An Apple a Day

The speech given by Steve Jobs at the Stanford University commencement was a very powerful speech if you actually listened and took in what he was trying to convey.  He had no regrets in his decision to drop out of school so he could smell the cup of coffee called life.  In that way, I am like him in that I have no regrets in giving up a different career I had prior to making the decision to come back to school full time and fore go the other path my life was headed.  The first part of his speech was the confirmation people need when they make a life changing decision.  I look at it as if others can do it, so can I.

The second part of his speech was about his company and overcoming personal hurdles.  I took away the fact about chasing your dreams and keep pushing yourself to make the most of the chances you take. I also found that he was telling people to not get to frustrated about the setbacks we have in life. Roll with the changes and troubles, and just keep believing and doing what you love and it will work out for you.

And finally, the most important part was to enjoy life. We are not here for very long, and we should live every day to its fullest as if it could be our last. Enjoy the small moments that seem to happen every day and enjoy your passions in life. The other point was to not live life with regrets and disappointment.  All in all, I found his speech to be motivational and inspirational in a reaffirming kind of way. 

Design Thinking Innovation

Tim Brown has raised some very good ideas and thoughts when it comes to the theory of design thinking. He proposes that design thinking happens in three distinct stages. The first stage is inspiration; where we look at the world and observe. The idea is to observe what people are doing, and then look at constraints they may be facing, and then to sit back and for lack of a better term, brain storm some ideas in which technology may be able to help.

The next step in the process is the Ideation phase, where we design and test a prototype. The best way Brown states to do this is through the users testing the prototypes and not an outside entity.  This is where the product will either continue or the next project is sought out instead.  The idea behind ideation is to concoct scenarios, build creative frameworks, and apply integrative thinking while designing and building a prototype for testing.

The last phase of the design thinking process is the Implementation process. This is where the project has gone from the prototype stage to full blown implementation on a "live" platform.  This stage also involves marketing and making the case to the business world through spreading the word about the product.  Executing the vision is another way of stating the implementation stage.

Brown concludes that design thinking can lead to improved innovation. He gives us an example in his published writing of the India eye company whose vision is to improve the whole country's eye site one patient at a time. They are using design thinking as they set out to solve a very large problem not for a city but for one of the most populous countries on the planet.

Norton and IBM

As I was researching the exact terminology and specifications for this blog on neural network technology, I did find a couple of interesting studies that were done. One was done with swimmers, but there was a lot of math and linear and non-linear regression being discussed in the study, and I was soon not quite in my element. However, I did find an interesting article regarding Symantec and IBM.

The article was a detailed explanation of the integration of IBM neural network technology with the patented Norton Anti-Virus technology.  The purpose of the IBM neural network boot detection technology is to provide additional security by mimicking human neurons in learning the difference between infected and uninfected boot records.  With the neural technology being shown so many viruses and non-viruses, the neural network learned to recognize viruses better than traditional hand-tuned human virus researchers.  The system was shown to become faster and more reliable as time progressed.

Norton delivers this technology at no cost to its customers through its Live Update process. This process allows users of Norton to receive updates to the Virus definition database for free.  This was an example of a company thinking ahead in time instead of looking back to design their future goals.

Chapter One: Embrace the Swarm

Kevin Kelly published his book, "New Rules for the New Economy" in 1999. His book seems to be foreshadowing for customers and companies.  I found this chapter title to be intriguing, and the reason I chose to write about it.  To me, embrace the swarm means to embrace technology, embrace a network of users interfacing, embrace the future and all the possibilities it holds. 

Kelly talks about things that have already happened in less than 10 years. He talks about Playstation's being connected. Today, we have that with online gaming through Playstation and X-Box.  We have online gaming connecting millions of gamers worldwide.  With the advent of MySpace and Facebook, we have seen social network from its birth to becoming more and more advanced daily.

We have seen companies going from big back room servers to cloud computing.  Technology is being embraced and that is the point Kelly was making with his introductory chapter.  And we have seen companies that have failed to grasp and utilize technology effectively. Kelly makes the point that customers will be the driving force in the future and that seems to be the case in point we see today.

It's a flat, flat world

Thomas Friedman;s speech which coincided with the release of his book "The World is Flat" is a powerful, enlightening, and scary proposition he discusses.  Friedman discusses in his speech the reason he felt compelled to write the book and goes over the first three chapters with the audience to give his perspective on the way he sees the globalization of the world.

If one agrees with the premise that the world is indeed getting flat with globalization occurring, then this can benefit a knowledge based company.  To be successful as a knowledge based company, the company is going to have to be forward thinking. The days of thinking and projecting what can be successful in your own country are gone. To be successful, a company is going to have to be competitive globally. As the world gets flatter, the competition for consumers is going to increase. As Friedman clearly stated, the days of going global for your country ended a long time ago, and it is now the time of the individual going globally.

One other factor that is contributing to a more rapid pace of flattening of the world is what Friedman called the "steroids" of technology. As individual technology grows ever more powerful, the effect is going to be felt worldwide and at a faster pace. One example that is in the news as of late, is how fast news in other countries is posted to the web via You Tube or Twitter. This knowledge which used to take weeks or months to receive is practically available immediately after the incident happens.  Technology is growing and companies need to stay at the tip of the technological spear to stay competitive. As discussed earlier in the Hallmark case, it is not feasible or practical to look at the past to see how to improve, Companies today must look forward to see how to grow and to decide on future operations.

As Friedman stated numerous times when discussing his book, while we were sleeping, the world has caught up with the US as far as being global competitors, and the future is how knowledge based companies react and respond to the flat world we all live in now.

CISCO and Change

CISCO CEO John Chambers presentation given to MIT was during the recent recession felt around the globe, but especially hard here in the US.  The first thing Mr. Chambers discusses is how companies or a nation should deal with a recession. The most important question is actually a statement in my opinion and that deals with being ready to hit the next recovery period running and with a plan.  He also asks a question of who likes change and which is more important to a company, innovation or operational excellence.  He makes the point to the audience that both are equally important for success in the long run, especially in the 12-18 months after a recession. This is where he brings a term called sustainable differentiation as it relates in how to make yourself different and more viable from your competitors.

Mr. Chambers states that it is far more important to get market transitions right then competing directly with your competitors.  He believes that change is everywhere, and you need to be prepared or get left behind.  He also stated that his organization functions better when they utilize a functional committee vs. a typical organizational committee. His main points all relate to how CISCO is performing and is ready for the next wave if technology.  One of his main points seemed to focus on the two words, speed and skill. Being ready and being prepared and being adaptable will bring success if you are ready for it.

Knowledge Creation within Nucor Steel

Nucor Steel is one of the top ranked steel companies in the world. They have achieved this status through the knowledge conversion process. Specifically, the knowledge creation involved in the spiral effect of knowledge management has allowed Nucor to succeed in a highly capital intensive environment.  The vision CEO Ken Iverson had for Nucor was a process in which accumulating knowledge would be key for success.

Nucor Steel mills are built with an ideal employee base of 250-300 employees.  This allows for knowledge acquisition and knowledge creation to be managed and handled at a smaller level. The smaller number of employees also creates and fosters a "family" type atmosphere.  This is due to knowledge retention in Nucor Steel. Employees are never laid off, and have life time employment. The longer you are with someone, the more you develop a bond with someone. And since the mills are not that large, the reality of knowing someone fairly well increase substantially.

Knowledge identification and outflow are also implemented at Nucor Steel. Bonuses are tied to output generated by a team of workers, not individual output. Also, to achieve the bonus, it requires thought process by the operators involved as well as management on how to improve or invent a better process to achieve a bonus.  Conversely, when the economy is in a recession, layoffs do not happen, but hours are reduced at the plant, which means lower wages for the employees, but the management takes a bigger cut of wages, resulting in a "share the pain" mentality which fosters respect and loyalty throughout the mill.

Nucor Steel also does its own improvements to its mills. When remodeling a mill, the process involves everyone involved from the operator to the supervisor to the plant manager. This knowledge transmission ensures the task is done in the most efficient way and feedback is gathered from all involved parties to ensure the remodeling occurs to what is best for the mill and generates the most productive output possible.

Through the use of spiraling knowledge, Nucor Steel has shown how successful a manufacturing process can be when everyone is involved. They have consistently grown in size since their inception in the 1960's and with over 1200 people waiting in line to apply for 8 jobs, that is an indicator of how much people want to work for Nucor.

Standford Hospital and Silicon Valley

Standford Hospital, which is part of Standford University recently announced a partnership with major Silicon Valley companies in conjunction with a new hospital.  Apple, eBay, HP, Intel, Intuit and Oracle are teaming up with Standford to build a new hospital which will create a global model for patient-centered, technologically advanced health care.  The design of the hospital will feature a multidisciplinary, intervention platform.  The purpose of this approach is to co-locate services such as radiology, surgery, and the Emergency Department, which will enhance the care each patient receives. 

The design of the hospital will utilize the latest in technology and be designed to anticipate the ever changing medical and technological progresses made, with flexibility to adapt to future innovations that are not even imagined yet.  However, the hospital will remain sensitive and balanced in regards to Standford being a healing environment responsive to the emotional, social and psychological needs of patients and families.

The fact that Standford is doing this is no surprise. Standford has a history of taking the lead in being at the forefront of changes in the medical industry. Standford was one of the first medical institutions to institute and implement the fundamentals of Six Sigma back in 2003.  With the success they have had, there is no doubt the technology being implemented will be a success.

Bounded Rationality

In his presentation at Google headquarters, Professor Ariely in his introduction narrative, states he wants to understand why people with good intentions and experience, still manage to get things wrong.  He then displays a few optical illusions which focuses the audience on the topic he is talking about.  He spends a great deal of time talking of organ donations in Europe.  The point he makes through research is that people are so used to doing things one way, or they assume that information is presented in a certain way that the resulting decision is one which is made illogically.

Professor Ariely through his research is able to show that people consistently make systematic and predictable decisions which in more times than not, are incorrect decisions.  When applied to business and knowledge management, it is quite easy to see how this is done everyday by companies. For example, his study of the economist magazine subscription shows that how choices we make can be influenced  by incorrect or misrepresented information.  Professor Ariely clearly shows us that a decision we make is how we feel about information that we process, whether the choice is wrong or right.

Healthy Alternatives

The leader in the selling of organic and all natural ingredient products in the US is Whole Foods.  Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, the chain has grown to over 300 stores in the US and the UK.  They have had increased sales for the last four years, even during the economic down turn recently experienced by the US. With total revenues of over 9 billion last year, they are definitely doing something right.

While the US is one of the most obese countries in the world, there is also a growing demand for healthy food.  Whole Foods has found a niche with which they exploit to their advantage. The niche is the growing demand for healthy food.  The standard for Whole Foods is to sell only products that are organic or natural.  Any food product that contains artificially made ingredients will not be sold in the store. 

Whole Foods has grown because of a few key strategies they have employed. While being a "healthy" alternative is what may get the customers in the store, there is other aspects to Whole Foods which has made them successful.  One thing that stands out is full free health insurance for the employees, and very competitive wages for workers.  Another item which stands out about Whole Foods is the causes they have undertaken.  They are one of the top employers in the US who have promoted and chosen to go green. There is no plastic bags in Whole Foods.  All bags are made of recycled paper or a shopper can purchase a reusable bag made of recycled plastic. Whole Foods has also supported the going green energy movement by offsetting its energy use by purchasing wind power credits.

When you look at what Whole Foods is doing and has done, it is obvious why they have been very successful in their chosen niche.  With continued growth, Whole Foods has shown they are going to be around for the long run.