Does CRM still frustrate you, the would-be buyer all these years later? I recently ordered a relatively expensive product from a well-known retailer. At their prompting, I signed up for ‘track order.’ Three days later, my inquiry was responded with, “the order has been placed.” Ok, but I already know that. Are you still processing
There is a great deal of hype regarding AI, some is justified and some not so much. Pundits, including this one talk about the value an organization will get and, in some cases, immediately. But what is the actual measurable value a firm can realistically expect? I recently used a free AI Value Calculator, asking
There is a daily flood of often contradictory posts regarding the tremendous and immediate value of Artificial Intelligence (AI). But are we to believe our lying eyes? This picture of wiring stupidity might as well have been taken in my front yard. Years of shoddy workmanship by firms that do not care in a city
F. A. Hayek explained why many people support politicians touting socialist plans. In The Road to Serfdom, he explained that people want to be “relieved of the necessity of solving economic problems and…the bitter choices which this often involves.” The latest New York City Siren Song, free stuff will be the savior of a runaway city
It seems the world is awash in scams, those attempts to steal from all of us. Couched in nice words like spam, these are attempts to destroy you. Likewise, there are scam leaders who would do the same, only worse. In 1978, the scam by the so-called pastor, Jim Warren Jones slaughtered more than 900
“The only safe ship in a storm is leadership.” ~ Faye Wattleton As an owner and crew for offshore pleasure sailing vessels, I have experienced several gale force storm that lasted more than 24-36 hours. Several were across the Gulf of America (aka Mexico) regattas and quite a few offshore Gulf races of 150 nm
“For the only way in which a durable peace can be created is by world-wide restoration of economic activity and international trade.” – James Forrestal A recent article reviewed games that might be akin to the international trading process, chess, poker and bridge. That author argues that so much of our rhetoric is militaristic. We
According to the economist, Paul Craig Roberts, “Tariffs protect ill-considered government policies, such as costly regulations and high taxes on labor and capital that make our goods uncompetitive in international markets.” Young and emerging countries may want tariffs to protect nascent industries and other local protections to help assure employment and rise of a strong
Are we doing this again with Artificial Intelligence? On March 10, 2000, a five-year dotcom bubble bursts on the Nasdaq Index. Even blue-chip tech companies lost more than 80% of their market value and it would be 15 years before Nasdaq would see that peak again. “The dotcom bubble, also known as the Internet bubble,
“The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see.” –Alexandra K. Trenfor As a sales manager, executive and now independent advisor, I am often asked to go on sales calls. Sounds like what every sales executive should to, support the representative, interact with the client and
“The price of greatness is responsibility.” – Winston Churchill I recently watched a documentary about Three Mile Island. I did not fact check it or try to assess bias but if much of what went wrong were correctly portrayed, leadership was missing in action. The father of the US Nuclear Navy, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett It is fascinating how many accident videos get posted to social media. Guess we all go to NASCAR races to see car wrecks. In some cases, videos are personal
“If the ratio is high, you’re an idiot.” – Elon Musk “Musk developed the ‘idiot index,’ which calculated how much more costly a finished product was than the cost of its basic materials. If a product had a high idiot index, its cost could be reduced significantly by devising more efficient manufacturing techniques.” Effectively, what
“Auditing is defined as the on-site verification activity, such as inspection or examination, of a process or quality system, to ensure compliance to requirements.” Elon Musk has just changed the Auditing Game! Most readers are aware that Elon Musk is leading a small task force of developers to assess the processes and spend of various federal government
In 1950, the mathematician Alan Turing put forth this question. Rather than attempt to answer it using conventional logic, he proposed a new disruptive model–the Imitation Game. The Problem One can look at Alan Turing (1912-1954) as the “father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence.” His contributions to modern computer science cannot be understated. He
Disclaimer: The author is not an attorney, and this document is not meant to be a legal opinion in any sense. Interested readers should contact their legal counsel for any Intellectual Property (IP) determination. This blog simply raises a question that is generally not addressed regarding ownership rights of the content and products developed using
Why, How, When or Does It Matter? It seems at times we have more questions than answers. And, sometimes the questions seem unanswerable. Yet we continue to seek a response. I guess it is the human nature that makes us so inquisitive. Certainly the advent of the Internet has changed the very nature of research–which all
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all the rage but are these laudables premature? Is it in really Artificial Unintelligence (AU) or just latest manifestation of the 30+ year old Expert System and a passing fad? Recently, none the less than Google (parent Alphabet) suffered a $100 billion market setback when their AI strategy suffered a lack
“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” — Napoleon Bonaparte Volumes have been written on decision-making and this pundit has offered his share of insight and comment on the subject as well. Some of our comments regard the appropriateness of the human intercession in electronic decision making. Others
“A good, quick, small team can beat a big, slow team any time.” — Paul William “Bear” Bryant, legendary college football coach In the early 1990s my former wife and I, both avid sailors decorated our boat for the local Christmas Boat Lane Parade. While we had some help, most of the work was performed by the
I Need a Book Deal! With the change of the US federal administration, previous key individuals are now coming out and writing books regarding their former boss. This all the while with plenty of video evidence where these individuals pontificated a position and even changed their position dramatically while in the employ and in
A Year of Leadership–Or Not! On March 2, 2021 the Governor of Texas announced its 100% reopening–effectively proclaiming an end of the Covid-19 crisis. Needless to say in our hyper-partisan world, many widely decried the decision and even accused him or bringing physical death to the state population. Mississippi announced a similar rollback of virus
“For safety is not a gadget but a state of mind” Second only to the basic need for food, water and what is required to sustain physical life, safety and security are the next step in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In other words one cannot love or feel belonging or achieve a level of
Recently, my team and I were tasked with a delicate decision making process. Due to its nature and signatory level, team members were only authorized to explore and present options. The final decision was mine alone. Our project governance model clearly defined this decision making process. One day I received a call from remote members
“Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” ~ W. Edwards Deming Data and its use is a very hot topic these days. Significant controversy exists over decision making regarding Covid-19 strategies and the quality or lack there of the data supporting government policies. Scientific disagreements and so called ‘academic arguments‘ are appropriate, especially
Salute Ladies and Gentlemen! December 7, 1941 was 79 years ago. A twenty-year-old at the time would be 99 today, almost a centenarian. My father is 98 and not likely to see 2021. We live in a technological age, and despite the pandemic it is relatively easy living for many. No one is asking our
Crisis Drives Change In 2001 this writer approached the Houston medical community, post tropical storm Allison which flooded many basements in the Houston Medical Center with the loss of experimental data and other records. We proposed the development of an Internet based solution to hold and manage medical records of all types. The response to
Melvin—a story of growth. At beginning of my oil and gas career, I was partnered with my mentor to be and at the time my supervisor; Melvin. A gruff old cuss, he was a long-time south Louisiana ‘Cajun’ field engineer. Little did I know at the time the next months would be life changing for
Lessons in Leadership—how dare you put young people in jeopardy for loss of life or failures they will live with the rest of their life? As we end Veteran’s Week, we are reminded of President Herbert Hoover’s comment, “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” Hoover was president
“If it disagrees with experiment, its wrong” Our point today is to assess how behavioral decisions are being made today; not about the politics of one candidate or the other. The race to the US presidential election has entered its final phase. As of this writing, establishment wisdom holds the conventional candidate as the presumptive
