Augment your reality with Layar

This week, I had a meeting with a customer in Vienna (Austria, not Virginia) and we went to lunch afterward.  The talk turned to iPhone apps, and he turned me on to an app called "Layar" that he says is in the category of apps known as "augmented reality apps."  I tried it out and I really like Layer (it's free, too).

So what the heck is Layar?

Let me try to explain.  Layar is an app that uses the technology in your iPhone to add a layer of information to your life.  Layar:

• uses the GPS to tell where you are,
• looks up relevant content on the internet based on your location and filtered by the content Layar you select (more on that in a minute),
• plots the data on a "grid" that it shows you on your iPhone screen, and
• dynamically updates your screen as you walk around, point your camera at things, etc.

That still isn't doing it justice, but if you envision Robocop or some other sci-fi movie in which information is populated in a heads-up display in real time, you'll get a sense of how Layar works.

My example

Here is what was going on when I snapped the screen grab at right.  I was walking from a train station to my hotel in Berlin, and I saw the ruins of a church and was curious what it was.  I started up Layar, selected the Wikipedia overlay, and pointed my iPhone at the church.

One of the little "W" icons had a blue line connecting it to the location of the church, so I tapped on that W, and it turned to a globe icon and populated the little text balloon you see at the bottom of the screen.  I was then able to go to Wikipedia to find out more about the church (it's a fascinating story, actually).  Now, I know what the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is, as well as some of the story of why it looks like it does now.

This app made the rest of my short visit in Berlin many times more enjoyable, and I'll be using Layar to help explore other cities I visit in the future. 

Multi-Layar choices

There are other Layars to choose, such as ones that help you find hotels, bars, businesses, nearby Twitter users, pictures taken nearby, etc.  It's a lot of fun to experiment and see what the Layars know about the area around you.

My only complaint?  As with any iPhone app that uses the GPS, using Layar a lot will cause you to drain your battery much faster than normal.

There are more videos and screen shots at the Layar web site.  If you have an iPhone, it's worth checking out, particularly since it's Layar is free.

Riches Among The Ruins

In a break from my 'usual' fare in nonfiction books, I just read a book that isn't about management or self-improvement and I really enjoyed it so I want to recommend it to you.  The book is called "Riches Among the Ruins: Adventures in the Dark Corners of the Global Economy," by Robert P. Smith.   

This autobiographical book is written from Smith's perspective as an international financial in the "fringe" markets of the world, or as the title describes, the 'dark corners of the economy.'  He calls himself "The Indiana Jones of International Finance" and  the title comes from the premise that he, like an archaeologist, looks for valuable things within the ruins.  In his case, it's ruined economies.

You see, starting in the 60's Smith was involved in speculative trading during tumultuous times in lots of out-of-the way economies, such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Vietnam, Nigeria, Russia, Iraq, and Turkey.  Through his experiences, he learned a lot about the financial and psychological forces that feed our world economy and he does an excellent job of pulling you into his world in a way that not only teaches some fundamental economic concepts, it gives you a better feel for how business is done when the rules are - shall we say - fluid.

Entertaining, but poignant

The book is a fun read, and the style is very conversational and vivid -- as I read it, I could readily picture the scenes in my mind..  But more than just a fun read, this book left me with a feeling of uneasiness.  Why?  Because, with all the economic strangeness in the world, this book gives you an appreciation for just how unpredictable the economies of our world are, and just how successful people are at getting around the official rules when money is involved.

For example, when you read Smith's account of the many steps taken during the Vietnam War to prevent inflation from impacting the local Vietnamese currency - and then you see how futile those steps were - it makes you wonder whether any of the current activities around economic stimulus packages, tariffs, regulations, and so forth will actually do much to prevent further inflation and economic distress in today's world.

When you read about the collapse of the Russian economy, you wonder if the phrase "too big to fail" has any meaning at all.

On the plus side, you also get a glimpse of how creative, enterprising people can actually drive great success in spite of (or, as in Smith's case, because of) economic problems.  And you get to learn how Smith, while making a lot of money, has actually been pretty good at putting that money back into the world in ways that benefit others.

The final chapter?

After tagging along with Smith through many shenanigans, he tries to tie all of his lessons learned in a final chapter called "American Twighlight."  This chapter is a must-read as it uses the lens of Smith's learnings to take an objective look at the current state of the US economy.  The news is mixed, as you might expect - but not as dismal as the chapter title might imply.  He doesn't predict the US's demise but he does talk about some fairly dramatic changes we could see within our lifetimes.  Given his past (and his success in reading the currents of the economy), I am thinking seriously about what he says.

And, I am thinking that I might just go looking for some riches among the ruins myself.  If you're looking for a new and different book to read, I recommend Riches Among the Ruins.

And, if you like this sort of book, you might also want to look back at my review of a book about the Enron debacle.

Job Seekers: Are you Defiant?

A couple of months ago, my friend Rajesh Setty sent me a copy of his latest (free!) eBook, "defiant! Practical Tips to Thrive in Tough Times."  I've been a little sloppy in my GTD habits lately, so I just got around to reading it on a flight this morning.  Now, I regret not having read it sooner!

This book is a compilation of wisdom, insights, best practices, and more from Rajesh and 51 other people to help you deal with the economic conditions we're facing, and is particularly relevant if you are out of work, looking for different work, or think you might be out of work soon.

The core question

The core of this book is shifting your mindset and attitude to change how you approach getting the results you desire.  In Rajesh's words, the secret is this:

• Stop asking, "How can I find the next opportunity?"
• Start asking, "“How can I become an OPPORTUNITY for someone else?”

Here's his color on the importance of that shift:

If you want to create a REAL opportunity, you need to create a compelling offer for
your prospective employer.

• Do they see you as another person scrambling for  a seat? If so, then you’ve been defined as someone  who wants to take something scarce (employment)  from them.
• Do they see you as someone who offers them opportunities? Will your presence in the job create new opportunities, expand possibilities, or solve a current headache that keeps them up at night? If so, you’re giving more value than you’re asking for.

Very good advice.

A roadmap for finding your next gig

This is more than mental Jedi mind tricks, though.  This book takes you through a step-by-step process to get through the process of finding creating your next opportunity.  Everything from getting your mind "right," to dealing with uncertainty, to getting help (the right way), tapping into your network, finding a mentor, and more.

More importantly, there are a bunch of proven tips from a bunch of folks with experience we can all learn from. Perhaps most important is that this book will help you create a plan.  And not just any plan - your plan.

As I mentioned, if you're looking for a new job or expect to find yourself doing so, you owe it to yourself to really study a copy of Rajesh Setty's free eBook, defiant!

Personal Development, the Peter Drucker way

Thanks to an introduction by Lisa Haneberg, I had the pleasure of discovering Bruce Rosenstein and his book , "Living In More Than One World: How Peter Drucker's Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life."

I've been a long-time fan of Peter Drucker ("The Daily Drucker" is always on my bedside table) for his philosophy on business and management.  However, I have a whole new appreciation for Drucker's insights after reading Rosenstein's book.

Core, guiding principles

One thing that really stuck with me was the clarity Drucker developed about principles, purpose, and focus in his life.  Drucker is typically recognized for his thoughts on business efficiency and process, but in this book I discovered how much emphasis he place on the purpose of his life - and the time he set aside for thinking.

In fact, Drucker considered thinking and reflection to be a critical success factor:

"The effective people I know simply discipline themselves to have enough time for thinking."

I found this to be a very engaging book. Rosenstein brings you through a very thought-provoking process by sharing examples of Drucker's thoughts and guidance.  You're brought into the content with questions and assignments to help you put some of the thoughts into action.  For example, you are asked to think about what your unique abilities and core competencies are, develop a "Total Life list" to expand your perspective, develop your teaching and learning skills, and create a plan for yourself so you can put that plan in motion.

One exercise that I found particularly useful was one in which you create a presentation to teach a topic to someone else.  I've found that I learn far more about any topic when I'm "forced" to teach it to others, and that kind of process encourages much deeper analysis of the topic at hand.

Beyond the business

While Peter Drucker is best known for his contributions to business, he felt it was important to make contributions to the world, as summed up in this quote:

"So, if your goal is to make money, I rather pity you," Drucker said.  "The people I have seen who were happy even after being successful are the people who want to leave something behind.  A hospital that's working, a company that's working, whatever, or who are not money-focused but achievement-focused, because that you're never finished with."

It's safe to say that Rosenstein can be proud of the fantastic book he's created to share Drucker with the world.  I highly recommend you read, "Living In More Than One World."  I also believe this book is ideally structured for a "reading group" approach, which would help you really discover the nuances and depth of Drucker's ideas.  If you conduct a book club around this book, I'd love to hear your take-aways.

What if you lost your laptop or phone?

Today, I had coffee with the Ken Westin, the founder of a company that makes a product called "GadgetTrak."  As the name implies, they have solutions that help you track your gadgets.  Their approach goes far beyond simple barcodes and involves some pretty impressive software that not only lets you tell exactly where your device is (using WiFi or cell tower triangulation).  If the device has a camera it can send you a picture of what the thief is looking at (perhaps even a photo of the bad guy's face).

GadgetTrak can help you find lots of devices, including

• stolen mobile devices (Windows Mobile or Blackberry using advanced features);
• stolen iPhones and iPod Touch devices (free in the App Store -- with basic support now, and the intent to add more functionality when / if Apple improves its SDK);
• stolen Windows PC's and laptops;
• stolen Mac desktops and Macbooks; and
• stolen USB media.

One of the things that impressed me most was the growing list of recovery stories on the GadgetTrak blog, which show real-world examples of how GadgetTrak has helped find stolen devices and even bust open some crime rings.  Check them out - you can even see pictures of some of the bad guys they've snagged.

Also on the blog, take a look at an interesting post about GadgetTrak believes Apple and AT&T actually benefit from stolen iPhones - thought-provoking, for sure.

What Litmus Test Have You Created For Yourself?

I was having a discussion about mission statements, corporate positioning and things of that nature the other day (OK, not the most exciting stuff, I'll grant you…)  But, from this tiring discussion of corporate wordsmithing, I realized just how crucial it is for each of us -- as individuals -- to be conscious of the words we use to describe ourselves. 

Why?  Because the words you use in your claims, aspirations, and defining words can become a sort of 'litmus test' by which others gauge your actions.  If you don't declare yourself, anyone is free to call you whatever they want but you can 'spin' your way out of it.  After all, who are they to label you.

On the other hand, once you label yourself, you've given them a reference point against which to measure your actions.

Google:  Evil or not?

A prime example of this is Google.  For a long time, it seemed everyone loved Google and nobody was suspicious of its near-magical abilities to corral and index information from all over the internet - including the dark corners where no human had ventured in years. 

Google captured private information?  "That's OK, it's just Google - they can search anything.  How cool."

Life was good.

Then, one day, it came to light that Google's corporate credo was "Don't be evil." (see References, below for details).  At that point, some people began to look at their actions differently.  "Wait a minute.  They say they aren't evil… why would they even need to deny they're evil?"

On Bing, there are over 108 million results for 'Google "don't be evil"' and a lot of them are links to people citing examples where they believe Google has done something "evil."

You:  Testable or not?

My point is that once Google declared itself by saying what it was not, they created a benchmark that made it easier for others to analyze and criticize Google, but according to Google's own rules.

Positively or negatively, you can do this to yourself.

• If you declare yourself as "fair" or "just," people will begin to try to catch you doing things that are unfair or unjust.
• If you declare yourself as "open minded," people will begin to try to find examples of when you haven't been

and so on.

Choose your words carefully

My point isn't that we should not declare ourselves - it's that we should be deliberate and careful about the labels we choose to proclaim for ourselves.  Make sure you set standards that you can meet.  Or even better, define yourself in terms of things that are not so "pass / fail."

Another thing to watch out for is creating negative definitions of yourself.  An example?  Unless you're The Beatles or Beck, declaring yourself to be a loser is probably not going to help you.

In short, be positive - in tone, as well as being positive you can "wear the clothes" of the words that define you.

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References:

• Google Investor Relations reference on Google's Code of Conduct
• Wikipedia compilation outlining the origin of the "Don't be evil" credo
• Wired: Google vs. Evil