"It is good to obey all the rules when you're young, so you'll have the strength to break them when you're old."
--- Mark Twain
Google is sitting on top of the world right now. Innovation, creativity, hard work, and talent all contribute to Google's success. But, do you know how Google comes up with all its cool new services and innovative tools? Do you think that their people struggle through 60-hour weeks to come up with all those new ideas? Not exactly, and they may have a model that you could use for yourself or your company to increase innovation.
"You must master your time rather than becoming a slave to the constant flow of events and demands on your time. And you must organize your life to achieve balance, harmony, and inner peace."
--- Brian Tracy
Google encourages its engineers to spend one day a week, or 20 percent of their time, on projects that are unrelated to work. Called "20 percent time," the concept is credited with helping the company bypass the competition and develop cash cow products.
It could be that your efforts to strive for creativity and innovation may actually be preventing you from breaking through to the next great idea. The need to get to a point of diminishing return for the time that you invest in your work is greater than ever. You could potentially achieve more by working less.
"The real act of discovery is not in finding new lands, but in seeing with new eyes."
-- Marcel Proust
Asked to explain the difference between himself and an average person, Albert Einstein
explained that, when faced with the problem of finding a needle in a haystack, the average person would stop when he or she found a needle. But Einstein would tear through the entire haystack looking for all possible needles.
But, Mr. Einstein also took hours, days, and weeks to himself (outside of his work) just to reflect. Thoughts, some very creative, and some not so inventive, would flow through his mind. What he did with those gave him his reputation of being a genius. The point is that he didn't just constantly work to achieve his goals, but allowed the "downtime" to inspire him.
"My success, part of it certainly, is that I have focused in on a few things."
--- Bill Gates
While it is desirable to have total concentration and focus on the tasks needed to bring success to a business, it is also required to have all brain activity rested and functioning to full capacity. That is why working on unrelated projects, as Google's engineers do, is so important for your team members to recharge and re-focus.
"Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain way. Looked at in another way, the right course of action may be so obvious that the problem no longer exists."
--- Edward de Bono
For some business owners, the luxury of giving team members "20 percent time" is taking time away from the business of making profits. But, if these team members can use the time to work in another area of the business, the company will benefit from the productivity of cross-trained employees as well as better, creative thinkers.
Consider a job rotation system every couple of weeks to break up daily ruts and instill new energy and live into your organization.
Mainstreaming Digital Electronic Signage With Metric Optimization Software
By Sean Scott
Trying to determine when ads are at their most effective point is the golden ring many have been searching for in the advertising through digital electronic signage.
Read the article...
Wrap It Up: Vehicle Wraps See New Developments Through Digital
By SGIA
Almost anything can be wrapped, including cars, trucks, motorcycles, buses, boats, trailers, railroad cars and even buildings. Learn the critical steps to planning, creating and installing a successful wrap. Or else you'll wish you did.
Read the article...
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Advertiser - HP
The Biggest Name In Printing Is Revolutionizing Outdoor
HP brings its world-renowned printing reputation to the outdoor market with the new HP Designjet 9000s series printer.
Designed specifically for signs, banners, vehicle graphics and any other large-format application that requires excellent image quality and durability, the HP Designjet 9000s series printer is a low-solvent, large-format printer that truly delivers. Exceptional print speeds mean more uptime, too, for increased profitability.
The new HP Designjet 9000s series printer can help you satisfy your customers' needs for great, durable signage, while driving more profits and increasing your bottom line.
HP Designjet 9000s Series Printers
- Exceptional print speeds with excellent image quality
- HP service and reliability for more up time
- A complete system with consistent quality and performance with genuine HP inks and media
- Low-solvent inks for longevity and durability
- Vivid colors
- Unattended operation
- Low cost of operation
To locate the dealer nearest you or to schedule a product demo, visit:
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As seen in front of bait shop in Georgia:
"Ice cold watermelons. We have worms"
A sign on top of a San Francisco drug store located across the street from
the Transbay bus terminal:
On a delicatessen wall:
"Our best is none too good"
Have you seen any funny signs lately? Why not share them with the world? Send your comments, suggestions, and hysterical observations to: info@signindustry.com.
