10 Traits Entrepreneurs and Einstein Share

10 Traits Entrepreneurs and Einstein Share
You don't have to be a theoretical physicist to share a few character traits with Albert Einstein. Heck, you don't even have to know what theoretical physics means.

By Mike Werling

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"You're no Einstein." How many times have you heard that in your life? When people have compared you to the great thinker, has it been in the spirit of sarcasm--Nice one, Einstein?

Albert Einstein has become the benchmark by which everyone measures intellect, though few understand what made the man tick. (For more on that see Unleash Your Inner Einstein.)

Throughout his long life, the creator of E=mc2 (and one of a handful of people to know what it really means) indicated what he saw as the path to success through his words and actions. Entrepreneurs have more in common with Einstein than they think. Many of the traits that led him to be named Time magazine's Person of the Century--kind of an elite club--drive people to create businesses. Do you see a little of Einstein in you?

Imagination. Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." The fellas over at Google had all the computer skills and knowledge they needed to have successful careers in some firm's IT department--along with tens of thousands of other techies. What makes Larry Page and Sergey Brin household names is the fact they imagined there was a better way to search the web, and then they created it.

Always questioning. "The important thing is not to stop questioning." One of the most important questions an entrepreneur can ask is How can I make it better? Whether you offer a product or a service, improving it is the only way to attract new clients and retain existing ones. While Phil Knight was marketing Nike to the top of the athletic-shoe sales heap, Bill Bowerman tinkered with the shoes' designs and made sure Nike footwear was on the cutting edge of innovation. How can the new model, Bowerman wondered, be better? If Einstein had stopped questioning, we would have been left with his thoughts on relativity instead of an entire theory.

Old problems, new ways of thinking. "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." In the 1940s and '50s, book publishers printed paperback books based solely on hardback titles that had lost momentum; Ian Ballantine created Bantam Books Inc. to do just that. He soon realized he was limiting his profit potential by sticking to the old way of thinking. He decided--much to other publishers' and bookstores' chagrin--to produce original paperback titles for mass-market sales. Sixty years later, both models still exist. And Ballantine likely would have jumped at the chance to offer books electronically.

Intuition. "The only real valuable thing is intuition." Einstein worked in theoretical physics; he had to trust his intuition to move forward on anything. Entrepreneurs do the same thing every day. Intuition told Richard Branson the Sex Pistols were worth signing to a fledgling Virgin Records. Intuition told Hugh Hefner men would pay for a magazine filled with high-quality articles and fiction writing that was interspersed with photos of nude women. (Or was it the other way around?) Trusting one's gut led to many of the 20th century's greatest advances.

Strong positive attitude. "Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character." In the early 20th century, greeting cards were given for Christmas and Valentine's Day. In 1915, a few weeks before Cupid's favorite holiday, a warehouse fire destroyed J.C. and Rollie Hall's entire inventory of Valentine's Day cards and left them $17,000 in debt. They borrowed money, purchased an engraving firm, designed two new cards and printed them in time for Christmas. Nearly a century and countless new ideas later, Hallmark Cards sets the industry standard.

Naps. Einstein was supposed to be a big believer in midday siestas to recharge the brain. Some companies--Google and Nike, to name two--have created nap-friendly guidelines for their employees. There may be a lesson there for up-and-coming entrepreneurs. Other entrepreneurs have utilized naps in a different way: bringing napping equipment to the workplace. No lie. MetroNaps installs sleep pods in companies' buildings for employee use.

Rise above the mundane details. The stories of Einstein having a closet full of the same suits are exaggerated, but the point of the story is made: He didn't want to spend intellectual and chronological capital wrestling with one of life's mundanities. The definition of mundane details will vary from person to person--you say spreadsheets, I say boring--but know what you consider mundane and hire someone to take care of those tasks before they get neglected and drag the company down. Howard Hughes--before he lost the keys to his sanity vault--didn't like the administrative day-to-day duties of the company he inherited from his father. He hired someone to handle it, and that person turned Hughes' $1 million company into a $75 million empire. The other lesson there is "hire well."

Willingness to try new things--and fail. "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." Just ask the people at Coca-Cola circa 1985. The Coke folks realized the error of their ways and reinstated the traditional formula, but many of their other forays into new flavors--cherry and vanilla to name two--have proved to be huge successes.

Maintaining balance. "If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x, y is play and z is keeping your mouth shut." Notice Einstein didn't put absolute amounts on each of his variables. I doubt that was accidental. He knew--and now so do you--the ingredients to success; he also knew the formula was going to change from day to day. Whatever the ratio of x to y to z, entrepreneurs cannot forget Y.

Stay on top of tech. Early in his career at the Swiss Patent Office, Einstein was passed over for a promotion until he mastered the technology of his day: machines. The entrepreneurs who are remembered at the end of this century will be the people who maximize the use of technology. What is the next internet? Where will communications be in 25 years? How will information be delivered, and on what devices? The people who figure out the answers to those questions will be entrepreneurs at the forefront of their industries.

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EFFECTIVE INTERVIEW SKILLS

EFFECTIVE INTERVIEW SKILLS

Life is full of challenges. We meet many confront in our daily life. When we are at the stage of entering school/college/university, we face many hard nut cracking challenges and learn many lessons of practical life through them. After acquiring graduation/post graduation, students usually move towards their specialization or adopt a profession of their choices, according to their own interest, keeping in view the market demand. Talents and Skills are the only tools, which could lead an individual towards the door of success in this challenging time. To qualify for a professional degree or a job, one should have strong past educational background along with integrated multi dimensional skills. It’s of no use acquiring higher degree without building character, confidence, and expressive personality.

To meet the challenges of professional life, one has to be familiar with many skills to grab the attention of an interviewer, out of which Interview skills are the basic necessities to meet up the future challenges with success. Either you are applying for a job or want to qualify an entrance examination for a professional degree; you should have to be prepared in advance for an interview. It’s the only way you through which you can gain the trust of an interviewer. An interviewer always attempt to decide that why they should select you? What are the qualities, which you have and other do not have? How can you benefit their organization? If you can show your trust, your confidence, your commitment, and appropriate skills, then you could win a successful future. Interview is a form of oral communication. It’s one to one, or one to group interaction, where an applicant proves themselves as a unique person to be the part of an organization. Remember that interview is always pre-planned and structured. It’s a formal presentation between an interviewer and an interviewee. Only those pass it with flying colours, who are original and show their interest with confidence and who present themselves appealing.

There are many types of interview like Information gathering interview, appraisal interview, exit interview, hiring interview, college/ university interview, persuasive interview, counseling interview and many more. In this article, we are going to learn about College/ university entrance and Hiring interview.

Hiring/Entrance Interview is one of the best known and the most widely experienced type of interview, where an interviewer is taken by Human Resource Manager/ Educational Expertise. To reduce your chances being rejected, here are some basic professional skills, which will lead you towards the path of success in your interview.

BEFORE INTERVIEW

First of all, prepare your mind in advance, that you are going to have an interview next morning. Relax yourself and do not get nervous, tense or tired at any cost. Before going for an interview, pre-planned few things:

1. Learn about the company, organization or educational institution and do some research in advance.

2. Why should you perform an advance research?

3. Simply to develop good answers and to prove yourself unique.

4. What you have to Research?

5. You can gather information about organizational structure; type of their clients/ students; departments and its branches; past and present achievements etc. Simply search yellow pages or ask your friend or family member/relative who are familiar about organization or you can collect information through newspapers and websites.

Prepare answers to typical questions. Practice your answer and never rote learn it. Here are few of the sampling questions, which you can practice in advance.

1. What do you feel about our organization?

2. What are your weaknesses?

3. Why do you want to become a part of our organization?

4. Tell me about your self and about your hobbies.

5. Who is your role model and why? If you are lucky to know the name of a person, who will interview you, then memorizes his/her name properly. Decide what to wear. Remember to Dress simply but elegantly. Dress should be well ironed without crease. Wear comfortable shoes. remember to wear basic hosiery. You can even check what management wears and dress similarly without over kill. Do not Dress casual or wear Athletic Shoes. Do not spray lots of cologne or wear lots of jewellery. Do not wear wrinkled attire or flashing tie. Prepare your file having your portfolio, educational degree copies and extra copies of your resume. Find proper address in advance, that where are you going in the morning. Last but not the least;get a good night sleep.

ON THE DAY OF INTERVIEW

Take a bath. Do not apply heavy makeup. Always carry a purse or a small handy briefcase with you. Do carry your portfolio file. Dress effectively. Do not eat anything containing garlic or onion in your breakfast. Arrive 15 minutes earlier to show your prompt and seriousness. DURING INTERVIEW Start it off winner. Offer your hand and give a firm shake, else greet them with your pleasant smile. Take a permission to sit on a chair. Show a positive confident attitude and introduce yourself. Don’t get tense. Be comfortable and face the interviewer effectively. Listen to their questions effectively and answer it genuinely. Answer every question with confidence. Have a proper eye contact towards your interviewer. Remember that the interviewer might be more than one, so keep your eye contact with every individual interviewer to make them feel unique. Whatever you want to answer, speak clearly with a normal tempo voice. Do not shout. Show your confidence level at every moment of an interview. Show your certifications or achievements only when they ask you to show. Always sit straight. It might help them to analyze your personality and your traits. Use the medium of answer, in which you feel comfortable. Remember to use good grammar and strong vocabulary with neutral accent. Always clarify your answer. Do not say Yes or No. Never complains about your past organization or employees. While giving effective answers. Do not argue and always give respect to your interviewer. Always keep neutral thinking and try to mould your answer according to your interviewer personality. Do not eat chewing gum, while answering questions. If they give you a chance to ask any query or question, only ask relevant question.

TRADITIONAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Few of the traditional interview questions, which an organization might ask are

1. Tell me about yourself (in two minutes).

2. Why do you feel that you will be successful in ...?

3. Why did you decide to interview with our organization?

4. Are you willing to relocate?

5. Tell me about your scholastic record.

6. Tell me about your extra-curricular activities and interests.

7. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

8. Why should we hire you?

9. Why did you choose to become a teacher, nurse,...?

10. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?

11. Why do you want to leave your current job? AFTER INTERVIEW With a pleasing smile, say thanks and ask about the next step in the process. Follow up. Call them if you do not get a call within a given time frame and don't forget to write a thank you letter to an organization for taking out their precious time for your interview. Few reasons for not getting a job. Might be you lack oral communication skills or writing skills. Your inappropriate attitude could also let you down in your interview. Lack of knowledge about the working world. Lack of confidence. Inappropriate/fake degree. Lack of experience. Lack of motivation. PRACTICE INTERVIEW SKILLS. CHIN UP AND GEAR UP FOR YOUR NEXT INTERVIEW !

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