"So Do You Have Any Questions for Me?"
Joel Peterson, Stanford Business School Professor, and Chairman of JetBlue Airways, is the author of…
How to Listen When The Speaker Is Ranting and Rambling
One of my biggest personal challenges, is listening to a speaker who is ranting and/or…
Surprising WSJ Investigative Indictment of Alleged "Clean Coal."
In a somewhat surprising article this weekend, Wall Street Journal investigative reporters Rebecca Smith and Cameron McWhirter have reported on the sorry saga of efforts to create allegedly “clean coal” in Mississippi. This is one of those topics that one would expect the Wall Street Journal to crow about, as it is part of the Murdoch Fox News Empire. What better than another great story about how American technology is once again conquering a challenge by make coal clean and affordable, like in the television ads….? But when the evidence does not add up, the Murdoch minions can reinvent the story as an indictment of government policy and waste. This story has obvious implications for the continued reliance on coal in China and the United States, and the associated problems with carbon emissions from the tar sands in Alberta.
More Pressure on Telecommuting: Now It's Hewlett-Packard
As the pressure on struggling Silicon Valley companies Yahoo, and now Hewlett-Packard have increased, the pressure on telecommuting has increased. Now, Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett-Packard has joined Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer in calling HP’s telecommuting employees back to work. The problem seems to be that telecommuting employees are now being perceived like recipients of food stamps and welfare: freeloaders taking advantage of corporations, being less productive and costing corporations more than they are worth.
The Incredible CardMunch for Android Mystery: Market Stolen by CamCard
Over a year ago now someone on the UBC campus, who was thinking of developing an app, told me about this cool application for capturing cards into your contacts by photographing them on your smart phone. It was Cardmunch. It turned out that the application was only available on the iPhone at that time, but as luck would have it, the company had just been acquired by LinkedIn. Voila! It would obviously only be a few months at most before I could obtain it for my Samsung Android smart phone, right? Wrong. That was over a year ago.
More on Utility Industry Myopia: Utilities are Dinosaurs Waiting to Die
As if to underscore my previous posts on the extraordinary rapidity of disruptive change for the utility industry, This is turning out to be potentially more significant than the smart mobile phone revolution. Issues here include the utility industry’s failure to recognize a strategic change caused by disruptive technological change, and to respond to it, and the rapid acceleration in Adizes’ corporate life cycle model. Citibank is now predicting severe consequences for utility companies if they do not grasp the massive changes confronting them.
Believe It Or Not: Rituals and Superstition May Help You Ace A Job Interview
Baseball players, particularly pitchers, are known for being superstitious. These superstitions have been immortalized by characters like Pedro Cerrano, the Cuban center fielder and his doll Joboo, in the film Major League. Real life examples abound. But it now turns out that research has shown that following personal rituals may increase your self-confidence and actually help you ace a job interview or a big presentation.
My New "In Focus" Profile
David Mayes is an advocate for change. However, he is not just someone who shouts slogans from the sidelines, but has actually rolled up his sleeves to see change happen. Whether it is working with coalitions to influence global policies or teaching the next generation, David has had a chance to make a difference for the future. He currently teaches Entrepreneurship at UBCO where he has brought his experiences working in Silicon Valley to bear. He is known for being down to earth, easy to talk to and very friendly. Today David Mayes is In Focus.
Industry Analysis: Utilities Dig In Against Distributed Rooftop Solar
This is another of my Industry Analysis discussions for UBC students. This time it is perhaps as big an industry issue and clash of competing values as big as the smart mobile phone market, which I call the Mega Market War of Titans. It is about the intersection between two industries, which has recently morphed into a contentious clash. This is about disruptive new technology and strategic inflection points. So what has happened?
