Weekly Download 15.5
Posted: March 18, 2015 Filed under: Business, Weekly Download | Tags: data scientists, Dieter Rams, Disney, Essentialism, Fusion CEO-CIO Symposium, Greg McKeowen, Jeffrey Hammerbacher Leave a comment
Here’s a recap of news and notes from around the Web that caught my attention over the past week or so.
I like Indian food, and now I have scientific evidence to explain why. Scientists have figured out what makes Indian food so delicious. You have to look at consumer price sensitivity to understand Why delicious Indian food is surprisingly unpopular in the U.S.
I have been hearing that data scientists are in high demand. This past week at the Fusion CEO-CIO Symposium, the cry reached a crescendo. Really smart people with amazing backgrounds bring tremendous value by mining mind-boggling volumes of data to provide predictive analytics.
- On the Case at Mount Sinai, It’s Dr. Data (adapted from a soon-to-be released book) chronicles the work of an expert in the field and an amazing personal interest story at the same time.
- There is no shortage of data being generated across all business sectors. Just imagine what can be discovered from Disney’s $1 Billion Bet on a Magical Wristband.
Whether in architecture, product design, software design, or more generally, business. I firmly believe less but better is an effective strategy. Dieter Rams, the designer behind many of Braun’s most iconic product designs (among many things), outlines a handy 10 Principles of “Good Design”.
At a later date, I’ll do a more complete review of Greg McKeowen’s book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, but for now, this article does a pretty good job of succinctly getting to the point.
Making Small Talk about the DJIA
Posted: January 19, 2015 Filed under: Business | Tags: Dow Jones Industrial Average Leave a comment
In late December, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit its all time high. The ebb and flow of this stock market index is often cited in the media, but it’s not largely relevant to most in the financial markets.
At a holiday gathering a couple of weeks before this record rally, I commented to a fellow partygoer, “Wow, the Dow took a big hit today.” The person kindly responded with an innocuous comment that went something like, “Yeah, it does that occasionally.” Ouch.
While they are highly correlated, on any given day market indices can rise or fall at very different rates. Regardless, the performance of the Dow always seems to make news, even if it doesn’t change how or what we invest in. It’s become a handy shortcut for people to feel like they are keeping abreast of the financial markets. Even those who don’t participate in the markets or understand investing concepts are often familiar with the status of the Dow.
What my conversation partner left unsaid is that indices are relevant to such a small extent to the average person, it doesn’t even make sense to bring it up at a cocktail party. Lesson learned.
Additional resources:
- Dow Jones Industrial Average overview
- Comparison graph of three indices: the DJIA, Wilshire 5000 and S&P 500
The Seven Most Influential Things I Read in 2014
Posted: January 12, 2015 Filed under: Business, Change, Leadership, Misc. | Tags: agile teams, continuous productivity, Davos, holacracy, mindfulness, self organizing, Theory U Leave a comment
Amidst the flurry of year-end recaps, several bloggers did an iteration of “This Most Influential Things I Read This Year.” This is a very interesting question—here’s my take.
Theory U. “Theory U proposes that the quality of the results that we create in any kind of social system is a function of the quality of awareness, attention, or consciousness that the participants in the system operate from.”
Continuous Productivity: New tools and a new way of working for a new era. “Continuous productivity is an era that fosters a seamless integration between consumer and business platforms.“
Davos: Mindfulness, Hotspots, and Sleepwalkers. All the signs are present that mindfulness is reaching the tipping point.
The Re-working of “Work”. “This report analyzes key drivers that will reshape the landscape of work and identifies key work skills needed in the next 10 years.”
Build a change platform, not a change program. How to make change the status quo, not an interruption.
Lost and Found in a Brave New World. At a time when so many feel culturally, organizationally and/or personally “lost,” how can we find our way back to the values and beliefs we hold dear? In the new world, new maps are required. The first step is to realize and admit you’re lost.
The Last Re-Org You’ll Ever Do. Three new approaches to doing business are showing promise (Holacracy, Agile Teams and Self Organizing). Viewed as way out there by some, but, nonetheless, they are happening.
ZMAB15 