May 21, 2017 In The Moon and the Ghetto, published in 1977, Richard R. Nelson begins with these words: “‘If we can land a man on the moon, why can’t we solve the problem of the ghetto?’ The question stands as a metaphor for a variety of complaints about the uneven performance of the American political… Read More »
April 24, 2017 Maura Sullivan was restless. After graduate degrees at Stanford and Emory University focusing upon predictive modeling of casualties and earthquakes, she spent eight years in Silicon Valley building predictive models “of things that could basically kill lots of people or cause people to live a long time…or cause major market… Read More »
March 31, 2017 “Infect others?” “Become infected?” Suggestions such as these seem to be not only unusual but possibly dangerous. Most of the time we resist becoming infected and are usually careful not to infect others. A recommendation to “infect” others goes against common sense and good hygiene and is contrary to everything… Read More »
February 28, 2017 “What the world needs now is love, sweet love,” sang Dione Warwick in the 1960’s. Published in 1965 with lyrics by Hal David and music by Burt Bacharach, “What the World Needs Now is Love” was a blockbuster of a hit, recored by at least 100 of the best known singers… Read More »
February 22, 2017 Rosabeth Kanter is arguably the most respected and revered organizational theorist and consultant in the United States and perhaps in the world. She begins her most recent book, Confidence: How Winning and Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End, published in 2014, with the observation that it often seems as… Read More »
January 8, 2017 After being named CEO of Microsoft in February, 2014, Satya Nadella turned his attention to what he saw as his most important problem: the effectiveness of the executive team. He approached the problem by inviting the members to begin a conversation about the question, “What is the purpose of the… Read More »
November 26, 2016 We’ve all heard it before. It’s usually said in a voice full of anger: “I’m right, and you’re wrong!” And often, a voice just as angry answers, “No, you’re the one who’s wrong. I’m right!” As most of us know from experience, trying to determine who’s right and who’s wrong about… Read More »
October 29, 2016 The lead story in Engineering News for October 24 begins with this headline: “Collaborative Thinking Needed to Tackle ‘Wicked’ Problems.” Kudos to the author, Martin Loosemore, for choosing “tackle” instead of the much more common “solve.” It’s a sign that at least some of those who talk about wicked problems are beginning… Read More »
September 26, 2016 “Every start-up needs four things,” writes Alan Webber, cofounder of “Fast Company Magazine,” in Rules of Thumb, “change, connections, conversation, and community.” I offer two revisions to Webber’s trenchant observations: First, it is not only start-ups that need change, connections conversation and community, but all endeavors that bring people together to… Read More »
August 18, 2016 An important question for us to consider as individuals and societies is “Are we in trouble?” The answer is “Of course we are!” Throughout history individuals and societies, facing unpredictable and unfriendly futures, have always been convinced that troubles were just ahead. What they did not understand was the nature… Read More »