What I learned from my Mom!
Today is my Mom's birthday. I don't get to live close anymore, but we do talk daily. As I was chatting with a friend who recently lost her mom, she reminded me to cherish each moment so I decided to write the Top 7 Things I love about my mom!
- Gives without expecting anything in return. My mom is the most giving person I know. Of course to her children, but to all. She extends herself without expecting anything in return.
- Leads by example. Whether she is gardening, or doing Tax Returns, my mom leads by example. She never asks anyone to do anything that she isn't willing to do herself.
- Chooses Attitude over circumstances. One of the things my mom taught me is that you sometimes cannot change your circumstances, but your attitude you have control over. Make sure you keep your attitude in check, and don't let those circumstances control you!
- Exudes "Smart." My mom was valedictorian in High School but could not afford to go to college. Yet, she still used her incredible intelligence to be so successful in life. She is not just book smart, but life smart.
- Grows in faithfulness. My mom is faithful in her faith and God. She has a gentle and trusting spirit.
- Shares Encouragement. I cannot remember a time when my mom didn't encourage her friends, family, and even pets. She is a natural encourager -- go Mom Go!
- Exemplifies Love. My mom loves unconditionally. Her love is soft and gentle yet strong.
I know that Mother's day is upcoming as well and I cannot be more thankful for the beautiful woman who is my mom.
She has taught me how to be a good mom and leader!
Celebrate your mom today!
Internet of Things Foosball on BlueMix With Social Linkage!
Yes, the students have done it! This is an Internet of Things Foosball Table designed by Fabian Eitel and Marcel Seibold. In this picture, they are the 2 gentlemen playing against me !!
This table with sensors throughout does the following:
- It tweets the scores.
- It rates the probability of the winning team (my team was not rated high -- even though I did score one point!)
- Others can tweet to cheer you on!
Here you can find our final result in Twitter as a little souvenir. https://twitter.com/TischkickerEhn/status/590534529464467456)
It is a very innovative way to showcase the value of the Cloud. Marcel and Fabian are not hard core coders but were able to get this up and coming quickly because of Bluemix.
How does it work?
Sensors capture the "game" and then send the results to the cloud, where the data is analyzed and stored. Then based on the game, Tweets are automatically sent and the probablity of a Winner Calculated!
What fun!
Growth Hacks for Startups!
Small is beautiful ! Listening to your clients! Just some of the essentials ways to grow with some cool hacks!!
[youtube=http://youtu.be/jOAiOiBiKKo]
Top 5 Quotes to inspire and challenge you to innovate
I love quotes and wanted to share my fav 5 for this week!
1. Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. But it is wisdom that knows not to put a tomato into a fruit salad. Informs Conference
2. In GOD we trust. All others bring data.
3. Don't get distracted by every squirrel that runs by.
4. People lose their way when they lose their why. Focus on your goals.
5. Never sacrifice 3 things: your family, your heart, or your dignity.
Astronaut Cady Coleman dishes on NASA Space Apps, STEM and Innovation
I had such a great weekend in NYC meeting all the great Hackers on the Bluemix platform. You will see a set of videos around participants from 15 years old to 70 years old, as well as a ton of folks driving innovation into the local communities.
Today, we have Astronaut Cady Coleman, an amazing woman who spent 6 months in space!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88KtkdVD8gs
More on the NASA Space Apps Challenge
Millennial Myths and Truths!
Not a shocker! Collaboration is valued highly!
In phase 1 of the millennial study, we found that 56% of millennials and 64% of gen x'ers value collaboration (boomers operate more independently) in decision making. Given that, there are things that really matter to these new workers (I love them too!)
Not just gut feel!
Millennials and Gen X'ers rely on analytics to help them make decisions (Baby boomers operate more on gut feel). For instance, Millennials love the analytics inside of email (like IBM Verse) help prioritize your inbox and make your day more productive using analytics.
Virtual plus In person matters:
One of the key findings from the phase 2 millennial study is in the way these new folks like to work. They like to meet in person but also virtually. Social collaboration matters to them. So training the team on how to use social on social selling ...During the sales cycle, make sure that you enable your sellers on social influence and selling. For instance, IBM has partnered with Hootsuite and sellers can get a license to help manage their social accounts.
For in person value, we have been building out our influencer network with the influencers that millennials listen to (e.g., TED@IBM). In addition, we have a world class social good focus. Through our IBM Corporate service corps, we deploy IBMers to do smarter city projects for local governments to give local citizens visibility to IBM and how we are helping local communities.
I have a team of millenials that have just started a weekly in person meeting because as they love the virtual work environment, that in person get together is also crucial.
Social -- Millenials are more careful
One big difference between Gen X and Gen Y, is their use of digital. We know that millennials grew up digitally and as such they are more careful in their use of social tools But because they know how to use the tools, make sure you take advantage of their knowledge. Have them do reverse mentoring to assist you in the workplace.
