In business people are always looking to have a competitive edge over their competitors by providing the so-called 'wow factor'. What that means is simply the managing of their customers' expectations of what they are, by default, supposed to deliver. The wow factor in simple terms is simply the practice of under-promising and over-delivering.
Great companies like Apple take great pain in finding out what their customers expect of them and then try extremely hard to outmatch that expectation. The end-effect of this practice is basically the creation of value for the company brand and it also induces strong customer loyalty.
Friday 31 May 2013
A Great Cure For Procrastination
Firstly, let me put a disclaimer here by saying that I do not claim to have a guaranteed cure for the chronic disease of procrastination for you (yes, it is a chronic disease and we might really die from it). This is because what might work for me and everybody else might not work for you due to our differing experiences in life. Our backgrounds and experiences ultimately shape our psyche. But one thing is true. Most of us have had at some points in our lives struggled with the habit of procrastination. We have tried many ways in order to get ourselves to overcome this huge stumbling block and yet, oftentimes we miserably failed.
We do agree that the cause of procrastination is all in the head. The moment when we realize that we were able to stay up all night finishing our assignment when the deadline was the following morning, we stopped and fumed at ourselves in disbelief. It is when things become 'a must' that they really get moving. But the problem is, if we really are honest with ourselves, not everything in life is a real must unless it gets to the point when it becomes one of those can't live without activities. Doing our homework which is due next week is certainly not as urgent as breathing. We, in our right minds, correctly set the priorities straight.
A powerful idea I came across recently is that of Parkinson's Law. It states that:
So the next time we would like to get a work done and finding ourselves having a 'proc attack', remind ourselves that the disease has to be fought back. If we do nothing about it, the work will never get done unless it becomes a real necessity. And by being able to cure the problem, we will have a better sense of mastery over our lives and this in turn gives us a better sense of self-worth.
Good luck!
We do agree that the cause of procrastination is all in the head. The moment when we realize that we were able to stay up all night finishing our assignment when the deadline was the following morning, we stopped and fumed at ourselves in disbelief. It is when things become 'a must' that they really get moving. But the problem is, if we really are honest with ourselves, not everything in life is a real must unless it gets to the point when it becomes one of those can't live without activities. Doing our homework which is due next week is certainly not as urgent as breathing. We, in our right minds, correctly set the priorities straight.
A powerful idea I came across recently is that of Parkinson's Law. It states that:
Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completionAt first glance this sentence is nothing but a mere description of the problem and read nothing like a prescription for it. But give it a deeper thought for a second. We will find that this is largely true and since it is an antithesis to a proactive living we might want to ask ourselves - can we actually defy this? Fortunately, yes!
So the next time we would like to get a work done and finding ourselves having a 'proc attack', remind ourselves that the disease has to be fought back. If we do nothing about it, the work will never get done unless it becomes a real necessity. And by being able to cure the problem, we will have a better sense of mastery over our lives and this in turn gives us a better sense of self-worth.
Good luck!
Thursday 30 May 2013
Mastering Any New Skill
Recently, I bumped into a lecture video which was delivered by Tim Ferris. For those of you who do not know him, he is a renowned and if I may, sensational, author and blogger who committed himself to being a human guinea-pig (in an attempt to delve into the human body), provides venture capital and mentoring to many startups, holds the world record for the most tango spin under one-minute, and just continues to dazzle and being awesome. In fact, in one interview I remember the interviewer dubbing him as the real life 'world's most interesting man' - a title given after a certain viral beer commercial icon.
Well, he is interesting and that happens when someone sets himself apart from the rest of the population in terms of what he does and achieves in life. Surely we can learn a thing or two from this guy. So, in that lecture Tim basically shared 4 ways on how an individual could master anything new. It can be summed up with the DiSS acronym.
1. First alphabet, the D
It stands for 'deconstruction', which means breaking the outcome into small bits and pieces. I don't know how, but shortly before I came across this video, I've had a very similar idea. I am currently working on a VBA-based risk management software and in designing the software, I have to make a list of the qualities that this software has to possess. And from there onwards, I work backwards to make every single quality comes into realization. In a sentence: breaking our goal down helps us to define it - comparable to a work-breakdown-structure.
An important idea under this alphabet is also knowing exactly what turns you off. Deconstruct your de-motivators. For instance, if you would like to learn cooking but due to some unclear reasons, hate to do it, all you have to do is to identify the sources of those negative energy. It could be the dislike for grocery shopping and dish-washing. In that case, get someone else to do those things for you so that you can focus on the act of cooking itself.
2. Be fussy, do the S
Yes, 'selection'. Wether or not we have noticed this, getting to our goals faster and working more effectively are possible if we focus on a certain percentage of the ways to get there. Tim is known for being a proponent of the Pareto principle, which states roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. If you would like to learn a new language, you need to focus only on a handful forms of sentences in order to be able to achieve a certain level of mastery in that language. Simple as that. This is also in harmony with the principle of minimalism.
3. OMG, another S!
This time it stands for 'sequencing'. To me, this sounds more like pseudo project management now. After identifying and choosing only the necessary work-package, you have to sequence them. Logical.
4. The final S
'Stakes'. Here Tim tries to bind the logical to the emotional. He proposed to have a negative consequence should we fail to achieve our goal. Something that we really, really hate to see to happen. Nowadays, you can tie it to a lot of things, like donating to the George W. Bush Foundation or something. And always keep in mind that money is a very powerful motivator to the majority of us. So, make use of that fact in a positive way!
Well, he is interesting and that happens when someone sets himself apart from the rest of the population in terms of what he does and achieves in life. Surely we can learn a thing or two from this guy. So, in that lecture Tim basically shared 4 ways on how an individual could master anything new. It can be summed up with the DiSS acronym.
1. First alphabet, the D
It stands for 'deconstruction', which means breaking the outcome into small bits and pieces. I don't know how, but shortly before I came across this video, I've had a very similar idea. I am currently working on a VBA-based risk management software and in designing the software, I have to make a list of the qualities that this software has to possess. And from there onwards, I work backwards to make every single quality comes into realization. In a sentence: breaking our goal down helps us to define it - comparable to a work-breakdown-structure.
An important idea under this alphabet is also knowing exactly what turns you off. Deconstruct your de-motivators. For instance, if you would like to learn cooking but due to some unclear reasons, hate to do it, all you have to do is to identify the sources of those negative energy. It could be the dislike for grocery shopping and dish-washing. In that case, get someone else to do those things for you so that you can focus on the act of cooking itself.
2. Be fussy, do the S
Yes, 'selection'. Wether or not we have noticed this, getting to our goals faster and working more effectively are possible if we focus on a certain percentage of the ways to get there. Tim is known for being a proponent of the Pareto principle, which states roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. If you would like to learn a new language, you need to focus only on a handful forms of sentences in order to be able to achieve a certain level of mastery in that language. Simple as that. This is also in harmony with the principle of minimalism.
3. OMG, another S!
This time it stands for 'sequencing'. To me, this sounds more like pseudo project management now. After identifying and choosing only the necessary work-package, you have to sequence them. Logical.
4. The final S
'Stakes'. Here Tim tries to bind the logical to the emotional. He proposed to have a negative consequence should we fail to achieve our goal. Something that we really, really hate to see to happen. Nowadays, you can tie it to a lot of things, like donating to the George W. Bush Foundation or something. And always keep in mind that money is a very powerful motivator to the majority of us. So, make use of that fact in a positive way!
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