Category: Tools and Information

Introvert Or Extrovert? Here’s How Losing The Labels Leads To Greater Success | Forbes

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

I’m going to make a bold statement: The majority of articles on how to identify introverts and extroverts are wrong. In my own company (like many others), the greatest members embody the characteristics of both. The classic advice has us mislabeled. So here’s my proposal: Why use these labels at all?

If you were to watch the majority of my leadership team in a meeting, for example, you’d say they’re introverts. They’re neither loud nor gregarious. “Your top sales guy isn’t animated? What’s wrong with him?” people might say. Or, “He’s not extroverted enough to lead.”

Read More

Smartphone apps now account for half the time Americans spend online | TechCrunch

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Here’s a stat that’s sure to worry Google: smartphone applications now account for half the time that U.S. users spend online, up from 41 percent back in July 2014, according to a new report from comScore. And when you add tablet applications into the mix, that figure rises to nearly 60 percent.

The new milestone was achieved this July, the report says, and is a testament to our increasing reliance on native mobile applications to deliver us the information we need, as well as the entertainment and distractions we crave – things we used to turn to the web for, in previous years.

This shift towards apps is exactly why Google has been working to integrate the “web of apps” into its search engine, and to make surfacing the information hidden in apps something its Google Search app is capable of handling.

Read More

 Current And Up-To-Date Investment Advice | Getentrepreneurial.com

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Help with investing is often sought when people wish to dabble in the world of investment for themselves. Firstly, they want to know how the world of investment functions, after which they want advice on what they should invest their time and money into. Here are a few tips to help you out of both points.

Look towards books for solid advice and help

The information you can find in books may help you advance your knowledge a little. The information you read in published books is more likely to be correct, as publishers are often unwilling to invest their money in dubious books of this nature. The information you find in books (especially accredited textbooks) is more likely to be correct than the information you find online or via e-books/Kindle books.

Read More

3 Things To Tell Every Customer |Small Biz Trends

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Your customer’s or prospect’s attention is extremely important to your business.  Let’s look at three statements you should be making and backing up to your customers.

Must Have Customer Communication

1. We Want Your Feedback

At the end of any purchase, project or service with your customer, let them know you want to understand how the customer experience was for them. While it’s great to use many different methods to get your customer’s thoughts post-sale, you will get more feedback by personally letting them know you care about it and want it.

Read More

Biofuels Aren’t Nearly As Green As You Thought | Co.Exist

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Biofuels might not be as clean as you thought, and they certainly aren’t carbon-neutral. The common thinking goes that crops used to make ethanol and biodiesel suck CO2 out of the air and turn it into a gas substitute. Then, when you fill up your car and take it for a spin, all you’re doing is releasing that carbon back into the atmosphere, not generating new emissions.

But for many years, environmentalists and academics have said that biofuels, depending on how they are cultivated and processed, could still lead to plenty of emissions and other environmental impacts. Now new research out of the University of Michigan shows how bad it is: In fact, biofuels might actually be worse, carbon-wise, than fossil fuels, it says.

Read More

Amazon Tests Out 30-Hour Work Week | TIME

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The Washington Post reports that Amazon is launching technical teams whose workers will only clock in for 30 hours a week. While plenty of employees at Amazon are part-time, the novelty here is that the teams are entirely made up of workers on a reduced schedule, including managers. The teams’ members will receive the same benefits as full-time employees, and 75% of a 40-hour workers’ pay.

The stated goal of the program is “to create a work environment that is tailored to a reduced schedule and still fosters success and career growth.” The initiative was accompanied by an event last week titled Reinventing the Work-Life Ratio for Tech Talent.

That reference to work-life balance highlights the possibility that that the testing of a lower-intensity schedule comes partly in answer to a damaging 2015 New York Times investigation into Amazon’s work culture. That report depicted the company as a challenging, even merciless place to work.

Read More

Virtually No Institutional Investors Are Happy With Activist Hedge Funds Right Now | Bloomberg

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The ongoing squabble between billionaire hedge fund luminaries William Ackman and Carl Icahn over Herbalife Ltd. distracts from a large warning sign for activist managers: they’re failing to live up to the expectations of institutional investors.

The August edition of research provider Prequin’s Hedge Fund Spotlight shows that 100 percent of institutional investors surveyed indicated that returns on their activist hedge fund investments had fallen short of their expectations.

Activist funds have been one of the worst-performing strategies among hedge funds from July 2015 through the midway point of this year, though funds tracked by Preqin have booked five straight months in positive territory through July 2016.

Read More

Can Vitamin B-17 Really Kill Cancer? | Life Hack

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Even if you are a health-conscious person who is aware of the importance of a healthy diet and taking vitamins and supplements, chances are, you probably have not heard of vitamin B-17.  However, in spite of an FDA ban on this vitamin, there are many in the medical community who believe in the health benefits of this nutrient, especially in regards to a potential cure for cancer. Read on to find out why.

Read More

Why Does the Moon Turn Red During a Total Lunar Eclipse? | Live Science

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

An oversized ruby-colored sphere rising in the sky as a total lunar eclipse turns the normally pallid moon scarlet is enough to make some people swoon. And perhaps with good reason, as the fiery glow is the most dramatic of the three types of lunar eclipses (the other two are called partial and penumbral).

In addition, perfection is a must: A total lunar eclipse happens only when the sun, Earth and moon are perfectly lined up.

So when the moon tiptoes into the outer portion of Earth’s shadow, becoming totally bathed in the darkest part of that shadow, why isn’t the result a “lights out” for the sky? Why instead does the moon become engulfed in a light-orange to blood-red glow?

Read More

Protect Yourself From Common Credit Card Scams | All Business

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Credit card fraud is growing over the Internet, email, traditional mail, and telephone. “Phishing” is when scammers send out fraudulent emails asking for your personal information, such as your credit card number or bank account number. Never respond to these—delete them immediately.

In a similar phishing scam, someone may phone you pretending to be your bank, the fraud department of your credit card company, or another organization, and may ask to “verify your information” or “verify you are in possession of your card.” They often ask for your 3-digit verification code on the back of the card or ask for the first 12 digits of your card (they may already have the last 4 digits from a discarded receipt). Reputable companies do not call and ask for this information. If you did not initiate the call, do not give them any information and hang up immediately.

Read More