27 December 2011

Tony Robbins: Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better

Tony covers "Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better". This is a must
watch.



03 July 2011

Google Plus - the way forward?

Chris Brogan is a chap that I admire and have been following for a good while now, he is an Author and pioneer consultant in all things social media, website and technology. He has published a piece in his blog that I would suggest everyone who has an interest in such matters reads. I have publised a snippet of it here:


"If you’re curious about Google+, the new social network platform from Google, you’re not alone. I’ve logged several hours already on the platform, experimenting, testing, and observing. It sparks my attention from several angles: marketing, technology, community, media, mobile, advertising, and more. To that end, I wrote down 50 things to think about with regards to Google+, in no particular order:

The purpose of this list is to get you thinking about a bunch of different possibilities. You’re welcome to dispute them all, but that really wouldn’t be the point. Instead, make your own similar post and link back. People can compare


Google+ is built to take you away from either Facebook or Twitter (or both), and it could do it, in time.

If it seems like FriendFeed, and thus you worry it might burn out, know that Newt Gingrich has already joined.

With a G+ account, you get unlimited photo storage on Picasa. (Flickr feel threatened? FB photos?)

With Circles (how one groups people), you control privacy in a way that makes clear and obvious sense.

Your “about” section is rich, robust, allows links, photos, QR codes, and more. Marketers rejoice.

If Google+ starts influencing Page Rank (meaning, if a link shared on G+ is weighted more than others), it’s game on for SEO/SEM.

If Google Music integrates into this platform the way YouTube is now, it’s a powerful entertainment media platform instantly.

The Android integration for G+ is strong already in these early days. If the platform does take off in a big way, this could shift mobile OS choices, and spending. (very speculative, I admit)

You don’t need Quora, if you can ask detailed questions in G+ and share them with specific Circles, etc.

The live video chat feature is a powerful addition to collaboration and workshifting scenarios."

For the original blog - visit here and subscribe to the great man:
http://bit.ly/kZPTAN

09 June 2011

Twitter users risk potential legal action

In the UK the hot topic over the last few weeks has been all about Twitter Users risking legal action if they are not careful with some of their tweets particularly with regard to tweeting allegedly inaccurate information such as the case of breaching injunctions and the Britain's Got Talent fixing allegations .

In one recent case- @fahmi_fadzil was ordered to tweet an apology 100 times when he claimed that a friend had been treated badly by her employers. The tweet below is his 100th message:

@fahmi_fadzil
100/100 I've DEFAMED Blu Inc Media & Female Magazine. My tweets on their HR Policies are untrue. I retract those words & hereby apologize

Very interesting development!

05 June 2011

Talent Management and Apprenticeship Programmes

Talent Managment is a one of the many buzz words that is thrown around frequently by many business & management gurus. The nuts and bolts of it are that it refers to the needs of attracting highly skilled workers, or integrating new workers and developing and retaining current workers to meet sustainable future business objectives.

Talent Management focuses on potential- meaning an employee's future performance if given the proper development of skills and increased responsibility.

Apprenticeship schemes meet all the above statements - so why aren't employers engaged?

Any thoughts?

http://www.facebook.com/apprenticeship

21 May 2011

Gold - the best preserver of wealth?

There has been an interesting news story (reproduced below) recently about a gold find in London. The story focuses on the historic and human element however there is a very important lesson that can be taken from the story that is the greatest presever of wealth has been gold and even after years - gold still looks to retain its title.

The full news story is reproduced as below:
http://apps.hackney.gov.uk/servapps/newspr/NewsReleaseDetails.aspx?id=1982

Gold coin donated to Hackney Museum
A single gold coin from the ‘Hackney Hoard’ has been donated to Hackney Museum. The $20 ‘Double-Eagle’ will join the hundreds of other Hackney objects telling the diverse human story of the borough through the ages.

The complete hoard consist of 80 coins, minted in the United States between 1854 and 1913. They are all $20 coins known as ‘Double-Eagle’ and the find is totally unprecedented in the United Kingdom. The hoard was discovered in the back garden of a property in Hackney and reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme but in a unique twist to the story a likely descendent of the original owner of the coins has been found.

The coins are thought to have been buried during the 1940s, when Mr Martin Sulzbacher and his family lived in the Hackney property. It appears his fortune had been buried in his back garden for safe keeping by his family members whilst he was interned in 1940. A German Jew who had fled Nazi Germany, Mr Sulzbacher was interned as an ‘enemy alien refugee’ on the Isle of Man. In the meantime, his house in London was bombed and his family killed, and on his release Mr Sulzbacher was unable to locate the coins despite a detailed search and subsequently moved to Australia However, the current case represents a second deposit of Martin Sulzbacher’s wealth. In 1952 as work commenced on a new building on the site of Mr Sulzbacher’s house, another hoard of 82 $20 American gold coins dating to 1890 was discovered in a glass jar on the same site. The hoard was awarded to Mr Martin Sulzbacher by the coroner at the time.

Mr Max Sulzbacher, his son said ‘I am surprised but delighted by the recent discovery, which has come to light almost 70 years after the coins were buried. I am very grateful to the finders for reporting the coins to the Portable Antiquities Scheme and the Museum of London, and to the member of the public who alerted the coroner to the 1950s discovery’.

Hackney Council Cabinet Member for Community Services, Cllr Jonathan McShane said: “This is an incredible story spanning over 70 years. Hackney has such a colourful history and this personal account gives an insight into how war affected families who had settled in the borough. Mr. Sulzbacher’s generous donation means the council can display it in Hackney Museum and keep the story alive for generations to come.”

On 18 April 2011 the Coroner for Inner North London resumed an inquest in relation to a hoard of American gold dollars found in Hackney in 2007. The Coroner decided that Mr. Sulzbacher has a superior claim to the coins meaning that they will not qualify as Treasure according to the terms of the Treasure Act 1996, on the grounds that in order for objects to be classed as such, their owner or his or her heirs or successors must be unknown. Mr. Martin Sulzbacher passed away in 1981 but the coroner’s office, the British Museum and the Museum of London have worked together to track down his son, Mr. Max Sulzbacher who lives abroad.

Max Sulzbacher has generously agreed that the hoard can remain on public display at the British Museum (Room 41) for a further week, giving visitors a further opportunity to see the coins. He also agreed to give an ex-gratia payment to the finders in recognition of their contribution to the discovery. It is anticipated that the remainder of the coins will be sold.

This represents the first time since the Treasure Act came into force in 1997 that an original owner or direct descendent has lain successful claim to an item that would otherwise have been ‘Treasure’ and the property of the Crown.

Dr Roger Bland, head of the department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum, said ‘The case of the Hackney gold coins is one of the most unique and compelling stories that we have been involved with. There is an incredibly human element to this story that is absent from many archaeological finds and we are pleased to see the coins reunited with their original owners after so many years. The finders are to be congratulated for acting responsibly and helping to add further vital information to the corpus of material about the Second World War, Jewish immigration, and the history of Hackney borough.’

Archaeologists from the British Museum and University College London have investigated the site to ensure that no further deposits remained.

15 May 2011

Brian Tracy: Achieving Goals is Predictable

Brian Tracy - My personal favourite Trainer

7 Great Quotes from Brian Tracy:


The more credit you give away, the more will come back to you. The more you help others, the more they will want to help you.


Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event.


We will always tend to fulfill our own expectation of ourselves.


No one lives long enough to learn everything they need to learn starting from scratch. To be successful, we absolutely, positively have to find people who have already paid the price to learn the things that we need to learn to achieve our goals


An average person with average talent, ambition and education, can outstrip the most brilliant genius in our society, if that person has clear, focused goals.


Be a lifelong student. The more you learn, the more you earn and more self confidence you will have.


Spend eighty percent of your time focusing on the opportunities of tomorrow rather than the problems of yesterday.

26 March 2011

The UK Government changes its stance on immigration.

The UK Government is looking at immigration in a new light. It is now opening the doors to the wealthy. From April 2011 multi-millionaires will be welcome with opne arms as they will find it easier to gain permanent residency in the country. People willing to invest £10 million into UK companies will get an "investor visa" and qualify for permanent residency in two years. Those who invest £5 million will get their residency in three years an those who come with £1 million can get in five years.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/tier1/investor/

29 January 2011

Report: The World Economy in 2050

60% of the countries in the global economic top 10 will be the now-developing countries by 2050 states PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in its latest report 'world in 2050'

It states that over the next 40 years, western dominance of the global economic league will end. The prediction is that six of the 10 largest economies will be now-developing countries, from just two today: China and Brazil. China will replace the United States at the top of the league, while the United Kingdom - now sixth will slip to 9th or 10th, outpaced by Brazil, Mexico and Russia.
However, it predicts that the UK will fare better than some of its european rivals: France, Italy and Spain who will be out of the top 10 altogether. It recommends that the UK should focus on exports. At the present moment- only 7% or so of UK exports go to the fast growing BRIC countries - it needs to do better here to save itself from too much of a slippery slide.