Mind The People

Every Day Efficient

2011-06-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

I know it sounds like a cliche wripped off some mission statement or a commercial, but efficiency is truly one of the things that can really take us high up where we want to be!

The idea for this article came to me on a Sunday night, thinking about the next day and at the fact that I had planned the day to the minute. I was very eager to start living it and also curios if I will be able to stick to my plan.

Full Speed Ahead for 9 Hours Straight.
Again, sounds like a cliche but it is very true!
For the plan I had made for that Monday I could not be anything else but 100% focused. I had a long list of tasks and a limited time to complete all of them, so I had to complete some of them very quickly in order to stay in time.

No Time Thieves
No Facebook, no articles or e-books, no news, no chit-chatting in the office! I realized that these type of small interference are really bad for your concentration. You should eliminate as much of them as you can.
What am I saying.. get rid of all of them :)
I have to admit though that I have a couple of brief pauses when I prefer to call and see how my wife is doing. It is the thing that relaxes me the most. You should find your thing that helps you recharge during your time-outs.

Prepare Your Battlefield
In order to fulfill your tasks you have to not anyone else that you depend on ruin your schedule.
First thing you do is make sure that everyone knows what you need from them and the deadline for sending you their information.

Yes, I couldn't complete all my tasks that I had planned for that Monday, but I am definitely on the right track to becoming more and more efficient every day.

Now, let's get to work!

iPhone apps: Tools to Develop and Conquer!

2011-02-23T16:19:00.000-08:00

Nice to chat with you again.

For this post I have decided to talk about iPhone applications because they are truly amazing in the way they shape the way we think and act.
I'm sure most of you used the phrase "Man.. it's like there's an app for everything these days!" at least once, but guess what... with more than 350,000 applications available in the iTunes App Store, there are still tons of app ideas that you can still come up with!

After all, whoever said that "the sky is the limit" had a pretty limited mindset, right?

TechCrunch created a pretty cool list of the top 40 iPhone Apps of 2010 which you can check out here.
I'm not even going to get started on how much money an app can make for you... If, of course, you can pull the right strings to develop and market it like a pro.

I myself have a few ideas that I will love to put in practice someday, but unfortunatelly I lack in know-how about how to develop an actual app. So I talked to some people who I thought could help me out and get me started. They did not start telling me about all the technical ins and outs of creating it, but they gave a a couple of excellent and easy to follow tools that helped me a lot!

From all these tools I want to share with you just 2, which in my opinion really tell you EVERYTHING that you need to know about getting your app up and running on iTunes App Store and, most importantly, make big money out of them.

A Simple Guide to Creating iPhone or iPad Apps and Games that succeed in App Store!
and
How To Create iPhone Apps With No Programming Experience

Feel free to try them out. I'm sure you won't regret it!

Let me know how it works out.
Best of luck!

The Best 10 of 2010!

2011-01-17T11:47:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2011!
I truly believe this will be a year of success and development for each and every one of you, so good luck with all your plans and resolutions.

As far as I am concerned, 2010 was a challenging and interesting year which made me realize that there are no such things as limits and that if you set free your pasions, dreams and creativity, the only thing that can stop you from achieving and being the best is yourself.

However, as I am far from creating the next Google or the next Facebook, here are some of the best business ideas of 2010:

10 business models that rocked 2010

10. PatientsLikeMe.com
9. Flattr.com
8. Groupon.com
7. Spotify.com
6. PayWithaTweet.com
5. HumbleBundle.com
4. Free with in-app sales
3. Quirky.com
2. Airbnb.com
1. Kickstarter.com

I am sure you are aware of the fact that some of the best ideas that led to evolution and progress throughout time came to life during rough periods such as crises or wars.

So, which will be your outstanding idea for 2011?

The 10 Principles of Digital Campaigns

2010-11-28T01:42:00.000-08:00

Surfing around I found this interesting list of 10 first things that you have to consider when launching a new on-line brand, product or campaign.

It's from the BrandDigital Facebook page which I strongly advice you to follow if you have anything to do with on-line marketing and social media.

Good luck! ;)

Do something different for your people

2010-09-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

Knowing that people matter is a great advantage for any business.

The moment when you realize that instead of "clients", "visitors" or "passengers" you actually have PEOPLE to deal with, it's when you are closer to making your business a success.

Southwest Airlines know this and they decided to treat their people different. It's actually very impressive how they managed to do something different and show that they care by changing the usual boring welcome message to something so much fun! And it probably didn't cost them a thing.

What will you do different for your people?

The 7 Traps of Freelancing

2010-09-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

Freelancing can be amazing!
What I truly love about it is being more independent, having the chance to work for myself and all the emotional and financial rewards that follow.

But how about setting things right and taking a look at the downside of things?
How about unveiling some of the most common traps that all freelancers get sucked into at some point or another, so that you know what to be prepared for if you are thinking about freelancing, or so that you know what's happening to you if you have already crossed paths with this adventurous method of earning a living?

First of all, why do people want to become freelancers?
It's because they think they are good or because they actually are, it's because they can't stand having a boss, because they don't want to follow rules, they want to earn more money and many other possible responses.

Everything's great until now, but let's see what pitfalls await you when you do become the Grand Freelancer:
1. Overselling: your client needs a blog, you say you'll do it. Even though you are a brand strategist or a financial consultant. Actually, you are too afraid not to lose your client so you would promise anything! Doesn't matter that you're not good at it..

2. Underselling: If the company you worked for paid sells a training with $1,500, you as a freelancer will do it for $700. $500 would not be bad either when you have nothing better to do..

3. You stop keeping your promises: Overloading leads to superficiality. Being 2 or 3 days late means a log for you customer so don't ever lose your focus.

4. No time for selling: You only sell when you don't have anything to work on. This takes you to financial instability and, more importantly, takes you to trap number 2 when you become desperate for not finding work.

5. You forget the word NO: You're afraid of losing your client.You overload yourself, overestimate yourself and make false estimations on the jobs in hand. If you are addicted to money, that makes it even worse.

6. You exhaust yourself working endlessly: As an employee you had weekends and holidays. Now you are free.. to work for yourself.. and you don't hold back for doing so.including on Saturdays, Sundays and special holidays.

7. You stop developing: Because you are work like a slave on your projects, you don't have any more time for learning, studying, other opportunities or to see what's happening in your environment.

If you're a freelancer I'm sure you'll find something to comment on this post.
If you're just thinking about the idea, think long and hard.

Whatever your paths willl be, I salute you!

The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

2010-09-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

Dan Pink, a skillful author about how changing of the world works, posted a very surprising and helpful theory about what really motivates individuals to perform their best in todays work environment.

After doing tons of research through interviews and studies, he finally concluded that, indeed, money are a motivator and they are important if you want your employees to be happy and do their work. However, sometimes a larger reward can actually lead to poorer performance!

What really gets people going and makes them achieve more than they would be normally capable of lies within their feelings about themselves, about you and your company and about what they are doing.

So remember!
Autonomy,
Mastery,
Purpose.

Are you offering enough to your people?

Why Mind The People?

2010-08-12T04:43:00.000-07:00

Ever walked into a restaurant and feel a bit awkward?

Everyone seems to be staring right at you and you end up wondering whether you really made the best decision by going to that specific place.

Why should you mind the people?

Imagine the same restaurant, the same crowd, you walking through the doors and there, instead of feeling uncomfortable, you are greeted by a kind person waiting to help you with your coat, asking where do you want to be seated and accompanying you to your table.

Which situation would you prefer?

I'm sure you heard this stuff before in trainings, webinars or group discussions, but do you really manage to implement and keep your mind on the people?

We are living in an economy of experiences where the consumers most often choose where to buy from due to unconscious reasons. The stimulus that your consumers' brains receive from every single detail of your business can make them experience just another plain activity that they need to do for that day, or they can make them live memorable moments, tell their friends about you, spend more money with you and add you on their favorites list!

Two of my favorite examples of remarkable companies that lead the wave of the economy of experience and actually believe that the costumer is king and put their ideas to work are Starbucks and Disney Land. I mean, really... you just can't have enough!!

But you don't have to be a giant to mind the people. Every business can do this, including small bakeries, big logistic companies and even freelance individuals.

Respecting your stakeholders and spending just a few hours thinking about how to create a unique experience for each of them can take you a long way.

Try it today!

If you need ideas to get started with minding the people for you business just leave a comment or drop me an e-mail.

I would be more than happy to help.

Cheers!

Helper for iPhone Apps

2010-08-11T17:51:00.001-07:00

A developer friend of mine asked me to recommend something for learning how to build iPhone Apps fast and easy so he could put it in practice right away.

So I started poking around and here's the best you will ever find:

How to Make An iPhonne App is a All-In-One e-book on building Apps from scratch. It was highly recommended by most experienced developers and they even convinced me that I should start reading it too.

LATER ADDITION:

I just downloaded and used an excellent guide for developing iPhone Apps for people that do NOT have programming experience! I found it hard to believe but it actually helped.

See here how to create iPhone apps with no programming experience.

Good luck!

Nice to have you

2010-08-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

Good day.

Please, take a seat!

Mind The People is the place for information, analysis and recommendations for products and services.

Success is possible! In fact, it may be just around the corner.

To enhance it, nothing is more important than people. Knowing them, talking to them, caring for their needs and giving them what they want.

Take a seat, have a warm cup of coffee and let's begin!