While no one knows exactly what new technology will make jaws drop this year the way the iPhone did last year, one place to get a good idea was at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association, the 41st annual CES was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Sands Expo and Convention Center. The show has become somewhat of a juggernaut in the electronics industry – it’s the largest tech trade show in the United States, with over 2,700 exhibitors and attendance of around 140,000 people. Many companies (large and small) use the CES to preview new products, make announcements and create buzz. In the past 40 years, the show has seen the debut of the VCR (1970), CD player (1981), HDTV (1998), Xbox (2001) and Blu-Ray (2003).

Along with more electronic inventions, gadgets and gizmos than you could fit into ten Best Buys (exhibit space is 1.8 million net square feet), the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show also offered appearances by celebrities like Michael Douglas, David Ortiz and XENA: Warrior Princess. Technology guru Bill Gates kicked off the electronic extravaganza, delivering his final keynote address as chairman of Microsoft and poking fun at his pending retirement in a video featuring guest spots by Al Gore, Jay-Z and Bono. In his speech, he painted a picture of the dawning “second digital decade” as a time when high-definition displays will surround us, touch screens and speech recognition will replace traditional keyboard/mouse interfaces and every device we own will be connected to the Internet.

Judging by many of the new products and technologies on display at the CES, Gates’ predictions seem pretty accurate. Certainly the HDTV’s were more prevalent than ever before. Panasonic awed onlookers with its 150-inch Lifescreen Plasma TV, the largest in the world, while LG introduced super-slim TVs only 1.7 inches thick. Meanwhile, Logitech worked to bridge the media gap with its diNovo MiniTM, a cordless, palm-sized keypad that connects TV with PC, and Eye-Fi won Yahoo’s “Last Gadget Standing” contest for its memory card that wirelessly sends pictures from a digital camera to a computer. Beyond Gates’ digital prophecy, other trends at the 2008 CES point to a future filled with global positioning system (GPS) technology and, of course, more automated products for everyday life.

Ideal for hunters and hikers, the SPOT Satellite Messenger takes GPS to the next level by enabling people to call for help from anywhere in the world (even places where cell phones won’t work – i.e., deserts, mountains, the Arctic Circle). Tracking progress with Google Maps and sending basic messages are also available at the push of a button. For the wandering pet, there’s the Zoombak Advanced GPS Dog Locator. The lightweight device attaches to a pet’s collar and pinpoints the location of the animal on a full-sized Web map. Zoombak also has a voice-based service that provides directions to the GPS receiver’s location. In addition to these gadgets, Nav N Go has invented new 3D Navigation Software, which brings GPS maps to three-dimensional life.

While GPS systems help people to find their way, automated cars may actually be taking them there. GM announced at CES that the company plans to test driverless car technology by 2015 and have cars on the road around 2018. Of course, the company still faces the difficult obstacle of convincing drivers to give up the wheel. Some other automated devices at the CES designed to make everyday living easier included iRobot’s LoojTM, a gutter cleaning robot that can scour a 60-foot section of gutter in just 10 minutes, and Interactive Toy Concepts’ RC Cooler, a radio-controlled, wheeled cooler than has a 30-foot range and can hold a six pack on ice.

Also of note at this year’s CES was the increased presence of “green” products. Cell phones chargers, TV sets and laptop computers designed to reduce energy consumption illustrated the industry’s contemporary focus on making electronic products more resource efficient. Even the CES itself invested in new initiatives this year to offset the carbon footprint of the large event.

Next year’s Consumer Electronics Show is scheduled for January 8-11, 2009.

At first there were WebCrawler, AltaVista, Excite, Lycos, and many others. As the algorithms that run them became more complex and technology evolved, a Darwin-esque process began killing off the ones who did not adapt to an ever-changing virtual climate. And then there were two.

Microsoft knows this stance all too well. They are in a constant deathlock with Sony to see who will become victorious in the video game arena. Then there is the never-ending battle of PC vs. Mac, fueled by Apple’s constant barrage of top-selling innovations (iPod, iPhone, iPad…you get the iDea). Microsoft bought out Yahoo! in an attempt to narrow the playing field against the competition.

Enter Google. On the heels of the release of their Google Chrome search engine and Android OS, a company from humble beginnings has grown into a technological juggernaut. Google outlasted its search breathren and did it through a simplicity…well, at least to the naked eye. Google’s search relies on a series of complex formulas that really no one knows, except Google. Whatever it is, they work…because more people use Google search than any other search engine.

Microsoft’s story is one we all know. Founded by college dropout Bill Gates with friend Paul Allen in 1975, Microsoft was the world’s first computer language developer. The Redmond, Washington based corporation has since grown to become one of the largest and most influential companies in the world.

They also hold the patents for Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office, and Windows. 20 years after the start of Microsoft, Bill Gates released his “Internet Tidal Wave Memo” to the company and the rest was history. MSN (Microsoft Network)launched on August 24, 1995 to compete with AOL and has gone on to dominate all of its competitors…except one.

Google was started up by two college buddies, Larry Page and Sergei Brin PhD, in March of 1996 as a research project for school. Google wasn’t always Google. It started out with another name, “BackRub”. Page and Brin decided that it should be renamed the year after its conception to something a little catchier…Google. Google comes from the word googolplex, meaning 1 followed by 100 zeros. This was all part of the philosophy the Google founders wanted to convey to users. They were going to change the way we search and they weren’t going away anytime soon.

The first search engine ever created did not belong to Microsoft or Google. A Montreal student named Alan Emtage created Archie in 1990. Archie, short for archives, was a database of filenames on the internet that it would match to users searches. Later on, two other search engines were created with the names Veronica and Jughead, both characters from the popular Archie comics.

Start of a New Era

The World Wide Web was born in 1991 when Tim-Berners Lee decided to merge hypertext with DNS and FTP servers. The first website in the history of websites (http://info.cern.ch/) went online August 6, 1991. Berners-Lee went on to found the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) at MIT in 1994. By the end of the year, there were around 10 different search engines including Excite, Lycos, Yahoo!, LookSmart, and WebCrawler.

Feeling Lucky?

By the time Google hit the net in 1996, they were one of many portals people could use to navigate through the increasing number of websites. Many people were confused by Google’s strikingly simple page. It had the Google Beta logo and a search box with no pictures, only a few links, and two buttons: “Google Search” and “I’m Feeling Lucky”. Google’s homepage has remained largely unchanged to date. Microsoft’s MSN search was already ahead of them by about a year, but still not their biggest competition.

To make way for progress, Google had to beat out the little guys. They did this very effectively by indexing more web sites and returning more relevant results for user queries. Their lack of frills and fast, concise answers lured in 84.7% of all web searches between its homepage and partner sites in early 2004. This led Yahoo to take their name off Google’s list of partners and strike out on their own. Not by force, but through smarts Google prevails. Google’s code of conduct is “Don’t Be Evil”.

If you Buy the Sites People go to, You Can Control the Web.

YouTube is one of the most viewed sites on the internet, due to user submitted clips and viral videos spanning virtually every topic imaginable. Google purchased YouTube in 2006 for a whopping $1.65 billion. That was not their only key power play. Google also bought Pyra Labs, maker of Blogger, back in 2003, a small part of AOL in 2005, and more recently, 3D Desktop software maker ClickBump in 2010. This has been just a part of Google’s push to stay on top.

Locked and Loaded

It wasn’t until 2010 that Microsoft swooped in and bought out Yahoo! and changed the game with what they billed as “the first decision engine,” Bing. Bing takes a more visual approach to searching the web and even has the comedic TV spots to prove it. All things considered, it is very apparent now that Microsoft has their sites set on Google. $47.2 billion to stay at the table and see the cards. Microsoft can do that. Bill Gates was recently downgraded to the world’s second richest man.

What does this mean for those of us who are innocent bystanders merely searching the web for fun and work? For now, better, faster search results. As Microsoft and Google battle it out, both companies will have to strive to provide better services to corner their share of the market. If you don’t like either search engine, the other guys like Excite and AltaVista are still out there. They just don’t get used as much anymore. As for the surrender of Google or Microsoft, they are far too entrenched in technology for this to be likely anytime in the near future. There is too much ammunition and too big of a fight in the hearts of both sides. The battlelines have been drawn and now all we can do is watch the carnage unfold-

Article by Peter Boimare

Here’s a typical scenario: You are deciding to start a home business and suddenly everyone you know has his nose in your business, literally. What do you tell them? And how do you answer your own questions? What should you expect from the company in terms of stability, longevity, vitality, trust, income, and so forth? First the bad news: there are no guarantees. Then the good news: there is plenty of information from which to draw your own conclusions. The internet is huge, and any good company will offer free marketing tools and training.

But back to the WHY of that business plan. You’re going to be starting small, slow and boy! is there a lot to learn. What’s the point of actually sitting down and writing a business plan? You’re not Bill Gates, this isn’t Microsoft, just you in your home office a few hours a week, slowly building an online business presence, not really understanding what the heck you’ll be doing.

Relax and breathe. Unlike Mt. Rushmore, your plan won’t be designed to withstand the weathering of the ages. You can expect it will change and bend with the flow of your real experiences, which will be totally yours, not identical to anyone else’s.

What writing your plan will do is cause you to pause, think, dream, study and focus. The written document, whether it is one page or twelve, will give your business a framework to work within. The internet is vast and seemingly endless. It is easy to lose focus and drift away on a different whim or idea every day. Understanding where you are today, what tools you have to work with, what your goals are, and how you can best achieve them and measure your success, will help you stay on target and not waste what few hours you may be investing in your business at start-up.

Whenever you feel lost or confused, you can return to what you have written. When you analyze your situation and decide to make a change, rewrite that part of the plan. Understand that it’s a living document, intended to grow with you and your business. Your business plan is your friend.

Getting Started with the Business Plan

First you need to study the company and its management. You need to read and learn about the products, the compensation plan and the network structure. See you next month. Just kidding.

Plan on doing SOME reading each and every work day for the next few months, if not indefinitely. Keep up with the company forum entries every day; read something in the training reports every day. Your education will continue. Plan for it.

When you are ready, open up a Notepad window and answer these questions:

What service/products does your business provide and what needs does it fill?

Who are the potential customers for your product or service and why will they purchase it from you?

How will you reach your potential customers?

Where will you get the financial resources to start your business?

Ok. Maybe your company offers many products and services. What do you want to focus on? I suggest that, at first, you focus on one or two products and/or the affiliate opportunity. In other words, keep is simple. Once you get the hang of what you’re doing, you will KNOW when it’s time to expand. Do only what you are comfortable with, every step of the way. This is YOUR business, it’s your right and privilege to decide on your approach.

Internet marketing hinges on building trust. How will you do this?

Reaching customers means marketing. Your decision, once again. And again, the options should be in your company’s training materials.

So we’re talking developing a reading/study schedule. Here’s a possible list, once you’ve read enough to make your own decisions to answer the above questions, start writing. Your writing can be lists of words and phrases, free-form brainstorming, outlines, mind maps, whatever works for you. Just write it down, and don’t forget to save often. If your home office is inhabited by cats or small children, they have the tendency to press on random keyboard keys. Documents do occasionally just disappear. Saving avoids total disaster.

1. Study the products.
2. Read the training materials.
3. Read about commissions, bonuses, etc.
4. Study the marketing aids and strategies
5. Find out what free tools are available.
6. Visit the forums on a regular basis. Read everything about getting started.
7. Ask questions.

Your final written business plan will have at least four parts:

Introduction/background: history of the company and its founder, internet marketing trends, why THIS company and why NOW, and so on.

Goals: I suggest you think of what you would like to be earning in two years, but mainly focus on goals for your first year. Realistic goals can be projected based on info on the company website, in newsletters, searches on the forums, and focused questions to other affiliates.

Marketing plan: based on your answers to the first 3 questions above and your study of marketing aids and tools.

Action plans: the specifics of what you will do on a monthly, weekly, and/or daily basis for the next year.

I can’t tell you what your answers should be, because you have to decide how much money you have to invest. Only you can decide how many hours per day, week or month you can invest in your business. What products you feel most comfortable marketing, and who you decide to target as your customer base, are all decisions only you can make. If you get stuck and don’t understand a question, don’t know where to find information, or don’t know how to ASK a question, contact your sponsor or someone in your upline. If they can’t help you, they should be able to send you to someonewho can.

You should NEVER feel alone. Work should be FUN!…

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.

There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.

There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development and commercialisation. Whilst there is no sure fire route to commercial success, these processes improve the probability that good ideas will be generated and selected and that investment in developing and commercialising those ideas will not be wasted.

Types of Innovation

Tidd et al (2005) argue that there are four types of innovation; consequently the innovator has four pathways to investigate when searching for good ideas:

a) Product Innovation – new products or improvements on products. The new Mini or the updated VX Beetle, new models of mobile phones and so on.

b) Process Innovation – where some part of the process is improved to bring benefit. Just in Time is a good example.

c) Positioning Innovation – Lucozade used to be a medicinal drink but the was repositioned as a sports drink.

d) Paradigm Innovation – where major shifts in thinking cause change. During the time of the expensive mainframe, Bill Gates and others aimed to provide a home computer for everyone.

These and other topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with an Innovation Bible, Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author’s name and site URL are retained.

All experts and experienced business owners give the same advice to starting entrepreneurs – even if your business becomes a success, you won’t really get rich off it. A comfortable life and the ability to provide for all your family’s needs and wants are about all you can expect – that is, if you defy the odds and your business doesn’t fail within the first few years in the first place. Some even go as far as saying that if it’s money you’re after, you’re better off with an ivy league degree and a corporate career.

On the other hand, everyone knows about the college dropouts who’ve become ridiculously rich. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard, Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College, Elizabeth Holmes dropped out from Stanford at the age of 19 and is now the world’s youngest self-made billionaire.

What’s the diff?

So, what separates those who are merely successful to those who have become legendary? Anna Vital analyzed statistics from Bloomberg on the world’s billionaires. The data showed that of the 100 richest people today, only 27 inherited at least part of their fortune, while 73 are “self-made.” Of the self-made billionaires, 18 have no college degree, while 36 were born to poor families. Focusing specifically on those who did not graduate from college and who were from working class families besides, she determined one common, general trait all eight of these self-made billionaires share: they “took enormous risks.”

Of course, taking risks without knowing what you’re getting into can only spell disaster. At least three or more of these eight billionaires also had other things in common. This includes trying different businesses before “The One” that finally paid off. Several also invested during hard times and/or bought ruined companies and turned problems into opportunities that paid off. At least three of them either micromanaged their company or ate with their employees, or both. This kept them in tune with the company’s pulse as a whole, which they turned into opportunities to take advantage of while preventing their respective company’s disconnect from their real world situation. Three of them achieved the ultimate goal – one single deal that changed everything.

This is not to say that moderately successful entrepreneurs are failures. In fact, these businesses are the lifeblood of the economy, employing about half of all workers and contributing a huge chunk of the GDP. Having any successful small business is certainly nothing to sneeze at, and would be an accomplishment anyone would be proud of even in the twilight of their lives. But being successful beyond your wildest dreams is more within your reach than you may think, especially with the proper attitude, research, and know-how.

Of course, becoming a self-made billionaire does not only benefit you and yours. The Center for Policy Studies (CPS) released an infographic that states that such “SuperEntrepreneurs have created millions of jobs, billions of dollars in private wealth and probably trillions of dollars of value for society.”

Every year over 30,000 students apply to get into Harvard. Sadly, just under 6% of these applicants earn their rite of passage. Those that do however, are set for a life of prosperity. Up to 98% of Harvard students graduate and go on to achieve something special. That’s a great place to start, let’s look at the stellar cast of alumni you’ll join.

1 – Alumni

Harvard university has graduated Presidents, Nobel Prize Winners and Nobel Laureates. Joining this fraternity means you’ll study beside a select group of young men and women, many of whom are set for greatness and go onto shape the world. Barack Obama, Michael Bloomberg and both Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have passed through Harvard. Curiously, neither Gates or Zuckerberg went onto graduate.

Even Harvard’s drop outs go on to be billionaires…

2 – History

Harvard is the oldest educational institute in the US. Harvard was established in 1636 and was named after English academic John Harvard. Moreover, Harvard is based a stones throw from historic Boston. Boston, of course, was the home of the American revolution and the famed Tea Party.

3 – Sports

Harvard boasts facilities that are the envy of the universities the world over. Harvard Stadium, for example, hosts up to 30,000 during the much anticipated Harvard-Yale matches. The Malkin Athletics center offers a variety of sports such as swimming, gymnastics and a wealth of other fitness equipment for the average gym goer.

4 – Student Organizations

Harvard’s campus is rich with activities with over 400 student clubs to become involved with serving all cultures and nationalities. These include Harvard’s Ballet Company, Acapella and Choral groups and the intriguingly named Hasty Pudding social club. At Harvard you will never be at a loss for clubs to participate in.

5 – Financial Aid

Many would-be applicants wrongly believe a Harvard education is too costly – That’s inaccurate. The university has a financial aid endowment of over $170,000,000. As a result attending Harvard equals or bests the expense of up to 90% of colleges or universities in the US. Aid is available to international students as well.

Applying for Harvard isn’t a challenge to be taken without the necessary preparation. However, those who make the grade proudly wear Harvard’s brand through out their life. They create long lasting friendships with students on the brink of making their mark in the world. We hope this short article has offered you a snapshot into life at Harvard.

Have you ever watched a movie called “The Secret”? It’s about the secret that’s been kept by most powerful, most successful, most famous, most wealthy people at any time in the humankind history. This movie had at least three times featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The Secret is revealed now.

Shout a great and memorable name. Hermes, Newton, Einstein, Napoleon Bona Parte, Alexander The Great, Thomas Alva Edison, George Washington, Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Jack Canfield, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Stephen Covey, George Soros, Onasiss, Joe Vitale, Napoleon Hill, Abraham Hicks, Robert T. Kiyosaki, Anthony Robbins, William Walter Atkinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ernest Holmes, Oprah Winfrey, Gary Vurnum, Brian Tracy, Bob Proctor, John Assharaf, James Allen, John Gray, Richard Bandler, John Grinder, Wallace D Wattles. You name it!

They achieved what they achieved at their times, using and operating The Secret. So, what is the secret? The Secret is The Law of Attraction or LoA.

What all those great people has teaches us is The Secret, that’s being expressed in many ways like:

“Like attracts like.”

“What comes around goes around.”

In brief, The Law of Attraction is the application of these principles and beliefs:

1. All humans are being gifted with the two most powerful tools for their lives. Those two are body and mind.

2. While our body is physically pursuing our success, our mind is mentally attracting it. Read again carefully! Answer this question; what is the action of your mind all this time, is it pursuing or is it attracting? Most of us operate our mind in “pursuing”, not “attracting”. This is the point where everything starts to go the wrong way. The right action to apply to the mind is “to attract”. It is good for you to read and download this great free book, “The Shocking Truth About Action”. Really, this book will shock you!

3. Everything is created twice. The first is in your head. All buildings are created twice, the first are at their blueprints. Or, the first is when the architect draw the concept. Or, the first is within the mind of the owner of the building. Your success is created twice, the first is within your mind. If there are three doors at the blueprint, so there you go, you’ll have three doors at your building in physical existence. So the first you have to do is keep telling your self that one day you’ll be another AdSense millionaire.

4. Our mind communicates everything, in or out, in images not words. Just remember something, then you’ll see images not words.

5. So, the first step of creation of our success is about dreaming, visualizing, or visualization. You see, this is why every success coach wants you to visualize your success and focus only at what you want, not what you don’t want. Visualizing is the most important step in creation. This is what Mr. Albert Einstein means by “imagination is more important than knowledge”.

6. With a detailed, specific, accurate, precise, and constantly exposed of the right visualization, you are guided to be inspired to take action. You are expected to get the passion or event obsession. This action, referred by the experts as the “inspired action”.

That’s it!

Visualize, imagine, wish, that some day your very own AdSense cheque starts to come, have frequent sightings right on those AdSense crowded the internet out there!

Successful innovation is fascinating as it combines the best of intelligent thought with expressing it in a way that emotionally “moves” others into action. This combination is often a challenge as many gifted, technical innovators prefer to focus on ideas, software and gadgets more than on people. The sales and marketing types like focusing on the customer more than on the mechanics of what they are selling. Very few seem to balance or handle both equally well. Yet for those who do, for instance: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Larry Ellison, to name a successful few, the rewards can be very rich indeed.

I have had the privilege to work with many organizations in the IT and Telecommunications areas, regarding their leadership, sales and presentation skills. From that experience I can say that when technicians relax and get clear on the power and leverage available to consciously communicate using their body language, magic starts to happen.

I have noticed that for innovators, the most common wake up call comes when they get clear over how much information their bodies express, regardless of whether they are aware of it or not. All too often a brilliant idea never leaves the PowerPoint slide because its delivery either annoyed the listeners or put them to sleep. The content and delivery of your message must attract and inspire in order to reach the next step. You may have invented the perfect mouse trap, but if you cannot present it in a way that inspires and engages your listener, then who are you really talking to? For instance, an interesting thought to ponder is how the world would now look if Leonardo Da Vinci had inspired himself and others to actually construct some of his inventions while he was alive. Instead it took 500 years to realize most actually worked. Even though he seems to have been a student of self-expression (witness Mona Lisa’s smile), could he practiced more of what he preached?

A critical skill for successful self-expression is more conscious use of our most important communication tool, our own body. Below are some simple tips.

Be Present. If you insist on remaining “up in your head” when speaking, count on leaving your listeners behind. Learn to serve them (and ultimately yourself) by dancing here and now with their questions and addressing their concerns. Your knowledge of your subject and how to deliver it will flourish when you it in a way it can be heard, understood and acted upon. The key? Be Here, Now and serve!

Relax and be open. Can you catch more money and ideas in a tightly clenched fist or an open and relaxed palm? Stress shortens your life, calm lengthens it.

The choice is yours.

Feel more. The key to becoming more present is feeling. After all, when is the only time you can feel anything other than here and now? So, if you feel some butterflies in your stomach, a pain in the neck, sadness, anger, joy or even fear… Congratulations, you are still alive! Take a deep, joyous breath and begin focusing your intellect and energy on efficient delivery of your message.

Inspire. The word inspire comes from Latin and means to “breathe in spirit”. To bring any innovation into existence you will need to inspire yourself and others into action. The easiest way to begin is to inhale more air. Notice what happens to the power and believability of you and your message. We are all essentially wind instruments. Just like a flute or tuba, the more air you use, the more power and feeling you can resonate towards your listener.

React less/Respond more. React means to “act again”, respond means to “answer back”. The first is an automatic process often triggered by an old, often forgotten behavior pattern. The second may start with the exact same stimulus, yet adding a bit of conscious reflection you can respectfully answer back in a way that moves your conversation and its possibility forward, towards your innovative goal.

Demonstrate Respect. As Aikido master Yoshigosaki suggests, “treat your listeners in a way which shows you, “understand that you have no understanding of who they are“. What kind of response and support will you receive when you practice treating others with all the wonder and curiosity of a small child?

Could this enhanced level of respect inspire the insight and finance to further your cause?

Appreciate all contributions. You may think that what was said was the dumbest thing you ever heard, especially with its reference to your brilliant innovation. Yet, what if that is the best response the speaker could currently muster? What if he/she is looking for your support and guidance to understand your message enough to write you a big check?

The more you practice and embody these body language fundamentals, the more you will be able to express, implement and even monetize your great ideas

There seems to be no lack of the number of books written about personality traits, talents and how to more effectively manage personnel to the advantage of the organization. However, Marcus Buckingham, coauthor of the book First, Break All the Rules, and Donald O. Clifton, Chair of the Gallup International Research & Education Center, now provide managers with a positive approach to help identify and utilize strengths of individuals to the benefit of the organization in their bestselling Now, Discover Your Strengths. The book maintains that this unique, positive approach of focusing on strengths is far more effective in achieving success than eliminating weaknesses, given that we all have inherent strengths and natural weaknesses no matter what positions we might have. For example, the book points out, it does not matter if you are Bill Gates or Tiger Woods.

True, these are individuals with tremendous talents that have made them well known in their respective fields, but they also have weaknesses that play into the mix. It would seem our brains are programmed by nature from early childhood, no matter how good our nurture, to start being selective in a few key areas. It is as nature intended it to be. Without being selective, and allowing many of the billions of connections we are born with to lapse into disrepair, we would become dysfunctional with information overload. Therefore, it is understandable that with sufficient practice, while we might be able to learn different tasks well, we will never be great in these areas unless we have a natural innate talent for them.

Unfortunately, most of us do not have a good sense of our talents, let alone the ability to effectively use our strengths to our advantage. Rather, most of us spend our lives becoming all too aware of our weaknesses and spend our time trying to deal with our flaws, while neglecting our innate talents. However, most original and potentially most revealing, to address this problem, Now, Discover Your Strengths provides access to a web-based interactive questionnaire, developed by the Gallup Organization, that quickly identifies your top 5 (out of a total of 34) positive “personality themes”, such as: Achiever, Deliberative, Harmony, Empathy and so forth that you might naturally posses. The book goes on to elaborate how each of the 34 unique themes can be identified, complete with individual profiles describing how each might act and what each might “sound like.” As each sees the world through their own strengths filter, it is easy to have friction between different individuals within the same department or organization, because we all see the world, and how it should look, so differently. While one may hear what someone else is saying, they may not be able to assimilate it into their own world effectively. This is why partners or advisors are often so effective, as they ad balance to the limits of others. One word of caution however: do not buy this book used if you intend to take the preference test. There is a unique, one-time code that comes with each copy of Now, Discover Your Strengths, which is absolutely necessary in order to access the website’s resources. The book has limited value without the ability to take the online test. However, the test alone is well worth the price of the entire book just by itself. With this resource, you will better understand how to build a “strengths-based organization” by capitalizing on the fact that such traits are already present among those within it.

With an estimated 8 out of 10 people in this country not really in a position to capitalize on their strengths and talents, chances are most of us could benefit from reading this book. As most of us fail to capitalize on our strengths, it is not surprising that most departments in any company, no matter the size of the organization, are not operating at even par performance. The risk doing nothing is costly- not only in lost productivity, but in job satisfaction, employee retention and absenteeism and so on. This groundbreaking, resourceful book is easy to read in short concise chapters. Along with the associated preference test, Now, Discover Your Strengths, is a positive cost effective solution in resolving problems, and helping each employee achieve his or her full potential. This is must read for managers and office teams who want a win-win solution in improving their own departments, as well as the lives of those who work for them.

If you had to pick a superhero as a role model who would you choose?

If you chose Superman you might be setting yourself up for failure and tremendous disappointment.

Why might you be tempted to choose Superman as your idol? Well, he is perfect. He is all-powerful, all knowing, always wins and always does the right thing. If that is your standard you will always feel inadequate. How can you hope to compare?

Superman is the strongest guy on the planet – maybe even this side of the galaxy. Comparing yourself to Superman is like comparing your net worth to Bill Gates and wondering where you went wrong. It is just not worth the pain.

Superman is invulnerable. Nothing, with the exception of the rare element, Kryptonite can hurt him. It’s not fair. All kinds of things can hurt the rest of us. And I’m not just talking about bullets, bombs and missiles. Falling down the stairs can put you in traction for weeks. Fender benders can send us to the hospital. My buddy is allergic to bee stings. Even peanut allergies can kill some people.

Superman never gets sick. No common cold for him. He wears glasses in his secret identity as Clark Kent. But he doesn’t need them. He’s never had the mumps or measles. No embarrassing pimples for Superboy. You will never hear of Superman suffering from diabetes or cancer. It’s just not fair.

Superman can fly. I wish I could fly. But flying scares the heck out of me. I’m not sure how I would handle it. Again I lose. Damm that Superman.

Superman can see through things with his x-ray vision. Just imagine how that power might have helped you write your school exams or avoid buying that lemon of a car.

Superman has super hearing. If you could hear what other people are saying you would know the right price to offer, the magic words to say and the perfect card to play.

Superman has incredible endurance. The guy doesn’t tire. He can fly around the world or run around the world within minutes. I remember how many hours it took and how much it hurt to run my marathon. It’s just not fair.

Superman has a few enemies and some people who hate him. But he knows who they are and he is capable of dealing with them – physically, mentally and emotionally. My enemies are few, and people who hate me are few – but many people who don’t even know me seem to be out to destroy me mostly through their ignorance. I am powerless to ferret them out. And when I discover them they don’t seem to tremble at my might. Not fair.

The Fortress of Solitude. I want one. How do I get one? And what realty taxes does Superman pay for that prime real estate?

How did Superman become super? Easy. He was born on another planet.

What kind of message is that to send to our children? You could be perfect if only you were born on another planet. You were born on Earth so you don’t have a chance at greatness. Talk about being born with a platinum spoon in your mouth – like Ken Thompson or Donald Trump. Sure they both made some millions – they both started with millions. I know people who started with nothing and still have nothing. That makes them even.

So is Superman a real hero? No, he is a fantasy. I love Superman – the imaginary hero. But he is not my role model. I know better.

Superman is too perfect. Superman is too close to – dare I say – God. How can you model yourself against God? The Greek, Roman and Norse gods showed human flaws. It’s a lot easier to identify with them than with Superman.

Superman is a wonderful comic book superhero but a lousy role model. I think that Batman is the better “superhero” to choose as your role model. He has no god-given powers, only discipline, determination and skills. He turned a tragedy into his good-doing. That is a true hero and a better role model.

When you are looking for superhero inspiration, look to Batman instead of Superman.