In 1998, legendary Chinese entrepreneur Liu Quingdong founded the company that he has become synonymous with. This company, known as JD.com, experienced tremendous growth over its evolution as a company. What began as a store in the traditional brick and mortar style has evolved into the leading e-commerce retailer in the Chinese market. Under the guidance of Liu Quingdong, JD.com has also become the leader in innovation in the Chinese retail sector and one of the foremost leaders in this area globally. The humble business that Richard Liu began in 1998 is now one of the members of the prestigious Fortune Global 500. Beyond being China's biggest retail operation, JD is also the company that brings in the largest amount of online revenue in the market as well. Commitment to innovation has been a huge factor in this massive growth and success as well as the JD commitment to impressive levels of customer service that Richard Liu demands.

Richard was born in the town of Suquian which is located in the Jiangsu Province. His family was hard-working but of modest means. Richard excelled in his education and desired to attend college. In the end, he was able to do so with some critical support from the members of his village that wanted to see he provided with the opportunity to attend college. Richard attended China's Renmin University where he undertook a course of study in the Sociology major. After completing this course, Richard Liu went on to earn his EMBA Degree at the Business School at China Europe International.

The youth of Richard Liu was a time where China was experiencing some major changes. These changes included a massive restructuring of the economy that led to a lot of new opportunities for entrepreneurship. Richard was impressed by these changes and he was also inspired to make his mark. He founded a brick and mortar store, that eventually became JD.com, in 1998. It was in 2003 that an event occurred that would cause Richard to shift to focus at JD in a manner that would set the future course for the firm. This event was the SARS epidemic that terrorized China. This event had the effect of shutting down storefronts across the entirety of the country and causing businesses to grind to a halt. The citizens of China also stay indoors which added to the effect of business slowing to a crawl. Richard saw an opportunity and started to shift his business model to the online sphere. This was a formative change that helped to push JD.com to the next level. Since that time, Richard has fully committed to operating in the online sphere and has guided JD to a status of being one of the world's preeminent innovators in online sales and supply chains.

This impressive innovation campaign that JD has embarked on under the leadership of Liu Quingdong has had to effect of giving the firm the biggest and most sophisticated infrastructure network for the fulfilment of orders that any e-commerce firm has globally. The system of infrastructure parks that are run by JD is some of the most technological and automated facilities in the world of order fulfilment. One of the biggest projects that Richard and his team of supply chain experts are working on now is to continue to expand so that the JD supply chain becomes fully connected to the entire world. The goal is to make it possible to provide any product and brand to any consumer that wants it on a global basis. This is consistent with the kind of innovative work that Richard has demonstrated throughout his career.

The way that you manage your business will have a massive impact on its overall success. Be a bad manager, and your workforce isn’t going to feel motivated to work for you. Show yourself to be a good manager, on the other hand, however, and you’ll be sure to see your business’s productivity levels soar through the roof.

There’s no shame in admitting that you can become a better manager. To find out how you can achieve this professional goal of yours, be sure to read on.

Be positive

If you show yourself to be positive no matter what challenges come your way, the workforce that you are tasked with leading will be sure to follow suit. In this instance, it is very much about leading by example. By remaining upbeat and constructive with regards to your chances of success, your workforce will instantly feel that they have a better chance of doing whatever it is that has been asked of them.

Being positive should never mean that you become unrealistic, however. If a particular task is too big to get done in a certain amount of time, don’t fill your employees with false hope. Be pragmatic and practical, and sprinkle some positivity on top to increase their productivity.

Prepare for the worst

All good managers are optimistic and positive, yet they are still able to prepare for the worst. By being able to safeguard your business against external plights as well as consider the potential ramifications of your internal actions, you will find yourself circumventing problems far more often. As a result, you will be able to devote more time and effort to the all-important task of retaining a high level of workplace morale.

One way to prepare for the worst is to ensure that you are ready to face legal action as and when you find yourself having to do so. In this instance, it is essential that you partner up with a law firm that is capable of providing you with comprehensive business law support — Futeral & Nelson, a Charleston law firm, are capable of providing just that. With them or another firm of the like by your side, you will be able to prevent the damage that lawsuits have the potential to cause to both your finances and your reputation.

Don’t dismiss the little things

In business, it’s essential never to dismiss the smallest aspects. Even the most intricate things need to be addressed when seeking to become a better manager. Does a certain individual employee of yours respond well to being set tight deadlines, or would they prefer more time to get their work done? Is there any way you can manage your time better on Monday morning to ensure that you are ready for that big presentation come Friday afternoon? Don’t dismiss the importance of the little things, and you will become a far better manager.

Want to become a better manager? If so, then you need to put the above advice into practice. If you do, you will improve your chances of success in the world of business, no end.

The safety of your business is just as important as its growth. For this reason, as an entrepreneur or business owner, it’s your duty to keep yourself safe. You may be wondering how this is achievable, and the answer is to be meticulous and pay attention to the things that could negatively affect your business. It can be so easy to be distracted by day to day business operations that you forget to do so. On that note, you’re going to see how you can keep your business safe in the following article.

Get Insurance

A simple solution to business safety is getting the right insurance. There are several types that would help protect your business from unforeseen circumstances. In case you need a few ideas, find them below.

Professional Indemnity: One type of insurance that your business needs is professional indemnity insurance. What this can do is cover your business against negligence claims that happen as a result of harm caused because of mistakes or a failure to perform. You should note that it isn’t a one-size-fits-all policy and it varies from industry to industry.

Employers Liability: If you have employees, then another type of insurance you should be getting is employers liability insurance. This type of insurance covers employees if they happen to fall ill or are injured while working at your company. It’s important that you display your insurance in a place that it can be seen by employees as well or you could be fined.

Office Insurance Policy: Whether you’re renting a property, or you have purchased a space for your business to operate out of, an office insurance policy is a must. This is because, in the case of a fire, storm, or theft, it covers any loss of income you may end up experiencing.

Vet Your Clients

In order to keep your business safe, it is so crucial that you vet the people that you do business with. You’ve probably heard the saying that not all business is good business, so take that seriously and be sure anyone you offer services to isn’t going to do more damage than good to your company. Look out for blacklisted businesses or politically exposed persons as they could cost your business both money and your reputation.

Manage Your Assets

If your business happens to have any assets, it’s a good idea to manage risks to your assets. You can do so by keeping a record of all of them and doing a regular check. You also want to restrict access to them and put contingency plans in place just in case of any unforeseen circumstances. By doing this, you should be able to manage any risk and make profitable decisions.

Running a safe business is important for both you and your clients. You want to be sure that one wrong move doesn’t result in everything that you’ve worked so hard to build to be destroyed. By following some of the suggestions above, you should find you lower the risk of your business being harmed.

It might surprise you to learn that the Arab world is growing at an alarming rate. According to a 2014 report from Elance/oDesk (the leading freelancing site), UAE companies were responsible for the 5th largest spending budgets. Technology was a leading focus, with almost three quarters of the spending going towards improving technology outcomes.

The UAE business sector is comprised of SMEs (60% share) with a vibrant startup community and ready pool of entrepreneurs starting new businesses and investing in others too. Companies in the UAE are keen to take advantage of an affordable global workforce.

Here are five notable Arab businessmen who bring capital, fresh ideas and vision to their business ambitions.

Eyal Ofer

Both Eyal Ofer and his brother Idan complete in the wealth stakes and are active businessmen. Heir to Sammy Ofer, Eyal has produced his own $8.8bn fortune. Originally from Israel but now based in Monaco, he continues to invest in real estate, shipping, cruises including a piece of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank too. He is also a prodigious collector of art.

Fahad Al Rajaan

Up until 2015, Fahad Al Rajaan was the Chairman of the Al Ahli United Bank which is the largest lender in Bahrain but also operates in the UK, Qatar, Egypt, Oman, Kuwait and Iraq. The bank offers commercial and investment advisory services to businesses. They cover corporate, retail, offshore services, wealth management, treasury and private banking to select clientele.

Fahad Alrajaan is now the Chairman of the Wafra Investment Advisory group operating out of New York, and the Director General of the Public Institution for Social Security out of Kuwait. He has been named as one of the top 500 influential Arabs in the world.

Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud

The Saudi prince, Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud, is a well-known figure in global investment circles, having invested in many prominent businesses over the years. His net worth is thought to be close to $17bn. He has holdings across the world spread between banking and retail, which are held in the Kingdom Holding Company (the largest of its kind). His approach to socially minded investment along with his investing principals set him apart from other wealthy investors. His results have supported his views of what the right approach should be.

Mohammed Al Amoudi

Mohammed Al Amoudi was born with both Ethiopian and Saudi heritage, providing him with a different lens with which to view his culture and surroundings. He moved quickly into building and buying up companies in both Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia. He is involved in many industries including coffee beans, cement, energy, construction and gold. Among the notables, he sells tea leaves to Lipton and beans to Starbucks. He’s also very involved with philanthropy too.

Hayek Family

The Hayek Family which is based in Lebanon has acquired the Swatch brand of watches. The Swatch Group also owns the Tissot, Omega (of James Bond fame), Breguet and Longines watch brands too. The Swatch company is still based in Switzerland post-acquisition, as one would expect from a great watchmaker. The business is valued at just under $2.9bn, but that will need to be adjusted upward since it bought prestigious Hollywood jeweller to the stars, Harry Winston.

The leading businessmen in the UAE continue to grow in wealth and influence. No longer is investment limited to oil fields & development, with most large investors now extremely well diversified across regions and industries.

Sure you are definitely well aware of all the landscape trends that have been abound in the past few years, not to mention the main fact that you consider yourself an expert on the matter. Since you have been at it for the last couple of years as well as putting most of your ideas to full fruition on your very own piece of land, there is truly no reason for you to think that you have forgotten something or are missing out on the more unique aspects of landscaping as a whole. Right?

Well, not really. I really hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but yes, hard as this may be for you to initially believe, there is indeed plenty of aspects you would have missed out on simply because they ended up slipping under your radar in general. In fact, this is the case with a great number of people out there. Now bear in mind that we are talking specifically about landscapes that happen to have a far-eastern flair to them. Think a prominently large and visible influence from a chinese or singapore landscape design and you’re not that far off.

On that very note, let’s get right to it and talk about some of the more prominent varieties of a number of Asian inspired landscapes that are not only gorgeous to look at, but very practical in design as well as implementation and installation to boot. :-

A relaxation gateway

Now this one consists of a bluestone pathway leading up to a Asian style gate that is flanked with pachysandra to boot. The gate stands out the most in the backdrop plus there are multiple innovative spins of the same design.

Outdoor dining

With this particular landscape idea being a Japanese-style garden, one is greeted by a sunken dining area as well as a tatami room to boot. Paper lanterns, a green and pink vase as well as a dry river of crushed quartz and huge quartz boulders add to the finish.

Naptime

In this landscape idea, one is greeted by a much more intimate space with more rich and vivid colours as well as lusher textures with the curved timber daybed with the beautiful reflection pond afloat with lotuses and water lillies.

The path of tranquility

Here, one can clearly see the sheer contrast and vividity of colours alone with Japanese maples and the dark red plum trees making a gorgeous contrast with lavender to boot. Truly a scenic beauty to behold.

A private retreat

Now this particular landscape idea is truly a garden to be proud of in the best sense of the word. With crane fountains, a towering statue of Buddha and a large pond with a host of tropical plants, the final picture is truly a wonder to behold.

Finally, no matter how much of an expert you may think of yourself, it would be worthwhile to note that there are always new ideas and aspects floating around and you would do good to be more open-minded with regard to trying them out as well. After all, that’s pretty much the only way that one can hope to grow as much as possible as well as broadening one’s horizons in the best and most refreshing possible way. Landscaping is a wonderful and nurturing art to boot and in order to get the best results, one needs to be open to taking influences from literally anywhere and everywhere.

There are reasons people are successful. It isn’t necessarily a special talent, but knowing what to do and how to act. It can also boil down to luck.
Most of us experience setbacks in our lives, but others remain fairly steady. See how successful people avoid common pitfalls.

Weigh Choices

A successful person doesn’t act without thinking. They weigh their options and methodically come up with a solution they know is the best fit. Many of us want the answers right away and aren’t patient enough to have the best solutions come to us. These individuals don’t make rash selections, but learn to have tolerance for seeking a choice that’s going to benefit them the most. They don’t react and make impulsive decisions because it sounds good at the time.

Educate Themselves

Education is key to being successful. You need to have the willpower and brainpower to overcome obstacles and remain calm in stressful situations. Successful people seek information and believe they never have enough of it. To have great accomplishments, one must be willing to go the extra mile. They never stop learning and asking questions, and they’re willing to share their knowledge with others.

Focus on Self

A successful person understands themselves. They meditate, practice yoga or attend a self-development class seeking answers and finding them. You must know yourself to be effective on higher levels. Focusing on the self isn’t selfish, in fact, it’s necessary for making a difference in the world. Those who avoid pitfalls refuse to pay attention to what others are doing and rarely compare themselves. They are their own competition, and each day they must be better than they were the day before.

They’re Responsible

With great achievement comes great responsibility. A successful person is responsible on many levels. They’re responsible for their own actions and success, and for the activities they’re involved in as they climb the ladder. They treat others with respect and don’t go around bragging about who they are and what they’ve done. The person knows that if they don’t succeed there’s no one to blame but themselves. They’re not one to go around pointing the finger at others and outside circumstances.

Learn from Mistakes

A successful person learns from their mistakes. They aren’t afraid to fail or mess up. For example, if they’re on vacation and have a run in with the law, they learn from their mistake.; even if it’s a major blunder like a DWI. They’d problem solve and hire a Dallas DWI defense lawyer to take their case. A defense lawyer can help them with the legality aspect of their situation. The point is that they aren’t afraid to ask for help when they need it. Once the issue is taken care of, they’ll move on with their life and make sure nothing similar ever happens again.

Conclusion

There are many paths to take in life. Some prefer to focus on achieving and accomplishing. They advance in their careers and personal lives because they’re focused. Successful people avoid common pitfalls by using strategies outlined above, and you can too.

Everyone loves when the Internet makes life easier and better for them. This means everything from home security systems to coffee makers that have a cup of coffee waiting on you when you stagger down the stairs at five in the morning. If you are thinking of turning your home into a Smart Home, then there are quite a few devices that you might want to look into that will make your life a whole lot better and much, much easier. With that being said, read on for the top five must-have smart devices for your new Smart Home today.

Home Security Systems

The days when home security systems came with tons of wires and directions to install them that went on for days are long gone with the Smart Home revolution. Now there are systems out there that allow homeowners to keep an eye on their homes even if they are miles away. On top of that, since everything is wireless and you have a security company monitoring your home for you, being secure inside or outside of your home has never been easier.

Thermostats

Who would have ever thought that controlling your heat and air from your phone would be a thing, but it is. In your new Smart Home, it is possible to have a thermostat that you control from your phone. If you are out and about and the temperature suddenly drops, you can easily access the thermostat on your phone and have the house be cozy and warm for when you walk in the door.

Home Theaters and TV’s

Today, you can even get your audio and visual appliances in the smart way. Many of these systems will include Panasonic sound, anti-reflection properties, and even 4K projection. Smart Homes just got a whole lot smarter, and entertainment is better because of it.

Smart Coffee

Coffee makers that know exactly what your preferences are and what time you are going to stop hitting that snooze button are a huge success all around. In fact, these type of Smart Home appliances is among some of the most popular on the market today. Since these coffee makers are Wi-Fi enabled you can start them from your phone, and many of them even have an alarm included to get you going in the mornings. On top of that, they are capable of adjusting coffee strength and letting you know if your water tank is getting low. How is that for the perfect cup of coffee in the mornings?

Smart Locks

One of the best inventions for the Smart Home has to be smart locks. Not only do these locks let you trade in your old-fashioned house keys for Smartphone service, they make your home safer as well. No more leaving an extra key under the flower pot where virtually everyone can find it. Instead, you will be able to control your door locks from your phone and let your friends and family in, no matter where you, yourself may be.

These are just a few of the types of must-haves you will want to check into when you have your new Smart Home up and running. Remember, technology is steadily moving forward, and you don’t want to miss the bus, so do your upgrading today.

Written by Jane Brown

More and more tourism destinations in Asia, the governments behind them and private operators running tour packages and services are realising the importance of online promotion. We’re seeing a large increase of familiarisation trips, designed to attract bloggers and key influencers to promoted destinations across Asia.

What’s interesting is how these bloggers and influencers then act as the main promotional channels for the destinations. Their seemingly personal blogs are garnering lots of traffic – and their social media profiles are flooded with user engagement. How do they cope with a larger, international audience?

The Shift to Cloud Hosting

One of the most apparent trend among Asia’s top travel bloggers is the massive shift to Cloud hosting. Blogging is turning into a serious occupation – and a big business – for these bloggers, which is why they are strengthening their websites to handle more traffic.
Cloud hosting is indeed the right technology for the purpose. More server resources can be allocated for each site, allowing even the most feature-intensive blogs to handle millions of visitors with ease.

Another interesting trend is bloggers moving their sites to foreign servers or using CDNs to reach international viewers. Companies like bestwebhosting.co.uk are reporting an increase in Asia-based travel sites using their servers to penetrate UK and European markets.

More Financial Backings to Match

As mentioned previously, blogging is no longer something these travel bloggers do on the side. There are even American and European bloggers who now specialise in exploring Asia. Nomadic Matt, for instance, is a famous blog about traveling to Asia run by a New York Times Best Seller author born in Boston.

The market is growing rapidly, just as the market for tourism in Asia is growing rapidly. Governments and their programmes are pushing tourism forward. More money is being allocated for online promotions and a large portion of that goes towards building relationships with travel bloggers and popular websites.

The growing business means it is now rewarding to blog fulltime and stick to travel as the primary niche. We haven’t even begun to talk about how private companies and service providers endorse – and pay – travel bloggers to promote their services too.

New Destinations to Explore

One of the challenges of running a big blog is keeping the audience happy. To do that, you need to constantly provide your audience with valuable content. Thanks to the growing tourism industry across Asia, there is no shortage of new destinations to explore.

Indonesia, for instance, is introducing 16 new destinations to visit. Malaysia continues to promote places like Kuala Lumpur as the centre of Asia. Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and other Asian countries are following suit, opening their gates to more international travellers.

The market will only continue to grow. It is interesting to see how blogs that used to be about personal notes and journals are now competing with big publications and becoming more effective ways of promoting tourism in Asia. Soon, we’ll see another shift towards live blogging and videos too, especially now that video is dominating the content market.

Supervising employees is equal parts art and science. The science involves the process of ensuring that tasks are completed, working time is logged, and skills are sharpened. The art is more about understanding the people, knowing what motivates and inspires them.

Both aspects of the role as a human resource worker are challenging, but the science, in particular, is reasonably easy to manage. Today's workforce isn't always situated in rows of cubicles or a long stream of workers along an assembly line. They are mobile, off-site, or even home-based, and they require all the same supervision that in-house employees require.

The challenge here is obvious. How do we maintain contact with far-flung workers who must maintain a high level of productivity and efficiency with a low level of company interaction?

Fortunately, the same communication and Cloud technology that permits those workers to operate from elsewhere can also make sure that they are properly monitored without intrusive or time-consuming constant contact from management.

The use of software and phone apps by HR departments is helping companies maintain the best of both worlds. They get all the access of employees who are at headquarters or other company locations, yet they have the freedom to put them wherever it's most effective to do so.

Such systems are successful for several key reasons. The value of these monitoring systems is clear from these benefits that they provide for companies of all sizes.

Equal Monitoring

It can be very destructive to an employee's morale if he or she feels singled out by management for closer monitoring or heavier supervision. With an automated system, everyone is overseen equally.
This is much easier for the supervisor as well. His or her time is used more efficiently because employees are kept in electronic view at all times. There's no wondering who stepped out for a break, who has been called elsewhere to help, or who is off sick. Everything is right there at the supervisor's fingertips.

Expected Oversight

Nothing creates accountability quite like the expectation of being checked on. There is a misperception that supervisors must be present all day, every day to prevent inappropriate use of time. That's a myth.
The only thing that's necessary to keep employees accountable is the expectation that a supervisor will be in contact. If a worker is aware that his or her supervisor could pop up on video conference, telephone, text, or email at any given moment, he or she will be more conscientious about punctuality, attendance, and staying on task.

Efficient Upkeep

Paper is now officially out of favor. There's no need for a constant stack of wasted trees to handle tasks that we can now do electronically. Submission, editing, processing, and archiving are faster, cleaner, and simpler when they are done via the computer or smartphone.

Supervising employees is just another example of that sleek performance. Logging work hours, managing employee communication, and providing information is much easier when it's done electronically, freeing up time for the real mission of the company.

The more technology takes workers away from each other, the more it can pull them back together. The wide array of programs and apps available to companies today makes it ever easier to keep a tight-knit workforce despite the miles between them.

Written by Jane Brown

The rest of the world is fueled by technology, so why shouldn’t sports be as well? There has been a massive boom in technology over the past 20-odd years, and sport has been taking full advantage of it. Sport is one of the most universally loved activities, and it continues to capture the attention of people from a variety of cultures. Athletic skill seems to be improving with each new generation, and records are being broken all the time. The integration of technology into this aspect of life not only makes this possible but also makes for better entertainment, and better safety for athletes. Here are some of the incredible technologies to hit the market in recent times.

Wearables are now everywhere. From Fitbit to the Apple Watch, it seems as though everyone has access to something that can go with them as they work out. Wearables are demanding more and more measurements or tracking abilities, but one product has decided to strip back a little and focus on improving a particular skill: jumping. Vert is a lightweight sensing device that can be placed on the waistband of anyone who frequently jumps – for example, basketball players, volleyball players, hurdlers, etc. The device can be worn while practicing or playing, and it will immediately transmit the data to a mobile or tablet device. This provides them with immediate information about their performance, and it allows for quicker corrections and more effective improvement. The simplicity of this device might just be what makes it stand out from the wearable crowd.

Babolat is another performance tracking device, and is aimed at tennis players. Essentially, Babolat Play is attached to a tennis racket and transmits data via Bluetooth. It has incredibly accurate sensors, and it is able to record data about shot power, impact location, spin, endurance, technique, rallies, and much more. The technology is ultra-lightweight, and it makes almost no difference to the weight and balance of the racket. Babolat is used by some of the top players in the sport.

A more general-use product that has made its way onto the scene is the sports technology that has been developed by D30. The material that the company has produced is incredibly shock absorbent, and it has impact protection capabilities. This could obviously be useful for almost any sport in regards to footwear and clothing, not to mention its capabilities outside of the sports world. The potential here is massive, and will no doubt change the way sport is done.

One innovation that is making sporting much safer is the invention of the ingestible computer, also known as the “thermometer pill.” Heat exhaustion is the number one cause of death in athletes, and this little pill can change that. Once swallowed, sensors transmit temperature and heart rate data to an external device that a trainer can easily monitor. Athletes may ignore the signs of heat exhaustion, but trainers can now keep a safe eye on their core temperature. The pill was originally designed by NASA, but commercial versions have become available.

In the area of sports clothing, compression wear has made itself indispensable, and has become an essential part of every athlete’s wardrobe. There have been significant improvements in this type of clothing. With the use of copper and zinc-infused material, alongside the support provided for joints and muscles, compression shorts decrease recovery time and overall discomfort. One manufacturer’s website includes items with these features, as well as odor-eliminating properties and UPF 50+ sun protection.

There is still a lot to look forward to for the sports technology industry. One of the ideas hovering on the horizon is the integration of virtual reality into the sports arena. Though it does have its limitations, it brings exciting possibilities along with it. Other technologies that should be making an appearance soon are further smartwatch improvements, which could include an altimeter, barometer, thermometer, gyroscope, humidity sensors, and more. Not to mention the improving merging of the real-life experience with the digital one. Digital capabilities are already showing up in sports stadiums, trying to get people more involved with games than ever. Hologram display technologies could be coming soon, which would take at-home and on-the-go sports viewing to a whole new level.

Sports are set to become even more entertaining and competitive than they already are. The incredible advances made in sports technology will make sport an entirely new experience. There are big things ahead in the future of sports technology.