One of the weirdest things about the modern cultural attitude towards drones is that we’ve taken this incredibly powerful, interesting technology, and the main association that the vast majority of people have towards it is “oh that’s the thing that Amazon are going to use to deliver my packages now!” It might sound dramatic, but that’s like saying, “oh, a truck! That’s the thing that sells ice-cream!” without ever thinking about all of the thousand other uses for it. But in reality, drones are being used in interesting, creative, and useful ways every single day. Here are just a few examples of the ways that drones are for more than just dumping a package on your doorstep.
Drones can reach geographical locations that would otherwise be close to inaccessible, like coastlines and mountaintops. They’re able to achieve some incredibly high-resolution data which can be turned into detailed 3D maps. The data that’s collected is often shared on open source mapping platforms so that everyone can benefit from this technology, not just specialists and professionals. 3D maps created from drone imagery were used, for example, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy by farmers and miners.
Racing
From something scientific to something a little more high energy. Yes, drone racing is a thing, and it’s awesome! There’s even a full-blown drone racing league. It’s certainly not something that’s perfect for anyone picking up a drone’s control for the very first time, but the races can be seriously adrenaline pumping affairs. Racing drones are very different from the kind of things that you’d expect from standard drones so check out Andrew Nixon’s racing drone guide to see what to look for it this sort of thing seems like your cup of tea. There are various skill levels so, with a bit of practice, it shouldn’t take long before you’re ready to start racing too.
One of the tricky things about trying to track and monitor a storm is that you often have to get pretty close to it in order to do that. That, unsurprisingly, presents a certain amount of risk. Thankfully drones can do just that without issue. Drones are able to go right into the very heart of a storm without any risk to human life so that they can monitor and track it’s progress, allowing for a much greater understanding of what it’s going to do next.
Wildlife preservation
There are those who assume that tech like drones is yet another sign of technology invading and pushing the natural world aside but the truth couldn’t be more different. Drones are often used to carefully monitor wildlife population in areas that humans wouldn’t be able to go without spooking the animals. Not only that but drones are often used to deter poachers as they can capture high-resolution images which can lead to poachers being identified and caught. The only thing that’s more effective than the use of drones is getting people out there in those areas every day which is both inconvenient and expensive. The drones allow authorities to monitor the condition of various wildlife populations more easily and effectively than ever before.
And it’s not just the lives of animals that drones are out there saving. Drones are being used by search and rescue to teams to access areas that would be close to impossible to reach by any normal means. The first person to have their life saved by a drone was a man in Saskatchewan, Canada who had been in a car accident. The man wandered off, and emergency services were unable to find him, so a drone was sent out and located the man using thermal sensing technology. If the drone had not found him, he likely would have died in the freezing cold after the sun went down. This was the first time this happened, but it won’t be the last. As drone technology becomes more and more advanced, it’s going to start making some changing the way that authorities search for people since they can cover large amounts of difficult terrain very quickly without any issue.
So the next time someone tries to tell you that drones are only good for military use or delivering your mail, you can remind them that there are people out there using them for fun, for education, for conservation, and even to save lives. Not only that but the list of positive ways that people are using drones is only going to grow.
If you run your own business, you will know just how necessary it is to delegate. It may be that you set up your own business and that you feel that if you are not taking care of everything yourself, then it will not be done properly. This impulse is quite common, especially amongst entrepreneurs, but it is a neophyte’s mindset. Taking on employees is necessary for any business and while relinquishing some control can sometimes be difficult, it will ensure that your business is able to grow. A single person can only do so much. This is particularly true when it comes to aspects of your business that you are simply not able to do alone. If you are going to continue to be successful, then you need to learn how to seek help. The risk when you try to do these sorts of things on your own is that you will do a bad job and potentially hurt your prospects for securing more business or maybe even losing an existing client. Here are a few things that are better outsourced than done alone, however much you want to save money by doing it yourself:
Perhaps the most important aspect of your business that you should not handle yourself is anything of a legal nature. Massive corporations have their own in-house legal teams, but if you do not have the means to retain your own exclusive counsel, you should consider hiring an outside lawyer to represent the interests of your business. Defending yourself in court when you have no legal background is obviously a bad idea. However, it is not just potential lawsuits that you have to worry about. There are lots of more everyday matters that require the attention of a legal profession such as drafting contracts for your employees or working out how to appropriately sell your product or service so that your company does not invite legal challenges.
Just as it is good sense to hire a lawyer because they have spent many years at law school becoming an expert in their field, hiring an accountant is a good idea for the same reason. Figuring out how much you bring in and making sure it is more than you spend is one thing, but when it comes time to submit your accounts so that your tax band can be calculated, they need to be perfect. If you are not trained in bookkeeping, you should not try to do it yourself. If you make a mistake, you could be subject to retroactive taxes that you were not anticipating. The burden of these unexpected costs could mean that your business could potentially fold. Besides, thorough and incisive accounting can help you plan your business strategy as it lets you know where you are spending too much and where you could make more.
Unless you are polylingual, doing business abroad can be difficult. Expecting every client or business contact to converse in English will guarantee that you alienate at least some of them. Not only is it rather arrogant, but some people will not feel confident enough to speak in a second language and will therefore demur. Besides, if your competitors are being more culturally sensitive, then they will be the more attractive option. As a business owner, you could dedicate yourself to learning whatever new language it is that you need in order to do business abroad, or you could take the sensible option and hire a translator. You do not need to take them on full time, especially since there are many translators that work freelance and are available when you are. It will demonstrate that you are serious about your prospective international business clients and therefore you will be taken seriously in return.
Logistics is an area of life that, if you try to do it yourself, it can soon take over. Whether you need to ship products overseas or even domestically, then the arrangements and the paperwork can soon become too much for one person to handle. For instance, if you wanted to send something from the US to Europe, you will need to contend with export offices in the States and then border security officers in England or France or wherever else you wish to send your package. In any case, you will soon find that it is a nightmare of red tape. When you need to send something, you should consider hiring a packaging and shipping company. They can take the stress out of it for you and let you get back to doing the things that you are best at.
Sometimes success can be difficult, and in business, it usually means that the degree of control that you have over your business diminishes in proportion to its growth. If you set it up as a small but ambitious startup and it is now a medium sized company with several offices, you will long ago have ceased to know all of your employees’ names. That is just a fact of life. It is important though that when it comes to hiring new people, you cannot always afford to be involved. You have to trust your managerial staff to take care of that for you. That is why there is a hierarchy in place. As a business owner, the rationale behind you earning more than your entry level employees is that you have more and greater responsibilities. You are paid more because your time is worth more. If you try to do lots of different jobs at once, you will soon find that you will overstretch yourself and it will be to your own and your company’s detriment.
Marketing is another aspect of your business that is better left to the experts. Many young professionals are now doing university degrees in the subject and intend to dedicate their entire careers to marketing alone. By contrast, the role that you have in your business is not one that can really be taught in university because you created it yourself and you are the best at it, or else you wouldn’t be where you are. While it is important to seek help in the areas where others are better suited, you still need to do what it is that has made you successful in the past.
In terms of getting yourself forward in your business, you need to make sure that you are taking the necessary precautions and making the necessary checks in order to ensure that everything is covered. It sounds like a chore, doesn’t it? There is so much to be done, and if you haven’t started with taking this precaution yet, it may have to be done in little time before a bigger and more authoritative organisation get involved and intervene. However, if you plan ahead effectively and delegate well to your staff, this is something that can definitely be avoided.
Get Ahead
Staying one step ahead of what you need to do, once done, is imperative if you want to run operations successfully. Absolutely everything needs to be covered, from measurement for flue gas analyzer to check your emissions and pollution to ensuring that everybody is clocked in for a fire check. If you don’t catch yourself out, other people are only too happy to do it for you – especially in the world of business. It’s dog eat dog and if there is an opportunity for somebody to bring you down, you can bet your bottom dollar that they will. If you are not a pedant or perfectionist, then employ somebody who is; whether this is a PA or receptionist, having someone on hand to make sure that everything is done according to the book and without a hair out of place can be one of the most important people within your company that you can invest in.
Make Plans
As well as making sure that you are ahead with everything else, you need to also make plans for the future and set reminders for things that need doing, completing or checking up on around your company’s building. If you are working from home, don’t have staff or are out on the road a lot, there are still due diligence checks that need to be done – especially if you are working with food. When plans are set in place, and you can prove them to whomever is requiring to look at them, you have your back covered. Obviously you need to go through with said plans to make sure that you have gotten everything done correctly and within the timeframe, but as long as there is something set in place then you should have no problem executing them – just make sure that they’re done.
Stick To Your Guns
If you know that something is wrong, or even know that something is right, you need to stick to what you say and not budge for anybody. Harder still, you need to be able to allow flexibility for if you make mistakes and listen to recommendations from other people. It’s a bit of a catch 22 situation, but one that you will learn over time and hopefully grow from as boss, businessperson and company owner. It’s a difficult thing to master fully, but for the benefit of both you and your workers, it’s something that needs considering.
All good entrepreneurs should be on the lookout for ways to innovate their operation, and go above and beyond the standards of their industry. For business owners in many sectors, a strong emphasis on innovation is absolutely essential to their company’s continued success. Obviously, pushing your business to the forefront of its niche isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but there are many ways you can encourage a stronger culture of innovation in your business. Here are just a few you may want to try…
Don’t Be Afraid of Mistakes
We all know from an early age that mistakes are a bad thing. When we become business owners, we go to great lengths to avoid slip-ups at all costs, playing it safe as much as possible. This is understandable, but it can certainly be a bad thing when you’re trying to make the company more innovative. Try to work on removing the fear of mistakes from your company culture. Obviously, this is a fine balancing act, as you don’t want to encourage reckless behaviour that could lead to a major catastrophe. However, you should be prompting all your employees to stretch their abilities, and getting them out of their comfort zones. This is always going to be a case of trial and error, and new approaches to old tasks are bound to lead to at least some mistakes. When these come up, analyse the thinking behind the way the employee acted, where they went wrong, and figure out how this can be avoided in the future. Remember, don’t be too judgemental or draconian! Removing the fear of making mistakes in your company will allow you to foster a more innovative and creative culture.
Encourage Fresh Ideas
The next time you have a large team meeting, ask everyone directly to come up with ideas about how they can improve their work. Have each employee come forward with at least one way they can make themselves even 1% better at their job, or an aspect of their job, and enhance the way it ultimately contributes to the business’s overarching goals. Whether it’s a simple way of minimising distractions at their desk or the suggestion of sourcing a new piece of technology for more complex procedures like measuring irrigation flow, there are all manner of possibilities which you’ll be able to draw from just by talking to your employees. Obviously, some people are going to be faster to stick their hands up and offer fresh, innovative ideas than others. However, the more you ask for these new approaches to work, the faster you’ll shift towards an inherent culture of innovation and progress.
Decide What to Start, Stop, and Leave Alone
Every now and then, when you’re convening with management and any other higher-ups at your company, ask each one about the things that they’d start doing, stop doing, and leave alone if they were the CEO. You should also go fishing for ideas as to what the best opportunities are for the company, and what kind of threats need to be tackled and mitigated. When you ask these kinds of questions, the answers can often highlight a range of innovative ideas that you’ve managed to overlook. If the company’s small enough, you can even extend this to the bulk of the workforce through a mass email or some other forum. As businesses grow, it’s fairly common for the upper echelons to become disconnected from the base processes that make the business tick. Your “front-line” employees, on the other hand, have an intimate, practical understanding of the day to day tasks that keep your business afloat.
Set a Schedule
You might find all these ideas appealing, but there may be various constraints on your company’s time that mean you simply can’t fit them in whenever you want. Innovation requires the risk of mistakes, but you may be in a position where the smallest slip-up could set you back by a year. If this is the case, you can help along your drive towards a more innovative culture by putting it into a schedule. Set aside a specific time slot in the week, even if it’s only quarter of an hour, that you’ll devote entirely to innovation. In the first week, you could scour some industry journals for technology news. In the second, you could discuss some emerging piece of technology with one of your close advisers. In the third, you could talk to accounts and come up with projections as to how this new tech could help profits. There’s always room for innovation, you just have to find it!
Photo Courtesy of Flickr An under-appreciated problem with the Trump presidency is how he and his staff continuously normalize disaster. Because we witness new scandals, gaffes, coverups, hypocrisy, misdirection, incompetence, atrocity, cronyism, ignorance, racism, xenophobia, treason, embarrassment, lies, dysfunction, power grabs, war escalations, environmental assaults, misogyny and more on a DAILY basis, the magnitude of each is diminished in our consciousness by the simple virtue that we have become saturated. Because of this, we at zenruption will be publishing a daily curation of the events that have been reported, from various sources, including leaks within the White House, so that we can fully experience the level of disaster our executive branch has become and the implications it has on all of us.
#FLASH Air China Suspends Flights To North Korea As Kim Vows “Merciless Response To Any US Provocation” https://t.co/U0Y0Eqix9M
US is on high alert w/ Russia/Syria & N. Korea. Nuclear tests possible. Trump is on a taxpayer-funded self-enriching holiday w/o NSC staff. https://t.co/FCGZtp48fk
President has not been to church since taking office; he may attend Easter service at a Palm Beach’s Bethesda-by-the-Sea (Episcopal) pic.twitter.com/SwzWCOtLZr
Bottom line: Europeans and Canadians are overstaying their visas at higher rates than entrants from Latin America, but not getting deported. https://t.co/PkUxIgeWZs
This would be the stupidest move Trump could take. One Pentagon study warned this cld lead to a new Korean war with 1 million casualties. https://t.co/F3JQpYnLfG
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