Monday 23 October 2017

5 secrets of success: Traits to help you live without fear and reach your full potential

Do you ever wonder what's holding you back? A lot of people have all the skills and opportunities they need to reach their personal and professional goals, yet they fail to truly succeed.

In reality, the path to success isn't so clear, and when you add fear and doubt into the mix, it's easy to lose drive. Smart entrepreneurs know that success is more than just raw ability; it comes from having certain traits and staying dedicated through all the highs and lows of the journey.
Connie Tang is the perfect example of someone who's harnessed fear, set difficult goals and reached success throughout her life. Born in Hong Kong and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Tang became the first woman president and CEO of Princess House, a premier direct selling company of unique and exclusive cookware, food storage and home and entertainment products. Throughout her career she's learned to be strategic, intentional and resilient.

Her book, "Fearless Living: 8 Life-Changing Values for Breakthrough Success," offers insight into specific traits that, when put into practice, will enable anyone to navigate through virtually any business or personal situation with grace and without fear.

Tang shares some of the most important aspects of those traits to help people reach their full potential:

Determination: Do what needs to be done even when you don't feel like doing it. One of the most crucial elements of determination is daily discipline. Set small, achievable goals for each day and set out to crush them. Do not procrastinate! Putting things off can snowball and cause you to become overwhelmed and lose focus.

Accountability: Own and take full responsibility for your decisions, your actions and your results - good, bad or ugly. Don't play the blame game or the victim card. Understand that you can rise above your circumstances and demonstrate ownership in order to achieve the results you want.

Drive for results: Equip yourself to do whatever it takes to achieve your goals. Put together a plan of action and allow it to become a living document, referencing it often. Execute daily action to make your goals a reality. When things change or don't go as planned, be agile and resilient. Seek solutions and be a problem-solver.

Passion: Passion is often sparked by something you've experienced or maybe something you've heard or read. It rises up from deep within to becoming a driving force in your life. Let your passion rage like a fire. It's one of the most important elements of success, and when it's truly present, work rarely feels like work.

Collaboration: You can't do it alone. You must collaborate and come together with others to bring projects and strategic initiatives to fruition. Successful outcomes are easier when it's a team effort. Collaboration allows you to maximize the knowledge and expertise of the people around you, which can be incredibly satisfying.

Want to learn more about these traits and others? You can visit Tang's website at www.8fearlessvalues.com. The website also includes an opportunity to join the Fearless Living movement and receive a free fearless bracelet. The book is available for purchase on Amazon and other websites.

Monday 16 October 2017

A refreshing inside story

“At the core, Hit Refresh is about us humans and the unique quality we call empathy, which will become ever more valuable in a world where the torrent of technology will disrupt the status quo like never before, " says Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft, in his latest book Hit Refresh.

Microsoft’s CEO tells the inside story of the company’s continuing transformation, tracing his own personal journey from a childhood in India to leading some of the most significant technological changes in the digital era. Satya Nadella explores a fascinating childhood before immigrating to the U.S. and how he learned to lead along the way. He then shares his meditations as a sitting CEO—one who is mostly unknown following the brainy Bill Gates and energetic Steve Ballmer.

He reveals how a company rediscovered its soul—transforming everything from culture to their fiercely competitive landscape and industry partnerships. As much a humanist as engineer and executive, Nadella concludes with his vision for the coming wave of technology and by exploring the potential impact to society and delivering call to action for world leaders.

“Ideas excite me,” Nadella explains. “Empathy grounds and centers me.” Hit Refresh is a set of reflections, meditations, and recommendations presented as algorithms from a principled, deliberative leader searching for improvement—for himself, for a storied company, and for society.

The foreword has been penned by Microsoft's legendary founder Bill Gates. "Satya has a lot of interesting things to say about the transformation of both Microsoft and the tech industry at large. I’ve benefitted from his insights for decades, and I’m glad everyone else will now have the same opportunity to learn from him."

Read the foreword from Gates

I’ve known Satya Nadella for more than twenty years. I got to know him in the mid-nineties, when I was CEO of Microsoft and he was working on our server software, which was just taking off at the time. We took a long-term approach to building the business, which had two benefits: It gave the company another growth engine, and it fostered many of the new leaders who run Microsoft today, including Satya.

Later I worked really intensely with him when he moved over to run our efforts to build a world-class search engine. We had fallen behind Google, and our original search team had moved on. Satya was part of the group that came in to turn things around. He was humble, forward-looking, and pragmatic. He raised smart questions about our strategy. And he worked well with the hardcore engineers.

So it was no surprise to me that once Satya became Microsoft’s CEO, he immediately put his mark on the company. As the title of this book implies, he didn’t completely break with the past—when you hit refresh on your browser, some of what’s on the page stays the same. But under Satya’s leadership, Microsoft has been able to transition away from a purely Windows-centric approach. He led the adoption of a bold new mission for the company. He is part of a constant conversation, reaching out to customers, top researchers, and executives. And, most crucially, he is making big bets on a few key technologies, like artificial intelligence and cloud computing, where Microsoft will differentiate itself.

It is a smart approach not just for Microsoft, but for any company that wants to succeed in the digital age. The computing industry has never been more complex. Today lots of big companies besides Microsoft are doing innovative work—Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and others. There are cutting-edge users all around the world, not just in the United States. The PC is no longer the only computing device, or even the main one, that most users interact with.

Despite all this rapid change in the computing industry, we are still at the beginning of the digital revolution. Take artificial intelligence (AI) as an example. Think of all the time we spend manually organizing and performing mundane activities, from scheduling meetings to paying the bills. In the future, an AI agent will know that you are at work and have ten minutes free, and then help you accomplish something that is high on your to-do list. AI is on the verge of making our lives more productive and creative.

Innovation will improve many other areas of life too. It’s the biggest piece of my work with the Gates Foundation, which is focused on reducing the world’s worst inequities. Digital tracking tools and genetic sequencing are helping us get achingly close to eradicating polio, which would be just the second human disease ever wiped out. In Kenya, Tanzania, and other countries, digital money is letting low-income users save, borrow, and transfer funds like never before. In classrooms across the United States, personalized-learning software allows students to move at their own pace and zero in on the skills they most need to improve.

Of course, with every new technology, there are challenges. How do we help people whose jobs are replaced by AI agents and robots? Will users trust their AI agent with all their information?


If an agent could advise you on your work style, would you want it to?

That is what makes books like Hit Refresh so valuable. Satya has charted a course for making the most of the opportunities created by technology while also facing up to the hard questions. And he offers his own fascinating personal story, more literary quotations than you might expect, and even a few lessons from his beloved game of cricket.

We should all be optimistic about what’s to come. The world is getting better, and progress is coming faster than ever. This book is a thoughtful guide to an exciting, challenging future.

Tuesday 10 October 2017

5 food trends impacting what, and how, we eat

Today's consumers market view their food choices with a more critical eye than ever before, and this pressure is placing higher expectations on food manufacturers, not only in terms of how consumers' food is made but what it's made from, where it's sourced and how it's delivered.

To discuss these topics and more, investors, scientists and food makers recently gathered at the Future of Food Tech summit in New York City to talk about what's behind the trends in food innovation and investment. Of all the topics discussed at the summit, these five key takeaways stood out the most.

1. Personalization is key

From meal delivery services that customize meals for dietary needs to companies that create products tailored to an individual's health, there's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to food. In fact, today's consumers are starting a movement toward personalization, which in turn is changing the way people shop. "The food industry is getting closer to the consumer," says Raven Kropf, director of emerging customers with Cargill's protein business.

2. Ethical production matters

Consumers continue to seek products that align with their values and are responsibly produced. The same goes for investors looking to participate in the food industry. In fact, many investors today are choosing projects based on ideology and a drive toward ethical food consumption.

3. There's growing interest in alternative proteins

A burger made entirely from lab-cultured meat and sushi made from eggplant are just two of the innovations showcased at the summit. "There's a lot of excitement around alternative sources of protein, but consumer acceptance is key," said Dominique Harris, business development adviser for Cargill's protein business. "We want to provide what consumers want, and in protein that means offering a variety of options. It doesn't have to be either/or."

4. Consumers want to know where their food comes from

Imagine being able to trace any food product back to the field or the animal from which it came. That's the potential promise of blockchain technology, which could essentially create a digitalized traceability system for food. From supply chain management to food safety, the potential for this technology is nearly limitless.

5. Food start-ups are on the rise

As more entrepreneurs get into the food business, they're looking for investors of all kinds. Likewise, traditional consumer packaged goods companies and ingredient suppliers are keeping their eyes on the newcomers for opportunities to connect. "I would encourage start-ups to seek out strategic partners in the food industry," said Chris Mallett, corporate vice president of research and development at Cargill. "Together we can create and sustain a healthy ecosystem for innovation in the industry."

These five trends are grabbing 2017 by storm. As the calendar rolls toward 2018, it will be interesting to see what the future of food has in store.