You are the average of your surroundings

So you want to get ahead in life and improve your lot as well, here’s an interesting concept I came a cross a while back. Where ever you go you are probably going to be the average of those around you.

 

Here’s an example to explain. Let’s say that you want to improve your golf (and who doesn’t), you are not going to do that by playing with people who you are better than. To improve, you need to play with people who are better than you so your game will tend to move upwards towards the average of the group.

 

Now let’s apply that to business. If you want to be more successful in business then you should be hanging around with people who are more successful than you. Same law will apply, as your average success will tend to increase to that of the group you associate with.

 

Stop and think about the business people that you associate with on a regular basis. Are they lifting your average or dragging it down? If you want your average to increase then perhaps you need to look at associating with a different set of business people.

 

It is a rather simply concept but I recommend you take a few moments to consider what groups you are the average of. If their average is not what you want your average to be then maybe it’s time to make some decisions.

Who programmed this?

I am a subscriber to a video library which delivers me DVD’s via mail on a regular basis. I really like the service since I can create a list of what I want to see on a web site. I can also decide in what priority I want to view DVD’s and so on. Every time I watch a DVD I simply pop it back in the post and a new one arrives from my list a few days later. Fantastic.

Now, I’ve been using this service for a few years now and have watched hundreds of DVD’s via this method. When I log into my DVD portal I get something like what you see below with suggestions of what I might like to watch from the library.
 
The issue here is that every DVD you see in the above list I have watched and returned from this DVD library site. Why doesn’t the web site know that? Doesn’t it look stupid by suggesting things I’ve already seen? I would think that it is pretty easy to at least check my viewed DVD list to see if what is being recommended has actually been viewed!

When you see things like this you gotta question the value of technology. In my books it is simply not adding value to the site and should not be there. Also, it is very lazy programming simply to throw up any list of DVD’s for me to watch without the most simply qualifiers. Do I feel I’m a customer that matters? Nope. This tells me that the site doesn’t know who I am from a bar of soap. How is that adding value in my mind to what I pay for? Does it provide a unique selling point? Nope. It just shows me how poorly put together the site is.

Companies who develop web sites and technology need to understand the value from the customer’s perspective. Don’t do something because it is technically easy or look pretty – give us something that is practice, otherwise as a customer you are simply wasting my time. Even if doing something simply is technically difficult (which it normally is) don’t do something technically easy that doesn’t work (like the above) because it shows me you haven’t thought about me as a customer. The next time I need to make a decision about whether I continue to use such a service this sort of stupidity is going to count against you.

For heaven’s sake, give us practical technology not technology for technology’s sake!

The value of “clear space”

I was reading an article from Intel recently saying they have noticed a decided drop off in innovation with the advent of interruptions (linked to things like email). They believe that because people’s head are so full of things that are perceived to be urgent that there is little room for new ideas to form. Intel are trying to foster the idea of “clear space”. Time simply devoted to thinking rather than doing.

 

I can’t but equate this back to the eastern philosophy of meditation. Many people I know laugh meditation off as some ‘new age hippy’ treatment and would never be caught engaging in the practice. To these people I’d content that it far more difficult to empty your mind of thoughts and keep it empty for a period of time. If you don’t believe me then try it for yourself. See how long you can go without thinking about anything. I’m certain you’ll find all sorts of things popping in there. Maybe then you’ll appreciate that finding ‘clear space’ is far more difficult that first imagined simply because we have become so accustom to filling it.

 

If your mind is a cup and constantly overflowing how is anything else ever going to get in? If you feel your mind is always preoccupied with ‘stuff’ perhaps you need to look at exactly what ‘stuff’ is in there. The problem is that most people believe they have to remember everything they need to know in their heads. For example, some time during the day you drill yourself into ‘remembering’ that you need milk. Later on, you find yourself standing in the dairy isle of a supermarket trying to rack your brain for what you needed to remember. Everyone’s been there.

 

The simplest way to empty the cup of your mind and allow it some ‘clear space’ is to move information from your brain to a trusted location where you can retrieve it if necessary. Where this information ends up doesn’t really matter, what matters is that your brain is confident that it is somewhere safe where it can be retrieved later and so no longer was to worry or ‘think’ about it.

 

Personally, I find a pen and paper to be the fastest, most convenient and flexible way to get things down however electronic means like OneNote, Evernote or whatever can achieve the same result. The secret is you have to find out what works for you. You’ll also find that you’ll improve the system that you use as you go along, which is exactly what is supposed to happen. The important thing is to take steps to free you mind from the mundane issues that can easily be dealt with in other ways.

 

I think that you’ll be surprised at how quick it is to create some mental ‘clear space’ and how easier things become once your mind has room to accept and process information. Your mind is like a high performance engine. If you keep filling it with crap fuel it is never going to reach its potential. If however, you highly refine what goes in then you are guaranteed of top performance.

SharePoint subsite basics video

You’ll find a new video at http://www.youtube.com/user/directorciaops. This one give you an overview of the basics of SharePoint subsites.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQlJBE-3RHM&hl=en&fs=1

Subsites are basically just normal SharePoint sites that live underneath the original SharePoint home site. They can be created using an existing template (40 of these are free from Microsoft) so that you don’t have to start completely from scratch. SharePoint sites also have the ability to have unique permissions and navigation if desired.

 

As always I welcome feedback on what’s been created.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Starter Kit now available

How to Sell, Deploy, and Build Business with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and SBS 2003 R2

Overview: A new partner enablement tool helps you create solutions using Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2. Access the toolkit?s resources?including a process cookbook, technical documentation and marketing materials?to learn how to build your business by selling and deploying customized solutions

In case you were not able to get your hands on one of those fantastic WSS Starter Site Toolkit DVDs, the files are now online here.

Free team portal site

The Computer Information Agency is proud to offer a fully supported, free portal site to non-business teams. This will allow your soccer team to quickly and easily see when events are on. Your swimming team can quickly upload documents that everyone can access. Your team portal provides a quick and easy way for everyone to always be up to date.

 

Why is it free? What’s the catch? I hear you say. Your portal remains free for you to use provided you are not a business and you provide at least one converted referral per month. Otherwise, you will be charged $5 per month to cover basic hosting costs. Alternatively, if you provide a converted commercial referral then you’ll receive 12 months portal use and support for free.

 

For information about the conditions and how to take advantage of this offer Contact us or download a brochure.

SharePoint Starter Pack

Do you want to get your business into using SharePoint but don’t know how? Why not try our new SharePoint Starter Pack, that for a fixed price we will deliver a configured SharePoint site including training and support.

 

This is a great opportunity to start improving the productivity of your business by utilizing the tools that are available in SharePoint. Best of all it is all done for a fixed price so you know exactly how much it is going to cost. For more information download the brochure or email director@ciaops.com.

 

If you are a technology provider then you can also resell this pack and increase your revenue while introducing your customers to the benefits SharePoint can provide their business. For further information about reseller opportunities please contact the above email address as well.