Business Intelligence

Today’s businesses have changed so much in recent years you are just not being able to catch your breath if you were not following them closely. At this time if you are still not computer savvy you definitely will be left out on a lot of new happenings. As things changed and the earth evolves, we need to change to fit in.

Paradigm shift is the term first used by Thomas Kuhn in his influential book "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" to describe a change in basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science. It is in contrast to his idea of normal science.

Kuhn used the duck-rabbit optical illusion to demonstrate the way in which a paradigm shift could cause one to see the same information in an entirely different way.

You must be wondering why are we talking about science. What has science got to do with today’s business.

Of course, the term "paradigm shift" has found uses in other contexts, representing the notion of a major change in a certain thought-pattern — a radical change in personal beliefs, complex systems or organizations, replacing the former way of thinking or organizing with a radically different way of thinking or organizing.

That’s our discussion today…………A change of mindset.

1. Take a Step Back

Stop what you are doing now. Take a step back and look at yourself, assess your situation especially your financial situation, your asset management, your investment, your business plans. Are you doing the right business? Is it giving you the right yield? Are you into the right investment? Stop doing what is not working and reassess your situation.

2. Look for New Ideas

Think out of the box and look for new options. Do not be too attached to old ideas because they were your ideas. Get advice from the best Investment Adviser or have a brainstorm session. Change if you need to.

3. Take Action

Have an open mind. Look out for people who have done what you want to do. Talk to these people, give them a treat and ask for tips. If you want to be successful you not only have to copy ideas but you have to copy them from the best. Copy ideas and improve on them.

4. Continuous Learning

Read. Read a lot. Read on business news, investment articles and what’s new in the market place. Learn from people who has make a success of themselves. If need to, learn by attending classes, listen to success tapes etc.

5. Make Business Offers

Finding a good business is like finding a life partner. You have go out there to talk to people, to make offers and counteroffers, to negotiate, to accept or reject in the market place. By sitting in your office and wait for the phone to ring or for the offer to come by is no more the trend of today. You have to be out there, you have to be in or you will definitely be left out of the good deals.

6. Bargain Hunting

Take a walk through your neighbourhood every now and then and watch out for bargain real estate deals. There are lots of good deals out there waiting to be taken. Some of the best deals are on auction and you just have to find them to get a good return in real estate investment.

7. Think Big

Most people think small by buying only what they can afford. Think big. Buy a big cake and divide them up. This concept goes for real estates investments like land, multi-storey shop lots and other business investments as well.

8. Learn from the best

Learn from history. See how successful people with little higher education can be. So if you have a degree or two, you should do better.

Kentucky Fried Chicken. Colonel Sanders dropped out of school in seventh grade. At the age of 40, Sanders cooked chicken dishes for people who stopped at his service station in Corbin, Kentucky. Since he did not have a restaurant, he served customers in his living quarters in the service station. He worked as a chef and perfected the method of pressured fried herbs chicken. He gained his “Kentucky Colonel” title at the age of 45.

Michael Saul Dell was born on the 23rd of February, 1965 in Houston. He attended the University of Texas with hopes of becoming a doctor but abandoned studies to start his own business at just 19 years of age.

With just one thousand dollars in his pocket Dell started "PC's Limited" in 1984. From his university dorm room Dell started building and selling personal computers from stock computer parts. The idea that set the young entrepreneur apart from others was to sell directly to the customer, rather than going through a third party to sell his products.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen were high school students with great computer skills. They were determined to find a way to apply their computer skills in the real world. In the fall of 1973, Allen began to push Bill harder with the idea that they should open a software company. Gates was still not sure enough to drop out of school. The following year, however, that would all change.

In December of 1974, Allen was on his way to visit Gates when along the way he stopped to browse the current magazines. What he saw changed his and Bill Gates's lives forever. On the cover of Popular Electronics was a picture of the Altair 8800 and the headline "World's First Microcomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models." They both recognized this as their big opportunity. The two knew that the home computer market was about to explode and that someone would need to make software for the new machines.

Within a few days, Gates had called MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems), the makers of the Altair. He told the company that he and Allen had developed a BASIC that could be used on the Altair [Teamgates.com, 9/29/96]. This was a lie. They had not even written a line of code. This is how the great success of Microsoft started.

These are 3 motivating stories to learn from.

Moral of the story

“You have to make things happen by going out there to look for your opportunities”.