Let it be said that I am not a huge Steve Jobs fan. Call it a popularity complex that I dislike products/people that I hear about more than once a week in casual conversation. That being said I do have a new found respect for him after hearing his speech from 2005 to the Stanford graduating class. His stories of overcoming odds and humble beginnings gives new perspective in how he lives and works.
The timeless tale of an orphan child rising to fame and fortune is a broken record heard alot, but the twist at the end where Steve drops out of college even after aspiring to his whole life almost seems cliche in a "I see this everyday personally" manner. What I did admire is that Steve would keep going to classes in the topics that interested him. I feel that every college student should do this as it really helped me when I did the same. Before becoming a CIS major I was a Music Education, Psycology, and just before a Philosophy major. While this did delay my graduation it did help me find out what I loved, what would sustain me in life, and in general help me know more about myself. Luckily I also found the love of my life in the process. She supports me in trying new things and we both view life as a series of learning experiences that we all grow from.
Steve had hardships as well with being diagnosed with cancer (that he still battles with today) and being fired in his prime. The best lesson to take from this is that even in the worst of times there is always opportunities to get back into the game and fight for what you want.
I don't foresee me buying an Apple product any time soon, but I will say thanks for the advice Steve. I don't think that I will achieve the acclaim that he has but I will take his advice under my wing and try to go as high as I can.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
FICO is watching, learning
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/31280.html
A problem I have run into recently is that when I get a large sum of money deposited into my account I will shortly after pay many bills or similar and quickly deplete it. Recently I have been getting phone calls asking me to verify purchases. At first I was annoyed by them because I knew what was going on. I had money, I had needs, and I went on spending sprees. To the credit card company though there is possible fraudulent activity.
TechNewsWorld reported that Fair Isaac Inc has implemented a neural network software that analyzes and develops trends that can flag accounts that are abnormal. 10 out of 12 months I make very small purchases of food, sometimes groceries, and the occasional online purchase of movies or whatnot, but 2 of those months I will spend up to $1000 in a matter of hours if not minutes. This sudden change is noticed by Visa and FICO and they call me as a value added service to verify I know what is going on.
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes around the world. FICO has to determine legitimate request for credit and purchases, and determine what request are from unauthorized sources. Neural networks are best suited for this because, when programmed correctly, they learn from past data and can make decisions relative to current situations. When the computer can flag trends as abnormal then a human (if needed) can intervene and prevent losses for the company.
A problem I have run into recently is that when I get a large sum of money deposited into my account I will shortly after pay many bills or similar and quickly deplete it. Recently I have been getting phone calls asking me to verify purchases. At first I was annoyed by them because I knew what was going on. I had money, I had needs, and I went on spending sprees. To the credit card company though there is possible fraudulent activity.
TechNewsWorld reported that Fair Isaac Inc has implemented a neural network software that analyzes and develops trends that can flag accounts that are abnormal. 10 out of 12 months I make very small purchases of food, sometimes groceries, and the occasional online purchase of movies or whatnot, but 2 of those months I will spend up to $1000 in a matter of hours if not minutes. This sudden change is noticed by Visa and FICO and they call me as a value added service to verify I know what is going on.
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes around the world. FICO has to determine legitimate request for credit and purchases, and determine what request are from unauthorized sources. Neural networks are best suited for this because, when programmed correctly, they learn from past data and can make decisions relative to current situations. When the computer can flag trends as abnormal then a human (if needed) can intervene and prevent losses for the company.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Moving Mountains, Confusing Readers
Kevin Kelly Ch 6 - Let Go at the Top
Kelly discusses how companies that become the best must eventually devolve in order to stay successful. This is not an easy process and you bring your company close to extinction when you do. Experienced managers are needed to guide the company in this time of strife.
Overall I found the article very difficult to read... Kelly uses a lot of large words and it feels like he is just trying to sound smart without any merit. He makes a good analogy that a company at the peak of their field to an actual mountain. As competitors redefine the market they "move the mountain" and for your company to become the leader in this new market they have to come down from the mountain they are on and climb this new one...
Unfortunately I feel that most companies now are just trying to put a ladder on the mountain they are on now instead of innovating. When they see their competition succeeding by doing a new innovative process they will try something completely different hoping that it works when in the short run they will do better by imitating and improving on what their competition did. Admitting defeat is not easy but "when you answer to shareholders" they want to hear nothing but your successes.
The analogy is a good, but it can be said in far fewer words than Kelley used.
Kelly discusses how companies that become the best must eventually devolve in order to stay successful. This is not an easy process and you bring your company close to extinction when you do. Experienced managers are needed to guide the company in this time of strife.
Overall I found the article very difficult to read... Kelly uses a lot of large words and it feels like he is just trying to sound smart without any merit. He makes a good analogy that a company at the peak of their field to an actual mountain. As competitors redefine the market they "move the mountain" and for your company to become the leader in this new market they have to come down from the mountain they are on and climb this new one...
Unfortunately I feel that most companies now are just trying to put a ladder on the mountain they are on now instead of innovating. When they see their competition succeeding by doing a new innovative process they will try something completely different hoping that it works when in the short run they will do better by imitating and improving on what their competition did. Admitting defeat is not easy but "when you answer to shareholders" they want to hear nothing but your successes.
The analogy is a good, but it can be said in far fewer words than Kelley used.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
It's a small world, after all
What does a "flat-world" mean to an idea based company? Companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Sony, GE, and infinite others benefit from the fact that they can acquire and use resources around the globe simultaneously. Companies such as Microsoft or Apple can hire people around the world to develop software and only employ the best of the best. Ideas are universal and the ever-increasing protection of intellectual property means that when someone has an idea, as a company, you want to take it, patent it, and protect it from being imitated by others.
The world will continue to shift from one of mass production to mass thought. Ideas will become the driving force in our economy and will be valued much higher over physical labor. The need for a good education to be ahead of the global curve is vital. I personally believe the second age of scientist and engineers spurred by Sputnik is upon us, but instead this time it is spurred by companies like Google. To use some old adages, "The world needs ditch diggers too" but in the long run you will find "they don't pay me to think, they pay me to work". To bring home a comfortable salary you will need to think first and labor second, "work smarter, not harder".
The world will continue to shift from one of mass production to mass thought. Ideas will become the driving force in our economy and will be valued much higher over physical labor. The need for a good education to be ahead of the global curve is vital. I personally believe the second age of scientist and engineers spurred by Sputnik is upon us, but instead this time it is spurred by companies like Google. To use some old adages, "The world needs ditch diggers too" but in the long run you will find "they don't pay me to think, they pay me to work". To bring home a comfortable salary you will need to think first and labor second, "work smarter, not harder".
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Agility and Collaboration are the New Black
John Chambers is an executive at Cisco Systems that retooled the way the company worked and changed the fundamental way the company moved in the market. When told it was impossible to have a continuous growth of over 5% he proved it by actions. He looked at what will be needed by the world in the future and made sure his company would be in the best position to give it to them. He did this when it was needed, even if the global economy made it more difficult. He would make sure his company was in the best position to rise the recovery bubble but still not crash when the economy did the same. He diversified the company's focus by having dozens of active projects instead of one or two company-wide. This allowed the areas that performed poorly to be overshadowed by the areas that were growing beyond all expectations. How did he do this?
Chambers took the work force and made teams from functional areas. When a new project was proposed, a team was made from experts within the company to generate a draft and a working business model. The expectation was that if the company could not be best or second best in that market with at least 40% market share then it was not a sound venture. Expectations were set so that everyone knew that to have the project not fail was not enough, it had to flourish. Collaboration was the new kid in town and people were more productive because of it.
How was Cisco able to be so successful time after time? Ask Papa Johns. "Better Ingredients, Better Pizza." While this is by no means the same market or even the same ball park it still holds true. Cisco hired the best and brightest minds out there. They started with the best brains, took the best ideas they had, and then they packaged that into a product that the masses would benefit from. Cisco knew that when you start with a team that has above average performance you will get a superior performance in the final product. Not all companies can have the best of the best, but they can choose to use everyone's best talents on every project that could use them.
New ideas are what drives this economy and the best ones will rise to the top but only if you listen.
Chambers took the work force and made teams from functional areas. When a new project was proposed, a team was made from experts within the company to generate a draft and a working business model. The expectation was that if the company could not be best or second best in that market with at least 40% market share then it was not a sound venture. Expectations were set so that everyone knew that to have the project not fail was not enough, it had to flourish. Collaboration was the new kid in town and people were more productive because of it.
How was Cisco able to be so successful time after time? Ask Papa Johns. "Better Ingredients, Better Pizza." While this is by no means the same market or even the same ball park it still holds true. Cisco hired the best and brightest minds out there. They started with the best brains, took the best ideas they had, and then they packaged that into a product that the masses would benefit from. Cisco knew that when you start with a team that has above average performance you will get a superior performance in the final product. Not all companies can have the best of the best, but they can choose to use everyone's best talents on every project that could use them.
New ideas are what drives this economy and the best ones will rise to the top but only if you listen.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Even failure should be considered progress
Medical News Today Article
The disturbing part about this article is the government is the catalyst needed to make these health service providers further their IT. The "Obamacare" misconception of providing free health care to everyone and etc etc (insert your most hated proposition here) but the biggest practical benefit was the incentives and mandates for businesses to better themselves. As it is verbosely stated in the article, across many states different hospitals, clinics, and independent doctors are developing systems together and independently to share patient data.
From personal experience I know the trials of trying to transfer data from one doctor to another. Because of current regulations I could not take my own data to another doctor (if it was lost and my data stolen it would be the doctors fault). My old doctor was non-digital and did well to fax and my new doctor wanted x-rays, charts, and test data that would have been a week through the mail or hours by fax, not considering the x-rays cannot be faxed. If there was only a central data interchange, or even a standardized method of transferring from one clinic to another.
Especially in a worst case scenario where lives matter, data from the primary care physician can save minutes or hours of diagnosis and treatment. While there is no one clear system to be the defacto standard in the future the fact that we have businesses trying to get ahead now gives hope for a brighter future.
The disturbing part about this article is the government is the catalyst needed to make these health service providers further their IT. The "Obamacare" misconception of providing free health care to everyone and etc etc (insert your most hated proposition here) but the biggest practical benefit was the incentives and mandates for businesses to better themselves. As it is verbosely stated in the article, across many states different hospitals, clinics, and independent doctors are developing systems together and independently to share patient data.
From personal experience I know the trials of trying to transfer data from one doctor to another. Because of current regulations I could not take my own data to another doctor (if it was lost and my data stolen it would be the doctors fault). My old doctor was non-digital and did well to fax and my new doctor wanted x-rays, charts, and test data that would have been a week through the mail or hours by fax, not considering the x-rays cannot be faxed. If there was only a central data interchange, or even a standardized method of transferring from one clinic to another.
Especially in a worst case scenario where lives matter, data from the primary care physician can save minutes or hours of diagnosis and treatment. While there is no one clear system to be the defacto standard in the future the fact that we have businesses trying to get ahead now gives hope for a brighter future.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Status Quo Rum
Making decisions is hard. Students would not like to have a 100 question exam if they can have a 50 question exam. Also I would bet that most students would rather have a 100 question multiple choice exam over a 20 question essay exam. People want to have as few good choices to pick from when they make a decision. Also if they do not have to make a change and can keep doing what they always have been doing then there is a good chance they will not even opt to take a chance on a new solution.
As a company you should always try to develop a competitive edge and be a better, more agile, and hopefully more profitable company. What happens when a company keeps doing the same tried and true thing over and over? It becomes stagnant and when you fall behind your competition you are now at a severe disadvantage. Not only do you have to catch up to your innovative competition but you have to work that much harder to get ahead.
So in a business environment how do you make a good decision? What do you do after you make a decision? Most companies would try to keep the new decision (assuming it even was a new decision) as secret as possible and make sure to prevent the competition from having an inside edge. I work in a retail environment now and further believe that high executives would want to keep their decisions away from the lowest level employees because it either does not concern them or the possibility of a leak. This may not be the best decision.
My best analogy to how a business makes a decision would be to use a personal example. A company I work for wanted to evaluate new options for a PC imaging server. They had choices between a new version of what they currently used, a few free solutions that needed some extra work, and ultimately to just stay with what they have. To cut the the chase the company decided to just stay with the current solution. When the option to do nothing and limp along the current system became viable the conversation was over. All the benefits of the free solutions and the free labor I would have provided still was not enough. As Prof. Ariely made a point of when a similar but less attractive option is presented, the original option becomes inversely more attractive.
Knowledge Management means that businesses should look for a way to gather, disseminate, and refine the knowledge the company has. If companies keep doing things the way they have always been done then the results will eventually start to diminish. New ideas should be cultivated and allowed to spread. If we do not attempt change when it is needed then our company will become so stiff it will break under pressure from the competition. Evaluate all alternatives equally. Make decisions because they are the right decision, not because they are easy.
As a company you should always try to develop a competitive edge and be a better, more agile, and hopefully more profitable company. What happens when a company keeps doing the same tried and true thing over and over? It becomes stagnant and when you fall behind your competition you are now at a severe disadvantage. Not only do you have to catch up to your innovative competition but you have to work that much harder to get ahead.
So in a business environment how do you make a good decision? What do you do after you make a decision? Most companies would try to keep the new decision (assuming it even was a new decision) as secret as possible and make sure to prevent the competition from having an inside edge. I work in a retail environment now and further believe that high executives would want to keep their decisions away from the lowest level employees because it either does not concern them or the possibility of a leak. This may not be the best decision.
My best analogy to how a business makes a decision would be to use a personal example. A company I work for wanted to evaluate new options for a PC imaging server. They had choices between a new version of what they currently used, a few free solutions that needed some extra work, and ultimately to just stay with what they have. To cut the the chase the company decided to just stay with the current solution. When the option to do nothing and limp along the current system became viable the conversation was over. All the benefits of the free solutions and the free labor I would have provided still was not enough. As Prof. Ariely made a point of when a similar but less attractive option is presented, the original option becomes inversely more attractive.
Knowledge Management means that businesses should look for a way to gather, disseminate, and refine the knowledge the company has. If companies keep doing things the way they have always been done then the results will eventually start to diminish. New ideas should be cultivated and allowed to spread. If we do not attempt change when it is needed then our company will become so stiff it will break under pressure from the competition. Evaluate all alternatives equally. Make decisions because they are the right decision, not because they are easy.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Internet Gold without saying a word, sortof...
NPR Article on XtraNormal
Started in 2006 XtraNormal is a self-publishing video site with a twist. All the videos are completely computer generated except for the content that users provide. The popular theme of an ignorant buffoon coupled with someone that tries to convince them they are wrong provides humor across topics. The popularity of the company flourished when a video depicting an iPhone purchase had millions of views and people wanted to recreate this with their own set of dialog.
XtraNormal now charges for extra content using a somewhat microtransaction model. You buy point packs in bundles of thousands and use it to purchase new digital characters, sets, voices, and general content. The service was free and still allows for some basic content to be made for free as well but to be profitable extra content is now paid for.
What make this company successful is the idea that anyone can hire "virtual actors" to say and do exactly what they want them to do. Users create a script that inflection and pauses can be added and it is always done as the script instructs. Users do not have to have a camera, be seen, or even heard but their opinion and thoughts can be relayed to the world. XtraNormal has created the framework for creativity and now allows anyone to use it to express themselves in a humorous and anonymous manner.
The concept of taking a thought and seeing it played out near instantly by actors gives an immediate satisfaction. XtraNormal had the innovation and while easy to recreate the entrance of a competitor is unlikely due to the time and resources needed to develop the polished system they have. The early innovation and updating to make sure the content is fresh is what keeps XtraNormal prosperous.
Started in 2006 XtraNormal is a self-publishing video site with a twist. All the videos are completely computer generated except for the content that users provide. The popular theme of an ignorant buffoon coupled with someone that tries to convince them they are wrong provides humor across topics. The popularity of the company flourished when a video depicting an iPhone purchase had millions of views and people wanted to recreate this with their own set of dialog.
XtraNormal now charges for extra content using a somewhat microtransaction model. You buy point packs in bundles of thousands and use it to purchase new digital characters, sets, voices, and general content. The service was free and still allows for some basic content to be made for free as well but to be profitable extra content is now paid for.
What make this company successful is the idea that anyone can hire "virtual actors" to say and do exactly what they want them to do. Users create a script that inflection and pauses can be added and it is always done as the script instructs. Users do not have to have a camera, be seen, or even heard but their opinion and thoughts can be relayed to the world. XtraNormal has created the framework for creativity and now allows anyone to use it to express themselves in a humorous and anonymous manner.
The concept of taking a thought and seeing it played out near instantly by actors gives an immediate satisfaction. XtraNormal had the innovation and while easy to recreate the entrance of a competitor is unlikely due to the time and resources needed to develop the polished system they have. The early innovation and updating to make sure the content is fresh is what keeps XtraNormal prosperous.
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