Solve problems.   Achieve goals.

Think – Plan – Do – 

This free, easy, and highly effective System
will help you solve problems and achieve goals:

This ultra-simple system has only 3 steps:
Think – Plan – Do
and then just keep going:
Repeat

This system can be used to solve all manner of problems
for individuals, business, and even social issues.

Start now.

Free Quick-Start Guide by Michael McCafferty Visit Michael Mcafferty resources at www.michaelmccafferty.com

Written by Tim Ferriss

“Not-to-do” lists are often more effective than to-do lists for upgrading performance.

The reason is simple: what you don’t do determines what you can do.

Here are nine stressful and common habits that entrepreneurs and office workers should strive to eliminate. The bullets are followed by more detailed descriptions. Focus on one or two at a time, just as you would with high-priority to-do items. I’ve worded them in no-to-do action form:

1. Do not answer calls from unrecognized phone numbers
Feel free to surprise others, but don’t be surprised. It just results in unwanted interruption and poor negotiating position. Let it go to voicemail, and consider using a service like GrandCentral (you can listen to people leaving voicemail) or Simulscribe (receive voicemails as e-mail).

2. Do not e-mail first thing in the morning or last thing at night
The former scrambles your priorities and plans for the day, and the latter just gives you insomnia. E-mail can wait until 10am, after you’ve completed at least one of your critical to-do items…

3. Do not agree to meetings or calls with no clear agenda or end time
If the desired outcome is defined clearly with a stated objective and agenda listing topics/questions to cover, no meeting or call should last more than 30 minutes. Request them in advance so you “can best prepare and make good use of the time together.”

4. Do not let people ramble
Forget “how’s it going?” when someone calls you. Stick with “what’s up?” or “I’m in the middle of getting something out, but what’s going on?” A big part of GTD is GTP — Getting To the Point.

5. Do not check e-mail constantly — “batch” and check at set times only
I belabor this point enough. Get off the cocaine pellet dispenser and focus on execution of your top to-do’s instead of responding to manufactured emergencies. Set up a strategic autoresponder and check twice or thrice daily.

6. Do not over-communicate with low-profit, high-maintenance customers
There is no sure path to success, but the surest path to failure is trying to please everyone. Do an 80/20 analysis of your customer base in two ways–which 20% are producing 80%+ of my profit, and which 20% are consuming 80%+ of my time? Then put the loudest and least productive on autopilot by citing a change in company policies. Send them an e-mail with new rules as bullet points: number of permissible phone calls, e-mail response time, minimum orders, etc. Offer to point them to another provider if they can’t conform to the new policies.

7. Do not work more to fix overwhelm — prioritize
If you don’t prioritize, everything seems urgent and important. If you define the single most important task for each day, almost nothing seems urgent or important. Oftentimes, it’s just a matter of letting little bad things happen (return a phone call late and apologize, pay a small late fee, lose an unreasonable customer, etc.) to get the big important things done. The answer to overwhelm is not spinning more plates — or doing more — it’s defining the few things that can really fundamentally change your business and life.

8. Do not carry a cellphone or Crackberry 24/7
Take at least one day off of digital leashes per week. Turn them off or, better still, leave them in the garage or in the car. I do this on at least Saturday, and I recommend you leave the phone at home if you go out for dinner. So what if you return a phone call an hour later or the next morning? As one reader put it to a miffed co-worker who worked 24/7 and expected the same: “I’m not the president of the US. No one should need me at 8pm at night. OK, you didn’t get a hold of me. But what bad happened?” The answer? Nothing.

9. Do not expect work to fill a void that non-work relationships and activities should
Work is not all of life. Your co-workers shouldn’t be your only friends. Schedule life and defend it just as you would an important business meeting. Never tell yourself “I’ll just get it done this weekend.” Review Parkinson’s Law in 4HWW and force yourself to cram within tight hours so your per-hour productivity doesn’t fall through the floor. Focus, get the critical few done, and get out. E-mailing all weekend is no way to spend the little time you have on this planet.
—

Tim is the author of 4 Hour Work Week and  Tools of Titans, his new book, which shares the tactics, routines, and habits of billionaires, icons, and world-class performers. It was distilled from more than 10,000 pages of notes, and everything has been vetted and tested in his own life in some fashion. The tips and tricks in Tools of Titans  Click here for sample chapters.

The future belongs to companies who better connect with their customers. Winning in the connection economy starts with understanding your customer. Getting more focused on a meaningful value proposition, creating innovative ways of expressing and delivering your value, and building new systems to support your platform will help create a sustainable advantage. Here are five steps to get started.

1. Get more focused

Focus is hard. Today, global commerce has likely flattened your marketplace, creating more competitors and alternatives. Customers are exposed to ever more world-class customer experiences and have higher expectations. New technologies offer more and different opportunities. Where are you going to play? How are you going to win? READ MORE

Content Courtesy of Peopledesign a strategic design consultancy which helps companies need to adapt to a new era. Peopledesign is a collective of diverse talents, skills, and interests – strategists, researchers, designers, writers, developers, and managers – dedicated to helping clients whose work and visions is intriguing and challenging. Check them out at www.peopledesign.com

To update the words of French philosopher René Descartes for the 21st century, “I brand, therefore I am.” There seems to be little criteria today for what necessitates the creation of another brand. Managing all these brands—ingredient brands, co-branded partnerships, multiple brands under the same house—has proven to be difficult work. Organizations that are deliberate about their brand strategy and stay the course will win out in the end.
Read more

Originally published by Peopledesign.com

Peopledesign has been on the forefront of digital design since our inception 20 years ago. They help create digital experiences that balance user needs, business goals, and technology opportunities. 

Are you making the most of your summer job? Perhaps you’re “just waitressing” or working at the mall or a grocery store. But, did you know that a temporary summer job can help boost your future career?

1) Don’t treat it like “just a summer job.”
2) Be Proactive
3) Assess Your Strengths and Weaknesses
4) Find a Mentor

For the full article click below
4 Ways Your Summer Job can Jumpstart Your Career

Why Every Student Should Start a Business by Michael Simmons

Why Every Student Should Start a Business 9 reasons to abandon your fear of start-up and launch a business today

With the economic downturn, students in all the major business schools have been dropping out of their entrepreneurship classes and transferring back to classes where they think they have a secure future. Students and professionals who were once planning to start businesses now have decided to go back to their cushy jobs. Everything is going back to normal. Or at least that is how it looks. Below are nine reasons why any student should start a business:

1. You gain experience. Owning and running your own business is an incredible way to gain experience and credentials regardless of whether you decide to stay in business once you graduate. Jaime Gonzalez of Oklahoma State University received the highest job offer in his entire graduating class. Now, there are two kickers: First, he was the founder of an IT consulting company, and second, he had a 2.4 GPA. Hmmm…I wonder if starting a business helps in getting a better job when you graduate? 2. You have nothing to lose. I think it’s safe to say that most students dip into their parents’ checkbook when it comes time to pay the bills. In general, students aren’t paying child support, rent, utilities and many other expenses. The worst thing that could happen if your business fails is that you get a job, have an incredible credential on your resume, and have experience that will increase your chances of success in the future. The best thing that can happen is that you’ll become the next Microsoft. I don’t know about you, but I think that is better than choosing between no job and jobs that you’re in just for the money. 3. Two-thirds of millionaires are entrepreneurs, according to Thomas Stanley and William Dank, authors of The Millionaire Mind. If it’s the money you want, then consider entrepreneurship. You receive not only a salary, but also a lot of money if you’re lucky enough to sell your company or take it public. Michael Furdyk, a successful young entrepreneur, was able to sell his business, MyDesktop.com, for $1 million when he was 16 years old! 4. You develop networking skills. You’ve likely heard that your network increases your net worth. Consider the fact that by running a business and constantly being in a business community, you will develop excellent contacts. If you choose to get a job after you graduate, you will have a great pool of people who will be more than happy to hire you or send your resume to somebody who wants to. 5. You increase your value. Put simply, starting a business in college increases the value of “the brand called you” and gives you more options. For example, an entrepreneur with a large brand value can publish a book, star in a documentary movie (i.e., Startup.com), or go straight to the top of another company. I recently met one of the founders of Diversity Planet, a job site for minorities. He spent a year working very hard on the company and has since left to take a reporting job with Dateline NBC at the ripe age of 20! People don’t often don’t get an opportunity like that until they are much older. 6. Operating a profitable business in the long term is less risky than being an employee in the long term. For example, just look at the recent economic downturn. Tens of thousands of people have been laid off. I can guarantee the owners of profitable businesses are still with the business. They will be the last people to go down with a ship. Business owners can have multiple streams of incomes from different customers. If you’re an employee, you only have one stream of income and therefore are bearing more risk. 7. You will learn more about yourself and what they don’t teach or prepare you for in school. Furthermore, entrepreneurship is the combination of all the disciplines of business. It includes knowledge of marketing, accounting, management and operations. Already having knowledge of these topics before you take classes on them allows you to see more clearly how everything applies. Also, you will be able to learn early-on what subjects you like so you can make better decisions on what to major in and what industries to target. 8. It is yours. You make the rules, create your own hours, work from wherever you want and choose who you want to work with. You can also pick what interests you the most in the world and then start a business that is related to that topic in some way. If you like art, you can start a design business. If you like marketing, you can create or choose a product and then market it. If you like writing, you can write a book and do your own public relations and marketing. If you like the Internet, you can start a Web development business. 9. You’ll grow. I personally have grown a lot from owning a business. I used to be terrified to speak in front of others. Now I look forward to it. Before owning a business, I had probably read a total of five books outside of school, and I only read them because my mom made me. Since starting my business, I’ve probably read more than 100 books. The business has also allowed me to learn more about myself. I know that I will be an entrepreneur forever in some way, shape or form!

“The library is the temple of knowledge, the Internet is the universe of knowledge. Only those who apply the knowledge will achieve. Applied knowledge is the new currency. If you can solve problems in the market place you can write your own pay check. Innovate and add value to the world be brilliant, display your expertise and your knowledge.” Coach Tony Brace

#trapknowlegde @CoachTonyBrace 

Invest in yourself 2-1-30 

Focus on gaining a new knowledge skill at least every 90 days 

2New Skills 1New Habit Every 30 Days 

In just year that 24 new skills and 12 new habits