Administrator
Can’t sleep? Why? What gets me up and out of bed?
Ideas I want to capture that came to me after a bit of rest rustle me awake. I write them down, long hand in my Moleskine – illustrations with drawings. My daughter reminded me they were the notebooks Hemingway used last week as we discussed paper vs. keyboard creativity.
There is something still about the feel of paper that helps me think better. I love the tactile feel of a good pen - Mont Blanc Grand roller ball (BTW - has anyone found a Gold Mont Blanc on West Jet - love pens, hate to travel ... ). Ideas seem to flow a bit more rich when I use paper and pen. It’s peaceful at 4 or 5am to have a light shine down on the page in the morning rather than shine at me from a screen while I sit in my study to capture an insight that emerged from the unknown scribe that visits in my dreams.
It’s what “vision” is - what makes us human. It is the art and the beauty of what makes us able to see how we might navigate our futures. I often capture these writings and drawings by scanner to extend them to the screen. Especially those thoughts I want to share with my team. A thought – to take some action on next. I find paper works well when it can be “enabled” next by technology - as I post it in a 1to1REAL Process Flow for collaboration with my team.
After my writing this morning, I flipped on my snoozing Mac (who gets little more sleep than I do). I was contemplating going back to bed as I flipped through the world news using Bizabacus. What's a Bizabacus? Our newly launched bit of social magic that tells what the business world is doing, thinking saying. I’m not too into Facebook or Twitter (I guess you have to have friends or something to be enamored with those). In fact, I’m a bit of a “social media” misfit. So, we’ve architected a new social machine for the voice of what I like to call “business social”. My brilliant team has designed the code to run any entrepreneurial minded businesses globally. But, when it comes to my personal preferences with “friends” I “follow” I’m more into the “analog”.
I really love to sit and have a coffee or beer with a friend. I’ll continue to drive business on line as it’s the way to connect globally. And I’ll savor my meanderings for those personal conversational ways at a Starbucks or local java haunt to spend my time catching up. Paper, beautiful writing instruments and face to face conversations – there’s a bit of magic in the combination of “analog”. When it comes to business, however, I’m all about screens and connections.
I don’t want a business in my personal “social space” with my friends. But I do love business and thoughts - especially now. Lots to think about ! Sentiments rally about all kinds of issues - like the graph that caught my attention this morning. Businesses are talking, that gets people thinking. An understanding emerges about how people affected drive the economy. It forms opinions and their ideas - it drives their lives and making a living, purchasing decisions, investment decisions - even health concerns are discussed and find their way to business in our connected world. I love to understand the ways connections work and the businesses that answer those questions think and speak (especially when it comes to my business, my health and my finances). I like to be able to go from the ideas and opinions of one business or source to another, then back to my business and make all of the connections start to make sense. Then I like to put them to work. It’s a bit like a high stakes game of connect the dots for your life. Really, isn’t that what we’re compelled to do now to make a living as entrepreneurs and decide how to design our future? We connect the dots to figure out how to build, prosper or even survive in a challenging economy. We connect the dots to balance family and money, education expenses and just plain old living and buying decisions.
As I pondered the dots that connect all of us and my life, I felt like a quick run through to see how the world was putting the pieces together. So from the Bizabacus home page I clicked on the BBC space. Then I traveled to the “followed” Financial Times from London. I scanned and thought about the global economy - so I jumped The Economist the "followed" Bizabacus space. On that page, the third tweet down caught me. "... Sentiment on business is worse now then in 2008...." So I clicked and read the article - and grabed the graph you see posted here.
I wonder – why is it worse? Things have changed, but is it really worse? Or, are we just tired of dealing with the change? It’s been a tough three plus years – tiring, stressful, demanding. And the banks ... (don’t get me started … no time for that now).
But will it get worse, is it worse? Call me an optimist, but I don’t think so. I think we’re all just a bit tired. We're all looking for some new energy, new insights and perhaps the motivation to get back into the visionary leadership that has brought us so far in the world, in our own careers, in technology. We forget how far we've come sometimes - especially at the worst of times.
At the risk of being wrong Here is my global economic sentiment. Entrepreneurs will prosper in 2012. Bottom line - they (we) will be too busy delivering new life, new power, new models with new vision to the global economy to worry about “worry”.
From solo SOHO's to SMB's - the backbone of innovation and re-birth of prosperity and success starts one entrepreneur, one intrapreneur and one individual at a time. Just like the global market was built in the first place. It’s about change and uncertainty. It's about what drives us from a “bad sentiment” market to invent with new ideas. That’s why I’m so thrilled to have launched Bizabacus last week in Europe via Skype to a group of German businesses. And, to have released our beta in North America this weekend. Tough times bring out the best in tough minded people who refuse to give into a poor “sentiment” mentality. Generally, we call these people entrepreneurs – and there are more of us out there than ever before. Don't believe me? Read the job stats - if you're working on your own, you're an entrepreneur (even if its not your chosen profession)!
Entrepreneurs start things and envision things out of necessity, passion and vision. More often than not, it takes coming from personal difficult circumstances, and tough wake-me-up experiences to energize and engage our potential. "Necessity is the mother of invention" - it's what brings new ideas to the world. Job's founded NEXT after he got kicked out of Apple. After they asked him back - well you know what happened. Today, the entire world has this “leverage” to birth new opportunity. But, only a few will actually do anything with that opportunity.
What happens when entrepreneurs get into tough times. Companies like General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gambel and Disney , in fact “…sixteen of today’s Dow 30 companies were founded during a recession or depression…” according to the book “Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain” by Ryan Blair (who talks in his book about his hard times and motivation to change). I’ve not read all of Ryan’s book (just used Jeff Bezo’s invention from Amazon, my Kindle, to get the sample - seems like a good read).
I love being able to find things quick for inspiration, business, new ideas, family, investments, technology. I love to share quick too - when I’m working in a quickly changing economy and world – connecting with the rest of the world or with my closest associates. That’s where you’ll find me online - doing my business (otherwise check the corner of the local coffee shop or surf shop for a guy with a Moleskine) . Surfing is a new passion for me - surfing Bizabacus is a new resource to find out stuff on finance, or technology or world events. That's where ideas emerge.
I’ll jump to the Wall Street Journal, or Financial Times. Then off to the world on the BBC or Wired. Today, the Economist this business sentiement and their Tweet caught my eye inspired me to write this blog post (and kept me from crawling back into bed on Sunday morning).
Time for a coffee (I make it on the stove with a traditional Italian coffee pot – analog there still too). Maybe I’ll go sit on the couch, enjoy a quite morning, or cook my kids some breakfast? Maybe I'll go jump on my SUP (stand up paddle) board if the ocean isn’t “too” stormy.
There’s a way to be connected and quick enough to ‘run with the big global machine’ . When we connect, as business thinkers and doers, we participate and help re-create a world that has an ever evolving appetite for new ideas and creations. We we connect with our families, we inspire a new generation. When we connect with nature, we realize that gloomy days really don't exist anywhere on the planet. We can connect online - or off line. Or, we can chose not to run with the big dogs of life and just "...stay on the porch” of business as usual. The problem is, usual isn’t around any more. So, if you stay on the porch, – you’re pretty much on the porch alone.
There’s a way to connect locally, globally and directly with your vision and business goals. View the world economy from many perspectives. For me, there will always be a place for that local comfort of friends, the coffee shop and pub, the use of pen and paper. And a time to get away from the screen and the paper, jump on the board and leave the shore. Innovation of “social” needs a mix – just like business needs to keep pace in the fast paced world. It's called balance.
I live on an island. I need to connect outside my local community and coffee shop to stay on top of things. I suppose that’s why I envisoned Bizabacus – and launched it with my team. So I didn’t feel left out as a business guy in the social media evolution. I just couldn't get what Facebook did for me as a business guy. And I was pretty happy seeing my friends around town. But, social media and and business anywhere in the world seem to go together like Forrest and Jennie "peas & carrots". Now I can travel the global news, the competition and the trends - and I can do it from the spaces on “the island” from my office & study at home. And, I can launch, thanks to Skype to new connections in Germany an ocean away.
The world of passionate entrepreneurs and businesses needed a place to meet, talk and share their voice. Now they have one with Bizabacus.
Go on - Innovate in 2012 - The world looks fabulous from Bizabacus <grin>!
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