Reset Your Computer Once a Year for a Happier Life | WIRED

March 9, 2020March 8, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Resetting your laptop is one of the most powerful munitions you’ve got in your troubleshooting armory. It puts your Windows, macOS, or Chrome OS computer back to the state it was in when you first got it home from the store, and that means you’ve got none of the clutter, or bugs, that may have built up in the time since.

Thankfully, the process is much easier than it used to be. Microsoft, Apple, and Google have put tools for the job right inside their operating systems, while applications have come to rely more and more on the cloud, so your important data is most likely already backed up somewhere online ready to be redownloaded.

Why Your Patent Is Probably Worthless | Entrepreneur

March 6, 2020March 5, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Getting a patent issued typically costs at least $10,000 and can easily cost upwards of $20,000. Most inventors who patent their inventions hope to get their money back after their invention begins selling in the marketplace. In reality, it rarely works like that. A very high percentage of patents never recoup their filing costs. Put more bluntly: They never generate any income, let alone what it cost to get the patent in the first place.

I’ve been helping inventors commercialize their product ideas and inventions for the past two decades. One of the biggest complaints I hear from inventors is that their patents are basically worthless. These inventors are frustrated and deflated. They’re out of the game, because they’ve spent so much time and money on a single invention — an invention that will never produce them any revenue. They won’t, or can’t, try to bring another, better idea to market because they’ve wasted their resources.

7 Eleven Runs Trial For Futuristic Store | CoolBusinessIdeas.com

March 5, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Convenience stores that rely on technology instead of cashiers to keep things ticking over might sound like a futuristic notion, but there are a number of such concepts being tested around the world. 7-Eleven is the latest to enter the fray, today announcing a trial of a new store in Texas that will be unstaffed with customers left to their own devices.

The store is located at 7-Eleven’s headquarters in Irving, Texas, and will be available only to the company’s employees, with a view to rolling it out to the general public if things go well.

Keeping Time: Leap Years and the Gregorian Calendar | Live Science

March 2, 2020March 1, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used by most of the world. Also called the “Christian calendar” or “Western calendar,” it is internationally accepted as a civil calendar by all but a handful of countries. The Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582 primarily to fix errors in the Julian calendar mostly having to do with leap years.

In the Julian calendar, named after Julius Caesar, every fourth year had 366 days rather than 365. Roman astronomers calculated that a year — the time it takes the Earth to revolve around the sun — had a duration of 365.25 days. This method of adding a “leap day” every fourth year averaged out to this determined value.

If You Listen, Your Employees Will Step Up | Business News Daily

March 2, 2020March 1, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The best way to make your employees feel important and valued is to listen to them.

Incorporating an employee listening strategy is a great first step to making your employees feel important.

Once you incorporate this strategy, you have to make real changes to the culture of the company.

11 Ways to Handle Stress Wisely | Life Hack

February 28, 2020February 27, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

As the number one killer of men and women, stress is the root cause of many diseases, from cancer to heart disease. Left unaddressed, stress has a crushing force that, over time, can lead to ugly repercussions. From frequent headaches to regular fatigue, symptoms will come pouring in if you don’t learn how to handle stress wisely.

We can’t always prevent or avoid stress, but how you conduct your lifestyle can radically reduce it. Instead of viewing every problem as a massive explosive strapped to your body, it’s worth it to slow your thoughts down and recognize that nobody is a superhuman.

7 Reasons Why You Need a Business Mentor—And How to Land One | AllBusiness.com

February 27, 2020February 25, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

One way to get strategic with your business trajectory is to land a trusted adviser in the form of a mentor. Mentoring can take many forms, such as a one-on-one relationship or a mentoring circle within an organization. The best mentor-mentee relationships involve two-way learning and reciprocation.

Mentors help professionals feel more engaged, derive more meaning from their careers, and grow their businesses. According to the Small Business Administration, small business owners who receive three or more hours of mentoring report higher revenues and increased growth.

Need more of a push? Here are seven reasons why you need a mentor this year:

Problem Talker vs. Problem Solver | Management Consulting Connection

February 26, 2020February 24, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ 1 Comment

In life and work, there are two ways to approach a problem. You can talk about a problem, or you can solve the problem.

The problem talker spends all of his time complaining about the problem.

“Boss, this budgeting process is so inefficient and a waste of time.”

The problem with being only a problem talker is that complaining about a problem doesn’t actually change the situation for the better.