Weekly Download 14.13
Posted: July 7, 2014 Filed under: Change, Technology, Weekly Download | Tags: Flip Video, Pro 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.
How change happens: by empowering the lunatics. If that catches your attention, read more about it in To Create Real Change, Leadership Is More Important Than Authority. That reminds me of this very good 2001 book, Tempered Radicals: How People Use Difference to Inspire Change at Work.
Why GoPro’s Success Isn’t Really About the Cameras. There is a big difference in selling an experience versus a piece of technology. The Flip Video was the first to capture the idea of easy to use and inexpensive digital video GoPro is selling the experience of your adventure. Cisco paid $590 million in stock for Flip in April of 2011, only to shutter it 23 months later. Meanwhile, GoPro continues to thrive.
Here’s a headline that describes a seismic shift in how consumers are using mobile devices: comScore Says that Over Half of Digital Media Time Spent is On Mobile Apps. One standout piece of information is that 60% of digital time is being spend on mobile devices, up from 50% just a year ago. Numbers are even more dramatic for access to digital radio, maps, photos, messaging, and social media. While this is probably not surprising for those closely in touch with Gen X and Gen Y folks, older generations might find it shocking.
Weekly Download 14.12
Posted: June 27, 2014 Filed under: Business, Leadership, Weekly Download | Tags: Apple, lizard brain, NPR 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.
How Did The Meter Get Its Length? If a foot equals 0.3048 of a meter, what is the length of a meter based on? Hint: it took a long time. Perhaps the precision wasn’t worth the effort!
Reinventing the Wheel gives proof that challenging historical conventions can make sense.
A corporate giant continues to evolve. The last time Apple split its stock, it was a completely different company. This month Apple’s stock split 7-for-1. What’s new since their last split in 2005?
The lizard brain is at work again, this time impacting our response to constructive feedback. When listening to criticism, don’t use the wrong part of your brain. Instead, tap into the mammalian side.
Weekly Download 14.11
Posted: June 20, 2014 Filed under: Business, Technology, Weekly Download | Tags: Aristotle, Edward Tufte, email, Pavlov's, PowerPoint Leave a commentHere’s a recap of news and notes from around the Web that caught my attention over the past week or so.
Did PowerPoint Ruin GM? This interesting WSJ article describes the potential that facts relating to the ignition switch fault were edited out of long PowerPoint presentations at GM. It reminds me of a much older Edward Tufte essay that discusses the pitfalls of what is now commonly referred to as “death by PowerPoint.” Tufte also analyzes a Boeing presentation to NASA, and takes the company to task for oversimplifying and obscuring crucial information. How often do we let monotonous slides and the related editing process dictate the flow of conversation? Wouldn’t it be better to just write a report and not present anything? I have moved away from PowerPoint-driven meetings as much as possible, sometimes even handwriting the key points I want to discuss. How do you make sure the right dialogue is occurring in your meetings?
Sketch and photo by Mark Baker
I remember writing a blog entry (a rant, really) about six or seven years ago on why email needs to go away. We allow valuable hours to be driven (like Pavlov’s dog) by what arrives in our inbox. With the number of communication and information points today, it becomes unruly to manage the sifting and sorting. A Company Without Email? Not So Fast discusses a couple of solutions that are picking up traction.
You never know where simple, profound inspiration may be found. Like in a fortune cookie. Great Things are Made from Little Things cites one of my favorite quotes:
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”—Aristotle
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