The roses are going crazy this spring

Spring 2012 Backyard, a set on Flickr.

Here are some pictures from our backyard. Gardening in Los Angeles is so easy. Plant, water and watch things grow.

Authenticity of Tradition Chinese Medicine

I have had an interest in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for my entire adult life. I studied TCM and acupuncture in England as part of my undergraduate college education (in 1974) and I have a degree in human development with a concentration on natural medicine. One herb that is particularly important in TCM is Astragalus, which is traditionally used to support a healthy immune system. Research at biotech company Geron has shown that a molecule in Astragalus helps prevent the shortening of telomeres (the ends of the DNA) which has a strong correlation to aging. Here is an article about a person committed to, in his words, "Curing Aging". I hope you find it as interesting as I did. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-07/man-who-would-stop-time

Handling Criticism

When I was in my 20’s, I had started a business with a good friend of mine. At that time I was not a very introspective or self reflective person. One evening he took me aside and he told me how difficult I was to work with… that I always felt that I was right when I was often wrong. It was really the first time I had taken a look at my behavior in business or how it affected other people. I realized that he was right and I worked on changing my behavior. My friend’s constructive criticism was one of the greatest gifts of my business career.

When it comes to criticism, especially from people we respect, it is important to keep an open mind. As the expression goes… when there is smoke, there’s fire, even when it comes to our own faults. Especially when we are starting out in business, it is important to have a real handle on
our strengths and weaknesses. Self knowledge is really important for success.

Thoughts on Happiness

When I started in business 30 years ago I was so poor I had to live in my friends living room and I drove a car with plywood over the floor since the frame was so rusted out without it my feet would hit the pavement. When I started making money and I had enough money to afford a comfortable (but not lavish) place to live, a safe car, pay my bills, buy food and go on a vacation, I must say that my happiness did increase as my life become less stressful.

Since that time I have found that the greatest happiness money can buy beyond the basics is by using it to help other people. In the end having a positive impact on the people and places of this world (whether the charity is large like Bill Gates or small like me) will bring you more happiness than the constant accumulation of things you don't really need.

Entrepreneur Defined (by me)

There is an interesting web site called Quora that you may want to check out (www.quora.com).  It allows users to post questions that you want answered and experts to post answers.  Readers then “vote” up the answers they find most compelling so that the best answers get voted to the top.  Over time Quora will be a repository of questions and best answers.  It is quite popular in Silicon Valley and the tech community, so there is a lot of valuable “insider” insights to be discovered.  I recently started answering questions where I feel I can add value.  One of my answers on entrepreneurship has been voted into the first position (albeit with only five votes so far, but it’s a start).  I thought I would share the question and answer in my blog.

What's it like to be an entrepreneur?

I believe that being an entrepreneur is like being an artist, its starts with a desire to create something new and an inner confidence that you can transform your creative thoughts into a tangible reality. The clear initial vision is like a seed, confidence is the soil, commitment is fertilizer and effort is sunshine and rain. This is the "soul" of being an entrepreneur. Business plans, strategy, equity, employees are symptoms of being an entrepreneur, but not the essence.

Using architecture to inspire product design

My company Envion, LLC has been fortunate to be the main supplier of home air purifiers to our business partner Costco Wholesale for the last three years.  Each year we have to come up with a new design that will satisfy the discriminating taste of the category buyer and appeal to the “treasure hunt” mindset of the Costco member.  We have to combine category leading features and performance with innovative design.  To come up with our Winter 2012 model (just introduced in the fall of 2011) we decided to look at modern commercial architecture as our inspiration and where better to look than the land of ambitious architecture, China.  Our senior vice president of product development and sourcing, suggested the Grand Hyatt Shanghai. When our design team looked at the photograph we knew we were headed in the right direction… not only did we find a sleek modern design, but one of the only buildings in the world with “a handle”.  Take a look at the Grand Hyatt Shanghai and the air purifier it inspired, the Therapure 440, available exclusively at Costco.

Grand Hyatt Shanghai

Therapure 440