Keeping Up?

Every day your competition is growing smarter, getting faster, and trying to eat your lunch. Your industry is changing.

In 2006, 172,000 books were published in the United States.

How many were published in your field?

Go to Amazon right now and find out. Here is the link. I'll wait...

Below is quick search for web marketing.

There are 3,082 results. With sorting the results by publication date, the last result (12 results) on the first page has a publication date of December 3, 2008. Web marketing is a narrow field. 12 results are newer than December of last year.

Something in the world has changed and it is not what you think.

The method of distribution of information has radically and irreversibly changed. Not too long ago you could only buy books by going to the local bookstore. Now, if a book has been published you can find it and buy it. If a book has been written and is available on a website you can read it.

This can be a

huge

competitive advantage

to you and your business. Oh, and by the way, your competition knows this too.

Did you notice the word Kindle at the left side of the screen? Here is the Kindle video. Of the web marketing search results, 146 of the titles were for the Kindle. Instant portable knowledge.

How much has changed in your field since you...

...graduated college?
...landed your first job in your field?
...you last birthday?
...yesterday?
...wow, what time is it?

Commit to read one book from your field this month. You will learn something new and remember something you had forgotten.

Brian Harold May Finally Gets Astrophysics Doctorate at 61!

Brian May was born on July 19, 1947. You probably know Brian as one of the co-authers of the book Bang! - The Complete History of the Universe. Some know him for the two scientific papers he co-authored: MgI Emission in the Night-Sky Spectrum (1972) and An Investigation of the Motion of Zodiacal Dust Particles (Part I) (1973).

Well, Brian finally received his doctorate degree in astrophysics during a ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall held on May 14, 2008.

Why is this an amazing story?

Well, Brian May took a 30 year break from his college studies before he returned to complete his doctorate.

Many times we think that when we take time off from a goal we will never return, but Brian wanted that doctorate, so he persevered.

What else makes this an amazing story?

Brian's left the doctorate program to be the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. He composed "We Will Rock You".

The very next time you say you don't have a talent for this or that, that you are an artist and therefore not good at math, I want you to smack yourself...hard.

My new motto just might be, "If Brian can, you can."

Or maybe, "We will rock you!"

Randy Pausch: dear soul, rest in peace...

Randy Pausch, the author of The Last Lecture (

book

,

audiobook

,

kindle

,

iTunes

) died of pancreatic cancer on July 25, 2008. (

Article

)

Randy inspired me to move forward. You can view video below or

here

.



Thank you Randy...

From the world of Geek...

Do you really know what is going on?

Gemba is where real work is done.

“Gemba: A Japanese word meaning “real place” – now adapted in management terminology to mean the “workplace – or that place where value is added. In manufacturing, it usually refers to the shop floor.” Masaaki Imai – Gemba Kaizen

In every organization there are those who are adding value to the customer and those who are supporting the people adding value.

Example:

The manufacturing worker who adds the steering wheel is adding value, the human resources person who pays the worker does not. Not to say that the human resources person does not have value to the company (or the person who wants to be paid), but the customer is not concerned with the payroll process.

It is easy to become disconnected to Gemba. Meetings and phone calls distract and reports give incomplete pictures; which is why you need to visit Gemba.

When was the last time you visited Gemba?

When was the last time you spent a day in Gemba? A day without distractions, meetings, and urgent phone calls pulling at you. A day where you sat and watched quietly as the happenings of the work danced around you.

It is during these times that you learn the most about the inner workings of your business.

Spending an hour is better than walking through smiling and nodding. Spending a uninterrupted half-day is better than looking at the processes from the corner for an hour. Getting right next to the people working and peacefully and respectfully asking questions about why what is done is done can enlighten.

A tool from my box – I can’t hear you

On one of your many (you are doing many, right?) visits to Gemba, imagine what would happen if your employees could not talk with one another. What if your workplace were so loud that if even if an employee yelled at the top of their lungs to the person standing next to them, they could not be heard.

How good is the processes non-verbal communication? How much of the information from the processes is communicated by audio cues?

Now that you are truly listening to Gemba, you are taking the first step to understanding Gemba. True understanding is the first step to improvement. True improvement leads to profit.