View of the Week: Leadership Lessons (Courtesy of DaveRamsey.Com)

For this edition of "view of the week",  were here @ "Outsiders" received these insightful analysis on leadership courtesy of the team @ DaveRamsey.com.   The idea of staying focused is one of the key aspects of trying to be a "visionary" and create a sense of the "Vision of the Possible" critical to success.

Featured Video

Why We Lose Focus   Dave explains the two big factors that make you take your eyes off the ball when you need to focus the most. Hint: They involve football.

4 Ways to Fight Distractions   Now that you know what's causing that lack of attention, here's how to fix it.   Read Article

5 Leadership Lessons From Football Coaches   Some of the greatest leaders you'll ever meet are football coaches. They'll show you how to get the best out of your team.   Read Article

On #Nixie": Getting to Know it.....

It is the dawn of a new Week here in "Outsiders" as we begin with "Nixie":

We'd like you to meet Nixie. https://t.co/RW2pgg7zSt
— Fly Nixie (@flynixie) September 30, 2014

This blew us away as we here @ "outsiders" initially got wind of it on i24news.TV .    There have been some "press" on it but the idea of creating a true selfie to document one's life is truly within a "vision of the possible".

Thought For the Week (II): What Mary Kay Ash Reminded Us//The Need to Believe

One of the most accomplished of our time reminded us of what it takes to achieve a "Vision of the Possible" despite all the challenges that may well serve discouraging at times courtesy of the team @ SimpleTruths.    It was quite timely to see this as ESPN's Bill Simmons was featured in this Mornings' New York Times as his suspension from ESPN comes to an end.   It was quite interesting how his journey started:   Blogging @ AOL at $ 50/Week:

“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” ~ Mary Kay Ash

 

Thought For the Week

Welcome to a new week here in "Outsiders"

On  the dawn of new week in "Outsiders",  this courtesy of the team at Simple Truths reflects how a solid Vision of the Possible can be possible:

“Acts of love are what will bring peace to your life and to the world.” ~ Dr. Lee Jampolsky

 

WATCH NOW

 

Notations on "Vision": On Transformations the Death of #Sulia, the Rise of #Ello, #MSFT & Other Thoughts

It has been quite a transformation in the Tech Space.    Right now, we're seeing transformations that is shocking to say the least.

First and foremost, Snapchat has been hacked to the tune of 200,000 images.  It is just shocking although SnapChat is claiming that third party APPS have been hacked.   There is no real protection and Snapchat has clearly screwed up by not taking the additional security  measures.   There is also the issue of Technology itself and how Tech has grown to be a rather mature industry.   It was quite an interesting development when Synametc (the folks behind Norton) have decided that they are going to split into two different companies.    We here at Outsiders remember when they executed a blockbuster $ 14 Billion merge with Veritas--a strategy that seems to have flopped.    We are also watching with great interest as HP has decided to split itself up.    Whether it will stop the HP death spiral is a broader question.

Tesla also tried to again razzle and dazzle with the rollout of Model D.    Although the stock price is dropping, the technology is quite amazing.     But, the problem is that such transformations is beyond the reach of the average "outsider" as technology evolves ever more: 

Update: Tesla D has autopilot, can park itself and greet drivers, Elon Musk said at Los Angeles event http://t.co/SpFEzKJgJg
— Mashable (@mashable) October 10, 2014

Apple has the same problem.   It will be interesting to see how Apple responds to the same challenge as it gears up  for a big day for iPad coming up on October 16.    Amazon has again tried to "circumvent" it with its' sub-100 Tablet which got a very favorable review in a recent of of the Wall Street Journal.     This is also as Google plans to roll out a 5.9 Inch "Phablet" as Samsung continues to struggle with its' business.    

It was with sadness, though, as we were witness to the death of Sulia.    We here @ "outsiders' were periodic contributors and were saddened to see this from the team @ Sulia: 

So long (for now) from Sulia

This is a sad time for all of us who worked so hard on this platform for these last five years, especially because of all of the great friendships we made with the members of the Sulia community.

Our goal was to organize the best content from the best sources in thousands of categories, and we did it well. In fact, there were many many things that Sulia did better than any other platform. But we learned that those things weren't popular or lucrative enough for it to succeed as a business. That's often the way it is with startups.

There is a small possibility that Sulia will one day be reborn, probably in a different form. If you're interested in discussing that, send an email to info@sulia.com.

To all of you who shared your time, your ideas and your passions, thank you. To our brilliant contributors, and marketers, and anyone, anywhere who ever took a moment to send us feedback, thank you. To our team, our investors and our advisers who stood by our mission and our dream, thank you.

The Sulia Team

 But with the death of one, comes another new one.   We here @ "outsiders" reached out to get on the Ello list--some say that the reviews are not that great.    But we will "hold out" any comments until we are able to get on line: 

Hi! Just a quick note if you’re on the Ello waiting list. As you may have heard, interest in Ello has grown very fast. We're so grateful for so much love and interest in Ello. If too many people join at once, the Ello servers will melt down. We have an amazing technical crew, and we’re inviting people as fast as we can. Please be patient, and don’t worry. You’ll receive an Ello invite as soon as possible. Much love, Ello PS: If you’re already using Ello and getting this note, you can unsubscribe using the links below. There is also the plight of the "mature players".     The new Microsoft CEO has been shaking things up as the Cloud Power Play continues.      Dylan, though, raises some very profound long-term questions when he posed these heart-wrenching questions about the Cloud (despite its' challenges as exemplified by the recent Snapchat Hack).  The Cloud is here--and it presents profound opportunities:                                                                                                                                       Dylan’s Desk: How long can Microsoft keep Windows alive? By Dylan Tweney, Editor-in-Chief Windows 10 is coming out next year, and it’s a substantial revision to Windows 8. VentureBeat’s Devindra Hardawar called it Microsoft’s big fat apology for Windows 8. Maybe the company needed to put so much distance between itself and Windows 8 that it skipped all the way over 9. The fact is, Windows 8 sold pretty damn well — for any company except Microsoft. In its first 15 months, the company shipped 200 million licenses for Windows 8. Most companies would kill for that kind of market. But that’s 100 million fewer licenses than Microsoft sold in the same period after launching Windows 7. A 33 percent decline from one version to another is the kind of problem that gets CEOs fired, or at least gracefully retired, and leads their replacements to announce bold new changes of direction. That’s exactly what new Microsoft chief Satya Nadella did, and we’re now beginning to see how his new strategy is playing out. For starters, Windows 10 appears to be less focused on the touchscreen market — but it hasn’t abandoned touchscreens entirely. It still has the Start screen and all those touch-friendly gestures that the company introduced in Windows 8, but they’re less prominent. Instead, it’s bringing back the Start menu as the default starting point for most users. The Start screen is still there, but you have to enable it manually (if you’re a Surface user, for instance, you might want this). The upcoming “Continuum” feature will change the Start menu from a mouse-friendly version to a more touch-friendly version whenever you detach your keyboard. And while Microsoft hasn’t elaborated much on this, it has made it clear that Windows 10 will be the same operating system on phones and desktops and tablets — instead of having a separate OS for phones. The return of the Start menu is a recognition that, even though the PC market is shrinking, Microsoft still depends on the support of its hundreds of millions of desktop and laptop users. And even though people mocked the Start button when it first appeared in Windows 95, after a couple decades of using it, we’re kind of used to it now. It’s a tough position for Microsoft. It knows that the PC is no longer the central device for many people, and the trend lines are clear: More and more people are using tablets, or even smartphones, as their primary devices. PC shipments declined for eight straight quarters, from 2012 through early 2014, Gartner reports — a decline of such long standing that “flat growth” (also known as no growth) actually looked pretty good in the second quarter of 2014. Still, that was 75.8 million computers for the quarter. By comparison, tablet shipments totalled 49.3 million in the same quarter, according to IDC figures assembled by TabTimes, and will probably grow 25 percent for the year. To summarize these figures: PC sales are stablizing after a long period of decline, while tablet sales continue to grow — but perhaps not everywhere — and approach parity with PC sales. My take is that PCs aren’t exactly going away, but for most people, they’re no longer the machine you live with day in and day out. Instead, they’re turning into special purpose devices. PCs and laptops are the things you use to get work done or play games on, or the things that run business software in a corporate office or on a factory floor. Microsoft, which understands business customers better than almost anyone else, has been trying to make an operating system that bridges the dying PC market and the possibly burgeoning tablet market. That’s why those touchscreen features are still there. But that’s also why the company is reviving the mouse-centric interface features it tried hard to suppress in the last version. How long can Microsoft maintain this delicate balancing act? It is a big enough company, with enormous revenues from both its platform and productivity divisions, that it could probably continue to earn profits and deliver dividends to its shareholders for another half a decade or more without making any major changes. But at some point, it’s going to wake up in a world where people live primarily in the cloud, access that cloud through a variety of devices, and care less about the device and its OS than they do about the content and their cloud platforms. If Microsoft isn’t careful, those devices could be Chromebooks or MacBooks instead of Windows PCs and tablets. In short, Microsoft has one or maybe two more versions of Windows to get it right. If Windows 10 doesn’t convince people that it’s the right OS to bet on for the future of desktops, tablets, and phones, Microsoft won’t have too many more opportunities. And then it will be time for the company to settle in for a comfortably long decline into irrelevance. Can Microsoft Change Fast Enough?   Can we "outsiders" realize that change is part and parcel of the reality out there?    This is as we here @ "Outsiders' were reminded of this admonition from Ralph Marston:  Value in each challenge Challenge is a fact of life. Though it might seem nice to trade your own particular challenges for somebody else’s, you’d likely find those other challenges to be just as burdensome. Instead of seeking to be free of your challenges, seek to be motivated to move successfully through them. A life with no challenge is a life with no opportunity for growth, fulfillment or satisfaction. Your challenges are yours for a very good reason. They are precisely the challenges that will enable you to grow stronger, more capable, and more fulfilled. So don’t resent the challenges, and don’t avoid those challenges. Don’t complain about the challenges or pretend they’re not there. Deal with each challenge and become stronger. Work through every challenge and feel the confidence that comes from knowing you can do it. Life’s challenges give you the opportunity to experience yourself growing stronger. See each challenge for the potential value it represents, and make that value your own.

View of the Week: On Waiting to Worry (Courtesy of the Team @ Simple Truths)

Wait to Worry From Attitude is Everything by Vicki Hitzges

I used to worry. A lot. The more I fretted, the more proficient I became at it. Anxiety begets anxiety. I even worried that I worried too much! Ulcers might develop. My health could fail. My finances could deplete to pay the hospital bills. A comedian once said, “I tried to drown my worries with gin, but my worries are equipped with flotation devices.” While not a drinker, I certainly could identify! My worries could swim, jump and pole vault! To get some perspective, I visited a well known, Dallas businessman, Fred Smith. Fred mentored such luminaries as motivational whiz Zig Ziglar, business guru Ken Blanchard and leadership expert John Maxwell. Fred listened as I poured out my concerns and then said, “Vicki, you need to learn to wait to worry.” As the words sank in, I asked Fred if he ever spent time fretting. (I was quite certain he wouldn’t admit it if he did. He was pretty full of testosterone—even at age 90.) To my surprise, he confessed that in years gone by he had been a top-notch worrier! “I decided that I would wait to worry!” he explained. “I decided that I’d wait until I actually had a reason to worry—something that was happening, not just something that might happen—before I worried.” “When I’m tempted to get alarmed,” he confided, “I tell myself, ‘Fred, you’ve got to wait to worry! Until you know differently, don’t worry.’ And I don’t. Waiting to worry helps me develop the habit of not worrying and that helps me not be tempted to worry.” Fred possessed a quick mind and a gift for gab. As such, he became a captivating public speaker. “I frequently ask audiences what they were worried about this time last year. I get a lot of laughs,” he said, “because most people can’t remember. Then I ask if they have a current worry—you see nods from everybody. Then I remind them that the average worrier is 92% inefficient—only 8% of what we worry about ever comes true.” Charles Spurgeon said it best. “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength.”

A "Thought 4 the Week-End": Enough Said :-)

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!" Audrey Hepburn http://t.co/tFloA9i6QD #etsymntt #quotes #life #love #possible
— Unique Reflections (@UReflections) October 1, 2014 

&    Remembering this for all to pursue their dreams :-)

“Don’t be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so.” ~ Belva Davis

We here @ "Outsiders" will also hope to live up to Edgar Guest's admonition throughout our journey--as he reminded us:

“I’d rather see a sermon

than hear one any day;
I’d rather one should walk with me
than merely tell the way:
The eye’s a better pupil
and more willing than the ear,
fine counsel is confusing,
but example’s always clear.”

Personal Reflections: On Twitter, The Rise of "Outsiders" & A sense of the possible.....

It has been an very interesting ride over the last 5 years that have ultimately culminated in "Outsiders".   This from Twitter was a beautiful reminder of the possibilities unleashed when this was launched and how our World has changed ever more:  

Happy Twitterversary! You just turned 5. Let everyone know that it's your Twitterversary. Tweet!

It is ever so a challenging World---and this "Thought 4 the Week" was a reminder that anything is possible to create "A Vision of the Possible":

View of the Week: Leadership 101 (Very Perceptive)

This is a very good, concise and to the point guidance on leadership that is vital for any leader to understand and embrace.     For any leader, this is a very good pointed view on what is on tap for any leader to succeed:

Lessons to be learnt by us all.....

On the Dawn of the New Quarter here in the "Outsider" Network: A "Thought 4 the Week" (Courtesy: Simpletruths.com) :-)

“A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

An "Outsiders" Newsflash: Windows 10 is here now!!!

Image Source; Microsoft

Earlier today, Microsoft introduced Windows 10.   Start Menu is "officially" back along with a whole host of new features.        This overview is courtesy of the BBC.

We look forward to sharing insights here in "Visions" over the ensuing weeks.   There is also another breaking development as well:  Ebay spinning off Paypal--because it appears PayPal can survive on its' own as the Business Insider notes:

Never a dull moment....

On the "Prowl" : Thoughts on #Alibaba, #Yahoo, #AOL & Microsoft

The latest Sunday Edition of CBS News' 60 Minutes featured a very revealing and interesting interview with Jack Ma.    Lara Logan's interview was very revealing in many respects that underscored the drive and desire of someone who truly lived up to the Japanese Admonition to fall down seven times and stand up the eight.  The idea that someone was able to insure that within a span of 15 years be involved with almost 40 percent of the Chinese Population and be able to keep the Government of China at bay is just heartening.    He also underscored his bluntness when he noted his admonition to the Government:  Create Jobs or you're in trouble.

Jack Ma's bravado does mask some of the inherent challenges faced in China Today.    The Government in Beijing can take Alibaba over tomorrow and all that hard work will dissipate in a heartbeat.   The current Chinese Leadership, though, is not that much of a fool to do something as Alibaba begins its journey to dominate the World.     One other thing that US Companies should embrace was this;  Jack Ma's priorities.   He noted three key priorities:   customers, employees and Shareholders.    He was blunt:  If you don't like our philosophy, don't buy our shares.  It is a philosophy that is refreshing to hear which should be embraced by US Companies.  

Beyond Alibaba, though, there is the plight of the company that also bought into Alibaba where few others did:  Yahoo.   Yahoo is staying in the game partly as a result of Alibaba and the successful IPO.   It made 6 Billion Dollars--but it is still trying to figure out how it lives on in the shadow of Google & Facebook.    This chart published by the Business Insider Team underscores the extent of the challenge being faced by Yahoo right now: 

 AOL is trying to be the "content company"--which can fit with Yahoo's strategy to move content with some of the moves it has made--including the hiring of Katie Couric.   The challenge is to assess whether the content is actually going to yield results--although one of Yahoo's Largest Shareholders wants to press the issue--and AOL's stock price reflected a confidence that somehow something might happen as reflected in this latest from the team @ Bigcharts: :

 AOL, in the meantime, is trying to develop content and make its' mark on the Political, Economic, Religion and other channels.    

Beyond Yahoo & AOL, Microsoft is continuing onward with its' transformation under its' new CEO.   One indication that the sense of faith continues to persist is the stock price as noted by Big Charts:

 The stock is near all-time highs that underscores the sense of confidence that is ever so within Microsoft.   It is gratifying to see that Microsoft continues to push along on development and the idea that somehow Cortana can be incorporated into Windows 9 is fun and exciting to be witness to--even if the commentary in the Business Insider is not as "favorable" as one would like it to be:  

Leaked Screenshots Show Microsoft's Virtual Assistant Cortana Is Likely Coming To Windows 9  After the Windows 8 largely failed to convince Windows 7 users to... Read»  Despite all that Microsoft is doing right, there is still the challenge of overcoming the "Apple Hype".  It is ever so as it has come out with a very interesting device to counter Google Play and has just enhance the capabilties of One Drive.      Ever so fascinating to be witness to history.....