This Woman Wants to Take Common Folk to Space—In a Balloon | WIRED

March 13, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

JANE POYNTER HAS a mesmerizing way of describing what it will be like to be shuttled to the ends of the Earth in the souped-up space balloon being developed by her company, World View.

You’ll arrive at the launch site predawn, Poynter says, and step inside a comfortable capsule with a few other passengers. You’ll lift off the ground, and float upward for an hour and a half, gently rising at a speed of about 1,000 feet a minute. When you arrive at the top of the atmosphere, Poynter says, you’ll see “the most unbelievable panorama of stars” around you. The sun, rising up over the ground below you, will begin to creep over the horizon and light up the Earth below. You’ll hover in that place for about an hour before gliding back to the ground using a rectangular parachute called a parafoil.

Your Fitness App Is Making You Fat | TechCrunch

March 13, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Fitness apps are all the rage. A raft of new companies and products want to track your steps and count your calories with the aim of melting that excess blubber. There’s just one problem — most of these apps don’t work. In fact, there is good reason to believe they make us fatter.

One study called out “the dirty secret of wearables,” citing that “these devices fail to drive long-term sustained engagement for a majority of users.” Endeavour Partners’ research found “more than half of U.S. consumers who have owned a modern activity tracker no longer use it. A third of U.S. consumers who have owned one stopped using the device within six months of receiving it.”

While the report mentioned several reasons why people don’t stick with these tracking devices, my own theory is simple: They backfire. Here are three surprising reasons why fitness apps may be making us less happy and more flabby.

Important Conversations Managers Should Have With Employees | Business News Daily

March 13, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Do you talk to your employees regularly? Of course you do — you email and instant message them daily, hold meetings and conference calls with them, and if they’re in the office, you stop by their desks to check in. But are you having the types of conversations that really matter?

If you find that you’re only discussing day-to-day projects and job duties with your staff, there’s a good chance they’re not feeling very engaged and connected with their work. Discussions that make employees feel valued, such as their long-term goals and personal strengths, typically happen during formal performance evaluations, but in reality, these issues should be brought up much more frequently than many managers realize.

Ready, Steady….NO | Getentrepreneurial.com

March 12, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

I was coaching a group on their presentation to their Senior Leadership Team. It was the end of months of research, weeks of discussion and development, days of practice. Our session began.

The first speaker stood up. She seemed relaxed, she smiled and then began to explain the assignment, telling in great detail what they had been asked to research. Then she spoke about how her team had researched for quite some time before they could even identify their topic. She continued by saying that once they had found their topic, they started looking for new sources for research.

This is all before she had reached slide 2 of her presentation. I was completely disengaged and struggling hard to pay attention at all.

I was exhausted and she hadn’t really started yet!

Stop, stop, please, stop.

5 Weird Ways Cold Weather Affects Your Psyche | Live Science

March 11, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Freezing temperatures and snow have turned much of the United States into an icebox. But, beyond keeping people inside and prompting them to bundle up when they venture out, does the cold weather change people’s behavior?

Science says yes.

Cold temperatures can influence our thoughts and decisions without our even knowing it, experts have found. From influencing what colors women wear to how we judge criminals, from the limits of human creativity to how we treat our friends, chilly temperatures may have a great effect on the human psyche, research shows.

Top 9 Misconceptions of Independent Contractor Engagement | Business Tips

March 10, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Independent contractors can be a viable resource for growing your business, fitting seasonal demands and often adding in-demand or specialized skills. However, it is vital to have a compliant process for engaging independent workers or risk wage and hour violations or tax reclassification. Typical approaches often make faulty assumptions, doing nothing to reduce your risk profile. Below are the top 9 misconceptions about independent contractor engagement.

What You Can Learn From 8 Kids Already Making a Million Dollars | Entrepreneur

March 9, 2015March 10, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

There’s no age limit when it comes to being a millionaire these days, and a handful of kids have struck it rich well before they can legally vote. They’re small business owners, inventors and entrepreneurs. I started as an entrepreneur when I was around 11 years old with my first candy stand, which grew to four candy stands, but that was nothing compared to some of these kids!

There’s is no age limit, either, when it comes to learning from others. These impressive kids learned from their own failures early in life but determined to keep going and to do it better the next time around. If you haven’t made your first million yet, the teen next door might actually be able to teach you something.

Check out these eight kids who made a million, or more, and what you can learn from their success:

Business and Pleasure: The Winning Combination | Page19

March 6, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The old adage, “separate your friends from your work,” is more outdated than VHS. Here’s how friendship in the workplace can boost productivity, and how you can help foster friendship in your team.

Who accompanies you to the cinema? Who’s on speed-dial in case of a major life crisis? Who does the back-busting work on moving day? Friends, that’s who, and they’re as key a component to a good life as professional satisfaction.

Innovation In Seating: Upgrading the Way We Sit | CoolBusinessIdeas.com

March 6, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

At first glance it seems entirely ridiculous that seating could be upgraded or innovated upon. After all the concept of a chair or bench is relatively simple, and the height is pretty standard. So how is it possible that there can be innovation in this industry?

Upon deeper investigation and diving deeper into the different types of seating available and its specific use, it is easier to check out the innovation taking place in the seating sector. Everything from airline seats, to recliner chairs, to church pews are being upgraded, with new features added that make them more comfortable, and suited to the intended use of the product.

Small Business Financing: Myths and Realities | All Business

March 6, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Do you know everything you need to know about small business financing? Whether you’re a small business veteran or just starting out, obtaining capital is one aspect of entrepreneurship there’s a lot of confusion about.

In fact, it seems getting financing isn’t the only challenge entrepreneurs face. Simply learning about and understanding their financing options is a hurdle in itself for most small business owners. In OnDeck’s latest quarterly Main Street Pulse Report,