How the Quiet & Shy Can Outsell Anyone

Just read The Introverts Edge: How the Quiet and Shy Can Outsell Anyone by Matthew Pollard with Derek Lewis.  It’s an absolute must read for entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs of startups and anyone launching, selling or promoting  something.

If you’re an expert in your field, people need you, but you also need to sell them on your skills and services. Sales is a separate job, but as anyone who has built an empire can tell you –it’s often the person with the most skin in the game  —you that it falls to.

“The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time.” -Henry Ford

Pollard hits the nail on the head on how so many people who excel at what they do would rather focus on just that –skills and services, rather than sales.

Now, this is a health blog and you may wonder why I’m blogging about a how to sell book on it. It’s because people like me, who are seen as extroverts, but in reality are introverts, do experience a lot of anxiety when it comes to promoting themselves, rather than others. We can promote the heck out of someone else, but freeze when it comes to promoting ourselves. It’s the old fight or flight response. This book helps alleviate that.

“In selling as in medicine, prescription before diagnosis is malpractice.” -Jim Cathcart

Somehow, we introverts manage to attract clients effortlessly, but if we fine-tune the process, that success scales beyond unicorn territory.

Pollard steps in with a roadmap tailored precisely to people who don’t attend every networking event because they’re busy getting the job done. Their passion is in the work, not in selling. Yet, they have all the knowledge, so they end up being the best ones to sell it. Their WHY is strong. If you’ve ever met someone truly passionate about their business their face lights up like a Christmas tree when discussing it.

Pollard’s roadmap is based on his own success, after finding that introverts consistently outsold everyone on his own team.

Ironically, the author himself is an introvert, yet in 2014, after moving to the United States and knowing no one outside his girlfriend, he won several government proclamations for his work with small business and was invited to events as one of the most connected people in the city, all within less than a year.

He has transformed over 3,500 struggling businesses into success stories, and has worked with solopreneurs and startups to enterprises such as Microsoft and Capital One. He is the founder of the nationwide Small Business Festival, and has created five multi-million dollar ventures from scratch.

AND he’s a self-procraimed introvert at his core.

Most introverts are so great at their functional skills, they prefer to focus on the work. I’d posit to say Mark Zuckerberg is probably one of these people. Bill Gates too. Many lawyers, consultants electricians are the same.

“Introverts beat their (extroverts) ‘gift of gab’ counterparts, hands down. Contrary to all the myths and beliefs, I discovered that introverts make the best sales people.” -Matthew Pollard

According to Pollard, sales is simply just another skill geniuses and smart people can learn. Extroverts rely more on their personalities. He says introverts have an advantage because they rely on the system, and they’re not deterred by emotion.

So much of what he writes in this book resonates with me. One thing I’ve encountered on social media is being pitched constantly.  A huge turn-off for me is when someone immediately pitches me without even establishing any sort of rapport.  In his 7-Step System, establishing rapport and trust is at the top.

I have to agree, and I know colleagues will too. I even had to remove names from my Referrals on Linked In, because people I didn’t know were using my name to reach out to people who recommended me asking them for jobs. Since I’ve known these people for decades, they alerted me.

They weren’t even asking for entry-level positions, advice or an internship. No. They jumped right to “Can you get me a producer job on Good Morning America?” and they were often right out of school. To top that off, I didn’t know them. They were simply a social media connection.

They didn’t establish initial rapport with me OR the other person. No one wants to feel used. And that’s the exact feeling you get when someone you don’t know asks for a favor –and a huge one at that. One that has tremendous value encompassing all your knowledge, skills, experience, contacts and hard work.

Pollard talks about his early days and how he learned a lesson the hard way.

“…when I got in front of the business owner, I’d launch straight into my spiel. Without any kind of rapport –without any sort of personal connection –I was just a commodity, a nameless, faceless salesman trying to land a sale…establishing even the slightest connection on a personal level helped make a person’s attitude toward me more positive.”

So true. It made my mind flash back to those people I do respond to professionally on Linked In or Facebook, and it’s those people who do that. They are rare. The majority of people are like people who start working out at the gym without warming up. They end up in pain and ditch going back. Their fitness goals don’t get met. In business, your sale, pitch or promotion doesn’t get results.

Credibility is another biggie. Since introverts don’t self-promote, we as”sume anyone approaching us has done their homework and knows our background and that we’ve worked with the best and achieved results.

Authentic rapport + credibility is what establishes trust. Trust is at the foundation of all relationships, albeit business or personal.

“If people like you, they’ll listen to you. But if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” -Zig Zagler

When your intentions are right (and they absolutely should be), you are there to provide a product or service that people actually need or want.

“It (your product or service) should make their lives easier help them solve a problem, make them money, save them money, or in some way truly benefit them.”

“Think of it like going to the doctor. I’m not a medical expert; when something’s wrong, I just know that something’s wrong. I don’t go see the doctor already armed with the knowledge of my treatment plan, the prescriptions I need, and which tests need to be run. I need help, but I lack the expertise to figure out what that looks like…that’s why we pay for experts: Doctors draw on their experience with past patients to identify potential causes and the continue to ask more and more specific questions until they have a pretty good idea of the cause of the pain. Your back pain may actually be kidney trouble. Your weight gain could be indicative of a thyroid problem…”

You, the introvert expert must ask probing questions, so you can tap into all your experience, knowledge and skills to provide their solution.

Henry Ford is regarded as one of the greatest businesspeople and industrialists ever, beating dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of other automobile manufacturers to become a titan. He’s one of the top ten richest people who ever lived in modern history. His secret?

He never stopped improving the process.

I don’t want to give away the entire book here because it’s worth every penny for every introvert in business or person who wants to be in business for themselves or is an introvert closing deals on behalf of a larger corporation. Improving the process step-by-step is exactly what Pollard helps you do.

Best of all…

“The Introverts Edge” by Matthew Pollard is based on you being authentically you. That’s a healthy recipe in business AND life. -Maria Dorfner

“This book will be a game changer for any introvert who hates selling or believes they just can’t do it. You can!” -Neil Patel, New York Times bestselling author

For More Information visit:
http://www.theintrovertsedge.com

You can also join Matthew Pollard and other professionals committed to sales success in The Introvert’s Edge Inner Circle  –an online community for introverts.

As a thank you for buying the book, you get a year’s subscription to The Inner Circle providing access to a lot more advice for free at http://www.theintrovertsedge.com/innercircle

___________________________________________________________________________________

Pollards mission is to bridge the chasm between someone’s struggling dream and a rapid growth business they love. I’d say he’s doing so with this book because he himself has the introvert’s edge: focus, compassion, empathy, understanding and a unique ability to listen intently and thoroughly prepare.

I’m reminded on this historic day of The Royal Wedding how Princess Diana was quiet and shy.  Yet, the entire world embraced her as The People’s Princess. There is also a quiet shyness to Prince Harry and Meghan.

Together, they quietly embrace doing great charity work together. In fact, it’s how they fell in love.  Helping others. As Rev. Curry so beautifully stated, there is power in love.  GREAT power. Congratulations to Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex and His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex.  You personify The Introvert’s Edge.  ~Maria Dorfner

 

Book Available on Amazon

MEDIA

TO BOOK AN INTERVIEW with MATTHEW POLLARD CONTACT HIM DIRECT AT:
matthew@matthewpollard.com OR (c) 512-993-5033

 

 

 

 

Real Deal: No More Needles for Blood Draws

Velano Vascular is on a mission to bring compassion to healthcare and make painful blood draws more pleasant for patients.  So far, they’re succeeding. They’ve received their 3rd FDA-clearance to help children and adults who cringe at the sight of needles.

Needlephobia affects 24% of adults and 63% of children.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf may come to mind when we talk about no more needles for blood draws because of ill-fated Theranos.  They’re the overly-hyped biotech start-up currently under federal investigation by the S.E.C. and U.S. Attorney’s office. Patients initially thrilled about no more needles got hoodwinked by fake news.

Meet the Real Deal.

Velano Vascular creates a single-use, disposable device called PIVO.

 

It attaches to a peripheral IV line, in hospital inpatients, allowing for lab quality blood samples to be drawn back through the IV –without requiring venipuncture (needle sticks or drawing blood from central lines) .

 

Many of the questions Therano’s CEO never answered, avoided or even got asked by reporters is welcomed by Velano Vascular’s CEO, Eric Stone, who I interviewed.

WHAT IS PIVO AN ACRONYM FOR?

ERIC STONE, CEO, VELANO VASCULAR:  PIVO derives from “peripheral intravenous catheter,” or PIV, which is a medical term for the standard IV most hospital patients are hooked up to in order to receive intravenous fluids..

WHAT IS PIVO?

STONE: PIVO is a single-use, disposable device that attaches temporarily to an IV line, allowing for needle-free blood draws from this existing line.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

STONE: It enables blood draws to be taken by clinicians from the same intravenous (IV) catheter most hospital patients already have inserted in their arms, instead of poking them again each time they need their blood drawn and instead of accessing larger catheters (Central Venous Catheters) which raise different challenges associated with each time they are accessed.

WHO DOES THIS DEVICE HELP PEOPLE?

STONE:  The device works for any patient with an IV catheter. Of course, children tend to more commonly have an acute fear of needles, so it can make pediatric care less invasive and painful.

There are also an estimated 30% of our hospital inpatients that are classified as DVA (Difficult Venous Access) because of aging, obesity, disease and more.

PIVO helps practitioners capture critical labs from these growing populations of patients who otherwise may take significant time and expense.

STONE: Also, those in hospitals or other inpatient settings, where the average length of stay is almost 5 days in the U.S. require daily or more frequent blood draws. Many of these patients have problematic veins or skin, which requires a lot of poking and prodding to draw blood. PIVO tackles these issues head on.

According to the CDC, an estimated 35M inpatient stays occur in the U.S. alone each year.  So, PIVO is set to  help many millions of Americans, not to mention those inpatients around the world.

HOW IS PIVO MORE COMFORTABLE & LESS DANGEROUS FOR PATIENT?

STONE:  For patients who have their blood drawn for a check-up once a year in an outpatient setting, blood draws are not that disruptive.  For a “frequent flyer” in the hospital, or a DVA (difficult venous access) patient –noted as such upon admission or who has become DVA after 10 or 20 days in the hospital feeling like a pin cushion –removing the needle from the procedure can have a lifelong impact.

Enabling practitioners to avoid accessing central lines (large, surgically-placed catheters) for blood draws aims to reduce the risks of Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infection.

Further, removing the needle from blood draws helps avoid risk of injury and infection for our phlebotomists, nurses and physicians. Hospital leadership is recognizing that an important alternative to a prevalent practice is now available.

IF I GET BLOOD WORK FROM AN ANNUAL PHYSICAL WILL THEY USE PIVO?

STONE:  PIVO requires a Peripheral IV catheter in order to access the vein. The IV line serves as a temporary conduit to the vein, so without the IV line PIVO cannot access the vein.

The IV line serves as a temporary conduit to the vein, so without the IV line, PIVO cannot access a patient’s blood.  As such, this procedure is most appropriate for the hospital inpatient setting.

I do envision PIVO will adopted in other care settings, where patients possess an IV line and require frequent blood draws, but the annual physical unfortunately is not one of these.

WHY AREN’T IV’S GOOD FOR DRAWING BLOOD WITHOUT PIVO?

STONE:  IV’s are essentially plastic  tubes which overtime become soft, like a noodle. While a noodle is fine for injecting fluids and medications into a patient, its soft walls collapse under the negative pressure of suction when you try to take fluids out.

There are other reasons why IV’s are less-than-optimal for drawing blood back, but these are quite complex in nature and we’re only just now uncovering some of the novel reasons through our research with leading clinical collaborators.

PIVO simply inserts a small, stiffer tube inside the existing IV tube for the purpose of drawing blood.

It works by propping open and unkinking the IV tube temporarily while enabling lab quality blood be collected.

HOW WAS THE IDEA FOR PIVO ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED?

STONE:   Velano’s co-founder and physician, Pitamber Devgon had an elderly patient with bruises up and down her arms from repeated needle sticks.  That patient asked him why he was continually sticking her with needles when she already had an IV catheter in her vein. He didn’t know, but began exploring if it was possible to draw lab quality samples out of the IV line using a separate device.

Stone, a Wharton MBA shares, “Most of my career has been in healthcare, plus I am a needle phobic following my childhood diagnosis with Crohn’s disease as a teenager. So, when I was looking for a company start and a product to bring to market and my former graduate school classmates introduced us, I was instantly engaged following years as a serial healthcare entrepreneur and patient advocate.  From that connection,  Velano was born. “

Velano first won FDA approval for PIVO in 2015, and has also obtained multiple U.S. and international patents for it, with additional applications outstanding in the U.S. & abroad.

STONE: “Five years from now,” asserts Stone, “I believe, without a doubt that PIVO will be the standard of care for inpatient blood draws and vascular access.”

Thanks for a great interview and innovation for healthcare consumers! -Maria Dorfner

http://velanovascular.com

 

MEDIA:   Contact: Michael Azzano at 415-596-1978 to set up telephone or on-camera interviews with patients or Eric Stone, CEO, Velano Vascular.

____________________________________________________

RELATED NEWS:

 

A year ago, Forbes contributor Robert Reiss called Eric Stone “The Steve Jobs of Drawing Blood” and tested PIVO himself.  Reprint of article below courtesy of Reiss.

The Steve Jobs Of Drawing Blood

by Robert Reiss , FORBES CONTRIBUTOR (specializing in writing about CEOs)

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

I was recently at a board meeting at Griffin Hospital and our CEO was telling us about a new product that could transform perhaps the most ubiquitous healthcare practice – drawing blood.

The concept from a company called Velano Vascular repurposes the IV most hospital patients already have in their arms so blood can be drawn without having their veins repeatedly stuck by needles.

It aims to eliminate the associated negatives of traditional blood drawing: the pain and anxiety, injuries, excessive time and cost.

It seemed like such a revolutionary solution to a broad issue – sort of like in 1892 when Keds invented sneakers – and I was curious to understand if this was truly an historic moment where the age old process of drawing blood could once and for all be revolutionized.

It reminded me of one of my first CEO interviews back in 2007 with Jay Walker, the founder of Priceline when he described the driving force behind one of his over 700 patents, “The key to successful innovation is having a better solution for something that’s used everywhere and every day.”

So I decided to experience this innovation firsthand and a few weeks later I intentionally became a patient and experienced this new needleless way to draw numerous samples of blood.

I was amazed, the nurses were able to draw blood easily, and to do so as many times as they wanted without ever having to stick a needle in me again.

I was next introduced to the founder of Velano Vascular, Eric Stone, who I now admiringly call the Steve Jobs of drawing blood, and below are a few insights from our conversation:

Robert Reiss: How much blood is currently being drawn and what are the problems with the current system?

Eric Stone: Blood draws are not fun – and they are overlooked and underappreciated…except by patients. They are likely the most common invasive medical procedure, with an estimated half a billion in U.S. hospitals alone conducted every year, and two to three times this number across all hospitals worldwide annually.

Recognizing that the U.S. represents nearly 40 million inpatient admissions annually, with an average length of stay of five days, and a conservative estimate of two blood draws per patient per day, we are easily conducting hundreds of millions of inpatient draws each year quite readily.

This does not even take into account other non-hospital settings where patients require regular blood draws, such as long-term care facilities, skilled nursing homes and more – all locations where patients may have a peripheral IV (PIV) catheter indwelling (a requirement for our innovation to be relevant).

For a procedure that informs nearly 70% of all clinical decisions, it is remarkable that the last major innovation was the abandonment of bloodletting centuries ago.

Whether you’re the parent of a sick child or the son or daughter of an elderly parent, repeat hospitalizations and frequent blood draws hit home for just about everyone. It’s scary, it hurts, and it’s critical that we begin to pay attention and stop taking the steely reserve of our patients for granted.

Herein lies the rub. People scared of needles (trypanophobia) avoid necessary tests and treatment, needles injure healthcare workers more than 2 million times a year in accidents that can lead to serious infection, and the list of dysfunction goes on.

The way we draw blood today has real emotional, clinical and financial consequences. We can, and we must, do better. We can start by paying attention.

Reiss: What specifically is different about the Velano Vascular product?

Stone: Velano’s FDA-approved PIVO™ is a disposable, needle free device that connects to a patient’s existing IV catheter, enabling blood draws during their entire hospital stay without requiring subsequent needle sticks.

It turns out that IVs are great at putting fluids into the body but unreliable at pulling them out – that’s why patients receive so many needle sticks while in the hospital.

PIVO turns the routine IV into a reliable conduit for drawing high quality blood samples. This is an elegant solution to a centuries-old problem.

Now, patients no longer need to feel like a “pin cushions” or experience abrupt awakenings between 2:00 am and 6:00 am for the nighttime needle stick – when 40% of blood draws occur.

The company was founded based on a simple idea back in 2012, and subsequently PIVO has been used in clinical pilots and trials at a number of leading U.S. hospitals since receiving regulatory clearance in early 2015.

It has won a number of awards, including the Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation Award for Vascular Access in 2016 and the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation competition at Children’s National Health in Washington, DC.

Reiss: What are the strengths and weaknesses of your methodology on quality outcomes?

Stone: Velano is most often measured by the clinical quality of blood samples drawn and its impact on both practitioner and patient experience.

In thousands of patients, the quality of our blood samples has been definitive and easy to measure, both through clinical studies and “real world,” commercial use.

Blood drawn from PIVO has similarly low hemolysis rates (blood cell shearing or tearing that can relegate a patient to a re-draw and delays in essential care) to needle draws.

Clinical study efforts and pilots with some of the country’s leading healthcare institutions such as University Hospitals Cleveland, Intermountain Healthcare, The University of Pennsylvania Hospital and Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital reflect clinically appropriate laboratory results – confirming that blood drawn with our compassionate technology can become a standard of care for clinical decision-making.

Practitioner and patient experience is harder to quantify, but our surveys and testimonials to-date are resoundingly positive. In fact, patients who receive PIVO draws are requesting PIVO when transferred to floors in the hospital that are not participating in our pilots or upon readmission to the hospital. They are actually asking for the product – it is remarkable.

The onus is on Velano to continue improving our quality measurements to undeniably prove this innovation is truly a win-win-win, as we seek to elevate the quality of care and outcomes for patients, practitioners and hospitals alike.

Reiss: What is the financial model for a user and what is the economic impact nationally?

Stone: The cost of a blood draw is not just the $1 or less spent for a needle. Instead, it is the many billions of dollars a year spent on wasted materials, rejected blood samples, patient and practitioner risks, delayed results, labor costs, central line escalations, and more resulting from this less-than-desirable and madly inefficient procedure.

Some of the financial downsides of traditional blood draw standards are somewhat obscure, however we’ve helped our hospital partners understand the current impact by simply asking sincere questions, seeking to learn, and paying a modicum of attention to the topic.

Think about the blood draw on an elderly or obese or diabetic patient that can take as long as an hour of a nurse’s time and 2-3 needles to find a vein and collect an adequate sample.

Consider that even one single case of an employee blood borne pathogen transmission from a needle stick can cost millions of dollars in exposure for a hospital.

For PIVO, we understand that in an environment of increasing health industry price transparency and pressures, when our entire healthcare system is experiencing economic upheaval, and cost neutrality is required for rolling out true innovation in hospitals.

 

Reiss: Why did you start Velano Vascular and what’s your vision?

Stone: The reason why is very simple – because I am first and foremost a patient, and I am a parent.   25 years ago I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, launching me on a lifelong journey as a healthcare entrepreneur, patient advocate, and National Trustee of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. Since a young age, I’ve been motivated by IMPACT.

I started Velano in partnership with an intellectually curious physician inventor intrigued by a seemingly simple question posed by his patient – “why are you repeatedly sticking me with needles [when I already have an IV line in my arm]?”

This simple, yet elegant idea resonated strongly with me, for I am needle-phobic myself, and I have been that “tough stick” patient during my hospital stays. Today, this brilliant idea has become reality.

My vision for Velano is to touch every human being on the planet; for we will all spend time in a hospital at some point in life, and we will certainly need our blood drawn when we do.

 

http://velanovascular.com

 

MEDIA:   Contact: Michael Azzano at 415-596-1978 to set up telephone or on-camera interviews with patients or Eric Stone, CEO of Velano Vascular

Maria Dorfner founder of NewsMD: What’s Hot in Health

NewsMD Communications was founded in 1998 to educate healthcare consumers by connecting medical + media to inspire and empower millions to want to live healthy.

In 1993, Maria created Healthcare Consumers, Healthy Living, Lifestyles & Longevity and Healthcare Practitioners. The shows aired on CNBC, which she helped launch in 1989.  She is the founder of Cleveland Clinic News Service, helped launch MedPage Today (sold to CNN) and wrote & produced 21st Century Medicine for Discovery Health.  Her awards include Freddie for Excellence in Medical Reporting, Outstanding Leadership Abilities, Media Recognition, Who’s Who, Medical Reporting Scholarship. She produced for Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Report, talk shows & reality programming.

She began as an intern at NBC  SHOW in NYC in 1983.

This is her blog.

Have an innovative solution healthcare consumers|media should know about?

Contact: maria.dorfner@yahoo.com  

Response only if it’s a story of interest. Thank you.

 

    

  

Learning Is Healthy: The Italian Cultural Institute Presents 50 Years of Italian Breakthroughs

Join Me Opening Night at The Italian Cultural Institute of New York

The Italian Cultural Institute of New York Presents MAKE IN ITALY

50 Years Of Italian Breakthroughs: From The First PC To The First Space-Bound Espresso Machine 

 

Exhibition: Open to the public from November 13th – 25th, 2015

Monday – Friday 10am to 5pm
The Italian Cultural Institute
686 Park Avenue, New York, NY

 

Did you know the first personal computer was invented by an Italian? Make in Italy – The Exhibition, is an event focused on showcasing cutting-edge products, conceived and developed in Italy or by Italians, throughout the last half century. The exhibition takes its cue from 1965, when a prototype of the Olivetti Programma 101, considered the first personal computer, was presented at the World’s Fair in New York.

The exhibition is arranged by decades, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, and depicts each of them through objects – from typewriters to microprocessors, from the first personal computer to an Espresso machine that works in space. Historical documents, photos and other images will also be displayed to illustrate the social and economical background of the different periods.

 

Exhibition Highlights

The documentary, “Programma 101: Memory of the Future” by Alessandro Bernard and Paolo Ceretto, will be available for viewing to all guests of the exhibit

 

P101 – THE FIRST PC

“I dreamt of a friendly machine, that anyone could use, would cost little, and would be similar in size to the other office products people were already familiar with.”

This was the revolutionary vision of P101’s inventor, Pier Giorgio Perotto. The first “personal computer” was not conceived in the garage of Steve Jobs, but 12 years before that in a villa in Pisa, in the suburb of Barbaricina by Olivetti, an Italian manufacturer of typewriters. The P101’s design was innovative – in line with company founder Adriano Olivetti’s philosophy: “Design is the spirit of a product.” The design of the P101 was well completed at the end of 1964 and the revolutionary machine was presented in New York in October ’65. The US market bought almost all of the 44,000 P101s made by Olivetti at $3,200 a piece. Hewlett-Packard alone bought a hundred P101s and copied the more innovative features, such as the magnetic card, for its own devices. 

 

INTEL 4004 – THE FIRST MICROCHIP

The Intel 4004 was the first commercially available microprocessor, or “computer on a chip” in history. Developed in 1971 by Federico Faggin, a physicist working in Silicon Valley. At Fairchild, he invented the Silicon Gate Technology (SGT), which was crucial for the manufacturing of smaller, more reliable logic circuits. Then at Intel, Faggin used his SGT technology to create the microchip. Today microprocessors are used in everything, from the smallest embedded systems and smartphones to the largest supercomputers.

 

ISSPRESSO – THE FIRST SPACE-BOUND ESPRESSO MACHINE

Last May, the first “made-for-space coffee” was tasted onboard the International Space Station (ISS) by Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. This was made possible by ISSpresso, the first ever system for brewing espresso in extreme conditions, i.e. outer space. Crewmembers on long-duration space missions frequently miss the comforts of home, from favorite meals to a fresh cup of coffee. ISSpresso is an espresso maker for the International Space Station (ISS) that can be used to make tea, coffee, broth, or other hot beverages. Created by David Avino, founder of Argotec, an engineering and aerospace software company, specializing in astronauts’ training, and Lavazza, the family-owned leading brand in Italy, and a coffee manufacturer since 1895.The technology developed to provide food and beverages in a microgravity environment not only improves options for orbiting crewmembers, but could also lead to new or improved products for earthlings.

 

ARDUINO – THE “KING” OF MAKERS

Inspired by the philosophy behind the P101- personal computer, Arduino is an open-source prototyping platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino reads inputs – for example your finger on a button  – and turns them into outputs – like activating a motor. Created in 2005 by Massimo Banzi, and his four partners, for students of the Interaction Design Institute as an easy tool for fast prototyping for those without a background in electronics and programming. The name comes from the Antica Caffetteria Arduino, the cafe’ where Banzi and his partners spent many nights discussing the project. Now a worldwide community of students, hobbyists, artists, programmers, and professionals Makers use Arduino. 

 

OLIVETTI 3D-S2 – IVREA, THE ITALIAN SILICON VALLEY

Olivetti, the company that gave us the first personal computer, is reinventing itself, embracing the revolution of digital manufacturing and the digital philosophy of sharing and collaboration. Last month the company announced the launch of its first 3D printer, aimed at the small to medium companies that need a faster and cheaper way to make prototypes and develop new products.  The Olivetti 3D-S2 will be manufactured entirely in Italy, in the Canavese area, and all the technology used will be Italian. Developed jointly with Gimax, the Prato-based leader in industrial automation, the printer uses the potential of Arduino, the open source hardware and software platform which has revolutionized the world of manufacturing, from Ivrea, Italy.

Additional Information:

Opening Night Exhibit: November 12, 2015 at 6pm 
Panel Discussion, What’s Next for Italian Creativity in Technology? Moderated by Maria Teresa Cometto and Riccardo Luna, with:

• Massimo Banzi, co-founder of the Arduino Project
• David Avino, founder of Argotec
• Riccardo Delleani, CEO at Olivetti
• Alessandro Piol, co-founder at AlphaPrime Ventures

The Exhibition is a project by the Make in Italy Foundation cdb,

made possible through the generosity of Peter S. Kalikow in collaboration with: Lavazza, Olivetti, and with the Consulate General of Italy in New York, the Italian Heritage & Culture Committee of New York.

10 Healthy Start-up Tips from Pirates by Maria Dorfner

 

 

Ahoy!  I found a few metaphors for life in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, a la buried treasure:

 

 

1.  BE COMFORTABLE WITH AMBIGUITY

WILL TURNER:  This is either madness…or brilliance.

JACK SPARROW:   It’s remarkable how often those traits coincide.

 

2.  NEVER ABUSE or OBJECTIFY WORKERS

JACK SPARROW:  People aren’t cargo mate!

 

3.  BE ETHICAL

SWANN:  Even a good decision if made for the wrong reasons can be a wrong decision.

 

 

4.  REMEMBER YOUR WHY

JACK SPARROW:  What a ship is…the black pearl really is…is FREEDOM.

 

 

5.  PRAISE YOUR CREW PUBLICLY; CRITICIZE PRIVATELY

WILL TURNER:  A craftsman is always proud to hear his work is appreciated.

 

 

6.  FACE CHALLENGES

GIBBS:  Not quite according to plan.

JACK SPARROW:  Complications arose, ensued, were overcome.

 

 

7.  YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

JACK SPARROW:  You look bloody awful, what are you doing here?

 NORRINGTON:  You hired me.  I can’t help it if your standards are lax.

 

 

8.  PERSEVERANCE

WILL TURNER:  No cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it.

 

 

9. COMMITMENT

JACK SPARROW:  We have a need to travel upriver.

GIBBS:  By “need,” do you mean a trifling need?  Fleeting?  As in, say a passing fancy?

JACK SPARROW:  NO, a resolute and unyielding need!!

 

 

10. MEDITATE

JACK SPARROW:  Close your eyes and pretend it’s all a bad dream.  That’s how I get by.

 

 

11.  LONGEVITY

 

JACK SPARROW:  You’ve seen it all, done it all.  Survived.  That’s the trick, isn’t it?  To survive?

CAPTAIN TEAGUE:  It’s not just about living forever, Jackie.  The trick is still living with yourself forever.

 

 

 

 

12.  STAY POSITIVE EVEN IF YOUR SHIP FLIPS OVER

JACK SPARROW:  You can’t upright a ship if it’s not already capsized.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope these quotes help you navigate your vessel through any unexpected treacherous waters!   Stay healthy.  🙂

 

[Quote Sources: Pirates of the Caribbean:  Dead Man’s Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003); photos: Pirates of the Caribbean films; Jake and the Never Land Pirates (Disney TV cartoon 2011)]

 

 

Today, this blog rec’d a 200 posts Award on its one-year anniversary…41,486 views, 32.10 views per visitor, 200+ likes.

 

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