BEE and talent, and The Sound of Music
This may be a contentious issue, but then again that's what blogs are for. I have just returned from a family outing to the State Theatre,where we watched an excellent performance of The Sound of Music. An outstanding feature of the show, especially in South Africa,...
The Sovereign Individual
An article in last week's "The Spectator" (I won't tell people that you read this blog, if you don't tell them I read Spectator :-)), is possibly the best single article description of the new emerging connection economy you are ever likely to read (in fact, that's...
Come, visit my valley. Please.
Where you live becomes irrelevant in a virtual team - or does it? Recently I had quite a peculiar experience. Graeme had a presentation close to where I live and we agreed to have coffee afterwards at a coffee shop just around the corner from my house. I was there a...
Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand.
Updated, February 2010 If you copy and paste this saying into Google you'll get 3520 hits attributing the saying either to Aristotle, Confucius or some native American wizard. Yet it is just as true today as it was hundreds of years ago. Perhaps it's even more true...
Mind the Gap: Generations @ Work
This is the original submission as published as the Keynote feature in the Journal for Convergence (ISSN 1606-6162), Vol 5 No 4,www.axius.co.za "We can't seem to keep our bright young things". This is the common complaint of businesses around the world these days....
Overlooked . . . for being too young
The Times of London, 13 April 2005, reported on a survey by the Hay Group (remuneration specialists) on age discrimination against younger workers (specifically those age 18-24). You can read it here. The main reasons for young people (Generation Xers) being held back...
The Power of Connection
By engaging with the reality of the emerging Connection economy the signature tune is that of connection: in other words 'relationships'. Here is just one more story of that power at work - a story that if you are in the medical profession might just save you from...
Rant: Vodacom and Voyager
Excuse me while I scream. Every now and again, I just need to rant. Today, two of them converge: Vodacom (cell phone provider) and Voyager (South African Airways Frequent Flier programme). I recently bought a great phone - one I can highly recommend - the Sony...
Just give it all away
The NY Times, carried a story on 11 April, on IBM hopes to profit by making patents available free (access it here). ABSTRACT: "IBM plans to announce it is making 500 of its software patents freely available to anyone working on open-source projects, like popular...
A Unique Period of History
The category, "Balancing Today and Tomorrow" relates to our understanding of the emerging connection economy. In their book, "The Individualized Corporation", (click here to purchase it online) Sumantra Ghoshal and Christopher Bartlett try to help readers understand...
Can I Bring the Kids?
Inc magazine (June 2004) ran a short story on new employee benefits - one of which is child-care facilities. Read the article here (and see the online poll that indicated that 65% of Inc online readers would consider adding daycare). Its more than just creating a warm...
Cheap movie tickets all smoke and mirrors
So the whole 'new low prices' for movies thing has come to an end, not even a full month after activation. (click here for Marketing Web Article) You gotta love these guys. Didn't it seem strange when they cut their prices by over 50%? It felt like a desperate move in...
Intellectual Property – Up in smoke
According to an article on allAfrica.com (click here for article) Weber (the makers of Kettle Braais and Barbeques) lost a copyright case against Cadac with costs and damages (ouch). The Weber legal team say they'll appeal and that they lost on a technicality. Here we...
Sugar and Spice, and Biochemistry
Several big food and beverage companies are looking at a new ingredient in the battle for health-conscious consumers: a chemical that tricks the taste buds into sensing sugar or salt even when it is not there. Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Campbell Soup...
Death of the dinosaurs
I have just finished reading an article in the New York Times outlining the recent goings on at AIG in the USA. This has led to the dismissal and resignation of Maurice Greenberg as both CEO & Chairman of the company. In reading the story I have been left wondering...
Sony Playstation Portable – another Sony stuff up
The new Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) is receiving rave reviews. It has an 11cm wide display, with superb graphics and comes in a lightweight, well designed skin. There will be a great many games available for it, since it is in the PlayStation family. It has Wi-Fi...
4 Words that got me excited – and I don't know why?
Global Reach; Location Independence; Electronic Knowledge Network; Time Compression. These four headings were used to describe VeriFone's business model in a FastCompany article today. Click here for full article As I read through the article there was something that...
4 Words that got me excited – and I don’t know why?
Global Reach; Location Independence; Electronic Knowledge Network; Time Compression. These four headings were used to describe VeriFone's business model in a FastCompany article today. Click here for full article As I read through the article there was something that...
Why we blog
In this warp-speed world it is no longer enough to learn from experience - you have to learn from the future! We live in a world where constant change is both a cliche and an understatement. Change, change, change. You've heard enough consultants pushing this mantra...
Looking to Tomorrow – 2005 and Beyond
Synthesized from the futureneering work of the storytellers and organisational alchemists in the Business Intelligence Unit (BIU) of TomorrowToday.biz. - http://www.tomorrowtoday.biz During December and January every year, magazines and websites are filled with...