Haptic communication

Haptics where you touch a person to add to the emotion of whatever you are saying. A hand over a shoulder, a handshake etc.

Haptic communication refers to the ways in which people and other animals communicate and interact via the sense of touch. As well as providing information about surfaces and textures, touch, or the haptic sense, is a component of communication in interpersonal relationships that is nonverbal and nonvisual. Touch is extremely important for humans and is vital in conveying physical intimacy. Haptics is a branch of nonverbal communication.

Proxemics

Proxemics which is personal space that people have and which varies by culture. See the queue at the bustops in Britain and you will know what I mean. They are all at least a metre from each other while waiting in a queue.  Some  cultures for example have a much smaller personal space.

Boiling the Frog

As the story goes, researchers found that when they put a frog in a pan of boiling water, the frog just quickly jumped out.  On the other hand, when they put a frog in cold water and put the water to boil over time, the frog just boiled to death.  The hypothesis is that the change in temperature is so gradual, the frog does not realize it’s boiling to death. While the results of the experiment are in question it is a good metaphor for organization cultures.

Negotiating 101 - Know Your ZOPA

In life and Sales, there exists the Zone of Possible Agreement.  The Zone of Possible Agreement is considered an area where negotiating parties may find common ground - where parties will often compromise and strike a deal.  In a traditional sales negotiation, it is defined by the highest possible price that the buyer is willing to offer, and the lowest possible price that the seller is willing to accept. (Remember that ZOPA is not necessarily just about price in terms of money. It can include other terms and conditions.)

Suppose that you want to sell a product that costs you $18,000.  You calculate that you can reluctantly let it go at the break-even sell price of $20,000 but would like to sell it for $30,000 to meet target margins.  A buyer wants to buy it for $15,000 but is willing to pay up to a maximum of $25,000.  The ZOPA where both buyer and seller can negotiate within would be between $20,000 to $25,000.  You (the Seller) would not entertain a bid at $15,000 because you would lose money and the Buyer would not consider your asking price of $30,000.

Beware the dangers of not understanding the ZOPA.  If you, the seller, start your offer at $40,000, so far outside the buyer’s ZOPA, the buyer will walk away since he or she may think that any discounting will never reach their buying range. The Seller had demanded too much and shut down negotiations. Likewise, the Buyer may make such a starting bid so low that the Seller might not think that he/she is serious and decides to walk away.

 

Negative ZOPAIn Sales, a negative ZOPA exists when the walkway points of both parties are too far apart with no common area of overlap – a negative ZOPA.  With a negative bargaining zone both parties may (and should) walk away.  

If we study the current North Korea standoff, we see this negative bargaining zone. North Korea’s current walkaway point is that the US and world must drop sanctions before talks.  The US walkaway point is that N. Korea must abandon pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Moving a ZOPACan you move the ZOPA?  Yes, but it requires combining common interests to create a “win/win” for all.  I, as the Seller, might be able to offer a demo or refurbished version of my product at a slightly reduced price which reduces my break-even sell price. The Buyer may be willing to offer me a testimonial for my promotional material or offer to buy in volume to reduce the Seller’s transportation and installation costs.  

Likewise, a Seller or Buyer can shrink a ZOPA by adding terms and conditions during negotiations.  True Story: A couple was getting very serious about marriage.  The woman kept mentioning “little” things which got the man’s spiderman senses tingling (their ZOPA was shrinking).  Finally, she mentioned that she would be in charge of their future finances and ration him $50 per week – their ZOPA went completely negative and he ran for the hills...and is still running.

The STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format - job interview technique

The STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format is a job interview technique used by interviewers to gather all the relevant information about a specific capability that the job requires. This interview format is said^{[by whom?]} to have a higher degree of predictability of future on-the-job performance than the traditional interview. This technique is a behavioral interview technique.

• Situation: The interviewer wants you to present a recent challenge and situation in which you found yourself.
• Task: What did you have to achieve? The interviewer will be looking to see what you were trying to achieve from the situation.
• Action: What did you do? The interviewer will be looking for information on what you did, why you did it and what the alternatives were.
• Results: What was the outcome of your actions? What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your objectives? What did you learn from this experience and have you used this learning since?

The STAR technique is similar to the SOARA technique.

The SOARA (Situation, Objective, Action, Results, Aftermath) - job interview technique

The SOARA (Situation, Objective, Action, Results, Aftermath) is a job interview technique. The SOARA technique is similar to the Situation, Task, Action, Result technique. In many interviews, the SOARA technique is used as a structure for progressively extracting information relating to a recent challenge.

• Situation: The interviewer wants you to present a recent challenge and situation you found yourself in.
• Objective: What did you have to achieve? The interviewer will be looking to see what you were trying to achieve from the situation.
• Action: What did you do? The interviewer will be looking for information on what you did, why you did it and what were the alternatives.
• Results: What was the outcome of your actions? What did you achieve through your actions and did you meet your objectives.
• Aftermath: What did you learn from this experience and have you used this learning since?

Consumer speech recognition Applications

Ok Google  -- Google
Alexa  -- Amazon
Siri      -- Apple
Cortana -- Microsoft

Forklift Upgrade ( of IT Systems )

Forklift Upgrade

The term is believed to have originated when the individual components of an IT system were much larger, and may have required a forklift to haul old components away and bring new components in. In modern terms, a forklift upgrade usually refers to a software change that requires extensive hardware updates or a hardware update that requires all new software. Forklift upgrades are most common in organizations with many legacy systems that make new implementations trickier as the surrounding systems age. With IT infrastructure, the choice seems to be between regular investments over time or the occasional (and expensive) forklift upgrade when current technology has raced too far ahead.

Vexillology

Vexillology is the scientific study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general. The word is a synthesis of the Latin word vexillum ("flag") and the Greek suffix -logia ("study.")

Contra proferentem (Latin: "against [the] offeror"),[1] also known as "interpretation against the draftsman", is a doctrine of contractual interpretation

Contra proferentem (Latin: "against [the] offeror"),^[1] also known as "interpretation against the draftsman", is a doctrine of contractual interpretation providing that, where a promise, agreement or term is ambiguous, the preferred meaning should be the one that works against the interests of the party who provided the wording.^[2] The doctrine is often applied to situations involving standardized contracts or where the parties are of unequal bargaining power, but is applicable to other cases.^[3] The doctrine is not, however, directly applicable to situations where the language at issue is mandated by law, as is often the case with insurance contracts and bills of lading.^[4]

The reasoning behind this rule is to encourage the drafter of a contract to be as clear and explicit as possible and to take into account as many foreseeable situations as it can.

The WITCH group of IT Services Companies

The WITCH group are the large offshore-centric firms: Wipro, Infosys, TCS, Cognizant, and HCL

Balaclava or ski mask

A balaclava, also known as a balaclava helmet or ski mask, is a form of cloth headgear designed to expose only part of the face. Depending on style and how it is worn, only the eyes, mouth and nose, or just the front of the face are unprotected. Versions with a full face opening may be rolled into a hat to cover the crown of the head or folded down as a collar around the neck.
The name comes from their use at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War, referring to a town near Sevastopol in Crimea.^[1]

Poka-yoke : Mistake Proofing

Poka-yoke is a technique for avoiding simple human error in the workplace. Also known as mistake-proofing, goof-proofing, and fail-safe work methods, poka-yoke is simply a system designed to prevent inadvertent errors made by workers performing a process. The idea is to take over repetitive tasks that rely on memory or vigilance and guard against any lapses in focus. Poka-yoke can be seen as one of the three common components of Zero Defect Quality Control performed by Japanese companies (source inspection and feedback are the other two).

Read more: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Or-Pr/Poka-Yoke.html#ixzz44E0VM5BG

Carmine - colour of blood

Colour of blood is carmine.