Cute creatures

These cute creatures belonging to  various categories of cuteness...The puppy was the tiniest and most adorable little fur-ball ever and its owner was giving it so much love and attention. The turtle is unbelievably tiny - and cuuuuute... smaller than a raspberry! It will take him a year to eat that raspberry. Those purple chicks are not naturally purple, they are made purple so the eagles won't catch them - they have such cute fluffy heads. Lastly, I know - the one you've been waiting for, no doubt he's cuuuuute - wouldn't mind getting stranded on his island, and join him for a lovely fish-braai - looks like he's a very good fisher man.

Ideas worth $20 and executions worth millions...

Do you have an idea for developing web-based software?

37signals's e-book helps you to get real in the realm of business, design, programming, and marketing.

Amongst many favorite parts in this book, this is my most favorite part:

Be an executioner!

It's so funny when I hear people being so protective of ideas - people who want me to sign an nda to tell me the simplest idea. To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions. Explanation:

Idea quality

• Awful idea = -1
• Weak idea = 1
• So-so idea = 5
• Good idea = 10
• Great idea = 15
• Brilliant idea = 20

Execution

• No execution = $1
• Weak execution = $1000
• So-so execution = $10,000
• Good execution = $100,000
• Great execution = $1,000,000
• Brilliant execution = $10,000,000

To make a business, you need to multiply the two.

The most brilliant idea, with no execution, is worth $20.

The most brilliant idea takes great execution to be worth $20,000,000.

That's why I don't want to hear people's ideas. I'm not interested until I see their execution.

- Derek Sivers, president and programmer, CD Baby and HostBaby

Singles Awareness Day

From all of us at GraphiCouture,
we wish you a very special
Valentines Day!

P.s. If you want the day to be special,
then make it so! :-))

The Goal of making money

The Goal is a must read novel for every business owner & employee about turning around a production plant on the verge of being shut down.

Key concepts:

• The Goal: Making money
• Productivity: What you do that results in making money
• Bottleneck: The factor that places a limit on reaching the goal
• Non-bottlenecks: Factors that have spare capacity

Objectives - based on system wide measurements:

• Increase throughput - money coming in
• Reduce investment - inventory and inaccessible money
• Reduce operating expense - money spent to make throughput happen

Management - ask these questions for each objective:

• What to change?
• What to change to?
• How to cause the change?

Five step process of ongoing improvement:

• Step one - identify bottleneck
• Step two - exploit bottleneck
• Step three - subordinate entire system to step two decisions
• Step four - evaluate the systems bottlenecks
• Step five - if the bottleneck has been broken, go to step one

Operational Accounting:

• T = Throughput = money coming in
• I = Inventory = money currently in the system
• OE = Operational Expense = money spent to make throughput happen
• NP = Net profit = throughput - operating expense = T-OE
• ROI = Return on investment = net profit / investment = NP/I
• TAP = TA Productivity = throughput / operating expense = T/OE
• IT = Investment turns (IT) = throughput / investment = T/I

Net profit needs to increase along with simultaneously increasing return on investment and cash flow. Operational accounting should be included in accounting and management courses and software solutions.

"I view science as nothing more than an understanding of the way the world is and why it is that way." - Eli Goldrat

Approximately 1:1.618

The ratio of approximately 1:1.618 has many names, but we prefer calling it "The Golden Ratio".

We proportion our works to approximate the golden ratio, believing that this ratio offers an aesthetically pleasing proportion.

The golden ratio is found in art, architecture, music, living creatures, and of course our work...

Here are three samples of logos we designed using the golden ratio:

Ideating

Where does the next idea come from?

The ideating procedure begins where you are stumped. Resign to that, however expect the idea to come - unexpectedly...

Fuel your mind by means of any technique, however weird and playful (really) - keep going!

Perceive... observe... notice...

Be on the lookout for the idea, expecting it to arrive at any instant.

When it appears, doodle it down, so it doesn't slip back into the dark depths of oblivion it appeared from.

That's the spirit!

Reads on ideas:
"Lateral Thinking" - Edward de Bono