Venice Casino Marketing

This is a perfect example of how your business can create the right environment for your company. In this case, right as tourists arrive in the Venice airports, The Venice Casino has created a very unique and eye catching advertisement.

$100 on BLACK!

Dancepants Kinetic Music Player

A designboom's Green Life competition produced an amazing innovation. A pair of pants that using kinetic energy to power your MP3 player. As long as you are running, music is playing!

ecouterre.com

World's largest Solar Project

The Sahara has claimed to be the center for the worlds largest renewable energy project. This $555 BILLION project now has the backing of 12 major corporations. Think about the potential of sun energy is the middle of the desert? I don't know how sustainable this project will be in the long run, but I love the vision and the scalability of the idea.

New Facebook Headquarters

HP google maps

The other day, my friend showed me the worlds smallest printer. It was a pretty cool innovation that was hand held, and made it to where you could basically paint on paper, the document you wanted to print. He asked me, "How much would you pay for it?" and honestly, I didn't say that much. I felt as if this new printer was making a drastic leap in a unnecessary direction. Having a letter quality printer improve to a laser printer is a drastic innovation that the printer market would all appreciate. To me, being able to print in the palm of your hand, only fits to a very small niche of the printer market. It is a very cool innovation, but I do not think it's very marketable.

But speaking of printers, I ironically came across an innovation on a printer, I thought could be very receptive. HP has created an internet connected printer. They are starting to create new printer apps. This video shows their new google maps app, where you can directly type in 2 locations on your printer, and it will print out. Now, this may not seem like a big idea yet, but I think this innovation leads to new possibilities. It is basically setting the platform for a combination of computer and printer to be one.

We shall see...

KOZ architects Sports Center Paris

Remember when you were a kid, and your imagination and creativity would run wild? You were able to create your own worlds and have as much fun as you want. Check out this amazing new children's sports center in Paris. This sports center was designed by KOZ architects with the most innovative designs that would help stimulate children's creativity to the highest potential. It is over 1600-square feet of color, creativity, modern design and pure fun. Create the right environment, and results will flourish.

Burning Man 2009 pics!

If you haven't heard of The Burning Man , you might want to look into it. Once a year, tens of thousands of participants gather in Blak Rock Desert in Nevada. In this desert, people come together to create their own artistic city (Black Rock City). This city is dedicated to community, helping each other out, art, self-expression, and a lot of self-reliance. This is a very extreme event where you are put into an intense one-week period with weather of over 100 degrees, and you only have the limited supplies that you bring into the desert. People start to work with each other, trade with each other, create with each other to build an amazing experience. Creativity pours out of this event, as you can see from the pics!

Inhabitat.com Top 5 Coolest Green NON desk Jobs

5. Green Globetrotter (Eco-tourism industry)


4. Organic Farm Specialist


3. Bike and Scooter Technician


2. Protection Technician( Learning the science behind nature. The world is your lab, researching and help preserving our earth)


1. Alternative Energy Installer

Frontline Guerilla Marketing

An amazing piece of guerilla marketing for the product Frontline, which is a flea and tick spray. This giant sticker was placed on the ground floor of a building in Indonesia. Frontline uses a slogan of "Get them off your dog", and an arial view of this sticker makes it seem as if the people walking are the fleas.

GET EM OFF! Be creative, think outside the box!

Be understanding

Whether it's dealing with boyfriend or girlfriends, or it is holding a general meeting with 20 business people, conflicts can be destructive. What I have come to find out, is that most conflicts arise simply from misunderstanding.

Sometimes people feel like they are being attacked, when you are joking. Sometimes people feel like you are criticizing, when you are trying to help out. Sometimes people feel like you don't care, when they really do and aren't showing it.

These misunderstandings start to escalate because people become defensive. They start saying things to try and show dominance and that they are correct. It becomes destructive. It becomes wasted energy.

My advice: step outside yourself and into the other persons shoe. Try to understand, and not to prove.

Force yourself to really see WHY that person would be saying something. Do you have the same goals? Are you fighting for the same thing?

Think about whatever you are saying, and if it is not CONstructive, don't say it. Anything using sarcasm or language that puts yourself at a higher point than the other person, isn't constructive. Show respect by putting yourself at the same level, and you will gain it.

Resolving conflicts is definitely a two person thing. All you can do is your part. Say things that only try to resolve the problem, not make it bigger than it actually is. Step outside yourself, and into the other persons shoes. If you can honestly say you did all you could to try and resolve the problem and it's not resolved, then its the other party not wanting to understand.

Excitement in the beginning...

Aloha Everyone!


I am so sorry I haven't blogged in a loooonnnnnnggg time. For the Entrepreneurs Club, we are starting off our new semester, and it has been pure craziness. We just finalized our membership, and have a fresh batch of 60 amazing entrepreneurs. Here are a couple pics from our recruitment events...






Through marketing, we have built a lot of excitement about our organization. People will gravitate towards interesting things, gaining their initial attention. But for leaders and tribes, you aren't just looking for their attention. You are looking for traction and movement. You gain initial attention by telling the truth about why your tribe is remarkable, but as a leader, you must show them the remarkable process. Take them on a journey where they keep that initial excitement throughout the rest of time. It is your job as a leader to show them enough value where they are excited to come to your events, want to volunteer, put their best efforts forward at all times for the tribe.

If people start to lose their initial excitement, that is a sign that their expectations aren't being met. Look back at what made them excited in the first place. If their excitement came from what your tribe truly is, and now they aren't excited, you might want to look back on your process and tactics.

If it came from another reason, the loss of their excitement is okay. It wasn't in the best interest of the tribe.

Do something you love to do

The Entrepreneurs Club just had it's fall semester kick off forum with keynote speaker Eddie Flores Jr. He is the President of L&L Hawaiian BBQ, with a franchise model that has sprouted over 185 restaurants from the west coast of the United States all the way to New Zealand.

Mr. Flores talked about his story towards becoming a success. Besides being a witty business man (one of the first things he noted was that whenever you give a speech you need to be humorous), there were a few key notes in which I would like to share with you all. Here are my top 4 Eddie Flores points:

1. To be a successful entrepreneur, you need to be self motivated

2. As a young entrepreneur, nobody will respect you. You have to prove it to them.

3. Take risks. If you fail, look back, find your solution and make it a success

4. (my favorite) "if you like your job, you're already retired". Do what you like, success and happiness will follow

Reward is the WRONG word

This goes for my last post. I said reward great work, but when most people think of the word "Reward", they think of what typical managers do: cash compensations, higher benefits,etc. But I just wanted to make sure that this isn't what you all think when I say reward.

Cash compensations are nice, but can only go so far motivating innovation, but when the reward is an intrinsic value, this is what people will appreciate. When they feel empowered that they are doing something they are strong at, something they feel they are getting value for, something they can master, this is a greater "Reward" for the individual. Give them a sense that they are a part of the tribe and appreciate their hard work. Don't give them a standard and say "if this", then you will "receive this".

Appreciation is caring, so whatever way fit, show you care.


Here is an amazing video that summaries what I mean:

Reward great work

When leading a tribe, one of the most rewarding things is when you see other people putting their time into helping achieve your mission. When this happens, you know that your tribe feels a sense of acceptance and responsibility. But the goal as a leader is not to stop at that. It is to show them enough value as a part of the tribe where they want to help it move forward. Where they believe in the goals of the community enough to spread its story. Where they feel empowered enough that they can contribute to the bettering of the community.

When you find these people, and they start to dedicate more and more time and effort into achieving the goals of the tribe, make sure you value them. Actually, don't just value them, make sure they KNOW you appreciate them. Make them feel special because they are going out of their way to help you out, so you must go out of your way to show that much more appreciation. Let them know that their hard work is actually worth more than just something, and they will continue to keep working hard.

Fitness first- Weight Watching

Here is a pretty funny guerilla marketing ad from Fitness-First Health Club. Unaware commuters in the Netherlands get the shocking surprise of their weight in flashing red lights for the public to see, as they sit to wait for the bus. Who knows if this tactics will translate into more people signing for memberships, but the name will definitely get around. Creativity is awesome and very fun too! Think outside the box.

Solar Roadways

Solar Roadways is a start up that is developing a prototype for a solar road panel- an energy-generating panel made from solar cells and glass that is meant to replace petroleum-based asphalt on all the roads we drive on and even some parking lots. Think about the potential this has to create great amounts of energy! Rethink what you think is normal. For years people have thought of roads only in one way, and that is by laying asphalt down. This start up has creating an amazing potential for not only profits, but value to change the world.