Amazon Kindle 3 (v iPad)

I have had the kindle 2 for a while, and it has been great (although Amazon still need to sort out better book choice in the UK and stop this “only available in the US nonsense – there is an international market guys!). I have also ordered the Kindle 3 and eagerly await it’s arrival. Mike Hyatt has done a quick video review on the new Kindle as well as given us a list of improvements it has made.

I still prefer the Kindle for reading to the iPad – it is way better with the Kindle Screen and a lot easier on the eyes. Unlike Mike, I ordered the wireless version only (didn’t bother with the 3G feature).

I do think, though, the Seth Godin is right – they should produce the wireless version and sell it for around $40-50. They would clean up! Maybe that is a future release, but I can’t help but think they missed a trick here with their fight against the iPad.

So, in short – Kindle – get one. They are awesome. Amazon – sort out the price and remember the international market!

Amplify’d from michaelhyatt.com

• It is much smaller and lighter. The body is 21% smaller while keeping the exact same screen size as the Kindle 2. It is only 1/3 of an inch thick—thinner than the iPhone. At less than 9 ounces, it weighs less than a paperback. It makes the iPad feel really, really heavy.
• The screen is much better. Amazon says it has a 50% better screen contrast than any other e-reader. It is a noticeable improvement from the Kindle 2. It also boasts new, crisper fonts. You quickly forget that you are reading an e-reader.
• It has more storage. Amazon doubled the capacity. It can hold up to 3,500 books. No, I am not kidding. Most people don’t have this many volumes in their entire personal library. It will also hold a charge for up to one month with wireless turned off and 10 days with it on.
• It is available in both wireless and 3G models. I bought both. The 3G is free, though you pay $50 more for the 3G device. Still, at $189.00, I think it is a bargain. You can download books in less than 60 seconds. It’s essentially a bookstore in your hand.
• It has a better user-interface. The first thing I notices is that page turns are much faster. The annoying flicker and delay inherent in e-ink technology is almost (though not quite) gone. The selector is better, too. (I still wish the Kindle had a touch screen.) The 3G model is also available in two colors: graphite (grey) and white. I got the white one, and it is really handsome.
• It provides an enhanced PDF reader. I haven’t tried this yet, but it might be good for manuscripts and other business documents. It has dictionary lookup, notes, and highlights. As in previous versions, to get your documents on the Kindle, you simply email them to your Kindle email address, which is automatically assigned to you when you buy the device.

Read more at michaelhyatt.com

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine

A great video that will introduce a little bit of fun and laughter to your day!

The Art of Asking Questions

How Ferrari ignored Twitter, at their peril

I admit it, I am an F1 fan. And like many other F1 fans around the world, I sat down to watch the grand prix this weekend at Hockenheim. And like 95% of F1 fans, I was pretty hacked-off with Ferrari’s decision to give team orders, and switch Alonso and Masa. If you don’t know what I am talking about, and you want to find out – read this BBC article on the race (but in summary, Masa was in the lead and Alonso second. Alonso couldn’t pass Masa so Ferrrari gave a “hidden” message, or team order, for Masa to let Alonso through. This is in breach of F1 rules, as well as poor sportsmanship. They subsequently denied everything after the race).

I personally am a big fan of Masa’s. I just like the guy, and have huge respect for him coming back to racing after his accident. I am not a big fan of Alonso, especially since he was at McLaren and acted the way he did. His continual moaning this season hasn’t helped his cause in my opinion either. So I wanted Masa to win (despite being a McLaren fan). I think most of the know world did, Masa deserved it. It was a year after his accident and it would have been a fitting (almost divine) result and I would imagine that even the F1 drivers would agree with me.

Like thousands of other people around the world, I expressed my thoughts on Twitter. Then when I saw the team order, I was outraged – probably more because I like Masa more than Alonso if I am honest than the bad sportsmanship. I really felt for the guy.

Where Ferrari missed it

So I put that on Twitter too and perhaps this is where Ferrari missed it. They ignored Twitter. The ability for the world to communicate has massively changed, even in the few years since the Michael Schumacher incident that caused the F1 rule to be made. Within an instant you can gauge how the world felt about what had happened. The commentators knew how people felt, the press knew how people felt and so in the interviews after the race, they absolutely pounded into Ferrrari.

(I also think Ferrari underestimated the feeling that the world has toward Masa).

Ferrari’s response was to deny it all with a bunch of weak lies, in effect calling most of the world stupid for believing what they saw. This really got people’s backs up.

What Ferrari have since done

Since that day, Ferrari have been fined $100,000 (the biggest fine that can be made) and it has also been referred to World Motorsport Council for a hearing that is likely to take place in August. But as of yet, I have seen no apology from Ferrari.

On the contrary, I read in the press today that:

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has slammed the “hypocrisy” of those who have criticised Fernando Alonso’s victory in Sunday’s German Grand Prix.
BBC

In the article, the Ferrari president is quoted as saying (from the Ferrari website):

”These things have happened since the days of (Tazio) Nuvolari (a Ferrari driver in the 1930s) and I experienced it myself when I was sporting director, in the days of Niki Lauda.

“Therefore, enough of this hypocrisy, even if I can well believe that some people might well have liked to see our two drivers eliminate one another, but that is definitely not the case for me or indeed for our fans.

What I read here is an acknowledgement that these orders were made but again without apology. No mention of the lies they told. No mention of the damage to the sport’s reputation. No mention of the theft of Masa’s possible first win. No mention of how they treated people like fools. Just an arrogance that claims the rest of the world is hypocritical. (It maybe, Luca, but that still doesn’t excuse your company’s actions).

What Ferrari should have done

I think that the world is to open for large companies to operate in a way that doesn’t listen to the people. They fall too quickly. In an instant Ferrari would have know what people were thinking and should have given a second team order telling the drivers to swap back. Then they should have gone to the interviews saying, “We messed up, we realised we did and so during the race we tried to rectify it. We apologise to the fans and will take the consequences of our actions without excuse.”

They could have done that if they had bothered to check the sentiment of people. This would have been a massive PR boost for them, and they would have won on every level.

I don’t know about the team orders rule. Should it stay or should it go? It is a whole other debate. For me that is not so much the issue – but what is the issue is how Ferrari have responded and dealt with the people. The people have a massive voice through the media these days, it counts more than ever. Apple recently discovered this with their iPhone 4 fiasco and the nonsense they peddled. It has set them back years on the trust scale. I can’t help but think that Ferrari’s PR needs to learn from this.

Takeaway

1. Listen to what people are saying and then act accordingly. Don’t not listen and then tell people a bunch of reasons why they are wrong.
2. Lying is pointless! Tell the truth, face the consequences and move on.

The 7 Year Cycle

We are all sat theatre style in the new Convention Centre in Liverpool busy networking and throwing out business cards as quickly as we can. I am the grateful guest of Jacqui, who does a phenomenal job driving the Convention Centre forward as this event will testify to. Jacqui has arranged for Mike Southon to come and speak to all of us about how you can learn all about Entrepreneurship through the life of the Beatles. We all know Mike through his book, the Beermat Entrepreneur — a book that I believe to be required reading for any fellow business person — so, I guess, we are all wanting to hear what he has to say. At least I am.

Mike starts his talk without giving us any indication of how long the talk will last, which I can’t help but think, in hindsight, was a premeditated move on his part. The talk went on, and on, and on…you get the picture. I was enjoyable, albeit, long and I did learn a few things. In fact, I managed to make two pages of notes from his talk, and if you get the chance to hear it – I would recommend you do – just sneak out after an hour or so with a convenient excuse.

Perhaps the most interesting notes that I took from his talk, and certainly the idea that I tell most people about, is this idea of the 7 year cycle. I am not sure if this is Mike’s own discovery or not – but it was at his talk I first heard it.

The 7 year cycle goes as follows:

• Ages 21-28: Try as Many things as possible
• Ages 28-35: Serious attempt at one thing
• Ages 35-42: try something different
• Ages 42-49: Peak of powers
• Ages 49-56: Represents maturity and self awareness
• Ages 56-63: Plan your legacy
• Ages 63-70: Become a true mentor

I find myself if the “try something new” category, not just because of what Mike says but also because it is my experience. One of those “coaching” words that I have found myself using a lot recently, is: default. It is a concept that I got from the book: Nudge.

What is the default mode of operation for you, your business or your industry? This is the mode that you return to when there are no other external forces acting on you. It is why the idea of dieting doesn’t work – because you are changing something temporarily. After a while, you will return to your default habits when the external forces acting on you bring the diet to an end.

It is the reason why debt consolidation doesn’t really work – you are dealing with changing a monthly payment. The default (or habit) that caused the debt, is still there and despite your good intentions, sooner or later you will return to it.

Well, until you reach the age of 35 it seems!

So, a lot of my personal questions at the moment are all about challenging the default. Why does it exist? How can we do it differently? How can we do it better, much much better? And it is in the answers that I find the magic, the passion and the energy to drive something forward to create change.

Whilst I don’t want to preach a theology, start a movement or worse still, create some kind of horoscope – I find the 7 year cycle quite accurate for me, past and present. Of course, there are people it doesn’t apply to, but it does help you understand what phase of life you are in, and then celebrate that phase rather than try and change it. It is good for me to be trying something new now…

Takeaway

1. What phase of the 7 year cycle are you in? How do you see the affecting you and what is going on around you at the moment?
2. What is the default that is holding you back at the moment?
3. How could you change it?
4. What’s stopping the change?

I still believe, but I should also learn: England World Cup 2010

I sit here somewhat at a loss because of the England performance I witnessed.

I could talk about today’s game. There would not be enough words to describe how badly we played. We were indifferent, lacklustre and without any passion.

I could talk about the team. Why can’t a bunch of world-class talented guys play together and create a world class team?

I could talk about the manager. Why would you take a striker off the field when you need 3 goals in 20 minutes?

I could talk about the system. Why don’t we play Gerrard in the holding position behind Rooney?

I could talk about what we don’t have. Beckham. Passion. The list would be long!

I could talk about the fans. Incredibly loyal fans that cope with immense levels of disappointment.

But I thought I would talk about my business.

Everyone can see what is wrong with the England team, yet we all hope and believe things will be different next time. How often do I treat my business the same way? I’ll change maybe one or two things – but that’s it. I can see the problems, but do I change them? Do I listen to my fans, or do I believe that I know better than them? Do I still keep a member of staff that can’t play on my team because of their past reputation? Am I the type of leader that can create something totally world class, or do I blame someone else for it not working? Do I let my team put forward a display that shows no belief in what the company stands for?

I would be embarrassed if I was the England manager today.

I would be shamed if I was one of the England players.

I still believe that thing can change because that is what England fans do.

In short, though, I am like most people. I can see what others need to change. I am just not so clear at seeing what I need to change, and then having the strength to change it.

59 Seconds to Happiness

I was asked recently, “What makes you happy?”

What a great question! if you haven’t read the book: 59 Seconds: Think a little, change a lot, then I highly recommend it. It is a great read. I particularly liked the chapter on happiness. Here are some of my notes from that chapter. You might want to try the journalling tips too – I really like those.

Happiness doesn’t just flow from success it actually causes it.

Is it possible to buy happiness?

• Ask most people what they need to be happy and in survey after survey “more money” is the top answer.
• Studies showed that those who have won the lottery on no more or less happy than those who haven’t.
• Studies show that when people can afford the necessities of life an increase in income does not result in a significantly happier life.
• Why is this the case? Part of the reason is that we all get used to what we have very quickly. Buying a new car provides a short-term feel-good boost but we quickly become accustomed to it and sink back to pre-purchased level of joy.

The scientific make-up of happiness.

• Research shows that about 50% of your overall sense of happiness is genetic
• 10% is due to general circumstances (educational level, income and whether you are married or single, etc).
• 40% is derived from your day to day behaviour, and the way in which you think about yourselves and others. This is the easiest one for you to change quickly.

The power of positive thinking?

Does the road to happiness really depend on people being able to simply push negative thoughts out there mind?

No. Research suggest that trying not to ink about something makes us focus on it more – so increasing misery. Try asking someone on a diet not to think about chocolate means they will eat more (fact).

Journal your way to happiness

People who have experienced a traumatic event have been encouraged to spend just a few minutes each day writing a diary type account of their deepest thoughts and feelings about it.

Participants experienced a remarkable boost in their psychological and physical well-being, including a reduction in health problems and an increase in self-esteem and happiness.

Writing encourages the creation of the storyline and a structure that helps people make sense of what’s happened and work towards a solution. Just talking about it can be unstructured and even chaotic

Journal outline

Maintain this journal for a week or two. If you feel the effects wearing off, simply repeat the exercise again.

• Monday: Thanksgiving.
  Think back over the past week and must be things which you are grateful for.
• Tuesday: terrific times.
  Think about one of the most wonderful experiences in your life will stop now spend a few moments writing down a description that experience and how you felt will stop to simply commit your thoughts to paper.
• Wednesday: future fantastic.
  Spend a few moments writing about your life in the future. Imagine that everything has gone as well as it possibly could. Be realistic, but imagine that you have worked hard and achieved or your goals. Imagine you have become the person you really want to be, and your personal and professional life feels like a dream come true.
• Thursday: dear…
  Think about sign your life is very important to you imagine you only have one opportunity to tell this person how important they are to you. Now write a short letter to this person, describing how much you care for them and the impact it had on your life.
• Friday: reviewing the situation.
  Think back over the past seven days and make a note of three things went really well for you.

What makes you happy?

Overcoming stuff: Oprah should do this show!

Zach’s oprah deal from Zach Anner on Vimeo.

Ok, anyone else inspired? Anyone else able to put their life into context?

Today, I had a great leaders meeting at church…I know, I was surprised too!

Today we had a meeting at church and I am very happy to report that it was a great meeting!

Normally, when you have a leaders meeting (especially in the church) it tries to do too many things and it becomes yet another meeting that goes on too long because too much has been shoe-horned into the time.

This meeting had the potential go do that. Brilliantly, the pastor spotted this and sent out a revised agenda yesterday that trimmed the fat and made us focus on the specific area that we are responsible for.

The first agenda was deflating. The second agenda was freeing. I felt such a sense of relief when I received it in the email. The pastor started the meeting by explaining why he had changed the agenda. Everyone in the room agreed with him and were extremely glad at he did. To give him his full credit – Nic (pastor) had got everyones thoughts on the matter and listened to them. Not only did he listen but he acted on the collective opinion of his leadership team. He knows that if you can trust someone to be a leader you can trust their ideas, even if they are not the same as yours.

The meeting also had a clear purpose that was stated at the start! I loved it.

It was a great meeting – and it felt like we achieved what the team has been put in place to do. And, we finished in time! Something that I am amazingly grateful for.

How many of your team say that about the meetings that you run?

Fly the England Flag — Get Sacked! What is the world coming to?

(Photo: Chris Hughes)

I was in the newsagents tonight – buying custard for me and the kids. A great English tradition: Banana’s and Custard! Another English tradition – flying the flag during the World Cup and Royal Weddings. The world cup is the one time we get to be a little bit patriotic. I love flying the flag. I am English and I want to support England. Given that I live in England – this should be relatively easy.

Yet – when I was buying custard – I noticed a headline in the Liverpool Echo: Liverpool binmen banned from flying the England flag in their wagons during the World Cup.

Banned from Flying the England flag

“LIVERPOOL binmen face the sack if they adorn their wagons with England flags during the World Cup.

“The city workforce were ordered to sign contracts banning them from flying the St George’s Cross in the cabs of their trucks – or be suspended.

I could not believe what I was hearing. The reason that Liverpool Enterprise gives: health & safety. What a complete and utter load of tosh! The person that decided to do this should be tried for treason.

Liverpool is not alone: Canterbury council ban taxi drivers flying the flag, London fireman were banned from flying the flag for fear of upsetting ethnic minorities and there are plenty of rumours floating around (some of which have dispelled as myths by the police). Are there schools out there that won’t let their students wear England tops for fear of offense?

I am not a lawyer – but aren’t we verging on treason? Until the 1970’s you could get hung for treason!

Is it just me that finds all this totally nuts? Are you flying the England flag this world cup?