Thinking out loud

Google Classic

Will — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:08:09 +0000

Eric Schmidt: “We Know Where You Are, We Know What You Like”.

Talk vs. Work

Will — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:57:09 +0000

Infographic: What Kind of Worker Are You? | Co.Design.

How Does Google Work?

Will — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 14:39:03 +0000

Infographic by PPC Blog

Lets raise kids to be entrepreneurs

Will — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:06:12 +0000

via TED Blog: Lets raise kids to be entrepreneurs: Cameron Herold on TED.com.

Innovation with Geoffrey Moore

Will — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:52:28 +0000

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.

Interview

Is money a motivator?

Will — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:08:53 +0000

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.

First “artificial” life created in lab

Will — Sun, 23 May 2010 13:31:13 +0000

Disrupters wanted?

Will — Sun, 23 May 2010 13:13:26 +0000

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.

Will — Sat, 22 May 2010 16:13:39 +0000

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

Will — Mon, 03 May 2010 01:28:53 +0000

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.