Hasta La Gadget!

BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona man who bought a used golf bag discovered his purchase was packing more than just a set of clubs.

Mel Grewing told the Mohave Valley Daily News in Bullhead City (http://bit.ly/1DaZJAP) on Friday that he found a loaded .22-caliber pistol inside his new bag.

Grewing says he spotted the set in a Sedona thrift store Tuesday and did not go through the bag until the next day.

He took the weapon to Bullhead City police, who say it was not registered or reported lost or stolen.

Grewing of Bullhead City, who is a recreational target shooter, says it’s fortunate a child didn’t find the gun.

He says the Sedona store owner could not remember who brought in the clubs and said that employees usually inspect all items.

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Information from: Mohave Valley Daily News, http://www.mohavedailynews.com

To grow and innovate, organizations have to come up with creative ideas. At the employee level, creativity results from a combination of expertise, motivation, and thinking skills. At the team level, it results from the synergy between team members, which allows the group to produce something greater than the sum of its parts.

The most widely used method to spark group creativity is brainstorming, a technique first introduced by Alex Osborn, a real life “Mad Man,” in the 1950s. Brainstorming is based on four rules: (a) generate as many ideas as possible; (b) prioritize unusual or original ideas; (c) combine and refine the ideas generated; and (d) abstain from criticism during the exercise. The process, which should be informal and unstructured, is based on two old psychological premises. First, that the mere presence of others can have motivating effects on an individual’s performance. Second, that quantity (eventually) leads to quality.

Osborn famously claimed that brainstorming should enhance creative performance by almost 50 percent versus individuals working on their own. Yet after six decades of independent scientific research, there is very little evidence for the idea that brainstorming produces more or better ideas than the same number of individuals would produce working independently. In fact, a great deal of evidence indicates that brainstorming actually harms creative performance, resulting in a collective performance loss that is the very opposite of synergy.

A meta-analytic review of over 800 teams indicated that individuals are more likely to generate a higher number of original ideas when they don’t interact with others. Brainstorming is particularly likely to harm productivity in large teams, when teams are closely supervised, and when performance is oral rather than written. Another problem is that teams tend to give up when they notice that their efforts aren’t producing very much.

But why doesn’t brainstorming work? There are four explanations:

• Social loafing: There’s a tendency — also known as free riding — for people to make less of an effort when they are working in teams than alone. As with the bystander effect, we feel less propelled to do something when we know other people might do it.
• Social anxiety: People worry about other team members’ views of their ideas. This is also referred to as evaluation apprehension. Similarly, when team members perceive that others have more expertise, their performance declines. This is especially problematic for introverted and less confident individuals.
• Regression to the mean: This is the process of downward adjustment whereby the most talented group members end up matching the performance of their less talented counterparts. This effect is well known in sports — if you practice with someone less competent than you, your competence level declines and you sink to the mediocrity of your opponent.
• Production blocking: No matter how large the group, individuals can only express a single idea at one time if they want other group members to hear them. Studies have found that the number of suggestions plateaus with more than six or seven group members, and that the number of ideas per person declines as group size increases.

Given brainstorming’s flaws, why is the practice so widely adopted?

There are two main reasons. First, with the increased specialization of labor, organizations see that expertise is distributed among their employees. If problem-solving benefits from different types of knowledge, assembling the right combination of people should, in theory, increase the amount of expertise in the room and result in better solutions being proposed. However, in practice, this approach would require careful selection of individuals and painstaking coordination of their efforts. Second, even though groups don’t generate more or better ideas, brainstorming is arguably more democratic than the alternatives, so it can enhance buy-in and subsequent implementation of the ideas generated, regardless of the quality of those ideas.

Ultimately, brainstorming continues to be used because it feels intuitively right to do so. As such, it is one more placebo in the talent management cabinet, believed to work in spite of the clear absence of evidence. So go ahead, schedule that brainstorming meeting. Just don’t expect it to accomplish much, other than making your team feel good.

This post originally appeared in Harvard Business Review.

Among the most important items bicyclists rely on to stay safe when riding at night are lights for their bike and reflective material either worn atop clothing or attached to the limbs. But Swedish car maker Volvo, which has a long track record of focusing on safety with their vehicles, has come up with something different as part of a … Continue reading

Lisa Hu currently oversees Blippar’s operations and partnerships in the US. Blippar is the the first mobile visual discovery platform that empowers brand and media owners to connect with their consumer in new ways, enabling interactive and/or augmented reality mobile experiences upon “blipping” any product or print. Blippar started in the UK and has since expanded on a global scale; within the first few months, Lisa and team have already secured partnerships with Anheuser Busch (Budweiser, Bud Light), Coca Cola L’Oreal (Maybelline), Hasbro, Warner Bros, Best Buy, McCormick’s, Time Inc, Estee Lauder, and other major players across different industry verticals.

Prior to Blippar, Lisa was the Director of Media Strategy at Reuters, where she identified new market and content opportunities for the Media division in efforts to drive up revenues, margins, and brand awareness. She also worked in management positions at ESPN and Amazon UK within various Strategy & Media divisions. Prior to that, Lisa was Manager of Communications & High Tech at Accenture. Lisa holds an BBA from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and an MBA from London Business School.

How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?
I think experiencing different work environments with people of various backgrounds has helped me learn how to embrace different points of view and acquire knowledge that has proven critical for my leadership role in a fast-growing company. I’ve also had the privilege of working in six different countries since I was a teenager, including some unstable territories. This diverse cultural background has made it easier for me to take on risks, be agile, and ultimately seek out the positives in all types of situations.

How has your previous employment experience aided your position at Blippar?
Working in consulting and in large corporations has given me the ability to take on complex challenges or sets of ambiguous information, analyze them, and formalize feasible solutions. Day-to-day at Blippar and when I am being “thrown into the fire” and need to call on urgent problem-solving skills, this holistic approach has been hugely valuable in helping me to resolve all kinds of situations. Also, having experience working within a more rigid hierarchical structure and with set processes has allowed me to facilitate some scalability, as Blippar has moved from a start-up to a growth-stage company, though still maintaining our start-up spirit.

What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at Blippar?
We’ve had many exciting milestones at Blippar, all of which tie in some way to the broader goal of activating the physical world around us, and making it digitally interactive via our mobile devices. The most recent highlight was officially announcing the next chapter of Blippar for our users – visual search. This new evolution of the company means we’ll be able to bring billions of images and products to life instantly via our proprietary image recognition technology, and truly become the first visual world browser. It was exciting to be part of an amazing team who made this accomplishment; we can’t wait to bring the capability to millions of users around the world.

I generally try to see challenges as opportunities; the main ongoing “challenge” we face is still getting more brands on board and leveraging Blippar’s unique technology in order to achieve scale. However, we are continuing to see stakeholders opening their eyes to our true value proposition, beyond first-time augmented reality initiatives, and our true partnerships are accelerating day by day.

What advice can you offer to women who want a career in the technology industry?
Don’t be intimidated by what you may hear about this industry. You’ll realize that a lot of the skills you are required to apply in this sector stem from fundamental attributes you may already possess: logical reasoning, strong communication, organization, multitasking, etc. Also, there are many different definitions and areas of technology across a wide range of verticals. Take the time to discover what you may want to focus on. For example, do you just like anything mobile regardless of the industry? Or, do you have inclination towards Finance technology? Challenging your own perceptions by learning more about the existing options will help you find your right fit.

How do you maintain a work/life balance?
I have to admit, I love what I do and in general I don’t see work as “work,” so I don’t necessarily find the need to separate work from, or balance it with, life. (Call me a nerd!) However, to ensure a full “shut down,” I’ll do the basic fundamental activities – run a few mornings per week, ensure 7-8 hours of sleep per night, and eat well. I love catching up with friends and family too and hold myself to proper meet-ups at least twice per week. I also try to unplug from time to time by putting my phone in Airplane Mode in order to disconnect from the network (but still have access to simpler stuff like music.)

What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace?
In my career, I’ve observed a lack of confidence amongst many women – typically younger professionals or new hires – which can lead to some indecision or sensitivity. These women are seeing themselves as a 4 when they’re really a 9/10 when it comes to their skill, knowledge and ability levels. Obviously it’s not an overnight change, but with time, experience, and the support of colleagues or mentors, a shift in confidence can happen and can dramatically impact a person’s ability to succeed and excel.

How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life?
Speaking with more experienced women who have embraced challenges both at work and at home has helped me a lot. For some complicated situations that may take me weeks to resolve independently, my unofficial mentors, who are also my friends, can instantly recommend great advice, as they’ve been there or done that – often more than once too. Leaning on this network has helped me to expedite decisions and to make sound judgments on my career path. On that note, I also think mentoring cannot be forced or assigned, as some corporations do; the mentorship process should come naturally.

Which other female leaders do you admire and why?
There are many females in the medical and research sector, a field still dominated by men, whom I deeply admire. For example, the radiologists or oncologists currently performing research at NIH/NCI to find the latest cures for cancer who truly deserve recognition; the impact they make with their milestones and advancement is hugely commendable. I also definitely admire my mom, she is in her 70s and is still going strong working as a full-time accounting consultant. Almost 50 years of working non-stop in a professional capacity and at home, without ever once complaining and always doing things with a smile- now that’s phenomenal.

What do you want to see Blippar to accomplish in the next year?
Over the next year, Blippar will realize our vision of becoming the first visual world browser. I can’t wait to see our longtime mission be put into action as we “turn on” the physical touch points across our everyday surroundings; ultimately, a good portion of the world will be activated seamlessly through billions of blippable images and products. Also, through the efforts of a dedicated education team at Blippar, we seek to bring more classrooms to life – it’s amazing to see students’ reactions when they blipp their textbooks. Finally, as we’ve organically grown our user base across the globe, we aim to further expand our operations to include additional international cities and new worldwide audiences.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Iran may accept new constraints to its uranium enrichment program at nuclear talks but is pushing back on how long it must accept limits on technology it could use to make nuclear arms, Western officials told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The officials spoke less than four days ahead of Tuesday’s target date for a preliminary agreement. That accord is meant to set the stage for a further round of negotiations toward a comprehensive deal aimed at imposing long-term curbs on Iran’s nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief. Foreign ministers and other representatives of Iran and the six powers it is negotiating with have said that despite significant obstacles, the talks have a chance of succeeding by Tuesday. The two officials demanded anonymity in exchange for outlining the state of the talks because they are not authorized to discuss them publicly.

The sides are advancing on limits to aspects of Iran’s uranium enrichment program — which can be used to make the core of a nuclear warhead, they said. Iran over the past weeks moved from demanding it be allowed to keep 10,000 centrifuges enriching uranium, to agreeing to 6,000. The officials said Sunday that it now may be ready to accept even less.

Tehran also is ready to ship out all of the enriched uranium it produces to Russia — a change from previous demands that it be allowed to keep a small amount in stock, the officials said. One of them however cautioned that Iran had previously agreed to this but changed its mind.

Uranium enrichment has been the key concern in over more than a decade of international attempts to cap Iran’s nuclear programs. Tehran says it wants to enrich only for energy, science, industry and medicine, but many nations fear it could use the technology to make weapons-grade uranium.

The United States and its allies are seeking a deal that stretches the time Iran would need to make a nuclear weapon from the present two to three months to at least a year.

The officials said differences on the length of an agreement remains one of the main disputes. Iran, they say, wants a total lifting of all caps on its activities after 10 years, whereas the U.S. and others at the talks — Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — insist on progressive removal after a decade of pervasive limits.

One official said the two sides may give differing interpretations of any deal — the Iranians insisting that they are free to do what they want after 10 years, the others listing areas where restrictions remain.

Limits on Iran’s research and development of centrifuges also remain unresolved, said the officials. Tehran has created a prototype centrifuge that it says enriches uranium 16 times faster than its present mainstay model. The U.S. and its partners want to constrain research on such and other advance models, because it would greatly increase the speed that Tehran could make enough weapons-grade uranium for a bomb, once limits on its programs are lifted.

One of the officials said Russia remains opposed to American insistence that any U.N. sanctions lifted in the course of a deal be quickly re-imposed in case Tehran reneges on any commitments, saying Moscow fears establishing a precedent. Both said monitoring remains a problem, with Iran resisting attempts to make inspections and other ways to make sure there is no cheating as intrusive as possible.

There is tentative agreement on turning a nearly-finished reactor into a model that gives off less plutonium waste than originally envisaged. Plutonium, like enriched uranium, is a pathway to nuclear weapons.

Iran and the U.S. are discussing repurposing an underground bunker Iran used to enrich uranium to let Iran run centrifuges there. Instead of enriching uranium, the machines would produce isotopes for peaceful applications, they said.

With the deadline close and problems remaining, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry cancelled plans Sunday to return to the United States for an event honoring his late Senate colleague Edward Kennedy and negotiators were meeting multiple times in various formats.

Kerry has been in discussions with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in the Swiss town of Lausanne since Thursday. The foreign ministers of France and Germany arrived on Saturday and the foreign ministers of Britain, China and Russia are due to arrive on Sunday.

Israel is critical of what it views as a bad deal with arch-foe Iran, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his “deep concern” Sunday over provisions of the looming agreement.