toBeCreative

FastCompany gives some guidelines for creativity. To sum up, I think there are only two points:

1. Try new things.
2. Don't restrict yourself.

theApprentice

This week, Donald J. Trump has a new challenge for the apprentice: How to make as much money as possible by trading in one day with 1k as the seed money with 6 people only in your team?

It's kind of fun to see those young people working out their plans. And finally one of the teams won the game by bringing more than 1.6k in return.

Lessons from the winning team:

1. Know the strength of each of the team member.
2. Ask for expert knowledge. Make a decision and implement it quickly.
3. Be clear about what you need and try to obtain them as cheap as you can.


Lessons from the losing team:

1. Take good care of your money. Don't lose money!
2. If the team is small, have everyone together to focus on one implementation is better.


Lessons from Trump:

1. The first requirement to success is desire.
2. Trust your judgement and make a decision firmly.
3. Stand up for yourself.

edgeCraft

I am fascinated by the idea of "edgecraft". It's a wonderful procedure (I'd call it a "system") that will help people to "steal" champion new ideas:

1. Find a product or service that's completely unrelated to your industry.
2. Figure out who's winning by being remarkable.
3. Discover what edge they went to.
4. Do that.

Check out Seth Godin's article for more.

onCreativity

It's enlightening to read the point of view about creativity. What's more important is what actions to take to make ourselves more creative.

jobInterview

Discover some useful information about job interviews. If job hunting follows the 80-20 principle, preparation should be the 80.

converter

The most powerful personnel lives with a purpose and can convert any seemingly negative situation or encounter into something that empowering and positive.

judgeAPerson

"To judge a person, we need to look into his everyday life. Look into the small, small things he does." I got this insight from the old people when I was young. And now I think it's so correct. But anyway, "judge less, perceive more."

simplicity

Edward de Bono has a pretty inspiring idea about simplicity.

It seems to me the pattern of simplicity appears again and again in successful organizations and endevours even though they are unconciously applying the principle. In business, in government, in manufactory, in software engineering, in math and so on.

Simplicity is beauty.

theWebOfThoughts

The Web of Thoughts is another to-be-good blog to check out. Let's expect it will be an interesting place to surf.

extremelyAgileProgramming

While most of the innovations move the related field forward, I believe that Extremely Agile Programming will make a revolution in software engineering.

"A move to agile programming, in fact, strikes the most sensitive of nerves: honest communication. For years, corporate IT and users have worked separately. Lightweight methodologies bring everyone together face to face and keep them there."

Honest communication! Isn't that all it's about in team work?

businessInnovation

A wonderful blog about businessInnovation.

e-Commerse

Take a good look at e-Commerse. After the bubbles burst, most people in Singapore are afraid of the name begun with "e-", rather than thinking about the possibility of making use of the technologies in a steady way to add value into their business.

(Re) Made to Order gives an example of how some of the companies in the U.S. realise the importance of technologies, especially the Internet.

"The most fundamental lesson that I've learned is that if companies can use technology to get closer and closer to their customers, they're going to win." after several months riding the e-commerce learning curve, says John D. Kennedy, 46, a 10-year veteran of United Stationers, a Chicago-based, $3.8 billion company that stocks and distributes more than 35,000 products for retail powerhouses like Office Depot and Staples, as well as for smaller office-supplies dealers.


Take a look at the 40 UNDER 40: The 10 Richest. It "captures the American dream—rising from nothing and nowhere to achieve wealth and power—and combines it with the American obsession: speed. Dot-commers still dominate our annual list of whiz kids who made it to the top."

The ability to apply knowledge is power!

innovativeThinking

Another wonderful blog about innovativeThinking.

occupationalAdventure

Discover an interesting blog today: occupationalAdventure. Check it out. It's inspiring.

mindfulnessBreathing

Read an article about mindfulnessBreathing. It introduces a wonderful way of releasing stress.

Too often, we are stressful because of the way we interpret the world. There seems to be too many threats around us, eg. the boss behind you; the ringing phone in your office; your landlord and so on. We feel as if there are always people chasing us while we are awake. And when we are asleep, we may be chasing by something else.

These little things suck our strength; drag our power away. What can we do immediately to get away from it? I have always believed in having a much higher purpose in life. By focusing on the purpose, we will forget sweating the small stuffs. Another way is what I just discovered from that article - practicing mindfulness of breathing. There are two ways to do it as introduced from the article:

"One involves the formal discipline of making a specific time in which you stop all activity, assume a special posture, and dwell for some time in moment-to-moment awareness of the in-breath and the outbreath."

"The second way of practicing using the breath is to be mindful of it from time to time during the day, or even all day long, wherever you are and whatever you are doing."

Check out the article. It's worth a read. The second thing to do is: ACTION!

happyBirthdayUnruledBoy!

unruledBoy MSNed just now. So I know it. Happy birthday, my old high-school friend! Wish you spend your birthday meaningfully!

digitalNervousSystem

In the coming years, digital technology will radically increase the speed at which business is conducted. It will change the relationship between businesses and their customers, and it will transform the roles of individual workers. How well an organization adapts to this changing business landscape will depend on the health of its internal digital processes-its "digital nervous system." Though a digital nervous system is built on a combination of hardware and software, it is not a product. Think of the role a biological nervous system plays in living organisms. It controls the basic systems-respiratory, circulatory, digestive-that make life possible. It also receives sensory stimuli, transmits them to the brain, and instantly triggers a response. In humans the nervous system makes it possible to think and plan with foresight and creativity. An effective digital nervous system performs similar functions within an organization. It allows a company's internal processes to operate smoothly and quickly, enables an organization to respond to customer feedback quickly, gives it the ability to react to its competitive environment in a timely manner, and empowers employees with critical knowledge. The key is how effectively an organization manages the flow of its digital information. All kinds of information-numbers, text, audio and video-can now be put into digital form. Widely-available hardware and software has also made it possible-and necessary-for organizations of all sizes to reshape the way they conduct their business. In fact, many companies have already made many of the necessary investments in information technology to allow employees to obtain, store, share, and act upon information in new ways, from corporate intranets to the global network of the Internet. Success in this kind of environment, however, entails more than deploying technology. The idea is to employ it in a way that enhances how people work and that transforms how organizations operate. Businesses must create digital processes that manage and deliver important information to the employees who need it, helping them to respond effectively to changes and new opportunities, make decisions quickly, and fix problems as soon as they arise. Just as machinery provides tremendous physical power, digital processes can enhance organizational intelligence by giving workers the information necessary to be more effective. There is no standard digital nervous system. Because each business is different, its digital system will reflect its unique needs and structure. Ultimately, a digital nervous system will transform three major elements of any business: relationships to customers and business partners (e-commerce), information flow and relationships among workers within a company (knowledge management), and internal business processes (business operations).

problemSolving

1. Define the problem clearly.

2. Identify the root cause. Make sure that I treat the root cause of the problem, not the results.

3. Brainstorm and define solutions for the root cause.

4. Pick the best solution.

5. Implement the solution by taking immediate action.

careerDevelopment

Focus on measurable, streching and valuable objectives to improve your performance and position.

How to develop a powerful skills set:

1. Analyze your skills set

2. Match your skills to the requirement of your present career or the career I plan to have.

3. Update your skills when neccessary.

4. Enhance the skills I need to achieve your objectives.

proactiveHabits

The first habit of the seven habits is "Be proactive". It means different actions under different situations. I made up a few in my previous journal:

1. Listen to suggestions; think about it and make my own choice.

2. Drawing pictures and graphs helps me learn.

3. Learning is in the doing.

What's your actions?

water 滔

Hello world! I have been changing names of the blog for a few times. I find that each time I will get a better one. Incremental improvement happens as we put our knowledge into action and reflect on the actions and results later on.

As the old Chinese believed, water is the higher level than the other four basic elements: metal, wood, fire and earth. It stands for reflection. It's the only way to lead us to the next level of effective living. But reflection is not the end. It's the beginning. The beginning of another level.

WaterReflection is a reflection of everyday life. Get inspirations by reflecting on what I have gone through everyday in order to act and live more and more effectively. The topics are widely spread as business, entrepreneurship, working, living, politics, internet, programming, books, movies, cooking, travelling, dating, science, art and a lot more. Anything that's worth a thought.

I truly believe in one of the teaching about Wink and grow rich: Think it; ink it; do it; review it.

Enjoy it!