Lost in Kollel » google

In the New Economy, A Ben Torah has Better Training

aaron — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 05:29:13 +0000

For years we have been led to believe that those who push through the difficult courses in college are the ones to “make it big”. But in the new economy things are very different. Doctors face huge uncertainty with all that is going on with healthcare, and lawyers are finding it very difficult to get good jobs.

Today, the opportunity lies in those who can offer something new. Anything that is different, creative, thought-provoking, or engaging, is an area of big growth.

The big companies of yesterday are no longer where the action is. Coca Cola, Exxon, Microsoft, Verizon, Honeywell – you won’t find anyone talking about them. Instead, everyone’s attention is being captivated by exciting companies such as Google, Amazon, Groupon, Facebook, and just in case you thought everything exciting had to do with the internet – Starbucks.

Google doesn’t sell any products at all. Starbucks sells coffee, which has been around for centuries. Amazon sells just about everything, but so does Wal-Mart. So what is it about these companies that makes them so successful today? It is the chiddush that they each bring to their market. Not the actual goods themselves, because the goods are freely available elsewhere. No, it is the creativity and engaging way in which they present their offerings which makes them so valuable.

The big difference between the way subjects are studied in college and how Torah is learned in Yeshiva is that a yeshiva learning encourages critical thinking. You aren’t taught to accept things as they are, instead you question and provoke, and don’t accept the status quo. When all other solutions fail, you need to say a chiddush to resolve everything. This is creativity at its highest form.

Don’t accept the status quo for anything in life. Take your skills of saying chiddushim and find a creative way to apply it in the marketplace. There are so many areas of opportunity that lie in waiting, which you are singularly qualified to uncover.

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The Hairs Breadth of Excellence

aaron — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:14:29 +0000

Some of the fears associated with leaving kollel is the fear of being unsuccessful in your chosen career path. Sure, there are plenty of business success stories out there, but the pessimist in you doesn’t associate those success stories with something that you could be capable of being.

If others could do it, why couldn’t you do the same? The excuse is, they are super achievers who are great at what they do. But the real truth is that excellence is only a tad better than average.

Being excellent at something doesn’t require you to be so much better than the other guy. If you are just a bit better at something, that is already a good enough reason for the business to come your way. And then you have the resources to get better and better, leaving the competition in the dust.

Remember, back when you were a bochur in yeshiva, the ones who became the ‘best’ in learning weren’t miles ahead of everyone else. Their success came by being just a drop better than everyone else. When everyone was goofing off, they weren’t. When everyone else thought about the kashya one time, they thought about it an extra time. When everyone else wasn’t paying attention, they were. And before long, they were miles ahead.

The difference between excellence and average starts out small, but it quickly becomes a wide gap that is almost insurmountable. (Think of Google vs. Yahoo). You already have what it takes to be excellent at whatever you do, it just takes diligence. Be just a drop better than everyone else, and you will have won the battle for good.

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A World Full of Knowledge

aaron — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:54:51 +0000

The internet, with all its evils and challenges, has spawned many positive outcomes, which can be readily observed. One of the most obvious and widespread benefits of the internet is the free availability of knowledge. Vast storehouses of valuable information, which previously had been hidden in some dusty volume sitting on a forlorn shelf in some remote library, is now freely available. Now that the cost of making knowledge available costs next to nothing, it is spread freely by those who wish to share their knowledge.

No doubt, this comes with its disadvantages. There is no shortage of fools and con artists claiming to be the world’s biggest expert on any subject, eager to find a loser who is willing to part with a few dollars for their “expertise”. Nonetheless, there are thousands of authority sites with useful information on any topic under the sun.

Do you need to know who is the Presiding District Judge for the Third Circuit of South Dakota? In a few seconds, you can do a Google search and find out. Need to know the poverty rate of Georgia? It’s all freely available online, without any limitations or restrictions.

Even Torah has been affected by the waves of knowledge that has become available online. From Aish to Halacha Yomi, Torah is more freely available to people than ever before. Wikipedia is on a mission to share the world sum total of knowledge, all for free. Seforim that are expensive or out-of-print, can be downloaded and even printed using Hebrew Books.

The world’s knowledge is available for your taking. Be sure to take advantage of it – for a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

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An Alternative to the Jewish Way of Doing Business

aaron — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 04:25:13 +0000

If you look around at typical Jewish businesses, you will notice one thing that they have in common. Their success rests squarely on their ability to “hustle”. To get sales, the owner or salesman has to connive, cajole, cold call, convince, and captivate prospects to patronize their business instead of the guy on the next street who’s doing the same thing.

These kinds of businesses are from all different industries: medical supplies, nursing homes, real estate brokerage, real estate management, accounting, law firms, office equipment, catering, home construction, mortgages, and many others.

But there is another way to do business – one that has the potential to drive far greater profits with much less work. Many of America’s largest companies today are examples of this second group. These businesses didn’t grow through hustling. Instead, they developed their customer base by building a desirable brand. Coca Cola did not have to attract customers by calling them or convincing them. Their business was established by creating a soft drink that has not been duplicated. Starbucks, Google, Apple, and Whole Foods Markets are examples of this second group. They started out with an idea for a unique product or service, delivered through with a remarkeable product, and built their brand.

Their customers are either diehard fans of their brand, or they were referred to them by these fans. Since they overdeliver on service to their customers, their customers are super loyal. Microsoft recently spent $80 million on advertising aimed at pinching Google’s mammoth market share of internet search. But the bottom line is, it will be very tough to change most people’s trust in the Google brand. Microsoft looks and smells more like a hustler. Google is the trusted innovator.

What kind of business do you want to have? Microsoft, or Google?

p.s. I don’t have any paid advertising on this site, so it is highly unusual for me to recommend specific companies. However, to properly brand a product or service which your business offers, it must be well planned and executed on, or the outcome may be catastrophic. For this, you need someone who is not only a super innovator, but also a meticulous person who has demonstrated the ability to follow through on every detail. I encourage you to seek out a qualified branding professional to work on the specifics of your business. If done well, it will drive your business to a level that you never thought it could reach.

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