Our economy and infrastructure are in shambles, we keep shipping our manufacturing base and countless other jobs out of our country, wages have hardly move inflation adjusted in the last 20 years and also advanced education basically separates the extreme poor and rich with a dying middle class. A bachelor's degree only gets you a look as most decent career options are saturated because it's cheaper to do third world contracts. If you don't have a Bachelor's degree my advice is give up now or accept 10 dollars an hour and likely two part time jobs. Major corporations are selling our country to the lowest bidder and our elected officials are too busy doing backroom deals and taking bribes to actually look out for the working class or saving our nation. Are you good and pissed yet? If not maybe you should wake up and start gathering. In the American colonies, the French Revolution and countless others moments in history change only comes when the people become too sick of the status quo to accept it anymore.
What are your thoughts?

 


No. 1.
 REINVEST YOUR PROFITS – When you first make money, you may be tempted to spend it.  Don’t.  Instead, reinvest the profits.  Buffett learned this early on. In high school, he and a pal bought a pinball machine to put in a barbershop. With the money they earned, they bought more machines until they had eight in different shops. When the friends sold the venture, Buffett used the proceeds to buy stocks and to start another business. No surprise that this is Rule #1.  He is the greatest investor of our time and one of the reasons is because he followed his own advice here.

No. 2:  BE WILLING TO BE DIFFERENT - Don’t base your decisions upon what everyone is saying or doing. When Buffett began managing money in 1956 with $100,000 cobbled together from a handful of investors, he was dubbed an oddball. He worked in Omaha, not on Wall Street, and he refused to tell his partners where he was putting their money. People predicted that he’d fall, but when he closed his partnership 14 years later, it was worth more than $100 million.  In short:  Don’t be afraid to be contrarian.  Time and time again, we see tremendously successful investors, businessmen, entrepreneurs take a contrarian approach.  Wasn’t it John D. Rockefeller who said the best time to buy is when there’s “blood in the streets”?

No. 3:  NEVER SUCK YOUR THUMB - Gather in advance any information you need to make a decision, and ask a friend or relative to make sure that you stick to a deadline. Buffett prides himself on swiftly making up his mind and acting on it. He calls any unnecessary sitting and thinking “thumb-sucking.”  Buffett invested $5 Billion in Goldman Sachs during the worst moments of the 2008 financial crisis when Wall Street appeared to be melting down.  He committed this money in a 15 minute (no thumb sucking here) phone call with Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein.  Result?  A $10 Billion profit in 30 months.

No. 4:  SPELL OUT THE DEAL BEFORE YOU START - Your bargaining leverage is always greatest before you begin a job – that’s when you have something to offer that the other party wants. Buffett learned this lesson the hard way as a kid, when his grandfather Earnest hired him and a friend to dig out the family grocery store after a blizzard. The boys spent five hours shoveling until they could barely straighten their frozen hands. Afterward, his grandfather gave the pair less that 90 cents to split.  This advice holds not only for jobs, but also for any kind of negotiation, investments, partnerships, JVs, etc.

No. 5:  WATCH SMALL EXPENSES - Buffett invests in business run by managers who obsess over the tiniest costs. He once acquired a company whose owner counted the sheets in rolls of 500-sheet toilet paper to see if he was being cheated (he was). He also admired a friend who painted only the side of his office building that faced the road.  I think the lesson is also that the devil’s in the details, and that little things mean a lot. The best organizations have a handle on all of the nuances and details of their operations.

No. 6:  LIMIT WHAT YOU BORROW - Buffett has never borrowed a significant amount – not to invest, not for a mortgage. He has gotten many heartrending letters from people who thought their borrowing was manageable but became overwhelmed by debt. His advice: Negotiate with creditors to pay what you can. Then, when you’re debt-free, work on saving some money that you can invest.  If our country had followed this advice, we wouldn’t be in the financial pickle we’re in now, that’s for sure.  Seems like Buffett is not only saying to limit what you borrow, but also very simply to be disciplined, and that’s a key success driver

No. 7:  BE PERSISTENT - With tenacity and ingenuity, you can win against a more established competitor. Buffett acquired the Nebraska Furniture Mart in 1983 because he liked the way its founder, Rose Blumkin, did business. A Russian immigrant, she built the mart from a pawnshop into the largest furniture store in North America. Her strategy was to undersell the big shots, and she was a merciless negotiator.  This is my favorite of the Buffett Rules.

No. 8:  KNOW WHEN TO QUIT - Once, when Buffett was a teen, he went to the racetrack. He bet on a race and lost. To recoup his funds, he bet on another race. He lost again, leaving him with close to nothing. He felt sick – he had squandered nearly a week’s earnings. Buffett never repeated that mistake.  The only one making money at the racetrack is the owner.  I bet he’s happy he learned this lesson at a young age.

No. 9:  ASSESS THE RISKS - In 1995, the employer of Buffett’s son, Howie, was accused by the FBI of price-fixing. Buffett advised Howie to imagine the worst- and best-case scenarios if he stayed with the company. His son quickly realized the risks of staying far outweighed any potential gains, and he quit the next day.  Continually assess current and future risks and mitigate those you can to help shape and control your future.

No. 10:  KNOW WHAT SUCCESS REALLY MEANS - Despite his wealth, Buffett does not measure success by dollars. In 2006, he pledged to give away almost his entire fortune to charities, primarily the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He’s adamant about not funding monuments to himself – no Warren Buffett buildings or halls. “When you get to my age, you’ll measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you. That’s the ultimate test of how you lived your life.”  What a great definition of “success.”  After all the effort, the blood, sweat and tears, and the battle scars from the business and investment world, the Master defines his success so simply and elegantly.

 

Here are some reasons why people may use LinkedIn.

- To stay in touch with friends and colleagues. 
- To reconnect with old friends and colleagues that you may have not been able to find or be found by otherwise when emails and phone numbers are changed. 
- To get introduced to new interesting friends and business connections. 
- To promote your products and services, find or be found by new customers. 
- To find or be found by new vendors, suppliers or service providers. 
- To find a job through your network and to make it easy for employers and recruiters to find you. 
- To find someone to fill a vacancy that you may have. 
- To find experts and get advice. 
- To share your experience, help others and give advices. 
- To stay updated with the latest news especially about your network and what’s new. 
- To join groups and start or join in interesting discussions. 
- To build and strengthen your personal branding and online presence for you or your company (improving the chances of being found on Google). 
- To find new opportunities for business, partners or investors 
- To consolidate in one place trusted (to some degree) recommendations that you can get from your colleagues, friends and business contacts. 
- To use who you know in common to ask for reference about someone or a company before working or doing business with them. 
- To look up anyone that you need to meet or speak to and find out what you can about them to understand them better and to make a good impression. 
- To be able to post questions and get different answers 
- To be able to create or participate in polls (surveys) and find out the results. 
- To be able to post and share announcements, updates, news, cool things. 
- To be recognized as a subject matter expert in your area of expertise. 

As you can see the possibilities and power of this network are endless. 

​No matter who you are, you will make mistakes at some point in your business life. Unfortunately the law is not very forgiving - ignorance is not a defence. In this section, we have compiled some of the common legal pitfalls to watch out for when setting up your own business.

• Partnerships 
  A partnership is formed when two or more parties form to start a business, sharing the workload and investing capital to get things going. It is always wise to have a written partnership agreement and get it checked by a solicitor. If you do not have a proper agreement and it all goes wrong, the partnership will be covered by the Partnership Act, whose provisions may not always seem fair. 
  
  For example, under it partners can withdraw without giving notice. This could mean they insist on the immediate return of their capital and the business may be forced to close down as a result. If you do not however, have an agreement you may be liable for all sorts of costs and you have no legal standing. It is very important to make sure all of your agreements are legal and will withstand in a court of law.

• Clarify Relationships 
  You can find yourself in a partnership without realising it, for example, if you run a business with somebody but don't employ them, this often happens with husbands and wives or other family members. In a partnership, each partner is responsible for business debts incurred by other partners and there is no limit to their liability.

• Put Everything in Writing 
  I cannot stress enough how important it is to have everything in writing. If things go wrong you have no legal standing without some form of documentation (which includes all correspondence), contracts are the basis of all business relationships. A contract will include four key components: Consideration, an obligation to pay or a promise to provide something in return for something of value. Certainty, the contract must clearly state what is expected of all parties. The intention to be legally bound and an offer and an acceptance. However, contracts can be oral and it isn't always clear when one has been made. 
  
  Confirm every agreement in writing so everyone knows where they stand. What is the brief? Who will pay? When? How much? Are expenses included? What are the acceptance criteria? Who will own copyright? It is important that all aspects are covered and that there are no grey areas.

• Make Sure all Employees Have a Contracts 
  It is very important to have a contract of employment in place from day one for all employees. Make sure that all new employees are entitled to work in this country, or you could face heavy penalties. The contracts act to protect both parties.

• Know your Employment Laws 
  Employment laws in this country are very precise on what you can and cannot do. Before you fire someone, make them redundant or change their terms and conditions of employment, take legal advice. If you don't, you could find yourself open to claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination or breach of contract. Also warn employees that discrimination, sexual harassment and other illegal acts will not be tolerated.

• The Importance of Health & Safety 
  If you fail to carry out your health and safety obligations you may face prosecution, your insurance premiums may rise and you may find difficulty in obtaining insurance altogether. In the worst cases your business may be closed until you adhere to the Health & Safety laws. Information packs are available from the Health & Safety Executive which will outline your legal requirements. The Government are legally entitled to carry out spot checks on your premises at any time.

• Make Sure you are Insured
  Insurance is vital from a financial viewpoint. There are also legal requirements for employer's and public liability insurance. If you sell products, product liability insurance will protect you if someone injured by a defect in your product successfully sues you.

• Are you Covered? 
  Many people find it hard to imagine that work they have done will result in a claim for hundreds of thousands of pounds. However, most people only contribute a link in a chain, so the effects of a mistake can be out of all proportion to their individual contribution. If you offer services or advice you must get adequate professional indemnity insurance. Indemnity cover is needed for years after the work has been done, because it has to cover when the claim is made. Failure to do this will leave you open to claims that may make you bankrupt!

• Terms and Conditions 
  If you don't spell out in black and white your terms and conditions of trade (T&Cs) you are giving you customers the license to pay you when they feel like it. And if they go into liquidation before paying you, you may not be able to reclaim your goods if you do not have a Retention of Title clause in your Terms & Condition’s. Draft some suitable Terms & Condition’s for your business and ask a solicitor to check them. You must ensure your customer agrees to them, and ideally, signs them when placing an order.

• Read the Small Print 
  Read all loan and overdraft agreements carefully to ensure you understand what you are letting yourself in for. Be very wary of signing personal guarantees. Banks often seek to over secure' their lending. Once you have signed any paperwork you will be legally bound to any terms and conditions that are set out in the small print, no matter how unreasonable they may be. It is imperative that you read all small print before signing anything.

• Get Everything In Writing

Legal disputes, lawsuits and false claims can ruin your business or even bankrupt it. On top of that the negative publicity is detrimental to your brand.
Make sure you have written agreements for everything it is time well spent.

First off a quick explanation, Machine Learning is the process of using data and advanced methodologies to teach a computer how to learn and improve on its own. Think advanced AI or Terminator light. (The mental part only)
There are two ways sports are using Machine Learning and its advanced AI. Injury management and ball trajectory.
​
In basketball a computer with the right data set can almost always predict if a shot will be a make or miss based on trajectory and the mathematical formula used. This is very useful in helping with analyzing shot selection and offensive efficiency. Allowing for only offensive plays with a higher probability of success.
 
Predictive Modeling is the defined process of using a data set to prevent and or predict specific outcomes. Injury management is one of the key focuses of this model.
For example a study in The American Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise looked at hamstring injury occurrences and the probability of reinjury.
The primary factors were:

• Seven genetic variants
• Previous hamstring injury
• Age (with players over 24 more likely to become injured)

The model was excellent as explaining why an injury occurred but only right about 50% of the time at predicting future injuries so improvement is needed.
A separate study placed a great deal of weight on genetic factors and injury risk. Certain genetic markers and inherited traits made injury risk more prevalent.

This field is growing and shows promise, it will be interesting to see where Machine Learning takes us in the future. Even more interesting will be any progress in modeling a smarter or more efficient AI. We will know the answer to this and more one day.
​

What is so special about Jira , Agile and Salesforce?

"Steps onto soapbox" Warning if you love spending money needlessly, being inefficient and you have questionable competence please do not continue reading.

I have used many forms of productivity and project management software and I still am unsure why employers require certain software to be something you have used before.  What makes certain enterprise software so special? Feature , benefits, perception? In my humble opinion Trello does most of what you need for free that these other softwares do. Don't mention Trello in an interview however the weird looks will ensue like you use software that is not enterprise? The outrage! Where is my pitchfork?

Why do so many treat these software solutions like they have magic powers? Now Salesforce it's the same basic thing as Hubspot, Microsoft Dynamic, Sugar CRM and a list of others yet on a job description or even talking with a client it is the only CRM considered. Go do a side by side comparison I dare you. Dynamic and Sugar are the same thing and they are less expensive. What am I missing? Someone please fill me in. I feel like the blind where given the keys to the gun cabinet as they told me trust us we know how this works. I see so many major corporations throwing money at the wall and their strategy makes me want to pull my hair out. Give me a 1/10th of their budget and I would get the same results if not better.

"Steps off of Soapbox"

What are your thoughts? What am I missing here?

Rip Google+? The rumor through the grapevine via Tech Crunch is the tech giant is considering major changes to Google +. The question is how drastic will these be and is Google+ marching toward an early grave? With the departure of Vic Gundotra as well as the demise of Orkut and Wave. The question remains is Google plotting the demise of another social venture?

Many of us use a CMS (Content Management System) whether it is Drupal or Wordpress the question is how secure is your solution? Where is it vulnerable and what are you doing to fix it?

Out of date security:

This is one of the easiest fixes check monthly for updates and if you have an older version install the latest.

HTML, CSS and Javascript vulnerabilities:
these cannot be avoided , hackers will always look for an exploit or security weakness to attack the key is to be vigilant and use scanning tools, up to date security and a response plan to be ready for a malicious event.

Angry Trolls:
These are vicious mythological creatures who want you off of their bridge. In all seriousness in the internet world they represent those who are motivated to leave less than flattering comments on your content by an outside agenda. Your spam filter should be ready to deal with them as well as spam.

What are you doing to mange your data and website security as well as your content? Let me know in the comments below.