When the 2012 election returns came in, I was in Sydney, Australia. The view was high level and from afar. This reminded me of a forecast I made far back in 2007 about this election. The specifics of the outcome were, in fact, what I had suggested might occur. In early 2007, when the early positioning for and coverage of ...
What the President Thinks of Salesmen
on 11.13.12
Let me begin with a disclaimer. I voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and supported him for re-election this year. I like his character, I like what he’s done in foreign policy, and I like what he did in bailing out General Motors and Chrysler. But I don’t like his attitude toward “salesmen.” In a speech in the last ...
This Week in the Future: The A.I.’s of Summer
on 11.12.12
I’ve been thinking about the future of robotics, artificial intelligence (also known as A.I.) and the future of sports. I’m a futurist and can’t help it. When I talk to people about the future of these things, people are pretty fearful of it. They worry that robots will take our jobs and that A.I. will get so smart ...
Scammers coming together in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy
on 11.12.12
The President has asked Americans all across the country to come together as a nation to help fellow citizens recover in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. As the community steps up, so do the scammers. In the devastating wake of Sandy, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a new warning for ...
Political Marketing: Honest F.U.D. Overcame Brand and Hyperbole
on 11.12.12
For the first time in my career, I used F.U.D. (Fear/Uncertainty/Doubt & Dread) marketing for a local election that was very important to my small town of Saratoga Springs, NY. Last week, I learned that we had won big, taking 23 of 25 voting districts. (Our new online SaratogaWire.com had this short article.) I ...
This Week in the Future: Humans 1, Technology 0 (Or: Watching the Boston Red Sox in Palm Springs)
on 11.8.12
This week finds me in Chicago visiting my family. Go Bears! I’m not a huge Bears fan, but I’m from the West Coast, where football is a religion like it is in other places in America. Plus, when in Rome…I’ve roped my family into helping with the column this week. My family is more suited for this type of work than ...
Choose Your VC Wisely: A Conversation with Felda Hardymon, Venture Capitalist and Harvard Professor
on 11.7.12
Felda Hardymon is a highly successful venture capitalist and popular Harvard Business School professor, where he teaches “Venture Capital and Private Equity.” Sharing research and examples from the 2012 edition of his textbook, Hardymon spoke at last week’s Journey conference in Tel Aviv about Venture Investment - ...
Tomorrow Will Be Televised: No Solidarity for Sandy
on 11.6.12
When a crisis of such scope as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina or the Haiti earthquake impacts us, all the major broadcast networks come together and pitch us to do likewise for fellow human beings through hour-long, commercial-free fundraising specials. They raise millions of dollars for charities able to do the most good at the ...
Skewing the Data
on 11.5.12
Looking at the interpretation of polls in the presidential race, you might think there are actually two distinct races: the one from the Democrats’ point of view and the one from the Republicans’ point of view. The Democrats say President Obama has a numerical lock on the Electoral College. The Republicans say Romney ...
Why Washington Needs to Embrace Agile
on 11.5.12
Agile is a framework for software development defined as: “… a group of software development methods based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. It promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development ...
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