How to Make Your Business Successful

When it comes to running a business I believe most people surround themselves with like-minded people or people with very similar traits.  Whether you are a group of hyper intelligent people, charismatic people persons or tenacious business men all can benefit from one simple principle.  This principal is diversity.  All people seeking to enter into the commercial sector should seek to find a working balance of mavens, connectors, and salesmen.  Companies who find this balance are more often than not the companies who find success.

              A good company needs a healthy balance of mavens.  These are the know it all’s.  They are smart; they keep up to date with the latest technology and constantly learning.  Mavens are important because they are the ones who improve the working technology of the office.  More importantly, Mavens are the ones who provide the greatest boost to the quality of your product or service.  Companies who fail to accumulate Mavens tend to suffer as they become out dated.

              Just as important as having people with the know-how, it is important to have connectors with the know-who.  Connectors know everyone and more importantly they know the right people.  They are the ones you want on your side.  They can bring in talent, investor and endorsers.  It doesn't matter how brilliant you product or idea is if you can get other people to join you and support your endeavor.  Companies who fail to find connectors more often or not are lost in the mix.

              Now that you have the smarts and the support, it’s time to sell your product or service.  This should be easy right?  You have a brilliant product and all the backing you’ll need, they product should sell itself.  False, this is where 90% of businesses fail.  Salesmen are tenuous and they know how to get the word out and how to get people to pull out their wallets.  Salesmen with the combined efforts of the mavens and the connectors will proved to be beneficial to any company who find the right balance.

#twitterstake

There is an underground society in the LDS community.  They are known as #twitterstake.  During priesthood session of this general conference I decided to experience General Conference is another way, through Twitter.  It was a very positive experience, initially I thought that “tweeting” during conference is disrespectful and will distract me.  When I discovered is there is a vast community of people who are sharing live quotes and insights for the current talk.  Even the churches official Twitter account was participating in the sharing.  With all this positive influence I actually found it easier to stay awake and attentive during the session.  I recommend that anyone who reads this to try “Tweeting Conference” at least once.

Ethics and Computers in Society

When is comes to ethics in computer science one may think it only involves not hacking and not developing content that is inconsistent with or personal or religious beliefs.  There is a great deal more that is expected of us however.  Computer science is a valuable skill, one that will make some very wealthy in their life time.  We will all experience some form of success, it is imperative that we remember to give back.  Remember to give back to the community by teaching programming to others.  Remember to give back to the institutions that taught us.  Most importantly remember God, who has given us all that we have.  We earn nothing in this life but that which He gives.  So in 10 to 15 years, no matter our situation, stay ethically and morally responsible.

Games For Human Development (Vlog)

Gaming Addiction

There is a stigma to massive multiplayer online games that they are addictive.  This is no more true than saying that cars are addictive.  The activity shouldn't be blamed for a person's addictive personality, if it wasn't games it would be something else.  A friend from growing up was by any definition of the word addicted to games.  When he was banned from them, he simply moved on to the next thing.  Those with obsessive personalities need something to pour their energy into.  Ironically, the "signs" of someone who is addicted to games are the same signs you would see in anyone who is passionate about anything: music, art, programming.  While we should strive to maintain balanced lives, we must recognize that any activity can become "addictive".  We should therefore resist blaming games for being the problem.