Solvation

Post-Domestic Replaces Empty Nest

2012-01-10T10:49:10-08:00

As many of you know, my son and only child left for college over a year ago. The term for my new stage of life had been coined fifty years or so back as "Empty Nester," because, long ago, the...

Developers, Designers, and Project Managers

2012-01-09T16:39:52-08:00

When resolving conflict, it's important to remember that everyone comes from a different point of view. via GlobalNerdy.

Highlights of 2011

2012-01-01T13:53:37-08:00

In 2011, my work focused on organizational and societal development, and its measurement. Here are some professional highlights from 2011, in chronological order. I'm deeply grateful for my teammates and partners, and for those who made these opportunities possible. (1)...

Guiding Perspective for 2012

2012-01-01T11:24:44-08:00

The year 2011 was, professionally, a bewildering taffy-pull of projects on topics relating to facets of organizational and societal reform and its measurement. On a personal level, it has been a year where I have made a lot of progress...

Why He Hires People Who Fail - An HBR Article

2011-12-10T11:21:46-08:00

Great thoughts on creating a resilient outlook, by Jeff Stibel, Chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. Curious about this "fail wall"? Go read the original aricle. I have nothing to add.

Why Economics Needs Data Mining

2011-12-08T23:49:41-08:00

Cosma Shalizi explains eloquently the major issues surrounding the accuracy of economic modeling. He talks about how we don't know whether what happened in the past can be relevant for he future. Also, listening between the lines (at approximately 4:30),...

CleanTech Open Global Forum 2011 - Part 1

2011-11-28T08:30:00-08:00

Oddly, cleantech markets and social capital markets are barely aware of each other, despite obvious areas of complementary expertise. So I traipsed to San Jose to the Clean Tech Open Global Forum to interact with the very high quality CleanTech...

Where are the Jobs?

2011-11-27T20:23:46-08:00

In this article, the assertion is that there aren't enough jobs, because jobs have been taken away by technology or by outsourcing work. But... Isn't there plenty of work to do to clean up the environment (and possibly help people)...

Alternative Energy Investment

2011-11-24T13:41:04-08:00

Out of public companies only, in everything related to advanced materials (nanotech, solar, etc.), my gig was to pick something related to alternative energy. They needed to buy and hold for 3 years. After a few months of analysis, I...

Millenials (GenY) Believe in the Social Contract

2011-11-05T13:21:51-07:00

It has come to my attention YET AGAIN that many feel that Millenials (b. 1981-2001) have a sense of entitlement; that they expect too much. While I'm sure there are those within the generation who fit that mold, I disagree...

Economic Catastrophe - Maybe It's the Only Way?

2011-06-20T16:49:00-07:00

OK. Here's a hypothesis I developed after reading this highly disturbing report on the state of the world's oceans. Hypothesis: It's GOOD that the US middle class (and lower) is becoming desperate, because in order to change behaviors drastically, it's...

Marshmallow Test

2011-06-10T14:48:33-07:00

The famous marshmallow test, with the results that kids who were able to delay their gratification performed better academically leads me to wonder: If we admitted kids to school based on the marshmallow test rather than birthdate, would kids be...

Quick Look: Innovation and Sustainability

2011-06-10T08:25:19-07:00

The New Sustainability is the cover story on launch day for a brand new online magazine which is branding itself as a news source for optimism and solutions. The main thesis, "It's wrong to think economic growth and sustainability are...

Morning Reading: Overwhelmed by Choice

2011-06-10T08:19:53-07:00

NPR has reported on a really fascinating, solid description of being "overwhelmed": the concept that exercising willpower to make a decision involving tradeoffs or self control lowers the willpower for subsequent decisions. While this can be applied anywhere, they specifically...

What Do We Name Those Kids that Follow Millenials?

2011-06-02T09:04:34-07:00

In case you missed it, there it is: the Millenials have ended, and the next in the cycle of oppressed Silent Generations has clearly arrived... In fact, they're now entering 5th grade, poised for adolescence. This generation is parented primarily by "Gen Y" (the last few cohorts of Gen X) and Millenials.

Soundbites from Audio Engineers

2011-04-10T21:34:57-07:00

In my opinion, the best panel at the SF Music Tech Summit was the audio engineers' “Tour Secrets of the Pros: How to sound big even if you’re not.” The panel was Greg Looper, John Meyer, Deanne Franklin, David Gibbons...

Exploring Digitized Music - n00b’s Eye View

2011-04-10T21:30:15-07:00

“And, when he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of Heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night And pay no worship to the...

Spirituality, Power, and Intangible Assets

2011-03-26T17:09:01-07:00

Aha! The muse that gives me ideas has given me the key to a puzzle I've been thinking about for a few years. I had previously spoken about Spiritual Assets, which, by its oxymoronic name, seemed a bit off to...

Wisconsin, Unions, Corporate Tax Breaks, and a Better Way

2011-02-21T21:54:08-08:00

No institution is perfect. Governments aren't, unions aren't, and corporations aren't. Individuals aren't perfect either. It is understanding the role of each in the overall economic landscape and optimizing for the production of intangible assets and their conversion to tangible assets that we will, as a society, rebuild a resilient global economy.

Will Millenials Usher in a New National Measurement System?

2010-12-19T17:24:34-08:00

Are the millenials poised to play the same role in bringing forward whatever the next measurement system will be? What WILL get us through this economic crisis? I doubt we'll pull out by looking even more critically at book value and EPS, just like I think our communities need to measure volunteerism at least as much as they need to measure household income.