On the Edge

Increase productivity by your own deadlines (for Indian employee only)

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:47:00 +0000

I am not a regular writer of such article but I have found that people spend more time in company then required and I can’t stop myself writing this article.

Actually I have derived this theory from my regular appraisal cycle. I was in the travelling the same boat before I met a few person who thinks that “Your Performance not equal to Time spent in Company”. Let’s look at day to day life (work) of an regular employee.

Generally from 8 hours of work employee are really productive only for 5-6 hours. They in fact wasting time more than 4 hours a day. Let’s see how.

In India it’s a custom to take Tea and Breakfast in company. Well, that will take around 30 minute. Now email checking & forwarding, that will take around 45 minute(believe me on average people waste around 45 minute for that). Talking with friends and doing some personal work, which takes around 30 minute. After lunch employee want some time free like around 20 minutes (again email and forwards). What a waste !!!

Also people are not setting deadline for themselves. I always said to my team “Always keep your desk empty without file”. This is popular quote for the office worker but it doesn’t look impressive in software field till date. Well, why you want to keep some work pending, let’s finish it and go home. When you will see a deadline for going home at 6 PM, you will start working faster. For the same work which is going to take 2 hours, you will finish the same in 1 hour. You will skip the Tea other time pass activity. And in turn you will increase your productivity. There are some nice comments about the manager and time spent in company “If you leave late no one will notice you, but if you leave early you will meet your manager in parking”.

When employee stay more in company, they in turn wasting company’s power supply, Tea etc which are not at all useful to company because after all they are going to do same amount of work. Making employee spending only 8 hours in company will force the employee to work faster and with accuracy because they are not going to think of anything else during working time.

Also people think that staying more in front of the boss will give them better salary hike and performance appreciation. But that’s not true. At the end of the day “Smart boss” will always count the work done instead time spent. Now companies are realizing that to make the company success they need people who can work more by staying less in company.

Many employee specially fresher(bachelor) thinks that “What to do after going home?”. What a shame. There are thousands of possibilities to spend time and make life better. Like reading books, do some creative work like take some project on hand, create a website on any idea, read feeds, Watch movies (this really helps to reboot your system), etc.

Yar come out of the office take some fresh sun light, breath the fresh air, watch the sunset. People are going to hill station to watch sunset but they never tried to see the beautiful sunset outside their house every day.

Enjoy your work and give your time to Self and family.

The Rules of an Entrepreneur

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:04:00 +0000

You know, I have always wondered like every other entrepreneur what makes some people just so successful and others not successful. I wrote a blog post a while back on one of my other blogs, I thought I would move over to this one because well it was just so damn popular. In working with my startup or just one of my start up ideas at DrinkingFor I have to live by the rules stated in that post in which I also found them at GoDaddy in which Bob Parsons is the original author. I am not trying to take his stage, but rather spread the ideas. Make them known to more people in more places in more types of crowds. He wrote some 16 rules to live by and I just wanted to express them to the technical crowd that reads this blog.

A vast many of these can be used in an entrepreneur type environment and I feel thats where I am moving more and more every day. So to be as powerful and rich as Parsons, I will start by living by what he says are rules to live by.

1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone.
I believe that not much happens of any significance when we're in our comfort zone. I hear people say, "But I'm concerned about security." My response to that is simple: "Security is for cadavers."

2. Never give up.
Almost nothing works the first time it's attempted. Just because what you're doing does not seem to be working, doesn't mean it won't work. It just means that it might not work the way you're doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn't have an opportunity.

3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think.
There's an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."

4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be.
Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of "undefined consequences." My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, "Well, Robert, if it doesn't work, they can't eat you."

5. Focus on what you want to have happen.
Remember that old saying, "As you think, so shall you be."

6. Take things a day at a time.
No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don't look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.

7. Always be moving forward.
Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.

8. Be quick to decide.
Remember what General George S. Patton said: "A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow."

9. Measure everything of significance.
I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate.
If you want to uncover problems you don't know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven't examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.

11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing.
When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.

12. Never let anybody push you around.
In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you're doing as anyone else, provided that what you're doing is legal. If the law is unfair to you and others, you should do everything in your power to see that doesn't happen anymore going along with not allowing anyone to push you around. Imagine if Rosa Parks would have obeyed the laws! [Thanks Katrina]

13. Never expect life to be fair.
Life isn't fair. You make your own breaks. You'll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).

14. Solve your own problems.
You'll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you'll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: "You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others." There's also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."

15. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.

16. There’s always a reason to smile.
Find it. After all, you're really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time!”

Source: www.spoiledtechie.com

Lance Armstrong's Guide to Getting What You Want in Life

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:15:00 +0000

Lance Armstrong is one of those remarkable humans that has a story strong enough to inspire others to take action. He is the type of person whose struggles make your common complaints appear minimal in comparison. If you haven't heard Lance's story, then you've seriously missed learning from one of the most dedicated and heroic figures of modern times.

Allow me to give you a quick update. In 1996, Lance was diagnosed with testicular cancer and was found to have tumors on both his brain and his lungs. After successful surgery, Lance didn't just waddle through life and get to live a lifestyle similar to the healthiest of us, definitely not...he topped that by a long shot.

Since his surgery in 1996, he has gone on to:

Become a professional road racing cyclist
Win the Tour de France 7 times, breaking a record of 5 by Miguel Indurain and others
Not only did he win it, but he won it consecutively from 1999-2005
Named Worldwide sports athlete of the year in 1999
He won ESPN's Best Male Athlete award 4 years in a row
...and so much more.

To be fair, if I continued the bullet-points they could really go on forever. Not only is the Tour de France one of the most grueling race courses in the world, but being able to win it 7 years in a row and after life saving surgery is nothing short of miraculous.

But as you are about to find out, Lance doesn't believe in miracles. I have been so inspired by Lance's dedication that I thought his lessons would be great advice to anyone looking to get the most out of life. Whether young or old, I think anyone can benefit from his outlook...

Know that Pain is Temporary
Sometimes, to get what we want out of life we really have to work for it; we have to battle through the hard times. I'm sure all of you reading this can relate to a time in your life where you had to literally push yourself to keep going.

However, you must also realize that pain is temporary so unless you have set impossible goals, your struggles and efforts won't last forever. The results will come to you.

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”

Realize you Have Two Choices
Whether it's seeing the positive in things versus the negative or deciding to go for something or not, there are a lot of great possibilities in life on the other side of two choices. For Lance, those two choices he decided to focus on were a great testament to his mindset: you either give up or you die trying.

“If children have the ability to ignore all odds and percentages, then maybe we can all learn from them. When you think about it, what other choice is there but to hope? We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or Fight Like Hell.”

Go for What You Want Now, Before it's Too Late
We really never know what is around the corner. Our partner could become pregnant, there could be a family emergency where we need to lend funds, or we may even be in a critical health situation that physically stops us from completing our goals. We often wait till it is too late in life before we go for the things we want. We save money for our pensions and decide we are going to live then; the downside to that of course being that we are in our worst physical shape.

“Without the illness I would never have been forced to re-evaluate my life and my career. I know if I had not had cancer, I would not have won the Tour de France.”

Don't focus on Potential Failures
One of the things that really gets me down in life is the people that manage to talk themselves out of brilliant ideas and situations before they've even tried them out - before they've even given things a shot. Sure, you could fail at whatever you would like to accomplish; you could fail miserably. On the other side of the coin, you could also burn your hand on the toaster tomorrow morning but you're still going to put the bread in the machine.

Don't look for reasons not to do something, look for everything that is going to help you succeed in doing it.

"If you worried about falling off the bike, you'd never get on."

Put Everything into your Goals
In my opinion, half-hearted efforts are going to get half-hearted results. If you don't put the time or effort into something, you aren't going to get your desired outcome. Whatever it is that you want, literally immerse yourself in the life of having it. Study the subject, set practical hours to work on your goals and actually stick to your plan.

If you do feel like giving up, just appreciate that other people going for the same thing are feeling that as well, and while they might let those feelings take over them, you won't.

I figure the faster I pedal, the faster I can retire.

Lance is one of those people I've admired since hearing his story and watching the dedication he puts into training, day in and day out. To me, he is the epitome of success where hard work generates results.

Source: http://www.dumblittleman.com

Accomplish More Each Day: Four Steps to Easy Delegation

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:51:00 +0000

You could spend two hours every evening reading tips on efficient working. You could then implement every last one of them so that you’re working as efficiently as possible, every minute of your working day.

And, all too often, you’d find that you’ve become very good at Getting Things Done. But the “things” you’re doing could be done by pretty much anyone and you’ve not made yourself any more effective. You’ll be racing through work, but, like Alice, you’ll be running hard and going nowhere.

more ....

World coolest Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:12:00 +0000

Remember the days of your boyhood when the answer to questions like “What do you want to be when you grow up?” ranged from astronaut to rock star to pilot? And how many grew up to be doctors, lawyers or engineers instead? And then there are clerks, accountants, and marketing executives… You meet one in every corner. But can you imagine having a job where you wake up each morning, just waiting to put on your work shoes? Where you rise willingly, and with excitement, to meet the challenges of each new day? If you’re job does that to you, consider yourself extremely lucky.

We came up with a list of some of the world’s coolest jobs that give the words “I’d kill for a job like that,” a whole new meaning! Read on…

Video Game Tester

A boy and his video game. Nothing can come between this special relationship that can bear the test of time and stand proud. But imagine if he got paid to play video games all day long? Yes, a video game tester has got to be a top-notch gamer who can handle long hours in front of the TV. Other than that, the job is fairly straightforward. He plays the games and looks for bugs, holes or other problems. He can tell the software people that it’s too easy, too hard or just right. Comprende?

Lifeguard

So being a lifeguard is not just about the sun, sand and waves, or bouncing babes in red bathing suits for that matter. Saving lives is definitely hard work. But while you’re at it, there’s no one stopping you from sitting ten feet above sun bathers and constantly looking out for bikini-clad beauties, and swimmers in distress, of course.

Car Reviewer

A car reviewer is a reporter, but his beat isn’t metro or politics, it’s cars. That’s right, he spends all of his time going to car shows, test-driving cars and reading up on what’s new out there. Oh yeah, he also has to put pen to paper from time to time and write a few articles.

One of the biggest Indian names in the field is that of Hormazd Sorabjee, a self-confessed car nut and the editor of Autocar India, India’s best-selling automobile magazine. Hormazd is on the jury panel for the International Engine of the Year Awards and the World Car of the Year Awards, and is also a member of the International Guild of Motoring Writers. So which guy wouldn’t like to have his job? (A sport’s writer could work just as well.)

Food Critic

Enjoying lobsters in succulent sauces, caviar, vintage wine and layers of rich chocolate could be all in a day’s work for some. How, you ask? Become a food critic. Not only do you have the luxury of walking into the best restaurants and sampling the fare free of cost, you even get paid to do it!

So the next time someone tells you not to talk about work at the table, tell them you’re just trying to make a living. Ha!

Fashion Photographer

Question: How do you get attractive women all over the world to vy for your attention by wearing skimpy clothes and making love to you with their eyes?
Answer: With your weapon of choice - a camera.

Be it for fashion magazines, Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition, and so on, when you add yourself with a camera to an exotic destination and a beautiful girl, it’s hard to see how life could get any better. A fashion photographer helps select the locations, offers input on the girls, takes the shots, and helps choose the photos. Heck, you get to meet and hang out with models everyday! You’re chances of getting any further have already multiplied ten times over! This is just a little glimpse into the lives of the Daboo Ratnani’s and Subi Samuel’s of the world.

Look carefully and you’ll find that cool jobs are all around you. Part of what makes them cool is that you generally don’t go to school for them, and they’re not quite listed in any of the job search portals. So to get your dream job, start by talking to guys you know who have cool jobs. More often than not, you’ll find a great story there, which might just inspire you to think of your idea of a to-die-for job and actually go after it!

Enjoy the recession ... enjoy the life

Source: http://blah.burrp.com

How to Impress a Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:40:00 +0000

This might be helpful for hetal or vishal.. enjoy

What women want? The world’s greatest mystery continues to remain unsolved. Now come on guys, is the fairer sex really that difficult to deconstruct? Well, maybe. But here’s a tip while impressing a girl - Trust the cliches! More often than not, girls like your typical flowers, chocolates, surprises… Work with what you know and try and be creative going about it. No brainer, right? Not quite? Okay, okay… We seem to be the pros at doling out lists, so here’s a top ten that will make your life a little easy.

Be sweet and thoughtful instead of showy and clichéd. Try making a card, instead of buying one from the store. Or better yet, write her a letter, girls just love that! Also, give writing a poetry a go (even if it barely rhymes and ends up being corny); could do the trick as well.

You can never go wrong with flowers. I guess traditional red roses is alright but what you could do is surprise your girl with her favourite kind. The fact that you bothered to remember her favourite will endear you to her even more! You could also choose a flower for its significance:

Purple Lily - Beginning of Love
Orchid - Love, Beauty, Refinement
Tulip - Perfect Lover
Carnations - Fascination, Distinction, and Love

Girls love guys who can dance! You could use this as an opportunity to brush up on your dancing skills.

More often than not, a girl just wants a guy to give her his undivided attention, look into her eyes and really listen to what she’s saying. Fiddling with your blackberry during private moments with your loved one is a big no-no. Make her feel that she’s the centre of your world when you’re with her.

Your girl may love you enough to overlook the scruffy shoes but dirty finger nails and body odour are unacceptable. Make sure your nails are neat and you put on a nice cologne. Even the raw freshly showered male smell can be a big turn on.

Surprise her with an ‘impromptu’ pre-planned, pre-booked holiday/getaway. Girls just love that! But make sure you’ve snooped around a little bit before so you know her schedule is clear.

A way to man’s heart may be through his stomach but this holds good just as well for women. Sweep her off her feet by preparing a delectable, romantic meal for two. Even if you’re not much of a cook, she will love you even more for trying.

Do something that she enjoys for a change. Surprise her by bringing home her favourite chick flick or tickets to that dance recital she was dying to attend.

Guys like to drink beer and play pool, girls like to pamper themselves. That’s how it works. Gift her an all expense paid spa afternoon/day/weekend. It could even be just a massage or a pedicure at a nice salon. She’ll go ga ga for sure.

Know what else girls love? When guys remember the little things. The first time they met, their first date, first movie, special dates, yadda yadda yadda… Make a little scrapbook/journal. Include move tickets (if you’ve stored them), photographs, write a note on the paper napkin of her favourite restaurant, put in a few love post-its about how sexy she looked that other night, what she smelt of… Also, snap a picture of her reaction when she sees the trouble you went through, and stick that into the book as well. It will definitely be a moment to remember!

Stay Fit ..

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:21:00 +0000

This post is only for me & hetal kind of people who needs some exercise.

Hey, guys check out these sites.
1. http://hundredpushups.com/ : This one is for "the hundred push ups" training program.
2. http://www.twohundredsitups.com/ : This one is for "the two hundred sit ups".

And you guys can actually log the same on "http://hundredpushups.com/". Well, actually we all need this except Vishal, Aditi & Munno.

Start with the initial test & take the 4 or 6 week program.

Lets make our life better ...

IBM Finally Admits: Yes, We're Laying People Off (IBM)

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:06:00 +0000

Internet reports of layoffs at IBM (IBM) have been trickling in for days now, with the sometimes hyperbolic Alliance@IBM union website claiming well over a thousand IBM employees have already been let go.

SAI called IBM earlier this week about the reports, and was told the company doesn't comment on "speculation."

But at least one spokesman in IBM Canada has finally gone on the record.

itbusiness.ca: IBM Canada spokesman Mike Boden confirmed on Friday to CDN that a round of layoffs is underway at IBM, including at IBM Canada. According to Boden, no exact numbers on the scope of the cuts are being released at this time.

'We're not releasing numbers by site,' said Boden. 'There's no single area being targeted. As part of ongoing business operations at IBM we're trying to manage the resources and skills we have so we're ready and able to meet current and future client needs.'

Boden said some of the impacted employees will be able to find other positions within the company, adding IBM Canada is working with them to look for other internal opportunities.

So still no confirmation on the scope of the layoffs. But if the worst of the Alliance@IBM theories hold up, 16,000 employees may be let go. That'd amount to a little over 4% of IBM's 386,000 employees worldwide.

Developer Productivity - 5 Ways To Kill It

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 15:09:00 +0000

In keeping with the sarcastic tone of my How To Be The Worst Developer Ever post I’m going to explore several ways for managers to systematically destroy productivity among their developers. Unfortunately I am writing some of these from experience, then again, I’m sure we have all experienced some of these at one time or another.

1. Make Them Feel Unvalued By Ignoring Their Advice

Warranted or not, who cares what developers have to say, never mind years or experience and savvy, or blatant evidence that they are right. You’re the manager. You get paid the big bucks to make the big decisions.

2. Keep Them On Their Toes By Changing The Project Requirements

After looking at the prototype they submitted for review, have them implement the dozen “minor” changes that just popped into your head. Don’t worry about running those “bright ideas” through a stupidity test, if it goes south you can blame the developers anyway. Be sure to remind them that it is still due next Friday.

For maximum effectiveness, be sure to “review” their progress weekly.

3. Keep Them On Their Toes By Changing Deadlines

After dropping number 2 on them, they have the nerve to inform you that your changes don’t make sense and will require major reworking of the entire project. Also, there is no way they can have it ready for Monday. Hmmm. You must quell this little revolution. Inform them that you have scheduled a demonstration with the CEO and are moving the deadline up to Thursday. That should do it. They’ll have to pull an all nighter. They’ll be too tired to question your managerial skills again.

4. Assign Extra Unrelated Work

You get back from a long weekend at a managers conference at the golf club. The project seems to be running smoothly and the developers look a little happy. They must have been slacking off while you were gone. Have someone review the pile of emails in your inbox and respond to the random product surveys vendors send you.

Remind them the project is still due Wednesday. Thursday? No. I told you it was due Wednesday. If you can’t keep simple details straight how can I put my confidence in you to get the project completed on time? *alternate execution of number 3*

5. Refuse To Get The Tools They Request

You already provided the team with Visual Studio and something called Subversion, what more do they need? What the heck is Resharper or NHibernate any way? Where do these new ideas keep coming from? Why can’t they just be happy with their adhoc SQL and DataSets? Code completion? Are you kidding me? They want tools that will write the code for them? This is getting out of hand. Perhaps shuffling various team members around will get things back on track.

Source: http://www.geekdaily.net

If I was a programmer still in college, I would...

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 13:33:00 +0000

I was mentoring some kids the other day about being in college as a programmer. Heck they could even had been kids in high school. The ideas stated here still apply.

still worry about grades - Grades get you the job, but they don't keep your job. Learn new things and relax off the grades a little. You don't have to always get that A in class. Unless you're going for a masters or PHD right after your bachelors, relax and have a little more fun.
put down the video games - There is much more to life than video games and chatting with people online you have no idea about. The biggest thing that got me to put down a controller were the questions that "If I disappear tomorrow in the gaming world, will I be missed? If I disappear tomorrow in the real world, will I be missed?" There is a big line in spending a bit more personal time with your real friends compared to just some people on the other side of the world.
go out a few more times - I am two years out of college and I sure do miss it sometimes. The interaction with all the people. The not having to worry about bills and not waking up to a 9-5 job would be amazing again. On a side note: I do think I have grown out of the parties a bit.
have thought of a GREAT IDEA and gone with it - It was the perfect time to focus less on college studies and more time on a great business/web 2.0 idea. I had plenty of time where I got bored, I should have focused it towards a great idea and making it happen. Now a day, I get home at 6pm and only have about 3 hours to work on my ideas at home. I don't have much time left in the day to actually get my business ideas up and running.
join a Fraternity - It is a known fact that more than 75% of CEO's have been in a college fraternity. It is a known fact that you get resources and jobs just through your fraternal world. You get connections beyond your belief and you get a better social life in college. Instead of playing those video games by your self, you could be enjoying a great time with friends that you have a close bond with. Sure you might think of it as paying for friends, but I thought of it as networking and a social life. I did join a Fraternity and got much more than I expected out of what I put in. For a college job making $7.50 and hour and only working 10 hours a week, I was able to pay for my fraternity and social life. It was a great bargain!
have thought of a GREAT IDEA and gone with it! - I know it is a repeat, but I fear it was one of my biggest mistakes in college.
have learned a real programming language - ~~Java and C++ are no longer really used these days outside of academia.~~ Some people will even argue that java has become too academic. I know Ill get some flack for this, but I consider it to be true. Did you know that Microsoft uses 98% C# in its work environment? I wouldn't learn PHP now seeing that Microsoft gives out its IDE and workspace extremely cheap these days to students. Java and C++ are a good free language. Even if you don't pick up two languanges, at least pick up one. Learn one programming language and build something with it!
not let my teacher hold me back - teachers can sometimes not care too much about students. Don't let them hold you back. There is a BIG saying at most big universities which is hard to get away from. "Publish or die" Teachers are required to publish at universities. Unless they really like teaching, they are required by the university to publish or leave. They don't care much about the students. Don't let the teachers hold you back.
try to find a mentor - You can never have too many mentors. I wish I would have found one to guide me along the programmers trail.
have run with my great idea! - I know I said it once and twice, but this is the biggest thing I look back on and think I should have done that!
not own a credit card - Spring break is fun for a week, but bad credit last for 7 years or more. Don't own a credit card and repeat mistakes of others.
Last but not least, Be controversial! - Don't be hated, but be controversial. Make sure you get your point of view heard.

This is only a short list and I imagine there are many other things in that period of time I wish I would have done, but this list will not die and will keep growing.

These thoughts are more of advice than a memory. You can do what you wish with them.

"Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth." - Baz Luhrmann

Source: spoiled techie

7 Steps To Shameless (Successful) Self Promotion

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:33:00 +0000

It's a new game out there. It's harder than ever to differentiate yourself from every other candidate. So how do you do it? How do you find success in an industry wrought with competition? How do you prove to a company that they should hire you over everybody else?

Shamelessly self-promote yourself. That's how. At the end of the day, it really IS all about who you know. Here are 7 tips to follow to make sure you know the right people.

1) Business Cards

Do me a favor. Grab one of your business cards. I'll wait.

OK, got it in your hand? How much of the information on that card would be true if you left your current job? I'd be willing to bet, in most cases, that your name is about the only thing that's "yours" on that card. The address, phone numbers, and email address all belong to the company you work for. And technically, in a situation where you're not shamelessly trying to promote yourself, those cards will suffice.

But if you leave that job, or get laid off, or outsourced, or whatever you kids are calling it these days, everyone you gave that card to was just cut out of the loop. Every customer, that attractive new friend from the party last weekend, even some of your close friends were relying on the information on that card to get a hold of you. So why do we rely on these cards from our company so heavily? Is anyone making us use those? No, they're not.

Make your own cards. It's that simple. You can put the company you work for on them, but that shouldn't be what defines you at all. You define who you are. Your accomplishments, your skills. That's what matters. Here's a picture of my current business card.

These might be a little simpler than I'd recommend for most people, but there's a purpose to this card other than the arrogance it might suggest. First, it's simple. Most cards are crammed with information that nobody needs, and your name often takes a back seat to a corporate logo. The first thing someone should see when they look at your card is your name. Everything else is secondary.

The second part of this card that is serving a purpose is the amazing amount of white space available on the card. I always carry a pen with me, and when I hand out a business card, I like to add any other information that was specific to the time that I gave it away. It's likely to go into a stack of cards later, and a few words like, "DevLink Conference, talked about Silverlight" reminds the recipient of the card why they were talking to you in the first place. It also demonstrates to the other person that you truly enjoyed meeting them.

The third reason you should have your own business card is because it's an opportunity to show people your identity. Once you leave the conversation, your card is what they will have to remember the impression you left. Whether or not you've spent the time to create a logo, you have a brand that you're marketing. Your personal brand is what this entire post is about.

To get some new shiny business cards of your own, there are plenty of places to start. I recommend VistaPrint because I've used them and the cards were excellent, and if you're really low on cash, they even offer "free" business cards as well. You can get 250 cards for $20. They're not expensive.

2) Your Online Presence

I was tempted to make this one #1, but then decided that the order doesn't really matter. All of these points are invaluable to someone starting their self-promotion ascension.

Your online presence is HUGE in this game. Whether they will admit it or not, hiring managers will search for you online before making a determination about whether to hire you. If you're not on the Internet, you're gonna be the second choice. But there's also a downside to this one, and I'll address this one in a bit.

I am not suggesting that you need a robust, super-technological web site. All you need to know is that you can be found when someone is looking for you. In addition to having listings on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Plaxo, you need something that is uniquely yours. To show my example, go to http://www.jeffblankenburg.info. This site contains nothing but my contact information. Email addresses, phone numbers (if I want that to be public), IM names, etc. If someone wanted to get a hold of me, this is the place they should go.

A domain name costs $10 a year. It's not expensive. I use GoDaddy, but there's honestly hundreds of places to get one. In addition, GoDaddy will also give you free hosting for your domain, so you have a place to create a simple website. Take this opportunity to get yourself a branded presence on the web. It will be the best ten dollars you spend this year.

Now the downside of being able to be found on the Internet...they're gonna find you. Make sure that your MySpace page isn't blaring death metal and featuring pictures of your inappropriate Halloween costume. They will find that stuff too. You should have an online presence, not an online episode of Jerry Springer. Keep your private stuff private.

3) A Unique Name

I know some of you were thinking about this during point #2. "Jeff, my name is Dan Miller, and domain names are just not easy to come by." I'm here to tell you that you can find a unique name for yourself. Add a middle initial. Add a Jr. after your name (even if it's not true...nobody cares!). Heck, call yourself "Dan Miller III". My friend Dan has struggled with domains forever because of this. But a quick search shows that danmillerjr.com is available as I write this post. Give yourself a permutation of your name that is unique to the web. My colleague Brian Prince has branded himself as Brian H. Prince for that specific reason. There just aren't any other Brian H. Prince's out there.

So start brainstorming, and come up with a unique name for yourself. This is the name you should put on everything. The business cards, the website URL, your resume, yourTwitter handle...anything and everything where you identify yourself, use that name. You're sure to be found by that name if you do.

4) Show Your Passion

In your professional life, what's the thing you're most passionate about? What's the part of your day that you really look forward to? If "lunch" is your answer, perhaps it's time to think about changing your career.

Now that you know where your passions lie, let them show. Find websites that focus on that thing, whether it's writing software, working on advertising campaigns, or designing cars, there's a place where passionate people are talking about it on the web. Not only can you learn from these other people, but they will probably learn something from your perspectives as well.

Participate! Your opinions are your own. They are NOT wrong. They're your opinions. Using your unique name from earlier, build a passionate presence on the web, even if it's just posts in a forum or comments on a blog.

Speaking of blogging, however, this is one of the best ways to show off your passion at work. There are dozens of blogging engines out there to help you get up and running in a matter of minutes. I use Blogger, but there is also WordPress, Live Spaces, and several other popular ones out here. All you need to do is come up with something to write about. Again, this is where taking that thing you're passionate about and running with it.

The whole point of all of this passionate display is to position yourself as an expert in your field. When people search for you, finding your name all over the reputable sites in their industry will be a HUGE plus.

5) Community Presence

This is the step that is probably the hardest for most people, but it is also one of the most valuable. You're now talking with people online (and maybe even blogging), but face-to-face interaction far outweighs the online kind.

For every industry out there, there is a small, passionate group of people getting together to talk about it. It's very prevalent in the software world (in the form of user groups), but these types of groups exist for every type of business. As an example, for project managers in Columbus, OH there's PMI Central Ohio. For CPAs, there's The Ohio Society for CPAs. For creative folks (artists, writers, designers, etc), there is Columbus Society of Communicating Arts (CSCA), The Advertising Federation of Columbus, and many others (thanks to @leighhouse for the help). They're out there, you just need to find them.

For software development in Columbus, here's a short list of what is available:

Central Ohio .NET Developer's Group (CONDG)
Columbus Digital (Adobe User Group)
Central Ohio Linux User Group (COLUG)
Columbus Ruby Brigade
Central Ohio Sharepoint User Group (COSPUG)
Central Ohio Java User Group (COJUG)

Finally, there's speaking. You are an expert on something. Why not tell people about it? Each of these great groups is looking for a speaker each month. There is no better way to convince yourself and others that you're an expert on something than to get in front of a crowd and talk about it. Now, I know this isn't for everyone, and in fact, I think Jerry Seinfeld said it best when he said:

"Speaking in front of a crowd is considered the #1 fear of the average person. I found that amazing. #2 was DEATH! Number 2! That means for the average person, if you have to be at a funeral, you would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy."

But take a chance. Take a risk. Speaking in front of people is not easy. It takes practice, focus, and nerves of steel. But after you do it, you're gonna feel great. And the expertise you convey will definitely be a reward worth receiving.

6) Make Sure You Talk About You

When you do something, don't expect that people will just know about it. Talk about it! Promote it! If you wrote a new entry for your blog, mention it on Twitter. And Facebook. And FriendFeed. It will get more people aware of what you are trying to accomplish, which is to get noticed, right?

But we can go much further than this. With sites like Digg, and StumbleUpon, we can demonstrate our passion, again, by sharing with others what we are reading. Posting interesting articles to these sites is a great way to build a reputation, and if you're posting your own articles, even better. The goal is to get noticed, not to be polite. People will be able to see that you're "in the know" which is one more way to say that you're an expert on that particular subject.

I mentioned Twitter a few times already in this post, but it deserves its own section. Talking about yourself on Twitter is INVALUABLE. In the simplest definition, Twitter is meant for people to answer one simple question: What Are You Doing Right Now? But it has become a networking tool on a much larger scale. Start following some of the big names in your industry. If you're into .NET development, start listening to Scott Hanselman (@shanselman), Joe Stagner (@misfitgeek), Sara Ford (@saraford), and your local evangelists (that's me - @jblankenburg), Jennifer Marsman (@jennifermarsman), Brian Prince (@brianhprince), and Bill Steele (@wjsteele). And then start following the people you meet. And the people you hear about. You'll be surprised how many people you know are already on Twitter. But following them is not enough. You need to participate. Respond to Hanselman when he talks about something cool. Become part of the conversation, not just a listener.

The coolest part about Twitter is that people post EVERYTHING. It's not just what they're doing. It's mostly they're thinking and feeling. It's a way to externalize that internal monologue that's running in your head. I have said over and over that I feel like I know more about the people I follow on Twitter than some of my close friends. I know when people are sick, when they're feeding their coffee addiction, when they're frustrated with their work...it's all there. And if people feel like they know you that well, they're also likely to help you when you need help. Whether that's to find a new gig, or just to figure out how to do something, somebody's done it before.

7) Know When Others Are Talking About You

Our final step. If you've stuck with me through this novel of a post, you're interested to know if there's a way to measure your success. How do we define successful self-promotion? My definition, for the most part, is when I can get other people to talk about me. But how do we know when that happens? My tool for this is Google Alerts. Its simplicity is its strength.

Go there, and start creating alerts. Create one with your unique name. Create one with any common misspellings of your name. Create one with the name everyone calls you by. (Nobody calls Brian Prince by his unique name, Brian H. Prince, so you don't want to miss these.) Create one with your Twitter handle. And create some that are on topics you're interested in.

Google then takes these terms and sends you an email each time it finds something on the web that matches your search term. You get an alert within minutes sometimes of a mention of your name on the web. Here's a look at my vain little list of alerts.

As you can see, I've got quite a few terms in there. Make sure to surround multi-word phrases (like your name) in quotation marks. That way you're sure to get only things that have your name written the way you wrote it. I also alert things like domains that I own, and topics I'm following (like "Live Mesh"). All of these things then magically show up in my inbox when the Google bots find them. It's an absolutely great service, and so simple to use.

Summary

I can't emphasize enough that the point of this post is to help you in your professional career. I am not encouraging you to become an arrogant, unlikable person. Each of these suggestions are meant to help you come out of your shell and become recognized for the skills you already have. These tips are useful to differentiate you from the hundreds of other people that have a resume just like yours.

I hope you get something useful from this list that helps you make that next step in your career. And I'm always open to expanding this list if you have recommendations. How do you promote yourself?

Source: http://www.jeffblankenburg.com

40 Ways To Relax and Recharge Your Batteries

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:47:00 +0000

Do you find yourself constantly at the opposite end of being calm, relaxed and centered? If so you are probably familiar with the feeling of being stressed out, angry, or even out of whack with your whole body. Don't worry if you do, we all feel like that at times.

Experiencing inner peace is synonymous with being happy about each moment and enjoying everything life throws at you. Unfortunately we are not monks who spend their days meditating for their eternal ohm. Instead, most of us lead busy lives: playing hard and working harder. But sometimes we need to calm down to recharge our batteries and take stock of our directions.

If we can't do this, we run the risk of possibly becoming ill, having a nervous breakdown or simply becoming a grump that no one can stand being around. Today's society is geared so much toward production and performance that we have forgotten how to smell the flowers occasionally. We hardly have time to breathe and before we realize it, another day has rushed by.

Today is Saturday; most people are off work. If you can find it in your schedule, take 5 minutes to read this, and 5 minutes to work on finding a little peace. Here are some simple suggestions to get you on your way!

1. Listen to classical music

2. Talk a walk on the beach

3. Watch a river run over pebbles

4. Play with a pet

5. Cuddle a baby

6. Smile at a child

7. Get lost in the great outdoors

8. Collect shells at the beach

9. Invite friends for dinner

10. Play games

11. Meditate

12. Take a power nap

13. Do yoga

14. Do any sport that helps you to relax

15. Read a good book

16. Go sailing

17. Go hiking

18. Listen to your iPod

19. Watch a funny movie

20. Watch a kids movie

21. Sleep

22. Pray

23. Gaze into the landscape

24. Gaze into candlelight

25. Read by candlelight

26. Do some scrapbooking

27. Paint

28. Find a new hobby

29. Hibernate with a cup of herbal tea and a good book

30. Take a relaxing bath

31. Get a massage

32. Sing

33. Dance

34. Lie down in the grass and gaze up into the sky

35. Walk barefoot

36. Reflect on your life

37. Daydream

38. Take a long shower

39. Take a vacation

40. Go for a weekend getaway

Each of these suggestions can help you to unwind and relax. Maybe you have your very own favorites to share with us. It would be great to hear what helps YOU to relax so please feel free to comment.

Congrats To 2008 Crunchies Winners!

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 07:09:00 +0000

The second annual Crunchies are over, and 900 people are across the street at the after-party toasting the winners. For those of you who didn't attend or see it live on Ustream, the nominees, winners and runners up for each category are below. We'll have follow up coverage and a video of the new Richter Scales song that was performed live later tonight or tomorrow.

Last year's winners are here. This year's nominees, runners up and winners:

Best Application Or Service

Get Satisfaction
Google Reader (winner)
Minted
Meebo
MySpace Music (runner-up)
Yelp

Best Technology Innovation/Achievement

Facebook Connect (runner-up)
Google Friend Connect
Google Chrome
Windows Live Mesh (winner)
Swype
Yahoo BOSS

Best Design

Animoto (runner-up)
Cooliris (winner)
Friendfeed
Infectious
Lala
Sliderocket

Best Bootstrapped Startup

BackType
GitHub (winner)
Socialcast
StatSheet
12seconds.tv (runner-up)

Most Likely To Make The World A Better Place

Akoha
Causes
CO2Stats
GoodGuide (winner)
Kiva (runner-up)
Better Place

Best Enterprise Startup
Amazon Web Services (winner)
Force.com
Google App Engine (runner-up)
Yammer
Zoho

Best International Startup

eBuddy (winner)
Fotonauts
OpenX
Vente-privee
Wuala (runner-up)

Best Clean Tech Startup

Better Place (runner-up)
Boston Power
ElectraDrive
Laurus Energy
Project Frog (winner)

Best New Gadget/Device

Android G1 (runner-up)
Ausus EEE 1000 Series
Flip MinoHD
iPhone 3G (winner)
SlingCatcher

Best Time Sink Site/Application

Mob Wars
iBowl
Tap Tap Range (winner)
Zivity
Texas Hold Em (runner-up)

Best Mobile Startup

ChaCha (runner-up)
Evernote (winner)
Posterous
Qik Skyfire
Truphone

Best Mobile Application

Google Mobile Application (runner-up)
imeem mobile (winner)
Pandora Radio
rolando
ShopSavvy
Ocarina

Best Startup Founder

Linda Avery and Anne Wojcicki (23andMe)
Michael Birch and Xochi Birch (Bebo)
Robert Kalin (Etsy)
Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone (Twitter ) (winner)
Paul Buchheit, Jim Norris, Sanjeev Singh, Bret Taylor (FriendFeed ) (runner-up)

Best Startup CEO

Tony Hsieh (Zappos)
Jason Kilar (Hulu) (runner-up)
Elon Musk (SpaceX)
Andy Rubin (Android)
Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) (winner)

Best New Startup Of 2008
Dropbox (runner-up)
FriendFeed (winner)
GoodGuide
Tapulous
Topsin Media
Yammer

Best Overall Startup In 2008

Amazon Web Services
Facebook (winner)
Android
hulu
Twitter (runner-up)

7 Simple Time Management Rules For the Super Busy

noreply@blogger.com (Oracle) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 10:12:00 +0000

Most people are busy these days -- from the start of their day to the end, there are endless tasks to be done, projects to be moved along, meetings to attend, errands to run, chores and cooking to be done, email and phone calls to handle, paperwork and other routine things to be done.

It can be overwhelming. And typical time-management systems don't help much -- writing all tasks and appointments and errands in a planner or task or project-management software just makes you feel more overwhelmed, and you feel guilty when nothing goes as planned and you end the day with a to-do list even longer than when you started.

So what's a busy person to do? Throw out the traditional systems and learn a more focused, yet free-flowing system that changes with the situation and doesn't make you feel obligated to do everything on your list.

Throw out your schedule and you'll never feel guilty about not keeping it again.

Does that mean you won't get things done? Not at all -- in fact, if you learn to work effectively, you can simplify your time-management system, reduce stress, and yet accomplish more.

Here's how:

Keep your schedule open
Stop scheduling everything -- packing your day with things to-do just leaves you with too little time to do everything, and allows everything to fall apart when unexpected things come up and the schedule gets messed up.

Instead, schedule as little as possible. Sure, there will always be some appointments that need to be plugged into a calendar, but everything else should be open. What do you do with that open time? Go with the flow, focus on important things, and take one thing at a time. See the following items for more.

Go with the flow
This sounds kind of like Eastern philosophy, and it is. Basically you have to learn to adapt to each situation as it comes up, and respond appropriately -- not as if it's an emergency, but just what is needed. Sometimes that means dealing with the important task you need to complete right now, sometimes that means handling an urgent situation that comes up, other times that means dealing with unexpected visitors or phone calls.

There's no way to plan for the unexpected, so don't try. Just learn to deal with them as they come up, and figure out what's most important to deal with right now, and take everything in stride. Nothing is an emergency -- except for actual emergencies like heart and terrorist attacks. Everything else -- you can deal with it calmly and appropriately.

Fewer, high-impact tasks
If you could only do three things today, and you wanted to really feel like you accomplished something, what would you do? Write those down each day and focus on them -- you'll do other things but try to ensure that at the very least, you get those three things done. If you could only accomplish one thing today and feel happy with your day, what would it be? Do that first, before anything else, including email.

Try to reduce the number of tasks you do each day, but make each one count for more. Think of it as concentrating your productivity -- instead of spreading yourself out thin with lots of little, unimportant tasks, make the most of your time by just focusing on fewer but higher-impact tasks. Your time is valuable, after all.

One task at a time
A lot of people ask me how I get so much done -- creating a Top 100 blog in less than a year, creating one of the Top 10 writing blogs on the Internet, running several marathons, creating a successful ebook publishing company, writing several best-selling ebooks, writing and promoting a best-selling productivity book (The Power of Less), and raising six kids, all at the same time.

So how do I do all this? Easy: one thing at a time. It's easy to get caught up trying to do everything at once, making phone calls and sending emails while checking emails and writing and doing Instant Messaging, all at the same time. And yet, it's hard to actually accomplish anything in this mode. I've found that it's much more effective, and much less stressful, if you focus on just one thing at a time, get it done, and move on to the next thing. You'll be amazed at how much you get done this way.

Limit distractions
As I said, there are lots of ways to get busy and get distracted. They just create chaos and pull you in a thousand different directions. Instead, just go along one path -- limit your time browsing the Internet, Instant Messaging, checking email, making phone calls, even going to meetings. Each of these tries to take you along a different path. Instead, shut them all off, clear them away, and focus. Get things done. Then do each of these things using limited time -- say 20 or 30 minutes -- and then stop yourself.

Reduce commitments
How many things are you committed to? Each of these things take up time on your schedule, is a demand on your time and attention. Do you really need to be doing all of them?

Instead, get out of commitments by telling people, honestly, that you don't have the time to do this right now. People might not be happy about it, but you have to be realistic with them and with yourself. Cutting back on commitments will open up your schedule and free up time for the more important things.

Simplify your to-do list
Similarly, take a look at everything on your to-do list. Now, first of all, realize that this list will never be completely done, as you're constantly adding things to the list even as you're checking others off. So don't worry about getting it done. But do think about whether you really have time to do all of this -- if not, think of each task as a mini-commitment, and get out of it if possible, if it's not important. You'll feel relieved if you do. Simplify your to-do list just down to the important things.