Murali Apparaju commented on Innovation Insights's page About

TweetAre you still crashing from last night’s sugar rush?  If you’re like most Americans, you either have a bowl full of leftover candy from trick-or-treaters that never arrived or you’ve sorted through your child’s bag of treats and pulled out some no-no candy (i.e. candy with nuts for children with allergies). So, what do you plan to do with that candy?  Eat it and loathe the extra hours you’ll have to put in at the gym?  Eat it and start saving money for the new clothes you’ll have to buy next month in a larger size?  Take it to work and pawn it off on your coworkers? Last night I tweeted about these questions and received some great responses.  A few of my Twitter friends were proactively trying to give their candy away by reverse trick-or-treating (going door to door and giving away their candy).  However, two of my Twitter friends pointed me to some really great post-Halloween candy projects. Fist, Homefront Hugs tweeted that I could send my extra candy to them and it would be included in a care package to the troops.  Actually, they have a whole list of items they need and all items can be shipped to: Homefront Hugs USA 1850 Brookfield Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Next, my Twitter friend (and US Army veteran) @markvanbaale alerted me to a Halloween Candy Buy Back program operated by local dentists who then send the candy to the troops via Operation Gratitude.  At the Halloween Buy Back site you can search for local dentists who are participating in the program. What a great way to give back in a small way that also reduces candy waste in your house (and/or your waistline). Kudos to Homefront Hugs and the Halloween Candy Buy Back program for thinking differently about wasted candy!  Now You’re Thinking! What do you plan to do with your extra candy today?              

Lee J. Schneider commented on Mike Arney's blog post Managing Your Health? There May Not Be an App for That

Lee J. Schneider commented on Whitney Fishman's blog post Technology Marries Creativity

TweetHow does a student (or adult) become considered a "lost cause?"  Does a person become a "lost cause" because of their unacceptable behavior or because those who could help lack the energy/resources to do so?  Perhaps a better question is "is there really such a thing as a ‘lost cause’?"  Judge Jimmie Edwards of St. Louis, MO doesn’t think so. The story of Judge Jimmie Edwards was featured in both the October 10th and November 7th issue of People Magazine and made me re-think the issue of the "lost cause" student.  Jimmie Edwards has held a circuit court judge role since 1992, and has seen countless men and women come through the court system, be sentenced, released, and return to a life of crime.  In 2007, he moved to the juvenile court division in hopes of stopping the cycle of crime while children are still impressionable. In 2009 took his vision a step further by opening the Innovative Concept Academy.  This alternative school is seen as a last resort for many young teens who appear in Judge Edwards’ court room ready to be sentenced.  Students who have been kicked out of multiple school districts and are likely to continue a life of crime can find new hope at the Innovative Concept Academy. However, this "last chance" opportunity is no walk in the park.  Judge Edwards’ philosophy is that these students need structure.  They wear uniforms, have mandatory classes, and are expected to participate in additional school activities.  In fact, he says one important part of making the Innovative Concept Academy successful is keeping the students so busy that they don’t have time to get in trouble.  In addition, they are exposed to more than just basic Math, English, and History classes.  They also learn about golf, fashion, chess (which strengthens critical thinking skills), playing the piano, and even ballroom dancing.  As Judge Edwards said in People Magazine, you can’t dream about something you don’t know exists. These children who have been expelled from other schools for gang related activities, fighting, and assault are now improving their grades, refusing to quit learning, and even graduating.  They are learning the importance of speaking with proper grammar, communicating with confidence, and dressing professionally. Though the program has only been active for 2 years, it is still too early to gauge the long term effect these life lessons will have.  However, of the 700 students who have attended Innovation Concept Academy so far, only 4 have returned to jail.  That is a remarkable statistic given the fact that these children were once deemed a "lost cause." Judge Jimmie Edwards thought differently.  He saw a cycle and wanted to break it.  He took the expelled and helped them learn to engage.  Where others saw only failure, Judge Edwards saw opportunity.  Judge Jimmie Edwards taught these students (once seen as a menace to society) to STOP and THINK. Kudos to Judge Jimmie Edwards and the staff of Innovative Concept Academy for re-thinking the concept of the "lost cause" and changing the life story for these children. How can you make a difference today? www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU6dm_U7aFk Photo credit to Patrick T. Fallon of the Wall Street Journal

Mark Harrington's blog post was featuredHow Marketing Is Leading the Charge to Extract Value From Big DataIt seems the hope and hype of big data has an array of perpetual headline across an spectrum of publications with stories that discuss the what-ifs and someday-whens of how businesses will be able to extract unprecedented value from their massive data streams once they are able to manage their data tsunamis.The majority of these articles tend to focus on the potential contributions "big data" may one day deliver on a widespread, mainstream basis to an organization and often feature hypothetical milestones reviewing how "big data" intelligence will serve teams across the organization once it’s extracted. Often, these articles tend to focus on Finance, Operations and Technology teams as the anticipated and logical benefactors of "big data."However, one largely unexpected area of an increasing number of leading brands is overcoming the hype of "big data" to make its utility and value a reality. The Marketing (a.k.a. Insights, Experience or Brand) team is leading the charge across many companies to deliver valuable, actionable insight from massive, fragmented, complex data sources. This intelligence is being used to understand customers on unprecedented levels, manage operations more effectively and even track and measure brand equity.As other groups across the company hold out and hope for the promise of "big data," the ability to conduct digital consumer ethnography through real-time customer data streams is transforming how Marketing is able to understanding, engage and motivate consumers.Centralized SuccessAs the "Age of the Consumer" advances and more individuals evolve into "always on" consumers with shopping engines, price comparisons and product reviews it’s increasingly viral for Marketing teams to access the intelligence from their customers’ "digital footprints" from across the expansive array of data sources, from point-of-sale systems and ecommerce platforms to mobile applications and social networks. Marketers have to gain access to multidimensional, streamlined views of their customers in order to gain a robust understanding of their shopping habits, purchasing tendencies and engagement preferences.The key to achieving this is to centralize and synthesize the organization’s cross-channel customer data. This is an initiative that scares more organizations given the diverse, fragmented nature of the data sources, many of which are antiquarian. The way many brands are achieving this is with Consumer Management platform technology, which integrates to their wide variety of systems, collecting the ongoing data feeds in order to collate the information from each system into a central profile for each customer.This allows the brand to gain the advantage of a holistic view of their customers, replacing the obsolete approach where each individual customer interaction, say an online purchase, in-store purchase and mobile app purchase, are treated individually. In this case each purchase is viewed as a separate individual since the platforms traditionally don’t have a method to share and centralize their information to discover that the three transactions are actually made by one shopper.Intelligent ImpactsHere is a review of five ways Marketing is enhancing its impact on the organization with ‘big data’ customer intelligence:Customer Understanding. By synthesizing customer data sources across POS, ecommerce, social and mobile channels, Marketers are able to construct multidimensional personas, segments and purchase paths, understanding their specific purchase tendencies related to where they purchase, when they purchase and even what they purchase. This helps the brand to deliver more effective and relevant communications that motivate behavior based on customer preferences.MVC Identification. Centralized cross-channel data also helps the brand to unveil their Most Valuable Customers (MVCs) based on a multitude of dimensions beyond simple dollar value, like frequency, engagement, evangelism or volume. This allows the brand to not only focus on and foster their best customers to increase their lifetime value and cultivate their evangelism, but also helps identify potential MVCs the brand can strategically shepherd up the customer value chain.Operational Efficiencies. By understanding how consumers shop, brands can manage their in-store operations better. On the front end, having ongoing visibility into shopper behaviors based on when they shop during the week or day helps brands to manage their staffing levels more effectively. On the back end it allows the company to deploy strategic campaigns to attract traffic and demand during slow periods.Inventory Management. With intelligence on purchase trends and tendencies the organization has the ability to enhance its inventory management by bundling high demand products with lower demand items or even offering specials to move overstocked products. This delivers cross-channel demand visibility, allowing the brand to manage and move inventory more strategically and effectively to specific, relevant customer segments.Strategic Merchandising. Customer purchase tendency data can also extend to support merchandising efficacy across promotion optimization, or getting the right products in front of the right customers. It also helps with pricing optimization by understanding pricing points products move at, new product development and new product or market introductions. It also provides insight into declining and obsolete products to discontinue and delist, which drive margin and expense efficiency.The Bottom LineTo gain full advantage of the wealth of intelligence within your organization’s customer data sources, the first step is to centralize each data source across your point-of-sale system(s), ecommerce platform, mobile application and social network accounts. A growing number of brands are realizing that only once their customer data is synthesized can it deliver a true, ongoing understanding of their customers’ tendencies and trends.Given the sheer volume and fragmented nature of a company’s cross-channel data, extracting customer intelligence now requires advanced Consumer Management technology which integrates directly to the brand’s standing data platforms, avoiding massive internal development and/or system upgrades. Once achieved, the synthesized data delivers an unprecedented understanding of the customer, a vital component to succeeding into today’s "Age of the Consumer."Mark Harrington is Vice President of Marketing for Clutch.See More

TweetToday is Veterans Day and while we should all thank our soldiers for their service every day, today is a great day to think creatively about how to give back to those who have served and protected our country.  There are millions of small ways to show gratitude towards America’s service men and women, but here are 100 ways you can honor a Veteran today: 1)  Say "thank you."  It’s such a small, simple gesture that is completely disproportionate to the sacrifice soldiers make for us, but they really do appreciate it. 2)  When you see a soldier or veteran eating at a restaurant, discretely tell the waiter/waitress that you’d like to pick up the tab for them. 3) Ask your company to name Veterans Day an official company holiday.  A 2010 poll by SHRM found that only 21% of companies planned to observe the holiday this year. 4)  Donate to the USO. 5)  Volunteer at a local USO Chapter. 6)  Don’t forget to acknowledge the soldiers who served our country but didn’t fight in a foreign war.  For instance, though my father didn’t fight in Vietnam, I’m very proud that he served in the National Guard during that time.  He provided disaster relief support, kept peace at protests, and even guarded President Harry S. Truman’s grave when he was laid to rest.  Soldiers who do not fight in a foreign war are often given less attention, but are just as worthy of our praise and appreciation. 7)  Send a "Cheer" postcard to military families and Cheerios will donate $1 to the USO for each postcard they receive.  Learn more here.  Learn about how to support military families emotionally.  When a spouse is deployed, it’s so hard to know what to say or to do help their family.  Here’s a great article with 10 Things to Know About Military Wives. 9)  Place flowers/flags on the graves of veterans. 10)  Proudly display your American flag. 11)  Help a homeless veteran through VA services. 12)  Order a pizza.  On 11/11/11 for every order placed, Papa John’s will donate $1 to the USO. 13)  Visit a local retirement home and chat with some elderly veterans who will share their stories. 14)  Volunteer at a VA Hospital. 15)  Send a care package through Operation Gratitude. 16)  Donate a stuffed animal so that Operation Gratitude can create a "Battalion Buddy" to children of deployed soldiers. 17)  Send your leftover Halloween candy to soldiers. 18)  When you see a soldier boarding your fully booked flight, offer them your window or aisle seat. 19)  Teach your children about Veterans Day and how thankful we should be for the service of our soldiers. 20)  Did you know that There are more than 1.4 million active duty military members supported by more than 3.6 million family members, and 70 percent of married active duty military members have children.   Get involved with one of these great military family support charities. 21)  If you own a business, offer a special Veteran’s Day discount. 22)  Display a yellow ribbon on your clothes, car, or around a tree. 23)  Volunteer for a service project through The Mission Continues. 24)  If you are a manager or work in HR, hire a veteran. 25)  Pledge your service through "Joining Forces." 26)  Read a book or watch a documentary about the lives of soldiers. 27)  Donate to The Mission Continues. 28)  Help deployed soldiers stay connected with their children through the power of reading.  Donate to the USO’s United Through Reading program so that soldiers can record themselves reading a book and send the video to their children. 29)  Support Operation Homefront 30)  Take a veteran to lunch.  Several restaurants offer discounts to honor American heroes. 31)  Learn about the veterans in your family.  Do you know if anyone in your family served in the military? 32)  Send a "thank you" note.  http://www.amillionthanks.org/send-letter-guidelines-get-started.php 33)  Attend a Veteran’s Day parade 34)  Attend a presentation/speech being given by a veteran.  Many retirement communities hold speaking events to honor their members who are veterans, so just call around to your local assisted living facilities to find an event.  My own grandfather will be speaking about his experiences in the Korean war and selling his book at his retirement home.  The money he raises for the book will go to wounded warriors.  He made sure his daughter set up a Facebook page for the event!  That’s right, even my 81 year-old grandfather gets the value of social media! 35)  Hug a veteran. 36)  Teachers- get children involved in the day.  Ask them to create "thank you" posters and put them up around town for veterans to see. 37)  Post a message on a social network thanking our veterans.  You never know who is reading your posts and just needed to hear "thank you." 38)  Send the name of your Veteran family member (or friend) to Operation Gratitude and they will receive letters from strangers who want to thank them for their service. 39)  Grant a wounded warrior’s wish. 40)  Are you flying on Southwest Airlines this weekend?  If so, you should find specially marked postcards at each gate where you can write a thank you note that will be sent on your behalf to troops. 41)  Read and comment on online stories from the battlefield.  One of my friends sent me this article.  Her husband (Taylor Still) served in Iraq and experienced some truly heartbreaking moments as described in this story.  I don’t think you can truly understand what these men and women experienced until you read an article like this. 42)  Take a moment of silence to remember those who gave their lives to protect our freedom. 43)  Donate your old wireless phone so that a care package will be sent to soldiers. 44)  Save your expired coupons and send them to a military base.  Military families can still use expired coupons for up to 6 months past the coupon expiration date. 45)  Lend a sympathetic ear.  Every day, I check in on Facebook to see how one of my high school friends is doing.  She and her two daughters are living on base in Germany while her husband is deployed.  I’ve learned so much about the emotional roller-coaster she lives out every day.    She knows that no Facebook comment will bring her as much comfort as her husband’s arms, but she is so appreciative any time someone just says they’re thinking about her and her family.  I’ve also learned how to be more sensitive for her.  When I travel for work, I am sometimes inclined to post something about missing my husband.  It never occurred to me until recently how much that can upset a military spouse who hasn’t seen his/her partner in months. 46)  Mow a veteran’s lawn (or shovel their snow/rake their leaves this time of year). 47)  Donate your car to Cars For Troops. 48)  Wear a "Hero Bracelet" 49)  Send your old Beanie Babies to soldiers.  They use them to connect with local children and build relationships/trust within villages. 50)  Give recognition to a Veteran at your Work.   51)  Don’t forget about the four-legged veterans.  Support the Vetdogs program with a donation or by spreading the word about their program. 52)  Drive a veteran to their doctor appointments. 53)  Connect with groups like the Wounded Warrior project on Facebook and Twitter to show your support year-round. 54)  Volunteer for the Wounded Warrior Project. 55)  Attend an Operation Welcome Home event. 56)  Email a soldier to say thanks! 57)  Ask a military family or veteran what they need. 58)  Surprise a military family/veteran with a home cooked meal. 59)  Send International Phone Cards overseas for current soldiers. 60)  Foster a soldier’s pet while they are deployed. 61)  Buy a product that supports soldiers.  For example, ONEHOPE Wines donates 50% of the profit from each bottle sold to a charity.  Their "Supporting Our Troops California Zinfandel" is pretty tasty too. 62)  Stop by your local war memorial and say a silent thank you to those who died while serving the country. 63)  Support the VFW. 64)  Wear red, white and blue today. 65)  Bring a bag of groceries to a veterans home. 66)  Bake some sugar free cookies and take them to the local VA retirement homes in your area. 67)  Visit a VA retirement home and offer to scan and print larger pictures of their family members so they are easier to see. 68)  Do one good deed today in honor of those who gave their life for the country. 69)  Help modify homes for wounded veterans that need ramps, handrails, etc. 70)  Post a YouTube video about why you’re thankful for our veterans (and post the link in the comment section here). 71)  Leave a comment here telling the story of your favorite veteran.  Who is he/she?  Where did he/she serve?  What makes you proud of their service? 72)  Volunteer or donate to Operation Homefront. 73)  When you see a soldier, just give them a smile, wink, thumbs up or a nod to let them know you appreciate them.  They get it. 74)  Teach your children the history of Veterans Day. 75)  Help more veterans take the Honor Flight. 76)  If you’re in an airport when Honor Flight members are boarding or arriving from a plane, stop and cheer for them.  I was lucky enough to be in BWI airport when an Honor Flight arrived, and stood and cheered with every single person in the terminal for about 10 minutes until each veteran had passed us by.  There was not a dry eye in the place, and the veterans cheeks probably hurt from smiling so big!  It was truly an honor just to witness the moment. 77)  Offer to babysit for a military spouse.  They need a night off too. 78)  Hug a military child.  They struggle with loneliness and sadness every day their parent is deployed. 79)  If you’re crafty, offer to help a veteran scrapbook their pictures, letters, etc so they can share it with others. 80)  Have a sign in front of your business?  Replace your usual marketing message with "Thank you veterans!" 81)  Change your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc profile picture to something patriotic (a yellow ribbon, an American flag, or a picture of your beloved veteran). 82)  Each time you thank a soldier, thank their family too.  They all sacrifice so much for our freedom. 83)  Buy a veteran a military-themed gift. 84)  Send popcorn to the troops. 85)  If allowed, bring your well-behaved pet to a VA retirement home to bring smiles to the faces of the residents. 86)  Walk a veteran’s dog (or scoop the kitty litter). 87)  Donate your unused Frequent Flyer miles to a veteran. 88)  Invite a veteran to your Thanksgiving dinner. 89)  Help a service member connect with his/her family through videoconferencing facilities. 90)  Send books to soldiers. 91)  Say the Pledge of Allegiance today. 92)  Ask you child’s teacher if they can bring a Veteran to school with them for a day. 93)  Read a Veteran’s bio. 94)  Learn about PTSD so you can be sensitive to the issues soldiers around you might be facing. 95)  Did you recently move?  Save your bubble wrap, extra boxes, and tape and help build care packages with those supplies. 96)  Adopt a military family for the holidays.  Whether through emotional or financial support, they will appreciate the extra care during these emotional times. 97)  Write a blog post about how you thanked a veteran today 98)  Support veteran-based legislation. 99)  Send this list to a friend who needs help thinking of ways to thank Veterans. 100)  Remember our veterans all year long- not just on Veterans Day!              

Neil Kinson's blog post was featuredThe New Tech Advantage: Automating Back-Office Processes Means Better Customer ServiceEvery day new technologies for the home and office are developed and launched. With all the new gadgets out there, it can be hard to keep up with what’s happening next. This month the Apple Watch was launched, and as TechRader editor, Matt Swider puts it, "We know all about what's literally been hiding up CEO Tim Cook's sleeve."As technologies evolve in the consumer market, so too do those dedicated to improving business. But which ones matter most? PwC recently reported in its, "2015 Digital IQ Survey" that the top three technologies for businesses this year are likely to be cybersecurity (69%), private cloud (61%), and data mining and analysis (54%). The analysts went on to say that "These top-three bets are important technologies that many businesses need—but they may not distinguish you from the competition."Revolutionary ThinkingThe real winners won't just be companies that implement new technologies simply because they're in fashion. Business leaders know that real success is all about business results—not fickle trends. In fact, some of the most significant technological innovations for business aren't flashy, or even wearable. Top companies will accurately predict which technologies actually provide competitive advantage and adopt them quickly. These innovations get to the heart of what every business needs—accurate data; efficient processes and rapid outcomes—all while reducing costs.Leading organizations will achieve competitive differentiation with back-office automation. If it sounds revolutionary, that's because it is. In the same way that the Industrial Revolution led a change from reliance on slow, manual effort, to building streamlined, automated assembly-line processes, automated processes have become a game-changer for traditional back-office business activities. Already early adopters have made real progress.Leading retail data analysis company, dunnhumby, uses process automation to easily handle growing data volumes and provide world-class customer service. While, FortisBC, Canada’s largest private utility company, uses process automation to accurately and efficiently deliver more than 50,000 bills to its 1.1 million customers every day. Day after day more organizations discover that automating back-office processes moves them ahead.Make the MoveProcess automation is the kind of technology that never goes out of style. With seamless, automated enterprise-wide business and IT processes in place, companies eliminate manual latency and error. Organizations can be certain that regular business activities take place with carefully engineered precision and finish with absolute integrity.Whether or not drones will soon be delivering your online orders or people all decide that making purchases with a cellphone is the only way to shop, every business will still need to have the best back-office processes possible. Back office automation paves the way for a better customer experience no matter what else is new. In fact, it can give your organization the advantage it needs to make those stylish new technologies really work for the business.Neil Kinson is Vice President of EMEA, Redwood Software Inc.,.See More

TweetIn case you missed the last 2 BlogTalkRadio interviews by John Maketa and Heather Ishikawa (co-authors of Now You’re Thinking), then be sure to listen to DriveThruHR today (Dec 23rd) at Noon CT.  Heather Ishikawa will be chatting live with DriveThruHR hosts Bryan Wempen and William Tincup about the value of critical thinking in the workplace and her new book.  Here’s a link to the interview:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drivethruhr/2011/12/23/lunch-with-heather-ishikawa-and-drivethruhr You can also follow tweets about the interview with #dthr. Here are the links to 2 previous radio interviews about Now You’re Thinking! Nov 8, 2011:  John Maketa shares Now You’re Thinking Dec 8, 2011:  How to Be a Better Thinker (with Heather Ishikawa)

Tien Tzuo's blog post was featured7 Predictions for Smarter Connected CarsWhat’s the difference between a technically connected car and a truly connected driver? That’s the $250 billion question facing the auto industry right now.Connected cars are here. We have about a year before the novelty of a new car arriving with Wi-Fi and integrated telematics wears off. We have maybe 18 months before over-the-air updates, mileage-based insurance and semi-autonomous highway navigation become mainstream.Gartner predicts that there will be 250 million connected cars on the road by 2020. By then digital diagnostics, infotainment channels and enhanced navigation systems are expected to constitute a $270 billion industry, up from $47 billion today.Currently 13 percent of American drivers are taking advantage of some form of connected service, from GM’s OnStar to Toyota’s Entune to pretty much the entire Tesla driving experience. Apple, Facebook and Microsoft are all working on their own platforms.I like new car bells and whistles as much as anyone. And I love the fact that legacy brands like Buick and Cadillac are driving a lot of this innovation.But all this new connectivity and functionality is actually the easy part. The real challenge will be figuring out how car manufacturers are actually going to connect with their drivers.Because like practically every industry around the world, the auto business is currently in the midst of a broad, systemic shift from transactional sales to recurring services. Companies are finding that real shareholder value lies in actively growing and developing a devoted customer base, not simply shifting units.The lot price of that new Ford F-150 may some day be worth less than the ongoing services associated with it. The problem is that today most of these new services are tied to vehicles, not drivers.We’re an itinerant nation. We move between cities, jobs, relationships, and cars. But we want to take our entertainment streams and social graphs with us, and not just on our cell phones.The auto industry needs to present a vision of the connected car that goes beyond Google Maps and Spotify. It's already in danger of handing over its dashboards to Google and Apple, which in my opinion is a huge mistake.Here are a few predictions for how auto manufacturers are going to shift their back-office technology to offer more driver-friendly services, and truly own the customer relationship:They’ll learn from the mistakes of the cable industry and offer a la carte services instead of huge, unwieldy bundles. They’ll let their drivers try cool new services like Zubie and Autonet Mobile but also downgrade according to their needs and preferences.They’ll use more reasonable, consumption-based pricing models. A premium cost to have your car unlocked makes much more sense than a monthly insurance charge. They’ll partner with a variety of digital entertainment platforms, so that you can follow your favorite Netflix show from the living room to the back seat to your phone.They’ll create Apple-like ecosystems that will let people mod their Mini Coopers with cool third party apps, and share tips and tricks with other drivers.They’ll embrace more payment gateways to become truly global. Here in the US credit cards are popular, but Europeans prefer ACH-based bank withdrawals. The list goes on.They’ll take advantage of usage patterns to help their customers become better drivers: avoiding hard brakes, erratic lane shifts and speeding tickets. They’ll make ride-sharing safe and convenient. They’ll help the parents of teenagers sleep better at night.Finally, thanks to subscriber-based insight, they’ll be able to give their drivers the agency to truly customize the look, feel and behavior of cars without having to spend a ton of money at a garage. Does your Jetta need a little more clearance? Raise it up a couple of inches with your phone app.All of this stuff is important, because from now on, when you drive that new car off the lot, the auto industry is coming along for the ride.Tien Tzuo is founder and CEO of Zuora.See More

Shawn Parr posted a blog postAn Intriguing Partnership Designed to Fuel StartupsChivas Regal and Apolis are two brands that share a strong passion for what they do, and now, they’re part of a global effort to support businesses that create meaningful change in the world. They are offering the most promising startups the opportunity to win a share of $1Million in a global competition called The Venture.The Venture exists to inspire and support businesses that generate both profit and positive change. It is a global hunt to find the most promising startups with the potential for remarkable financial and social returns. Up to twenty startups or startup ideas -- one from each country participating -- will win the opportunity to attend the global final in July 2015 and spend a week in Silicon Valley, the epicenter of the world’s startup community.Each attendee will be mentored by world-famous business leaders and given advice around how to build their own Indiegogo campaign, as well as prepare a compelling video and pitch. The Venture will award $250,000 of the $1M through voting and the remaining $750,000 at the final event.The project is highlighted on YouTube, and participating countries include the US, Mexico, Brazil, Ukraine and South Africa. Each region is given a personal voice that highlights their unique culture, creating a dynamic understanding of how and where they are shaping social impact. Fast Company is a supporter of the project and spreading the word through their channels around the world.The Venture offers a new vision for social responsibility and hopes to have tremendous influence, inspiring businesses to change the way they view their role within the world. Reaching beyond the one-time donation mindset, The Venture was created to empower companies with a model that will offer ways to make a sustainable positive change in the world for years to come -- a new vision of social entrepreneurship instead of philanthropy.Chivas and Apolis have created a venue for impactful innovation that offers entrepreneurs and startups a unique opportunity to change the future of millions around the world for good.Do you have a socially minded enterprise? Enter here.Shawn Parr is the Guvner and CEO of the innovation and design consultancy Bulldog Drummond.See More

TweetNext week the authors of Now You’re Thinking! (an Amazon.com Bestseller) will be at the American Society for Training & Development’s International conference in Denver. Judy Chartrand, Heather Ishikawa and John Maketa will be in Pearson TalentLens‘ booth (#1134) signing books and taking pictures with attendees.  Be sure to stop by and get a FREE copy of Now You’re Thinking! We will also hold a drawing in the booth and 5 randomly chosen individuals will receive a 1-year license to the Critical Thinking University (TalentLens’ first online learning portal for critical thinking training). Finally, we will be giving away a FREE copy of the 2011/2012 Trends in Executive Development Report (a $135 value) to everyone who attends Bonnie Hagemann’s session on Wednesday, May 9th from 8:00am-9:15am in room Four Seasons 2/3. There are so many things to look forward to at ASTD 2012.  What are you most excited about?

Steve Alexander's blog post was featuredTraining Today’s Networks to Clear Tomorrow’s HurdlesIn sports it’s always "the best making it look easy"; the best in, say, the 100-meter sprint, barely break a sweat. But put several hurdles on the track or even a high jump, and would they remain the best?Just like anyone, they’d need training. But not just training. They would need to learn a completely new approach to running and jumping. And even with that, it would be unreasonable to assume they’d simply be able to turn into a hurdler without a modicum of practice.Well, imagine the network as a track-and-field athlete. Any network can run the metaphorical 100-meter section of a track, for instance, but only certain athletes can do it in a race, and only one can sit atop the winner’s podium with the gold medal around its neck. But throw an obstacle onto the course and it suddenly becomes not just a battle of pure speed, but an exercise in adapting on-the-fly as well.On any given day something can happen to create a bandwidth-related obstacle, for example, when Netflix releases a new mini-series in high-definition (HD). In that scenario, the network is expected to jump the hurdle with ease. It’s the same deal if a smart phone operating system update is released and everyone tries to download a 700MB file over a cellular network.  At the same time or, perhaps, breaking news occurs and everyone hops online to stream it. It’s breaking news, alright: it’s breaking the network. Never before has the old saying "when they say jump, you say how high" been more apt when put into the current networking era. More hurdles pop up by the day, with the track becoming overcrowded… but yet the network is expected to jump without crashing. The network only promises to get more congested as users create, share and consume increasing amounts of content. Recently-released Infonetics research forecasts that Over-the-top (OTT) revenue will grow from $5.8 billion in 2014 to more than $10 billion in 2018. In addition, a recent "Mobile Broadband Bandwidth Demand" study,  conducted by ACG Research and sponsored by Ciena, found that peak period mobile bandwidth consumption per person is expected increase five-fold, a 52 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), through 2018.  And by 2020, it’s estimated that 55% of mobile traffic will be video, equating to about 10 times what it is today.  Meanwhile, the growing demand for cloud-based services - in particular, data center connectivity - is placing additional pressure on metro networks. As demand for cloud-based applications grows, we are seeing an increase in the demand for 10GbE and 100GbE services, further straining the networks that were not designed for high-capacity, bandwidth-on-demand services. These networks need to be upgraded to become more flexible and scalable. It sounds like an expensive proposition - upgrading the network to meet the needs of an anytime, anywhere world - but that’s not the half of it. Throw in spiraling energy costs and the sheer amount of power needed to run a typical data center - by way of example, one large data center can use as much electricity as a small town in the United States - and transitioning to a new model of on-demand connectivity does not seem as simple and inexpensive as flipping a switch. For enterprises, the network is growing in importance as a strategic and critical business asset that will in many ways affect the future viability of corporations across several different market segments. Enterprises are at the whim of the network’s ability to adapt to jumping over the evermore-present hurdles in their path. Not unlike the data center phenomenon I just described, the strain created by the shift to cloud-based business models is most acutely felt by enterprises in the metro network, where end-users and content data centers are closely situated. Thus, metro network designs need to be simplified and operating costs lowered, all while enabling the increased agility that will allow service providers to better adapt and differentiate. It sounds like an unachievable ideal, but it is possible in the world of networking. How? The answer lies in convergence. All we need is a single, programmable architecture that can easily adjust to changing end-user requirements - one that satisfies the insatiable end-user demand for higher speed services and connections. By fully leveraging the technology convergence of carrier-grade packet switching and aggregation, programmability, and coherent optical networking, metro networks around the world can be transformed to suit the needs of tomorrow and beyond. Thankfully, that technology is here today, and you will begin to see agile networks of tomorrow take shape in 2015. They will be able to adapt to sudden spikes in demand on-the-fly, all while lowering costs through the convergence of once-disparate technologies. Track-and-field athletes can only reach the top of their game through training and muscle memory - it enables them to clear a hurdle almost without thinking. When the network gets to that stage and can clear hurdles at speed, consumers will barely notice; it will all simply seem "too easy." Steve Alexander is Ciena’s Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.See More

Tweet Unlock the Combination to Better Thinking With My Thinking Styles™ May 23, 2012 at 3:00 PM Eastern HCI and Pearson TalentLens have joined forces to give you an exciting development opportunity, free of charge! We all use a variety of thinking styles in our daily lives, but we tend to favor some but rarely use others—and that hurts our ability to make good decisions. My Thinking Styles™ from Pearson TalentLens helps you find the right balance, so you can make the best choices, in life and at work. The Seven Powerful Thinking Styles: Analytical Inquisitive Insightful Open-Minded Systematic Timely Truth Seeking Knowing your preferred style will help you approach problems and decisions with the right mindset so you can be more successful. Between now and May 23rd, we’re giving HCI users access to a complimentary administration of My Thinking Styles and a personalized Development Report. Then on May 23rd at 3:00 EST, Dr. Judy Chartrand will give a brief overview of the seven styles and she’ll help you interpret your results. Your report will unlock a unique combination that will help you be more successful with your decisions, relationships, projects, and every aspect of your life - so don’t miss out! To take My Thinking Styles and receive your report, complete these steps: 1. Go to: https://tara.vitapowered.com/MTS/HCI 2. Fill out registration information: First Name, Last Name, Email, Login ID and Password You’ll receive two emails: * Test Registration - Information on what to do if they lose your connection * Account Registration - Account registration information (login info and link to view your report) 3. Fill out demographics section and complete the My Thinking Styles Assessment. 4. Once you’ve completed taking the assessment go to https://tara.vitapowered.com/MTS, then enter your login information (if you don’t remember your login information check your email account for the account registration email). 5. Once logged on, select the Results menu to view your report. Please Note: * Please print out your report and bring it to the HCI Webcast session on May 23rd. * My Thinking Styles takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. * Supported browsers include: IE7> and Firefox 3> If you have any questions, contact chad.fife@pearson.com. Schedule Live: Wednesday, May 23 2012 3:00pm EDT Recasts: Thursday, May 24 2012 7:00pm EDT Thursday, May 24 2012 11:00pm EDT Friday, May 25 2012 3:00am EDT Friday, May 25 2012 7:00am EDT Friday, May 25 2012 11:00am EDT Presenters Judy Chartrand helps people develop their careers and their lives through better critical thinking. As a consulting Chief Scientist with Pearson she works extensively with corporate clients, helping them develop employee competencies and leadership skills. A recognized thought leader, she has spoken at over 50 national and international conferences and written over 40 articles and two books. She received an Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association for her work in the career development field. Judy received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota. Judy Chartrand Consultant Chief Scientist Pearson TalentLens    

Leyla Seka's blog post was featuredDo You Have What It Takes to Be a Kick Ass Small Business CEO?With half of small businesses failing in the first 1-5 years, you need to be a special kind of crazy to think you can start and grow one of your own. I’ve been working with startups for years, first as VP of the AppExchange marketplace at Salesforce and now as SVP and GM of Desk.com, our customer service app for fast-growing businesses.During that time, I’ve seen some amazing companies with incredible leaders. Here’s what they all have in common:Delusional levels of optimism. With small businesses tanking all around you, you have to be insanely optimistic to think you can buck the odds. But the truth is, if you don’t believe in yourself, who else will? If you’re going to convince investors to give you money, and attract and hire great people, you have to believe in yourself.Juggling skills. In the glamorous life of a small business CEO you may be called upon to deal with everything from presenting to your board to ordering toilet paper for the bathrooms. You need to make sure that nothing drops through the cracks (after all, youdo need toilet paper) but spend most of your time on activities that will move the needle.The ability to let go. You can’t possibly get a small business off of the ground if you need to make every single decision yourself. You need to hire people who can figure out what needs to be done without waiting to be told, and then do it. This is not the time to let your ego get in the way. Hire self-starters, then get out of their way.A dead simple value proposition. Having a strong vision is not enough. In today’s short attention span world you also need to be able to articulate that vision in plain english in 90 seconds or less. You can’t recruit employees or sway investors if you can’t quickly make them understand and appreciate your dream. And you need to be able to make customers appreciate it too.Personality. You need people that will give 110% of themselves to your company. Not many startups can offer a sizeable enough paycheck to inspire that kind of loyalty, so you need to lead with personality. Rally employees around a shared mission. Give them a reason to believe, and make it fun. Celebrate birthdays and babies. Volunteer together. Give crazy awards. Whatever suits your personality.Customer obsession. In today’s world, your product is only as good as the service you back it with. Many well established industries are being disrupted by a focus on the customer experience, and service can be one of your key differentiators. A relentless focus on customers needs to be part of your company’s DNA from day one — and as CEO you have to set the example by helping with support and placing customers’ needs before your own.So, are you that special kind of crazy? Are you a delusionally optimistic, customer-obsessed, juggler? If you think you have what it takes to take a startup to stardom, just take a deep breath and jump right in. You can do this thing.Leyla Seka leads Salesforce's Desk.com.See More

TweetHas the book Now You’re Thinking! been on your shopping list for a while, but you just haven’t had time to hit the book store?  Well, you’re in luck.  Right now the Kindle version is FREE on Amazon.  Click here to go to the Amazon Kindle Store.  We don’t know how long the book will be free, so go download it now. Right now Now You’re Thinking! ranked #178 of all books in the Free Kindle store, #1 in Human Resources and Personnel Management, and #1 in Office Skills. Remember, you don’t have to have a Kindle to read an eBook, you can always use the Kindle app for your iPhone, iPad, PC, Mac or Android device.   About the Book Living the good life and want to make it great? Desperate to give your career an "extreme makeover"? Either way, the changes you want start inside your own head, with the way you think. This book is the blueprint you need to build greater success by teaching you breakthrough techniques for thinking far more effectively. That’s the secret of making better decisions: whether you’re working toward a promotion or considering refinancing your house. Some thinking processes simply work better than others, and this book teaches you the ones that are proven to work best. The authors start with the extraordinary true story of Amenah, just two years old, dying in an Iraqi village and in desperate need of complicated open-heart surgery unavailable in her own country. The authors reveal the extraordinary thinking and courage that saved her life and show how you can use the same approaches to transform every aspect of yours.   About the Authors Judy Chartrand is a recognized thought leader in the areas of critical thinking and career development. Chartrand works as a consulting Chief Scientist with Pearson. As a psychologist, Chartrand has helped hundreds of clients increase their personal and career satisfaction. She frequently speaks at national and international conferences and has published more than 50 articles and books. Chartrand lives in Minnesota and has two grown children. Stewart Emery is coauthor of the international bestsellers Success Built to Last and Do You Matter?: How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company. He has a lifetime of experience as an entrepreneur, creative director, corporate culture consultant, and executive coach. He has led workshops and seminars and delivered keynotes all over the world. Russ Hall is author of fourteen books and coauthor of numerous other books. He has also had short stories, essays, and articles published in a wide array of media and has received several awards. Heather Ishikawa is the National Sales Director for Pearson TalentLens. Ishikawa has extensive experience in architecting corporatewide, assessment-based leadership development initiatives. Ishikawa has delivered workshops to hundreds of leaders on the topics of critical thinking, leadership, teambuilding, communication, and change management. She lives in California with her husband and two children. John Maketa is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for Pearson TalentLens. Maketa is a dynamic leader in enterprise growth, developing bold and creative strategic alliances that catapult global performance and profit. Maketa is known throughout the learning and development industry as a major connector who is able to strategically align initiatives for parties on both sides of the table with unparalleled financial and professional success. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and son.   Have you read Now You’re Thinking?  Be sure to write a review on Amazon.  We’d love to hear what you think of the book.

Daniel Burrus's blog post was featuredThe Privacy Revolt: The Growing Demand For Privacy-as-a-ServiceThere’s one thing just about every company has in common right now. Without even necessarily meaning to, they have in some way become the proprietor of a new kind of wealth. I’m referring of course to their customers’ data. But the flipside to acquiring that data is your customers now hold you to certain expectations: namely, that you’re taking steps to safeguard their privacy.So, let me put it simply: No matter what market you’re in, no matter what service you provide or product you sell… from right now until the end of time, you’re in the privacy game. Welcome.What are you doing to provide privacy-as-a-service (PaaS)? Because this is a service that consumers increasingly view less as a bonus and more as an absolute necessity. How are you preparing for the coming privacy revolt? Because it is coming. Pay attention to the signs, so you can have a strategy in place before it’s too late…The State of PrivacyAs companies large and small, not to mention government agencies, are hacked, consumers of all ages are becoming increasingly aware that their growing dependence on technology has come at the expense of their privacy. With every ad we click, product we purchase online, and website we browse, we leave a digital trail and we paint a picture of ourselves for anyone who has the means to see.Even if you are one of those people who eschews social media and resists the temptation to document your life online, you can’t escape the big data gobblers that have insinuated themselves into every aspect of our lives. Companies across all industries are using technology to collect data on you. Think about it:Your smartphone continuously tracks your whereabouts. Beyond that, your service provider can access all the information you have stored on your device, including your contacts’ information and how often you receive or send a text.Smart grids track your energy usage and collect details about your life — from your daily routines to the appliances you use.Insurance providers will offer you a discount if you let them track your every move while driving.The healthcare industry is pushing for devices that would allow doctors’ to collect data on you outside of the doctor’s office. For example, Apple recently launched its HealthKit platform, which allows doctors to collect real-time data from iPhones and Apple devices.Companies, using browser fingerprinting, cookies, authenticated tracking, cross-device tracking and other methods, are monitoring your online activity and using that data to send you targeted ads.Those are just a handful of ways you are being tracked. So unless you’re willing to live completely off-the-grid, someone, somewhere is compiling a profile of you. Creepy? That’s one way to look at it. A fact of modern life? No doubt, it is.What Does This Mean for Business Owners?You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that consumers are increasingly growing concerned about their privacy.Large-scale data breaches that have allowed consumer data to end up in the wrong hands has fueled the fear. The recent high-profile attacks on Anthem and Target (to name just a couple) have shown that this is truly a pan-industry problem. Predominantly, however, people are worried less about malicious hackers and more about what companies are doing with all of the data they collect. What are you doing to assure your customers that you’re acting in their best interests with the data you collect on them?Those concerns are legitimate because in many cases the reasons companies collect the data in the first place is paltry when compared to how valuable the data actually is. Without consumers’ knowledge, wireless providers, app developers, online retail stores, insurers, and basically anyone else can sell the data to the highest bidder.The backlash is beginning. According to Harris Interactive and TRUSTe study, 84 percent of consumers are less likely to click on an online ad and 74 percent are less likely to enable location tracking. In addition, a full 89 percent won’t do business with a company that doesn’t do a good enough job protecting them online. And 76 percent are likely to check websites and apps for a privacy certification seal.All that points to one thing: Consumers are wary and businesses will suffer tremendous losses if they fail to build consumers’ trust and confidence in the organization’s ability to protect their privacy. They are going to expect privacy-as-a-service (PaaS), and if they don’t get it from you, they’ll go looking elsewhere.I recommend that you take a long, hard look at how you are collecting and using customers’ data. Why are you collecting it?  Why is it important to your business? How do you use it? And do your customers want that?Follow this advice to build consumers’ confidence in your ability to protect their privacy:Put security measures in place. Hire the right IT people, invest in top-of-the-line equipment, and train your employees to follow protocols. If you haven’t taken the proper precautions, you can’t protect your customers. It’s that simple.Be transparent. Tell customers how you collect their data and how you plan to use it. Rather than bury your disclosure in some long-form policy that people don’t want to read — or can’t understand — make your language simple, straightforward, and easily viewable. Go a step further and share details about all the measures you are taking to protect customers’ information.Collect only what you need. You send up a warning flag when you ask for too much information for simple online transactions. Ask consumers to share only the information that is required for them to do business with you.Offer customers a choice. Verizon, for example, recently announced that it is allowing customers to opt out of its online advertising campaign completely, so even it’s "supercookies" can’t track users’ activity.Don’t sell customers’ data. If you can’t stand the thought of losing that source of revenue, think about the income you will lose when your current customers defect because they feel you have violated their privacy rights. Imagine the potential customers that won’t do business with you because they don’t trust you.The privacy revolt is starting, and as more consumers become fed up with unsolicited ads and questionable marketing techniques, they’ll turn to tools that help them protect their privacy and ultimately keep you from marketing to them at all. Take steps now to protect your customers — and your business.Daniel Burrus is the founder and CEO of Burrus Research. He is the author of six books including the New York Times best seller "Flash Foresight."See More

Gavin Kelly, Michael A. Detarando, Jessica Ann Morris and 10 more joined Innovation Insights

TweetHow many stories did you tell today?  One?  Two?  Twenty? How many stories did you hear?  Can you remember the image you had in your mind when you heard the story?  Could you envision what the characters looked like even if you’ve never met them? Have you ever met someone and thought "Oh, that’s not what I thought she’d look like"? We are natural storytellers.  We also naturally create a mental image to go along with the stories we hear or read.  Those mental images stick with us and help us remember the details of the story long term. And that is why training through storytelling is so effective. Tell me 10 facts and I may not remember them.  Tell me 10 stories about how those facts made an impact on your life and I will remember them forever. A great example of successful storytelling in a training context is the FISH Philosophy.  Tell me it’s important to have fun at work, and I’ll roll my eyes at you.  SHOW me a real story of how working in a stinky fish market can be made fun, entertaining, and improve the customer experience, and I’ll remember it for years (for me it has been 11 years to be exact). Storytelling can be particularly effective in critical thinking training too.  Some people shy away from critical thinking training because it doesn’t sound fun.  It sounds academic and philosophical.  It doesn’t have to be. By starting with an engaging story of effective thinking, you can create a mental image of how critical thinking works.  Learners can connect with the characters and envision how they would have handled a similar situation. That’s what Pearson TalentLens is doing with their new half-day training program THINK Now!  Learners start by reading the Now You’re Thinking! book to connect with a heartwarming, heroic story of phenomenal thinking, problem solving and decision making.  Then they take the My Thinking Styles assessment so they can learn which of the 7 Powerful Thinking Styles is their natural approach to thinking. Next, the trainer connects the story of how Marines saved the life of a 2-year old girl to the 5 Steps to New Thinking and the Thinking Styles.  To create an even stronger mental connection between the critical thinking model and the real-life story described in the Now You’re Thinking! book, the trainer shows video interviews of the Marines involved in saving Amenah’s life. Participants walk away from the training with a strong understanding of a critical thinking model AND a real life example of how the use of that model has been successful in the past.  Additionally, when they recall the individual differences of each thinking style, they will remember a character from the story that embodied the characteristics of that style. It is that meaningful connection and mental image that will reinforce the lessons learned for months and years to come.   Try telling a story with a life lesson today and see how long your employees remember it.  You will be amazed by the results. How do you train critical thinking in your organization?

Himanshu Sareen's blog post was featuredAn Economy of Trust: How Transparency Is Changing the Tech IndustryThe building of customer trust has always been the mark of a good business, and its importance has only become more pronounced with the widespread ubiquity of the internet. But the amount of innate trust we place in our technology has grown tenfold since the early days of AOL and Yahoo!, when hardware could hardly keep track of our names, much less our daily habits.In the current tech landscape, trust is—as the industry trends analysts at Hyper Island phrase it—a "high-value currency." And it’s true: How many companies have experienced irreparable brand fallout due to breaches of public trust? While it’s possible for businesses like Uber and Apple to carry on even after these trust-related disasters in the public eye, these kinds of missteps can mean the difference between success and failure in this new trust-based technology industry.It’s an absolute necessity that tech businesses earn the trust of their customers, but we’re still firing shots in the dark when it comes to finding a qualitative approach to building trust. How far, for instance, does an individual company need to go to make their customers trust them? Should they implement full transparency, or is there a certain point to which corporate practices should remain classified? The truth is that the answer isn’t always clear-cut.What Makes Your Audience Trust Your Business?What we do know about trustworthiness in technology is that it doesn’t start at the corporate policy level. Think about how much trust it takes, for instance, for a user to give you access to their personal information. Just getting to this point requires an initial sense of trust, which businesses attempt to develop in a variety of ways.This is where the system fragments into thousands of possibilities. In the non-profit space, for instance, we’ve noticed that trust works in mysterious ways. While you might think that audiences would trust non-profit organizations more than other businesses, non-profits are actually held to a higher standard of transparency. When people are donating their money, after all, they want to make sure that a majority of it will go directly to the cause.This is why storytelling is so important to non-profits. Take the Robin Hood Foundation, whose website homepage features in big bold letters: "100% OF YOUR DONATION GOES DIRECTLY TO FIGHTING POVERTY." For the non-profit space, this information is paramount to success. What’s important to note, however, is that there’s no one "trust threshold" that will apply to every industry, much less every business. While a revenue statistic might work wonders for Robin Hood, it may do absolutely nothing for your business. When it comes to your own company, focus on what makes your business trustworthy, and make an effort to deliver that to your audience.Designing for TrustSometimes, the most important trust you can develop doesn’t start with corporate transparency, but with smaller-scale design decisions. If you require users to sign into your software by creating an account, for instance, are certain that you’ve built a trustworthy enough experience to incentivize them to move forward? Even the smallest of design details can tell a user that your software is trustworthy, from quick loading times to smooth UX flow, all the way to clear navigational cues.E-Commerce is one example of a space where design cues are tremendously important for building trust. When asking users for their credit card number, even the inclusion of a small image—indicating that you’re TRUSTe certified—can mean the difference between a conversion and a pass. User reviews, product zoom, customer support - all of these have become necessities in the E-Commerce space because they provide a company with trustworthiness that they need to make their sales.The Potential of TransparencyAt the moment, it’s difficult to tell where transparency is taking us. As giant corporations like Uber begin to feel the trust-diminishing sting of public missteps, and as we give our gadgets more access to our daily lives, it seems that trustworthiness will have to scale up at a similar rate. For now, we don’t have to look any further than the social media publishing platform Buffer to get a good idea of what full transparency might look like. In a recent interview, Buffer co-founder Leo Widrich discussed the company’s extreme "open" policy, which publishes everything from employee salaries to company emails:"When we published all salaries online, I think in that month we had 4,000 people wanting to work for Buffer. People were coming to us and saying ‘I know more about your company than about the company that I’m working for right now.’"By keeping everything transparent, Buffer allows for a more streamlined flow of ideas. But their transparency also has a secondary effect: It imbues Buffer with a trustworthiness that they wouldn't otherwise possess. If they’re willing to publish their employee salaries, after all, why would they have any reason to deceive users about something as simple as a license agreement or pricing model?The important thing to note here is that Buffer is still treading into unexplored terrain. While all-around transparency can be a boon for smaller companies, it’s wholly possible that such policies would fall flat in the context of larger organizations. Still, when it comes to developing customer trust and improving internal collaboration, businesses might learn a thing or two from Buffer’s practices.For now, trustworthiness in technology is still a complex puzzle. Every business will need to work out their own unique solutions to build customer trust, whether it involves complete transparency or smaller UX cues. Until we’ve developed a wide library of best practices for customer trustworthiness across industries, there’s still plenty of room for experimentation in the field. One thing remains certain, though: If you’re not prioritizing trust in your own tech business, you’re behind the curve no matter how revolutionary your product might be.Himanshu Sareen is the CEO of Icreon Tech, a global IT consultancy delivering business solutions and custom applications. See More

Lee J. Schneider commented on Leyla Seka's blog post Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Kick Ass Small Business CEO?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Grenny is coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, Change Anything, Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer. READ MORE Dear Crucial Skills, My husband recently passed away, and although I’m sure they don’t mean to hurt me, several of my friends and family members have made insensitive comments about my loss or the way I grieve. For example, people have told me, "It was God’s will," and, "It’s time to get on with your life." I know it’s hard to know what to say in this situation and I know they are trying to help, but I don’t know what to say when somebody belittles my pain. How can I respond to seemingly insensitive comments about my husband’s death?Signed,Don’t Make it Worse Dear Don’t Make it Worse,I’m so sorry about your husband. I’m especially sorry that the pain you’re feeling has been compounded by others’ actions. I wish I could help with the first problem, but I hope to offer some helpful ideas for solving the second.I wanted to offer meaningful advice, so I asked our 180,000 newsletter readers to share their perspective. I read through pages and pages of their wise and heartfelt comments, and I’d like to share a summary of the recurring insights, allowing many of our readers’ caring voices to speak to you through direct quotes.If it’s okay, I’m going to broaden your question to three: What do people want when they’re grieving? What don’t they want? What should you do when people say or do things that don’t help? 1. What do people want when they’re grieving? They want your heart, not your brain.Too many times, we avoid those in pain because we aren’t sure what to say. We think we need soothing poetry laced with wisdom of the ages to spill from our mouths in order to soothe their pain. Don’t wait for inspired words, just make contact, grieve alongside them, and share the moment.Here are a few comments from others who have lost a loved one: Don’t avoid the grieving person because you don’t know what to say. "I’m sorry for your loss" is enough. Your mere presence is enough. I don’t remember anyone telling me it was okay to feel sad or lost, or to hate what breast cancer did to my mom’s little body. It would have helped if someone allowed me to grieve. Simply asking how he or she is doing and saying "I care" goes a long way. When my husband died fourteen years ago, it was helpful to me when friends called and left messages to "check in on me." I would come home from work each night and just listen to the love and concern of dear friends. I felt no need to call back; I just listened. When someone I love is going through shock and pain from some precipitating event (like death, job loss, etc.), I put a reminder on my schedule two weeks, two months, and six months out. People often get a flurry of support close to the incident, followed by a long quiet time. I find that going to lunch with them in these intervals allows me to be with them at times when loneliness or self-doubt can be most profound.2. What don’t they want? They don’t want judgment, repetition, or assignments. We may not realize it, but much of what we do when we try to reassure those who have lost loved ones is self-centered. Years ago, Mel Lerner described a common human motivation called the Just-World Hypothesis. We all want to believe the world is just and fair. If we work hard, eat right, exercise regularly, and do our share of house chores—life will work out. When we pass a traffic accident on the freeway, our belief in a "just world" is at risk for a moment. So somewhat reflexively, we drive slowly by the victim, scouring the scene for any evidence that it couldn’t possibly happen to us. "I bet they were texting while driving," we might conclude as we notice a young driver. Or, "A sports car—figures. Poor fool."If you’re not careful, you can respond similarly to those who have experienced the death of a loved one. We want their pain to go away so we can reassure ourselves that we can avoid pain as well. So we offer advice on grieving, judgment to help them put their pain "in perspective," etc. Be careful, because when we feel a need to make these kinds of comments, it’s often more because we want to restore our faith in a "just world" than because we want to soothe our friend’s pain.Many reader comments complained of friends who offered judgment or unwanted advice rather than providing a simple connection. My mother passed away last year after a fairly long illness. I struggled to get her the care and attention she needed while still managing my own life and career, so I hated when people I encountered said, "Why don’t you just do . . .?" On several occasions, I thought I was going to come over the table at the next person who authoritatively asked me why I didn’t do this or that to deal with the situation—like I was too stupid to think of the most basic, obvious solutions. When I lost my seven-month-old daughter, I didn’t want any religious speech about how she was in a better place or that God had a plan for her. I just wanted (and still want) people to grieve with me. At my father’s post-funeral luncheon, a friend told my stepmother that she would find herself dating again before long. I could hardly believe the insensitivity of the comment. My stepmother has struggled to forgive this person and realize it was an awkward attempt at helping her remember that in time, the pain will subside and life will take on a more routine feeling again. Secondly, people don’t want you to force them to review the facts of the case for the hundredth time. They also might not want to give you an emotional health report. Be aware that asking, "So what happened?" or "How are you?" can put a burden on them. During my wife’s long illness, we coached friends not to ask "How are you?" as a standard greeting. This forces the patient to choose between "I’m fine, how are you?" and a discussion of the medical treatments. It’s better that friends provide a positive change by simply stating, "How nice to see you!" I recommend you offer condolences and say, "I’ve been thinking about you and/or praying for you." A simple, "I don’t know what to say" or a hug is far better than a question that I have to respond to such as, "How are you?" Finally, don’t give them an assignment. When we’re at a loss for what to say we often end with, "If there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know." If you really want to do something, think. Stop and think about everything you know about their life. Where do they live? What little chores do they have to do to make it through a day? What extra tasks will now fall on them because of the loss? Empathize as best you can until you find some proactive task you can do to communicate real compassion. It won’t matter if it’s the perfect idea; it just matters that you take initiative rather than assign them to involve you. They rarely will, so the offer rings hollow.After my neighbor lost a loved one his wonderful friend showed up to mow his lawn for the next three months. Did the man want his lawn mowed? I don’t know. I do know that he felt more love from that empathic gesture than if his neighbor had said, "What can I do?"Here’s a comment from one of our readers: I so appreciated those who just did things for me and didn’t ask me to "give them a call if I needed something." Most of the time, I couldn’t think of what I needed or didn’t have the energy to make the call to ask. 3. What should you do when people say or do things that don’t help?Our readers gave great advice about dealing with insensitive comments that came down to three wise suggestions:First, be proactive. When you know you’re feeling very sensitive, tell people what you do and don’t want. One wise father avoided a whole lot of hurt feelings by just making it safe to grieve and feel differently—and encouraging his kids to let each other know what worked for them. When my mother passed away, my father made it very clear that each family member would come to terms with our mother’s passing in different ways and times. He went on to say that "Grieving is a process and not an event. Each person had a different relationship with Mom and all of you have a different relationship with each other. We may say things without thinking them through, so please be sensitive and know there may be misunderstandings. Everyone needs to be patient with each other because we really don’t know what the other person is truly thinking." The most common piece of advice was to Master Your Story. Realize as you grieve that even those who make annoying comments are trying to deal with real emotions—yours or theirs. Let them be imperfect. I don’t hold much store by what people said. Honestly, it’s only words and it’s often a sign that people feel awkward. It’s silly clinging onto words when none of it matters. Dying is part of life and none of us have the answers for doing it gracefully, we just have to get through it the best we can. When others are insensitive, don’t take it personally. Try to understand that they don’t mean any harm. They just don’t know what to do. Make this the new story you tell yourself. Finally, if you need to give others boundaries in what they say, do it quickly before you build up too much resentment. It’s perfectly fine to politely, but firmly, let people know what you don’t want. When faced with insensitive comments, perhaps you could respond, "We all wish circumstances had not led to this end. I am not focusing on how my husband died, but that he is now gone. Your comments on how and why he died do not change the fact that I have lost my husband and my world has changed." My mother died recently. While we weren’t particularly close, I loved her very much and miss her dearly. Every time this subject came up in a conversation with my boss, she would say, "I know you weren’t very close to your mom . . ." It was time for a crucial conversation, so I asked to meet with her. I expressed to her how much I appreciated her support through my bereavement. I then asked her if I could request something of her that would be very important to my healing process. I said, "Could you please not mention that I wasn’t very close to my mom. I know you mean well, but it makes me feel bad and right now I want to focus on the good parts of our relationship." It was a great lesson for both of us. Thank you for raising this question. The pain you feel right now is universal. You’ve given all of us a gift by sharing the question at this tender time by letting us think about ways to offer greater and more useful love and support during one of life’s most poignant experiences.We compiled many of our readers’ wonderful and helpful comments and would like to share them with you. Please visit us on Facebook to download our free e-book, How to Talk About the Loss of a Loved One: Dos and Don’ts of Comforting Others.With love,Joseph Related Material:Change Anything: A Weight Loss Mind-set Change Anything: Motivating Weight Loss Change Anything: An Important Weight Loss Tool

Brian Cometa commented on Mano ten Napel's blog post If Google Glass Was a Joke, Then the Joke Is On You

Mike Arney commented on Mike Arney's blog post Managing Your Health? There May Not Be an App for That