Op-Ed Columnist - Start Up the Risk-Takers - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - Start Up the Risk-Takers - NYTimes.com

Why would you want to use public money to subsidize the losers of the economy? Why not use the money to invest in more promising new industries, that can bring innovation and create new jobs instead of bailing out an industry like the automotive that has no plan to become profitable any time soon?

The reason obviously is that many of the new jobs that innovative industries (like green tech, bio tech, info tech,...) would create would not be for local citizens. Many of those jobs would be for people from India, China and other countries that have the knowledge, ambition and willingness to work hard and take the risks.

But then, are we in favor of free trade and movement of people or are we defending our countries' industries via protectionism, although history tells us that the best way to create economic wealth, growth and prosperity is through trade?

Hal Varian on how the Web challenges managers - The McKinsey Quarterly - Hal Varian web challenge managers - Strategy - Innovation

Hal Varian on how the Web challenges managers - The McKinsey Quarterly - Hal Varian web challenge managers - Strategy - Innovation

Herein I found yet another quote on the very important topic of data analysis for modern corporations. Hal Varian says "I keep saying the sexy job in the next ten years will be statisticians...The ability to take data—to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it—that’s going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades, ... Because now we really do have essentially free and ubiquitous data. So the complimentary scarce factor is the ability to understand that data and extract value from it. "

Although data is free and ubiquitous, many corporations still do not have the habit of storing data about every aspect of their business. Businesses should start storing their history as accurately and completely as they possibly could: how much we invested in this campaign, where did we insert the add, how much more sales did we make because of it, how long did it take to close deals,...Evidence based and fact based management is becoming more important every day. So having the data to support decisions and the ability to interpret the data are becoming crucial assets to stay competitive. Start building your warehouse today and invest some effort in analyzing patterns that may not be visible at first sight. That is a secure source of competitive advantage for the future.

FT.com / Weekend / Reportage - A more humane way to measure progress

FT.com / Weekend / Reportage - A more humane way to measure progress

In this interesting article about initiatives to measure the progress of countries beyond GDP, I found a fantastic quote that perfectly describes one of the most important issues we are facing today. The author quotes David Hand who speaks of the "awesome power" of statistics and says data will become "the corner stone of modern civilisation", stripping away layers of mystification and obscurity to reveal the truth and improve understanding. I subscribe to this point of view.

I frequently find myself in discussions about a topic, say the price of oil for example, where everybody has an opinion, normally based on other's opinions, but where you feel an important absence: the facts behind the argument. For example, you could read pages of articles in the news about the reasons why the price of oil would go beyond $200 a barrel. The reasons would be multiple: demand from China, futures markets, limited supply,...but when you scratch the surface, the fact is that nobody seem to have the facts. How much does China represent in the global demand for oil? how much of the price of oil is due to real market demand and how much is based on speculation? You can apply the same logic to everything, from the number of gay marriages (how many?) to the board discussions in any corporation nowadays (how much do you say that this market represents?). We need a much more factual world to eliminate dangeorus half-truths and wrong assumptions.

This is why I liked the Knowledge Concierge at the World Economic Forum web site this year. Through facts into the discussion and you immediately reduce misunderstanding and ambiguity. Debates based on the solid foundations of facts are much more objective and conclusions can be much more engaging.

McKinsey Global Survey Results: IT’s unmet potential - The McKinsey Quarterly - IT’s unmet potential - Business Technology - Organization

McKinsey Global Survey Results: IT’s unmet potential - The McKinsey Quarterly - IT’s unmet potential - Business Technology - Organization

In their recent Survey published on December 2008, McKinsey Quarterly
highlights an important conclusion: the growing risks respondents face from
information- and technology-based disruptions and the corresponding increase in
importance of information and technology capabilities for improving business
performance and outperforming competitors.

The conclusions of the survey point in the direction of one of those
strange areas that modern management is still in its infancy: the use of
technology as a competitive weapon. It is fascinating how frequently IT issues
are managed separate from the business strategy as if IT was only a function to
support the business. As this report finds out, one of the desired functions
that IT can play is the creation of new products and services that leverage new
technological capabilities. The obstacle for doing so frequently lies in the
managers who show an old aversion to understanding technology and wht it can do
to the business.

One interesting initiative to try and bridge these two worlds is the Singularity University
For those familiar with Ray Kurzweil and his books The Age of Spiritual Machines and The Singularity is near, this is an attempt to " assemble, educate and inspire a cadre of leaders who strive to understand and facilitate the development of exponentially advancing technologies and apply, focus and guide these tools to address humanity’s grand challenges". With backing from Google and NASA and a well known group of faculty it is well positioned to take the lead in educating leaders (business, governement and others) in the possibilities of applying technologies to solve the most challenging problems of today. Good luck in the effort!