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First Born And IQ

Birth order decides IQ.
A new study by Dr. Petter Kristensen
shows that the average IQ
of the first-born men was 103.2
compared with 101.2 for second-borns
and 100 for third-borns.
Earlier studies show the same
relationship for women.

So what does this mean?
Absolutely nothing.

According to
another study by Jay Zagorsky,
people with a higher IQ,
although earning more on average,
end up with the same net worth
(all other factors being equal).

Stop using lack of smarts or birth order or…
as an excuse to do nothing.

The Unlimited Inbox

Many email suppliers are moving
to the unlimited inbox,
no space restrictions.

The upside is that emails can be filed forever.
The downside is that emails can be filed forever.

Until now, I’ve used the inbox at capacity notice
as a reason to sort through my emails,
getting rid of garbage and
answering messages I’ve been procrastinating on.

Now, I have moved to formally scheduling this process.

As technology changes,
so must our processes.

The Three Phrases To Know

When I travel,
before getting on that plane, train or ship,
I ensure that I know at least
three basic phrases in the native language (s)….
Hello,
Do you speak English?,
and
Thank you.

This isn’t about communicating obviously.
If the answerer says yes to the second question,
I could have as easily used English.

This is about making a connection
and showing respect.

Ursula Bauer’s Time Management Tips

Ursula Bauer,
author of the hot eBook Immortal Protector,
recently shared her tips on
how she juggled a corporate career,
family, blogging, and writing.

“It was all a matter of perspective,
I think, and perseverance,
along with a willingness
to reduce without mercy:
I wanted to write,
I wanted to publish,
I only had so many hours in my day.
What would contribute to that,
and what took away from that?”

Its all about focus and commitment.

Wal-Mart And The Unbanked

Recently Wal-Mart announced
that they would be offering banking services
to their customers.

Why?

Because there is a market
and its lucrative.

Ed Kountz of Jupiter Research
points out that approximately 1 in 4 Americans
don’t have a traditional banking relationship.
These individuals
pay more for transactions
such as money transfers.
The number is higher in areas
with low to moderate income.

Exactly Wal-Mart’s target market.

Honesty In Interviews

When I hear an honest, semi-unflattering answer
in an interview,
I sit up and take notice.

Why?

Because this signals one of two possibilities.

One is that the person is an idiot.
In which case,
my candidate screening process should be tightened.

The other is that the person is so damn good
that she can be honest
and still expect to land the job.
These are the candidates I love.

Larry Winget in his book “It’s Called Work For A Reason”
points out one bit of interview honesty he loves.

“When someone says
“I don’t really like working with others,”
hire her and give her an office with a door and
a lot of work to do and then watch it get done.”

Slow It Down

According to communications professor Ray Hull,
the average adult talks about
170 to 190 words per minute.

The average central nervous system
processes information at about
120 to 124 words per minute.

This ability to process decreases after age 36.

The average age of a CEO is 56.

What does this mean?
Your boss is hearing only a fraction
of what you’re saying.

Slow it down.

How To Deal With Requests For Reciprocal Links

On each of my other blogs,
I get at least a request a day from sites
asking for reciprocal links
or mentions
or offering me “free” posts.

I prefer not to link to strangers.
I prefer not to post guest pieces from strangers.

So what do I do?
I ask if they’re interested in completing
a short interview (3-5 questions)
via email.
I then post their answers,
linking back to them,
using them as “experts”
(everyone is an expert in something).

But wait, isn’t this a lot of work?
It would be if everyone said yes.
Fortunately for me,
only about 24% say “yes, send me the questions.”
And then 46% of those don’t bother answering them.

What You Do

Was reading though Scott’s extensive article listing
on HelloMyNameIsScott.com and
loved his thoughts on describing what you do.

“When people ask you,
“So, what do you do?”
make your answer memorable, valuable and unique.
If their response isn’t
“Hmm, that’s interesting…” or “Cool!”
you need to rework your answer.
Remember, even the most boring jobs can be
explained in an UNFORGETTABLE way.”

We’re all experts on something and
when that expertise is combined with passion,
that’s when magic happens.

I once listened to an environmentalist
talk for a half hour about
the re-uses for styrofoam containers
…at a party
…and there was a crowd around him.

He was THAT passionate,
that interesting.

The Goal Of Marketing

I was talking to a friend
in the early stages of
a company start up.
She has been busy, busy, busy
sampling her product.
She must have given out a thousand samples.

When asked,
she’ll tell you that her marketing is working.

Its not.
The true test of whether marketing
is working is in the sales.
She hasn’t sold a single product
and she is quickly becoming known as the sample lady.

Unless your product is marketing,
marketing is not the goal,
sales are.