ShownotesEvery day there's going to be something new, an employee is going to quit, a client is going to pull their account, your ad account may get affected someday, SEO may not be working, your email list may start bouncing, all these problems are going to show up at your doorstep and you're going to have to fix them.You're going to need to hire someone with knowledge of your industry and their take on things.  They can see patterns in your business that others miss. They can spot opportunities that others miss. They're going to see red flags in your behavior that others don't see. And they're going to do everything they can to make sure these issues don't grow and become major problems.Here are 3 important character traits  an entrepreneur needs1. FlexibilityMost of the time, what you start out doing isn't exactly what you end up doing when you're successful. As you launch your business, you'll see that some of the things you expected to function don't. You'll run into stuff that you weren't expecting to work. You'll observe others in your business doing things that will benefit your company, and you'll imitate them. You'll need to be adaptable.Even if you are one of the fortunate ones who has perfect initial ideas, the world will alter around you. We know a business owner who started out as a residential realtor. When the housing market crashed, he shifted his focus to property management, which requires similar abilities but is counter-cyclical.Several times, we've had to alter our own businesses. Polly founded a company in 2002 to assist small businesses in staying compliant with new labor rules. She intended to conduct audits of human resources. Her strategy has a major weakness. The majority of small-business owners do not want to be aware that their company is out of compliance. We had a much broader emphasis when we launched Whitestone Partners. We made every effort to complete the task. However, over time, we've honed our services, focusing on assisting businesses with their migrations from micro to small and small to midsize.It's crucial to be adaptable. If you want to be an entrepreneur, the only constant in your life will be change. If you don't adapt, your company will be swept away by the wave of change. Persistence is a close second to adaptation.2.  A strong work ethicThe ability and willingness to work extremely hard is the third required talent. It's challenging to run a tiny firm. You'll be awake for considerably more than eight hours each day. If your week begins on Monday, you will have worked for 40 hours by Thursday, but you will not have slowed down. You'll be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Being a successful entrepreneur necessitates a lot of effort.Running a small business is difficult, but if you are adaptive, have the will and resources to persevere, and are prepared to put in long hours, you will considerably boost your chances of success. Adaptability, perseverance, and hard effort are the cornerstones to small-business success, but they are three important traits that no maverick should lack.Work ethic is something that successful entrepreneurs are well-versed in. They'll usually be the first ones to arrive at work and the last ones to leave. If there is unfinished business, they will come into the office on weekends and holidays to finish the task. These are the people who are always thinking about work, even while they are having fun.3.  PersistenceInevitably, there will be potholes on the road. You'll lose a lot of business. Goodemployees will quit, and some may go to work for competitors. Regulations will be changed by the government, which will normally make things more complicated. To achieve, you must be willing to persevere in the face of adversity. Nothing can replace perseverance, and you won't be able to win without it.You'll need more than just the desire to persevere; you'll also need the financial means to do so. You'll require a financial reserve to get you through the tough times. Assume that everything will take twice as long and cost twice as much as you expect when starting a business.ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manujaggarwal/   • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manujagro/  • Website: https://manujaggarwal.com/   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bootstrapping Your Dreams Show

#241 Three important character traits an entrepreneur needs

ShownotesThe importance of Big Data analytics, data mining, and everything to do with data cannot be understated. It enables you to capture more clients, serve more communities and build more profits.Once you understand the power of data, you can figure out what your customers are thinking and what they're likely to buy.Here are the four reasons Why big data is important for businessUnderstand market circumstances.Big data analysis aids in the comprehension of current market situations. For example, by studying client purchase behaviors, a company can determine which products are the most popular and manufacture new products in line with this trend. As a result, it will be able to outperform its competition.Improve your understanding of your customers.With the use of big data analysis, a company can have a deeper understanding of its customers. It can anticipate what its customers want and deliver them better service as well as better products. Also, because big data solutions can automatically detect unfavorable remarks on social media, firms may easily reduce customer complaints. As a result, you will be able to act quickly.Cost Savings. Implementing big data technologies may be costly at first, but it will save you a lot of money in the long run. Because big data technologies are real-time systems, they relieve IT workers of some of their responsibilities. As a result, you can put these resources to good use elsewhere. Furthermore, big data technologies make storing vast volumes of data much easier, but more significantly, the data you save will be reliable, as big data tools have greatly reduced the chance of inaccurate data.Maintain control of your internet reputation.Control your online reputation with sentiment analysis using big data techniques. As a result, you can learn more about who is saying what about your business. If you want to keep track of and improve your company's online visibility, big data tools are a must-have.ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツLeave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manujagga...   • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manujagro/  • Website: https://manujaggarwal.com/  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#240 Why is Big Data important for businesses?

#239 Learn how to be a Sales Leader | Jena Domingue

ShownotesEvery year, around 472 million entrepreneurs and 305 million enterprises are formed.1.3 million of those startups are in the technology sector. Regardless of the industry, the majority of them fail.The continuous rise in entrepreneurship is a sign that economies are thriving.However, as the number of new businesses grows, so do old, often incorrect notions about startups.Myths can be found in every aspect of startup culture, from lifestyle and invention to fame and money.Getting a new company off the ground is difficult enough. Staying grounded when navigating the hurdles of establishing a new business can be as simple as staying honest and differentiating fact from fantasy.Here are the 3startup myths uncoveredMyth #1: Startups need a unique idea to succeedMany people believe that a startup is a new company that has come up with a novel business idea, intends to make an immediate effect, and eventually takes over the market. This is a dangerous misconception. Many people believe this myth since startup success is often modeled after unicorn celebrities like Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Elon Musk, Jack Ma, and others.This, however, misses the key reason for their success, which is due to their business strategy, product positioning, and customer experience, rather than the novelty of their concept.Facebook was far from the first social media platform. It was a rip-off of Myspace and houseSYSTEM. The first search engine was not Google. Overture invented search monetization, not Google.Farmville was not created by Zynga; it was a copy of Farmtown. Farmtown was, in turn, a rip-off of HappyFarm, a Chinese game. Microsoft Windows was not the first graphical user interface operating system. Despite being technically inferior to its competitors, it was able to win the market share battle between IBM and Apple. This was simply because Microsoft, more than IBM or Apple, knew what customers really wanted. Success has nothing to do with your business idea.Ideas are important, but so are planning, talent, leadership, communication, and a host of other factors.Myth #2: If you build it, they will comeThe “if you create it, they will come” debate is the second frequent startup mystery. It's called controversy because it's a myth that has slowed me down as a young entrepreneur, and the numbers back it up. According to research, 21.5 percent of startups fail in their first year, 30% in their second year, 50% in their fifth year, and 70% in their tenth year. Many people have spent years building startups, investing their time, energy, and life savings in the hopes that their sponsors will notice their efforts and come after them, but this has never happened. Most people are aware of Yahoo's, Google's, and Facebook's enormous success.After all, these are simply free websites that attract a large number of people. This offers entrepreneurs a false feeling of security, leading them to believe that inventing technology and putting it out there is all they need to do to attract people.They are oblivious to the fact that Google floundered for years before becoming well-known. Facebook was hardly known at Harvard University when it was founded, and it took several pivots before it gained traction.The point is that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to success. Ninety percent of the work that goes into starting a business is hidden from view. It is not discussed in the media.Only years later, when you read the founders' memoirs and autobiographies, do you learn about the actual path they had to take to develop a successful firm. It is the best-known product that wins in this world, not the best product. As an entrepreneur and business founder, you must devote the majority of your time to publicizing your concept. Talking to the people you want to help and learning about their difficulties, hopes, and dreams. Find out why they are rejecting your idea and address their concerns.Myth #3: You need to raise money first before you start This is the misconception that is responsible for the annual extinction of millions of unique company models. In the minds of millions of young entrepreneurs, tasty ideas such as the next Amazon, Facebook, or TikTok are cooking. Unfortunately, they are out there hustling for investors as the first step in putting their plans into action.Most are unwilling to invest a single dollar in their own company or personal development, while they dream of millions from top-tier venture capital firms.It's all about people in business.Your startup will thrive if you can grasp people's concerns and solve them in a meaningful way. Whether or whether you have investors. The good news is that by spending your time, you can begin implementing your business plan. Interacting with others. Getting feedback on your concept. It's being fine-tuned.It's being prototyped. If founders maintain their consistency, their ideas will gradually gain traction. Manuj Aggarwal, for example, intended to sell his Strategic Advisory services to Fortune 500 leaders in 2017. However, he lacked the financial means to develop an international consulting firm worthy of these global behemoths. So he started a podcast with just $100, and now he gets to work with some of the world's most well-known brands.ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツLeave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manujaggarwal/ • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manujagro/ • Website: https://manujaggarwal.com/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#238 What Is SMU? How will it help startups and entrepreneurs?

#237 Innovate and discover your potential | Lt. Col. JJ Snow

Shownotes:The reason so many startups fail is that people think too much about their business and not enough about their business. What that means is, they don't go meet new people or spread the word about their business.Here are the three reasons why startups failCosts and pricingMost startup founders focus too much on growing their business and not enough on funding it. This means they don't go out and spend a lot of time on lead generation, spreading the message.The improper teamsSuccessful teams don't focus on building the wrong team. It has a lot to do with people. If you want to have a successful startup, one of the key elements that I have found is that you should be curious about both people internally and externally.Being curious about your employees' well-being, i.e., treating them as people rather than just as employees, will help you discover their potential and include them in building the culture of the company.Insufficient market demandMany people think that if they just push on and keep doing more and more and more, building new products, creating new services, reaching out to new markets, but if they don't focus on the people aspect, their startups will fail.At the same time, if you just focus on business growth, you will forget about the people's needs.ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manujaggarwal/   • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manujagro/  • Website: https://manujaggarwal.com/   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#236 Why are startups failing?

#235 Secrets behind the success of leading creative minds in business | Kara Goldin

Business, entrepreneurship, and leadership are chaotic games. You need to be calm so that you can make the right decisions.Here are 3 rituals to boost  your productivity and focusEnough sleepMake sure you get enough sleep. Sleep is an important part of the day cycle, and a lot of entrepreneurs don't realize how important sleep is to their success. If you don't sleep at least 6 hours a night, your mental performance will decline during the day. And if you don't get enough sleep regularly, your performance will degrade over time.MeditationWhen you meditate, you will be able to calm yourself. When you are not distracted by external factors, you will be able to focus on your problems clearly and find solutions to them.It's easy to meditate, just sit down, close your eyes and let go of all the worries. And then once you quiet your mind, you can easily feel a difference in your life. Here's an important fact: Meditation and mindfulness actually help boost your creativity!Journaling Journaling is a time-honored practice that can help with all sorts of problems. By making a habit of writing down your day-to-day thoughts and experiences, you essentially improve brain function.It's recommended that you don't use a computer and a typewriter to write your journal, because writing on a piece of paper will trigger unique thoughts in your brain.Keeping a journal helps you maintain your momentum. Keeping a journal can help you look at your history and see how you've performed in the past. It can also help remind you of strengths that you used in the past to solve problems.The point is, you've got to focus on being positive and feed your mind with good thoughts if you're going to achieve something.ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manujaggarwal/   • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manujagro/  • Website: https://manujaggarwal.com/  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#234 Three rituals to increase your productivity

There is no doubt that innovation is one of the most important factors for the long-term survival and growth of your business. Many top companies around the world are turning to innovation as they look to compete in today’s highly competitive marketplace and remain relevant in the future.  Innovation is not the only key to creating new products but also evaluating existing ones. New discoveries are made every day and often these provide the spark for new business.Here are the five contributions of innovation to successGrowth of the economyTechnological advancement is seen as a significant source of economic progress. Economic growth is defined as the increase in the inflation-adjusted market value of an economy's goods and services over time. It's usually expressed as a percentage rise in real gross domestic output.There are generally two ways to boost the economy's output:Increase the number of inputs to the manufacturing process.Create new methods for getting more output from the same number of inputs.The goal of innovation is to come up with new ideas and technologies that boost productivity and improve productivity while using the same amount of resources.When we examine the shift of the United States from a predominantly agrarian economy to an industrial one by the First World War, we can see that agricultural advancements and inventions were one of the most important contributors in bringing about the Industrial Revolution.Agricultural productivity advances had already changed the way people worked in Europe, freeing farmers to pursue other interests and allowing them to go to the city for industrial labor. Productivity rose as a result of the change from hand-made to machine-made products, which had a direct impact on living standards and growth.According to a new World Economic Forum research, roughly 133 million new employment might be generated by 2022, with AI, automation, and robotics displacing 75 million jobs.2. Accessibility to information and educationEven among the poorest 20% of the population, 7 out of 10 homes have a cell phone, according to the World Bank Annual Report 2016. This means that there are currently more people with mobile phones than there are with sanitation or clean water.In addition, by 2020, the number of mobile workers is predicted to increase from roughly 96 million to more than 105 million. Mobile technology advancements such as voice control and augmented reality are empowering workers in entirely new ways.Rural communities can also benefit from technological advancements in order to grow and become more sustainable. Despite some obstacles to technology adoption, such as the poor wealth of user capability, more individuals can have access to information and increase their knowledge.3. Increased well-beingIn general, as living standards rise, innovation and economic expansion improve well-being. According to the Brookings Institution, countries with more GDP per capita had higher average life satisfaction. According to another study, there is a correlation between innovation and subjective well-being.However, not all of the advantages of innovation and expansion are shared equally. Growth in real GDP is frequently associated with increased income and wealth disparity. Although there is no set amount of inequality that is considered excessive, larger socioeconomic differences are likely to have negative consequences.In theory, income disparity isn't a concern unless it affects actual purchasing power.4. Sustainability in the environmentSustainability and environmental difficulties, such as climate change, are current and future challenges that will necessitate a great deal of effort and inventive solutions.As consumerism develops and consumerism becomes the center of the modern economy, the Earth suffers. Although consumerism has a positive impact on innovation as a source of economic progress, increased consumption of creative products is sometimes blamed for environmental degradation.Politics or other techniques are frequently insufficient to effect change at least not quickly enough. Policy changes take time to take effect, which is why our society's and nature's long-term existence is dependent on new policies.5. Reduction of Sickness, poverty, and hungerDeveloping countries rely on innovation since new digital technology and innovative solutions provide enormous opportunities to combat disease, poverty, and hunger in the world's poorest places.In order to overcome their own difficulties linked to these themes, developed countries rely on innovation as well.When it comes to alleviating hunger, agricultural production, for example, is crucial in emerging countries, where the next population boom is most likely to occur. Smallholder farms in developing countries play a significant role because they generate up to 80% of the food consumed in these areas.ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manujaggarwal/   • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manujagro/  • Website: https://manujaggarwal.com/   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#233 How does innovation contribute to success?

(0:47) Introduction-Matt Oguz is a growth stage investor in technology and life science companies. His investment portfolio includes names like Lyft, Lemonade, Ripple, carbon circle stock folio, he's known for being a thought leader in quantitative investment methods in venture capital, and private equity. Matt is the founding partner at venture science. When science was established in 2013, and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. This company has pioneered the data-driven quantitative approach to venture capital, cloud infrastructure, networking, security, gaming, VR and drone technology, which are just a few innovations in venture science investment. Aside from all these, Matt is also the Chief Investment Officer for the iris family office. The family office invests in multiple asset classes and takes direct positions in those classes. The family office deploys a quantitative investment strategy once again and is unconstrained in terms of stage or sector. Matt is outspoken about his approach and shares his valuable thoughts as a columnist on TechCrunch. Matt is a person of multiple talents with his profession revolving around analytics, behavior, economics, Decision Sciences, and AI. And Matt is obviously a successful investor, entrepreneur, decision theorist, and writer. The interview-(2:22)Can you walk us through your journey? Like how, you know, how did it all happen? How, how did you get to this point, being an immigrant? What kind of challenges did you face? Something about your backstory?(3:01) I have been a student here for 25 years. I originally came here as an exchange student, and then ended up getting my master's degree. I got my MBA while focusing on my decision theory studies.People called the study of decision-making "Decision Sciences" and it was considered a legitimate academic discipline.  It's essentially the discipline of trying to make better decisions and using models, theories, and math. Over time, everyone learns a lot, and I've learned that America has many opportunities for entrepreneurship and investing. I also believe that America is the best place to do whatever you want. With hard work and a bit of luck, good things happen. (5:08)Generally, we make decisions on, you know, just random things based on our experience, we are very impulsive about decision making. So how do you see the world differently, how do you even figure it out? What are the factors that you need to consider before you can make a decision?(5:53) To be considered a meaningful decision, it must involve something with value at stake. That could mean money, but it can also meantime.Decisions you make every day may affect your personal life, the people around you, your business, or your bank account. Such as a decision to buy a house. When you're buying a home, there are some tangible attributes (size, number of rooms, etc.), but in the end, it's the intangible things about a home that are most important but ultimately you buy a house because it's like your grandmother's. You want to make this decision from a personal perspective, based on what's important to you. In business, the best entrepreneurs evaluate both the stakes and probability of success.If you have a positive expected value from a risky investment, it's smart to take the risk. If you don't, stay away.(15:30)So I'm guessing that you took all this information that you have and sort of applied it to venture capital and came up with a model to figure out how to optimally deploy your capital. Is that correct?(15:43) The first thing that I did was create a selection model. In this model, I defined the different attributes for each company that I wanted to examine. The attributes were chosen consistently so that their parameters could be adjusted in the future without major problems.For a business, there's something you need to know in order to evaluate it. We use a multi-criteria approach to making investment decisions.To make a good decision, you must take into account the multiple factors involved. Some of those factors are easy to quantify. Others are qualitative. But there is a method for quantifying all factors, so you can fairly judge founders and teams. You trust your gut feeling, rather than relying on a number of factors, is often a recipe for failure. After we examine 4045 factors with our multi-factor analysis, we then make financial models that take into account a lot of variables. To decide how much capital to spend on an investment, we also analyze these variables mathematically. There are many tools available for measuring risk. Midroll- 19:34(20:30)And so, after going through this exercise, after evaluating, you know, probably dozens and dozens of startups, what are some of the top factors that you have determined that contribute to the success of a startup?(20:44) For seed investors, the most important factor is the state of the product, i.e. whether it's already working or still in development.When the product is already built, it's easier to receive feedback and make changes. I mean, think about Uber and Lyft as an example. It probably doesn't take much programming to match a rider with a driver.The thing is that startups should focus on core products first and foremost. Only when the core product is ready, one should start developing additional stuff. To pick a market, you must first decide your profit strategy. Do you want to have a small amount of big transactions or a large amount of small transactions?(23:52)And now you've been part of some really, you know, household names, left and lemonade and ripple. Some of these companies have gone on for an IPO. So can you tell us your experience of you know, most people, most people who are looking to invest, they're always looking for these big names before they become big, right? Because before they became household names, how do you spot these opportunities?(24:24) I’ve written an article on TechCrunch where I talked about how Uber and Lyft are in a duopoly situation, like Coke and Pepsi.  Lyft and Uber offer identical services, with the same drivers driving in the same cars. Lyft gave us a better bang for the buck. I was interested in investing in a company called Lemonade because it was disrupting the insurance industry. We acquired shares in a secondary transaction through my connections. My involvement with Lemonade was greater than my involvement with Lyft.Dan Ariely is actually an advisor to the company. He's also well-known for decision theory, which could explain why Lemonade handles its claims in a unique way.And while it does have a smaller market cap than others, such as Snowflake or Airbnb, I think its ability to disrupt an age-old industry is remarkable.(27:43)You also invested in Ripple. And so crypto and AI, where do you see these technologies are going especially now, you know when digitization of everything has been rapidly accelerated by blockchain and cryptocurrencies?(28:00) I don't know if Bitcoin will become mainstream, but I'm a big believer in blockchain technology as a general concept.I saw three different types of technology that I thought would be important today, but blockchain kind of took a back seat to some of the other ones. In fact, artificial intelligence and game theory are both ideas that have been around for a long time.But quantum computing is brand new, and if we had quantum computers then they would be able to crack cryptographic hashing codes in a much shorter time. It's like an arch-enemy of blockchain in that regard. Quantum computers are only useful when solving optimization problems, and these are especially useful if you want to tackle problems of drug development or vaccine development. I think that quantum computing will make calculations faster. But there's a lot of work to do.However, while these moon shots are happening, there's still opportunities in business disruption.(32:40)You know, we are obviously going through humongous changes as a species, you know, economically, how public health wise, what are some of the long term effects of this pandemic and the socially distant economy that we are finding ourselves in? How is the tech startup scene or investment scene going to change? Or what are the long-term effects on the business itself?(33:04) During the recent crisis, governments around the world infused a lot of cash into their economies. Since the money supply has increased greatly, the long-term effect of that increase will hopefully have a positive impact on the global economy.There are two main kinds of investing: one is the realm of public equities, and the other is the realm of private companies. If you can invest in private companies before they go public, you'll get a bigger upsideIn the US, publicly traded companies are the number one investment product. The Federal Reserve and other economic regulators should be very careful about macroeconomic forces such as monetary factors. Fortunately, in recent times we have not been hit by inflation, because there has been an oversupply of goods. I think that other than the serious issue that so many people have tragically died and been sick, the economic toll is significant. The governments of the world have increased their national money supplies, so hopefully, that will restore some infrastructure. The most important thing is to get past this phase in which our antiviral medication to attack COVID is more effective than the vaccinations, hopefully making the world a better place. Infrastructure in America is old and needs updating, but that all takes money. I'm a big advocate of clean and well-maintained airports. I think we should keep those in good shape.(37:37)Are you seeing any new types of products, new types of services and business models changing because of what is happening out there?(37:45) Because we're in an age when everybody has internet access, everybody's connected. Imagine if the same thing had happened throughout history! Actually, it did happen, right? Throughout history, there was no internet, so people couldn't evolve and adapt.But now people can meet new people and do business online. A retailer won't have to worry about foot traffic once they're selling their wares on the web.If you're a barber, you can't digitize it. But I've watched videos on how to cut your own hair and how to cut your kid's hair. Some of these videos have been watched a million times and they earned quite a bit of money.The internet was already revolutionizing the economy, but the recent epidemic has really boosted e-commerce. Now anyone can put a video on YouTube or write an article and get attention from millions of people. And this allows businesses to profit.It's encouraging that you can make a digital product, like a game or an ebook, and sell it on your website or elsewhere.(39:53)And now, if people want to reach out to you to connect with you, how can they do that?(40:14) You can contact me via LinkedIn. I use the platform constantly and I communicate frequently with other users. All you have to do is drop me a quick note about your project or business and I will be happy to help you.Resources:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattoguz/  ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manujaggarwal/   • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manujagro/  • Website: https://manujaggarwal.com/   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#232 What makes startups successful? - Matt Oguz

How do you embrace innovation?You know, with business and entrepreneurship, it's all about solving problems. If you find new ways of solving these problems, it will only benefit your business.Innovation is how a company grows. It's a way to add value. Innovation increases your profits and reduces your costs.So the idea behind innovation is to never stop. Never be satisfied with the status quo, always try to look for new ways of improvement, even if that improvement is about 1% every time. If you can improve your skills by 1% per week, then by the end of the year, you'll be far ahead of where you are now.Feedback is a key element in any business, and it's important to get feedback from other people, including your customers, employees, renders, and partners.New opportunities to improve your business will emerge, and customers will trust you more because they know that you're one of the few who act on customer feedback.Once you've made a customer's life better, they will become committed to a long-term relationship with you.ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manujaggarwal/   • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manujagro/  • Website: https://manujaggarwal.com/   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#231 How to embrace innovation?

Highlights:(0:00) Right now, we are still leveraging machine learning to understand the descriptive nature of what he or she may have done from a customer standpoint and then applied.(0:11) Ecosystems will rely more and more about technology more and more on technology. And mobile is going to be the at the forefront of that.(0:27) No matter where we land, the concept of privacy is going to be different versus security is going to continue to be important because you have to keep yourself secure from bad, you know, or malicious people as well as attackers that are known these days.(0:41)IntroductionAbout Khalid SaleemKhalid is a world-known innovation influencer, driving and facilitating strategic decision-making for the board of directors and executives of multi-million Corporations. Khalid is Chief Digital Officer as VP at TVC Corporation overseeing digital transformation across a $5 billion portfolio of the tire and automotive services for b2c and b2b channels. Khalid has been crafting digital product roadmaps, architecting innovative digital platforms and solutions fueling omnichannel growth and digital transformation, generating over $4 billion in annual sales revenue. At Office Depot, colors implemented and established cloud-based, robust and scalable platforms for online copy and print businesses, expanding them across b2b channels, enabling an enhanced customer experience and generating over 30% year over year sales growth while reducing the development and support costs by as much as 40%. He also is responsible for facilitating the development of Office Depot mobile apps across b2b and b2c channels, driving Mobile App Store ratings to 4.5 stars on Apple and 4.4 stars on Google Play, along with achieving 100%. year over year growth for app downloads to 1 million devices. Alongside these, Khalid has also served as a technical expert and liaison for the digital marketing team recommending building technology solutions, practices that help improve SEO and increase return on advertising spend.The interview- (3:02)  (1) You've done so much, and you have achieved so much. I would love to understand a little bit of your history, you know, your backstory, how did you get to this level of success?(3:17) I was born in Pakistan and learned to play sports there. My dad bought a computer for me. for me. When I got home, the first thing I did was start playing games on it.I spent most of my youth playing games, but then I realized that I could run another program on the floppies while they were running the DOS. So I erased it, and guess what? The computer wouldn't start. I thought that all I had to do was copy a few files from a dead hard drive to mine.  But after bringing it to a tech store, I realized there was more to computers than I'd ever imagined. That piqued my interest. Once I got going, I've always been inspired by technology and computers.(5:45) (2)Now I'm with your time at Office Depot, you know, you were instrumental in bringing the apps to the App Store and everything. So what what, what were some of the key challenges you faced during that time? I think mobile apps were sort of new at that time, or give me Tell us a little bit about that. (6:05) I didn't actually do it so I won’t take credit for it.  Office Depot began to distribute apps before I took charge of the project. In fact, a few pioneers had already established the apps in the app stores even before I started working there. Office Depot was one of the first companies to create an app in the Apple App Store. And as time went on, new apps were being created using similar programming languages for iOS and Android.As head of the app platforms, I saw this as inefficiency in how we were developing apps. As we scaled up, we also started to realize that the mobile app team could not keep up with the web app team. So we considered React Native as a way to make our platform development more efficient.We leveraged React Native and it allowed us to write about 85% of the core code. Because of that, the developers could use the same code on both platforms, which took a lot of time and effort out of development. The large majority of the code remained unchanged, but the team that previously took a long time to create mobile apps became the most efficient in deploying them. With this kind of pivot, a colleague of mine joined the team. We partnered up to completely rework the code and the technical structure, so much that we even completely revamped the looks of the app with React Native. This was done as part of our initiative to make the app easier to use, which will increase loyalty.We launched the new platform and then built the new features on a two-week sprint schedule. We didn't all at once launch everything; that would have confused customers. Over time, we made changes to our product and service that helped us get a higher rating on independent review sites. Our customer engagement increased, and we got more positive ratings. Because we wanted to focus on customer experience, we paid attention to feedback and responded to it ourselves.(11:23)(2)So, like now, going from you know, you did work on the b2b side and b2c side. Again, many corporations have either a singular focus, like b2b or b2c. How did you manage to balance the emphasis on these two different segments of the business?(11:44)I credit my early experience in business development to a manager who recognized I had the ability to manage. I began working as a developer in the b2b space. I was promoted to manager because I partnered well with the business analysts and leaders. The experience we created for b2b customers was completely aligned with their expectations. After that, other leaders saw the chance for growth and career prospects. Going from b2c to b2b is easier for me because I can understand why people do everything they do in the b2b side. That meant that my understanding of B2C was more intuitive than my understanding of B2B. With b2c you're fed back with customer feedback from your customers. During the pandemic, business-to-business skills were particularly useful. Although I started in business-to-business marketing, it was relatively easy to switch to consumer marketing after the pandemic. Do you see innovation in e-commerce increasing? If people had any doubts about e-commerce before, they should be gone now. Ecommerce and M-Commerce will shift into a pattern-based demand-based order.The companies who are winning in the e-commerce space are those who are able to personalize their experience enough that their customers actually want what they're offering.There will come a time when you can use the data to predict future Volusia's actions because your data is so good. That's when true artificial intelligence will come into play. Right now, we are still leveraging machine learning to understand the descriptive nature of what our customers have done from a customer standpoint and then apply that information. The ecosystem will rely more and more on technology. Mobile will be at the forefront of that.Midroll: (18:11)(19:11)(3)So it sounds like you know, the role of AI will become even greater in this world. At the same time, there'll be more concerns about security and privacy. So these you know, obviously AI we can talk about later. What are your concerns about privacy and security? Because here's what I noticed, especially being a person from a technology background, understanding security, what I found, what I find is typical, executives, decision-makers, CEOs in the boardroom, they don't really have a very good idea about what security means. But they use it as a weapon to either forward their agenda. What is your take on that? (20:02)Privacy is subjective. The way we view privacy will change over time. The next generation may not mind having a lot of personal information made public, while this generation is more concerned. Because of the exposure of social media, privacy will become limited, and people will be more receptive to certain products as well. Privacy laws may be rewritten based on the preferences of individuals. For example, if you don't want to be tracked when you're driving unless you need to be, then that option will exist. But privacy is shifting, and our concept of it will need to.In fact, I don't really care what Google knows about me, as long as it doesn't see what's happening with my bank account or my family. With the frequency of security hacks increasing, privacy is becoming increasingly important to ensure that your information remains safe.As more people shift to online banking, security will be more important. With regards to privacy, we'll continue to see it shift. And with regards to security, it will remain important. If you're developing a concept, bring in both perspectives--that it should be secure, and if it cannot be secure, do a pilot test. So, the trend of e-commerce for personalization isn't limited to the giants. Small entrepreneurs and startups can also benefit from making their business more user-friendly. If you're trying to sell something, instead of starting from scratch, you can start with a platform like Shopify.Since many platforms are compatible with most marketplaces, you can get products published on Amazon and other sites without spending additional marketing money.But don't let your startup mentality go. Just because you're ready to sell stuff, don't lose the spirit of building a platform.(30:19)(4)So, you've been in various sectors, you know, obviously, you've been in consumer sectors B2B, B2C. And now you're working in totally different sectors, which is automotive tires, you know, going from post-it notes and, and, you know, binders to tires. What was that experience? What are the insights you gained by switching industries at a drastic level?(30:45) If you look at an opportunity and it has these three things: growth potential, forcing you to learn something new and venture outside your comfort zone, take that opportunity.You are taking a calculated risk in the sense that you will learn something new no matter what and learning should never stop.For me, it was a chance to learn another part of the business, such as how tires are shipped and how they get from one place to another.For me, it was learning about this new experience and using technology to enhance the customer journey for both our business and customers. That's why I got into the industry.(33:52)So being a car lover and being from that industry, what are the long-term trends you're seeing in this industry?(34:02)I believe EBS is going to be the future. I doubt they will be short-lived. One reason EBS are the future is because GM has announced it will no longer make internal combustion engines by 2035. In the automotive industry, we can see that the mindset of customers is moving towards self-driving vehicles. In addition, as more and more of these vehicles come on the road, it will become the norm for vehicles to be self-driving.AI is already having a huge impact on automotive technology, and there are many other industries where AI is likewise making huge impacts.Vehicles will have the ability to communicate with each other and avoid collisions.The vehicle-to-vehicle communication is going to be key in the future, and many car companies are already partnering on this. The dissemination of data and knowledge is crucial to the development of the automotive space.A lot of data is going to be helpful in making the car industry more efficient, so companies are able to create better solutions at lower costs. I think it's too early to predict what happens to that because, with batteries and electric vehicles, maintenance is very limited.In order to ensure smoothness, Goodyear and Continental are investing in technologies that will make their tires last longer. This will take some time, however. But the first two pieces that I mentioned in the automotive space are going to change how people drive, and it's going to make driving safer.(39:44) Before I let you go, can you tell us how people can reach out to you if they want to connect with you? (39:50)I am very active on LinkedIn. You can contact me there. Feel free to contact me. I'm always happy to help if you want to talk about something or need advice or just want to brainstorm an idea.I have a blog as well, and I don't have time to update it often, so you can contact me on LinkedIn or email me.Resources:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khalid-saleem-06222b2/ Blog: khalidsaleem.blogspot.com  ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manujaggarwal/   • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manujagro/  • Website: https://manujaggarwal.com/   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#230 Master the blueprint to the digital transformation with Khalid Saleem

Highlights:(0:00): You can't just throw an AI at it and go tell me the best price. Yeah, you have to bring in your human intelligence(0:08): Don't fall for hype. Start with an actual business problem that you have a reasonable understanding of and where automating would make a better experience. Or a better product.(0:21): Because we're not replacing humans, we're actually just giving them another tool to make them better at their job, because you still need a human.(1:00)Introduction: Colin is a sought after public speaker, thought leader and a firm believer in database decision making and applying automation to improve customer experience. With more than three decades of experience in financial services, Colin has held a number of C suite roles where he has championed data science initiatives in banking, FinTech insurance, risk management and marketing. Colin is the VP AI strategy for DataRobot, where he advises businesses on how to optimise their business operations using AI and manage data science projects. DataRobot is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and has office locations across six countries. DataRobot enterprise platforms are used by Kroger, Humana, US Bank, Ben Kister, Australian Red Cross Blood Service, Boston Red Sox, lending tree, University of Michigan and a whole bunch more. Their platform helps steward health save $18 million. And their platform also helped a global bank financial services firm realise a 304% return on investment that amounted to about $33 million. Colin is passionate about how humans and AI can work together and is an advisor to the Singapore government on AI ethics, AI governance and the future of work. Colin is passionate about the science of healthcare and does pro bono work to support cancer research.(2:28)First of all, let's get to know you. How did you get into this? What was your journey like in your career up to up to this point.(2:42): Colin started in this field when it wasn't called AI or data science. It didn't have much hype back then. He shares his experience on how marketing professionals were more convincing than him. He learnt an important lesson from the book Sunsoo: The Art of War and he changed the conversations in the meetings to facts rather than who is more convincing. And step by step he did projects in marketing, operations and then healthcare and banking. Colin says he hasn't looked back since then.  (5:06)Like, you know, AI, and there are so many terms machine learning AI data science. Can you help us unpack these terms for a layperson who's not a geek like you and I? What do these terms mean and how do they apply in different business scenarios.(5:43): Colin Priest defines buzzwords in simple and understandable definitions. Colin starts with data science. He says,  Data Science is how you manipulate data to make better decisions. The next term he defines is machine learning.  He defines it as- You give the computer some examples, with the correct answer, and you get it to figure out for itself, how to get from the inputs to the outputs. And the last term Colin defines is artificial intelligence.  He says that there's a lot of people that haven't separated science fiction from fact. Artificial intelligence is merely a computer, doing something that historically required human intelligence. But that doesn't mean it has human intelligence. (8:20)Pricing is something, you know, we have learned in basic economics , like supply and demand. So, can you tell us how we can apply data science to optimise the price such that we get the best supply? Sorry, that's demand for the product or service, and we get the best price so that we have more profitability?(8:59): Colin says that we can't just throw a computer program at a problem and expect optimal results. Human intelligence is often needed as well. The best results often come from combining human intelligence with AI. You need to use experimentation to see how humans respond to different prices. Colin says that marketers are not always looking after your best interests. In fact, they're often trying to learn things about you so that they can sell things to you. He gives insights about a pricing strategy that supermarkets use.  Supermarkets change their prices not only to satisfy customers at different times of the week, but also to learn about them as they can study how customers react to different prices. He says that you can enhance AI by once again allowing it to access and integrate with human knowledge. (10:46) And one of the major sort of, you can call it hurdles, or you can call it the first prerequisite of data science or AI is collecting huge amounts of data. Right? That is where, you know, I've gotten into some discussions with business folks. And, oh, can you not just use algorithms to figure it out? I'm like, okay, you need historical data for the machine to learn what the heck is going on, Right? So what is your take on things? People, specifically, C suite executives and decision makers, how much do they understand about how this works? And how do we collect historical data? And then we make decisions for the future? (11:41): Instead of getting bogged down in technical details and tuning hyperparameters, focus on the end results. Colin provides them with a framework for how they can estimate the benefit and estimate the complexity. Colin says that don't focus on the technology, focus on what problem you're solving. Don't get bogged down in complexity, especially if you're only starting out. Colin says that COVID has unveiled the frictions in the customer experience. It's a win-win. You are helping customers more. And they're buying from you more because you're giving them a better product. Colin advises-  Don't fall for hype. Begin small, and start by solving an actual problem you have using AI and automation where you can measure the results.(15:55) I learned by going through these projects, most of the time is spent in AI projects in collecting data, cleaning data, collecting data. And, you know, the executives, they’re like what the hell is going on? Like, you know, it's been like weeks, you guys have not done anything but collect data? Like, what are you looking at all these, you know, numbers floating around? What is going on? So what is your take on that?(16:33): Colin shares that people love to jump straight to the complex, but it's important to lay a solid foundation first.So rather than just rushing to the result, it would be better if you explained to the executives on how you could modify the data collection process to improve the results obtained next time. Colin recommends a validation step to data scientists. Colin shares a project he worked on in the past. He found more than a dozen different ways they'd spelled Toyota. He shares that persuading the business people and executives to invest in boring stuff is hard because they want to spend money on grand stuff, and we have to make it clear to them that they link together. He explains this further by giving an example and linking it to AI and data. Colin recommends to start with a simple problem and use a simpler solution as it will need less data.19:33: MIDROLL  (20:25)Most people think AI is more about numbers, and, you know, just just crunching numbers, but AI is getting into more humanistic fields like computer vision and recognising the audio and in some cases, AI is even composing music and art and whatnot. So tell us a little bit about what are the possibilities of AI actually breaking into these fields, which are closer to humans that they can understand, they can talk to AI, they can feel it and touch it and all that?(21:00): Colin explains with examples that with AI, people are never "replaced"; they are always empowered.The goal of AI is not to replace humans but to make humans more efficient at what they need to do. Don't be worried about machines taking over your work. Instead, think of what you can do with AI to make yourself better at what you're already doing. Colin is interested in AI because it can free up humans to do more meaningful things. It can also allow humans to do better at what they're already doing, so that's pretty cool. He says we are improving the world, simply by allowing computers to do what they do best, which is mathematical calculation and logical deduction.(23:40) So, you know, bringing it back now to do once again, you know, this notion that AI can take over it, because it can become like a terminator kind of a thing where, you know, it can destroy humans, or basically just take over the human race. What are the possibilities of that, in your opinion?(24:00): Colin explains that banks use more computers than they did before, so now they have ATMs. Banks still have more staff than they used to, though. And so, Colin doesn’t think we're in any kind of danger from killer robots taking over the world.Colin defines AI as just a computer system, a tool to do what you tell it to do. It is not autonomous. AI is a collection of algorithms, not a super-intelligence. It is a tool that you need to control, and it's important to know what those algorithms are doing. Humans control AI. Colin explains with an example that until we don't give AI a goal of destruction, it's not going to do it. So it is important that we use AI for good things rather than destruction. (27:20)We are under lockdown, the work environment is changing, and we are working from home. How do you think the role of AI will accelerate the adoption of digitization or remote work or anything like that? How has this experience in 2020 changed the trajectory of AI and its adoption?(28:00): Colin explains that a lot of companies have been struggling during the pandemic because they didn’t modernize their businesses. Some are now finding a guiding solution and are starting to adopt it. They gave their business a few weeks to get ready for the next revolution, but some timeless experts were prepared for any eventualities. Colin says he loves the software that changes the background which helps him hide the mess in his house. He explains that because of the pandemic, organizations have realized that face-to-face meetings and paper contracts are not enough when it comes to doing business. It is a natural fit that AI plus digital can solve most problems with digital contracts and AI monitoring.(30:06) In your opinion, what C suite executives and people in general may have to unlearn about the future of work about how they use technology or how they even look upon technology? What kind of new paradigms the C suite executives will need to learn? Now that you know, we have adopted this change. What is the future of work according to you but for now, what do we have to unlearn as a result of this? (31:20): Colin says that one of the things we have to change is the belief that AI is there to replace human staff. He explains further why human face and interaction is important for brand value.Artificial intelligence won't do everything for us. As humans, we are hardwired to connect with other people when we're emotional or confused. It is impossible for us to have any decision making process that is not biased. But, it is easier to reduce bias in an AI than in a human.Another thing to unlearn that you can get rid of bias. No, you can't. What you can do is prioritize what to get rid off. Colin believes that you cannot develop AI in a vacuum away from humans, it is there to help us.(35:46) Now, one of the last questions, oh, what do you think will be the future of work here now, like, you know, remote work, obviously, I think it'll stay? Well, what kind of other things you can foresee, as you know, that will change how we think about work these days.(36:04): Colin Priest uses the concept of comparative advantage and explains that humans are better than robots at things like empathy, creative problem-solving, general knowledge and common sense. Those things are our strong suits. Things that require that sort of human touch. Colin is optimistic about the future of work. Machines will make humans more valuable, and we'll be able to spend more time doing the things we love. Machines can't be taught ethics; it's just not in their programming. Human beings must determine what the machine will do. Colin believes that the impact of AI on work will be positive, but we need to be careful not to let it make our work lives less human.(39:20)And so if somebody wants to reach out to you to connect with you, how can they connect with you?(39:25): Colin shares some ways the audience can connect with him. He says, “You can find me on LinkedIn, there aren't that many Colin priests in the world and my picture is there. So just remember to look for the Colin priests with no hair. Find me there. You can read some of my blogs on the data robot website. You could read some of my personal blogs on my personal website www.colinpriest.com.”Resources:Website: www.colinpriest.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinpriest/Data Robot’s website: https://www.datarobot.com/ ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツLeave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manujaggarwal/   • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manujagro/  • Website: https://manujaggarwal.com/   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#229 Will AI take over the world?- Colin Priest | Manuj Aggarwal

(0:25)Introduction:  Big data and AI are incorporated into almost every aspect of our lives. Self-driving cars, namely, are being produced. And AI assistants like Alexa and Siri can now help carry out more complex commands.The seed technology that has enabled all these technologies is humongous amounts of data and pattern recognition machine learning algorithms.When Coronavirus appeared, scientists from across the world raced to invent a vaccine. Within three months, the process that used to take decades was completed. The only reason for this was access to big data and AI algorithms. The market for big data was about $32 billion in 2017. And in 2025, it is projected to be $156 billion.In this podcast, Manuj goes over five important ways that you can use big data and AI to improve your business.(1:55)Personalization The first use of big data and AI is the ability to personalize products and services to an individual's preferences. Many of us come from different backgrounds and have different preferences, so we can all benefit from things that are more tailored towards us. Manuj discusses the case of Wimbledon, Spotify, and other OTT platforms like Netflix to explain the use of big data in personalization. (3:56)Security The second use of big data and AI is in the area of security. The internet is a global network of interconnected devices. Whenever data is sent from one device to another, it can be accessed by anyone who has the necessary equipment. Thanks to big data and AI, algorithms can monitor this traffic and detect any anomalies in the data. Manuj discusses how cybercrime grew during the pandemic and how the government is using AI and big data to prevent future attacks. (6:04)Healthcare The third big application of artificial intelligence and big data is in healthcare. Manuj talks about preventative healthcare. Until now, we've dealt with it after the fact. With AI and big data, we can take preventative action in advance to prevent you from getting sick. Much like in other areas of marketing, big data and AI technology can transform precision medicine by helping us to find out the most effective treatments for each individual. Manuj discusses how big data and AI is used in research and development.(8:43)EducationThe fourth application case of AI and big data is in the area of education and professional training. Education is fundamental to shaping society and the economy, so innovators are working hard to personalize it and prepare their students for the careers of tomorrow. To explain this case, Manuj discusses a project he was personally involved in, called degree compass. In that project, they used data from hundreds and 1000s of students to recommend the right courses for other students to reduce the number of students dropping out. (11:43)RetailThe fifth area where AI and big data are used is obviously retail. The retail sector is growing quickly, and it's one of the areas where big data and AI can be used for personalization and to automate package delivery. Manuj gives an example of Amazon and Alibaba, companies that have been able to change the way customers buy goods and services, such as: automating delivery, preventing credit card frauds, personalizing shopping experiences, and making recommendations based on what you've purchased in the past which was possible using AI and big data. ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツLeave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manujaggarwal/   • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manujagro/  • Website: https://manujaggarwal.com/   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#228 Real world examples of how big data and AI are transforming industries

Highlights0:01- The problem is no longer that we don't know what to do. The problem is we don't know how to stop getting in our own way. We don't know how to stop getting distracted.0:09- Conventional wisdom turns out not only to be wrong but turns out to be actually harmful.0:13-  And so this is why our self-image is so important that if we believe that we are limited in one way or another, we will act according to those beliefs.0:23- This is called learned helplessness. And so that's what we need to understand that the way we talk to ourselves, the way we imagine and perceive our temperament around our limitations, is incredibly important0:38- Again, you can't call something a distraction unless you know what it distracted you from(1:09) Introduction:Nir Eyal writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business.Nir previously taught as a lecturer in marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, Nir co-founded and sold two tech companies since 2003. And was dubbed by MIT Technology Review as the profit of habit-forming technology. He's the author of two best-selling books. Hooked: How to build habit-forming products and Indistractable- how to control your attention and choose your life. Indistractable, received critical acclaim winning outstanding works of literature, literature OWL Award as well as being named one of the best business and leadership books of the year by Amazon, and one of the best personal development books of the year by Audible. The Globe and Mail called indestructible, the best business book of 2019. In addition to blogging at nirandfar.com, Nir’s writing has been featured in the New York Times, the Harvard Business Review, Time magazine, and psychology today. Nir is also an active investor in habit-forming technologies.Some of his past investments include event pride anchor.fm, which was acquired by Spotify, Canva refresh.io, which was acquired by LinkedIn product and Marco Polo presence learning, seven cups, and many more. Nir has attended Stanford Graduate School of Business and Emory University.(2:55)So tell us a little bit about your new book Indistractable, how did it come about and what is the theme of this book?(3:04) The book Indistractable is about Nir's struggle with distraction. There was one moment in his life that made him reevaluate his relationship with it. He shares that experience that made him realize how distracted he must have been while eating or even while working on a task. Nir says the problem is no longer that we don't know what to do. The problem is we don't know how to stop getting in our own way. We don't know how to stop getting distracted. He shares how he was able to figure out the solution to prevent getting distracted after immersing himself in studying psychology.(6:25)You do very thorough research on every topic that you undertake. So tell us about that, like, you know, how do you come up with that process? How do you even start researching this, if nobody has done a good enough job of doing this, you're breaking new ground? How do you go about doing all this?(6:57) Nir says that to him every book starts with a personal problem. He shares that it’s the reason why he loves his job, as he can look at all that great academic research that's been done. Nir believes that it's about a problem that he’s having. He shares that we have a lot of problems out there that we don't know how to solve. The first step is introspection. Are you aware of what you need to do in order to get what you want? Then, if you can't find the answer, you can search for it online or in books, or ask other people who have experience in this field. If you still can't get a solution, you can always go deep into the research.(9:17)Can you give us a little bit of a preview of what you found in this research? And what are some of the challenges people face while getting distracted? (9:57) Nir wants people to know that he didn't write the book because he mastered distraction, but he wrote this book because he needed to master distractions, as he has always struggled with self-control and willpower. He says that there’s a lot of misinformation about willpower out there. Nir says that conventional wisdom turns out not only to be wrong but turns out to be actually harmful. Nir shares that first we need to understand what distraction is. He says that the opposite of distraction is traction. Traction is any action that moves you towards your goal or intent. And the opposite of that is a distraction. He explains how we can actually have more and better traction and not be distracted by every shiny object that comes in our way.  He shares four steps to being Indistractable. (18:42)What were the results? You obviously did all this research, you adopted, you went through with this with the, with the 1000s of people? What kind of results did they achieve? What kind of successes do they have? What kind of time did they save using these techniques?(19:24) Nir Eyal mentions that it took years of research to figure out what techniques were truly effective. Nir says he uses meta-studies to show this study is a well-established technique, it's been replicated time and time again, that's good research versus some techniques that are pretty bogus. He mentions a book named Mindset by Carol Dweck which is about ego depletion.  Nir says that our self-image is so important that if we believe that we are limited in one way or another, we will act according to those beliefs. Nir says that people are getting distracted by technology, not addicted. And that's a very big difference. He further explains why it is so. He also explains the term learned helplessness. He says it is important to understand that the way we talk to ourselves about our limitations influences the way we behave around them.(23:57)So what in your opinion, is going to happen with the level of productivity and with the level of distraction that people are experiencing in these changing environments during pandemics and lockdown?(24:24) Nir shares his experience while stating that there are so many new questions now that raise the anxiety and fear level. So the more internal triggers you have, the more you need to practice dealing with them, or else you're going to give in.  Nir mentions what all has changed after the pandemic. He explains that this is why some people got more productive during the lockdown and some got less productive because they are so stressed, anxious, and worried. He says that we don't have a structure anymore and home and work have blended. But it doesn't have to be that way. Nir says it's about making time for an attraction that you can't call something a distraction. Nir says you can't call something a distraction unless you know what it distracted you from. (28:19)So it seems like you know, your book is even more important right now for people to read and incorporate into their lives because of what they're going through right now. And so how should one go about it? Like should they get your book habit first and then go to indistractable? Indistractable and then go to have it? What is the sequence?(28:50) Nir's first book was about how to build habit-forming products about how to use technology to improve people's lives by building healthy habits. That book came out six years ago and has been used in every conceivable industry, from healthcare to education, to help people build good habits in their lives through technology. If you're an entrepreneur with a business, and if you want to build habits for your product, then this would be the book for you about how to build habit-forming products. The second book can be especially helpful if you have trouble getting work done or focusing on the right things. Nir recommends indistractable for everyone because it lets you focus on the important things. (29:55)As we are going through these huge shifts as you can imagine, certain sectors of the economy will be affected to a great deal. So what do you think will happen? In your view, how do you think things will unfold for people? Do you think people will gravitate towards more entrepreneurship rather than regular work-from-home jobs? Or what are the kinds of shifts you foresee as we go through this experience?(30:43) Nir says he is pretty optimistic. He thinks it really depends on whether this is a long-term change or a short-term change. Nir appreciates the technology that enabled us to work from home during the pandemic which was impossible if these apps like zoom weren’t there. Nir thinks that in many ways the pandemic has pushed people to try new technologies that will benefit us in the long run. This new technology, which will thrive in years to come, will provide tons of opportunities for entrepreneurs to create new businesses.(33:10)So how was, how's the socially distant economy affecting relationships? And once we incorporate the techniques that you're sharing, how does it help human relationships, because productivity in work is one thing, but you know, we also get distracted while maintaining these important relationships?(33:38) Nir says that half of the book is about how you can become indistractable and the other half is about how your environment shapes your behaviors and relationships. It is about how to raise indistractable kids, how to have an indestructible workplace, and finally, how to have indistracible relationships. He shares his personal experience of realizing how he wasn’t spending time with his loved ones and how he changed by applying these techniques to become indistractable once he realized that he was being distracted which was the problem, the technology was not to blame. Resources: nirandfar.comツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツLeave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manujaggarwal/   • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manujagro/  • Website: https://manujaggarwal.com/   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#227 How to not get distracted | Nir Eyal | Manuj Aggarwal

So... the big question is this... how are ambitious people like us... who don't have a lot of resources...did not go to ivy league colleges...were not born into wealth...how do we become resourceful enough...use our creativity...our dedication...and little bit of crazy...to bootstrap our way to realizing our dreams...whether it is launching a new company...launching a new app...making it to the top of corporate ladder. That is the question, and this podcast... will give you the answers.

hubhopper

Bootstrapping Your Dreams Show

hubhopper