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Summer vacations are awesome, right? Returning from a break isn’t that much fun anymore. Before diving back into your emails and projects, let me get you an idea of how things were while you were gone. After years of shaking out who is who, Google Pay and Samsung Pay are pretty much the only Android players left in the mobile wallet transaction market in the United States — both supporting a pretty big variety of mobile phone brands. The bad news, though, is that they are both getting slaughtered by Apple Pay. A study by Pulse, an electronic funds transfer company, has been published, stated that payments using Apple Pay account for the staggering 92% of all mobile wallet paymentsContinue Reading

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By Pepper de Callier “The roads that lead man to knowledge are as wondrous as that knowledge itself.” Johannes Kepler Kepler was German scientist who ignited the scientific revolution of the 17th century, on the value of mistakes and unanticipated outcomes in the process of discovery. He felt that mistakes and setbacks can be viewed as the ‘midwives’ of insights and accomplishments. Think about it. A perspective like this—enjoying the journey of discovery—would have such a dramatic impact one’s enjoyment of life. I don’t think it would be easy at times, but when you did connect with it, it could be a life-changer. What do you think? Is it worth a try with a problem you are trying to solve,Continue Reading

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By Pepper de Callier “Ph.D. in leadership. Short course: Make a short list of all things done to you that you abhorred. Don’t do them to others. Ever. Make another list of things done to you that you loved. Do them to others. Always.” Dee Hock, Founder of VISA I have had so much fun with this quote over the years. I have used it in presentations to all levels of people, from students to senior executives and Boards of Directors. For me the magic is in its simplicity and how it stresses the importance of reflection. When we can personalize the things we liked and didn’t like that were done to us, it helps put it all in perspective.Continue Reading

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By Pepper de Callier “The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.” Ralph W. Sockman What a wonderful reminder of what it takes to live in, and be part of, civil society. You have more power than you may realize when you stop partaking in a discussion or activity that you know in your heart is wrong. Your action of disengagement could be just the spark to create the momentum needed to turn things around. After all, it’s when good people do nothing that destructive elements enter into, and take control of, a group, a town, or a country. Many years ago, when I was anContinue Reading

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Mobile wallets — launched just about a decade ago — have become popular as they are very convenient to use. Mobile wallets such as Apple Wallet and Google Pay count also to the most preferred ways people want to stay updated on deals, promotions, and discounts. People expect their mobile wallets to spoil them with offers and targeted notifications. Beyond easy payments by tapping the mobile phone, mobile wallets allow people to store, use and manage digital content from their favorite businesses. Digital coupons, loyalty cards, event tickets, boarding passes, and much more … Like every other mobile app, mobile wallets also feature push notifications. These messages would pop up as a banner on the lock screen of a mobileContinue Reading

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By Pepper de Callier “Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.” Sir Isaac Newton I’m sure that without much effort, you can think of a situation in which you witnessed the opposite outcome than the one described by Sir Isaac in this quote. For me, there is so much more to this quote for us in our daily lives. As things become more and more interconnected in business and in our personal lives, we become more dependent on the help of others. That is why, it is of paramount importance, to hone your influencing skills, because without the ability to influence others, who you don’t have authority over, you will quickly find out how lonelyContinue Reading

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A chatbot is a great way to make internet communication more pleasant for both customers and companies. At the beginning of the millennium, people would probably laugh at this sentence. But today, the reactions are different. The main reason for this change is Natural Language Processing (NLP). It is this branch of artificial intelligence science, that has transformed the clumsy and cumbersome automata into today’s clever chatbots, which you can hardly tell from people sometimes. Thanks to NLP, artificial intelligence learns to understand something as complex as human communication. “The natural speech that people use to speak to each other is entirely different from the abbreviations, phrases, and slogans spoken by the first chatbots. Thanks to NLP, AI is finallyContinue Reading

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By Pepper de Callier “The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them.” Sir William Bragg Sir William gives us much cause for enthusiasm in this quote. I’ll explain. In my work with leaders, I have found that many take it upon themselves to sort through many of the weighty decisions with a minimum of help from others. While commendable for its sense of responsibility, their perspective alone doesn’t always deliver the best outcome. A CEO I was working with once, was wrestling with some major changes in the economy and marketplace. It was clear that there would have to be some significant changes made in theContinue Reading

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The objective of any loyalty program is to generate repeat visits. It is believed the first modern loyalty program commenced in 1793, when a Sudbury, New Hampshire merchant began rewarding customers with copper tokens. People could accumulate the tokens and use them for future purchases. The idea has been replicated by other retailers over the centuries — from branded metal tokens, over cutting-out trademarks from product packaging, various paper checks, tickets, certificates, and coupons, to plastic cards, stamps, miles, and points. But customers are not the same now as they were back then. We spend nearly a few hours a day on our mobile phones nowadays. Mobile phones allow us to stay connected, shop, or stay informed. And we haveContinue Reading

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By Pepper de Callier The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.”                                                                                  Wayne Dyer In the age of populist polarization of politics, this is a quote worth remembering. Dyer is asking us not to abandon the tenets of critical thinking, of asking questions, and doing the research, especially in important matters, such as whom to support in an election. This quote is obviously relevant in all other areas of life as well.  No matter what your political affiliation, or how much you want something to be true, don’t you owe it to yourself to get the facts before you jump through a hoop for someone else? Good luck on your journey!Continue Reading