I was Trying to Spy and Hackers Stopped Me | CNN Money

January 4, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Chris Inglis has worked in intelligence most of his adult life. He’s tall, imposing and speaks with precision.

Debates about encryption technology — like the ones that cropped up after last month’s terror attacks in Paris — are nothing new to him. Reports that ISIS is using apps with encryption tech to hide their conversations don’t surprise him. He was the deputy director of the NSA and saw dozens of times when encryption was an obstacle in pursuing a target.

He couldn’t get into specifics but explained broadly: The agency might identify an adversary through financial transactions, or by following the chain of possession for weapons. But if the target was using some form of encrypted messaging, the NSA would lose the last piece of the puzzle.

“The worst case scenario is that we fail to see a plot that essentially is on the fly … and that we only see it when it’s in execution,” Inglis said. “At that moment in time, you’re reacting to a disaster in the making as opposed to staving one off. That’s the threat, that’s the challenge.”

4 Pain Points of Future Flights and How to Handle Them | Entrepreneur

December 30, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Here’s the good news: Airfares are down. According to fare-prediction app Hopper, rates in September dropped a substantial 18 percent from the previous year. And all signs point to a bottoming-out this month, at an average domestic round-trip price of $204. Now, the bad: Airline consolidation and the continued softening of the European economy, among other concerns, have some analysts nervous about the future of flying. But don’t panic just yet. Although the following warning signs seem to indicate that things could get worse for fliers, there may be ways to ease at least some of the pain.

Top 10 Differences between Entrepreneurs and Wantrepreneurs | Getentrepreneurial

December 29, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

There are important differences between entrepreneurs and wantrepreneurs that explain why some business people succeed against all odds, while most fail. It isn’t always easy to predict who will come out on top in the competitive world of business. Lenders, investors and prospective business associates considering a relationship with an entrepreneur should carefully evaluate possible liaisons based on the list below. The question to answer is whether the business owner is a committed and focused entrepreneur or a wantrepreneur destined to fail.

Entrepreneurs are passionate about their business and are willing to make it the top priority in their life, in sharp contrast to wantrepreneurs who may talk about their dream but are unable to focus on the business and give it the necessary attention required to succeed.

Scrum and Lean for Beginners: All You Need to Know about the World’s Best Management Systems | Page19

December 29, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

At some point in your life, you’ve probably had a stroke of genius, a brand-new, revolutionary idea for a company or product. Maybe it was an idea for a new micro-learning app, a navigate-your-city jacket, maybe it was an idea to colonize Mars, or to capture cow farts in methane backpacks?

But as any science fiction show knows, conceptualization is not the same as creation. So how to make your idea a reality?

And indeed, it’s a good question: inevitably there’s an unexpected thing or two (or two thousand) to take into account as you pursue your idea. As your business begins to take shape, these challenges will only grow. Because how to manage this project in the first place? How to manage time? Your team?

This is where scrum and lean come into the picture.

2015: The Year in Tech Tweets | CB Insights

December 29, 2015 ~ CBPS ~ Leave a comment

From VCs crying “bubble” to Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca crossfire, we did a retrospective on the year by digging up our favorite Tweets.

4 Mistakes That Ruin Business Meetings | Business News Daily

December 17, 2015December 17, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Business meetings have a longstanding reputation for being unexciting. Sitcoms, films and even stock photo collections are filled with scenes of employees looking at the clock, rolling their eyes and falling asleep while the presenter seems to drone on interminably.

Though these staged “boring meetings” may be slightly exaggerated on camera, they’re not too far from the truth: A recent survey by enterprise intranet company Igloo Software found that about half of all employees find meetings to be unproductive. The most common meeting pet peeves reflect this sentiment, with unnecessary meetings (76 percent), meetings going off-topic (59 percent) and people repeating one another (58 percent) topping the list.

3 Ways to Use CRM to Ramp Up Your Sales | All Business

December 16, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

As a female entrepreneur, I, like so many others, have to juggle my time carefully. I’m always looking for strategies to use one thing in many ways. One tool I’ve discovered that can do more than meets the eye is customer relationship management software (or CRM).

A lot of people mistakenly think CRM is only something marketers use, or it’s just a place to throw all your contact information. That’s simply not the case; it’s also a fantastic tool to increase sales for your business. And hey, I’m all about using it for as much as I can, especially if it helps me grow my business!

Today’s CRM solutions are much more sophisticated—not to mention more useful—than their predecessors. Here are three effective ways to use CRM as a sales tool:

11 Tweaks To Your Morning Routine Will Make Your Entire Day More Productive | Forbes

December 16, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

I don’t know anyone who couldn’t use a little boost in their energy, productivity, and self-control.

Researchers at the University of Nottingham recently published findings from their exploration of 83 separate studies on energy and self-control. What they found will change the way you start your day.

The researchers found that self-control and energy are not only intricately linked but also finite, daily resources that tire much like a muscle. Even though we don’t always realize it, as the day goes on, we have increased difficulty exerting self-control and focusing on our work. As self-control wears out, we feel tired and find tasks to be more difficult and our mood sours.

This exhaustion of self-control kills your productivity, and it makes the morning hours, when self-control is highest, the most important hours of the day.

But the trick isn’t just to spend your morning hours working; it’s to do the right things in the morning that will make your energy and self-control last as long as possible.

100 Podcasts That Will Make You Smarter, Better, and Wiser | Inc.com

December 14, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Podcasting is a great way to learn and be inspired. It’s a new use of technology that hearkens back to the original social medium, storytelling.

If you have an interest in entrepreneurship, tech, leadership, business, creativity, or just learning and expanding your mind, here are 100 podcasts that can help you bring your best to all you do.

Pick out a few to start with, then get ready to listen and learn while you’re in the car, on the treadmill, or during your morning commute.