Recently, the concept of "Focus" keeps coming to mind when I try to
make sense of what's happening in the markets.
As I review
stories, news, and data, I'm trying to be more aware of where the bias
is (even if it is unintentional).
Focus,
Bias and Perspective.
The photo series, below, is an
example of how our perception can be easily shaped. The far left
version looks violent. The far right version looks compassionate. It
could be both (or neither).
Each
of us perceives the world through our own filters. It is as if we're
producing a film (which could be edited into a comedy, drama, or
thriller … based on what we focus on, highlight, or ignore). Except
that we often don't know it's just a film, edited by an amateur …
Instead, we
perceive it as truth because it is what we perceive.
Recently, the concept of "Focus" keeps coming to mind when I try to
make sense of what's happening in the markets.
As I review
stories, news, and data, I'm trying to be more aware of where the bias
is (even if it is unintentional).
Focus,
Bias and Perspective.
The photo series, below, is an
example of how our perception can be easily shaped. The far left
version looks violent. The far right version looks compassionate. It
could be both (or neither).
Each
of us perceives the world through our own filters. It is as if we're
producing a film (which could be edited into a comedy, drama, or
thriller … based on what we focus on, highlight, or ignore). Except
that we often don't know it's just a film, edited by an amateur …
Instead, we
perceive it as truth because it is what we perceive.
Here is a short video that puts "Cloud Computing" in perspective. In it, Ellison jokes that someone decided to change the word "Internet" to
"Cloud" because it was a lot easier than innovation.
Microsoft is spending a lot of time and money to make sure it does better gaining an early lead and monetizing this type of "Internet" service. Their cloud computing platform is called Azure.
Basically, you can “rent” a current version Windows Server for as little as 12 cents per hour, and only pay for the hours you need it each month. That’s $12 bucks to use 100 servers for an hour. You also pay for data transfer and storage, but that is negligible. The nice thing is that you can fire up an army of servers to run a batch process … then stop paying when they complete their work.
You can get access even cheaper under a program where you bid on unused capacity within the cloud at any given time (Spot pricing).
I still have reservations about using cloud computing for many daily business applications. However, for “crunch on demand” processes … this model makes much more sense that investing in piles of hardware that all too soon becomes obsolete.
Most of the data from this post comes from Tim McDonald, the president of Infassure, a technology consulting and out-sourcing company in the Dallas area. They've been a big help to us on this, and many other matters.
Here is a short video that puts "Cloud Computing" in perspective. In it, Ellison jokes that someone decided to change the word "Internet" to
"Cloud" because it was a lot easier than innovation.
Microsoft is spending a lot of time and money to make sure it does better gaining an early lead and monetizing this type of "Internet" service. Their cloud computing platform is called Azure.
Basically, you can “rent” a current version Windows Server for as little as 12 cents per hour, and only pay for the hours you need it each month. That’s $12 bucks to use 100 servers for an hour. You also pay for data transfer and storage, but that is negligible. The nice thing is that you can fire up an army of servers to run a batch process … then stop paying when they complete their work.
You can get access even cheaper under a program where you bid on unused capacity within the cloud at any given time (Spot pricing).
I still have reservations about using cloud computing for many daily business applications. However, for “crunch on demand” processes … this model makes much more sense that investing in piles of hardware that all too soon becomes obsolete.
Most of the data from this post comes from Tim McDonald, the president of Infassure, a technology consulting and out-sourcing company in the Dallas area. They've been a big help to us on this, and many other matters.
Have you ever had a question that you just didn't know who to ask? There's a new website designed to help you.
Aardvark is a new kind of tool that lets you tap into the knowledge and experience of friends and friends-of-friends. Think of it as a crowd-sourced (or human powered) knowledge engine. However, instead of just storing the answers, it tries to figure-out who to ask your question to in your network of contacts.
Send Aardvark a question (from the web, email, Twitter, IM, or iPhone) and you’ll get a quick, helpful response.
I was a little skeptical; however, when I tried it, I got good answers very quickly. Finally, a business use for social networks (other than marketing).
Have you ever had a question that you just didn't know who to ask? There's a new website designed to help you.
Aardvark is a new kind of tool that lets you tap into the knowledge and experience of friends and friends-of-friends. Think of it as a crowd-sourced (or human powered) knowledge engine. However, instead of just storing the answers, it tries to figure-out who to ask your question to in your network of contacts.
Send Aardvark a question (from the web, email, Twitter, IM, or iPhone) and you’ll get a quick, helpful response.
I was a little skeptical; however, when I tried it, I got good answers very quickly. Finally, a business use for social networks (other than marketing).
Here is a clever way to capture a lot of information. It also seems like a
good technique to try with personal or business information … or
(with a little modification) even to use as a planning tool.
You can click the image to get the full-size version.
Here is a clever way to capture a lot of information. It also seems like a
good technique to try with personal or business information … or
(with a little modification) even to use as a planning tool.
You can click the image to get the full-size version.
Who do you believe will do a better job, someone who takes a job because of the salary and benefits … or someone truly inspired to accomplish the job's purpose?
Phrased that way, of course you know the answer. Still, how can you leverage this to better select customers and employees?
For example, Simon uses the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton to illustrate this concept. Shackleton was preparing to lead the first expedition across Antarctica in 1914. Legend has it that when seeking crew members for his journey, Shackleton placed the following ad in a newspaper:
"MEN WANTED FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS. – SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON"
When the expedition became stuck in the ice and could not be rescued for 22 months, not a single man was lost. The reason Simon gave for their unlikely survival was that Shackleton hired survivors that could deal with the situation and were aligned with the mission and purpose.
Can you imagine writing an ad like that to attract the right people to your cause?
Watch This Video.
Here is a video of Simon speaking at a Ted Conference. It is a great intro to his stuff.
Who do you believe will do a better job, someone who takes a job because of the salary and benefits … or someone truly inspired to accomplish the job's purpose?
Phrased that way, of course you know the answer. Still, how can you leverage this to better select customers and employees?
For example, Simon uses the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton to illustrate this concept. Shackleton was preparing to lead the first expedition across Antarctica in 1914. Legend has it that when seeking crew members for his journey, Shackleton placed the following ad in a newspaper:
"MEN WANTED FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS. – SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON"
When the expedition became stuck in the ice and could not be rescued for 22 months, not a single man was lost. The reason Simon gave for their unlikely survival was that Shackleton hired survivors that could deal with the situation and were aligned with the mission and purpose.
Can you imagine writing an ad like that to attract the right people to your cause?
Watch This Video.
Here is a video of Simon speaking at a Ted Conference. It is a great intro to his stuff.
