I usually share a few ‘business’ related items on my social media… like how certain individuals didn’t give up, how some people really made good use of their entrepreneurial talent…. and how we continue to learn and evolve.
Today’s Friday Thought goes to those who have experience. Sometimes, it may not show immediately… but underneath… somewhere, there’s a plan… and it might be not evident to you – but it is to them!
I read a lot of success stories – and stories where people and organisations didn’t make it.
It’s always good to learn from those who didn’t make it. And I’ve began to list a number of common denominators to why they didn’t make it to the big time. Yes – there’s a few generic ones… like the people in charge, the direction of the organisation, etc…
But I’m not going to focus on that. I wanted to focus on something else.
So I tweeted the other day – how Tesla is the most valuable car maker in the world… and how Nikola is valued more than Ford – despite not even selling a car yet!
Crazy times!
But not really.
Investors are looking to the future.
What does the future hold. What does the future need. What do people in the future need. What will people in the future want!
We’ll save the conversation about electric vehicles for another day.
But one thing I would like to say is – I see ALL industries being disrupted (if not already being disrupted).
What does that mean Bal? How can you disrupt ALL industries? – there’ll be some that you’ll always need… like food and drink.
I even see those industries being disrupted! It’s taking time.. but it’s happening.
Case 1.
(Briefly……) Yesterday, I had a gentleman knock on my door. He was from the Modern Milkman.
Basically, they are like the old milkman, who drive around – deliver milk, eggs, juice, etc… to your doorstep – early in the morning, so it’s all ready for your breakfast. It’s all fresh from the local farm…
Why do I think they’ll do well…. maybe not take over current ways of supermarket shopping (well, you never know!), is because of 3 things. 1) They deliver to your doorstep. 2) They’ve got an app! And 3) They are using the thinking of ‘recycle, reuse, reduce’ – their not using single-use plastic….! And more importantly… milk (like Coca-Cola) tastes better out of a glass bottle…
Case 2.
Another one for the ‘drinks’ sector. We all like a beer. Most of us enjoy going to the pub on the weekend and enjoy a pint or two. What choice did you have? – we all know there were the regular choices… and maybe one or two additional ones. Nothing too exciting to write home about.
But again – it’s all changing. There’s now microbreweries. There’s craft beer! There’s more people making different types of beer than ever before. And these are very quickly appearing in pubs and bars up and down the country.
We want variety. We want choice.
Take Brewdog for example. A Craft brewery who saw an opportunity. And has made it work for them. And how are they doing financially… well, have a look at their post recently on LinkedIn…
And finally… Case 3.
Cakes and cookies… bakery goods, being disrupted by smaller independent bakers, local bakers… who sell goods online or through Facebook (where they can connect with friends and family).
Take for example, Bal’s Bakery….. (on Instagram, @balsbakery)…. they make vegan cookies, eggless cakes, etc… but more on the success of this in a future blog post 🙂
It’s crazy when you look around, and the passionate ones are quiet or not as vocal as they used to be.
It happens. It’s worrying. I’ve seen it happen.
The passionate ones – lose the interest. Lose the motivation. Lose the will. Lose their mojo. They’ll apply their passion elsewhere. How’s your passion holding up for what you do?
More importantly… what you doing to keep hold of those passionate ones?
I remember… a few years ago… sat on the beach…. in Majorca… reading the book… The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck…. one of my favourite books….. of all time.
We all worry. And these are worrying times. Indeed.
But worrying does not achieve anything. This is easier said than done. It’s a mindset change. To change your thinking. From worrying to a ‘f*ck it’ thinking. What’s the worse that could happen… kind of thinking is needed. Then draw up a plan – and take action.
Obviously.. stay legal and safe. But take your worries…. and change your mindset. Change your thinking. Again – it’s not easy, and you need the right people around you. And, off course… it takes time.
I know there’s many working from home… and many not, who are using online meeting applications such as Zoom (others are available/being used… such as Webex, MS Teams, etc..)… and recently, I heard a term that really resonated.
Zoom Fatigue.
Zoom – the online meeting application (in this case, can be any online video meeting application)
Fatigue – extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness.“he was nearly dead with fatigue”
We’re all in a situation where we have needed to isolate. And rightly so. To help save loved ones, not to spread the virus around, etc…
With the technology capability we have, we have been able to use video conferencing to stay in touch with others, continue to work from home, increase the amount of work we do by staying connected, etc…
BUT…. recently, there’s been reports of ‘Zoom Fatigue’. That’s right – people becoming extremely tired because they’re spending alot of time on their on-line meetings.
So…. couple of things you should do,
Finally…. Be Honest. There’s been plenty of calls I’ve been on, where the voice is monotone… speaker doesn’t do themselves any favours…. topic is hard to follow (and not shared in a good order)…. – I usually provide feedback earlier than later. In a constructive manner, off course.
So remember – take care of yourself.
I was working at Kodak… and my Sensei, Mark Chamberlain took me to a production/manufacturing room that was full of boxes, film, etc…
He asked me, ‘Young Grasshopper… what do you see?’
I said… ‘boxes, rolls of film… Conveyor… everything seems to be working ok to me’.
He didn’t say anything to me. We just left. Anyway, I joined the ‘Lean’ team… and was part of lots of activity, projects, etc… I learnt a lot you could say.
After about a year. He took me to that same room again.
He said, ‘what do you see?’
I replied… ‘well, I see a lot of waste. I see that they could optimise the conveyor by moving it to the left, that’ll give more space to the operators. Also, I see no visual indicators – can’t see any colour coding for the boxes, there’s no indication to when they have to leave…’ he stopped me. Smiled and said nothing. And we left the room.
Remember I wrote (a while back) that Dyson (yep…. the ones who make the vacuum cleaners) are making an electric car… well, they’ve decided to park it… but before totally leaving it, they’ve shared some information and images.
Dyson revealed that his electric vehicle, codenamed “N526,” would have been a seven-seater with a whopping 600-mile range per charge.
This was largely thanks to the company’s proprietary solid-state batteries, which could apparently sustain such performance “even on a freezing February night, on the naughty side of 70MPH on the motorway, with the heater on and the radio at full blast.”
The car could go from zero to 62MPH in 4.8 seconds (about half a second more than the long-range Model X), with its top speed apparently reaching 125MPH (30MPH shy of the Model X’s). This is all coming from the twin 200kW electric motors rated with 536BHP.
Dyson told The Times that this project ended up costing £500 million of his own money before he put a stop to it. Unlike other traditional car brands, Dyson doesn’t have a fleet of profitable gasoline cars and diesel cars to offset the “huge losses” on every electric vehicle made — each Dyson electric car would have needed to make £150,000 to break even, according to the entrepreneur.
So it’s all parked for the moment – but the ideas keep coming and Dyson has said his team are working on a number of other projects and open for collaboration. Have you got an idea?….
There’s so many people I knew, when I was younger, who worked 9 til 5, 5 days a week… for all of their. Until retirement.
I always, from a young age… thought that was crazy! Imagine 40+ years… doing the same thing… maybe a little variety… for such a long time! Well… it works for some! Some like that life. And maybe, they are happy with it, and that’s absolutely fine!
For me however… I like to keep learning. Keep pushing…. Keep editing,
Let’s be honest- there’s a few folk that are working from home during these testing times. And it’s not easy. You have children running around in the back, connectivity issues… and batteries running low when you have to join a conference call.
But Bal…. are there any gadgets that could be used to make it easier to work from home?
Yes, yes there are.
Firstly, I would recommend some good headphones. Preferably noise cancelling ones.
There’ll be a lot going on around you, behind you… and it can often make it difficult for you to concentrate on the task in hand. Therefore it’s important to be able to block out the background noise… and the best way is by having some really good headphones.
Whilst there’s plenty on offer, I use the Jabra noise cancelling headphones. They work really well… but there’s alot of options out there. Other ones that have been recommended are the Bose Quiet Comfort Wireless Bluetooth headphones. It’s important to make sure they’re wireless. The last thing you want getting caught, is the wire.
Next up… wifi-extender.
Hands up… if you’ve been on a call, and you have ‘connectivity’ issues. That’s right – it’s always good to make sure you have a good connection. Best way with this is to ensure it reaches you! – so get a good wifi extender that extends the wifi to you and you stay connected.
Plenty available on amazon and other places – for me, try TP-Link N300…
Finally…. Coffee Mug Warmer.
Whilst this doesn’t sound like it’s an essential… you may find you’ll save time walking from the ‘home office’ to the kitchen for that cup of coffee. Doesn’t take alot of space up and it’ll ensure your coffee (or other hot beverage) remains hot for longer…. so you don’t need to spill the cold coffee, get up, boil the kettle, make another cup, etc…
It’s been a tough week… I won’t go into it all here, but sharing the below as my Friday Thought.
