Archive for December, 2013

I try to always avoid false compromises. At KIND, instead of ‘or’, we say ‘and’ — we call that our brAND philosophy.

These are my five rules for no-compromise products as written by Jeff Haden in his Inc. piece, The Zero-Compromises Product Strategy. See the full piece after the jump.

1. Bake your goals into your business model. Even if some of your aims are in tension, a goal you don’t set is a goal you cannot achieve.

2. Identify every assumption. The innovation process starts with recognizing the usual thinking and methodologies so that you can then find ways to challenge them.

3. Ask the right questions. Repeatedly asking, “Why?” and “Why not?” is the antidote to incorrect assumptions, especially if an assumption that was once valid is no longer today.

4. Focus on the future. Shortcuts are tempting when you manage for short-term results. Instead, let long-term goals guide you.

5. View compromise as the last resort. “Or” decisions are the easy way out. Challenge your employees to find a way–they will be better for it.

[Read more →]

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Going Nuts about Nuts

Published under Health, Science and Technology Dec 20, 2013

It seems as though scientists are discovering new benefits of eating nuts every day — weight maintenance and reduced risk of disease. The excerpts below share some of the latest discoveries.


“Consistent evidence for the health benefits of nuts has been accumulating since the early 1990s. Frequent nut consumption has been linked to a reduced risk of major chronic diseases, including heart and blood vessel disorders and Type 2 diabetes.

The newest and most convincing findings, reported last month in The New England Journal of Medicine, come from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, which together have followed nearly 119,000 women and men for decades. Both studies repeatedly recorded what the participants ate (among many other characteristics) and analyzed their diets in relation to the causes of death among the 27,429 people who died since the studies began.

The more often nuts were consumed, the less likely participants were to die of cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease, and not because nut eaters succumbed to other diseases. Their death rate from any cause was lower during the years they were followed. (The nuts in question were pistachios, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, peanuts and walnuts.)”

-Jane Brody, ‘Snacking Your Way to Better Health’, The New York Times

 

 

“The reports about their many benefits have come thick and fast: studies finding that people who eat nuts (tree nuts like cashews, almonds and pistachios, along with their legume pal, the peanut) live longer and healthier lives, with less risk of chronic ailments like heart disease, respiratory problems and Type 2 diabetes.

But perhaps the most startling news is that nuts may help in maintaining a healthy weight. Research has found that people can snack on modest amounts of them without gaining pounds, and that nuts can even help in slimming down.”

- Michael Moss, ‘Are Nuts a Weight-Loss Aid?, The New York Times

Spotted by Daniel Lubetzky, by Julianna Storch

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Quote of the Week: On Gratitude

Published under Favorite Quotes Dec 20, 2013

“Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.”
—Jacques Maritain

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“When life seems hard,
the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat;
instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.”
—Queen Elizabeth

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Great Ads

Published under Advertising (good vs misleading), Marketing Dec 09, 2013

These commercials for Volvo & Allstate are examples of great, effective ads out there — really well done.

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“If you want to make peace with your enemy,
you have to work with your enemy.
Then he becomes your partner.”
-Nelson Mandela
(July 18, 1918- December 5, 2013)

 

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