Big Data is a means to extract useful information from great volumes of data collected from various inputs. If the data is available and accurate, the distilled information can be useful if the project is well conceived. Last week we attended a Big Data session put on by NCA-GTUG to highlight some successful in-use projectsRead… Read more »
Over the last 25+ years in all sectors of the economy, we’ve been changing management/leadership structures, the tools and technologies to do the work, and the headcount of workers at all levels. Initially the changes had impact very quickly – on production or operations and on the bottom line or budget. As we continued toRead… Read more »
Initially, open source was an approach to developing software among coders, which was like Spanky, Darla, and the Our Gang kids “puttin’ on a show.” Everyone contributed what they had (sharing resources) and did what they knew (collaborate) – and the show was always a success. The open source approach is a philosophy, a culture,Read… Read more »
When in 6th grade, on the walk home with friends, we would stop at a local store and buy a soda (for 5¢) – I’d often think how nice it would be to have an ice cold bottle of water instead of the sweet soda. With the popularity of bottled water today, was mine anRead… Read more »
Organizations get feedback from a number of sources – email, social media, word of mouth, even from other employees. There is a strong tenancy to jump into action when a complaint is registered – all in the name of customer service. The urgency and energy spent to respond is almost obsessive in nature – weRead… Read more »
When I was head of HR at a large hospital in Baltimore, supervisors and managers would come to me when routine discipline did not correct a situation with their direct reports. I recall one situation with a rather autocratic supervisor of the supply department. Their responsibilities included unloading several trailer trucks of supplies first thingRead… Read more »
When I think of the frontier, I picture Westward-Ho wagon trains with settlers and supplies, or prospectors in the gold fields of California. However, the domestic frontier has been ‘closed’ for about a century. The frontier offered an environment of unlimited opportunity, participants with a variety of viewpoints and backgrounds, and plenty of raw materialsRead… Read more »
Edmund Pendleton, the Assistant Director of the Mtech VentureAccelerator at the University of Maryland, was a panelist at The Democratization of Innovation meeting. He observed we are entering the third industrial revolution. The shift from local shops to locating multiple crafts and trades in a factory setting was the hallmark of the first industrial revolution.Read… Read more »
Tim O’Reilly speaks about Government as a Platform to address the issues of today for the next generation of Government. Interesting observations about what’s possible – much is already being done or in the works. O’Reilly’s final point: Government and Private Industry are the two halves of the solution. Here’s the link to O’Reilly’s 3Read… Read more »
Inattentive or laissez faire oversight, followed by sudden, harsh enforcement of rules, followed by inattentive or laissez faire oversight. Sound familiar? Is the drift and clobber style ever effective?