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Critical Mass
How do you know when a new product launch is successful? When you’ve reached a critical mass of customers. Now, what exactly is “critical mass” for your customer base? There are two ways to measure this, and they both have their places depending on the market you’re trying to reach. Percentage of the market If […]
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Advent of Evil – Part 2 of 10
IV Richard ignored the alarm clock and laid, staring at the ceiling. His eyes bored a hole that was filled in with static if he stared too long without blinking. He’d wink his eyes and re-wet the lens, then stare again for a few minutes or so. To his disappointment, though, this was a staring […]
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Motivation
Businesses are motivated by profit. You push your employees to work hard in order to maximize your owners’ (either your or your shareholders’) profit-making ability. This leads to incentives for sales teams, team-building promotional activities, quarterly performance reviews, and a highly competitive workspace. The public sector, on the other hand, has other motivations. Most public […]
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Self-Marketing: Track your accomplishments
Whether you’re looking for a new job or just refining your portfolio to attract new clients, it’s important that you itemize and monetize your accomplishments. “I helped to increase business” is less impressive than “I was directly responsible for $100k in new contracts.” At any given time, it might seem like your most prized accomplishments […]
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Advent of Evil – Part 1 of 10
I The wispy tendrils of someone else’s thoughts pulled at the edge of Richard’s thoughts. He could feel someone or something there, just beyond, but he couldn’t quite see them. They were hiding in the shadows, yet beckoning his consciousness to venture forth and join them. It was an ominous feeling, to have such a […]
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Statistical Relevance
I know, I’ve already lost half of you. And the other half that’s still hanging on is waiting patiently for me to start throwing formulae at you. But that’s not going to happen. I do want to point out, though, that while statistics are monotonous, boring, and somewhat difficult to understand they are one of […]
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What do you do?
In the world of small business, networking is everything. Whether you’re at a business conference or a football game, you should always be prepared to meet that next great business partner. This means you should be presentable, on your “best behavior,” and prepared to talk shop whenever you need to (or to respectfully decline in […]
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A Dream of Remembrance Lost
1 It began with a silence. A silence that seemed to echo against every surface and magnify as time crawled by. It was deafening in magnitude and paralyzing in intensity. Then it was gone, leaving only the deep throaty voice of a shattered earth behind to fill the void. Thom dove beneath the kitchen table […]
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Origins
The windshield had fallen off and rainwater was running into the car soaking Matt’s face. The car was upside down and, from the position he was in, Matt had long lost sensation in his legs. A pool of mud, blood, and icy rainwater had begun to collect below his head, roughly where the steering wheel […]
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The End of an Era
The moon was out, but the tall grass around me prevented its light from helping as I navigated my way through the darkness. I ran around the corner of a path in the tall snake grass and ducked into the reeds as the beam of a flashlight passed over my head. It was hard enough […]