On Motivation, the Power of Ideas, and Time

Good morning fellow scholars,

 

Below I have attached three videos that I found quite helpful in helping us understand the what motivates us, how ideas come to be, and how time is perceived differently by different cultures and generations. 

 

The first short video, by Dan Pink, explains the secrets behind what motivates us and how we can foster this power from the people we manage and work with. 

 

The second video, by Steven Johnson, looks at the process of incubating ideas and way which ideas come to life. 

 

Lastly, Philip Zimbardo takes us on a tour that spans the space-time realm. He touches upon the controversial idea of how culture, religion, and age play a role in ones perception of time. The video also warns of the dangers of video games and the negative effects deconstructive surfing of the Internet has on the development of our brains. 

 

I wish you find these videos useful and motivating. 

 

Take care of yourself, 

 

Haider

A Marketing Survey

Good evening friends,

I am currently working with my team on a Brand Life Story project, part of the Strategic Marketing Management course. We chose a product (Sony Walkman) and analyzed its history. Now, we are to construct a Life Cycle curve, noting key points throughout the brand's life – rise, fall, metamorphosis, and revival.

As part of the research we currently are undertaking, we have devised a simple questionnaire in order to survey your opinion on the Walkman's legacy. It should take a couple of minutes of your time, but it would immensely help us on the road to better formulate our thoughts on the Walkman brand.

The link can be found here.

Thank you for talking the time to help my team and I gain a better understanding of the marketing world.

Take care of yourself, 

Haider

The Golden Ratio

Greetings fellow scholars,

It seems sporadic blogging will be a trade mark of this site, where the frequency of blogging is determined by the following ratio:

Family : Work : Education

To be successful in life, one must maximize on all three factors. Doing so, however, is probably one of life most challenging objectives - it is life's objective. Can the ratio above be life’s real Golden Ratio?

The MBA program, as all programs, is a combination of core, regular, and elective courses. The core courses are the building blocks upon which all the other (regular) courses are built upon, while the electives are the courses upon which students enroll in so that they can expand their intellectual horizon. It is important to note that elective courses are vital in the construction of each MBA student’s character, since through such courses one can push the limits of their understanding and explore new realms; realms that can be used to experiment with cutting edge technologies and to expand one's innovative skills in the fields of business and management.

The first semester was composed of four core courses: Management Skills (2 parts), Data Analysis, and The World of the General Manager and Strategic Management. The second semester, which I am currently enrolled in, is made up of two courses: Strategic Marketing Management and Economics for the General Manager.

I will try to further expand on each course in the next few weeks - there are a lot of hidden gems here and we must tread carefully to absorb their shinning. For the moment, I would like to highlight the fact that what is really great about these courses is that the knowledge one acquires not only transfers to ones work environment, but also to ones day-to-day activities.

So, if we revisit the ratio we had discussed above (Family : Work : Education), we can clearly identify one of the keys needed to unlock life's mysteries (i.e. maximizing our success in life):

Knowledge

The beauty of knowledge is that it has an increasing return on investment. The more knowledge we acquire, the more we are made aware of ourselves and, in turn, the more clues we are given to unlock life's wonderful mysteries. Can you think of examples? Reflect on that.

That is it for now. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I look forward to hearing your comments and I promise to post my next posting very soon.

All the best,

Haider