What is energy illiteracy?
This can be explained as follows: Imagine a person who is 3 meters tall (9feet) and has a bodyweight of 40kg (80pounds); your mind will directly be able to visualize this person’s body shape……right? This means you are length and weight literate!
If I tell you that this morning I ate 5kJ (kiloJoule) of food for breakfast; for sure you will be puzzled about this information; you probably have no clue about if that amount is a lot or a little. The same when I tell you that my car is very energy efficient because it consumes only 5MJ ((MegaJoule) per km. You will again probably have no clue if it is really efficient or instead extremely inefficient. You are simply not able to determine if this energy amount is a lot or a little because we never talk about a car’s energy performance in Joules per km. The fact that most people have no clue about if a certain amount of energy is a lot or a little can be called energy illiteracy.
Even the energy-people are energy illiterate because they never look outside their own industries. The oil-guys talk in barrels; the power-guys in watts, mega and GigaWatts, the coal-guys talk Metric Tons; the gas-guys talk in Cubic Feet or meter, Alternative-fuel –guys talk Mtoes, Solar-guys talk Wattpeaks, battery-guys talk Amp-hours, wind-guys talk watts although they should talk wind-watt-peaks to be fair to solar guys……..and the list goes on and on…..
No wonder that most people are energy illiterate; the right unit for energy is never used!
No wonder we are ending up in a huge worldwide energy-crisis while continuing to burn everything we can find and even specifically grow stuff for the purpose of burning it….energy illiterate energy experts are advising energy illiterate politicians who in turn try to tell the energy illiterate public what to do…..
It’s time to start addressing the energy illiteracy problem!
The first step towards eradicating Energy illiteracy is introducing a standard:
That should be obvious! The reason why people are length and weight literate is because we always measure those properties with the same standardized units; no matter if we measure a door or the length of a room or a table. So in order to eradicate energy illiteracy we have to start using a standard unit for all energy forms.
The most obvious unit for Energy is Joule for the following Reasons:
1) Joule is already standardized as the unit for energy in the metric system.
2) Joule is already widely used all over the world in electricity (you probably never heard of that because Joule always has gone under cover of Watt; the definition of Watt is Joule per second.) Most electric enegineers do not know that because they only learn one definition that Watt = Current x Voltage…and thus even electric engineers are energy illiterate…
Watt Cheats the energy conscious customer…..
If you were an energy conscious customer and had a choice between 2 refrigerators that look exactly the same but have a different wattage; which one would you choose.
Let’s say fridge 1 has a 70 Watt compressor and fridge 2 a 100Watt compressor:
Most people will without second thought go for the 70Watt thinking that it consumes less energy.
That’s the way you get cheated; Watt gives you only information about how many Joules it consumes per second while most of the appliances in and around our house consume electricity the whole day with a continuously varying pattern. Information about a second is for sure not enough to determine if something is energy efficient or not.
What is more important to know is how many Joules per hour per day or per year are consumed.
Let’s assume the 70W fridge has a compressor that runs for 3.000 seconds per hour; this means that the fridge consumes 70 x 3000 x 24 = 5.040.000 Joules per day ( = 5 MJ per day). It could be possible that with a new more efficient compressor of 100W the compressor only runs for 1.000 seconds per hour; this means that the fridge will consumes 100 x 1000 x 24 = 2.400.000 Joules per day ( = 2,4 MJ per day).
You see the wattage does not say anything about how much energy is consumed; in above sample the 100W fridge consumed less than half of the 70Watt fridge. This means you can be badly cheated as an energy conscious customers’ when you focus on a low Wattage.
What should be mentioned on all energy consuming devices is how many kJ, MJ it consumes per hour, day or year or certain result. Lamps and TVs are used on hourly basis and thus should be labeled in MJ or kJ per hour. Fridges are used on daily or monthly basis and so should be labeled with how many MJ’s are consumed per day or month.
In fact Watt should be eradicated all together because it is misleading information; and it has no importance at all for the operation of a certain device.
What we really need to know is energy and current to determine if the electrical wiring can stand the current draw. Wattage is completely irrelevant.
Read more on this subject on www.kajul.org (under construction)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGN-8poqd6Q[/youtube]
by Jerry Clark
I once spoke with a gentleman who was a 54-year old Sales Manager for a major U.S. Computer Company. He had never been in Network Marketing but was highly considering it for the first time.
He said, “Jerry, I was in London last month on a business trip. A business associate over there gave me a magazine that was published in the U.K. and I saw an article you wrote in it. I didn’t know who you were but I read your article and really got a lot from it. Then I heard you on a radio show when I got back to the U.S., and I thought that was a sign that I should contact you. Over the past 25 years, at least a dozen people have approached me about Network Marketing, but I have never been able to see myself as a distributor.”
I asked him what interested him about it now, and he said, “Retirement. Based on my investment portfolio and my income I know I won’t be able to retire and continue to live the lifestyle that my wife and I are accustomed to. And based on my research, it appears this thing I’ve been avoiding all these years - Network Marketing - is our best chance to be able to set ourselves up financially within the next 6-8 years. But I just don’t like doing the things that I’ve been hearing that I would have to do in order to make it work.”
I laughed and said, “Great! Welcome to the crowd.” He was puzzled.
I told him that one of the best parts about building a Network Marketing business is the fact that you don’t have to like it to do it. There was silence on the phone and I knew he was confused so I continued.
I asked him how long he had been in the workforce. He said over 30 years.
I then made the following statement to him: “Are you telling me that over the last 30 years you actually liked waking up in the morning to an electronic rooster ringing in your ear? Did you like rushing in the morning to get into traffic and breathe in the exhaust pipe fumes that came from other cars? Did you like working with a bunch of negative people who were constantly engaged in office politics? Did you like being told when you could take a lunch break, take a vacation, how often you could get sick, and how much money you were worth? Did you actually like telling your four children that they couldn’t get the toys they wanted and deserved? Did you like telling your wife that you couldn’t take the vacation that you all deserved and desired? Did you like being bossed around by someone who was less competent than you were?”
I went on a tangent for at least another minute or two with this type of questioning. I finished by saying, “I didn’t like a lot of what I had to do, but I knew I wasn’t going to like doing all that corporate stuff for 30 or 40 years either. So I figured if I was going to do something I didn’t like, I may as well do it for a shorter period of time. That’s why I chose Network Marketing.
“Today I’m a 32 year old guy who lives in a 7,000 sq. ft. home, travels the equivalent of five trips around the world each year, associates with positive, uplifting and pumped up people, and wakes up when I’m done sleeping to a beautiful view of trees and the sounds of the waterfall crashing down on my swimming pool. I figured if I was going to do something I didn’t like, I may as well do it for a shorter period of time.
“So my friend, you can go ahead and spend the next 6-8 years of your life doing something you don’t like and end up flat broke, or you can spend the next 6-8 years of your life doing something you don’t like and set yourself up for life. Nevertheless, don’t be surprised if you start to not only like Network Marketing, but also love it. It’s your life and it’s your choice.”
By the time the call ended, the guy was in tears. I think he got the point.
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Jerry Clark became a self-made millionaire while still in his 20’s. Today, through his company Club Rhino, Inc., he conducts personal and professional development seminars around the World.
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“The single greatest attribute of a soldier is not strength, it’s not courage. Rather it is ENDURANCE” - Napoleon
Rock Your Presentation with the Right Tools and Apps
At some point in your career as a student or professional, you’re going to have to give a presentation—and when you do, you want to be prepared with the right content and applications. Whether your demo’ing software or explicating Melville, a computer hooked up to a projector can either give an audience a great audio/visual experience, or a bullet-studded snoozer. Whether you’re using a Mac or Windows, PowerPoint or Keynote, or simply presenting straight from your web browser, there are a few power tips, apps, and tools that can make your slideshow or demonstration smooth, entertaining and memorable. Photo by jurvetson.
Ditch the Bullet Points
If you’re doing a straight PowerPoint or Keynote slideshow, do your audience a favor: forget bullet points. While they’re easy to write and easy to read off your screen, they’re hard on your audience. Pick up a copy of Clif Atkinson’s Beyond Bullet Points and make yourself fill in the template he offers for download, to structure your presentation into an engaging story, not a lifeless collection of bulleted lists. See our original review of Beyond Bullet Points.
Pre-program Typing with Text Substitution
If you’re showing off software or doing any sort of interactive demonstration that involves typing, don’t waste your audience’s time watching you fumble with the keys because you’re nervous under the pressure of your their collective gaze. Pre-script any text entry you have to do using text substitution, with free software like Texter on Windows, TextExpander on the Mac or Snippits on Linux. Not only will your audience be impressed with your efficiency (and lightning-fast typing), they’ll love you for being prepared and keeping things moving along with ease.
Zoom and Call Out Sections of Your Screen
Want to show off a detail in an image, enlarge a small video or draw on screen like a football coach choreographing a play? There are a few ways you can zoom into and freehand draw right onto areas on screen while you present.
- See closeups of screen areas with ZoomIt (Windows)—free software with configurable keyboard shortcuts zooms in on areas on screen and draws on it with different-colored pens.
- Zoom into any area of your Mac’s screen—using an accessibility option built into OS X, zoom into an area of the screen, no additional software required.
- Call out anything on your screen with Highlight (Mac)—draw on your Mac’s screen.
Tip: consider screencasting these types of show and tell techniques to ensure no operator error during the live presentation.
Dim the Background Clutter
Want your audience to focus on the foreground application, dialog box or maybe just the video playing in the middle of the screen? Both the Clutter Cloak for Windows and Doodim for Mac are free apps that can darken everything on-screen except what’s important.
Increase a Web Page’s Font Size
If you’re presenting a web page with text on it, assume it’ll be illegible to your audience unless it’s enlarged. In Firefox, a simple Ctrl++ can increase font size after a page is loaded; even better, preset your presentation pages to more legible sizes using the excellent NoSquint Firefox extension.
Before You Leave the House: The Hardware Checklist
This should go without saying, but I showed up at my last public speaking gig without my Mac’s DVI to VGA adapter. So before you head out to your presentation, make sure you’ve got:
- An extra ethernet cable (as lengthy as possible)
- A DVI to VGA adapter to hook up your laptop to the projector (if necessary)
- A thumb drive with your presentation file stored on it
More Presentation Power Tips
A few more tips for making your presentation great:
- Split the screen and use your computer as a giant clock or to simply display the notes view of your slide show
- Get your PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts straight
- Publish and share your slides with SlideShare
- While you should be prepared for your venue having faulty or no internet connectivity at all, you can host and give your presentation on the web with Google Documents (now with Presentations), Zoho Show or Preezo
- Check out Merlin Mann’s roundup of tools he used to perfect his recent Inbox Zero presentation
What are your favorite presentation tricks and tips? Let us know in the comments.
For anyone who began with Citizenre over the fall, winter and spring of 2006/2007, you may have marked the passage of this time with excitement, sleepless nights, maxed out mobile phone minutes, and a couple false starts with our press release. It certainly has been a roller coaster ride. Naturally, the ups and downs have caused some associates to take pause, or to reevaluate the boundaries of their comfort zones. Others have continued to work consistently and methodically, and with great fervor.
So maybe you’re one of those who have maintained a steady pace working this business. Or maybe uncertainty drove you to sideline your efforts for the time being. Whatever the case, I have tremendous respect for your reasoning—we are all operating from unique and different backgrounds that affect the choices we make.
Regardless of your current level of activity, there are a few things I’d like you to consider. When the press release goes public, a lot of things are going to change. Fast. Homeowners will begin to seek us out for a change! We’ll be inundated with people needing to be trained as associates. The market will become much more competitive. Participation in events and trade shows will become more complex. The pace and volume of business will be ripe for those best positioned to take advantage of this growth.
After signing a non-disclosure agreement along with the other RSDs, we were recently entrusted with a preview of what’s to come. We were left momentarily speechless. It is real and it is happening with such magnitude it’s absolutely spectacular. There’s no denying this has been an imperfect process, but behind the scenes, some very big pieces have come together in perfect union and near silence. And I for one would like to commend you on your patience and tenacity in the face of some pretty big unknowns! We’re about to have a lot of fun.
So I have two words for you: preparation and readiness. If you’re active, inactive, on or off the fence, as long as you are still aligned with this concept, there are steps you can take to be well positioned for this historical event.
Here is what I suggest:
* Read and re-read all your training materials and knowledge base. Be comfortable with the information so you can be confident with the questions you’ll be fielding. Remember, it’s okay to say, “Good question, I’ll get back to you on it.”
* If you have remained fairly active, gather your team together and begin discussing ways you can be better trained and better organized. Set short and long-term goals. Be accountable for those goals.
* Get systems in place for FRA management and customer follow-up so the process is streamlined and efficient for you. Keep in mind that without received FRAs, there will be no site inspection, no installation, and no income!
* Follow up on any current FRAs that have not been verified. Do some “spring cleaning” in your back office and be sure you’ve communicated with customers and associates who need follow-up.
* If you haven’t already, try to achieve 10 team/personal sales to reach sales manager. The training materials at this level will make you better prepared to lead your own business and others.
* Assist members of your team to achieve this promotion to sales manager. The more associates in your organization, the more you and your team will benefit from what has been going on behind the scenes. Many of us will wish we’d worked harder and accomplished more during the down time!
* Be sure you have ample business cards and other supplies handy.
Now is the time to boost yourself and your organization to a better state of readiness. Please make use of the tools in our Powur back office and the tools provided on this site. If there is additional support we can provide, please email me with your request.
Spring Hericks,
Southwest RSD
Following are a few suggestions and guidelines for your first foray into community events. At times we all struggle to find the right words, so below are some examples to help you along. Listen and observe other associates, especially those with more events under their belt—they can share effective tips and techniques they’ve picked up over time as they’ve honed comfortable, easy ways of sharing this program. You can model what’s working for them and spice it up with your own personality and approach. With a little practice, you’ll find your own natural style.
Remember to relax. Smile, make eye contact and allow customers to breathe. Engage them only if they’ve stopped at your booth, or grabbed a flyer or read your banner. Be respectful, pleasant and professional. Apply the Golden Rule. That goes for coworkers and customers alike!
Our solar offering is unique, historical, exciting. But don’t spill all your candy in the lobby. That is, don’t initially overwhelm them with too much information or try to dazzle them with your mastery of solar science! Instead, ask questions. Get them talking. A good rule of thumb? You do 70% of the listening and only 30% of the talking!
So slow down. Don’t feel rushed or put too much pressure on yourself. You can’t say the wrong thing to the right person! This is not about you, it’s about them.
To start, have a copy of our terms and conditions in hand along with a copy of the FRA so you can point to highlighted areas of interest as they come up in conversation (thereby avoiding any shock factor if you try to get them to review all those pages at once at the end!).
Ready? Here are some ideas to get you started:
“Have you ever considered or looked into solar?”
or
“Are you interested in saving money on your electrical bill?”
Give them the space to reply, but be ready with one more hook just in case they too easily dismiss you, believing we’re the same old same old.
“We’re an entirely new approach to solar power.”
This is important to state as it effectively means they must drop any preconceived notions about the costs or hassles of traditional solar. This is a whole new ballgame we’re talking about here.
“…There’s no big, expensive purchase, installation or maintenance costs as with traditional solar. You basically rent the equipment from us for about the same cost of what you’re paying for your electricity now. And you can secure today’s electrical pricing for up to 25 years.”
“Do you live here in __________?”
“Who is your electricity provider, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Are you happy with them?
This last question, depending on where you are in the country, really gets people to open up. They really start talking. Listen. Listen. Listen. From these questions you can glean their attitudes toward solar and tailor your conversation to meet their needs. Give pause between questions so they may answer. Take your cues from their responses. They will reveal what issues/topics move them most, and you will know where to place emphasis throughout your conversation—on cost savings, environmental sensitivity, energy independence, etc.
“As your neighbors’ rates continue to climb, over time, you enjoy significant savings as your rates with Citizenre stay the same for up to 25 years.”
If you know the market well, and have estimated how much we can save the average homeowner in your area, go ahead and tell them the percent saved at today’s rate. Very few people will walk away from real savings on their energy bills. Be prepared to back up your claims with the solar savings calculator, articles on rate increases, etc.
“So… we’re here today signing up homeowners who wish to reserve their system, basically getting people ‘in line’ to have one of our solar engineers come to your home to assess your property. Would you like to see what is possible for your home?”
Asking for the sale in this manner is very non-threatening and also seems to have the effect of creating acceptance and openness about the process.
“In essence, you get to reserve a solar system, and secure your electrical rate… assuming your home qualifies as a good candidate for solar.”
Most customers ask how to qualify, what is involved. More questions:
“What does your home look like? What is your tree cover or shade factor? Ridgeline orientation? Roofing materials? How long since your last roofing?”
Have customers begin telling you why they are good candidates for solar. It is always more powerful when customers paint this picture in their own minds, visualizing panels on their home, imagining themselves through this process. In this way they take ownership of the program and are far more likely to be solid, qualified customers. Also, most people just enjoy talking about and describing their homes to you! If they are agreeable, begin filling in the required fields on the FRA with them.
Describe in brief what happens if you haven’t already covered it.
“When this signed form is received by our corporate office, you’re officially entered in our system. You can log in anytime at this web site ______________ (or the join the solution site) and view “My Account” to stay in touch with the latest developments and press releases on Citizenre. You can also contact me anytime for updates. Our engineers should be contacting you sometime early in 2008 to begin site inspections and determine expressly how we can meet your energy needs. At this point, you will be presented with the capability/design of a solar system for your home, which you either decline or approve. We proceed from there.”
Answer additional questions about the terms, why 80% of our customers choose the 25-year agreement because of its flexibility, etc.
Respond with “That’s a great question…” and “Good point” as they bring up certain ideas and really validate them with answers that are clear and concise.
Getting a signed FRA is pretty easy at this point as you’ve essentially gone through it and the terms and conditions during the conversation.
Always let them know what happens next: The customer will get a copy of the FRA to sign and mail in to Corporate (this is paramount—stress that without receipt of this important document, they are not made official, not really “in line”); that they get an account on the JoinTheSolution site; how referrals work, etc.
Thank them for joining the solution… and remind them once again about the referral program by supplying them with a few extra business cards!
Have a good time! What we’re doing is fun!
Ecopreneurs with Goals
An associate who is passionate about Citizenre can impact friends and family with our unique approach to solar. But an associate with goals can move far beyond family and friends and can actually help change how our country produces and consumes electricity!
You’ve got to think it and you’ve got to ink it.
What do you want?
When do you want it?
What steps are you willing to take to get it?
“Successful people are willing to do the things that unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.”
Becoming an
Ecopreneur with Goals
Goal Setting
“By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands—your own.”
~Mark Victor Hansen
Focus on what you want to bring into your life. What do you want and when? Set goals that are measurable, specific, vivid and motivating. Make them believable. Make them for professional and personal purposes. Consider in detail the kind of business, income, relationships, mental and physical well being you want to attract into your life.
Write down your goals on blue note cards (studies have shown this color to be particularly effective). Describe your goals in the present tense, or as if they have already happened. Keep them visible.
Visualize completion. Visualize how good you’ll feel when they’ve been accomplished. List the benefits that will be yours when you reach your goals. Revel in the wonderful feeling of success and satisfaction for a moment. What does that look like and feel like to you?
Be Accountable
Make an accountability contract. Depending on the goal, identify a friend, coworker or spouse with whom you can share these goals, a person to whom you must be accountable. Know each other’s goals, set daily or weekly timetables, and report to each other on progress made.
Set a training or support group with other associates. Share lessons learned, what works and what needs improving. Have a potluck, make it fun!
Time Management
Come up with a “daily method of operation” or DMO. That is, have a plan of action for each day. Plan the time you have for your business. Set the hours and identify the tasks that must be completed. Talk to people. Share our solution. Get those FRAs in the mail. Invite referrals. You don’t have to be extraordinary to be successful in our business. Just do ordinary things over and over again.
Don’t procrastinate. Do the thing you like least, first. Whatever it is—that phone call or stack of mail you’ve been avoiding—get it over with. You’ll feel good knowing it’s done and be able to move on to more productive and enjoyable work.
Maximize “pay time” versus “no-pay time.” Examples of pay time include making sales and referral calls, following up with customers, preparing and sending in FRAs. These activities directly impact your earnings. No-pay time might include organizing your office, catching up on emails, researching and educating yourself. While still valuable, try to accomplish these during off peak hours when you can’t be connecting to customers. Think about what you do each day, fill your day with activities that earn income, and you will be successful.
Stay on goal time, not clock time. What do you want to accomplish today? Regardless of whether it will take you one hour or ten, when you’ve met this goal, stop. Make time for yourself, your family, a hobby, etc. This will help you achieve personal balance.
Voew time as a precious, finite resource. Spend it wisely.
Goal Setting Worksheet
What’s my purpose in participating in this business?
How does making a difference change my life?
When would I like to have that happen?
How would more time or money change my life?
What steps am I willing to take to make this happen? In terms of time? Money? Commitment?
What obstacles will I need to overcome?
What strengths do I bring to the table?
Where would I like to see my income in a year? In 3-5 years?
Are my actions in line with my goals?
Are my goals reflected in the results I’m producing?
How many FRAs do I want to have and by when? What steps will get me there?
How many events, presentations, ads or pinups do I need to reach this goal?
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