Target Fixation
by anil on December 24, 2007
A few weeks ago, I was driving [my brand new car] to the University of Kerala Kariavatom campus for a meeting. It was a nice evening. I enjoyed that drive through the highway and I reached the campus pretty quickly. I entered the main gate and I drove slowly towards the Department of Computer Science. I had to go around an island at an intersection. I well kept my side and was moving dead slow.
Suddenly a motorcycle entered the intersection from my left side. Though it was real quick, I wasn’t surprised as there was ample room for him to pass me. But what surprised me that, he rode straight to me and hit my car head on and fell down!
Heck! Was he mad? Did he try to commit suicide or something? What has just happened here?
***
There is a phenomenon called “Target Fixation.” It helps you most of the time when you drive/ride any kind of vehicle. But it if you don’t know how it works, it can hurt you; just like what happened above. Read on.
Wikipedea defines Target Fixation as:
Target fixation is a process by which the brain is focused so intently on an observed object that awareness of other obstacles or hazards can diminish. Also, in an avoidance scenario, the observer can become so fixated on the target that the observer will end up colliding with the object.
In practice, while riding a motorcycle if you find something on the way and if you panic, you forget about the rest and fix your mind on that object. Once you does this, your body steers the motorcycle (or any vehicle for that matter) straight to the object. There is no law of Physics governing this; it’s a plain and simple psychological phenomenon.
I am sure that you have noticed Target Fixation in action while trying you avoid a pothole or an oil patch in the road. If you fixate it, you will run over that object for sure.
This explains what has happened the other day at the University campus. I hope that that rider will read this post some day
and drop me an email.
Now you know what Target Fixation is. You can use it positively, indeed. Simply take your eyes away from the object which you want to avoid and look at the direction you want to take (in order to avoid that object). This helps you especially when you handle a skidding or when a dog or pedestrian runs across your way, unexpectedly.
This is easier said that done; especially when you are scared (yet another psychological phenomenon which makes you take wrong decisions most of the time). It needs conscious effort in most cases. Then it will become natural to you (through practice).
Once you know the existence of such a danger, you can learn more about it. Learn how to reduce its influence and to utilise it positively.
Safe riding.
PS: Today happened to be the first anniversary of my first real motorcycle accident. It is an interesting coincidence that I wrote something on motorcycle safety on the same day.
Entrepreneurship 101: How to Turn Your Idea into a Money Machine
by anil on December 2, 2007
Title: Entrepreneurship 101: How to Turn Your Idea into a Money Machine
Author: Michael E. Gordon
Publisher: Wiley
ISBN: 0470047127
Refreshing basics is a good idea–in any domain. However experienced you are. I found “Entrepreneurship 101: How to Turn Your Idea into a Money Machine” states the basics of entrepreneurship very clearly; covers almost all points.
It starts with the spirit of entrepreneurship. It strongly states the fact several entrepreneurs learned with their lives:
“You can’t do it alone. Building a world-class team is the only way to big success”.
It tries to define an entrepreneur in a very interesting and convincing way. I liked that section very much; I’m sure it’s gonna be a whack on the head for many.
Gordon explains the difference between an idea and an opportunity. Many think they are same. He explains the differences and provides means to find out whether an idea is an opportunity or not.
Gordon’s list of “Essential Entrepreneurial Power Skills” is a great one. I liked a practical tip called “Power of Zero” on how to step up your inflow in a phased manner. He defines phases of business which many entrepreneurs forget to track in their day-to-day rush.
Then he talks about how ideas can make or break you. The need of selecting and examining ideas which best suit you and your skills; very important I should say. An idea which is good by itself may not be good for you. He emphasis the need of finding the fit between you and your idea.
Business design is something all entrepreneurs take for granted. They go with “as soon as it makes money, it’s fine” approach. Gorden goes a level deeper and talks about designing your money machine very objectively. I liked that. It’s more scientific and rational. Again nothing new in this but a good refresher.
Once you have identified your idea the next thing you need to define is your competition. “Good” and “bad” industries are identified with this. Consider all aspects while doing this: competing products and substitutes, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of customers, etc., etc.. He says “it’s a jungle”.
There is a chapter on “Raising Money” which will be a handy one for all new entrepreneurs. Gordon explains what are the options available to raise money with pros and cons of each equipping you to take a decision of your own.
I’m not from a business family. But I wanted to do business ever since I started thinking about my career and life. But I was often worried about the fact that mine is not a “business blood”. But later on I started realising that an inherent desire is enough to become an entrepreneur. This book underlines that. Gordon clearly states that entrepreneurship can be learned just like any other skill. That’s true. The question is whether you want to be entrepreneur.
The author talks about the importance of finding the lacking skills in you as an entrepreneur. This is a much-ignored element especially with self-funded entrepreneurs (who usually manages everything by themselves and “be his own boss” in literal sense) and can severely affect the growth of business.
This book referres many excellent entrepreneurial and business books. Most of them are must-reads. Read them too if you haven’t already. Entrepreneurship 101 is very informative and inspirational (an unusual combination) and includes a pep talk section at the end of each chapter.
What this book doesn’t cover are day-today running and operational matters of your business. That subject is in a domain of its own. So I would recommend reading Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done along with this book, if you want to have more comprehensive coverage on entrepreneurship. Another element missing in this book is the human resource part.
What the author talks about web sites and other IT related subjects lacks up-to-date knowledge. For example, he talks about the importance of meta tags in web pages to get it listed in search engines. The days of meta tags with respect to search engines are gone. Now you need to look at SEO techniques.
Conclusion
If you are a wannabe-entrepreneur this book is a must-read for you. If you already wet your feet, read this book twice over (you might need to unlearn something).
I would rate this book 4/5.