Six Sigma- What is it, how to use it, etc
This is NOT my material. This is from an MBA course at the University of Utah.Six_Sigma_Introduction
Here are the key steps for Six Sigma's DMAIC (they are further defined in the PDF).
- Define
- Measure
- Analyze
- Improve
- Control
Using Excel to determine a portfolio’s Mean, Variance and Standard Deviation
Okay, so you probably don't really want to know how to do this but this is also a reference for me when I need to do it in the future.
Here's the scenario: You have several stocks and you want to know what their combined returns and risk are. This is how you can figure it out.
Step 1: Set up the percentages
Step 2: Calculate the sample mean (average return for the individual stocks)
Step 3: Label the percentage as "p". This represents the proportion of the portfolio that is in a particular stock. This is how you name a range of cells. You highlight them and then give it a name in the top right in the "Name box".
Step 4: Label the sample mean as "mu".
Step 5: Use Excel to create a Covariance matrix. You'll need to install the data analysis tools in excel in order to do this. See below for a video on how to do this.
Step 6: Populate the rest of the covariance matrix by using "paste special".
Step 7: Name the covariance matrix results "sigma".
Step 8: Use this formula to calculate the "mean": =MMULT(TRANSPOSE(p),mu). After you've entered that formula, you have to hit "shift, ctrl, and enter" at the same time because it's a special function in Excel.
Step 9: Use this formula to calculate the "Variance": =MMULT(MMULT(TRANSPOSE(p),sigma),p). Again, after you've entered that formula, you have to hit "shift, ctrl, and enter" at the same time because it's a special function in Excel.
Step 10: Use the sqrt function in excel on the Variance to get the Standard deviation for the portfolio.
I really don't think you would be able to follow that based on my instructions so I've included a short video to show you how. Video: Using Excel to calculate a portfolio's mean, variance and standard deviation.
Here is a video showing you how to turn on Data Analysis tools in Excel.
24- An Entrepreneur’s Version
With the launch of the new season of "24" I thought I would share my own version of 24. Unfortunately I didn't get to shoot anyone and I didn't have to hack any Closed Circuit security systems but it was still a pretty hectic day.
In addition to running an ecommerce startup I also consult for a handful of websites, I'm going to school to get my MBA because I love learning AND I depend on exercise to keep me sane. Here is how I fit it all in.
- 5:30 AM Get up to go cross country skiing up Millcreek Canyon. Okay, when I said "yes" to the idea of getting up early to go skiing, I had no idea that that meant 5:30 AM. It's still night time and I have to wear a headlamp! I usually get up around 8:00 AM but in the winter it's really hard to exercise so I'll roll with it.
- 5:45 AM pick up John. I thought that dentists had Fridays off... turns out that there are a few that don't. (Wonder if he thinks that part in "Hangover" about the dentist is as funny to him as it is to me.) Good thing I picked up my skis from REI the night before. I rented cross country skis because I'm normally a downhill guy and don't have cross country skis.
- 7:10 AM back from skiing. I didn't realize how good of a work out it was to cross country ski. It's been awhile. I almost stumbled down the stairs because I didn't realize my legs were that tired. I spend a few minutes chatting with my 10 and 8 year old sons. They're watching some "japanesee" cartoon that I don't understand and I wonder to myself when my parents' interests started to diverge from my own interests.
- 7:45 AM After a quick shower and getting dressed in the dark to avoid waking my wife and sleeping 2-year old, I grab the Wall Street Journal and leave for work.
- 8:00 AM I decide to stop by the bakery for some breakfast. I'm a little disappointed that this location doesn't have the breakfast bagel sandwiches for $3.00. I buy a croissandwich from Paradise Bakery and leave for work.
- 8:15 AM arrive at work and start reading the Journal. I have to read it for school but rather quite like it. After about 15 minutes I start to read my email. If you ask my kids what I do for a living, they will tell you that I send email and sit in front of a computer all day. They would be right. I think that's what I do most days. I had a couple of calls, send a quick email campaign and continue answering emails. I check on projects and make a few calls. It's a good thing I had a big breakfast because I don't have time to go to lunch. I planned on going skiing with my kids at Alta because it's free after 3:00 but the time gets away from me so I leave too late to go. It's okay because their grandparents just got to town from Colorado. I think I'll go for a quick bike ride.
- 3:30 PM leave for bike ride. Ride for 25 miles with a friend. Talk about jobs, bikes, the weather. Where else can you ski and ride your bike on the same day? It's amazing really! I have to ride while Paul B. is away so I can drop him when we ride next time. He's been working out at the gym with the goal of dropping me. Do you think that's too competitive?
- 5:00 PM arrive back home. Shower and grab a snack of fresh rolls from Great Harvest... ah, what a great bread store!
- 5:45 PM leave for study group.
- 6:00 PM arrive at study group. Study Finance until 10:00 PM.
- 10:15 PM arrive home. Grab leftovers from the fridge and chat with my wife and her parents.
- 11:00 PM sit down to send out an email campaign and make a blog post for a client. I got it all ready to go but then I had to upgrade the account because our subscriber list has grown since we did the redesign. I'll have to get permission from my client.
- 12:15 AM go to bed and kiss my sleeping wife goodnight.
- 7:00 AM wake up to go to MBA school from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM while trying to answer email and calls during breaks.
This was a little busier than normal but as you can see there is not time to watch TV. I spend quality time with my wife and kids on weekends and evenings.
Top 7 reasons why people start their own businesses
Here are the top 7 reasons why people become entrepreneurs:
1- Compelled
2- Apprentice to Master
3- Visionary
4- Hobbyist
5- Invitee
6- Accidental
7- Franchisee
As I have begun researching companies, I find it interesting and sad that many companies both large and small seek to minimize or conceal their founding history. Perhaps they fear that they risk appearing too “small” or that their beginnings were not grand enough. But the beginnings of companies is what interests me the most and I hope to collect enough stories to make this site worth reading.
See below for a more detailed explanation of the 7 top reasons why people start businesses. As I have observed entrepreneurs, I would say that people who start businesses can trace the reason for having started a business back to 1 or more of the following 7 reasons. Some entrepreneurs, especially serial entrepreneurs may fall in more than one of these categories.
1- The Compelled Entrepreneur
This is someone who started a business because they had to. The reasons people fall in this category are myriad. For example, Harland Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (now KFC), needed money and couldn’t find it anywhere else so he went on the road selling his now famous chicken. Other entrepreneurs simply couldn’t get along in a traditional office setting so they started their own enterprises. In other cases, someone who was making a large salary has been fired or decided to leave work for health or family reasons but still needed some income (think Martha Stewart).
2- Apprentice to Master
This group of people is sometimes the most predictable. After someone has been employed at a company long enough for them to realize that they could do as good of or a better job than their employer they leave to start their own. They often suppose that running a business is a very easy thing to do especially given the fact that they have been making the owners of their company money that could easily be going into their own pockets. So with a little planning and sometimes without, they declare their apprenticeship over and start their own related business. Love Wal-Mart or not, Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart falls into this category. Having spent some time at JC Penny as a management trainee, he learned some of the principles of retailing. After a stint in the armed services, Sam was ready to shed his life as an apprentice and started his own company. Like most entrepreneurs, Sam started with modest means. The rest is history.
3- Visionary
This is someone who saw an opportunity and made something happen. They correctly observed market trends and business opportunities and seized the moment. One such entrepreneur is Jack Nadel (founder of Jack Nadel International, one of the US’s largest promotional product distributors). At the end of World War 2, Jack had an opportunity to purchase a surplus of grey wool material. He found a customer that needed blue wool material. Jack found a way to die the wool in China (more than 50 years ago when importing from China was almost unheard of). He went on to found one of the most successful promotional product companies and is considered by many as one of the most influential entrepreneurs in the space. He has written several books, visited with the President of the United States, and has been interviewed by numerous reporters. Jack at 86 years of age is active in the blogosphere.
4- Hobbyist
The hobbyist’s work is a labor of love. These often grass root endeavors lay claim to some of the best innovations in product manufacturing. They start of making or doing things to meet their own needs only to be approached by friends and family members with requests to expand. Some notable entrepreneurs in this area include the founders of Todaysmama.com. These founders started by compiling a list of things that could be done in their area for very little or no costs. That has expanded into several publications and a very popular website.
5- Invitee
Someone in this group probably could have started his/her own business without the aide of others. However, this person is usually someone of vital importance to a business plan from any of the other groups of entrepreneurs. This might be someone with specialized skills, knowledge, influence, means, etc. Sometimes these people have money or influence that can be brought to bare for achieving the company’s goals. I would also group those who inherit businesses started by influential or successful family members in this group.
6- Accidental
This is someone who started a business quite by accident. They were trying to do something that hadn’t been done and found a way to do something that nobody expected and then found a way to capitalize on it. These are also those who didn’t set out to be entrepreneurs but somehow found themselves being just that. Or maybe these people just wanted to be able to do something for their own convenience and discovered a new process or a new idea with market merit. Often times these people never expected to be successful in their venture but by pure coincidence, or call it fate, start some of the county’s most successful companies.
7- Franchisees
This group of people is sick of the rat race. Most usually come from high pressure corporate jobs and need to do something else. They often choose a business that they can afford that they feel they would enjoy doing.
If you are one of these entrepreneurs or know of someone who has started a successful business, please leave a comment below and I will get back to you.
Way to send large files for free: www.yousendit.com
I use this site probably once a week. I've sent hundreds of files using YouSendIt's free file transfer service. Generally speaking, you should never email something over 8 MBs. So if you want to send someone a file, go to www.yousendit.com and sign up for one of their free accounts. It basically works like an FTP (File Transfer protocol) replacement service. FTP used to be the way you would send a large file. FTP was a less reliable and more technically difficult way of sending large files by uploading it to a server so the receiving person could pull it down.
After you've tried the free services, you may want to try their paid features. The one I like the most is a "Return Receipt". It sends you an email once the recipient downloads the file. I've used this to send small and large files when responding to RFPs (request for proposal). I used it to test a theory that people flip to the pricing page then decide to look at the rest of my RFP response. Using www.yousendit.com allowed me to confirm that it sometimes is the case.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Unless you pay for the premium delivery and password protect the file, anyone with the web address to the file will be able to download your file. Of course the chances of someone guessing your file location are extremely rare but if someone forwards the link to someone, say a competitor, they would also be able to download the file.
- The file will only be there for 7 days. I actually like the fact that they don't keep my file indefinitely. If I were willing to bet, I would say that they made the decision as a company as a way to reduce not only the server load that could happen if it was used as a file sharing site but also as a way to reduce liability for files.
- If you use their direct notification service by entering the recipient's email address as you're uploading the file, you're going to want to let the recipient know that you're sending it via yousendit.com so they can add them to their approved list so it doesn't get flagged as spam.
- I recommend that you copy and paste the link to the file in an email and send it directly from your own email account. This also ensures that you'll have a record of when you sent it even though yousendit.com emails you a confirmation file that the file has been sent.
This is one of the best ways to send large files for free.
Checklists- a great tool for doing things right
Good processes will consistently outperform really smart people over time. Checklists are an amazing tool because they are easy to create and easy to update. I probably don't need to tell anyone exactly what a checklist is but just in case, here is a link to Wikipedia with a definition: checklists.
I was recently reminded of the power of this simple tool when I was listening to NPR. In the segment, a well respected surgeon was talking about the results he has seen by using checklists. He said that checklists have reduced at least one major problem per week. He further drew a comparison between a surgical checklist to a pilot's checklist. The results are clear: checklists are effective in all areas of life. Here is a link to the article on NPR's website: 'Atul Gawande's Checklist' For Surgery Success.
Here is how to create a simple checklist:
- Write down a list of things that have to get done.
- Put them in the order in which they need to be completed.
- Do the project.
- Consult the checklist and mark off each one as you do it.
- Update your checklist with things you learned or may have forgotten on the initial checklist.
Checklists are best suited for projects or activities that are frequently repeated and they are particularly useful for reviewing your approach to solving everyday issues. For example, let's say that you are about to have a meeting with a group of important people. Here is a simple example of a meeting checklist:
- Put together an agenda
- Determine who should review the agenda and have them review it
- Determine who should attend
- Send meeting invites
- Prepare material to discuss with attendees
- Send meeting reminder 30 minutes before the beginning of the meeting
- Hold the meeting
- Type up action items and send to attendees
- Follow up with attendees
What’s made the iPhone successful?
The short answer is Ease of Use. The user interface is second to none not only in the mobile phone market but I would venture to say it’s better than almost any other portable electronic device. But this really is a multi-faceted question that deserves more than a simple answer.
The adoption rate has been very successful because “it just works”. My luddite-mother-in-law was able to use the phone without much more than an introduction on how the multi-touch system works. Being a true geek, I usually get bored with new devices after a month or two. But that’s not the case with the iPhone because there are so many cool apps. The fact that Apple opened its platform to 3rd party developers has proven to be a real boon as developers have built and customers have adopted custom software designed to do anything and everything. As Apple says, “there’s an app for that”.
That being said, I don’t think consumer adoption rate should be the only factor when considering its success. Apple didn’t make the iPhone just to make people happy, they made it to make money. There are a few things that have led to significant profits from Apple. The first is the total integration between iTunes and the iPhone. I can be on the road and buy a song, an application, or an audio book to keep me entertained. This represents millions of dollars in ongoing revenue.
The second was the structure of the relationship with AT&T. Apple has been able to keep the price high as a result of the exclusive contract even though AT&T's service level is TERRIBLE. AT&T gives a portion of the monthly service revenue to Apple which is higher than it would have been in a non-exclusive agreement. In addition, had it been available to other networks, there would have been considerable pricing pressure on the device itself to compete for subscribers. I believe that when the exclusive contract expires, Apple will come out with a newer, cooler version of the iPhone (maybe one that does video conferencing) that will be the envy of all current iPhone users and non-iphone users alike. I would expect Apple to sell the new device through a single exclusive carrier with a significant premium attached to it while allowing all carriers to offer the 3G iPhone.
How to convert a dvd for your iPod or iPhone
Okay, the holiday season is over. Chances are if you didn't already have one, you probably ended up with an iPod or an iPhone. Welcome to the club my friend!
Now it's time to put your DVD collection on to your iPhone or iPod. Video takes A TON of space so be sure and be selective with your choices.
The easy answer is for you to purchase QuickTime Pro. It will do it all for you for about $29.
However, if you want to do it for free, go to this website to learn how it's done: Converting DVD movies for the iPod or iPhone.
In either case, you should be prepared to spend a lot of time because video is time intensive.
