Sometimes more words are just more words. It's the whole point of Blaise Pascal's famous quotable:
I have made this longer, because I have not had the time to make it shorter.
There are alot interesting things in the slide show associated with this piece. For example:
"Jobs has believed that small teams of top
talent will outperform better-funded big ones."
I think this is a very important lesson that few CEOs of big companies understand. It's why companies like Scaled Composites (Burt Rutan's Company) can accomplish so much with so little.
Both the employee AND the company have a responsibility.
Look at it this way: You are "-Incorporated". You are a one person sub-contractor to the big company that you work for.
You have a responsibility to yourself and your family to be prepared to do business.
The employer has a responsibility to it's stockholders to have a trained workforce that can produce the products and services that it ultimately sells to it's customers.
The employee has a responsibility to himself to have the training and knowledge that he needs to make himself valuable to an employer (his customer).
If your company pays for or provides your training, that's great. That's a valuable part of your compensation. But don't limit yourself by being dependent on someone else to make you marketable.
As CEO of Incorporated, you are responsible for determining whether you like doing the work for the big company and whether it's worth the compensation you recieve. That's your responsibility.
When I was in college, an architecture student friend of mine suggested that I read two books by a guy named Christopher Alexander: A Pattern Language (1977) and Timeless Way of Building (1979).
I'm fairly confident the concept of design patterns truly originated with these two books. The concept from architecture was then applied to software.
The fundamental idea being that there are certain components of architecture that "just work" and "feel right". They may solve very complex problems in elegant and subtle ways. They are not usually designed, but instead are discovered.
Interestly enough, I believe that Alexander himself wasn't an architect, but a physicist with an interest in architecture.
Ironically, I believe that broadcasters would take some comfort in your warning of "don't overdo it!"
Broadcasters will show as much advertising as you will tolerate. That someone is unhappy with the amount of advertising, yet still watches, tells them that they are advertising the right amount.
Unless you actually stop watching, it won't change.
A classic example, from the early days of the personal computer industry was the demise of the very successful Osborne Computer Company, because of a premature announcment of the Osborne Executive. It killed the company because customer's stopped buying their older Osborne 1 in anticipation of the newer computer (which wasnt ready to ship). Their cash flow stopped and the company went belly up as a direct result.
The same thing happened to a company that I worked for and one of our most profitable product lines was killed. The delay of our follow-on product allowed our competition to take the market.
In both of these cases the damage was self inflicted by executives who couldn't keep quite. BUT the lesson by many, is considered a CLASSIC business mistake.
If someone did want to damage your company, this tactic, at the right time could well do the job.
Collective Behavior Can also be Catastrophic
on
Of Ants and Robots
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
It occurs to me that large social collections can also act in very nasty, self destructive and profoundly stupid ways that an individual generally would'nt (e.g., mob violence, lemming behavior, lynching, 1929 run on banks,
Jonestown, on and on.)
So, until I had a VERY clear understanding of the of the behavoural limits of a "collective intelligence" system, I'd be careful of getting overly optimistic about where I could apply it.
I'd certainly test and study the living hell out of it before employing it in a situation where I could experience "mission critical failures".
When red wine was declared (in moderation) to be healthy, the price went up. A bottle of merlot that used to cost 5 dollars a bottle (when it wasn't good for you) now costs 8 dollars.
When it was widely publicized that Oats helped lower cholesterol, the price of everything containing oats went up. Check the cereal isle.
Now beer is healthy!!? ARRRRGHHHH!!!
But General Motors doesn't want to see that in the U.S...
Given that GM is the largest locomotive manufacturer in the world, I don't believe that this statement is correct.
General Motors Electro-Motive Division - Wikipedia
There is much more to this article than just the potential dangers of lower level EMF.
Very interesting to me is the suspected mechanism of the damage:
Lai and Singh hypothesize that exposure to magnetic fields affects the balance of iron in certain cells, leading to an increase in free iron within the cell. That free iron undergoes a chemical reaction, which releases "free radicals," or charged atoms that attack cell structures, including DNA, lipids and proteins.
The article also says that when the researchers controlled the free iron or when they neutralized the free radicals, the effects of the EMF were eliminated.
Its seems to me that nutrition might play a role here. People who get good nutrition may not be as susceptible to this effect as people who don't or get too much iron.
A single shuttle flight costs approxiamtely 500 million dollars when all is said and done.
I think that it's pretty safe to assume that no one is going to want to foot the bill for a half-billion dollar museum display. It's just not going to happen.
Darl McBride says: "The damage this has inflicted on SCO's UNIX business is an example of what could happen to the entire software industry if the current Open Source model continues."
IF????
I think he is saying that he can't compete against people that cooperate to develope software they need. I think he's saying that it's cooperation that's bad!
The best way to find the truth is with evidence. So, since the Pocket PC "Love Detector" is downloadable, maybe someone here with a pocket PC could download it, try it on a number test subjects and report back how my times they got slapped?
I for one am thrilled at President Bush's announcement.
One of the most serious problems that NASA faces is brain drain. A third of the workforce is said to be within five years of retirement. To make matters worse NASA hasn't been attracting "the best and brightest" as it once did. That's because there is nothing really cool and inspiring as during the Apollo era, when many of the current work force were attracted to NASA.
The Shuttle is now old and has been in "maintenance" mode for a long time. Much of the space station development is also winding down and never was very inspiring. It certainly didn't break any new ground.
Smart people are attracted to hard, interesting problems. If you don't provide them with hard, interesting problems, they'll go somewhere else to find them.
So, if we really want a manned space program, then NASA (like all of us) must have some interesting goals. If we wait too long, and the critical mass of good people is lost, the point will become moot because they won't be capable of it.
I grew up dreaming that the space travel of 2001 a Space Odyssey and so forth were inevitable. But since Apollo, it doesn't appear to me that we've really made much progress. I don't believe that I'll see what I dreamed of during my lifetime, but I'd at least like to see it get started.
Slashdot Mirror
There are alot interesting things in the slide show associated with this piece. For example:
"Jobs has believed that small teams of top talent will outperform better-funded big ones."
I think this is a very important lesson that few CEOs of big companies understand. It's why companies like Scaled Composites (Burt Rutan's Company) can accomplish so much with so little.
Look at it this way: You are "-Incorporated". You are a one person sub-contractor to the big company that you work for.
You have a responsibility to yourself and your family to be prepared to do business.
The employer has a responsibility to it's stockholders to have a trained workforce that can produce the products and services that it ultimately sells to it's customers.
The employee has a responsibility to himself to have the training and knowledge that he needs to make himself valuable to an employer (his customer).
If your company pays for or provides your training, that's great. That's a valuable part of your compensation. But don't limit yourself by being dependent on someone else to make you marketable.
As CEO of Incorporated, you are responsible for determining whether you like doing the work for the big company and whether it's worth the compensation you recieve. That's your responsibility.
I'm fairly confident the concept of design patterns truly originated with these two books. The concept from architecture was then applied to software.
The fundamental idea being that there are certain components of architecture that "just work" and "feel right". They may solve very complex problems in elegant and subtle ways. They are not usually designed, but instead are discovered.
Interestly enough, I believe that Alexander himself wasn't an architect, but a physicist with an interest in architecture.
I hope that Alexander was mentioned ;)
Since when is the plain truth flamebait!? Which do you prefer; sensitivity or the truth? I would have mod'ed this Insightful myself.
Ironically, I believe that broadcasters would take some comfort in your warning of "don't overdo it!" Broadcasters will show as much advertising as you will tolerate. That someone is unhappy with the amount of advertising, yet still watches, tells them that they are advertising the right amount. Unless you actually stop watching, it won't change.
A classic example, from the early days of the personal computer industry was the demise of the very successful Osborne Computer Company, because of a premature announcment of the Osborne Executive. It killed the company because customer's stopped buying their older Osborne 1 in anticipation of the newer computer (which wasnt ready to ship). Their cash flow stopped and the company went belly up as a direct result.
The same thing happened to a company that I worked for and one of our most profitable product lines was killed. The delay of our follow-on product allowed our competition to take the market.
In both of these cases the damage was self inflicted by executives who couldn't keep quite. BUT the lesson by many, is considered a CLASSIC business mistake.
If someone did want to damage your company, this tactic, at the right time could well do the job.
So, until I had a VERY clear understanding of the of the behavoural limits of a "collective intelligence" system, I'd be careful of getting overly optimistic about where I could apply it.
I'd certainly test and study the living hell out of it before employing it in a situation where I could experience "mission critical failures".
When red wine was declared (in moderation) to be healthy, the price went up. A bottle of merlot that used to cost 5 dollars a bottle (when it wasn't good for you) now costs 8 dollars. When it was widely publicized that Oats helped lower cholesterol, the price of everything containing oats went up. Check the cereal isle. Now beer is healthy!!? ARRRRGHHHH!!!
But General Motors doesn't want to see that in the U.S... Given that GM is the largest locomotive manufacturer in the world, I don't believe that this statement is correct. General Motors Electro-Motive Division - Wikipedia
There is much more to this article than just the potential dangers of lower level EMF. Very interesting to me is the suspected mechanism of the damage: Lai and Singh hypothesize that exposure to magnetic fields affects the balance of iron in certain cells, leading to an increase in free iron within the cell. That free iron undergoes a chemical reaction, which releases "free radicals," or charged atoms that attack cell structures, including DNA, lipids and proteins. The article also says that when the researchers controlled the free iron or when they neutralized the free radicals, the effects of the EMF were eliminated. Its seems to me that nutrition might play a role here. People who get good nutrition may not be as susceptible to this effect as people who don't or get too much iron.
A single shuttle flight costs approxiamtely 500 million dollars when all is said and done. I think that it's pretty safe to assume that no one is going to want to foot the bill for a half-billion dollar museum display. It's just not going to happen.
Darl McBride says: "The damage this has inflicted on SCO's UNIX business is an example of what could happen to the entire software industry if the current Open Source model continues." IF???? I think he is saying that he can't compete against people that cooperate to develope software they need. I think he's saying that it's cooperation that's bad!
The best way to find the truth is with evidence. So, since the Pocket PC "Love Detector" is downloadable, maybe someone here with a pocket PC could download it, try it on a number test subjects and report back how my times they got slapped?
I for one am thrilled at President Bush's announcement. One of the most serious problems that NASA faces is brain drain. A third of the workforce is said to be within five years of retirement. To make matters worse NASA hasn't been attracting "the best and brightest" as it once did. That's because there is nothing really cool and inspiring as during the Apollo era, when many of the current work force were attracted to NASA. The Shuttle is now old and has been in "maintenance" mode for a long time. Much of the space station development is also winding down and never was very inspiring. It certainly didn't break any new ground. Smart people are attracted to hard, interesting problems. If you don't provide them with hard, interesting problems, they'll go somewhere else to find them. So, if we really want a manned space program, then NASA (like all of us) must have some interesting goals. If we wait too long, and the critical mass of good people is lost, the point will become moot because they won't be capable of it. I grew up dreaming that the space travel of 2001 a Space Odyssey and so forth were inevitable. But since Apollo, it doesn't appear to me that we've really made much progress. I don't believe that I'll see what I dreamed of during my lifetime, but I'd at least like to see it get started.