Site Loader
La French Tech

Silicon Valley Jerks And The Companies They Ruin

Auguste Rodin was an obsessive genius, horrid toward his family and other people. This type of personality has been evident throughout history. Silicon Valley high tech jerks have also been around for decades. The “bad” Steve Jobs is only one of many examples. A more recent example would Uber’s Travis Kalanick, whose behavior arguable has severely damaged Uber’s business and its IPO. The conundrum we face with these people is that once they are in place it can be very difficult to remove them.

La French Tech

The Critical Need to Integrate The Humanities With Deep Technology

After watching “The Great Hack” on Netflix I am appalled by the absence of any moral compass at Cambridge Analytica, which transformed Big Data into a political weapon. Other disturbing examples are Uber’s former corporate culture and Facebook’s collusion with CA in abusing our privacy. These cases are prima facie evidence of the crucial need and the opportunity to integrate the Humanities and ethics with deep technology development. I began my career as a Humanities graduate at Intel Corporation working closely with Ivy League MBA’s and senior engineers. We shared our knowledge and learned together to enable the company to excel. The best companies are those grounded in an appreciation of human values, companies that seek out Humanities graduates with a passion for technology to balance out their teams.

La French Tech

The Critical Role of Corporate Culture

Last week I showed a graphic that at its center had the words “the critical role of corporate culture.” Entrepreneurs need to grasp those words as the very core of the formation and development of their new business. You have a unique opportunity to build the culture you want, to build your team and the values you want your entire team to share. The company will develop its own culture if you do nothing, so it is better to intentionally form it and nurture it.

French Tech

Strategic Inflection Points

I want to more fully explain the concept of Strategic Inflection Points. I have referred to this topic in my Week 5 and Week 11 update videos. Former Intel CEO Andy Grove first described a strategic inflection point as a time in the life of a business when its fundamentals are about to change. That change can mean an opportunity to rise to new heights. But it may just as likely signal the beginning of the end. An inflection point can be the result of an action taken by a company or an action taken by another entity. An excellent recent example may be Facebook’s announced intention to enter the cryptocurrency market. The markets have already reacted sharply to Facebook’s move. Analysts have suggested that it may significantly alter the forecasts for cryptocurrencies. Change is inevitable and change is happening more rapidly than ever. Adaptation to change is imperative for corporate survival.

French Tech

Managing The Accelerated Corporate Lifecycle

Anyone starting a new company should understand the concept of the “corporate life cycle”, and use it as a guide for understanding where the company is in that cycle, to understand the risks at each stage, and to recognize the need for action to change course. This graphic shows a typical corporate life cycle and different possible paths as the company matures. Management of the corporate life cycle also dovetails with the concept of a “strategic inflection point,” which I briefly discussed in my Week 5 Report, The Internet of Things. John Chambers, the former CEO of Cisco Systems has pointed out that the rapid acceleration in market changes has also accelerated the corporate life cycle, emphasizing the importance of understanding it. Companies abound that were initially very successful and yet eventually closed their doors, or were acquired because the company did not anticipate market changes and the need to adapt to the new situation.

Mayo615’s Insights for Entrepreneurs Weekly Podcast

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 367 other subscribers

Category Cloud

5G advanced semiconductor technology Alberta Anonymous Argumentation & Debate Artificial Intelligence Asia Augmented Reality autonomous vehicles Banking and Investment Big Data Big Ideas Blockchain Brazil British Columbia Business Development Business Ethics Canada Canadian innovation Canadian venture capital Carbon Career Development Charlie Hebdo China China Clean tech Climate Change Research Communication Computer graphics Corporate Culture Corporate Fraud Corporate governance Covid-19 Cryptocurrencies Cuisine cyber attacks Cyber Intelligence Data Analytics Database Architecture Database Management Data Centers Data mining Derivatives Digital Currencies Donald Trump e-commerce e-learning Earth Hour Economy Economy Education Enactus Energy Efficiency Energy Harvesting Energy harvesting Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship@UBC Environment and Lifestyle eReaders Espionage Ethics Europe existentialism Faculty of Management Financial markets Flash trading Flywheel Foreign Exchange France France and My French Culture French Tech Gaming gender issues Global Global Climate Change Global Culture Globalizatgion Globalization Global politics Global Populism Google Hacking Higher Education hippies home automation Home automation home office Housing market Human Resources India Industry Analysis Industry Standards Industry Trade Shows Innovation Interactive TV International Business International Relations Internet Infrastructure Internet infrastructure Internet of Things Internet Privacy Internet Security Internet Traffic Policy Management Investment IoT ISIS IT Management Jazz Julian Assange La French Tech Law Enforcement Leadership LIBOR life Lyft management Marketing mayo615 Mayo615 Technology Partners memristors Mergers & Acquisitions Mobile Mobile OS Monopoly Montana Near field communication Negotiation Net Neutrality New Zealand New Zealand Economy NSA Nuclear Fusion Online Education PC PC Personal Stuff Photography Physics Politics Privacy Product Marketing Product Vision Provence public relations Quantum computing quantum computing quantum encryption Quantum physics Quantum physics Racism Renewable Energy RFID ride sharing Rugby Rugby League Rugby Union Russia San Francisco 49'ers San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Giants Sauder School of Business Science and Technology Search Engine Optimization Semiconductors sexual harrassment Sharing Economy Silicon Valley Silicon Valley Culture Smart Grid Smart meter Smart Mobile Social entrepreneurship Social Media social media Social Media Marketing Software Development Strategic Inflection Points Strategy Sub-prime mortgage Super Bowl Supercomputers Surfing Sustainability Tax havens Technology Assessment Telecommunications telecommuting Terrorism The Cloud The Cloud Total Online Presence Travis Kalanick UBC Uber Uncategorized United States User Interface Vancouver Venture Capital venture capital video conferencing Videoconferencing Virtual Reality Water Wifi Wikileaks Wine wireless data communication Work From Home World Wide Web