The concept is “Fire Bullets Then Cannon Balls”

• Bullets: Low Risk, Low Cost, Low Distraction tests that validate an opportunity. Bullets can be incremental product innovations, new marketing approaches, and even acquisitions. Shooting bullets don’t overtax an organization.
• Cannon balls: Riskier, Costlier, business-defining initiatives. Collins makes a distinction between two types of cannon balls: uncalibrated – high risk gambles, and calibrated – calculated risks proven out by rigorous testing or firing a lot of bullets. Firing calibrated cannon balls is essential for achieving greatness.

Jim Collins’ principle is straightforward, smart business leaders don’t gamble huge resources, or fire cannon balls, on any strategies that haven’t been rigorously tested in the real world. Instead they fire bullets by conducting a series of tests to evaluate and validate their intuition.

For example, Collins points to the original iPod was Apple’s first bullet in the consumer electronics market. It was relatively cheap to produce and didn’t get major investment until the market validated it’s success. Apple then immediately fired cannon balls with the iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iTunes, and the iTouch.

This approach requires patience and discipline. It’s wildly seductive to fire cannon balls and bet it all on an idea, but it’s also suicidal.

The business landscape is littered with the carcasses of people who bet it all on untested strategies. Small business and startups are especially prone to rolling out strategies that burn through precious capital while getting nothing in return.

Source: Pushing Social

Before you dig back into the work, identify and mark down your priorities. Do it at least for the first and second day back at work.

And what is even more important: you probably got some very inspiring work-related ideas from your holiday – make sure you write them all down to react upon later on. Even if you didn’t, just take a few minutes to think how your holiday might have inspired your work!

Here’s a template that will helps you to be more productive at work, especially after your annual leave, but also every day.

After 10+ years of studying best productivity practices, I came up with a simple form for having things in order and peace of mind after last 2 weeks on holiday. The form really helps to achieve decent productivity when back at work.

Kui mõtled, kas kellelegi helistada või kirjutada, on otsustamiseks kolm lihtsat produktiivsuse reeglit:

1. Kui saadad “keerulise” sisu või attachmentiga kirja, helista ja hoiata enne ette, mis tulemas on ning millises ajaraamis mingit tegevust adressaadilt ootad.
2. Kui helistad, olgu teema tõesti kiiret vastust eeldav – austa teise aega ja ära haki tema tööpäeva (kui just subjekt väga fragmenteerunud ajajaotusega “kaootiline” inimene ei ole, kes ühelegi tegevusele üle 3-5 minuti ei soovi pühendada). Kui süvenenud inimene jätab oma tegevuse telefonikõne pärast pooleli, kulub tal möödunud tegevusele tagasi pühendumiseks 3-15 minutit – austa teiste aega!
3. Kui keegi Sulle helistab aga Sul on midagi olulist pooleli, ära lase helistajal oma tegevusi tükeldada, vaid helista vabal hetkel ise tagasi. Kui helistajal on tõeliselt kiire, saab ju helistada mitu korda järjest.

Päris oluliste teemade jaoks on muidugi hea näost-näkku kohtuda või vähemalt videokõne teha. Alati on alternatiiv ka kiirvestlus (skype/msn/…), kuid ka seejuures on viisakas arvestada ülaltoodud põhimõtteid.

As it was not allowed to record the speeches, due to popular demand, please find the final transcript of the speech below.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I’d like to share a personal story with you.
A story about how the Education is the foundation for different Societies.

So let me take you to a ride.
Let me take you for a trip.
To one of world’s best universities.

It is a Friday evening, sun is about to set, and we’re driving to the university campus.

Before reaching the campus, we drive past their private golf course.
You could (hmhhh) smell the freshly cut grass on the golf course.
And then you hear a sound of a sports car approaching you.
You see a beautiful convertible car with its roof down.
The driver sitting inside, is a venturous man, somewhere between 30-40 years old.
So, he looks like he had already sold one of his companies, and now building another Facebook or Google. And he’s at the univerisity for hunting down new engineers and MBAs for his new venture.

– A true land of Exciting Opportunities.

When we’ve reached the heart of campus, it is 8pm on a Friday evening, and the students are still having a BBQ outside in a garden of the lab.
Well, normally students would have headed to a pub by that time on Friday night, but not in that university.
The people there were networking with each other. Different ages, different ethnical backgrounds. People from all over the world, building their networks and exchanging ideas.

– A Great Network.

And once the sun has set, we’re driving down their campus’ flashy main street.
We see shops, pubs, cinemas…
They even have their own Apple store!
So you have everything you need, and could really spend couple of years without wanting to leave this paradise.

– A Perfert Learning Environment.

So the Great Network,
Exciting Opportunities
and the Perfect Learning Environment.

I felt that it was all very familiar.

Like Steve Jobs said in an university commencement speech 7 years ago:

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.

So when I connected the dots, I realized that the land of opportunities, a great network and a perfect learning environment – is what I’ve already experienced for last 6 years of my life. Many of you here, have experienced that even much longer. Our own perfect university. A foundation for our society. An university of JCI.

But when you ask the presidents of world top iniversities, what do they charge 60,000 € a year, is they charge it for their faculty, their research facilities, labs and everything else.

And then if you ask the parents and the students why they are taking on a huge debt of student loan, they’ll say, “Well, I need the credential. I need a job.”

So one simple form of education can have very different value for different societies. A university can really be a foundation for the lives of different societies.

For some it’s the scientists, for some it’s the diplomas, and for some, it’s the land of opportunities. And the opportunities are unlimited – you can use them at work, at home, in your networks – everywhere!

So if a great network, exciting opportunities and perfect learning environment are part of your life or university already now, can’t you be the president of that university?
And if you are the president of your university, why wouldn’t you lead that university into a better world – today and tomorrow?

So take the great network, exciting opportunities and the perfect learning environment,
and turn your passion into an action,
be the president of your university,
and build a better world!
Today and tomorrow.

Thank you.

Sõber Jüri pakkus välja hea definitsiooni: loovus on millegi materiaalse loomine, kreatiivsus on millegi vaimse/immateriaalse loomine. Arvestades, et “kreatiivne” on ÕS-i järgi lubatud sõna, võiks sellise definitsiooni juurde jääda küll.

Loovat kreatiivsust Sulle!

Ideid on väga seinast-seina: alates küllaltki toorestest kahtlase väärtusega mõtetest kuni üsna hästi läbimõeldud plaanidele-toodeteni. 10’st ideest vähemalt 1-2 olid sellised, millest võiks küll asja saada. Loodetavasti andsin oma tagasisidega teistele inspiratsiooni juurde.

Mõned mu tüüpilised küsimused ideede kohta, millele tihti on jäetud vastamata:

• Mõttel on jumet. Mõelge, miks eelmisel korral teie mõttele sarnane toode Ajujahis lõpp-finaali ei jõudnud?
• Mida plaanite edasi arendada ja kuidas oma äri kasvatada?
• Tore rakendus aga tänased tarbijad liiguvad üha enam mobiili. Kas ma seda iPad’ist saan ka kasutada? Ja iPhone’ist? Aga Androidist? Peaks ju saama.
• Mis toote hinnaklass on? Kes täpselt selle eest maksaksid?
• Mis võiks olla maksvate kasutajate arv? Kuidas on piiratud teie enda aeg?
• Kes täpselt meeskonnas on ning mida olete koos varem ära teinud?
• Kas plaanite kedagi veel kaasata ning milliseid kompetentse?
• Kõigepealt peaks tegelema kas turu uurimise või turundusplaani väljamõtlemisega. Kas täidate olemasolevat vajadust või tekitate uut?
• Palju investeerida on vaja ja mida see lisaraha aitab võimendada?