“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
“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
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
Is outsourcing software development strategic or simply a cost saving method? It Depends The most infamous words in software development. Yes, it depends on the task at hand, but this cop out has long been a way to forego the development of a robust economic value and risk assessment. According to one vendor, “Engineering started
“Many processes are repeatable and only data inputs change.”
The Day the Congress Stood Still On December 18, 2024, Elon Musk delivered on the social media site, 𝕏 the death knell of a 1500+ page so called Continuing Resolution that was to stave off a Federal Government shutdown. Later it was replaced with a much shorter (100+ page) bill that passed largely intact. This
Eagles Soar, others flock. Post the US election, it seems that many on the losing side are circling the wagons and pointing to the ‘other guy’ to blame for a series of political sins. Like fish in a school, the belief seems to be that the crowd provides an element of protection. But is this belief
“Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes.” — Verywellmind Typically, we associate this behavioral issue with individual humans. Yet, aren’t organization comprised of human beings? Well at least until the AI robots take over. There can be many issues causing individual and collective angst and some
“I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.” – Richard Feynman “I am the science.” You have got to be kidding me Mr. Fauci. Clearly, you have no training in the Scientific Method or maybe your just plan arrogant. Home many lives have you and you colleagues destroyed,
Listen closely and pay attention as our menu has changed. The frustration to the automated phone operator are legend. All of us have had our issues with this form of (non) customer service. Recently this pundit placed a call at a number provided by the vendor and went though all the (voice) menu items, only
Burr! Its winter in the northern hemisphere and many shiver from the cold. The ‘Many’ include batteries. We have know for generations that cold weather negatively affects electrical batteries. So, it should come as no surprise that Electric Vehicles (EVs) performance can suffer greatly when the temperatures are extremely cold. This phenomenon is not limited
Once Again Organizational Safety Cultures Have Failed. Why Does This Keep Happening? The controversial Normal Accident Theory suggests that in complex systems accidents are enviable. So it would seem with continued major disruptions in Critical Infrastructure Sectors. We have argued that this is not necessarily correct. Systemic Safety Culture Following the Deepwater Horizon incident in
Remote Working was once heralded as the ‘New Normal,’ many employers are now less enamored with this business model. Having worked remotely in one way or another since the early 1980s, this pundit had some reservations when the tidal wave of glee over the opportunity to stay home and work in your robe or even
Today, those of us in the United States and indeed many other parts of the world celebrate the 247th year of Freedom. Generally, freedom is seen as a function of speech, religion, lifestyle choices and even entrepreneurship. In 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt proposed Four Fundamental Freedoms: Freedom of Speech Freedom of Worship Freedom from Want
We are pleased to announce the publication of our new book, Smart Manufacturing: Integrating Transformational Technologies for Competitiveness and Sustainability. The first sentence in the Abstract of Chapter 2, Operational Technologies reads, “There is a lot of information about ‘Smart Manufacturing’ albeit precious little information about its implementation and ongoing sustainability. Without a set of
In a recent online discussion, this pundit put forth the thought that fiberglass wind turbine blades can pose an environmental problem when decommissioned. This position was quickly challenged with the rebuttal that burning coal ‘kills’ kids so it did not matter if discarded blades litter the countryside as it is worth it. According to research
Will gas lines return? Recent geopolitical events have driven the price of gasoline sky high–again! As of this writing it is difficult to say where this will all lead. What is known is that the cost of all things related to petroleum have significantly increased and may go even higher. According to the U.S. Department
This edition marks the 100th post in our Critical Mass Blog series. We have sought to provide thoughtful, unbiased insight into the contemporary business and organizational challenges we all face. Since our first blog post on November 27, 2017 our world has turned over in ways none expected. Likely, this trend will continue. This series
This edition is taken from our forthcoming book tentatively titled, Techniques for Successfully Closing Deals in the 21st Century. New Year’s Resolutions We all make them and in many cases they are short lived, often falling by the wayside before March 31. So as we ponder what the new year will bring, most in
Not the rock bands of the 1960s–1980s, but the mining required to extract the heavy metals necessary for electric vehicles and other renewable energy solutions. So, what is a heavy metal and why do we care? Typically, “In science, a heavy metal is a metallic element which is toxic and has a high density, specific gravity or atomic weight. However,
“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 healthy corporation acts on the interests of its stakeholders and customers” — Ari Melber, Journalist Currently, organizations are being implored to implement Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) driven business models. Proponents even suggest that investment in organizations that do not have this imprimatur should be avoided or even divested. However, one wonders what has
Not Again In 2018 we posted an opinion regarding social media driven sales ‘cold calling.’ As noted then, the comments went along the lines, “I reviewed your profile and I know I can help.” This unsolicited approach continues to be blown off by this and other pundits/potential customers as amateurish. Recently, the tactic has
Not as Easy as it Seems When transforming this website to the Word Press platform, this author accepted the “wisdom” of various online sources and used a so called up and coming new Page Builder. A huge mistake! After many failures and indeed public page lockups, I changed to a more established solution—the one used
The battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944 with over 200,000 individuals involved is possibly the largest naval battle in history. Hopefully, one of the last ones. In that battle, the submarine USS Darter initially detected (on radar) the Japanese task force early on October 23. Other US naval vessels spotted that armada shortly thereafter on
We have been hearing for years how, Big Data Analysis will help us optimize our businesses and generate performance at levels here to for never hear of. So where is it now? Two major sources for data on the Covid-19 virus are Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is
The advent of 5 G so soon after 4 G—Humm. What’s next? How many G’s are there? In 1965, Gordon Moore put forth the construct that the density of transistors in integrated circuits doubled each year. The so-called Moore’s Law has governed technology growth ever since. However; over 50 years later, some argue that we
A year ago, it was the pleasure of this blogger to report that Santa Clause completed yet another successful global fulfillment process AND importantly, the process was in compliance with the US Federal Aviation Authority’s (FAA) regulations. A great deal of progress since the advent of one red light on the nose of the lead
Years ago, as part of a never-ending series of company reorganizations, a team of our change management consultants headed to the ‘field’ to interview users. Upon their return, they presented an extensive list of technology investments deemed necessary to remain competitive. Their list focused on technology and not business concerns. Wondering, I asked who they
