Innovator's Dilemma - Quote of the Day

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." - Alan Kay

Innovator's Dilemma - Quote of the Day

Mark Cuban quoting Warren Buffet concerning the current financial crisis: "First you have the innovators, then you have the imitators, then you have the idiots."

Innovator's Dilemma - Regulations?

Here we are in the middle of a historic chapter in the history of Wall Street. Some are saying that the US Financial System got into trouble due to innovation out-of-control. Thinking about that assessment, they may have a point.

There's lots of finger pointing all around, but think about this:
- Where were the Paul Revere's in the media, sounding the early-warnings? (other than Jim Cramer)
- Where were the Paul Revere's in the Congress, sounding the early-warnings?
- Where were the Federal and State Government Agencies responsible for monitoring this industry?

While human nature typically is more engaged and responsive to emergencies than to the status quo rhythm of the day-to-day, think about it ..... could all of the above missed this current crisis that is impacting every major institution in this sector - virtually all with successful track records that go back over 100 years .... by greed and corruption? Think about that. Maybe one or two firms may get poisoned by a corrupt regime, but virtually all the players in the industry at the same time? Again, think about that.

If alarm sounding was virtually non-existant, what does this suggest? Were laws broken? Not that I've heard thus far. What is different? From what I have heard, laws for this industry have been evolving over the last roughly 2 decades to accelerate home ownership. As some analysts are saying, a nobile cause, but operationalized by softening time-tested rules for qualifying borrowers. On the surface, what institution would loan money to the unqualified? Well, if the government can fine a loaning institution if it doesn't follow new laws that require these institutions to offer these riskier loans, plus a complex set of industry schemes (that get beyond my understanding) allow these loans to be packaged and resold, then a government sanctioned shell-game is unleashed ... that created a bubble (which has its roots with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae) ... that is now bursting.

Talk about a whole different type of an innovator's dilemma ... an evolved industry, following evolving (but untested) new laws, in a capitalistic system where investors demand that business leaders seek the best possible returns.

I don't pretend to understand why the "policing" of this industry failed, but am becoming increasingly convinced from my ongoing consumption of reporting on the current crisis, that Congress is one of the main reasons for setting the stage for what has happened. If the US does not get a true understanding of 'why', then proper corrective action will not be identified.

Bad-innovation can be tragic. Knee-jerk rhetoric fixes nothing. I believe that passionate innovators appreciate this challange and are dedicated to do their diligence to ensure effective innovation.

Innovator's Dilemma - Inside or outside

Find your passion but get caught up in the storms of today's economic climate and/or enticed by packages to leave early? If you've found an innovative idea that ignites your passion, I'm here to testify that you can change horses and still achieve your goals. After years of working on creating and launching several innovative eCommerce/Digital Media initiatives from the inside, I then pursued virtually those same goals from the outside via suppliers into the sector. In recent months a deal was secured and launch planning began (it's just Phase 1). AT&T just made their official press release announcement about "ConnecTech". Here are several stories commenting on AT&T's entry into competing with BestBuy's GeekSquad (and Wal-Mart/Dell who beat them to market with a market trial):

CNET: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10022183-93.html
PCWorld: http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/007525.html
USAToday: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2008-08-21-att-connecttech_N.htm
Barron's: http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2008/08/21/att-offers-rival-to-best-buys-geek-squad-119-to-set-up-your-new-pc/?mod=googlenews_barrons
Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=apuraJ5fZ6v8&refer=us
San Francisco Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/21/BU9812GA1G.DTL&type=tech
TelephonyOnline: http://telephonyonline.com/broadband/news/att-geek-squad-082208/
TheIndustryStandard: http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/08/21/t-launches-home-tech-service-connectech
DSLreports: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Will-Now-Install-Your-Home-Theater-97143
FierceTelecom: http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/t-takes-geek-squad/2008-08-21

Innovator's Dilemma - When Tradition holds the trump card

Innovation. Are there exceptions? As Thomas Friedman wrote in The World is Flat, visit Florence, Italy and gain a better appreciation of the virtues of hanging on to the old and traditional. Is Florence the center of commerce any longer? Of course not. Is it still on the world's short list as a destination to visit? Sure is.

Now segway that notion to 2008. Major League Baseball just celebrated the annual All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. A big celebration for The House That Ruth Built. There have been make-a-buck schemes going on for at least a year and as an article in the All Star Game program said, The Yankees will be cashing in on a memorabilia craze as they sell off everything from seats to dirt from Yankee Stadium (Hey, I get it. As a fan back in my high school years while living in suburban NY, I went to the last game at Yankee Stadium before the major renovation when the Yankees had to play 2 years at Shea Stadium. That winter I visited Yankee Stadium, bought a seat from the stadium with #7 on it (Mickey Mantle's number), a metal framed plastic number 7 that used to be manually placed on the scoreboard, and a few other goodies. That firesale back in 1973 tool stadium memorabilia to a new level. This 2008 version will take stadium memorabilia into the stratosphere.

So, the new Yankee Stadium (which Fox Sports cropped out of aereal shots of All Star Game) sits right next door, just beyond Left Field. Sitting in the Right Field Line seats, you can look out beyond the Left Field wall and see the massive structure with "Yankee Stadium" across the stop. A bit surreal.

However, this advocate and proponent of innovation will take a stance against the new stadium with the abundance of luxury boxes (and about 8,000 fewer seats). Gee, imagine what supply and demand will do to future ticket prices. That said, my stance isn't economic. As the folks from Florence recognized, some things are worth saving and protecting. Here in the USA we generally have a track record of bulldozing our heritage. One of the most recent monuments to fall was the old Boston Garden. I never went to a game there, but via TV, felt a reverence for this cathedral for basketball. Yankee Stadium, along with Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston are among the last of an era. My instinct is that Chicago and Boston fans will fight to protect their cathedrals.

Reflecting upon what I have seen and heard over the last few years in the NYC area, I do not recall one peep from traditionalists, from historians, from preservationists (etc.) who could have raised a hand and voice and said "no" to taking down Yankee Stadium. Years ago "The Boss" got everyone's eye off the ball by flirting with moving the Yankees to New Jersey. Yea right. Maybe keeping the Yanks in The Bronx became the distracted goal.

A few weeks ago I took family from Indiana to their first game at Yankee Stadium. Baseball junkies who have visited about every stadium in the country over the years, they saved the best for last - Yankee Stadium, The Mecca of all sport venues. Their reaction? "Why are they going to tear this place down/replace it? This is a beautiful stadium!" I told them they were right in my mind. Yankee Stadium is more that just fine in my book - it is the epitome of the baseball experience (and so is grass - which MLB has switched back to after the farce of astro-turf for decades; day games ... and thumbs down on the designated hitter). Baseball is a sport of tradition. Chicago and Boston get that. New York blinked. What a shame. Sometimes innovation can stand aside and respect the brilliance of tradition (which was once innovation in it's day).

Innovator's Dilemma - An important tip for LinkedIn users

Just read an important tip in "JibberJobber Blog" about a critical maintenance step to take to back up your contacts and profile in LinkedIn. Here's the essence of the story followed by a simple 'how-to' (it takes just seconds to back up your information ... so before you even walk the dog or peak at the news, I suggest taking this simple preventative step!!!):

------------------------
I (Jason Alba, the Jibber Jobber Blog owner) got an e-mail from Susan Ireland, at the Job Lounge. She asked me if I knew anything about LinkedIn deleting people’s accounts… I’ve heard a little about this, but mostly just hand-slapping for looking like spammers. Getting an account deleted can be a huge problem, especially as you use LinkedIn more.

She writes about it here (I can almost hear a tear drop on her keyboard as I read it… ouch!!!).

The two issues are (1) why she was deleted, and (2) what LinkedIn can/will do about it. I have no idea why she was deleted, and apparently she doesn’t either. As far as she knows, she wasn’t doing anything wrong with her LinkedIn account, or LinkedIn connections. As far as what LinkedIn can or will do, here is their response:

“At this time we do not have a recommended back up system for your account. Once something has been deleted there is not a back up at this time to recover any information. …One thing you can do is copy your profile information and save it as a word document so that you will always have it on your computer.”

Not very comforting, is it?

Here are two absolute must-do’s, right now, on LinkedIn - and they will take less time than it takes to read this blog post (so do it now!):

1. Export your contacts. Simply click on Contacts, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on Export Connections, and follow that process. Just leave everything at default and you’ll end up with your connections in a .csv file, which opens in Excel.
2. Export your profile. You’ve probably put a fair amount of thought into creating your profile, right? What about any references you have gotten? Simply click on Profile, then find the grayed-out icons above your name, and click on the adobe pdf icon. This exports your profile, including recommendations, into a very nice, presentable document (kudos to whoever at LinkedIn did that formatting, it is very well-done!).
   

Echoing Jason Alba's conclusion, these are the two most important things for me to grab, if I knew my LinkedIn account might go away. (1) Who I connected with, which includes e-mail addresses very every single contact, (2) my recommendations (I can always rethink and recreate a profile, but those recommendations are priceless!).

Hope this tip helps.

Innovator's Dilemma - Quote of the Day

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.
-- Galileo Galilei

Innovator's Dilemma - LinkedIn Treasure

Hats off to the innovators at LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) .... from the creators and developers to the pioneering users who are executing on innovative networking techniques. Around for years, LinkedIn is still being discovered as a wonderful, effective tool for anyone who appreciates the value of personal and professional networking.

In this hyper-business climate, best characterized by Thomas Friedman's "The World Is Flat", it is becoming increasingly critical to adapt the skills of adapting to change as we've all witnessed the disruptive impact of changing business models due to technological innovation, emerging international competitors and now the spiraling costs of energy that will again send shock waves through current business, economic and technological models as players hustle to adapt to changing environmental conditions.

A common thread in today's business climate is collaboration ... at a personal level, intra & inter company, domestically and globally. Here's where LinkedIn dovetails with helping all of us identify and harness our optimal potential. LinkedIn helps open the kimono to allow users to get visibility into who knows who, who works where, who specializes in what, etc.

LinkedIn holds a growing treasure of information that is there for users to harvest. Is LinkedIn an end-all? Of course not. It is one of many networking approaches that should be in anyone's tool-set. Does LinkedIn guarantee success? Again, no. Success with LinkedIn is up to each user. LinkedIn helps a user network and facilitates targeting for job hunting, recruiting, prospecting, collaborating and more. Once a 'target' is identified, a user has the responsibility for devising an effective approach for reaching out. Even if a response can be achieved, each LinkedIn user has the responsibility to be prepared with a compelling proposition. There's nothing new with the overarching formula, LinkedIn has just facilitated a more simplified approach to identifying folks.

Of course there are other angles. For the altruistic, LinkedIn affords the ability to create a growing network that can be shared with friends, colleagues, associates and even for the next generation of that network of contacts. There are many other uses of LinkedIn that are not addressed here that can also enhance the effectiveness of undertakings.

Thank you LinkedIn for your visionary innovation! Brilliant!

Innovator's Dilemma - Excerpt from Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead"

Ayn Rand's daringly original literary vision, first published in 1943, included seeds of her groundbreaking philosophy, Objectivism. In this classic, the following comes from a climatic scene in a trial of the main character, an intransigent young architect and his lifelong struggle against conventional standards and wisdom:

The next several paragraphs of this climatic scene (in a courtroom) certainly are thought provoking. Intrigued? Check out The Fountainhead, it's quite a read!

Innovator's Dilemma - Quote of the Day

You can fool too many of the people too much of the time.
-- James Thurber, New Yorker, Apr. 29, 1939 "The Owl who was God"

Innovator's Dilemma - Quote of the Day

We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems. -- John W. Gardner

Innovator's Dilemma - Compromise Solution for U.S. Political Primary Approach

The 2008 Presidential Primary season has re-energized debate on the U.S. system (both parties) for selecting presidential candidates. This primary season's adjustments front loaded the schedule with states hoping to have a greater influence in the outcome (i.e.: Super Tuesday evolved in Tsunami Tuesday). Fallout from this new approach includes the firestorm of debate about Democrat voters from Florida and Michigan who feel disenfranchised by a process that has created a train wreck at the intersection of party rules vs. representative government. Even with the accelerated schedule, a state like New Jersey - which changed from a June primary to a February primary - still had the field of presidential candidates reduced from about 18 choices that voters in New Hampshire had, to only ~2-3 from each party.

Here's a recommendation for adjusting the primary process so that every state has a chance to 'more equally' influence the outcome:

** Seal the primary results of each state until after all 50 states (plus D.C., Puerto Rice, etc.) primaries have been completed.

Advantages:
- Every voter from every state gets a chance to pick from every candidate in the field.
- No state has advantage in thinning field of candidate selections from states holding primaries later in the primary season.
- All candidates still get to campaign at local the level, state-by-state during primary season.
- Voters have the opportunity to base their primary vote decision more on the issues of each candidate vs. on the horse race mentality that emerges from typical primary seasons.

Disadvantages (or additional advantages?):
- Conduct a national runoff for top candidates
- Fund raising uncertainty

Finally, to really enhance the primary season, restrict polling to issues rather than today's almost nonsensical daily polling ... which means nothing - other than potentially unduly biasing voters.

Imagine that, huh?

Innovator's Dilemma - The World is Flat by T. Friedman

Recommended book: The World is Flat, A Brief History of the 21st Century by Thomas L. Friedman. Important perspectives for both the short term (emerging and accelerating global competition for jobs) and long term (challenges to fundamental structures such as nation states), all happening because of how technology is leveling the playing field. Should be required reading for teens and any adult who hopes to work for at least 5 more years.

Innovator’s Dilemma – Representative Government with Super delegates?

Up until mid-January 2008 in the current Presidential Primary cycle, both parties had races underway that were historic and looking too close to call. Republicans had a large field with at least 5 major candidates in serious contention. Democrats had a slightly smaller field with 3 major candidates, but trending toward a showdown between two. From political pundits in the media to political junkies in the public, there was growing talk of the potential for brokered conventions … as well as increased discussion about the role of “super delegates” to decide the winners.

Being casually aware of the term and concept, but somewhat troubled by its implication, I did some basic digging. I discovered that the term “super delegate” is generally understood to apply to Democrat delegates, although some also exist in the Republican primary system too. However, the role of the super delegate is vastly more influential in the Democrat party with about 20% of Democrat Convention delegate voting power coming from “super delegates (vs. a very small fraction for Republicans).

Said another way, about 80% of Democrat delegates are derived from the will of the people via state primaries and caucuses. The other ~20% of delegates are allocated to individual Democrat politicians – mostly active, some former, as well as other “supporters” (i.e.: there is a 21 year old super delegate who was interviewed this week on one of the all-news cable channels).

Although a much smaller percentage of Republican delegates come from super delegates, Republicans have more state rules that allow “winner-take-all” delegates – another form of disenfranchising voters (i.e.: In NJ, if primary results had candidate 1 receiving 32% of the vote vs. 30% for candidate 2 vs. 28% for candidate 3 … candidate 1 would get 100% of NJ’s delegates, BUT, with the same split in FL, candidate 1 would only get ~32% of the FL’s delegates (although in some states – like CA – the popular vote-to-delegate earnings could vary because the calculations are made by district vs. at the state level).

Then of course there is another issue of different rules, state-by-state, that allow – or don’t allow - Independents &/or ‘cross-over’ voting in state primaries. Could our system of representative government possibly be more convoluted?

But wait, let’s get back to the super delegate-thing. Hum, I wonder what our Founding Fathers had in mind when they came up with this concept of super delegates. A little digging again to educate myself. I’ll be darned, today’s super delegate concept isn’t a hand-me-down from George, Ben, Thomas and our other Founding Fathers. Today’s super delegate concept was introduced after 1980 to accord a greater role to active politicians!

Stop and think a minute here. Anybody remember reading Animal Farm by George Orwell? Remember the infamous guiding principle of that book: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” … a comment on the hypocrisy of governments that proclaim the absolute equality of their citizens but give power and privileges to a small elite. See any parallels here?

Innovation. The Founding Fathers weren’t perfect. It took time to extend “representative” government across race, gender and even beyond land owners. However, from the aftermath of the decision by the Democrats in 1980 to institute today’s super delegate concept (fyi – a super delegate can vote however they like, including defying up to the 100% will of the people from their area), to the winner-take-all rules prevalent with Republicans, some ‘innovative’ ideas can be virtually indefensible and even dangerous.

Looks like true representative government is an opportunity-in-waiting for some future revolutionary innovator(s).