Using Computers to Empower Curious Students
Earlier this week I posted about a low cost computer called Raspberry Pi and how the benefits of cheap computing are enormous. At a $25 price point you’re able to be curious, try new things, and make mistakes without costly consequences. Its high upside and low downside. A few days later the NY Times ran [...]
“My ideas play and fight all night – drives me crazy…”
There’s a few people in my life that seem to have a way with words. I envy them. I recently had lunch with a friend, a friend who seems to imagine a different world. He started to riff: “My ideas play and fight all night – drives me crazy. I wake up and they sleep [...]
The Right Formula for a Startup
A Company Demonstrating InconsistencyEvery week there’s a story about a sure thing startup in the news. The idea is usually the hiding in plain sight kind, where it’s such an obvious opportunity that you’re amazed no one has thought of it before. A can’t miss. Unfortunately, many of these companies turn out to be Tuesday morning commutes – [...]
Making Memories or Doing Homework
Tonight on the way to my sister’s house for dinner I heard a song from the 1980s, 1988 to be exact on the radio. Here I am twenty plus years later, with two young kids yapping away in the back and I can remember every word. Not only can I remember the lyrics, but I [...]
The Advantage of Change
Change is inevitable. Sometimes its having a bagel instead of yogurt and you don’t really notice. Other times it feels like a sky diver looking back up at the plane. You’re frightened, but you’re committed. Life moves on. I’ve recently left a job, the one I’ve had for eleven years. It wasn’t easy to leave. [...]
Reflecting on a Job Market – Employee and Employer
To gain significant wealth in the US you have to take significant risk. Usually that means starting your own business or being on the ground floor with someone who is. The individuals who put their neck on the line deserve the spoils of that risk. The last three years proves the fittest survives in business. [...]
When Ideas Come Together
I sit here and type. Sometimes I have inspiration and sometimes its a slog. I do it because I love when ideas come rushing in. It’s like the end of the Usual Suspects when everything comes together. Its powerful and rewarding. Good mysteries are fulfilling because we have to hunt for clues. They are rarely [...]
Defining the Future for the Class of 2011
Congratulations to the class of 2011. You’ve earned the gratification of moving your tassel from one side of the cap to the other. What does the future hold? What is out there? You’ll be told to find yourself, follow your passion, and chase your goals. And many of you will wonder what those are. There’s [...]
Split Personalities – Tax Breadth and Tax Depth
We seem to have split personalities when it comes to the news and our politics. In the news we hear about natural disasters and the sour economy. In politics we hear about the failings of the President and the deficit. Why are these two voices talking about different subjects? The truth is they are talking [...]
Using Particular Phrases to be More Compelling
I’ve recently been on vacation and I’m catching up on some reading. One of my favorite magazines and websites is the Harvard Business Review or HBR.org. In the March 2011 issues is an Idea Watch section about the persuasiveness of experts. What the finding suggests is that when experts are less certain about their opinion, [...]