5 Things I'm going to STOP in 2011
In the spirit of the time honored tradition of new year's resolutions, I thought I'd share what I've decided to STOP doing for 2011 and beyond. So without further ado, let's indulge in some modern day voodoo / sympathetic magic / psycho-cybernetics / egotistical self-justifying cathartic mumbojumbo, shall we: In 2011 and beyond, I will:
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I guess you could say that I'm a notorious underachiever. It's
- 2. STOP working hard at waiting for someone else to deputize, knight or crown me (see 1.)
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START taking matters back into my own clammy hands and leave the greasy pole salaryman rat-race. Who's the boss now? Well, I am. I alone am now responsible for my success - or failure.
- 3. STOP only doing what I'm good at (see 1.and 2.)
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Just because you're good at something doesn't mean you should be doing it. Have you ever thought about that? START throwing myself off a cliff, forcing me to learn how to fly whilst falling.
- 4. STOP not focussing my time and energy (see 1. 3. and 5.)
- Passion comes easy - I seem to have unlimited amounts of it. Focusing it is hard - I have seemingly unlimited interests and fleeting distractions. START focusing, disciplining, killing all but one of my pet projects (or at least put them in suspended animation or better yet - put them up for adoption, delegate them or give them away), working towards ONE goal doing ONE thing at a time on ONE project, putting my skin in the game, committing the time and resources, going out on a limb, sticking my neck out and risking failure.
- 5. STOP criticizing (see 3. and 4.)
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START giving, helping, praising more than receiving, criticizing, chiding. It's easy and cheap to be negative and criticize or comment without taking the time to reflect and suggest solutions and improvements. But, as Carnegie reminded us: "Be lavish in your praise and hearty in your approbation." and as Lincoln said: "A drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.”. I'm OK, you're OK. I guess not everybody's OK, but we're both OK, OK?
If you catch me relapsing, feel free to verbally abuse and humiliate me in public and on the Internet. What are you going to STOP doing in 2011?
Books I Read in 2010 [LIST]
In the spirit of sharing, here's an alphabetic list of the books I read and lectures listened to in 2010. I think I learned something from each and every one of them, so I can recommend them all. I'd love to learn more about what you've been reading lately. What did you read in 2010? Do you have any ideas on what I should be reading in 2011? Did you read any of the books on my list too? What did you think? Tell me in the comments below!
All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin
All people tell stories. Marketers included. Better get yours straight. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by [drumroll] Benjamin Franklin
Nice to know more about Ben Franklin and what Dale Carnegie was talking about. Spoiler: There's no kite in it. Project Gutenberg Amazon Kindle Audible Archive.orgThe Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
You will never be able to view after-the-fact explanations the same again after reading this one. At least I can't. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Blink by Malcom Gladwell
On the adaptive unconscious - or intuition, or the power of thinking without thinking, if you will. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder (@business_design), Yves Pigneur (@ypigneur)
Don't marry your business plan - it's going to be thrown out the moment you get funded anyway. Focus on your business model if you must. Here's some help to do just that. Get it: Amazon
Bursts by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi
The hidden pattern behind everything we do. Barabasi is a great storyteller. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Click by Rom Brafman, Ori Brafman
On why we seem to instantly connect with some people. On why we 'click', see? Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Critical Mass by Philip Ball
On how one thing leads to another. Better insights in this one compared to "The Tipping Point" mentioned later. Thanks to @kitblake for recommending it! Get it: Amazon
Crowdsourcing by Jeff Howe
On the wisdom and power of crowds. Get it: Amazon Audible
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuck (@garyvee)
Gary's highly personal (and after-the-fact) advice for success. But if you need to learn how to hustle, listen to Gary. He's awesome! I recommend the audio version to hear the author read it himself with added bonus materials. Contagious energy and passion. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
The Dip by Seth Godin
On when to quit - and when perhaps not to. Or on "bad quitting" and "good quitting". Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
The Facebook Effect by David Kirkpatrick (@davidkirkpatric)
The rosier version of the story behind Mark Zuckerberg's "Social Network". Highly interesting. Set in this light, you really get to love and respect "The Zuck". No, I'm not kidding. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Engage! by Brian Solis (@briansolis)
The survival guide for businesses and brands in the [communication and information] world of today. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders by The Stanford Technology Ventures Program
Are you into entrepreneurship like me? Are you thinking of starting your own venture? Your own startup? Not exactly a book, but who cares. You should listen to every single one of these 130+ awesome talks with lessons learned by the superstars of the entrepreneur world. I know I did and I am eternally grateful for the insane amount of time it has already saved me by learning from other people's mistakes. Get it: http://ecorner.stanford.edu Here are some of my favorites: From Harvard to the Facebook The Art of Negotiation Secret to Successful Negotiation Negotiations On and Off the Field Research Lens on Understanding Entrepreneurial Firms Phases of a Startup A history of venture capital A Panorama of Venture Capital and beyond Stimulating innovation and creativity in the workplace Fall 2009 Quarter Roundup: What did we learn? Getting to Plan B Honest Advice on Starting a Company
Fascinate by Sally Hogshead (@SallyHogshead)
On discovering the triggers of fascination behind yourself and your brand - and how to tweak them to better communicate your values and position yourself. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Flip the Funnel by Joseph Jaffe (@jaffejuice)
On how to use existing customers to gain new ones. Get it: Amazon Kindle
Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
More awesomeness from Taleb on rethinking of common (mis)conceptions and after-the-fact explanations. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
On rethinking common (mis)conceptions and raising new questions by applying economics. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
ECON 159: Game Theory
Because everybody should remember to put themselves in the other people's shoes, know never to play a dominated strategy, use iterative deletion and know about best responses and the Nash Equilibrium. And because Prof. Ben Polak is an amazing teacher! And it's free from Yale. (Aside: Yale University uses the Plone CMS - An awesome and humbling factoid for me personally. Yay!) Get it: Open Yale Courses Also available on iTunesU
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Nah. I still practice my own Inbox Zero version to get my things done. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
How Pleasure Works by Paul Bloom
Interesting facts about why we (or at least some) attach value to and desire mundane objects that has been owned by or in some case were only in the vicinity of a famous person; how under some conditions an object is thought of possessing some sort of "essence" of the famous person, but I found it going here, there and everywhere rather shallowly without arriving at any particular place. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie
I'd say just stop worrying because you're going to die and you can't stop it. Period. Being curious about other works [than described further down in this list] of Carnegie's made me read this one (so you probably won't have to). Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie (re-read)
If you'd ask me, I'd still say this is a must-read, relevant as ever. It's the Web2.0 handbook, how to get ahead, the guide to being a better man/woman/rathernotsay. Read, learn, do! Rinse and repeat. Get it: Amazon Kindle AudibleThe Inmates Are Running The Asylum by Alan Cooper (@MrAlanCooper) (re-read)
On why and how you should get serious about software design and why programmers shouldn't design software. Not as fresh as when it came out, but it holds up nicely. Get it Amazon Kindle
Linchpin by Seth Godin
On rethinking your mindset, value generation, your role and position [as an employee] in the modern work place. (I personally think linchpins should quit and start their own businesses, though). Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Linked by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi
On how everything is connected to everything else and what it means. Get it: Amazon Audible
The Long Tail by Chris Anderson (@chr1sa) (re-read)
On why the future of [or actually current] business is selling less of more. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin
On why you shouldn't and wouldn't make and sell a meatball sundae - although some corporations still seem hellbent on making them. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
The (Mis) Behaviour of Markets: A Fractal View of Risk, Ruin and Reward by Benoit B. Mandelbrot
A fractal view on financial turbulence. Provides interesting insights on market mechanics, or rather the actual lack of empirical insights to such. Do not let the math aspect scare you: It's a [relatively] math phobic safe book. (Aside: Mandelbrot unfortunately died in 2010.) Get it: Amazon Kindle
The New Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
This one really put me off by referencing pseudo-science as science-fact. Aside from that fact, it says something along the lines of that you can program yourself to be and behave like you want to. Simplistically speaking, just tell yourself "you are the kind of person who does x" or "you are NOT the kind of person that does y" in front of a mirror and you're on your well on your way. It's all about self-image, see? It's also talking about the tortoise mind or the lizard brain; the power of your brain processing problems without your active thinking, better explained here: (Aside: I'd really love to read more about any scientific research on the "Tortoise Mind". Perhaps you know of any?) Get it: Amazon Audible
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
More on why the gaussian distribution model doesn't tell you the whole story and why 10.000+ hours of practice actually counts for quite a lot. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
It's the opposite of Interrupt Marketing. Which one is the most successful? Yes, you get it. But why do so many companies still not get it? Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
The Power of Pull by John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, Lang Davidson
On rethinking business and innovation in a fast moving and globalized world. Mostly for suits, so there's a good chance you know and live most of this already. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
The Prince by Machiavelli (re-read)
This classic was a fun re-read whilst experiencing, shall we say managerial turbulence, this year. Get it: Project Gutenberg Archive.org
Social Media 101 by Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan)
Enough talk about social media. Here's something that you can and perhaps should do. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions by Gary Klein
A cognitive psychologist's theory on "naturalistic decision-making". Fascinating. Get it: Amazon Kindle
Superfreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner
Challenging even more common (mis)conceptions and raising even more interesting questions with applied economics. It surprised me as being at least as funny and provocative as their first book, Freakonomics. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (@gladwell)
On how, why and what things lead to another. Providing less substance and answers than I had hoped for but Gladwell is an entertaining read as always. Get it: Amazon Audible
Tribes by Seth God
What is a tribe, why do you need one and how and where do you find it? Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Trust Agents by Chris Brogan, Julien Smith (@julien)
What is a Trust Agent and why and how would you become one? Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
The Wealth of Networks by Yochai Benkler
On how social production transforms markets and freedoms. Get it: Harvard Archive.org
Understanding Media by Marshal McLuhan (re-read)
Interview I think I read it the first time back in 1994 or 95 understanding little but being highly intrigued. As I read it again in 2010 I don't know if I actually understood much more but it sure as hell raised a number of interesting questions and provoked a lot of new thoughts so I guess I found it even more fascinating now as it's arguably obvious to most that we're living smack in the middle of his 'prophecy'. Spoiler: The Medium is the Message. Get it: Amazon
UNMARKETING by Scott Stratten (@unmarketing)
Unthinking, unlearning, relearning marketing, helping small and large businesses master the art of (un)marketing with example stories in this day and age: Listen and engage, do not interrupt and try to find better ways of cold calling because you know it sucks. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible
Wikinomics by Don Tapscott, Anthony D. Williams
How mass collaboration changes everything. Get it: Amazon Kindle Audible I mostly listen to books these days to make better use if my time. I use a Sony DR BT-50 stereo Bluetooth headset with the iPhone for audio quality and wireless convenience anywhere.
Get it: Amazon Disclaimer: The links to the books are not affiliate links. I'm not getting a cent from anything you might buy. I'm just lazy and didn't bother to list all the stores on the intarweb. [fblike layout_style='standard' show_faces='true' verb='like' font='arial' color_scheme='light'] Like I mentioned at the beginning, I'd love to learn more about what you've been reading lately. What did you read in 2010? Do you have any ideas on what I should be reading in 2011? Did you read any of the books on my list too? What did you think? Tell me in the comments below!Dell (Inspiron) Mini 9 and 10v Hackintosh - Battery Won't Charge, Battery Not Identified, LED Lights Blinking [FIX]
- Battery not recognized on boot up ("Battery not identified, press F1 to continue")
- OSX reports that the battery is 100% charged (although you know it's not)
- White power/charging ligt and red low battery warning light blinking, disco style
- Battery will not charge whatever you (even downgrading BIOS to A00) do and will eventually run out of juice
- GOTO 10
- BIOS upgraded to A05 or above
- Something else (I have no idea. You tell me.)
- Dell Mini 9 with blinking leds, disco style
- NetBookInstaller 0.8.4 RC1 "special edition"
- OSX Snow Leopard updated to 10.6.5 installed on said Dell Mini 9 by way of said version of NetBookInstaller
- USB stick with Dell I910 Mini/Vostro A90 USB Key Drive flashBIOS Utility installed (Don't ask me how to get it. Search around.)
- Make sure the battery is connected to said Dell Mini 9
- Boot from said "Dell I910 Mini/Vostro A90 USB Key Drive flashBIOS Utility" on said USB stick
- Select the Mini/Inspiron A04 BIOS and flash it
- Wait for the flashing to complete and reboot the Netbook
- If you pull the mains power plug out, the red/white disco style blinking will return
- If you pull the mains power and re-insert it, OSX reports that the battery is 100% charged (although it's not)
- If you pull the mains power and re-insert it, the Hackintosh will not recharge
- GOTO 10
- Don't pull the mains when turned on
- Re-insert mains
- Reboot
- Or turn off, turn on, let boot
- Or keep it turned off, connected to mains, see if the white charging light is on, if the battery is actually charged
- Or rinse, lathe and repeat the flashing of the BIOS if the battery won't charge once again
Boom or Bust!
Ryan Dahl on node.js @cowoco [VIDEO]
Yes, Moving On
Freigeist Conference CGN
World Plone Day 2010
What is Plone?
Plone is a free and open source content management system built on top of the Zope application server. Plone can be used for in principle any kind of website, including blogs, internet sites, webshops and internal websites. It is also well positioned to be used as a document publishing system and groupware collaboration tool. The strengths of Plone are its flexible and adaptable workflow, very good security, extensibility, high usability and flexibility. -Wikipedia
What is the goal of the World Plone Day?
The World Plone Day (WPD) is a worldwide event. Our goal is to promote and educate the worldwide public about of the benefits of using Plone in education, government, ngos, and in business. -World Plone Day FAQSo far today at the WPD in Bonn Jan Ulrich Hasecke from hasecke.com and DZUG held a great introduction to Plone. You can download the slides here. (Currently only available as PDF due to image license issues. The presentation should be up on Slideshare shortly.) and you can read his (German) Whitepaper on Plone here (be sure to set your browser language to DE). Here's some snippets of his presentation as streamed live on USTREAM (sorry for the low quality; It's live from my iPhone): You can also follow my



