I love getting away from the business in order to work on the
business. That means stepping back from day-to-day issues, to look at
the bigger picture. It also means getting back in-touch with goals and
intent.
In a sense, the process acts like a compass, which sets the general direction for the journey.
Likewise, preparing for a series of meetings (like this) is similar to working on a business plan.
Arguably, one of the primary benefits of
creating a business plan has almost nothing to do with the plan itself.
Working on the plan, immersing yourself in the ideas and possibilities,
and ultimately choosing what stays-in, versus what's filtered out …
there's magic in that.
Yes, the plan is important. But it is the planning that takes you from thinking … to feeling … to knowing. That's where you'll realize the true benefit of business planning.
Building Momentum.
Planning sessions often entail pushing, pulling, probing, and deep thought … Sometimes you hear a question, and it takes the air out of an idea.
Other times a question helps you make a new distinction or consider an
alternate and better course of action. It is often two steps forward, then one step back.
Because of this process, I don't tend to focus on the direct 'answer' or outcome. Instead, I'm measuring whether we are building momentum in the right direction.
How to Tell You Are On the Right Track.
Even though I am analytical, over time, I've come to believe that one
of the best tools to measure whether you are on the right track is 'how
you feel'.
Have you ever gotten a phone call from someone, and when you saw or heard that it was from them, you wilted? In
contrast, have you ever become more animated and energized while
interacting with someone else? It is easy to recognize the difference.
Each person has different thoughts, people, or situations that trigger these positive and negative states.
In sports, this positive state is often referred to as being "In-the-Zone". It is also called "Flow".
It happens when someone is fully immersed in what they are doing, and
has a feeling of energized focus or awareness, full involvement, and
success in the process of their activity.
Being in Flow feels good. On some level, when you are in Flow, you know you're on the right track.
Take a look at the chart and let me know what you think.
A lot of smart traders are putting greater emphasis and focus on Asia.
More Than Half Of The World's Population Lives Inside This Circle.
Take a look at this simple, but eye-opening, take on global population distribution.
There are more Muslims in the circle than outside of it. There are more Hindus in the circle than outside of it. There are more Buddhists in the circle than outside of it. Moreover, the circle pulls all of this off while being mostly water and including the most sparsely populated country on earth (Mongolia).
Here is a 'smart-ass' card one of my kids gave me.
My son, Zach, and I ate a Hibachi restaurant.
As part of his Father's Day present, he didn't complain (much) about having vegetables on his plate or that different food items touched each other before getting to his stomach.
The EU unemployment rate set a new all-time high of 12.2 percent. But it's the youth unemployment crisis that's truly terrifying. In Spain, unemployment surged past 56 percent, and Greece now leads the rich world with an astonishing 62.5 percent.
According to the Atlantic, youth unemployment is bad for all the obvious reasons ,
including the big loss to future productivity and earnings. But Europe's
youth unemployment is strange, because we've never seen a generation
*this educated* also be this unemployed. For example, nearly 40 percent of Spain's
20-and early-30-somethings are college educated.
Is this the way you will get food delivered in the near future?
The video was shot in the U.K. Here in the U.S, there are FAA restrictions preventing this from being a near-term reality. But so are practical realities like figuring out how to ring the doorbell …
Pretty cool, whether it is a PR stunt or a real initiative.
Dr. Michio Kaku, a professor of Theoretical Physics asks "What if we could find one single equation that explains every force in
the universe?"
Kaku explores how physicists may shrink the
science of the Big Bang into an equation as small as Einstein's
"e=mc^2." Thanks to advances in string theory, physics may allow us to
escape the heat death of the universe, explore the multiverse, and
unlock the secrets of existence. While firing up our imaginations about
the future, Kaku also presents a succinct history of physics and makes a
compelling case for why physics is the key to pretty much everything.
If you are even partially a geek, this is pretty good.
When did playing 'smart' start to mean that you were a cheater?
Recently, Apple got grilled for its low-tax strategy. While not every business can, or does, copy that approach … many do.
Here is a look at what S.&P. 500 companies paid in corporate income taxes — federal, state, local and foreign — from 2007 to 2012, according to S&P Capital IQ.
At its core, our democratic process and legal system were designed to take care of issues like these over time.
Likewise, our free market system will adjust to level the playing field. There is game theory in government. If you make things too difficult, the smart players find a different game to play.
Meanwhile, other countries certainly are incented to find a way to make to entice big players to play on their turf … and creating a tax haven is one way to do it.
Going back to Apple, on one hand I'm sure the government wishes they had paid more taxes, but on the other hand I'm sure they are glad that Apple didn't move away and take their tax dollars with them.
As you have probably surmised, this happens on many levels and in many places.
In trading, for example, statistical arbitrage was once an easy way to make money (if you knew how to do it). The reason was that relatively few people knew how to do it, so there was limited competition (and fairly easy winnings). Then, as the success of the early winners signaled others into the game, it got harder to win. People started programming computers to find mis-priced assets and the discrepancies filled themselves in moments. As you might guess, many traders who have tried statistical arbitrage have moved on to other things.
Identifying inefficiencies (or loopholes) in a system is potentially good for everyone involved. It benefits the person who identifies the inefficiency, because they get paid. Yet, it is also good for the system because it identifies weaknesses or areas that need additional attention, oversight, or regulation. And it provides a feedback loop allowing the parties to course-correct and play smarter. Over time, this often results in real progress.
I love getting away 
