An innovation is a new answer to an old question. A paradigm shift is a new question, resulting in a new answer. When the first iPhone came out we were all absolutely blown away. I had a friend named Johnny who was really into ‘all that stuff’ [most people were not back then] and he…
Disruptive Innovation: How to think not what to think
What is Disruptive Innovation? According to the father of The Theory of Disruptive Innovation Prof Clay Christensen, the theory goes that a smaller company with fewer resources can unseat an established, successful business by targeting segments of the market that have been neglected by the incumbent, typically because it is focusing on more profitable areas.…
The Naked Truth and the Lie
The Truth and the Lie meet on the road one day. The Lie says to the Truth: “It’s a marvellous day today”! The Truth looks up to the skies and sighs, for the day was really beautiful. They walk together for a while, until they reached a beautiful well. The Lie tells the Truth: “The…
The moment just before…
The anxious, scary, stressful, butterflies in stomach moment just before you… Walk on stage Say the big important thing Pitch your idea Send the email Make the call Launch your first product Write the new song Publish a book …that is a thrill, a scary thrill! How many times have we all heard “I was…
The Subtle Beauty of the Real Mona Lisa
I know several people who have gone to see the Mona Lisa at the Lourve. Most of them comment on how small the painting is in real life. They were expecting its size to match up to its level of fame. They say it is not much bigger than an open newspaper, protected by bulletproof…
Book Review: AI Superpowers, China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee
This is a great book. It not only provides a history of AI both in the USA and China. Kai-Fu Lee also provides a history of AI’s both in the USA and China, and also includes an in-depth analysis between China and the US’s approach to AI’s. He also discusses pros and cons of their…
The Meaningful Economy: Make it count
I was reminded of the life of Viktor Frankl a few days ago. Viktor Frankl was a psychologist who while writing a book on his findings the Nazis came to town. Foreseeing the capture, his wife sewed his writings on to his clothes hoping to save years of his work. As soon as he was…
The Meaningful Economy: The way
It is a lot easier of course to say that you are an author, photographer or investment banker. It is much simpler to describe your company as being in user experience, the technology business or the transportation industry, the ‘this is what we do’ part. But what you make probably is not enough to create…
The Meaningful Economy: Maybe we should redefine ambition
In our culture ambition is both celebrated and frowned upon, not always in equal measure. Ambition is encouraged and rewarded, but only to a point. Perhaps it is not ambition itself that is the problem, but rather, our narrow definition of it? I think our definition of ambition and success needs to be redefined. We…
The Meaningful Economy: Be meaningful first
You don’t need the marketing budget of Revlon like you did in the old days. Today the best brands tell stories that people want to believe and make meaning before making money. The greatest equaliser of today is that creating meaning does not depend on a big budget. All it takes is to care, to…
Book Review: The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing To Our Brains by Nicholas Carr
Do you get bored after reading just a couple of paragraphs from a text? Do you step into your room just to forget why you are there? And do you constantly have this craving to jump off from a mentally-demanding task to open up your Facebook or Instagram? If your answer to one the above…
The Meaningful Economy: And the thankless work
We have all done thankless, lonely work. The lonely work that no one else notices or cares about, but also often results in the biggest strides forward. We have done it, but we don’t like it. We have done it, but wish someone would notice. We have done it, but wish we did not have…