Dubai to print world’s first 3D-printed office building (it’ll just take a few weeks) | Inhaitat

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The United Arab Emirates likes to be first when it comes to amazing feats of construction and technology, and architecture in Dubai is constantly pushing the envelope. The world’s tallest building already towers over Dubai’s skyline, and now the city is planning to build the world’s first fully 3D-printed office building. It’s a cool, space-age structure that will save a bundle on construction costs and material waste.

The office building will take just a matter of weeks to construct. The overall structure won’t be that big in terms of scale, covering just 2,000 square feet (186 square meters), but it’ll be huge for the 3D-printing history. The building will be the world’s first fully-functional 3D-printed office building, and will serve as operations headquarters for the recently opened Museum of the Future, which is located nearby the building site and also features 3D-printed components. The office building will be printed one layer at a time by a 20-foot-tall 3D printer, and then assembled onsite. What’s more, all of the furniture, fixtures, detailing, and structural components will also be 3D-printed, making this endeavor the most ambitious 3D-printing project in architectural history.

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Employee Engagement? What If Employees Don’t Want To Be Engaged? | Forbes

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downloadEngagement statistics really haven’t changed much over the past 10 years. Why? Surely, we’ve focused enough attention, money, staff, time and energy on the concept of engagement to make a huge difference. And yet the numbers remain relatively flat and generally negative.

But what if people just don’t want to be engaged?

By and large, leaders know that they can’t make their people suddenly become passionate about the company’s mission and strategy, the customer experience, the bottom line, or any other owner-level consideration. Thoughtful leaders understand that employees must first want to make a larger contribution, so these leaders institute recognition and reward programs designed to foster a desire to engage…and still, in many cases, no appreciable or sustainable engagement materializes. Why?

It might be time to build a process of engagement that includes more than just an organizational motivation approach. In the book Influencer, authors Patterson, Grenny, Switzler, Maxfield and McMillan reveal two other, equally important sources of motivation that can be brought to bear on any change goal, including this stubborn challenge of employee engagement—namely, social motivation (peer influence) and individual motivation (intrinsic desire). When combined with organizational rewards, these two sources of influence can create a formidable recipe for sustained increases in engagement. Let’s explore both.

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These 3 Tricks Can Actually Help You Get Smarter | Page19

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On-intelligenceWhat if all you had to do to become smarter was play a quirky little game, like Angry Birds? Or pick up an instrument? It may be no more complicated than that! Here are three scientifically proven ways you can up your intelligence.

What would you do with a few extra IQ points?  What new plans would you be able to put into action? What creative solutions could you come up with? We’d all love to be just a bit brainier, wouldn’t we? And that’s precisely what Dan Hurley’s new book, Smarter, is all about. In his exploration of fluid intelligence, he’s come upon three tried-and-true ways that anyone can start improving his brain.

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Tips for Moving Your Startup From Home to an Office | Getentrepreneurial.com

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startup-officeWhen you started your company you had dreams of growth, but couldn’t actually picture them coming true. Then, they did. You experienced growth, and you brought on a few team members. You experienced more growth and saw profits start to grow. Soon, you were excited; you realized that this was it: Your startup was becoming a legitimate company.

Along with that growth and opportunity came another potentially exciting – yet stressful – endeavor: the need for office space. Suddenly your home office wasn’t cutting it; you needed a physical location with a sign out front to announce that you’ve made it. If you’re at that point, congratulations; you’ve accomplished something great. Follow the tips below to move your startup from your home to an office.

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This Amazing Story of Courage and Leadership Stayed Secret for 50 Years | Inc

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getty_458098480_970627970450096_60347Early in his career, Sir Nicholas Winton was a stockbroker; in later years, he worked for international relief organizations and other charities. But for 50 years, nobody knew his greatest achievement and contribution to humanity.

We often celebrate entrepreneurs for being dynamic business leaders. That’s a good thing, but entrepreneurship itself doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with making money. A professor at Harvard Business School put it best: it’s about the “pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.”

That’s why I’ve insisted that the best book about entrepreneurship has absolutely nothing to do with making money, and it’s why we can look at people who start nonprofits, or who assemble teams to accomplish amazing goals that have nothing to do with business–and call them great entrepreneurs.

Nicholas Winton was a truly great entrepreneur.

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Missing comma gets grammar nerd out of parking ticket | Mashable

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The Associated Press reports that Andrea Cammelleri received a parking citation for leaving her pickup truck parked in an area for longer than 24 hours. According to a law in the village of West Jefferson, vehicles cannot be parked longer than 24 hours, including a “motor vehicle camper.”

Cammerelli argued that her truck does not fit that description because of the missing comma between “vehicle” and “camper”.

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How to Create an Effective Business Marketing Plan | Business News Daily

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A marketing plan may not be at the top of every new business owner’s to-do list, but it should be. While a business plan helps map the direction for your company, a marketing plan helps your company understand how to get there by detailing important steps on the road to creating customer relationships.

“The single most important thing for a small business to include in its marketing plan is a very clear understanding of its customers and its competitors,” said Robert Thomas, professor of marketing at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

Though a marketing plan can be formal or informal, at a minimum it describes who your customers are, where they get information, and how you are going to reach them. Thomas said the development of a marketing plan requires four specific tasks:

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Macy’s cuts ties with Donald Trump over Mexico comments | BBC News

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US retailer Macy’s has ended its relationship with Donald Trump after the businessman and presidential candidate made controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants.

The retailer has sold Trump-branded clothes since 2004 and Mr Trump has appeared in the company’s commercials.

Macy’s is the latest company to distance itself from the businessman.

TV networks NBC and Univision said they would not air the Miss USA pageant, which is co-owned by Mr Trump.

“We have no tolerance for discrimination in any form,” Macy’s said in a statement. “We welcome all customers, and respect for the dignity of all people is a cornerstone of our culture.”

In response, Mr Trump said his principles were more valuable than the clothing line, which he called a “small business in terms of dollar volume”.

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This Desktop Farm Is Like A 3-D Printer For Fresh, Natural Food | Co.Exist

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3047980-inline-i-1-this-desktop-farm-is-like-a-3-d-printer-for-foodYou could mistake Caleb Harper’s Personal Food Computer for a 3-D printer. The desktop-sized plastic box is a cut down version of his CityFarm, and designed to grow fresh vegetables anywhere, without soil.

The Personal Food Computer is a tiny aeroponics system, a miniature farm that creates its own weather, and supplies nutrients to the plants’ roots by misting them with water. Coupled with monitors that track things like CO2, light levels and humidity, the box can be dropped anywhere, and grow fresh food, regardless of surrounding conditions.

The water-sipping properties of aeroponics seem especially relevant in these times of drought, but this decentralization also means less long-distance transport, and — in a possible future — less environmental pressure from large farms.

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