http://tobyruckert.com Navigating Life, one Moment at a Time. posterous.com Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:30:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/ImnFT8_4Uvk/intuition-and-entrepreneurship http://tobyruckert.com/intuition-and-entrepreneurship <p> <p>Given the overload&nbsp; that everyone is exposed to today &ndash; is it possible to make the best possible decisions based on information analysis alone?<p />My position, based on both my own experience and what I&rsquo;ve observed of others, is that intuition is going to be a key quality that differentiates the most successful entrepreneurs of tomorrow, from the less lucky. <p /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tmartin/71654890/" title="Thinker Close Up von marttj bei Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/35/71654890_6af232f0fd.jpg" height="375" alt="Thinker Close Up" width="500" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Gut feeling is an integral part of entrepreneurship</strong><p />So the question becomes, can intuition be taught? Or, given that we all have (at least) a smidgeon of intuition, to ask the question more accurately &ndash; can intuition be developed? If so, how?<p />I thought in this blog, I&rsquo;d like to share my experience of how the process of developing intuition feels to me. It&rsquo;s only one perspective, and there are likely others, that may or may not make more sense to you. But for those searching for ways to develop their intuition in a business settings, here is what I&rsquo;ve found to work and the process by which I believed I developed it.<p /><br /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>"Intuition becomes increasingly valuable in the new information society</em><br /><em>precisely because there is so much data."</em></p> <p style="text-align: right;">John Naisbitt</p> <p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: left;">In fact, when working over a distance and without seeing each other face to face regularly - it is quite difficult to truly feel the state of mind, the thoughts and emotions, the hopes, worries and fears of the other people involved in your project.<p />Because of this if such people are your key stakeholders, i.e. your MD or Co-Founder, then this really needs to be a practice in its own right for you to get better at intuitively knowing, or rather, 'feeling' their 'personal' and 'professional' wellbeing.<p /><br /><strong>How I practiced intuition by remotely monitoring a projects state of mind</strong><p />In my chest region, I mentally reserve (by focusing towards inside) some space for each and every one of my projects and key partners that &bdquo;monitors&ldquo; progress, attitude and wellbeing subconsciously until such moments when it starts to affect things seriously (either the people, the project or my relationship with any of them).<p />In programming you may think of this as an automatically recurring 'IF clause' that repeats itself and gets by unnoticed until something out of the ordinary (i.e. what is specified in the NOT part) happens' At which point the programme should get the attention of something or somebody outside that process.<p />When this happens, I&nbsp; feel an uneasiness (i.e. a slight pain or heaviness) of some sort and if it's really bad, anything from distress to even 'despair', or on the positive side some lightness or bliss. With time I was able to focus myself on a specific person and would get a feed-back in my chest region with the appropriate feeling of the person, how he or she themselves feel they are progressing and would be able to compare this with my own view of the situation, i.e. if this would be realistic in the overall scheme of things. <p />This did not work in the beginning and it took me quite at least 2-3 years of practicing but it did slowly develop. I consider this a very essential skill for the CEO of the future and any team leaders having people working 'under' or 'with' them in different locations or cultures other than their own, therefore it is time well invested. One simply has to get a gut feeling of what is "really" going on and the more one can train this and get better at the accuracy from it, the more beneficial it is for everybody involved.<p />&nbsp;<br /><strong>So, how to develop such a skill?</strong><p />Having a general openness (not being afraid to try something new) is key, as is having the patience and discipline to develop a new kind of sensitivity while staying neutral and calm about ones experiences and findings along the way. <p />Personally I find my meditation practice key in developing this but I firmly believe that it was early chamber music lessons that laid down the foundation for developing such a &bdquo;progress antenna&ldquo;. When you play in a (small) music group, say in a piano trio (piano, cello, violin) for instance, you've got to understand each other blindly. You can't always look at each other and you most definitely can't talk with each other in a concert in order to communicate. So everybody has to be able to master their own technical and musical difficulties while at the same time representing &bdquo;one voice or sound&ldquo;, even if there are three. <p />During these early lessons we had a wonderful teacher who placed great importance on paying attention on not only to our own status within the group, but also simultaneosuly listening to the voices and musical phrases the others were producing. Thus, in combination with breathing very consciously, an invisible and inaudible type of communication manifests itself within the group and within oneself that is very similar to how I believe intuition works. That's why in the case of great musicians playing together they've mastered that skill where they can match each others phrasing, toning, rhythms etc. in split seconds without even looking at each other. <p />Given that intuition may not be generally seen as a business skill of our modern world - how do you feel about intuition and gut feeling in entrepreneurship? Do you think it is at all relevant? And is it something that can be learnt or practiced, if so how?</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/intuition-and-entrepreneurship">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/intuition-and-entrepreneurship#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/ImnFT8_4Uvk" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/intuition-and-entrepreneurship Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:41:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/h4wTOkMA0W8/yosemite-nature-video-in-hd http://tobyruckert.com/yosemite-nature-video-in-hd <p> <p>View this beautiful <a href="http://vimeo.com/35396305">Yosemite HD</a> video from <a href="http://vimeo.com/projectyose">Project Yosemite</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>:</p> <p><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/35396305?color=ff0179" frameborder="0" height="225" width="400"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/yosemite-nature-video-in-hd">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/yosemite-nature-video-in-hd#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/h4wTOkMA0W8" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/yosemite-nature-video-in-hd Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:25:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/vLoYAqLLAyg/startup-politics-self-reflection-distributed http://tobyruckert.com/startup-politics-self-reflection-distributed <p> <p><strong>What role do start-up leaders play in developing inter-personal relationships in distributed teams?</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidcrow/274599175/" title="Warning: Office Politics Ahead von davidcrow bei Flickr"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/87/274599175_79a7abb30c.jpg" height="375" alt="Warning: Office Politics Ahead" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="500" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><br />"Team politics and personal shortcomings are related.<br />Where personal weaknesses or a lack of superior integrity starts, politics begin."</em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><br />If you're working in a distributed (and often virtual) team, you may have noticed this: everybody thinks they are doing their best and yet at the same time they are concerned about protecting their backs. It may start subtly and not be overly obvious, but when nearing performance evaluations for instance, things can heat up pretty quickly.<p />You may think this does not matter much in a startup or if team politics occur early on, you've just picked the wrong team members. But in my experience, "politics" is a human phenomenon - nobody is completely free of them and it's not only about whom you pick but also about how you inter-relate with them. <p /><strong>Geographically dispersed teams face special challenges</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;">When, for instance, you have two teams working in two different countries with their people not knowing each other personally, and you and your project are (seemingly!) the only link between them, then you've set the stage for a world of startup politics. Assumptions over distance and through lack of personal knowledge and character flourish much more easily than when you're sitting next to each other in the same office or have been out and about together on a personal level at least&nbsp; a few times.<p />Even if you have recruited those rare types of people who are disciplined and focused on maintaining their integrity and have a basic positive belief in the other person, there is always that little element of doubt that creeps into each mind as long as they are focused on protecting their backs or are focused on being right rather than&nbsp; just making things happen. Usually the more your company grows, the more politics become a part of the everyday equation.<p />So in the teams that I'm a leader of, small or large, if there is even the slightest hint such things are going on repeatedly in any of our (especially distributed) teams, I'll&nbsp; be on high alert before it becomes a bad habit for some or many in the group, because this is a habit that startups absolutely can't afford: it's bad for morale, productivity and progress. <p /><strong>So welcome to the world of politics!</strong><p />To address this issue as a leader, first of all one should know the role one plays in the entire picture, i.e. the place you have within the ranks of politics in your company. Because like it or not you set the acceptable tone and in the case of turning a blind eye, you are the one that implicity condones unacceptable behaviour.<p />Where you are in the political ranks of your company is sometimes quite tricky to figure out, because let's face it: the higher up the ladder you are, you're more naturally going to be &ldquo;right&rdquo; - even if you're wrong. In such a situation it is very important to have access to some objective feedback from others (your Co-Founder for instance) to evaluate your role, as it is paramount to analyse and know oneself, before one even starts trying to fix team related politics. For those who don't have access to objective feedback, there are some techniques that can help to figure out which role you're filling in your company's political games.<p /><strong>So what are these techniques?</strong><p />I have a practice that was commonly used in my piano playing days. You record your interactions (performance) and review them. When reviewing this recording of your performance, you suddenly see yourself from at least 3 views:<p /></p> <ol> <li>You remember - yes, I did what I came here to do (and maybe some details like &ldquo;I did it well, not so well&rdquo; etc.). You also remember &ndash; yeah, I knew I missed that, but it already happened. So this is your memory playing / reliving the moments of the performance again in front of you.</li> <li>You acknowledge - yes, I came here to do this, but -bummer- I had missed it. Note that until the moment you watched that video / heard the recording, you were not aware you missed something(!) - this in itself makes watching recordings of performances a very worthwhile lesson for anybody being part of an event like this.</li> <li>You suddenly see yourself not only in your shoes, but also in the shoes of the audience. Did they understand what point you wanted to make there or which musical phrase you wanted to bring across? Were you aware that at certain moments, the different highlights of your performance were bridged by boring lows of longer periods than necessary? How does this recording make you feel from a visitor/audience point of view? Was it boring? Exciting? Refreshing? Interesting?</li> </ol> <p style="text-align: left;">One could look at 1) as being the subjective, personal view you're in, at 2) as being the neutral feedback of genuine friend or great Co-Founder and at 3) as being a summary of everybody elses situation (i.e. an investor, employee, the person or people you're dealing with in relation to the political issue).<p />The fact is that by the practise of the above mentioned technique, especially for 3), you can learn more about yourself, by analysing yourself, as anybody else could possibly tell you about you, even your best friend or Co-Founder. Which brings me back to the actual topic: politics.<p />As I mentioned earlier, first mentally (or physically) recording and analysing your own 'performance' on such a political stage is something which will help you to understand where you are really at. After that - and depending on your countries privacy laws and regulations, you could record the entire conversation with the individuals involved - for personal evaluation purposes only and after letting them know you're doing it.<p /><strong>Let's see what happens when you do that:</strong><p />Just by recording yourself, you'll learn how you think/feel or even react (by saying or doing something) when somebody in your team is saying something good or bad about somebody else in your team (or yourself for that matter). During the conversation you're normally not likely to notice this in a neutral or objective way. But if you listen to yourself afterwards, you'll know (or should know) yourself well enough to determine if you (re)act according to your personal issues (i.e. a grudge against a person or unhappy with yourself or something), to protect your integrity, to be fair and right to all or simply to 'get things done' (a topic in its own right).<p />I believe it is very important to learn about and, as completely as possible, understand ones own motives first, before venturing into analysing other people's lives (if one should actually ever do that!).<p />Once you've determined where on the stage you're standing, it is time to listen to what others have to say. To give a simple and frequently recurring example: one person A might suspect&nbsp; person B of talking about them behind their back. But by talking to that&nbsp; person B you may know - possibly even while listening to the recording - very clearly, that this is not the case. Quite the opposite in fact - the moment you'd mention something bad about A, B is protecting them - either on a personal or a professional level. <p />By listening to the subtleties in conversations from a neutral place outside the conversation, you can find out a lot about politics, yourself and where things go wrong between people that affect the outcome of your project. <p />It is this objective review that allows you to change your performance (interactions) in the future and to proactively address issues you have found. The more people within the organization are open to such practice of communicative self-reflection and analysis, the easier it is to avoid the painful process of sorting out office politics once they have occurred.<p />Or, with the words of a very wise man, many years ago:</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The person of superior integrity<br />does not insist upon his integrity;</strong><strong><br />For this reason, he has integrity.</strong><strong><br />The person of inferior integrity</strong><strong><br />never loses sight of his integrity;</strong><strong><br />For this reason, he lacks integrity.</strong><strong></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Tao Te King </strong></p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/startup-politics-self-reflection-distributed">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/startup-politics-self-reflection-distributed#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/vLoYAqLLAyg" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/startup-politics-self-reflection-distributed Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:06:53 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/pcDQ4xwn1yo/solar-flare-eruptions http://tobyruckert.com/solar-flare-eruptions <p> <p>I'm seriously wondering if the solar flare eruptions that are being <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12493980" target="_blank">reported on all over the worlds media</a> not only have an impact on magnetic or electric fields but also on human communication. The number of quite simple misunderstandings I've experienced in the last 24 hours is mind boggling.</p> <p>Maybe it's a personal thing, but in case you've made a similar observation, I'd love to hear from you in the comments.</p> <p>Meanwhile, if you want to know the size of these eruptions in perspective of Sun and Earth, there is a video visualizing this quite nicely:</p> <p><iframe src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/015cnqMt2i8?rel=0" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/solar-flare-eruptions">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/solar-flare-eruptions#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/pcDQ4xwn1yo" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/solar-flare-eruptions Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:39:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/gUX3UWf31P4/email-etiquette-for-the-better-team-interpers http://tobyruckert.com/email-etiquette-for-the-better-team-interpers <p> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-c/2250563337/" title="Breathe while reading your email! von m-c bei Flickr"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2206/2250563337_4f62366a75.jpg" height="235" alt="Breathe while reading your email!" width="460" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: left;">The nature of written and spoken words are quite different:</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>The spoken word carries the most potent power at the given present moment, allowing for prompt reaction, leading to conversation and thus less room for speculation. </em><p /><em>The written word instead lives and breathes with interpretation, based on circumstances and different individual perceptions in which there is plenty of room for misunderstandings.</em></p> <p><br />Therefore when working in a global team, possibly with very different cultures involved, it is best to agree on some basic ground rules not just for email but for all your written communication. From own experience I know that the following things definitely helped productivity and team spirit:<p /></p> <ul> <li>in our teams as a general rule we avoid the use of superlatives, as they often indicate strong emotions which may heighten the existing emotional response of the reader so that they interpret the message content in an overly emotional way.</li> <li>we encourage each other to pro-actively start a message with the information that we are having a bad day or similar, so the (emotional) context of the subsequent writing is brought into perspective.</li> <li>I think every existing team member now knows that we don't write in CAPITAL letters unless it's absolutely necessary to explain a problem, but even then &ndash; they would first consider opting for bold, italics or underline font styles instead, as they are normally sufficient to get the message across, right?</li> <li>absolutely no swearing:&nbsp; it never does or did anybody or anything any good. Do you really believe that "more better" stuff "got done" because you (as CEO or investor) swore at something or somebody? Chances are that with every time you publicly swear at something or at somebody, you - on a personal level - just lose a little bit of the respect of that team member. This may not impact ones professional standing immediately, but I am sure that it does long term, even though it seems to be a <a href="http://www.quora.com/Dave-McClure-Why-do-you-swear-so-fucking-much" target="_blank">fun hobby for some leaders in the worlds startup community</a>;</li> <li>stopping the usage of unnecessary repetitions or irregular use of punctuation marks such as .. or ....... or ???? or ?!??? or !!!!! - what use do they have any way? Everybody interprets them differently! Using exclamation marks, full stops etc. is the historic way to communicate and nothing is wrong with them, but what exactly do overly done repetitions mean? Use a "?" for a question, the question does not become stronger if there are "??????" behind it. Use "..." and not ".." as it conveys a laissez-fair (don't care) attitude. Using "......." conveys "this issue is a never never ending story, I could go on and on about it -&gt; 'you keep failing'" </li> </ul> <p><br />So as early as possible in the start-ups life make your team aware of these points and discuss it with them. Personal bad habits need not be easily welcomed in professional relations, it's easy enough to at least once discuss this together &rarr;&nbsp; particularly when you're still a young and dynamic company with few staff. It's far easier to do at this time than trying to build that into corporate company culture later.<p />To an extent I can understand that as the CEO of a big corporate you may not want to go into these reviews of communication styles personally. But as the Founder of a company, there is no way around this kind of thing and it is better to be prepared rather than to be taken by surprise. <p />This simple matter can affect productivity and progress of your company significantly, it can build good team morale, respect for each other, loyalty and can become part of your companies culture early on.</p> <p>Needless to say that I'm trying hard to live up to my just posted standards!</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/email-etiquette-for-the-better-team-interpers">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/email-etiquette-for-the-better-team-interpers#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/gUX3UWf31P4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/email-etiquette-for-the-better-team-interpers Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:39:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/O99V1pyA8S0/putting-my-classical-music-cd-finally-online http://tobyruckert.com/putting-my-classical-music-cd-finally-online <p> <p>Several years ago I recorded this CD during a fund raising concert for a musical museum. Finally I decided to put the recording online via Soundcloud and hope you'll enjoy the tracks:</p> <p><iframe scrolling="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F1484808&amp;auto_play=false&amp;show_artwork=true&amp;color=ff7700" frameborder="no" height="450" width="100%"></iframe></p> <p>Please forgive the occasional mistakes :-)</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/putting-my-classical-music-cd-finally-online">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/putting-my-classical-music-cd-finally-online#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/O99V1pyA8S0" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/putting-my-classical-music-cd-finally-online Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:26:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/l7DvgCFk9XA/so-you-want-to-meditate http://tobyruckert.com/so-you-want-to-meditate <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-01-05/cBhjiCCgEfFhwdGuhlpdsJlwbeEHDjooanfgpbqwDteCvlyGyzvGHaihqdgC/lake-matheson.png"><img alt="Lake-matheson" height="253.490870032223" src="http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2012-01-05/cBhjiCCgEfFhwdGuhlpdsJlwbeEHDjooanfgpbqwDteCvlyGyzvGHaihqdgC/lake-matheson.png" width="500" /></a> </div> ...but never find the time to do so. Right? Well, you're in good company and definitely not alone out there.</p> <p>Recently I read in the blog of a <a href="http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2011/12/feature-friday-mark-unread-in-gmail.html" target="_blank">well known and successful&nbsp;Venture Capitalist (VC) in the US</a>&nbsp;a brief statement that reminded me of myself a few years ago just before starting my meditation practice. He wrote:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>"It's like meditating. I know I should do it. I just can't bring myself to spend the time on it."</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>This made me think, simply because on one side I could very much relate to what he wrote while at the same time wondering what it was that enabled me to change from wanting to meditate to actually doing it in my own life journey.<p />To me, meditation is neither political nor religious. It is universally applicable to anybody with a body, thoughts and feelings, a fact that renders most of us equal - at least on a very generic level. Probably the worst thing one could do though is imprisoning meditation in one specific belief system or molding it to ones own philosophy alone. In fact, real meditation is quite the opposite: while it opens the mind, it is down to earth at the same time. Because of that, meditation can produce very clear, tangible and measurable results - depending on what it is you want to achieve. <p />Going back a few years, when I was 7 or 8 years old, my view of the world changed - almost over night. For some reason, I started to look upon the outside world differently. What had changed? Well, I started to see people fighting with life instead of enjoying life. I saw them building businesses and relationships with a financial purpose in mind rather than enjoying building them. And I saw them building houses for themselves though they'd never live in them but would instead extract money (as rent) from those who could not afford to build a house themselves, only to die one fine day without being able to take any of this with them.</p> <p>I asked myself: what's the sense of building anything - be it a family, a house, a business, ...you name it..., if&nbsp; it is already clear that whatever you do serves only a very temporary purpose?&nbsp; For a 7 year-old this was a pretty harsh realization and there were no satisfying answers from outside that would really put my mind at ease. And although I tried to ignore these tough observations, they simply wouldn't fade away.<p />I also found it most shocking to see some people with seemingly great faith, who did much preaching about the wonderful life after death were especially keen to amass as much wealth as possible during their (physical) lifetime on Earth as they could - while saying at the same time that they'll not be able to take it with them to their heavenly abode. <p />It was not until five years later when I was 12, that while reading certain books, the world would start making sense again. It was then that I was first introduced to the subject of meditation. However I didn't have the discipline to follow "written instructions" for meditating at the time, nor was there a person in my reach that could actually explain the principles of why and how meditation would work and a step-by-step process of 'what actually to do'. <p />While my intellectual reasoning about the insanity of making money and building stuff (just to lose it one day), did not put my mind at peace, at least I felt that in meditation I had found a hope and powerful ally whose practice could possibly help me make sense out of an increasingly confusing world out there &ndash; some time in the future.<p />Since then I tried various forms of meditation from visualizations, breathing exercises, walking, deep relaxation, self reflection and so on. While I was quite disciplined with some of them, ultimately, they did not produce the 'desired result'. Why? because the 'desired result' was not well enough defined for myself. <p />It's much like with anything else. If you want to learn the piano, you go to piano lessons, you don't go to trumpet lessons or play tennis. If you want to develop software, you hire a software developer and not necessarily a lawyer that has never written a single line of code. <p /></p> <p><strong>Choose the right meditation for you</strong></p> <p>One of the most important things I believe for anyone being interested in starting meditation is to first choose the right meditation for his or her objective. Much like with other things, if you're serious about something, do your due diligence and that bit of research that can make you go the whole way rather than getting stuck in the middle of the road. In IT, if you have a brilliant idea and some business experience, you wouldn't just start building stuff, you'd first select the right architecture and framework for what you're trying to build. In music, you'd want to know something about the composer or the piece you're learning at least at some point during your practice simply to get the interpretation approximately right.&nbsp;</p> <p><br /><strong>Aim for results with an open mind</strong></p> <p>While you may have a certain aim for the outcome of your meditation practice, be open to accept that things might work out differently than you anticipate. In my case I had to learn and accept that - much like with anything else in life - you may do certain things for a specific purpose, but that you simply can't get there in a direct way. Say you want to cross a creek without getting wet feet and move the stones in front of you appropriately to accomplish this. Chances are that in order to reach your goal - or the other side - you're not able to take the exact route you've planned but rather end up on a different place on the other side of the river than you had originally envisioned. While you did not come out exactly where you expected to, you've ultimately still reached your goal: the other side. So when you do meditation - have an aim in mind, but don't expect it to be executed exactly the way you want it to, then take your steps, but let the way and ultimate outcome be made by means of the practice of meditation.<p /><br /><strong>Regular practice matters</strong></p> <p>Most importantly especially while beginning your meditation practice, there is the question of regularity. If you have read the book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell, then you know this already: practice matters. But the regularity of it matters even more when you're just starting with something. <p />I had already known this from my piano career and yet the more relevant question to me was, &ldquo;how does practice start to happen regularly" vs. "why are some things just not getting practiced"? Surprisingly, even disciplined people sometimes find it difficult to get into the habit of practicing something new, regularly. That's because before discipline, practice is first a matter of priority. <p />Unless you're totally committed to something and truly understand its importance or relevance to your life -right now- chances are you're simply not going to do it. So whatever new thing you're starting with and to come back to the quote of AVC (whom I highly respect) from the beginning, unless you're changing your priorities and give the 'new' thing the highest priority over whatever else you're doing in your life right now, it never had and never will have a real chance in the first place. In the (latter) case, why waste a single thought about it then? <p />So, if you have an inner urge to do something, at least follow that urge to its source and examine its elements instead of denying it. Find the reasons for where the desire (i.e. to meditate) comes from and see if this gives you enough material to change your priorities - at least for a set period of time.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Don't let your time rule you. Instead, understand your desires.</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/so-you-want-to-meditate">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/so-you-want-to-meditate#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/l7DvgCFk9XA" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/so-you-want-to-meditate Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:39:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/Wh7JPfY-v-Q/dinner-for-one-a-new-year-classic http://tobyruckert.com/dinner-for-one-a-new-year-classic <p> <p>Dinner for One is an English-language play that has become a must-see in may countries. It was recorded in a single take in 1963 by the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and was recognized by the Guiness Book of Records as having been the most frequently repeated television program ever.</p> <p><embed src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=9105942950207814319&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></p> <p><br />Found in a <a href="http://www.frequentbusinesstraveler.com/2010/12/dinner-for-one-review/" target="_blank">blog post of Jonathan Spira</a>.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/dinner-for-one-a-new-year-classic">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/dinner-for-one-a-new-year-classic#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/Wh7JPfY-v-Q" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/dinner-for-one-a-new-year-classic Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:25:32 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/-qo7iBUi1Hg/7-reasons-to-start-up-in-new-zealand http://tobyruckert.com/7-reasons-to-start-up-in-new-zealand <p> <p>Are you</p> <ul> <li>starting your own business? </li> <li>a serial entrepreneur just about to launch your next venture? </li> <li>an investor looking for an ideal opportunity to position yourself for the future? </li> </ul> <p>If any of the above apply to you, then there are some things you should know about New Zealand, dubbed the "youngest country on Earth".</p> <p>But first let's get a better idea of the country we're talking about by watching this 30s video:</p> <p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lHADXK9_jsI" frameborder="0" height="360" width="480"></iframe></p> <p>Apart from being obviously beautiful in many ways, New Zealand has silently but surely made its way up the international ranks of doing business and so becoming a prime destination for entrepreneurs and startups:</p> <ul> <li>In the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ease_of_Doing_Business_Index" target="_blank">Ease of Doing Business Index</a> by the Worldbank, New Zealand ranks overall 3rd, just after Singapore and Hong Kong and before the US. But what should excite entrepeneurs and investors more is that it ranks 1st both in the <a href="http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/new-zealand/#starting-a-business" target="_blank">sub-categories</a> of "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starting_a_Business_Index" target="_blank">Starting A Business</a>" and "<a href="http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/new-zealand/#protecting-investors" target="_blank">Protecting Investors</a>".</li> <li>Leading investors such as <a href="http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/billionaire-venture-capitalist-follow-several-nz-companies-aw-104236" target="_blank">Vinod Khosla</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-new-zealand-2011-1" target="_blank">Peter Thiel</a> (see also the <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&amp;objectid=10737302" target="_blank">NZ Herald article</a>) have already taken notice and invest actively in this country of just over 4 million people.</li> </ul> <p>So there is an ease of starting and running a business and protection for investors &ndash; but what is it, that could make New Zealand a future powerhouse; especially of tech related startups?</p> <p>Let's have a look at some of the insights that I've come across while incorporating and building <a href="http://unifiedinbox.com" title="Unified Inbox" target="_blank">my own venture</a> during the last few years here in New Zealand.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>1. Government support</strong></p> <p>It takes time to build a team, product or service, find investors and/or become profitable. Contrary to popular belief, it simply doesn't happen over night and it's a long and winding road to get from idea &rarr; team &rarr; product &rarr; market &rarr; success.</p> <p>The time and money it takes to reach a stage where an idea isn't just an idea any more and people actually start using (and ideally paying) for your product or service is frequently underestimated.</p> <p>Even if there is potentially or obviously a lot of value in what you're creating, it is usually very hard to manage on your own, especially if you - or your friends and family - don't have a big bank account.</p> <p>Provided you have a genuinely good, high value idea for which you may only need support to get to the next level, there is (for instance) a dollar for dollar funding program by the NZ government - something that helps the local company to get to the next milestone without getting diluted from too many angel investment rounds early on. At the same time, both local and international investors are impressed by seeing their investment matched dollar for dollar, without having to give up equity or having to put up with another board member.</p> <p>There are a number of different programs and schemes available, ranging from <a href="http://www.business.govt.nz/starting-up/where-to-find-sources-of-capital/business-grants-for-kiwi-businesses" target="_blank">business startups and growth grants</a> to <a href="http://www.fis.org.nz/" target="_blank">support for charities, researchers, scholarships</a> and much more.<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>2. Legal and political climate, economic freedom</strong></p> <p>When you build a business, you want to build it in a strong legal environment, especially if you're creating a lot of intellectual property (IP). Creating IP is one thing, defending it another. With the unfortunate advent of patent trolls try to cash in on any sort of IP you may have created for the positive development of your venture, comes the question of IP defendability.</p> <p>I'm not trying to say this sort of thing can be completely avoided in New Zealand, especially when you've got an international market and you're selling to the world. But when setting up a business you would at least want to make it as hard as possible for those wanting to misuse the legal system.</p> <p>To attack or defend IP in New Zealand is handled differently than the US for instance. Even if somebody had a right to dispute IP because there is an overlap with yours, in New Zealand they'll still have to pay their own lawyer before putting a case. That definitely makes one think twice before one would go ahead in this direction.</p> <p>New Zealand is also frequently <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_economic_freedom" target="_blank">rated among the top 3 countries</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_freedom" target="_self">Economic Freedom</a> - (not to be confused with "democratic freedom" in which Singapore and Hong Kong for example are only perceived to be "partially free").</p> <p>There is currently no capital gains tax in New Zealand. This is something which should be of great interest to both entrepreneurs and investors alike. Whereas investors often have various SPV's (Special Purpose Vehicles) for their investments to secure minimum tax implications for their overall ROI (Return of Investment), entrepreneurs - and especially when launching a business the first time - are mostly not as sophisticated in their legal and taxation based setup, so they should take special care and take a close look at the subject of capital gains tax, simply because the entrepreneur often makes the most money when the company is ultimately sold.<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>3. Better life, better business</strong></p> <p>To me personally there is no question that for most people "meaningful productivity" at work and their personal environment are inter-related. There are many factors such as career opportunities, natural environment (climatic conditions, pollution...), personal and family lifestyle, social connectedness and so on, that ultimately affect ones productivity.</p> <p>Whether you like the mountains, beaches, the sea or the city life, there is a place for everybody here in New Zealand. Unless you're a very big city person only &ndash; because then you're kind of limited in your choices here in New Zealand - there is really only one big city (ie with more than 1 million people) and that is&nbsp;<a href="http://www.aucklandnz.com/" target="_blank">Auckland</a>.</p> <p>From a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/oecd-better-life-index-2011-5#4-new-zealand-8" target="_blank">lifestyle and work-life-balance</a> perspective, I can't imagine being in a better place to raise my startup. Sure, life is hectic here, too and you have the same stress and pressure as you'd expect from any high energy, make it or break it startup environment.</p> <p>And yet, there is a certain balance and especially "lightness" about key strategic decisions I'm making here for my venture that may shape its destiny many more years down the line. I think it has to do with the fact the international contacts and markets I'm dealing with don't interrupt my thinking process during the most productive daytime hours - simply because there is a significant time zone difference - which you may or may not like as it requires you to stay up late for certain conference calls (something which you in a startup probably won't mind doing anyway).</p> <p>Another advantage is that you're pretty much always ahead of time - somebody in the US tells you he needs this by Monday first thing in the morning? No worries - that is already Tuesday in New Zealand. Plenty of time to play around with and one of the first things I miss once I'm travelling internationally.</p> <p>So I think, a better life or at least a better "perceived living environment" will definitely affect the decisions of company leaders positively, whether for startups or existing businesses alike. <strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>4. The best are everywhere</strong></p> <p>It's nothing new and it has been said many times before - "the best are everywhere". And yet, do you live (and work) by this credo yourself? There is no doubt that this will become a de-facto standard in future for best work practices, but how far along are you with your thinking along these lines?</p> <p>You may think having everything local is the best and most efficient solution and there certainly are cases where this is the best option. But in the fast moving world we live in today, having a globally distributed team is actually one of the most natural and efficient ways to keep track of the pulse of what's happening in the world. This relates to technological developments as much as development in entire cultures and societies - something which can ultimately affect your market focus a great deal.&nbsp;</p> <p>Yes, it has its own unique challenges and for most startups it's even inadvisable because it requires a whole lot of discipline from everybody working with this freedom every day. But it also unlocks unknown potential in people that go the extra mile because of the location freedom and flexibility of working times (i.e. some people just like to work at night) that you give them.</p> <p>Ultimately, do you really care where they work and when they work? You may and should consider the "what" and "how" being relevant to achieve a certain result &ldquo;in unison&rdquo; and especially in a global team that does matter, but even their personal motives ("why") could be of secondary concern to the company as long as the desired results are there.&nbsp;</p> <p>So for those putting together a global team, there are some aspects which are worth considering early on, such as "if the company originates from New Zealand, how would somebody in Europe perceive that?" Depending on where your market is, this actually matters quite a lot. For instance, New Zealand ranks 1st on the International <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index" target="_blank">Corruption Perceptions Index</a> - something which people and companies in Europe, for instance, have a "perceived respect" for - which of course results in better trust and&nbsp;<a href="http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/#CountryResults" target="_blank">transparency</a> during business transactions and deals.&nbsp;</p> <p>What I'm saying is you don't have to limit yourself to New Zealand talent (as good as it is) but if you move your startup here, simply being perceived as being from New Zealand has big advantages when working with the best around the world. For example, why not hire your key business development, marketing and sales people in the US, have your R&amp;D wherever it suits you and the IP somewhere else again.</p> <p>The likeability of the country where your business is incorporated can not be underestimated in this global setup - it affects cost and sympathy aspects . When talking about &ldquo;sympathy&rdquo; we think about how others perceive New Zealand, do people want to work here one day? Or do they want to work with New Zealanders?</p> <p>This likeability is such that I have seen that there are many great seasoned executives that can be attracted towards working in a unique&nbsp;<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/07/2010-quality-of-life-inde_n_413765.html?slidenumber=6iazjUDdooQ%3D&amp;slideshow#slide_image" target="_blank">work/lifestyle</a>&nbsp;kind of package/concept that New Zealand has to offer. After all, what is not attractive about a nation with the most golf courses / sailing ships per head and world class wine.</p> <p>So respectability matters a lot if you want to sell to the world, just see the tech companies that are exporting from the US to the world or the car companies that export from Germany to the world. But personally I think that "perceived likeability" is a factor that one should not underestimate when incorporating a business either.<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>5. Sustainability and stability</strong></p> <p>Considering the likeliness of further financial turmoil in the near future, there will be hardly any countries, including New Zealand, that won't be affected by it. However New Zealand is well positioned to be a comparatively safe/stable location for businesses in such a condition.</p> <p>Why? It's one of the few countries worldwide with enough resources (minerals, water, food, etc.) to be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index" target="_blank">considered sustainable</a> for all its people - even with our current (and often wasteful) lifestyle.&nbsp; It also ranks 2nd on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Peace_Index" target="_blank">Global Peace Index</a> - something which is far more relevant in times of turmoil than in times of peace (whether economic or otherwise).<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>6. Infrastructure and IT</strong></p> <p>Especially if you're a tech related startup, you might be interested in this one and possibly have not known this before. New Zealand is centrally located between the USA and Asia. It is politically safe and neutral and has no atomic power with most of its energy being from renewable sources.</p> <p>Therefore with global companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon keen to use renewable energy, New Zealand can deliver, since the bulk of its power comes from such "green" sources &mdash; like hydro-electricity and geothermal sources.</p> <p>In addition,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.highperformancedatacenternews.com/2011_News/2011-05-27_IBM_New_Zealand_Data_Center.html" target="_blank">IBM</a>&nbsp;and others are currently building new data centers here that could turn the country, particularly &nbsp;<a href="http://www.investauckland.com/" target="_blank">Auckland</a>, into the&nbsp;datacenter hub of the South Pacific. New,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.zdnet.com.au/pacnet-joins-447m-us-nz-aus-cable-339304845.htm" target="_blank">high power cables</a>&nbsp;are being laid through the oceans supported by a <a href="http://www.zdnet.com.au/nz-govt-details-nz15bn-nbn-roll-out-339298557.htm" target="_blank">broadband initiative</a> of the government. New Zealand will have some of the fastest and most direct cables in the world connecting Asia, Australia and the US.</p> <p>Considering how far off the world map New Zealand actually is, the latency is surprisingly low. Why? For one, New Zealand has only 4 million people. How much traffic can 4 million people really generate? And then there are very few high traffic sites currently hosted here, so there is not much to deliver down the pipe to other places around the world &ndash; leaving plenty of low cost traffic growth opportunities.</p> <p>An added bonus: when New Zealanders are most active on the web, they do it while the rest of the world sleeps.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>7. Mindset</strong></p> <p>When I came to New Zealand more than 8 years ago, little did I know that many very successful "Kiwi expats" are placed in key positions around the world. They are&nbsp;extremely <a href="http://www.keanewzealand.com/" target="_blank">well connected</a>&nbsp; and rarely forget &ldquo;home&rdquo;.</p> <p>I was also surprised at the ease with which it is possible to meet new people and decision makers. Whether they'd be presidents of political parties or CEOs of some of New Zealand's leading companies, I have had much easier and less complicated access to them to be able to meet and present my case &ndash; something that would normally take me months or years of networking being new in other, bigger countries.</p> <p>There is also the fact that New Zealanders are generally curious to try out new things and that this &ldquo;trying&rdquo; is limited to a specific geographic region with clear physical and marketing related boundaries. That's one of the reasons why the country often serves as an international trial market for introducing new products or services to the world, ranging from tooth paste over chocolate to the well know debit cards that are now being used all over the world. If it works here with a very limited, but diverse population, chances are it will work elsewhere as well.<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>What's not to like?</strong></p> <p>So what is there not to like you may ask? Not much, really. The one thing that I have noticed the most and is probably the biggest disadvantage down here is a certain "uncertainty" many people exhibit about themselves &ndash; one way: 'we're too small to get this done', or the other: 'we are the best, we can do anything'.</p> <p>That kind of uncertainty can sometimes cause trouble in the most unexpected situations &ndash; just like it would anywhere else in the world. But then again, it is also that kind of uncertainty which makes people quite modest - something which in my perception is definitely likeable, and we've already discussed the upside of likeability!</p> <p>If you have any questions about raising or launching your startup in New Zealand, I'm more than happy to answer them.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/7-reasons-to-start-up-in-new-zealand">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/7-reasons-to-start-up-in-new-zealand#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/-qo7iBUi1Hg" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/7-reasons-to-start-up-in-new-zealand Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:05:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/romU9Msfnt4/to-understand-your-own-world-better-venture-i http://tobyruckert.com/to-understand-your-own-world-better-venture-i <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-12-08/DduyfIvzDypIxmgoHphxaGahBjHfjcEjwmBbChaICpFbAwJkGpgExImDqgqh/Bildschirmfoto_2011-12-08_um_21.19.26.png.scaled1000.png"><img alt="Bildschirmfoto_2011-12-08_um_21" height="201" src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-12-08/DduyfIvzDypIxmgoHphxaGahBjHfjcEjwmBbChaICpFbAwJkGpgExImDqgqh/Bildschirmfoto_2011-12-08_um_21.19.26.png.scaled500.png" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p>In my life to date, I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend time in different countries. And in those countries spend time with people who were kind enough to help me experience their culture. And what I've discovered while doing this is that no matter where you are or where you go, no matter how much you travel or have experienced or seen - unless you look at your world and your experience with an outsiders perspective from time to time, you're still caught in your own.</p> <p>Apart from otherwise speeding up your personal development and growth, the ability to understand your world and where it's at compared to other peoples world is a core competence needed in order to keep your business innovative and a step ahead of the competition. So this "trap" that many of us fall into is actually a bigger problem than most of us care to concede.</p> <p>To avoid falling into this trap myself, the first principle I found to work well is taken from an aspect of anthropology - "To understand your own world better, venture into another."</p> <p>Examples of what I'd consider venturing into a different world of your own are (in no particular order and with some options for personal/business level):</p> <ul> <li>if you know the world only on the level of earth, go diving and learn about the oceanic world or go skydiving to get a birds eye view of things (in future, if the opportunity presents itself - consider space travel)</li> <li>if you're a person that enjoys good food and likes to eat but does not know how to cook, go and be part of a cooking class</li> <li>if you're a very serious, scientific, intellectual, business minded person but find it difficult to relax or believe in something higher (whatever that is), go and take a meditation class if you're good at controlling yourself well, are a bit up tight with your emotions or are very disciplined, go and take dancing classes, Salsa, Samba,...</li> <li>it's always advisable to do something creative, take music or art lessons but go about it in a practical way, i.e. don't learn about the history at first. Play the music yourself or paint yourself, add the theory later and focus on the (less intellectual) creative force at firstvisit those countries that in your mind you're the least interested in. Then if you're open, you will find value in those things which previously you'd thought made no sense in your world&nbsp;</li> <li>do something that - business wise - you would normally never do. A lawyer or accountant could look at their client list and every year volunteer for some of the charitable foundations that are their clients.&nbsp;</li> <li>make the most important thing of your daily life (money, power), for a specific period of time, the least important thing. There are more people out there living this kind of life than you might think. If you understand their world, it will benefit yours.&nbsp;</li> <li>if you're a spiritual person without any monetary aspirations, go and work in a bank - try to get to the position where you have to decide on the approval or rejection of loans. </li> </ul> <p>There are many examples like this, try to find yours and venture into a new world from time to time. Try to reflect upon the new world from outside your own.</p> <p>This ability to look as neutrally as possible at your own world from without, is a unique tool in ensuring development, competitiveness, innovation and presence in both your business and your personal life.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/to-understand-your-own-world-better-venture-i">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/to-understand-your-own-world-better-venture-i#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/romU9Msfnt4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/to-understand-your-own-world-better-venture-i Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:23:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/JtymgvTxiTY/2011-social-media-statistics-video-infographi http://tobyruckert.com/2011-social-media-statistics-video-infographi <p> <p>Social media has never been bigger, with hundreds of millions of people checking Facebook, Tweeting, posting and watching videos and sharing their lives on the web.</p> <p><a href="http://www.videoinfographs.com/" target="_blank">Videoinfographs</a> have released this video infographic with the latest statistics, facts and figures about social media that were released in 2011:</p> <p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/H61WvxOm1AM" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p> <p>Time to get a life - so I'm glad to report our team at <a href="http://unifiedinbox.com" title="Simply Communicate" target="_blank">Unified Inbox</a> is working 24/7 to make the world a better communication place.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/2011-social-media-statistics-video-infographi">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/2011-social-media-statistics-video-infographi#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/JtymgvTxiTY" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/2011-social-media-statistics-video-infographi Sun, 04 Dec 2011 11:21:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/RzhTOynOiQM/viewing-earth-from-space http://tobyruckert.com/viewing-earth-from-space <p> <p><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/32001208?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" frameborder="0" height="225" width="400"></iframe></p> <p>This stunning view of Earth from space is an incredible time lapse sequence of photographs taken on board the International Space Station earlier this year above places such as the US, the Sahara desert, and Australia.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/viewing-earth-from-space">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/viewing-earth-from-space#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/RzhTOynOiQM" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/viewing-earth-from-space Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:43:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/F-53FV4SKb0/a-fantastic-music-machine http://tobyruckert.com/a-fantastic-music-machine <p> <p><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><div class='p_embed p_video_embed'> <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/a-fantastic-music-machine"><img alt="" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/video.posterous.com/temp-2011-11-28/sItlcEtxnyrigHFwbFbfwGcEEbxrdefxbwqHAsxibBqlhqbgDrfkpeytEdJc/frame_0000.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <strong>FantasticMachineAV.wmv</strong> <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/a-fantastic-music-machine">Watch on Posterous</a> </div> </div> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">This incredible machine was built as a collaborative effort between the Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory and the Sharon Wick School of Engineering at the University of Iowa.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: black; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">Amazingly, 97% of the machines components came from John Deere Industries and Irrigation Equipment of Bancroft, Iowa, - yes farm equipment! <br /></span></span></p> <p><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">It took the team a combined 13,029 hours of set-up, alignment, calibration, and tuning before filming this video but as you can see it was WELL worth the effort. </span></span></p> <p><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">It is now on display in the Matthew Gerhard Alumni Hall at the University&nbsp;and is already slated to be donated to the Smithsonian.</span></span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/a-fantastic-music-machine">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/a-fantastic-music-machine#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/F-53FV4SKb0" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/a-fantastic-music-machine Fri, 25 Nov 2011 22:32:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/ehS_q-RatyI/new-zealand-politicians-before-the-election http://tobyruckert.com/new-zealand-politicians-before-the-election <p> <p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/b9SuqaoZC3w" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p> <p>While most are excited on getting back to work in their natural habitat, a few still seem to be a bit confused as to where to go from here, probably after enjoying too much <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6019903/Tea-tape-to-remain-private-for-now" target="_blank">tea at the election party</a>.</p> <p>As for the reality of things:</p> <ul> <li>See the full <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeTbHEwlHbQ" target="_blank">video of Releasing the Penguins rescued after the Rena oil spill</a>.</li> <li>Find the latest <a href="http://www.electionresults.govt.nz/" target="_blank">results of the New Zealand 2011 General Election</a>.</li> </ul> <p>What a week of news this was here in New Zealand!</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/new-zealand-politicians-before-the-election">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/new-zealand-politicians-before-the-election#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/ehS_q-RatyI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/new-zealand-politicians-before-the-election Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:54:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/e1pjkIYmeaU/commitment-and-principles-inseparable-twins http://tobyruckert.com/commitment-and-principles-inseparable-twins <p> <p>In my opinion, real creativity comes from inside. But sometimes, in order to get a boost in creativity using outside stimulation, I go to a shopping mall or a cafe and simply sit there. I'll listen to people and try to absorb the general atmosphere about the place. <p /> Today, I was in a big shopping mall and rather than the shops, I am going to talk about the toilets there. When you go to a toilet anywhere in the world, they are sometimes clean, and sometimes they are not clean. The question is, whose responsibility is it, that you find a nice restroom or you don't? <p /> When I went to the mall today, I had a great coffee and I was drinking quite a lot of water with it, so I had to visit the same toilet, not once but three times and every time I was surprised how clean this restroom was. The explanation for this became evident when on the third visit I met the person who was cleaning these toilets. <p /> It became immediately obvious that there was a difference about that particular person. When I met him, I could see the commitment that he took upon himself &ndash; so that as long as he was "taking charge" of these toilets &ndash; then they were clean. In fact it appeared to me that he had certain principles for himself: as long as he took on that job of looking after these restrooms, they would be perfectly clean to whomever comes to visit them. <p /> I wish that everybody that I worked with and that everybody, being in a position where they have accepted the terms of their work and accepted the assignment given to them, would actually think like that. <p /> I'm not saying that the position that you're in is different, or more or less important, or that there is a higher or a lower type of work but just imagine if everybody felt like the person who was cleaning the toilets today, we would have a much better place of work, a much higher productivity and most importantly people would actually care. And if they don't like what they do, they'd try to find something else to better leave their mark. <p /> I think many people have forgotten what it means to make a commitment and that this is always (knowingly or unknowingly) related to principles. Making commitments without having principles behind them, makes me wonder &ldquo;what is that commitment worth?&rdquo; <p /> So whenever you make a commitment or get a commitment from somebody it is probably a good idea to look at the principles behind it. <p /> With the cleaner today - you could see from the light in his eyes, that he was not only committed but that he really believed that nobody could clean those toilets at that particular point of time, in that place, better than he could. It was his principles and commitment that made a most welcoming day for me, not only in the shopping mall but also in the restrooms.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/commitment-and-principles-inseparable-twins">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/commitment-and-principles-inseparable-twins#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/e1pjkIYmeaU" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/commitment-and-principles-inseparable-twins Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:19:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/ULF_zMyK3TE/getting-a-pre-paid-sim-card-with-data-in-the http://tobyruckert.com/getting-a-pre-paid-sim-card-with-data-in-the <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Sim1" height="431" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-09-01/DkDFlIympwIFjygozeIbJrwoJofBvzgkativHJDhztlDlsueBJvwehHnpvEn/sim1.png.scaled500.png" width="305" /> <img alt="Sim2" height="154" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-09-01/omDAicmwCJDemsmIElnDpIBkAxzfeCwvcwatfFqmICxktDhweEeoFgGkxDxI/sim2.png.scaled500.png" width="318" /> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/getting-a-pre-paid-sim-card-with-data-in-the">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> A couple of months ago, I met Brad Feld in Paris who at the time wrote a <a href="http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2011/07/the-insanity-of-trying-to-find-a-working-sim-card-in-paris.html" target="_blank">blog post about the difficulties of getting a prepaid data sim card without a monthly plan in France</a>.</p> <p>Consequently I assumed this would be easier in the US. Well, I was wrong. Pretty much like anywhere else in the world, it turns out to be really hard to just get a sim card of a national carrier that gives you data - prepaid and usage based - say $30 for 1 GB = no monthly plan, no contract and no need to buy a mobile phone that locks you in with a specific carrier.</p> <p>After two days of trial and error in different stores and different carriers, here is what worked:</p> <p>1. Go to a T-Mobile store. Others may or may not work, but we weren't successful in the others we tried...</p> <p>2. Ask specifically for a sim card only. You wanna buy it for around $10 which is the activation fee of the card. Store personnel will try to be helpful and sell you a phone and a monthly plan and all that other stuff you don't need if you already have a phone - or like in my case a wireless (sim card based) router like the huawei or mifi. So be patient and expect the conversation to take some 5-10 min for the other person to understand what it is that you really want :)</p> <p>3. Put the card in your mobile phone or device, it should get the signal of TMO / T-Mobile. If it doesn't, something is wrong with the sim card or your device. Don't proceed until you have a basic GSM signal at least mentioning the name of the carrier.</p> <p>4. Now the tricky part comes: Every mobile device, whether phone, router, iPad or usb stick, will have a so-called IMEI number. Without store personnel entering this number of YOUR device in the backend of the T-Mobile system and associating it with the sim card you've just purchased, your card will be worthless and data won't work.</p> <p>However - the screen of T-Mobile's backend doesn't allow store personnel to enter your ID just like that. In fact you need the good will of the staff to <span style="text-decoration: underline;">scan a T-Mobile mobile data device (which then activates your sim card with THAT device - which of course you won't purchase) first. Only after this is done, they can get to the backend screen where they can change the IMEI to that of your actual device.</span></p> <p>Good luck! For us it worked fine - expect the whole process to take 20-30 minutes.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/getting-a-pre-paid-sim-card-with-data-in-the">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/getting-a-pre-paid-sim-card-with-data-in-the#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/ULF_zMyK3TE" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/getting-a-pre-paid-sim-card-with-data-in-the Mon, 22 Aug 2011 01:31:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/yKXPxMQcoZI/nice-percussion-instrument-on-youtube http://tobyruckert.com/nice-percussion-instrument-on-youtube <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <iframe allowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UVXyoaD3DxA" frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVXyoaD3DxA&amp;feature=player_embedded">youtube.com</a></div> <p>This song "Löna" is played by Emanuel Valentin on a percussion instrument with a nice backdrop of the alps in Italy.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/nice-percussion-instrument-on-youtube">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/nice-percussion-instrument-on-youtube#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/yKXPxMQcoZI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/nice-percussion-instrument-on-youtube Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:05:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/u_e25m5C2e0/dubai-fountains http://tobyruckert.com/dubai-fountains <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/26661131?portrait=0" frameborder="0" height="283" width="500"></iframe> <p>Dubai Fountains dancing to nice music.</p> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/dubai-fountains">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/dubai-fountains#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/u_e25m5C2e0" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/dubai-fountains Wed, 20 Jul 2011 06:07:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/b518P3Hm2iE/a-better-way-to-pay http://tobyruckert.com/a-better-way-to-pay <p> <p>We're now in Dubai and with the hot weather what it is here - especially during summer - one simply has to have ice cream. So off we went H&auml;agen-Dazs but in all our excitement almost forgot our credit cards. Lucky we had this coupon for a free hug to pay with from our good friend in Finland. Imagine the surprise of the waiter when he saw this!</p> <p>No guarantee it works every time though ;)</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-19/yxttomAosGiFpHvovDqhyxIAtiAyxkfsengbtdcypGJbnIIiymJFsDuFmbup/paywithahug.png.scaled1000.png"><img alt="Paywithahug" height="366" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-19/yxttomAosGiFpHvovDqhyxIAtiAyxkfsengbtdcypGJbnIIiymJFsDuFmbup/paywithahug.png.scaled500.png" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/a-better-way-to-pay">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/a-better-way-to-pay#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/b518P3Hm2iE" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/a-better-way-to-pay Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:40:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tobyruckert/~3/mf9ZGX7eHW0/back-to-the-roots-or-swabian-saving http://tobyruckert.com/back-to-the-roots-or-swabian-saving <p> <p>The last few weeks we were back in Germany. We come from the South West - so not Bavaria but right next to it, called "Swabia" - I think so anyway. This area is most famous for its inventors (by far the most from all over Germany) and also its saving skills, much like the Scottish if you want. Where else in the world would you find opened and only half used sugar portions in a cafe? Not a joke, Swabians definitely don't let anything go to waste!</p> <p>Used only half your sugar? Leave the rest for the next guest :-)</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Swabian-saving" height="320" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-19/cdlsCgwqiIuInltprqmctgwBBJhpBeixEBcgFbvBAnGGCFBzkrzhAzzEevhD/swabian-saving.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="240" /> </div> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://tobyruckert.com/back-to-the-roots-or-swabian-saving">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://tobyruckert.com/back-to-the-roots-or-swabian-saving#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tobyruckert/~4/mf9ZGX7eHW0" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1408224/tr-150x150.png http://posterous.com/users/4SIPyPTvoaop Toby Ruckert tobyruckert Toby Ruckert http://tobyruckert.com/back-to-the-roots-or-swabian-saving