In his 2013 letter to shareholders, CEO Jeff Bezos noted, “We build automated systems that look for occasions when we’ve provided a customer experience that isn’t up to our standards, and those systems then proactively refund customers.” So if you are due a refund because your Amazon video doesn’t stream well, or there was a price drop on your pre-ordered product, Amazon doesn’t say “you must request such credit by phone or in writing.” Their computer already knows the refund is due, and...
Read moreDo you work this hard for your customers?
Jeff Bezos knows what customers want...and GIVES it to them!
March 20, 2014
Open space is not work space
Author Susan Cain nails some truth that should be obvious to all
March 21, 2014
Susan Cain, a longtime critic of such offices and the author of "Quiet: The Power of Introverts," says change is afoot. Companies are slowly beginning to realize that open-office designs, while helpful in encouraging collaboration, can also alienate employees.
"Solitude is a crucial ingredient of productivity, and one we want to bring back to the workplace," she said at the TED conference here Thursday, while announcing her own efforts to better design offices for introverts. "It takes a...
Read moreGotta love the creativity behind Pepsi max marketing
Monsters, UFOs and Tigers Come Alive in Pepsi Max Bus Shelter Prank
March 22, 2014
Monsters, UFOs and Tigers Come Alive in Pepsi Max Bus Shelter Prank
Pepsi Max, which struck viral gold last year by using Nascar star Jeff Gordon to (allegedly) prank an unsuspecting car salesman, is at it again, this time in Great Britain.
The brand recently rigged up a popular bus shelter in London with a screen. Most of the time, the screen looked like a clear glass, but then the brand would use CGI to create realistic-looking images of...
Read moreMetacognition: An Overview v.1
Thank you, Jennifer, for explaining a fascinating buzzword
March 25, 2014
Metacognition: An Overview
Jennifer A. Livingston
© 1997 by Jennifer A. Livingston
"Metacognition" is one of the latest buzz words in educational psychology, but what exactly is metacognition? The length and abstract nature of the word makes it sound intimidating, yet its not as daunting a concept as it might seem. We engage in metacognitive activities everyday. Metacognition enables us to be successful learners, and has been associated with intelligence (e.g., Borkowski, Carr, &...
Metacognition: An Overview v.2
Thank you, A.J. Jacobs, for making metacognition make sense!
March 25, 2014
Why You Should Treat Your Brain Like an Unruly Child
I don’t trust my brain. It’s got some good qualities, sure, but it needs constant supervision. It’s like an unruly Boston terrier – left to its own devices, it will scamper off and rummage through the garbage can, spreading rotten guacamole all over the house. In my brain’s case, this means the hours spent wallowing in unrealistic worries, time-wasting regret and...
