Do Good, Serve Well, Become Successful All in an Underserved Market

Cater to a niche market for rewards on many levels. Dr. Kandor, founder and president of Enabling Devices, has used his background as a biomedical engineer to help him design toys for children with a range of special needs, according to “Toys for Disabled, Step 1: What Can a Child Still Do”, reported by Charkes in The New York Times,. As the number of children with special needs grows, the need for appropriate toys increases. Other toy companies, such as the New York-based Toy Industry Association are also beginning to acknowledge this trend. However, Dr. Kandor’s company is the only one in the field who solely creates toys for children with special needs. The company sells approximately 100,000 toys and devices per year to schools, institutions and families, while predicting revenues of $6 million for the 2006 fiscal year.

Finding an untapped market can build a stronger business.

Reinvigorate Your Business to Grow It

According to Patricia Ryan Madson, author of "Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up," an effective way to improve your business to take a fresh look at what and how you are doing in your business. Learn to work with situations that used to be interpreted as mistakes in a new light. Improv consultants can help alter a work environment by creating novel situations and encouraging individuals to react in new ways. This addition of humor and decrease of the fear of making mistakes can help reduce tension in the workplace. Ms. Madson and other improv consultants, including a team out of Portland, Ore., called On Your Feet (www.oyf.com), are hoping to create "a culture of yes." Developing a culture of yes can allow entrepreneurs to consider ideas that they previously may have discarded. Often "happy mistakes" can occur when one idea opens the door to another pathway of thinking. Robert Poynton, a co-founder of On Your Feet said "if anything, we know rather less about what is coming next, and how it will affect us, than our ancestors did," in "A Turtle and a Guitar Case: Improvisation and the Joys of Uncertainty." The On Your Feet site also refers to a "cool mistake," something seemingly negative that has a positive outcome when interpreted in a different light. As all business owners know, even the best made plans can fail. According to Ms. Madson, "improvisers avoid spinning their wheels because they see quickly what isn't working, or simultaneously, what might be successful that didn't occur to them at first. Improvisers, by definition, take risks and make mistakes, lots of them, but that's what leads them in fresh directions." Ms. Madson acknowledges that this change away from structured planning can be difficult; however, she suggests that this method can still help your business move forward. Mike Kwatinetz, a venture capitalist who is co-founder and general partner at Azure Capital Partners in Palo Alto, embraces improvisational thinking as a way to get companies moving. This way you are reacting to what is happening around you and making appropriate changes and improvements.

Build a stronger business by letting go of the future.

Alternatives with Advantages

Xylitol is a natural substance found in fruits (ex. raspberries). It only has 1/3 of the calories of sugar, but tastes similar. It is sold as a powder, approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a food additive, and harvested from birch wood or other natural substances. Items that utilize xylitol, such as sugar free gum or candy, can help one avoid sugar and therefore improve oral hygeine. Mutans streptococci is a bacteria that uses sugar to make energy. Lactic acid is released in this process, which can harm teeth by dissolving minerals. Xylitol does not feed these bacteria and can interfere with their funcitoning. The method in which this occurs is not fully understood. Jason Tanzer, a dentist and microbioligist at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Conn. suggests that the bacteria produce less lactic acid in the presence of xylitol. Other scientists believe that xylitol interferes with the bacteria's ability to adhere to teeth.

Build a stronger business by being aware of advantageous alternatives.

Watch Your Root Canal as a Web Movie

In "You've Had the Root Canal. Now See the Movie," in The New York Times, Eisenberg discusses the addition of internet movies to dental practice. Dr. Jerry Gordon, who directed and starred in "Root Canal Demonstration" shows his patients a root canal through a YouTube video. The video cost $2,000 to make and has been viewed 11,000 times in two months. Dr. Gordon's practice has grown due to the addition of the video. In 2006, 26 new patients found him on the Web before the video, compared to 68 afterwards. Other dentists, such as Dr. Kristy Vetter (www.drvettersmiles.com) have found the sheer act of opeing a website has increased new patients in the paractice, "'we've had three to five patients in the last month or so that came that way, instead of by referral.'" Dr. Vetter is also considering adding video clips to her website.

However, not all dentists believe that publicising videos of dental procedures is good practice: Dr. Roger P. Levin, cheif executive of the Levin Group, a dental consulting firm in Owings, md., remarks, "'I don't see videos of dental procedures on YouTube turning into much of a marketing tool, most people simply don't want to see how our procedures are done.'" Others, such as Julie Supan, YouTube's spokeswoman, see a rising trend in the viewing of on-line tutorials.

Educating your target market is a smart way to build a stronger business.

Think Outside the Box

According to Delaney in "Google: From 'Don't Be Evil' to How to Do Good", in The Wall Street Journal, Google.Inc has engaged in a project which will merge the boundary between the profit and non-profit areas. In this $30 million proposal, efforts will be made to predict and prevent disease pandemics, increase the poor's access to public services, and create new jobs. They will also be joining other efforts to improve access to plug-in cars and renewable energy sources. According to the Foundation Center, these grants and proposals "make it larger than any in-house corporate foundation in the U.S." Both company and foundation resources are being utilized in this initiative. Other groups, such as eBay and Pierre Omidyar's Omidyar Network are also working to merger the profit and non-profit worlds.

Thinking outside the box and expanding your business's reach will build a stronger business.

Reflexive Reactions Happen in a Flash

Why do some people seem to sneeze every time they walk out into bright sunlight? According to a new study reported in The Wall Street Journal in February, it's because one in four people have a "photic sneeze reflex". This reflex, caused by an extra-sensitive visual cortex, triggers the tendency to sneeze when suddenly exposed to sunlight or other bright light.

In business, you sometimes encounter strong, unexpected reactions when dealing with people, both inside and outside your company.

Build a stronger business by recognizing that some of the people you deal with have reflexive responses you may not experience yourself.

Business Schools Tap Veterans' Potential

There's a growing effort among business schools to attract former military members into their MBA programs. Veterans are often prized for their leaderships skills and alternative perspective. In addition, "they've been responsible for lives, which brings a gravitas to classroom discussion," says Deirdre Leopold, director of admissions at Harvard Business School. Harvard, which relies on students' personal experiences to drive the school's case study method, reports that veterans comprise 3% of the class of 2011.

Even though business schools are seeking them out, veterans often have trouble paying MBA tuition, which can cost upwards of $150,000 for two years. As a result, schools have started offering large scholarships, often in partnership with the government. An increase in government funding through the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and the Yellow Ribbon Program, which gives a lump sum payment to each student beyond the GI Bill's offer, have also helped.

The same qualities that make veterans attractive to business schools have also caught the attention of corporate recruiters. "They automatically know how to work in a team and they have respect," says Stacy Blackman, an M.B.A. admissions consultant and president of Stacy Blackman Consulting in Los Angeles. Bill Brenton, director of the leverage finance group at Credit Suisse Group, says a recent internal study found that employees with military backgrounds tend to be very successful, often due to a sense of discipline and ability to build camaraderie.

Build a stronger business by utilizing people with transferable skills from non-traditional backgrounds.

Can Love Be a Science?

Is true love a science? Plenty of online dating sites say it is. Chemistry.com, which features a questionnaire developed by a biological anthropologist, is supposedly designed to predict a couple's compatibility based on traits of temperament and on brain chemistry. ScientificMatch.com, goes several steps further: they aim to use genetic testing to create that now-not-so-magical romantic chemistry (cheek swabbing kit, DNA processing, and a criminal and bankruptcy background check are all included in the $1,995.95 lifetime membership).

Both sites are an extension of the idea eHarmony.com originally developed, which suggests that certain areas of compatibility – like values and important experiences – are solid predictors of relationships success. "In the long haul, you want to be able to manage conflicts, celebrate positives and get through the day-to-day relationship. Our system is there to take care of that so you can now focus on who you find really attractive, that you feel really passionate about, says Gian Gonzaga, eHarmony's senior director of research and development.

Online dating is a $976 million annual industry in the U.S., according to estimates from the research firm Marketdata Enterprises. Sites like Chemistry.com and eHarmony are building brand identity when they target people who are looking for relationships instead of just dating. In turn, they are able to charge more per subscriber.

Creating a positive business relationship with your customers and partners also involves managing conflicts, celebrating wins, and making progress through day-to-day issues.

Build a stronger business by being aware of how you structure and maintain your business relationships and being open to constructive feedback.

Keep Your Mind Sharp...Surf the Web

Recent research presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience suggests that surfing the Web may help your brain function better. The study looked at the brain activity of adults ages 55 to 78, half of whom used the internet daily and half of whom were first-time users. Participants had their brain scanned, spent an hour a day for a week performing internet searches, then had their brain scanned again. At the first scan, first-time internet users showed significantly less activity in brain areas involved with working memory and decision-making. But at the end of the week, their brain patterns closely matched those of the experienced internet users.

Given these findings, the researchers suggest that online searching can be used as a brain exercise for older adults, and posited that doing so might even delay the onset of dementia.

Build a better business by strengthening your mind. Take a step in this direction today to build momentum.

Our Environment's Unacknowledged Influence

We all let social cues from the people we eat with inform our own portion size. A recent study at the University of British Columbia, however, shows that even the body type of the other person eating has an effect on our choices. Study participants were asked to serve themselves some M&Ms before settling down to watch a video. A researcher posing as another participant took M&Ms first; though the amount taken by this confederate was always the same, the confederate was sometimes a size zero and sometimes a size sixteen. The results:

• 2.05 ounces of candy were taken by subjects when the nearby eater was obese.
• 2.62 ounces of candy were taken by subjects when the nearby eater was thin.

Build a stronger business by being aware of your environment.

10 Steps. 3 Areas. Emerge from Recession with Success.

Want to emerge from the recession with your organization ready for success? Then The Forum Corporation says they have the answer for you -- 10 steps spanning financials, people, and climate.

“By looking at past recessions we’ve identified 10 steps that can make the difference between success and failure in managing through our current downturn, and they all come back to leadership,” said Ed Boswell, CEO of The Forum Corp. “Following these steps will be particularly valuable in organizations that are undergoing cost-cutting and layoffs, which challenge managers to do more with less.”

The 10 steps recommended are as follows:

Financials

1. Move quickly to reduce costs and control spending by narrowing focus. Winners in a downturn focus on a few critical priorities where they can develop a clear lead, and they walk away from bad business. Losers chase unprofitable sales in an attempt to hold their top line.
2. Refrain from across-the-board cutbacks, being sure to preserve areas that customers value most. Businesses that uniformly cut costs often find that they end up damaging their ability to sell and deliver their products and services. How do you find out what customers value most? Ask them.
3. Consider alternatives to layoffs. Downsizing tends to bolster the bottom line and stock price in the short term, but often creates long-term negative repercussions. Alternative strategies include cutting management bonuses, freezing salaries and reducing compensation options. It’s critical to clearly communicate the rationale and impact to employees.
4. Invest in opportunity. A bad economy can present bargains, both in new assets and in new talent. Good areas to invest in are R&D, marketing and customer-perceived quality. By contrast, investing in working capital, manufacturing and administration doesn’t pay off as well.
   
   People
5. Retain and develop top talent. High-impact workers are often more susceptible to being poached by a competitor in a downturn. Organizations that provide development experiences and rotational assignments have better employee retention rates.
6. Make sure everyone’s on the same page. When alignment on key goals is absent, performance suffers, according to studies on strategy execution. Top leaders frame an agenda and meet with key stakeholders to gain support and build commitment to overarching goals and values. Ineffective leaders let inter-office politics fester and hidden agendas dominate.
7. Encourage questions and new ideas by making it safe for employees to raise them. Leaders who admit they don’t have all the answers and ask for input empower their people to contribute their best ideas.
   
   Climate
8. Manage the heat. Leaders are often tempted in difficult times to relieve the organization’s stress by making unilateral, tough decisions. That’s often a mistake. Leadership by dictate often doesn’t take because it lacks a broad base of support, and it often eliminates constructive conflicts that challenge the status quo and fuel good decision-making.
9. Communicate authentically. Strong leaders acknowledge the challenges they struggle with and, by doing so, build trust among followers. Rather than being a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength.
10. Create a positive vision and attitude that acknowledges reality. Businesses at the top of their markets often fall while “sleeper” companies sometimes jump to the top in a tough economy. When leaders exercise discipline and focus by mobilizing employees to respond to customers’ interests and values, they increase the chance that, when the downturn ends, they’ll come out on top.

Engage your managers to discuss and adopt these steps in your organization and you'll build a stronger business even in the toughest of economies.

The Pursuit of Happiness for Entrepreneurs

Experts validate what successful people already do by making effective choices both at home and at work. Consider these 6 tips and to what degree you're employing these in your life, especially as we approach the holiday season:

• Relishing the Day. Beware of "hedonistic adaptation," hold on to accomplishments for as long as you can. Celebrate career accomplishments by going out to dinner and have pictures and souvenirs from trips - these will help you remember them longer. According to David Schkade, a management professor at the University of California at San Diego, "'when something good happens, you want to find a way to hold on to it for longer.'"
• Dodging traffic. According to Andrew Oswald, an economics professor at England's Warwick University, "'lack of control is what tends to induce stress in human beings.'" People find it difficult to commute since they can never rely on traffic. Therefore, Oswald recently moved closer to his office, cutting him commute from 60 minutes to 20 minutes.
  
• Seeing friends. Surveys suggest that time spent with family and friends is among our happiest times. Richard Easterlin, an economics professor at the University of Southern California comments, "'Earlier on, I tended to sacrifice my family time to try and push research ahead. I do that much less now. Going out to dinner with family for me is always an enjoyable experience.'"
• Buying memories. Spend your time on memorable experiences. Professor Alan Krueger, a Princeton University economics professor, recalls taking his father to the 2001 Super Bowl as an example.
• Limiting options. Limiting your choices may help you be more content with your decision. Professor Gilbert of Harvard University comments that those who were the happiest with their choices were "'those for whom the choice was irrevocable. When options are open, the mind generates debate. When options are closed, the mind generates satisfaction.'"

Really successful entrepreneurs not only build a stronger business, but do things that lead to greater personal satisfaction.

Stay Calm to Maintain Good Health

According to the article "If You Keep your Cool, You may Heal Faster" in the New York Times, a new study finds that people who are stressed and have trouble controlling their temper may take longer to heal from an injury.

Researchers from Ohio State university say cortisol, a hormone related to stress, seems to interfere with the healing process. The 100 participant study led by Jean-Phillipe Gouin, appears in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Researchers focused on anger and identifying which patients were more likely to keep angry feelings to themselves and which ones expressed their feelings. They made a blister on each partipant's arm and covered it with plastic to see how long it healed. Those who expressed anger in a controlled fashion and those who did not express it healed quicker. Hot heads were about 4 times more likely to take more time to heal.

Another reason to keep your cool.

Prosperity Made Easy with YouTube

"Using YouTube For Prosperity" in the Wall Street Journal explains that many senior citizens are seeking to preserve their legacy through videos showcasing their famous recipes or hobbies, on YouTube.

Seniors ages 65 and older are the fastest growing segments of the online population, according to Jupiter Research. 39% of all seniors in the U.S. will regularly access the Internet by the end of 2007.

By 2010, half of the U.S. senior population is expected to be online. In response, Internet companies are launching services targeted at older online viewers.

Some grandchildren in their 20's are intimidated by the process of creating an online video so it is not surprising that grandparents are seeking their help with this process. Millie Garfield, 81, decided to feature herself in a series of videos documenting her son's pet peeves -- namely, her persistent requests for his helping opening coffee cans, rethreading dental floss, or opening tightly sealed bottles. Her son has helped her film and post the series on a blog, Mymomsblog.blogspot.com and on YouTube.

When you open your experiments up to the general public, like Google has done with YouTube and Blogspot, you find uses that you might never have imagined within your own company. When you spot trends like this, you gain the opportunity to build a stronger business.

Outsourcing Chutzpah

The article "Calling In The House Therapist" in The New York Times recommends hiring a coach to get through the remodeling process. Ms. Lund and Mr. Coccoluto selected an architect whom they felt was most qualified to renovate their 1820's colonial-style farmhouse; however, the architect wanted to place the garage doors at the back of the house which would cost more and make the backyard smaller and the homeowners preferred the garage doors on the side of the home.

The homeowners consulted with Bruce Irving, a remodeling coach who helps homeowners negotiate the challenges of renovation. He recommended they talk about their feelings with the architect so as to prevent ending up with a home that would make them feel uncomfortable.

They did so and expected her to grow angry but instead she quickly agreed with the change and redid the blueprints within ten days.

"Bruce gave us the chutzpah to tell our architect what we wanted," said Ms. Lund. "Sometimes you need someone to tell you that, because we're so used to internalizing our emotions. He's almost like having a house therapist."

Renovating a home can be a difficult and frustrating task so it's not surprising that coaches like Mr. Irving are proliferating. Remodeling coaches act more like marriage counselors than like building consultants, and, like therapists, they are best when brought in as early as possible.

They can help homeowners figure out what they want in a renovation and make sure the project is actually carried out properly. In the past only multi-million dollar jobs had project managers btu with the housing boom and growth in remodeling there is a new market of homeowners who know nothing about building and are searching for help. Some in the field estimate that there are about 100 such coaches around the country. Remodeling coaches help to reduce confusion and help homeowners make knowledgeable decisions.

Sometimes you need to outsource chutzpah to sufficiently convey your preferences to build not only a better house, but a stronger business. Have you heard from any of your customers lately?

Online Ads

In the New York Times article "Online Pitches Made Just For You", it describes techniques used by Alaska Airlines that many consumers are most likely unaware of. Alaska Airlines is introducing a system on the Internet to create unique ads for people as they cruise the web.

This is slightly different from direct mail or telemarketing because companies do not know the consumers name; instead, consumers are identified by their computers, using cookies.

Alaska Airlines uses a range of information to select the ads for each individual consumer surfing the web, including the person's geographic location, the number of times they have seen an Alaska Airlines ad, whether the person visited the company's website, the persons purchase history with the airline and their experience with lost bags, delays and flight cancellations.

Since Alaska Airlines is a small operation,it is important that its ads narrowly aim at people who might actually fly to the particular areas they service. The first phase of the new system even offers different flight prices to different people by analyzing how price sensitive certain consumers seem to be. Another data practice used at Alaska Airlines is called "re-targeting" which records who visits the web site and then turns that information over to the airline's ad delivery company. Next, when those people are elsewhere on the web, they are shown the ad. This means that people who visit Alaska Airlines' site receives ads that are different from those seen by people who have not.

Tracking individual actions and responding intelligently is a sure way to build a stronger business.

Bringing Improvisation to the Workplace

According to Patricia Ryan Madson, author of Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up, an effective way to improve your business to take a fresh look at what and how you are doing in your business.

Learn to work with situations that used to be interpreted as mistakes in a new light. Improv consultants can help alter a work environment by creating novel situations and encouraging individuals to react in new ways. This addition of humor and decrease of the fear of making mistakes can help reduce tension in the workplace. Ms. Madson and other improv consultants, including a team out of Portland, OR, called On Your Feet (www.oyf.com), are hoping to create "'a culture of 'yes.''" Developing a culture of yes can allow entrepreneurs to consider ideas that they previously may have discarded. Often "'happy mistakes'" can occur when one idea opens the door to another pathway of thinking.

Robert Poynton, a co-founder of On Your Feet said "'if anything, we know rather less about what is coming next, and how it will affect us, than our ancestors did,'" in "A Turtle and a Guitar Case: Improvisation and the Joys of Uncertainty." The On Your Feet site also refers to a "'cool mistake,'" something seemingly negative that has a positive outcome when interpreted in a different light.

As all business owners know, even the best made plans can fail. According to Ms. Madson, "improvisers avoid spinning their wheels because they see quickly what isn't working, or simultaneously, what might be successful that didn't occur to them at first. Improvisers, by definition, take risks and make mistakes, lots of them, but that's what leads them in fresh directions.'" Ms. Madson acknowledges that this change away from structured planning can be difficult; however, she suggests that this method can still help your business move forward.

Mike Kwatinetz, a venture capitalist who is co-founder and general partner at Azure Capital Partners in Palo Alto, embraces improvisational thinking as a way to get companies moving. This way you are reacting to what is happening around you and making appropriate changes and improvements.

Build a stronger business by letting go of the future.

Bill Gates Asks How to Encourage Tech Careers

Bill Gates, listed as a technologist/philanthropist, asks the 25 million plus members of the business networking site LinkedIn, "How can we do more to encourage young people to pursue careers in science and technology?"

In less than 3 days, he's received close to 3,000 responses -- some very intriguing and well thought-0ut ideas have been posted.

When you build a stronger business, you cast a wide net and seek ideas from a diverse population.

iPhone Convincer

Watching this again put me over the top.

Google's Looking to Do Good

According to Kevin Delaney's Wall Street Journal article "Google: From 'Don't Be Evil' to How to Do Good", Google, Inc. has engaged in a project that will blur the boundary between the profit and non-profit areas. In this $30 million proposal, efforts will be made to predict and prevent disease pandemics, increase the poor's access to public services, and create new jobs. They will also be joining other efforts to improve access to plug-in cars and renewable energy sources. According to the Foundation Center, these grants and proposals "make it larger than any in-house corporate foundation in the U.S." Both company and foundation resources are being utilized in this initiative. Other groups, such as eBay and Pierre Omidyar's Omidyar Network, are also working to merge the profit and non-profit worlds.

Thinking outside the box and expanding your business' reach will build a stronger business.