Calender

July 2010
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Silicon Valley may become Graphene Gulch

Some day you may see a workman replacing a location sign designating Silicon Valley. In its place the new sign could read Nanotube Valley, or maybe Graphene Gulch. That is improbable at best, but could be more accurate. Researchers are anticipating the day when it will be impossible to further miniaturize [...]

Death by a thousand cuts

For about a thousand years prior to the 20th century the Chinese used a form of execution known as death by a thousand cuts. That is an apt description of the consequences of the business as usual practices of many companies facing today’s challenges.For example, many executives function as though they were still in an era [...]

Innovate or miss the recovery

Innovation is garnering attention in the business media, but like crop storage in a grainery it has no value until somebody buys it. The companies are numerous that have come up with great ideas only to see somebody else turn them into business breakthroughs. Equally numerous are companies that are best described as arid innovation deserts. [...]

Clues to future corporate success

The first imperative is to deliberately, consciously wean the organization from excessive control, the methods most executives learned and practice in their profession. The late Peter Drucker explained, “Because the modern organization consists of knowledge specialists, it has to be an organization of equals, of colleagues and associates. No knowledge ranks higher than another; each [...]

Exciting glimpse of the future

Futurist and scientist/inventor Ray Kurzweil welcomes the new year with predictions of how technology will change humanity by 2020. Solar power on steroids, longer lives, the chance to get rid of obesity once and for all, and portable computing devices that start becoming part of your body rather than being held in your hand are among [...]

The Internet is a surrogate sales person

It is not surprising that corporations are struggling with how to budget for and use the Internet as a marketing tool and interface with customers. After all the Internet is a surrogate for sales people, and sales people are a surrogate for the image and reputation of the legal entity called a corporation.

Until accountants figure out [...]

Marketers face a new conundrum

Google Goggles

While marketing executives continue to struggle with what to do about Web 2.0, they face a possible new conundrum just announced by Google. An industry observer made this comment, “This is certainly a rebuke to anyone who believes that Google is through innovating.”

The comment was prompted by Google’s announcement of these developments: 1) the [...]

Time to go from THINK to RETHINK

Forler Massnick

For about 90 years the leaders of society have been implored to THINK, most notably by IBM which adopted it as a slogan. That’s not good enough for today’s tumultuous times, according to the author of a book on the subject. The imperative watchword today is RETHINK. It keeps showing up [...]

Congressman urges Office of Technology Assessment

When Congress eliminated funding for The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) nineteen years ago it was described as Congress giving itself a lobotomy. Very few members of Congress are trained in science and consequently avoid the subject. One Congressman with serious science bona fides is urging that something like the OTA be reinstituted. Representative [...]

Hurricane control idea proposed

A scientist at the University of Akron in Ohio has applied for a patent on an idea that he and his colleagues believe could reduce the destructive power of hurricanes. The concept involves using jet airplanes to disrupt the complex airflows and other atmospheric activity that produces the power of hurricanes.

Arkadi Leonov says the balance [...]