5 Simple Sales Lessons for Non-Salespeople | Entrepreneur.com

July 23, 2014July 22, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Garrett Buhl Robinson is not your stereotypical salesperson. But he is one of the most effective salespeople I have ever come across.Robinson is the author of three self-published books and, as any author will tell you, writing a book is much easier than selling a book.

My wife Karen and I caught a glimpse of Robinson as we leisurely strolled through New York City’s Bryant Park. I watched with growing curiosity from a distance as he initiated contact with scores of park-goers. And if you stop to chat with Garrett Buhl Robinson — trust me on this — you will buy a book.Robinson delivers a rock-solid presentation in his own very simple sales format.

The World’s Largest Indoor Farm Produces 10,000 Heads of Lettuce a Day in Japan | Inhabitat

July 23, 2014July 22, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A former Sony Corporation semiconductor factory in Japan has been converted into the world’s largest indoor farm. Japanese plant physiologist Shigeharu Shimamura, CEO of Mirai Co., partnered with GE Japan to make his dream of a water, space and energy efficient indoor farming system a reality. Despite having only started production a year ago, the farm is already shipping out 10,000 heads of lettuce per day.

The farm is located in Miyagi Prefecture in eastern Japan, the area that was badly hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011. At 25,000 square feet, it is nearly half the size of a football field, and 17,500 LED lights spread over 18 cultivation racks reaching 15 levels high are a key to the farm’s success. The LEDs were developed for the project by GE and emit light at wavelengths optimal for plant growth, allowing Shimamura to control the night-and-day cycle and accelerate production.

What’s Up With That: Why Does Sleeping In Just Make Me More Tired? | WIRED

July 22, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

We’ve all been there: It’s been a long week at work, so Friday night, you reward yourself by going to bed early and sleeping in. But when you wake up the next morning or afternoon, light scathes your eyes, and your limbs feel like they’re filled with sand. Your brain is still lying down and you even have faint headache. If too little sleep is a problem, then why is extra sleep a terrible solution?

Oversleeping feels so much like a hangover that scientists call it sleep drunkenness. But, unlike the brute force neurological damage caused by alcohol, your misguided attempt to stock up on rest makes you feel sluggish by confusing the part of your brain that controls your body’s daily cycle.

Split decisions on Obamacare subsidies: The impact on 4.7 million Americans | CnnMoney

July 22, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Two opposing court rulings issued Tuesday sowed confusion about whether 4.7 million Americans can keep their Obamacare subsidies.

A federal appeals court panel in Washington, D.C., ruled Tuesday morning that individuals cannot use tax credits or subsidies to buy health insurance on the federal exchange, healthcare.gov.

A few hours later, another set of appeal judges in Richmond, Va., unanimously upheld the ability for people applying for coverage on the federal exchange to receive subsidies.

The Obama administration said it plans to appeal the D.C. court ruling.

For Americans receiving subsidies, nothing will change until the legal court battle ends. People in the 14 states and Washington D.C. that run their own exchanges would not be affected by these rulings.

Subsidies are key to the Affordable Care Act’s success: About 87% of those who signed up for Obamacare plans on healthcare.gov received them.

Malaysia Airlines Disaster Could Be Setback for AIDS Research | Live Science

July 22, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The HIV/AIDS research community expressed sadness today over the loss of prominent AIDS researchers and activists who were aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, saying that the tragedy could also be a setback for research in the field.

The flight, which was carrying nearly 300 passengers from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was brought down yesterday July 17 by a surface-to-air missile while flying over an area of conflict between Ukraine and Russia, according to U.S. government officials. At least several of the passengers on the flight were believed to be headed to the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia.

I Hate Mandatory Comments | Peter Mehit

July 20, 2014January 22, 2015 ~ CBPS ~ Leave a comment

I just renewed four domains with GoDaddy. It was a perfectly forgettable transaction, just the way I want all transactions on the internet to be. But a day later, a survey arrived. Begging for just five minutes, I caved in and answered their questions.

The very first question violated my unspoken rule about surveys: Do not make it mandatory to explain why I gave you a rating.

I rated them a 7. I didn’t really want to go into it. A 7 says, “You know, you’re just good enough. But I’d better deal you if something better came along.” I think both GoDaddy and I understand that. Conversation will only make things worse. When I discovered the comment was mandatory, I wrote:

I gave you a rating. Accept it. I hate mandatory comments. They make me dislike the survey company for doing it, and GoDaddy by extension.

There were a few more questions. It was really a three minute survey. I liked them for that. The final question asked me what GoDaddy could do to improve my customer experience. Now if they had followed my rule and not forced me to have a comment, I would have ended the survey the way I end all surveys, with white space. But to not leave a comment after having been forced to leave one, that’s just not symmetrical. So this is what I asked GoDaddy for:

1. Provide winning PowerBall numbers. Any size jackpot will do.
2. Arrange a date with Angelina Jolie. Brad can come.
3. Use ‘No One to Know’ by Path of Least Resistance as your theme song.
4. Get all the idiots in Washington D.C. to remember they’re supposed to be focused on us. You can do it. You lobby.
5. Stop objectifying women in your advertising.
6. Tell people when they rehearse a vine, it defeats the purpose.
7. Magically release all the domain names I really want.
8. Feature my company in your advertising.
9. (It’s Custom Business Planning and Solutions)
10. Get my upstairs neighbor to walk lighter.

I pressed ‘Submit’. I was greeted with thanks from Blake Irving, CEO of GoDaddy:

We’ll see if they are really serious about improving my customer experience.

California’s Manufacturing Industries: Employment and Competitiveness in the 21st Century | LAEDC

July 20, 2014July 20, 2014 ~ CBPS ~ Leave a comment

mfg report Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation’s Institute for Applied Economics has produced a detailed report of where the California manufacturing sector is and where they think it’s headed. A great read for those looking to understand the future of this crucial part of our economy.

California_Manufacturing_2014

RISE of the Criminals | Peter Mehit

July 20, 2014January 22, 2015 ~ CBPS ~ Leave a comment

If you happened to have had a bad day during the Great Recession, the odds are you’re rebuilding your credit. If your credit score took a major hit, or if you’ve filed bankruptcy, it’s quite possible that you’ll get an offer in the mail from a company that wants to help you on your financial ‘comeback’. The company will tell you they “think a loan should be convenient and on your terms”, and they’ve “changed the way you borrow money”. Rocky Balboa’s face, strong and determined, is prominently displayed in the advertising copy.

You can start your comeback by filling out a simple application for a pre-approved $3,500 loan. This money will be deposited directly to your bank account. The rate may be steep in the beginning, but it will decrease as you show your ability to make payments. After all, there is a risk to providing you credit, but the company wants to help restore you as a respected member of the financial community.

The company dying to help you is RISE, a brand of Think Finance, who packages itself as an ‘emergency non-bank lender’. This is just double speak for a sophisticated form of predatory lending. The APR on their loans range from 36 to over 360%. A recent offer carried an interest rate of 199%. For the privilege of receiving $3,500, you’ll pay back $10,800 in payments of $289 made every two weeks. Instead of Rocky Balboa, their promotional icon should be Tony Soprano.

Continue reading “RISE of the Criminals | Peter Mehit” →

The Next Frontier For Forbes | Forbes

July 18, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Today, we announced that we have reached an agreement to sell a majority interest in Forbes Media to a group of international investors. This is obviously a momentous occasion for the Forbes family and the team here at Forbes. But, it represents an opportunity for extraordinary advances for us that would have been inconceivable just a few short years ago.

The web has blasted away the operating model for the communications industry that began back in the 1830s with the invention of the steam press, an innovation that made possible the cheap printing of newspapers and magazines on an industrial scale. Mass media was born. This new industry was largely supported by advertising; for most publications Forbes has been a happy exception circulation was a loss leader, that is, the cost of obtaining the subscription exceeded what the subscriber paid. Reporters and editors created content and advertising paid the bills.

Microsoft Declares War on Middle Managers and Khaki Pants | Businessweek

July 18, 2014 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to Microsoft, Nokia employees—you’re out of a job.

So came the message on Thursday as Microsoft MSFT announced plans to fire as many as 18,000 people over the next year. The bulk of the layoffs, about 12,500 people, will come from the Nokia NOK devices and services business that Microsoft officially acquired in April. Most of the rest of the firings will affect people with overlapping jobs, furthering new Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella’s pledge to create a leaner, meaner, faster-moving organization. Grrr.

It’s not easy firing this many people—especially when you’re Microsoft, which hardly ever fires anyone, and when you’re dealing with Finland, which also has a thing against firing people. The company did it with two memos and a press release. The first memo came from Nadella, who explained how the layoffs fit into the strategy outlined in his memo from last week. The second came from Stephen Elop, the former Nokia CEO and now Microsoft executive, who never really managed to revive Nokia’s business, delivered the pride of Finland into the clutches of Microsoft, and must be feeling some measure of guilt about all this. Right? A staggering 40,000 Nokia employees had already lost their jobs over the past few years, as the phonemaker transitioned from global market power to Harvard Business School case study.