more efficient and to produce goods of higher quality than companies that are sheltered from international competition.

A successful society needs low costs for hiring and firing - yet, we also need to protect workers from exploitation... don't we? Competition builds discipline and outcome-focused achievers by keeping our leaders hungry without letting them starve... yet, how much does it cost to have product, service and labour disruptions?

Some observers point to the depth, liquidity, and sophistication of American financial markets as contributing to recent productivity gains. Sizable markets for venture capital and ready access to equity financing facilitate start-up enterprises, which are often the best means of bringing new technologies to the market.

Better access to money tends to facilitate the commercialisation of new value, without ignoring the importance of actually having something of value to commercialise.

a key question each of you will face repeatedly in your lives is how to use the talent and education that you have been given and the knowledge that you have attained. With respect to your professional lives, I hope that when you make career choices, you will look first for opportunities that excite you intellectually, that allow you to use your creative powers to the fullest extent, and that let you continue to learn and grow. I hope you will not be afraid to be unconventional, to do something nobody else has thought of before. Remember that the path to success and fulfillment may not be well marked, the scaling of some predetermined ladder; it may instead be a road without signs or maps. And remember that it is OK to fail--really: New opportunities will always arise for those who seek them. If you remain nimble in searching out new and unexpected opportunities, it will not only benefit you, but it will also benefit the economy and our society, as long experience has shown that dynamism and creativity are the seeds of innovation and of progress.

Cool...

Personal vision

After I saw video screen replacement goggles in Disneyland in 1997, I thought that having a set of glasses that you could use to watch video (or replace a laptop screen) would be a wildly cool idea! Finally MicroOptical appear to have bridged the gap between the strictly functional applications in the military and medical fields to allow we mere consumers access to this great technology...

But what is most noteable about their MyVu product, to me, is that it is beautiful... a little like Data from Star Trek Next Generation, but still stylish. Kinda reminds me of my ThinkOutside keyboard that I love so much and even my old Palm Tungsten T3. Not just functional, though eminiently so, but also beautiful!

It's not that hard... really...

Interestingly (at least to the entrepreneur in me), the awesome company ThinkOutside was sold last month for just $2.5m

Faber est suae quisque fortunae... Latin: "Every man is the maker of his own fortune"

Schools are powerful drivers of our future. After growing up believing that Brisbane State High School was the 'ultimate' thanks to an enthusiastic mother who went through there, I've come to appreciate and respect the different schools that exist. In Brisbane and Sydney, the GPS system is a marker of some of the better schools, though such membership is neither necessary nor sufficient for the school to actually be 'great'.
Fort Street High is a great school. The oldest in Australia, tracing its foundation back to 1849, it has educated some great people... yet what makes a great school?

Surely it's not just a place where people who become great go... it must be a place that consistently lifts students more than they would have been lifted elsewhere. If so, a great school should be able to help a student stand on taller giants than they would have otherwise dared.

The school motto is not necessarily a sure indicator of the culture of the school any more than a mission statement is of a company. But I do like Faber est suae quisque fortunae... "Every man is the maker of his own fortune"

What would your motto be?

Values - how do we discriminate between good and great?

Evaluating options is very challenging. We can come up with great ideas through divergent thinking and develop them into viable concepts. But evaluating ideas is fundamentally like evaluating art - there are so many different perspectives.

But de Bono has a set of six criteria that could be useful for you. To understand the model, read the book... but here's the basic outline:

Summaries and thoughts on some books:

Edward de Bono: The Six Value Medals

- There are six medals of different materials, each representing different constructs or values to focus thinking around: Gold, Silver, Steel, Glass, Wood, Brass.

• Gold
  Human values; the values that affect people.
• Silver
  Organisational values; those values related to the purpose of the organisation such as profit, cost controls or the family or friends or club.
• Steel
  Quality: Steel should be strong, so how well does the product, service or function deliver what it should?
• Glass
  Innovation, simplicity and creativity - Glass is simple, coming from sand, but creativity allows for many possibilities.
• Wood
  Environmental values: Impact upon the community, on the environment and on others who are not necessarily involved.
• Brass
  Perceptual values: How does it appear? How might it look? Perception can be reality...
  

What do you think?
This is just a framework, albeit a framework that is interesting and aspires to be comprehensive...

European style?

One of the things that I noticed about Shanghai was the great focus given there towards European inspiration. The concession era, between the revolution and the civil war, saw Shanghai as a paragon of style, sophistication and elegance, a Paris of the East if you will, and the current style-makers appear to be latching onto such notions in helping define the current wave of growth towards such similar sources. This means that 'French', 'Italian', 'German' and 'European' generally mean not just good quality, but outstanding style... as it does throughout much of the rest of the world at the moment.

There are two great ironies and one paradox.

The first great irony is that it's more the exports of Europe who appreciate the 'style' that we equate as European... not all Europeans! In the same way that not all Australians ride kangaroos to school and not all New Zealanders have Known sheep, not all Europeans appreciate the quality and style factors that we give them credit for. "Europeans" are not inherently stylish - it's just the way they're branded by our simplistic minds.

After all, just look at the soccer!
Since when did a soccer hooligan embody class, style and sophistication???

The second great irony is that by externalising 'style', we lose our capacity to truly appreciate it. Where the Europeans have Dolce & Gabbana, America has Ralph Lauren - the difference is so obvious it's almost insulting! They 'compete', yet there is really no comparison if you look beyond the brand itself and towards the quality of the garments and the style of those who wear those garments. By equating brands with characteristics of style and fashion, we lose our acuity to notice when something actually has aesthetic value at all, and are left with a water-down, second-handed experience of beauty.

The paradox is that we cannot learn to appreciate design and beauty without being exposed to it. Great spaces and great places help cultivate the great thinking that leads to sublime insights and inspired creations... yet we need sublime insights and inspired creations to create those great spaces and great places in the first place! Our values are so often unevaluated, that we are left confused and ill-prepared to deal with unfamiliar situations and conditions.


What is beautiful to you?
Rather than accepting what the critics think or just putting your head in the sand altogether, what do you notice cultivates beauty in your world?

I have some horrible clothes that I just love... I couldn't throw out my Senior jersey if I wanted to (even though my ex-girlfriends have worn it more than I have!), and I have made far more than my fair share of fashion felonies. Yet, to me, making mistakes is what allows us to see where the lines are and how those lines work together to create the picture before us.

Make your life a masterpiece...

Factors of status...

Men will create a hierarchy for themselves within a group and will express their sense of position to those around them. Some men establish themselves as the leaders of a group; others feel more comfortable in a lesser position. To me, there is no purpose served in establishing yourself as the leader of a group just for the sake of it - it takes energy and the group may be of little or no real value - but it's important to be able to have the freedom to choose.

In this context, and to help give you the freedom to choose, I observe a few factors that are significant in establishing and maintaining position within a group:

• Posture and physique
• Hip-to-shoulder ratio
• Symmetry
  
• Speech - Accent and vocal quality
• Presentation
• Style of clothing
• Quality of clothing
• Grooming
  
• Handshake strength and style
  
• Charisma

Of course, these factors only provide a model for understanding rather than providing a definition or prescription...

What do you think?
And how does it work for women?

We judge people that we meet everyday. Sometimes we judge them as a potential friend, a potential business partner or a potential intimate partner... other times, we judge them just as a human being. While judging others is regarded as a 'sin' for many and tends to be a source of emotional pain and anguish for others, most of us still do it. Rather than lamenting the inadequacies of those around us, perhaps we can use our awareness of their weaknesses to help them see beyond their shortsightedness, while becoming more aware of our own limitations.

The path of the warrior... the path of the artist...

I came across a story promoting the movie of Peaceful Warrior, a movie version of Dan Millman's book about pursuing the spiritual path. This is predicated by the notion that a spiritual or personal 'path' in life can be compared with a war... that we struggle to overcome our personal challenges and must discipline ourselves as a warrior would in preparing and fighting a physical enemy.

Bushido, literally the way of the warrior, was the code of honour that the samurai were bound by in the past; today, martial artists throughout the world apply this both to their own training, and through analogy to life in general.

Over brunch with an artist this morning, it occurred to me that the 'warrior' path and the 'artist' path are very similar. While overtly different, there is a great deal of overlap... the warrior must give themselves to their task, with a consciousness that this day may be his (or her) last. The artist must give themselves to their task, with a consciousness that this piece is the only thing that matters in that moment. After observing a number of parallels, I realised that the 'warrior' path or the 'artist' path is not so much about being at war or creating art...

Following your path is about being congruent.
Following your path is about focusing in the moment.
Following your path is about manifesting in the world that which you purport to value, rather than living in a state of dissonance and dischord.

Different metaphors allow us access to different insights to your path, though your path remains.


Allow me to commend to you whatever path you feel 'turns you on', 'blows your hair back' or 'does it for you'... I believe that the Truth comes from being true to yourself; not from blindly following that which you have been given, nor from ignoring your intuition, but from being guided and noticing how you can refine your personal path in each moment.

Learn Chinese for free...

The idea is simple: Let people download language lessons for free.
There are currently something like 30m people throughout the world learning Chinese, and one company has figured out a way to get access to some of that market... and I think that it's awesome!

Most of us won't pay to learn a language, but here is a way to get the basic information for free... they make money from subscribers who want to get the transcripts and additional course materials - the bits that really add value to the experience.

On top of which, it's updated weekly, and has both enduring and time-linked stories.
Quite remarkable!

A great way to look at books...

In looking at my friend Tom Peter's website, I came across this cool way of noting and reviewing books. It's simple. It's elegant. It gets the message across.

Just take a photo of the spines of a couple of books - maybe that you've read, maybe that you just want to comment on... then make some notes over them, summarising what you think about them.

I was just rereading the course book for Train Your Brain. I wrote it a few years ago as part of the study skills courses that I was conducting at the time; there were several versions that I published between 1998 and 2001. What really struck me was how different my approach is today from when it was then.

Then, I focused on techniques. I taught students how to read faster, apply accelerated learning techniques and use mind mapping to give themselves greater access to the information that they had. Sure, learning skills techniques help students make more of themselves than they might otherwise have done; yet, to me it's only the tip of the iceberg. The real challenge is helping people go beyond their talents to focus on realising their dreams.

This afternoon, I had the honour of spending some time with a young engineering student. We ran through some techniques and strategies - mostly aimed at helping him cram for his upcoming exams. He has talent; he is interesting and very intelligent. What made our time together so much fun for me was the way that we were able to explore how to go beyond the ordinary... not just to read faster, not just to draw a mindmap, and not just how to better answer MCQs. It's going beyond the ordinary and helping people get access to that part of themselves that is uniquely suited and adapted to living the life and fulfilling the purpose that only they have... for me, that is where the real excitement lies.

I'm preparing for a new range of courses and products now... it's going to be fun!

Making a difference - a REAL difference

Mihaly - the Chicago psychologist who popularised the concept of "flow" - has come up with a concept that I really like... it's "Creativity". Not "creativity", the generation of novel ideas or connections, but "Creativity", innovations in some domain of science, economics, or ideas that are both daring enough to generate excitement and sound enough to command respect from acknowledged experts in the field.

Flow, in case you're not familiar with the concept, refers to the experiences of intense pleasure during periods of focused attention... the 'zone' that you get when you're doing something that you love and that you're good at, whether making love, playing tennis or taking an exam.

Mihaly suggests that one of the ways to cultivate Creativity is for experts to communicate to novices the joys of successfully practising a difficult skill set. Unless you can go beyond the drudgery of practice and reject the easy victories of imitation and passive entertainment, few will master the skills in the first place and fewer still will go beyond the established norms of excellence necessary to achieve eminence.

High achievers do this...

As I looked a little further into motivation, I came across Greissman's interviews of highly successful people. He found the following commonalities:

1. They love their work.
2. They become highly competent in a speciality.
3. They commit themselves to their work, giving it their time and even their life.
4. They meet most of their needs through work.
5. They long for recognition and self-fulfillment.
6. They focus on their work to the point that they 'flow' with it, loosing themselves in the work.
7. They have few regrets.

This is a post-hoc analysis, rather than being proscriptive, but I have to wonder how long it would take you to become highly successful if you were demonstrating these behaviours.

Talent matters... but not as much as determination.


Interesting note on Lincoln... whereas most Presidents since have chosen their supporters to be on their cabinet, Lincoln chose his rivals. Seward became Secretary of State, and had been governor and Senator for New York; Chase later became Treasury Secretary and had been governor of Ohio; Bates became Attorney General and was an accomplished judge. But to do this, he had to keep his ego out of the situations by focusing on the real goals...

McClelland on motivation

High performance is fascinating to me. A few hours ago, I was reminded of an explanation of high performance related to the fulfillment of needs, a model with great scientific validity, and one that I believe we should each consider or at least be aware of; McClelland's theory of needs. He argues that there are three categories of needs that we each strive towards: Achievement, Affiliation and Power.

Achievement: The motivation to excel. High achievement oriented individuals will tend neither towards high risk nor low risk activities, since high risk activities have their results based on chance, while low risk activities do not provide the opportunity to shine.

Affiliation: The motivation to connect. High affiliation oriented individuals tend towards participating in activities that entail contact with others, striving for harmonious relationship and acceptance. These people will tend to conform with their groups.

Power: The need to disconnect. High power oriented individuals either want to control others or to organise the efforts of others for the benefit of the organisation. As intuition would suggest, managers tend to be more effective if they are motivated to organise than if they are motivated to control.

We can shape our motivations over time; each of us is motivated by the sum of the factors for a situation. When we are dealing with people, we are well served by using mechanisms that work through the most important motivational factors for our team.

When I started high school, I was motivated strongly by achievement. By the time I finished high school, I was more motivated by affiliation than when I began. Today, I greatly appreciate the opportunity for me to make a difference. The challenge is to align our motivations behind our objectives...