Talk vs. Work
28 Jul
Innovation with Geoffrey Moore
15 Jun
Geoffrey Moore’s thoughts and research are at the core our work for those of us in the arena of launching new technology products. “Crossing the Chasm” was and still is one of those books that are required reading for innovation and new product development people in the tech space. Here is an almost hour long interview with him.
Also, Mixergy, the site that created this video has lots of great interviews with technology startup founders. They also have provide video podcasts. I recommend the site and I have not caught up on all the videos yet. Good actual applied information about what founders went through, mistakes, and other good information.
Is money a motivator?
15 Jun
Seems obvious, of course money is a motivator. But, it is not the clear, perfect relationship that some business organizations may think. Below is a video based on a lecture from Dan Pink. It covers the facts around money not being a sole motivator, especially for intellectual work. I think that it is compelling and informative. I would add that that money is not the only motivator for humans. People are still wanting to get rewarded – just not all in monetary rewards. This video also ties in with research on happiness – which notes that happiness rises dramatically along with wealth in order to meet basic human needs of food, safety, etc. and after a certain amount – human happiness rises much more slowly along with each additional dollar obtained. These are some good things to keep in mind when motivating people to move your next big idea forward.
Disrupters wanted?
23 May
A survey from IBM’s Institute for Business Value shows that CEOs value one leadership competency above all others – creativity.
CEOs identify “creativity” as the most important leadership competency for the successful enterprise of the future.
That’s creativity—not operational effectiveness, influence, or even dedication. Coming out of the worst economic downturn in their professional lifetimes, when managerial discipline and rigor ruled the day…
via what-chief-executives-really-want: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance.
With the more complex, more dynamic world, leaders are needed to be creative. A creative person who can lead can be a disrupter. They can do 3 things that are needed by companies:
Disrupt the Status Quo. Every company has legacy products that are both cash—and sacred—cows. Often the need to perpetuate the success of these products restricts innovation within the enterprise, creating a window for competitors to advance competing innovations. As CEOs tell us that fully one-fifth of revenues will have to come from new sources, they are recognizing the requirement to break with existing assumptions, methods, and best practices.
Disrupt Existing Business Models. CEOs who select creativity as a leading competency are far more likely to pursue innovation through business model change. In keeping with their view of accelerating complexity, they are breaking with traditional strategy-planning cycles in favor of continuous, rapid-fire shifts and adjustments to their business models.
Disrupt Organizational Paralysis. Creative leaders fight the institutional urge to wait for completeness, clarity, and stability before making decisions. To do this takes a combination of deeply held values, vision, and conviction—combined with the application of such tools as analytics to the historic explosion of information. These drive decisionmaking that is faster, more precise, and even more predictable.
via what-chief-executives-really-want: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance.
Greece, a financial reflection of the U.S.
22 May
The United States will probably not face the same kind of crisis as Greece, for all sorts of reasons. But the basic problem is the same. Both countries have a bigger government than they’re paying for.
via Economic Scene – In Greece, a Reflection of U.S. Debt Problems – NYTimes.com.
The game of life
3 May
Below is a presentation by Jesse Schell at DICE 2010 “Design Outside the Box” Conference explaining what’s next in gaming. Interesting points throughout. Great food for thought.
The Federal Debt: How To Lose A Trillion Dollars
2 May
But, according to the Congressional Budget Office, annual debt payments — currently about $200 billion — are set to skyrocket. CBO estimates that interest payments on the federal debt will total $916 billion by the year 2020.”Interest rates are going to rise and at the same time, were going to have a substantial increase in the size of the debt,” says Roberton Williams, a senior fellow with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “Well be paying five times as much in dollar terms by 2020 than we did last year.”
How Big A Number?How much is $916 billion? Its more than we currently spend on Social Security. And it will represent 18 percent of federal spending in 2020 — nearly as large a share as defense spending.
Having to pay close to $1 trillion a year just on debt will necessarily crowd out other parts of the federal budget. Roads, parks, education — pick any priority you like, theyll all come under pressure.”In 20 years, if you look at combined debt service, Social Security and health care, those are going to cost us more than the current tax system is capable of raising,” says David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poors.
