Strategy without change is pointless, and doing what everyone else is doing is not a strategy; it’s a key principle most business people don’t get.
Take the most common advice you hear out there: don’t limit yourself to niche market; you won’t make any money. …
Inside established organization innovation is killed before it even gets a chance to make its case. The reasons are many, and while there are many Sins of innovation,from my POV the one that kills most projects focused on transformational outcomes are ones where there needs to be a fixed “process” for achieving those outcomes.
The battle against obesity often leads individuals to explore various weight loss medications. Two such medications that have gained attention in recent years are Wegovy (semaglutide) and Ozempic (also semaglutide). While both offer the promise of weight loss, it’s crucial to understand their potential dangerous side effects and consider safer alternatives for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.
Wegovy and Ozempic: How They Work
Both Wegovy and Ozempic belong to a class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. They work by increasing feelings of fullness, reducing appetite, and slowing down the digestion process, which ultimately helps individuals eat less and lose weight. Wegovy is a higher-dose formulation of semaglutide specifically approved for weight loss.
The Dangers of Wegovy vs Ozempic
While Wegovy vs Ozempic have shown promise in weight reduction, they are not without potential risks and side effects:
Gastrointestinal Issues: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are common side effects of both medications. These symptoms can be severe and lead to discomfort and discontinuation of treatment for some users.
Pancreatitis: Both Wegovy and Ozempic have been associated with an increased risk of pancreatitis, a potentially serious and painful inflammation of the pancreas.
Gallbladder Problems: Weight loss at a rapid rate, as facilitated by these medications, can increase the risk of gallstones or gallbladder-related issues.
Thyroid Tumors: Animal studies have suggested a potential link between semaglutide and thyroid tumors, although further research is needed to establish any direct connection in humans.
Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia): While Ozempic is also used to treat diabetes, it can lead to low blood sugar levels, especially when combined with other diabetes medications.
A Safer Weight Loss Alternative
Considering the potential risks associated with Wegovy and Ozempic, individuals seeking safer alternatives for weight loss should consider a comprehensive and sustainable approach:
Balanced Diet: Focus on a well-rounded, calorie-controlled diet that includes a variety of nutritious foods. Consulting a registered dietitian can help tailor a diet plan to your specific needs.
Regular Exercise: Incorporate physical activity into your daily routine. A combination of cardiovascular exercises, strength training, and flexibility workouts can help you burn calories and build lean muscle mass.
Behavioral Changes: Address the psychological aspects of weight management by seeking support from behavioral therapists or counselors. Emotional eating, stress, and unhealthy habits can often contribute to weight gain.
Medical Supervision: If necessary, consult with a healthcare professional who can provide guidance on prescription weight loss medications, when deemed safe and suitable for your individual circumstances.
Support Groups: Joining a weight loss support group or seeking the support of friends and family can provide motivation and encouragement throughout your weight loss journey.
Conclusion
Wegovy and Ozempic offer potential weight loss benefits but come with significant risks and side effects that should not be underestimated. Before considering these medications, individuals should explore safer alternatives, such as adopting a healthy diet, engaging in regular exercise, addressing behavioral factors, and seeking medical supervision when necessary. The key to successful and sustainable weight loss lies in a holistic and health-centered approach. Always consult with a healthcare professional before embarking on any weight loss program or medication.
Everyone has a favorite book, but how about one that changed your life? Typically you get asked about your favorite books about a specific topic, or books in general; but never about a book that changed your life. Well, somebody asked me this question recently, I’d never thought about it before. …
Radical is a matter of perception, what seems radical to others is common to some. It’s not different for Apple and other organizations. Came across this video about Jony Ive telling Charlie Rose what drives his, and Apple’s, design obsession.
Simple: care for others.
Happy New Year! Last week I vacationed in Mexico City, where I ringed in the new year. It’s the first time I’ve spent considerable time there, it’s a huge city and covering it in a week is impossible. Good thing they have sightseeing buses, or turibus as they’re known there, that take you on different routes to show you “what you need to see” around the city. So, I took one!
Even as a tourist I still reflect about the experiences I have with products and services I interact with in my travels. Friends of mine also know that, so when I posted a selfie of my cousins and I on the turibus I was not surprised that I friend of mine who lives in the city quickly tweeted back that he wanted to know my thoughts about my turibus experience.
Late that night, I sent him an email with my thoughts; which could be summed up this way: it was good, but not great.
The turibus, is a convenience “get to know the city” service Mexico City offers tourists and residents. The key word is “convenience”, a time saver. And as such it’s not bad, but it didn’t blow my mind either; I believe it’s the same situation with sightseeing buses in other large cities. Thus, you have the same expectations about sightseeing buses in large cities.
To a true innovator, that smells like an opportunity to raise or redefine expectations. How?
First of all, ask yourself a fundamental question: what are people really trying to accomplish? An easy answer is people hire a turibus to get educated about the city and its culture.
Great! Next, ask yourself one question: how might I make this more interesting?
The point of asking yourself, “how might I make this more interesting?”, is to question your own assumptions, shift your perspective and not mindlessly follow the first thing that pops into your head.
In addition, I like to use other adjectives such as:
The last three being the criteria I use to determine whether or not an idea has the potential to be innovative: new, surprising and radically useful.
The point is you shouldn’t accept the current reality as a given. Remember, reality is malleable; don’t be afraid to set standards. True innovators aim to be the only ones, not the best or first ones. That intent comes from setting, meeting and exceeding their own standards; not everyone else’s. Thus making competition irrelevant.
With that said, though I won’t do a thorough exercise on how I would approach said challenge, below are some questions that you can re-purpose for other domains to help uncover assumptions as well as understand current expectations; I’ll use the sightseeing bus experience example:
Next, ask yourself: how can we better the sightseeing bus experience by delivering an unexpected and radically useful solution?
Here are some thought provoking questions to get you warmed up:
Bottom line: products and services can quickly become dull and routine; even to tourists. Sometimes the fundamental goal people are trying to accomplish changes, other times it doesn’t. Our job as game-changing innovators is to constantly raise and/or redefine expectations by questioning assumptions, looking beyond the obvious, and understanding that oftentimes people can’t articulate what they really want. Let’s show them something they would never think off.
Yes, let them steal them. Crazy? Not so. I’ve written before about how I freely give up ideas with complete disregard for what other people or businesses will do with them. Why? Two reasons:…
We’re one week away from 2015, people will make their resolutions and try to keep them for a whole year; which usually doesn’t work out as planned. One resolution, an ongoing effort actually, that we should all aim for on a daily basis is that of making better decisions.
That means thinking better, which will have a cumulative effect in all else we do; including executing on our New Year resolutions.
A question I get asked often is something along the lines of , “How can I improve my ability to make better decisions?” To this, I respond with a counter question, “why do you think you make bad decisions in the first place?”
The reframing of the question, is good example of “what to do” to make better decisions. Thus, an easy way to make better decisions is to ask yourself questions, but that usually comes after you’ve done some grunt work to define a better question beforehand. …
