bala-hota

[bala-hota]

How Technology Will Shape the Future of Work

Even after the pandemic, office jobs will probably not return to the way they were before. The pandemic has only accelerated the changes that new technologies were making in the way people work. Here is how technology will change the future of work.

Make Collaboration Easier

Technology makes it easier for all teams to collaborate. This is particularly vital for remote workplaces, but even workers in the same office benefit from technology. Project management software and other technologies make it easier to schedule meetings, share files as soon as they’re needed, and track each other’s progress. By minimizing logistical barriers to teamwork, technology makes cooperation easier.

Improve Business Insights

Technology is particularly crucial for businesses focused on marketing and customer relations. Technological developments such as social media mean that companies no longer have to rely on clumsy, generalized ad campaigns. They can create personalized ads using customer data that are far more effective.

The insights that technology can generate about customers are not only relevant to marketing departments. They can affect the way that sales teams and product developers adjust their operations to meet customer needs. Technology can even improve communication between customer support teams and clients.

Adjust Work to the Needs of Employees

Workplace technology provides added flexibility for employees. Team members can share information simultaneously without holding meetings. Meetings can happen remotely, so the whole team does not need to come into the office. Remote work will make it easier to accommodate people’s needs, for example, when someone needs to stay home to take care of a child.

However, the flexibility that technology brings to the workplace must be treated with caution. Technology makes it easier to overcome boundaries between work and personal life and take on work beyond standard hours. Employees need to be vigilant about enforcing their limits, and managers need to respect their team’s needs.

Technology has the potential to radically alter the way people work. However, whether this will be a change for the good or the bad depends on the people who use it.

The post How Technology Will Shape the Future of Work first appeared on Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine. from Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine https://balahota.com/how-technology-will-shape-the-future-of-work/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

The Importance of Strong Leadership Through a Crisis

No matter the business, crisis can and will strike. If anything, the last year with COVID-19 has shown us just that. The most successful businesses have shown themselves to be flexible and strong even in the face of crisis.

Having strong leadership in the face of a crisis is essential. It provides direction and a sense of relief when times are uncertain. Here are a few traits of a strong leader in times of crisis.

Strong Work Ethic

No matter how difficult times are, a strong work ethic will trump all. That is why a leader should lead by example. Showcase a strong work ethic and it will empower employees to want to follow suit, especially in the face of uncertainty.

The best leaders don’t panic when in times of crisis; they put on their work boots and get right down into the trenches. Furthermore, they work to make sure that their team has an example to follow.

Security and Assurance

In times of a crisis, such as a global pandemic, it is important to have strong leadership to turn to. A quality leader not only lights the path forward, but they provide security and assurance to the team and the company as a whole.

A strong leader may not have all of the answers, but they will lead by example. They will provide their team with the assurance that they have the best in mind for both the team and the company.

Transparency

Most importantly, quality leaders are transparent in their communication. No matter what management thinks, it is apparent when they lie. Furthermore, that dishonesty can turn off employees and lead to disengagement.

Be as honest as possible with your team. Make things black and white without bringing about a panic in tough times. That honesty gives employees a genuine sense of where the situation is and also gives them a tangible goal to follow. By lying or hiding things from the team, it only builds distrust and a disconnect between the two.

The post The Importance of Strong Leadership Through a Crisis first appeared on Bala Hota | Business. from Bala Hota | Business https://balahota.org/the-importance-of-strong-leadership-through-a-crisis/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

Cybersecurity in 2021

As cybersecurity threats evolve, defense technologies must evolve with them. By following the clear trends in cybersecurity threats, businesses, governments, and other entities can protect their assets and data.

Attacks Will Target the Healthcare Industry

At this moment, the safety of the world relies on swift vaccine distribution and ending the global pandemic. At no point in the last century has healthcare been so important to global security. Of course, that means criminals will now target healthcare institutions because they are so crucial. Hospitals, vaccine manufacturers, and healthcare providers have already been targeted by cybersecurity attacks.

Businesses in the healthcare industry must prioritize cybersecurity going forward. This means using secure software, taking precautions to protect data, and training employees to avoid phishing schemes and other attacks.

Cybersecurity Will Play a Role in Geopolitics

The pandemic already caused geopolitical tensions during the early days of countries trading PPE. Now, diplomatic rows over vaccine patents are common. These tensions will only get worse as countries race to manufacture vaccines and vaccinate their people. Cybersecurity threats will play a role in the diplomatic cold wars that are occurring.

Internet attacks can be used to spy on valuable national security information, and at this moment coronavirus information counts as national security. Even the threat of cyberattacks can be used as leverage during negotiations. Expect to see more discussions of hackers and bots during diplomatic summits.

Protecting Data Is More Important Than Ever

Data protection will be more important than ever this year, especially for healthcare institutions. Hospitals and healthcare providers have crucial patient data that hackers are willing to exploit, especially since they know that most providers do not have the time or money to invest in data protection.

Individuals will also need to be vigilant about their data. Scams and phishing schemes, especially using information about COVID-19 as bait, are becoming more prevalent.

Cybersecurity will be a significant threat to safety in 2021. By staying informed about possible targets and taking necessary precautions, governments and private businesses can avert disaster.

The post Cybersecurity in 2021 first appeared on Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine. from Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine https://balahota.com/cybersecurity-in-2021/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

The Impact of Electronics Use on Sleep

People from all walks of life are wed to their electronics. The reality  for many individuals is that the use electronic gadgets is impacting their ability to sleep. The National Sleep Foundation reports that the use of electronics within an hour before going to bed is having a serious impact on the ability of a large segment of the population to obtain a healthy night’s sleep. 

Upwards to 95 percent of people report that they use some type of electronic gadget within an hour before going to bed for the night. These include people who use mobile devices, different types of computers and video games within this time frame.

 Scientific Research on the Light Emitted by Electronic Gadgets

 A number of scientific research studies now suggest that electronic devices possess the potential to disrupt normal sleep patterns. The circadian rhythm is the biological process with a direct impact on a healthy sleep cycle.

 Scientific research now suggests that the circadian rhythm is particularly sensitive to light that possess shorter wavelengths. Light with short wavelengths appears to delay the release of melatonin into a person’s system. The delay of this release is connected with the ability of a person to fall asleep at night and stay in that state throughout the night.

 How Light From Electronic Gadgets Disrupts Sleep Patterns

 As noted, research now suggests that light with short wavelengths delays the release of melatonin into a person’s system. This is blue light with wavelengths in the 460 nanometer range on the electromagnetic spectrum. The light associated with electronics like mobile devices and computers is in this nanometer range.

Some suggest that television viewing before bedtime is not relaxing as some people may suggest. That may be the case for some people, but it is not for the same reason that light from the types of electronic gadgets references impacts sleep patterns. Televisions emit light in a different nanometer range.

Because the light from certain electronic gadgets appears to impede the release of melatonin, a person using these devices actually may be charging a person up precisely when the body needs to be winding down. These devices appear to energize rather than sooth can calm.

 The most basic step a person must consider taking to prevent certain electronics from negatively impacting sleep is to set them aside at least an hour before bedtime. Electronic gadgets should be banned from the bedroom to ensure the best possible, restorative night of sleep.

Healthier sleep patterns will not develop immediately after the ban on use of electronics within an hour of bedtime. A number of nights will need to pass before the impact electronics have had on sleep patterns is fully resolved. The length of time varies from one person to another.

The post The Impact of Electronics Use on Sleep first appeared on Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine.

from Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine https://balahota.com/the-impact-of-electronics-use-on-sleep/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

Five Tips to Launch a Startup Faster

A growing number of women and men are interested in starting their own businesses. An initial step in developing a startup is contemplating strategies to enable a speedier course from inception to actual launch. There exist five practical tips that aid in launching a startup faster.

Seek Advice

 When developing a startup enterprise, it is crucial not to go it alone. An entrepreneur must seek advice. This includes advice and guidance from professionals like accountants and attorneys. It also means gleaning advice from other entrepreneurs who have been involved in launching businesses in the past.

Engage Remote Workers 

Time and time again, entrepreneurs slow the startup launch process by focusing on seeking workers and talent in their geographic area. Thanks to the Internet, in many cases an entrepreneur does not need to be confined in this manner. He or she can engage the professional assistance of a wide array of remote workers with skillsets that do not necessitate that they be on-site.

Engage Contract Workers

Hiring employees when launching a startup many times is an unnecessary step. Employees add a level of responsibilities and obligations that a launching enterprise oftentimes is wise to avoid taking on. Contract workers usually lower labor costs and allow for a greater degree of flexibility. For example, a startup can engage and eliminate contract workers with relative ease as the needs of an enterprise evolve. The same cannot be said of employees.

Seek a Startup Partner

A person intent on launching a new business oftentimes thinks he or she is on something of a lonely quest. The reality is that some of the most successful business enterprises were started by two or more entrepreneurs working together. 

Reaching out and engaging a partner to assist in starting a new business is a strategy that many times speeds up the overall process of launching a startup. Not going it alone permits a distribution of tasks based on skill sets that typically renders the overall launch process a smoother endeavor.

Work with a Partner that Inspires and Challenges 

On a related note, engaging a partner that inspires and challenges is also a demonstrable course to take to speed up the time to bring a proposed startup up to reality. Launching a startup can be a frustrating and tough process. A partner that inspires and challenges is highly helpful in getting over the rough patches that always come when launching a new venture.

Conclusion

No business venture can be launched overnight. However, by applying these strategies, an entrepreneur is better able to go from concept inception to launch in a shorter period of time.

The post Five Tips to Launch a Startup Faster first appeared on Bala Hota | Business.

from Bala Hota | Business https://balahota.org/five-tips-to-launch-a-startup-faster/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

Questions That Will Help You Hire the Best Candidate

The process of hiring a new employee can be stressful but it can also be rewarding. You want to make sure that you’re doing your best to try to find the best candidate for the job. The questions that you ask can actually help you to make the right hiring decisions. Keep reading to explore which questions will help you to hire the best candidate for the position.

How Do You Like to Solve Problems?

Problem-solving is an important skill to have and you can learn a lot about job candidates by asking this question. You want to see how they will approach a problem intellectually. Will they give a nuanced answer that provides some insight into how they work or will they give a generic answer with no substance? You could choose to present them with a specific problem that relates to your business if you want to as well.

What Drives You to Wake up in the Morning?

A good employee is going to have the drive to succeed. You want to be able to learn a bit more about job candidates so that you can gauge how much drive they have. People’s answers to this question will tell you a lot about what makes them tick. You can learn what motivates them and it might tell you whether or not they will be a good fit for your organization.

Do You Think That You Could Thrive in This Role and Why?

When hiring someone for a position, it’s imperative to take the time to ensure that they will be good for the job. Your ideal job candidate should have a good answer to this question. You want them to be able to tell you why they will be a good fit in this position and it would also be good if they could provide examples. This is simply another question that fills in the blanks to let you know whether this person is a good candidate or not.

What Are Your Personal Values?

Lastly, you want to hire someone who fits in with the work culture that you have created. If a candidate’s values don’t match up with the values of your company, then it might not be a good idea to hire him or her. Allowing job candidates some time to explain their values will help them to stand out. Some might struggle to express their values but the best candidates will have a clear way of expressing them.

The post Questions That Will Help You Hire the Best Candidate first appeared on Bala Hota | Business.

from Bala Hota | Business https://balahota.org/questions-that-will-help-you-hire-the-best-candidate/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

Technology Integrated in Health Care

Technology has been integrated into health care in many ways in modern times. You might have noticed that technology has started to impact the way that you’re receiving health care. It helps patients to get better care than they did in the past, while also making it easier for doctors to keep up on health concerns. Keep reading to explore the ways that technology has been integrated in health care. 

EHR

EHR stands for electronic health records and these have really simplified things for doctors. This is basically an electronic file with all of your health information. It gives doctors the ability to pull up medical information about you so that they can make informed decisions. If doctors want to be able to treat patients efficiently, then it’s beneficial to use EHRs to make it happen. 

Health Monitoring Technologies

Health monitoring technologies can give doctors more access to medical data. For example, blood glucose monitors and wearable heart monitors can be used to keep patients safe. Doctors can get real-time data on patients while they go about their daily lives. If a significant problem occurs while the monitoring device is active, then it will be possible to send out a real-time alert to the doctor so that the issue can be addressed. 

Biometrics

Biometrics will be useful when it comes to keeping data safe. It also makes it easier for the necessary staff members to gain access to various healthcare systems. Biometrics data ensures that only specific people can log into databases. It makes the entire process of accessing information safer while also making it very efficient. 

Wireless Access 

Wireless access has allowed caregivers to have more freedom when treating patients. Being able to access data wirelessly without being tied down to a specific spot is much more sensible. There are many wireless communication devices being used at hospitals in modern times. Eliminating the need for a centralized documentation station has made hospitals more efficient overall. 

Technology Is Crucial

Technology is crucial for the development of the healthcare industry. Medical facilities must try to integrate new technology fast to keep up with consumer demands. In the future, machine learning AI and other technologies will become more prevalent in healthcare buildings. 

The post Technology Integrated in Health Care first appeared on Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine.

from Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine https://balahota.com/technology-integrated-in-health-care/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

Mistakes That Can Lower Your Business’s Value

It can be difficult to run a business without ever making any mistakes. You can’t expect to be perfect but you will want to try to avoid making mistakes when you can. Some mistakes have the potential to lower your business’s value. Take a look at the following mistakes that could put your business in a bad position.

Failing to Keep Records Properly

Failing to keep records properly could put you in a very bad spot. If someone is looking to buy your business or if you want to get funding from an investor, then you’re going to want to have records to show. If you haven’t been keeping records properly or if there are many mistakes present, then it could negatively impact the value of your business. The viability of your business needs to be proven and this is why you keep records.

Not Putting Money Back Into Your Business

You should know that it’s important to put money back into your business. If you don’t invest in your business, then your business is going to fall behind the curve. Technology continues to evolve and you want to make sure that your business is up to speed. Failure to invest money in making upgrades could cause your business to fall behind the competition and this will drastically decrease its overall value.

Not Being Innovative Enough

Even not being innovative enough could harm the value of your business. Keeping up with industry trends is important when you’re trying to maintain your place in the market. You could wind up being seen as behind the times if you fail to innovate properly. Being stagnant can devalue your business and you’ll run the risk of becoming irrelevant in the industry if you don’t make improvements.

Workforce Stability Issues

Workforce stability issues can harm the value of your business too. When you have a very high turnover rate for your employees, it makes it seem as though there are problems with your business structure. It’s also bad to not be able to hang onto good workers. You need to be able to nurture leaders who can take on important roles in the company and this won’t be able to occur if your workforce stability issues continue.

The post Mistakes That Can Lower Your Business’s Value first appeared on Bala Hota | Business.

from Bala Hota | Business https://balahota.org/mistakes-that-can-lower-your-businesss-value/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

Blockchain and Health Care

You might not think of health care immediately when someone brings up the topic of blockchain. Many people start conjuring images of cryptocurrencies and trading when they start thinking of this topic. Blockchain and health care are related, though, and you can make use of blockchain technology to improve the healthcare industry as a whole. Read on to explore this topic further. 

Changing the Way Payments Are Handled

Having a secure payment system that is easy to use would be very helpful when it comes to the healthcare industry. It can streamline the payment process while eliminating costly administrative steps. This should help to lower the overall cost of health care and it will make everyone less frustrated than the current system. It has the potential to make care more accessible while driving costs down substantially. 

Creating Widely Accessible Databases

The transparent nature of blockchain lends itself well to creating widely accessible databases. Simply put, it would be a lot easier to get access to necessary medical information across networks than it is currently. This could lead to better overall care and it will make patients a lot happier. Being able to make health care more efficient while facilitating better communication between doctors, patients, and insurers seems like a good idea. 

Better Security and Privacy

Security and privacy concerns need to be brought up as well. Blockchain is substantially more secure than the current healthcare system. It will allow patients to feel that their information is being protected so that they will not have to worry so much. It’ll also make things more efficient and being able to enjoy better security while streamlining the process is quite appealing. 

Improving a Broken Healthcare System

Taking the steps noted above would significantly alter the current American healthcare system that is in place. Many feel that the modern healthcare system is broken and that it doesn’t meet the needs of patients. Even many medical professionals are frustrated by the current limitations of the medical system and a new approach would be very welcome. Pairing blockchain technology and health care could be the way forward that will make health care more accessible to all. 

The post Blockchain and Health Care first appeared on Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine.

from Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine https://balahota.com/blockchain-and-health-care/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

The Difference Between Leadership and Management

You will often see people using the terms leadership and management as if they are the same. These words can often be used to describe the same position but the concept behind leadership is different from that of management. Read on to explore the difference between leadership and management. It should help you to understand what it takes to be a true leader.

How Managers Do Things

Managers try to achieve their goals by following strict processes. Generally, a manager is going to oversee employees and will work to ensure that certain tasks are being performed. A managerial role could be considered to be an overseer role. As a manager, you’ll be handling administrative duties while also managing those who are working to support you.

A manager is going to be more focused on the system as a whole. They are there to make sure that the system keeps working and that things are going as planned. They keep the machine running smoothly and they know when certain parts need to be greased or replaced, so to speak. Managers work with others to ensure that the goals of an organization are being achieved.

How Leaders Do Things

Leaders differ from managers in several ways but it’s important to recognize that leaders focus more on thinking about the future. They have a vision for where they want to take things and they work to take advantage of opportunities to get there. A good leader is going to try to innovate while also inspiring those that they are leading. Leaders develop team members into better workers by nurturing their abilities and helping them to develop new ones.

It’s a different approach when compared to a management role. Leadership isn’t just some title that is handed out to you by a company. It is a skill that you work to develop over time and you constantly strive to keep improving as a leader. Some managers are leaders but many of them are simply managers.

In Closing

Leadership skills can be developed over time. Being a manager isn’t an easy thing either but being a manager with no leadership qualities could lead to certain problems. You want to do your best to be able to thrive in the role that you have been given. Work to develop leadership techniques so that you can get the most out of your team and so that you can achieve your personal goals.

The post The Difference Between Leadership and Management first appeared on Bala Hota | Business.

from Bala Hota | Business https://balahota.org/the-difference-between-leadership-and-management/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

AI and Health Care

When you think of AI, it’s likely that you think of sophisticated learning tools that can help to make tasks more manageable for people. In the healthcare industry, AI is proving to be useful in a large number of ways. The power of AI can be put to good use to help keep people healthy. Read on to examine the relationship between AI and health care. 

Processing Data 

Processing data is an important part of the healthcare world in modern times. Patients give healthcare systems a lot of data to work with and it wouldn’t be possible for a human to process it all while digging for worthwhile information. An AI will be able to process the data fast and it will give healthcare workers access to necessary information that could save lives. In the modern data-based decision-making world, it’s important to have access to AI. 

Reducing or Eliminating Errors

AI can also be used to reduce or eliminate errors in the medical field. For example, a prescription error could cause a patient to encounter health problems and could even lead to death. An AI can work through the data to ensure that the prescription is right for the patient based on their medical history while also checking whether it interacts negatively with any other medications. Having AI go over things that a human might have missed is very beneficial. 

Predictive Medicine

Risk factors can be determined when you are working with AI and big data. Using the data that you have will allow you to gain a better understanding of risk factors for various diseases. Knowing that a patient is at risk for a certain disease will allow you to make use of preventative strategies. This type of predictive medicine has been gaining traction for years and it should lead to being able to make people healthier. 

Surgeries

You should also know that AI can be paired with robotics to make surgeries more successful. Many types of surgeries can be handled this way and they will often be superior to surgeries performed by human hands. It can make getting surgery an easier process and it should also lead to less strenuous recovery times. The advances in AI technology and robotics will continue to revolutionize the ways that surgeries are approached. 

The post AI and Health Care first appeared on Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine.

from Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine https://balahota.com/ai-and-health-care/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

How (and Why) to Mitigate Distractions While Working From Home

Eliminating distractions while working from home — especially with kids running around belting Frozen II and housemates doing mid-day workouts — might not be entirely feasible. However, it is still possible to mitigate distractions. After all, they’re hurting you — and your business — more than you might realize. You might have heard the popular statistic that you need an average of 25 minutes to get back to your original task after a distraction.

But there’s more affecting your productivity than that. We looked through some of the research behind the psychology of distractions and found some interesting insights:

Distractions have a demonstrably negative effect on our ability to perform, even when the distractions had little significance.

People who consider themselves at multi-tasking may be worse at moving from task to task than others.

Even if you attempt to “move on” to another work-related task, you may find yourself distracted by the first task of your day.

With that in mind, let’s dig deeper into the studies and find some better strategies for managing distractions:

1. Too Much Information Has a Detrimental Impact on Performance

In one UK study, researchers had volunteers carry out problem-solving tasks in a quiet environment—then tested them while they were “bombarded with new emails and phone calls.” Even though the volunteers didn’t have to respond to any of these messages, simply being aware that they were taking place had a significant impact on their ability to concentrate.

The result was that performance suffered. The average IQ dropped by about 10 points.

The conclusion is that not only are interruptions distracting, but if you allow distractions to weigh on your mind in even the slightest way, they can have a detrimental impact on performance. Given that volunteers didn’t have to respond to any email or phone call and still found them distracting, we can only imagine the impact distractions have on us when the emails and phone calls do need responses.

So try having an open dialogue with those you live with and creating a chart that hangs outside of your workspace where it will be seen that alerts housemates of your current work status. It may include options such as “available,” “busy,” “in a meeting” or “do not disturb unless facing a MAJOR emergency”.

2. Switching Between Tasks Takes Up More Energy Than You Think

A 2009 study at the University of Minnesota found the existence of what they dubbed “attention residue.” They defined it as the delay that occurs when someone sets aside one task and takes up another.

It turns out that the mental task of switching gears takes more energy and attention than we might have thought. And that led to some interesting conclusions, including the “surprising result that heavy media multitaskers performed worse on a test of task-switching ability.”

That’s right: even experienced multitaskers aren’t as good at switching between tasks as they might have thought. In fact, they may even be worse than the population at large.

This should lead most people to reconsider their approach to multitasking and asking the following questions:

Am I really a good multitasker, or do I just multitask often?

How long does it take me to “switch gears,” and do I often put off work because of the energy required to start a new task?

Where are some areas in which I might combine activities to minimize “switching gears” and improving my overall concentration?

These questions will help you identify some of the habits that may be leading you to lose concentration as you move from task to task. So whether you claim to be a good multitasker or not, try scheduling out your day in the early morning to help limit the amount of times you have to switch tasks and accommodate for the needs of those you live with.

3. The First Problem You Focus On Tends to Get Most of Your Brain Power

They call it “cognitive fixation.” If you like to multi-task, you may find that the first activity during your day is the one that retains most of your attention later on, even while you’re attempting to give 100% of your attention to something new.

This is evidence in favor of the strategy of attacking your most important tasks first. If you were to work on a big work project in the morning and only take on lighter menial tasks later in the day, part of your mind will continue to work on that “big” work project that you started off with. This can work to your benefit, so long as you’re aware of the effect and schedule your day accordingly.

4. Distractions are Disproportionately Affecting the Young

Millennials and Gen Zers—those most affected by the digital lifestyle—are also the groups that report the highest rates of distraction, with a rate of 74% identifying themselves as frequently distracted. This suggests something other studies have observed; the multi-tasking demands of the digital lifestyle have a detrimental effect on our ability to concentrate, which means that strategies for reducing social media usage may have long-term benefits for personal productivity and concentration.

One other reasons many of us may be suffering from distraction issues: using multiple devices at the same time can negatively affect self-control. So try to limit the number of devices you have within your reach while working from home. Allot yourself windows of time during the day — if needed — to check on certain devices.

5. Attention is a “Limited Resource”

Not only is our attention limited by the time we have in a day, but our energy is subject to the demands of being a living, breathing being. We simply don’t have as much energy to devote to willpower and attention as we’d like to have.

One study, as reported by Psychology Today, found that distractions eat into about 2 hours of our daily work lives. Given that our attention is a limited resource, the strategy of working on the most important task of the day as early as possible—while we still have the concentration to do it—may seem most effective.

One Reason to Use Distractions to Your Benefit

This post paints a very dire picture of the impact of distractions on our life. But if you can manage them effectively, you can sometimes use them to your benefit as well.

One study at Carnegie Mellon found that the regions of the brain that handle your decision-making process will still be in use even when you’re consciously focusing on something else. That means that sometimes, actively seeking distraction when you’re stuck on a problem can be a great way for you to relax, loosen up, and allow a solution to suddenly pop into your mind while you’re thinking about something else.

Otherwise, if you want to be productive while working from home, try to keep the distractions at a minimum (as much as possible), schedule out your day, and focus on your most important task of the day as soon as possible. Your calendar will thank you.

from The Grasshopper Blog - Insights for Entrepreneurs https://grasshopper.com/blog/Eliminating Distractions While Working From Home/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

Areas of Health Care That Are Being Transformed by Big Data

You probably know that big data is a huge deal and that it is changing the way that people do business. Many businesses are modifying the way that they do things due to having access to more data than ever before. Big data is also transforming the healthcare industry in various ways. Take a look at the areas of health care that are being transformed by big data by reading the information below. 

Determining Health Risks

AI can be used to help determine the health risks that people are facing. Data about a person and their current state of health will allow many things to be determined. Understanding risk factors will make it easier to provide better care options for patients. Patients can then receive a personalized treatment plan that will seek to alleviate certain risks while promoting an overall healthier lifestyle. 

Precise Diagnosis and Eliminating Guesswork

Doctors should be able to use big data to help eliminate the guesswork from the equation. They will be able to have an easier time diagnosing the patient by making use of data and processing that data with AI. Healthcare workers will always be able to make better decisions when they don’t have to guess about what is going on. It makes it possible to sort through various bits of data to get the accurate information that they need. 

Preventative Medicine

Preventative medicine is a big way that big data is coming to the forefront of the healthcare industry. Knowing more about certain risk factors makes it easier to predict that various problems will occur. Doctors can take steps to prevent diseases from happening when they know what to look out for. It can also help healthcare facilities to present lifestyle change options to those in need. 

Eliminating Errors

Errors can occur when humans are responsible for handling prescriptions and other important tasks. AI could be used in conjunction with big data to make this process a lot more efficient while also eliminating errors. An AI can make it so that patients will always get the right medicine. The AI can even do things like check to see if a certain medication interacts negatively with other medications that a patient is taking. 

The post Areas of Health Care That Are Being Transformed by Big Data first appeared on Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine.

from Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine https://balahota.com/areas-of-health-care-that-are-being-transformed-by-big-data/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

How to Delegate Effectively as a Leader

As a leader, it’s important to do your best to lead your team toward success. Some leaders make the mistake of trying to take on too many tasks themselves. This can lead to you becoming burnt out and it can even hurt the productivity of the company as a whole. A good leader needs to learn how to delegate tasks effectively.

Understand Which Tasks to Delegate

Knowing which tasks you should be delegating will make a big difference. There are certain tasks that should only be handled by a leader. You need to take the time to create a list of priority tasks that absolutely require your attention. Once this has been done, you’ll understand which tasks can be delegated effectively.

Know the Strengths of Your Employees

Knowing the strengths of employees will allow you to make the best use of their skills. You can assign tasks to employees who are well suited for completing them. If you know that someone is good in a particular area, then it’s sensible to rely on them when a task pops up in that area. Being familiar with your team and their capabilities will allow you to use them properly.

Give Employees the Necessary Resources to Succeed

Employees won’t be able to succeed if they do not have access to the necessary resources. Make sure that you’re providing employees with everything that they need to get things done. This could mean giving them the right tools for the job or it could mean giving them the necessary authority to handle certain situations. Make sure that employees are capable of completing the tasks that you’re trying to delegate.

Give Credit to Employees

Your team will work harder for you if you take the time to give them credit for their accomplishments. When people do tasks that you delegated to them, it’s important to ensure that they receive credit for them. This helps to motivate employees and it could lead to them getting more opportunities down the line. Motivated employees will work harder for you and will do better work.

The post How to Delegate Effectively as a Leader first appeared on Bala Hota | Business.

from Bala Hota | Business https://balahota.org/how-to-delegate-effectively-as-a-leader/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

Steps to Help You Grow Your Business

Growing your business is important when you want to realize your long-term goals. Sometimes it can be difficult to grow your business reliably. If you don’t take the right approach, then you could wind up encountering various problems along the way. Keep reading to see the steps that you should take to help grow your business.

Outline Your Priorities

Before going any further, it’s a good idea to take the time to outline your priorities. This will allow you to gain a firm understanding of where you want your business to go and what you want to accomplish the most. You can’t work toward growth that takes you to the right place if you have no idea which direction you’re going. Take the time to ponder your priorities and then try to focus on achieving your goals.

Determine Your Strengths

You should have multiple areas where your business is strong. Leveraging your strengths is going to be one of the best ways to grow your business. Play to your strengths so that you can continue to grow your business. Work on strengthening your bond with current customers and getting even better at the things that you’re doing right.

Acknowledge Weaknesses

Acknowledging your weaknesses will also be an important part of the process. Every business has areas that are problematic. You can recognize these problems and work on ways to become better at handling them. If you can turn a weakness into a strength, then your business is going to have a much easier time growing.

Take a Risk

Growth is often going to involve some type of risk. There is the possibility that you could fail or that your company could encounter problems when trying to grow. Regardless, you’ll never succeed if you’re so afraid to fail that you aren’t willing to take a risk. Put your business out there and make big moves so that you can grow.

Being able to grow your business is also about being smart. You can take calculated risks to increase your chances of success. Try to make choices that have the highest probability of success and take the time to do market research. If all of your business decisions are backed up by data, then you should be able to achieve your growth goals.

from Bala Hota | Business https://balahota.org/steps-to-help-you-grow-your-business/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

Uses for Predictive Analytics in Health Care

Predictive analytics can help people to make better decisions about many things. This type of data-based decision making is used in many different fields, but it’s going to be especially important in the world of health care. Take a look at some of the uses for predictive analytics In health care below. You’ll see just how imperative this will be in the healthcare industry moving forward. 

Determining Risks for Diseases

Healthcare specialists can use data to determine risk factors for certain diseases. If a patient shows that they have many risk factors for a certain disease, then they will be able to take steps to combat that potential with preventative care. It should lead to patients becoming healthier and could help to keep patients from dealing with so many illnesses as they get older. If doctors know what to look out for it will become easier to provide top-notch medical care. 

Supply Chain Management

You can also use predictive analytics to better manage your supply chain. Monitoring your supply chain will give you access to valuable information. You can use the data that you have to make better decisions about what you’re ordering and how to utilize it. Your analytics could even put you in a better position when it comes to ordering supplies and negotiating prices. 

Improving Patient Satisfaction

Analytics will also prove useful for managing the satisfaction of patients. You can use the data to ensure that consumers are getting the best healthcare experience possible. It will allow you to build care models that will work for individuals. It can also make it easier to personalize your messaging to each patient. 

Better Data Security

Data security is one of the biggest concerns in every sector and health care is no different. Predictive analytics can help you to recognize changes faster than usual. If something seems unusual, then you’ll be able to take swift action to deal with the issue. Your monitoring of data works in your favor as you can protect yourself from cyber threats by being made aware of them sooner than you otherwise would be. 

from Bala Hota | Technology and Medicine https://balahota.com/uses-for-predictive-analytics-in-health-care/ via IFTTT

[bala-hota]

SEM vs SEO vs PPC: What’s the Right Balance for Your Business?

SEM. SEO. PPC. What’s the best mix for your business?

The question is more complicated than it might first appear. After all, who wouldn’t want to optimize their SEM, SEO, and PPC efforts? But limited budgets, limited capabilities, and limited expertise can be obstacles—particularly if you’re stronger in one area than another. Let’s discuss what these phrases mean and how you can find the right mix for your own small business:

SEM vs. SEO vs. PPC: What’s the Difference?

If you’ve had enough acronyms thrown at you in your time in business to fill a bowl of alphabet soup, you can be forgiven if you sometimes miss the distinctions in these digital marketing terms. But let’s separate SEM, SEO, and PPC from each other and get really clear about what they are—and what you should expect from them.

SEM, or search engine marketing, is an umbrella term. It’s there for marketing efforts (both paid and organic) that are directed at boosting traffic from search engines. However, keep in mind that SEM, as an umbrella term, may sometimes be used to refer to PPC marketing in some contexts, which helps explain some of the confusion.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is a marketing strategy aimed at organic search. The concern here is how to improve your natural position in popular search engines without paying anything additional to said search engines. Yes, you can buy a position with PPC, but with SEO, you’re concerned about the quality of the links pointing to you, the quality of your content, and the relevance of your topics to the search queries that users are typing into Google. The goal is to create high-quality content that will continue to drive your SEO strategy in the future.

PPC, or pay per click advertising, is aimed exclusively at paid ads in search engines. In PPC advertising, you can bid on certain keywords to buy your traffic. But it’s not always as simple as that. PPC often requires that you build high-converting advertisements to ensure that the search engines aren’t just putting anyone with money at the top of the listings; they still want to serve their users.

What is SEO?

Let’s dive into greater detail on SEO. Search engine optimization is the art of designing your page and your content for targeted placement in organic search results—no paid advertising required. Although the search engine algorithms are highly sophisticated, SEO remains a top priority for many business owners; 61% of marketers list improving SEO and rankings as their top goal.

Today’s top search engines include Google, Bing, and Yahoo, with many of the content marketing and internet marketing campaigns aiming at Google and Bing. You’ll find that the majority of your SEO efforts will tend to focus on Google, thanks to its dominant place in the market.

The beauty of SEO is that any business can compete for organic listings; you just have to have the most relevant, valuable information available for any search query. Sound difficult? You don’t have to start creating the world’s greatest blog posts just yet. Search Engine Land has a guide for small businesses so you can begin optimizing your site as soon as possible. From on-page SEO to technical SEO, there are always small improvements you can make to give your site a leg up on the competition.

Here are some of the other terms you’ll want to be familiar with in SEO:

SERPs: Search engine results page.

Backlinks: The links pointing to your site, used by search engines to determine your page’s popularity and relevance.

Crawlers: Automated bots that search engines use to scan your site and log the latest information, which they can then use in their search results. Crawlers might dig through your meta descriptions, title tags, and on-site SEO to get a gauge of what your site is and what your business has to offer.

Technical SEO: search engine optimization focused on the technical aspects of your website, not necessarily popularity and relevance.

Link building: The practice of promoting your site to as many potential linking avenues as possible in an effort to drive up your relevance. These days, legitimate link building practices tend to be those that are mostly organic, such as guest posting on popular blogs.

What is PPC?

PPC has potential benefits for small businesses in that it offers an opportunity to buy your way to traffic if you have the budget. Small businesses that need growth now will find that PPC generates the quickest results when it comes to getting on the first page, while content and SEO tend to require focus on the long-term future.

To optimize your PPC, you’ll want to make keyword research a hallmark of the way you market. Tools like the SEM Rush PPC tool will help you identify those keywords that are most relevant to your business, all while driving a substantial amount of traffic. Google Adwords, the most popular PPC platform, also has plenty of tools for you to use as you research. But don’t forget that Bing also has keyword tools you can use to gauge interest in keywords.

With PPC, your goal is simple: combine relevance and traffic. Relevance is how well you can answer the “question behind the query.” In other words, relevance is how well your website answers what customers are really thinking. Someone typing in “vacations,” for example, may be looking to book a travel agency. But your travel agency business won’t do well by serving those who were only curious about vacation statistics.

With search ads, your goal should be to get as much relevance as possible, because you’re going to need to optimize your click-through rates.

When comparing SEO vs SEM and the strategies listed above, you’ll find PPC can produce the most immediate returns. After the proper keyword research, a PPC campaign can quickly give you access to a large amount of traffic that is highly targeted to your keyword and your business—that is, if you’ve put in the time to ensure that your business lines up with the search queries you’re looking for.

How to Strike a Balance Between PPC and SEO

There’s no single answer for whether search marketing, SEO or PPC is best for you right now. But if you start with competition research, you should notice opportunities for advancement—whether that comes in specific keywords, sponsored ads, brand awareness, or even simply building a better landing page. Look at your budget and understand where PPC and SEO most help businesses—and make your investments accordingly.

from The Grasshopper Blog - Insights for Entrepreneurs https://grasshopper.com/blog/Striking the Right Balance between SEM SEO and PPC/ via IFTTT