free at last?
on Jul 3, 2009 in Creativity Economics Marketing Pop Culture andersen apple business models cuban free gladwell godin google ibm microsoft Chris Anderson has sparked quite the debate with his latest book, Free (MSRP: $26.99(!)). Malcolm Gladwell wrote Priced to Sell, expressing skepticism about the book, Seth Godin responded with Malcolm is wrong, and Marc Cuban went on to draw the...

threeway anyone?
on Jun 30, 2009 in Creativity Integrity Politics Transparency accountability integrity leadership politics three-party systems My last post about the Sovietization of America and the comments by J.R. and Erin got me to thinking about multi-party (vs. one or two-party) politics: One-party politics is a sham. But it is also the closest thing to an...

nyet nyet...
on Jun 29, 2009 in Globalization Integrity Politics Pop Culture america declaration of independence iron curtain soviet union I read an outsider's view of life in the Soviet Union in 1982 by Edward Crane this morning. 1982 is 27 years, or roughly a generation ago - it seems like so much longer ...or does it? The Soviet Union...

epic movements
on Jun 25, 2009 in Creativity Geopolitics Globalization Politics games with a purpose global peace index luis von ahn nova sciencenow steve killelea How do you create a global movement? What does it take to start something that sufficiently compels the leaders of governments around world to make the necessary trade-offs on a national scale to make change happen? About a month ago,...

prodding the prodders
on Jun 21, 2009 in Assessment Education Management brandon education high tech high rosenstock seattle girl's school transformation Education is a seemingly complex beast. Everyone knows it needs to be great, there's little argument on this point. Everyone knows that this is an investment with a sure return, there's also little argument on this point. America spends among...

standards-schmandards
on Jun 18, 2009 in Assessment Education Learning bankruptcy big three high tech high integrated learning politics seattle girls' school standardized testing A great friend and brilliant educator recently shared this frame for learning with me - it is about observation, reflection, documentation, and exhibition. This is powerful. It fits well with the beginnings of learning, where each master taught their...

uniting divides
on Jun 10, 2009 in Healthcare Leadership Politics abortion absolutes capital punishment equal treatment before the law mandatory minimums pro choice pro life Why is abortion such a pivotal and polarizing issue in the United States? Why doesn't the death penalty get the same level of attention? If one is deemed murder, how is it that the other is not? Pro Life proponents...

adventures in babysitting
on Jun 9, 2009 in Accountability Economics Integrity Transparency accountability financial responsibility integrity leadership management oversight transparency I was listening to The Watchmen on This American Life last weekend - it affirmed my conviction about the sad, sad state of American regulatory oversight. The show is about financial services regulators and attempts to find out "who's to...

performance anxiety
on Jun 6, 2009 in Leadership Management Transparency inspiration leadership management organizational behavior performance How will it go? Will all my hard work be appreciated? Was all that extra stuff I did noticed and appreciated? Was I better than the rest? How often might you ask yourself these questions in life ;-) ? How...

gauntlet of girth
on May 31, 2009 in Assessment Innovation Leadership adapt corporate girth respond sense wall-e I was watching Pixar's brilliant film Wall-E again today, and got to thinking about how the spaceship was built in the movie. The well-intentioned designers decomposed every anticipated act into a process and then automated it. This certainly created...