"Brown gets borked: Her problem is that she's too qualified -- and black."
Grok Headline matches for "Brown gets borked: Her problem is that she's too qualified -- and black."
Report: Black Woman Says She's
Thurmond's Child
Report: Black Woman Says She's
Thurmond's Child
12/14/2003 01:44 PMReuters via Wired News Dec 14 2003 12:42PM ET
Black, White and Brown
Black, White and Brown
05/16/2004 04:27 PM
B
lack, White & Brown. A great 9-part video feature on the NYT
site (registration required) featuring a discussing between Cornel
West and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. commemorating the 50th anniversary of
Brown v. Board of Education.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has
appointed James Brown Brown to be the
first US 'secretary of soul and foreign
minister of funk'
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has
appointed James Brown Brown to be the
first US 'secretary of soul and foreign
minister of funk'
12/11/2003 06:12 AMColin Powell reminds everyone he's black ..
Yahoo!
story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1516&ncid=1516&e=2&u
=/afp/20031209/od_afp/us_diplomacy_offbeat_031209191307
track this
site | 6 links
CPS: DAVE
POLLARD'S CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING
PROCESS
CPS: DAVE
POLLARD'S CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING
PROCESS
12/28/2004 02:53 PM
In previous articles I've
described the Innovation Process of gurus like Clay
Christensen and Peter
Drucker (and my own), and a process for tapping the
Wisdom of Crowds.
Since then, I've talked to several business leaders about these
processes, and they suggested I integrate them together to create a
Creative Problem-Solving Process. The diagram above is the first draft
of this CPS process.
It appears there may be as many as 12 steps in the process involved in
solving problems or making critical decisions, whether in a business
context or a broader social context. In most cases, many of these
steps
are side-stepped or short-circuited, often because the problem-solvers
or decision-makers think they already have the information or
perspective that doing them would provide. Perhaps this is why so many
unimaginative solutions are developed and so many bad decisions are
made?
The process of solving problems, when it's undertaken thoroughly, can
involve three different forms of interactivity (conversation,
collaboration and canvassing), in engaging the energies of three
different aggregations of people (individuals, teams, and 'crowds').
The following table summarizes the 12 steps, and the interactivity,
methods, deliverables and some facilitation tools for each:
Action
|
Interactivity
|
Methods
|
Deliverables
|
Some Tools
|
A Teach
|
Conversation
|
Training
|
Competencies
|
Creativity
Techniques,
Collaboration Skills
|
B. Listen
|
Canvassing
|
Continuous Scan,
Intelligence-Gathering
|
Identified Needs,
Insights
|
Environmental
Scanning,
Minto Fact-Based Research
|
C. Understand
|
Conversation |
Analysis
|
Root Causes
|
Root Cause
Analysis,
Fishbone Diagrams
|
D. Organize
|
Collaboration
|
Coordination
|
Solution Team,
Improvisational Plan
|
'Getting Things
Done',
PKM, Improv
|
E. Think Ahead
|
Conversation |
Iteration
|
Future State
Visions
|
Thinking-Ahead
Process,
Future-State Visioning |
F. Reach Out
|
Canvassing |
Engagement
|
Commitment,
Attention,
Status Quo Dissatisfaction
|
'ChangeThis'
Manifestos
|
G. Brainstorm
|
Conversation,
Collaboration
|
Creation,
Ideation
|
Solution
Alternatives,
Innovation Culture
|
Accelerated Solutions
Environment
|
H. Survey
|
Canvassing |
Qualifying
|
Collective Wisdom,
Consensus
|
Wisdom of Crowds
process
|
I. Design
|
Collaboration
|
Crafting
|
Prototypes
|
Rapid Prototyping,
Natural Design
|
J. Experiment
|
Collaboration |
Parallel Processing
|
Proof of Concept
|
True Collaboration
Training
|
K. Challenge
|
Collaboration |
Questioning,
Critical Thinking
|
Solution
Qualification,
Issues & Landmines
|
Seven Thinking Hats
|
L. Deploy
|
Canvassing |
Offering
|
Solutions
|
Project Management,
One-Step-at-a-Time
|
Applying the process to a
business problem:
Nash Instruments makes digital thermometers and other medical
instruments for hospitals. They manufacture in Mississippi, taking
advantage of low labour costs, but foreign competitors manufacturing
in
China have undercut them. The company is on the verge of bankruptcy,
and 300 employees are depending on Nash's ingenuity to reinvent their
company to save their jobs.
So we start by teaching the core Solution Team of Nash the process,
and
creativity techniques so they can imagine a successful future for
their
company, not limited to incremental improvements. Then, with the
Solution Team, we canvass customers and end-users of the company's
products and other similar instruments, and find out what untapped
needs they have. We also study trends in the market, and scan across
other industries, science, technologies, and nature, to surface new
developments that might be adapted or applied to Nash's products,
processes, platforms, technologies, supply chain or distribution
channels, core competencies, customer experience, brand, service or
community wrap-arounds, or business model. Perhaps we discover that
what customers are most unhappy with is the poor quality, ambiguity
and
reliability of these instruments -- and that what customers want
aren't
cheaper instruments,
but
simpler, more durable, more accurate ones. That they are buying the
cheap ones made in China only because none of them differentiate
themselves in other ways.
The third step is to analyze the root causes of the company's current
predicament. We know from the previous step that price really isn't
the
differentiating factor that's hurting the company's sales, but why
isn't the company, with its skilled, domestic workforce, able to
produce a better product? And are there other aspects to the
undifferentiated 'customer experience', such as service quality? Or a
distribution or marketing problem? Or lack of product diversity or
innovation? Suppose we discover that the root problems are that the
company has compromised on materials quality to try to reduce cost,
that it's slow to exploit new technologies, and that it has developed
a
reputation for unresponsive service. Once we know this, we refine the
Solution Team, and develop the plan and timeline for solving the root
problems.and meeting the untapped customer needs.
Then we conduct Thinking-the-Customer-Ahead sessions, using an
iterative 'what-if' process to enable some of Nash's most
forward-thinking customers and potential customers to understand where
their businesses, and instrumentation needs, are headed, which in turn
allows Nash to craft a Future State Vision that satisfies those needs.
Maybe we discover that the future of medical instrumentation is
wireless, that displays are going to have to be flatter and sharper,
that measurements in several medical technologies will need to be two
orders of magnitude more precise, and that in some cases the tools
will
become so sophisticated that the instrument manufacturer will have to
become part of the virtual medical team, on call 24/7 to assist in
interpretation of the results.
And then we reach out to the larger constituency, all current and
potential customers and end-users, articulating the promise that Nash
could deliver and fomenting dissatisfaction with the status quo,
creating a sense of urgency in the minds of customers and end-users,
articulating the unmet need, and also creating that sense of urgency
in
Nash's own people.
Next we do the creative work of inventing or reinventing products,
processes, platforms, technologies, channels, brands, and even
business
models, and growing the core competencies needed to deliver on them.
But we don't put all our eggs in one basket: We develop a suite of
alternative solutions. And
then we use the Wisdom of
Crowds
process to present them to the 'crowd', as large a group of existing
and potential customers and users and employees as possible, and use
the crowd's collective intelligence to help us select the best of
these
alternatives before taking
them to market. Nash's reputation is a problem -- trying to go upscale
with a new generation of sophisticated, precise instruments will be a
marketing nightmare. maybe a whole new division with a new name is
needed? And should the company try to overcome its employees'
near-total ignorance of how hospitals use its instruments, so they can
offer virtual interpretation, or leave this niche to others? And
should
it overhaul its supply chain in favour of better-quality material
suppliers, or even bring production of these materials in-house and
cut
out the middleman?
Now, with the confidence that we have the optimal solutions, we can
design working prototypes of these solutions, and we can
collaboratively run parallel experiments with different
implementations
of these solutions, failing fast and inexpensively to winnow out the
implementations that don't work in practice. How would wireless
instruments avoid interference with, and from, other medical
technologies in the operating room and on the patient's night-table.
What different techniques can be used to increase read-out precision
without a commensurate increase in equipment cost? And when medical
instruments need to be made in two 'flavours', one for sophisticated
hospital use and the other for patients to self-diagnose and
self-monitor, how do the price points differ and how should
functionality and ease-of-use be traded off? Should Nash even be in
both markets?
And then the implementations that succeed must pass the final hurdle,
another collaborative process that encourages skeptical, critical
thinking people in the organization to challenge whether this solution
really is optimal, and unearth landmines and other problems the
developers may not have thought about. Maybe the designers didn't
consider that baby-boomer patients' eyes are weakening and the display
in a new consumer product just isn't large enough? Or that one of the
new suppliers of a critical material is in financial difficulty?
Once the solutions have passed this final test, they're ready for
launch. The launch of dramatically new products, processes and
technologies is a difficult process, and if not done properly and
quickly can make an enormously promising innovation into a production
or market failure. The launch needs careful project management, using
a
rigorous, tightly-controlled, one-step-at-a-time process.
It's all common sense. The reason it is so rarely used is that few
organizations have the competencies to do more than two or three of
the
12 steps effectively. I've worked on all 12 steps at one point or
another in my career, and they are not
easy to master, but when they're done well, they yield astonishing
results. The answer, I think, isn't just to bring in consultants to
facilitate the process and then breeze out again. Advisers need to
teach businesspeople how to do this for themselves, and then steward
them through the process a couple of times to ensure they follow it
properly. In a world where innovation will soon again be recognized as
the only sustainable competitive business advantage, learning this
process may the most important education for tomorrow's business
leaders.
And there's no reason to believe this same process couldn't be used to
effectively address broader social, economic and environmental
problems
as well. I'll explore that in a future article.
|
iPod Update Borked For Some
iPod Update Borked For Some
04/30/2004 10:44 AMCNet (and others) are reporting some scattered problems for iPod users
updating to the new firmware to take advantage of the new iTunes 4.5
features. Apple has said they're looking into it and should have an
answer reasonably soon. I haven't updated my iPod yet (although I did
move up...
Why Dems borked Estrada, in their own
words
Why Dems borked Estrada, in their own
words
11/16/2003 08:09 AMOpinionJournal.com has related coverage .. More leaked memos .. "He is
Latino."
opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110004305
track
this site | 6 links
Windows Small Business Server 2003
install borked
Windows Small Business Server 2003
install borked
12/16/2003 07:53 AMQualified Bloggers
Qualified Bloggers
06/05/2005 11:27 PM The issue of blogging as journalism is being attacked on all sides
this morning. First, a Pew/BuzzMetrics study says blogs aren't that
influential. Mitch Ratcliffe subsequently points out the flaw in the
study itself, paying attention to word count...
Io qualified for Final Cut Pro HD
Io qualified for Final Cut Pro HD
06/28/2004 02:42 PMAJA Video Systems has announced that its Io FireWire Interface for
editing on the Power Mac G5 and G4 has been qualified by Apple for use
with Final Cut Pro HD editing software...
Franks Says Kerry Qualified for
President (AP)
Franks Says Kerry Qualified for
President (AP)
08/08/2004 05:09 PMAP - Retired Gen. Tommy Franks, producer of the early military
successes in Afghanistan and Iraq, said Sunday that criticism of John
Kerry's war record is political hyperbole and Kerry is "absolutely"
qualified to be commander in chief.
AJA's Io FireWire Interface qualified
for use with FCP
AJA's Io FireWire Interface qualified
for use with FCP
06/29/2004 09:15 AMAJA Video Systems announced on Monday that its
Io FireWire Interface
for editing digital video on a Power Mac G4 or G5 has been qualified
for Apple for use with Final Cut Pro. Io uses a single FireWire 400
input to bring 10-bit uncompressed video and 24-bit multi-channel
analog or digital audio to your Power Mac from a variety of digital
video peripherals. Io also features a stand-alone control panel
application that allows you to use the device as a frame synchronizer
and comes with brackets for mounting it in an equipment rack. The Io
is available in several different configurations with prices ranging
from $1,190 to $2,290 depending on features.
Squeezing Qualified Traffic from
Blogging Software
Squeezing Qualified Traffic from
Blogging Software
12/24/2004 12:53 PM
From the blog, over the RSS feed, into Bloglines, right to your site:
nothing but profit.
How does THAT work?
Click here to find out.
Fancy becoming a qualified
wheel-clamper? (Reuters)
Fancy becoming a qualified
wheel-clamper? (Reuters)
08/12/2004 05:55 AMReuters - They perform one of the most unpopular jobs, suffer daily
abuse but now you too can train to become the
motorist's nemesis -- a wheel-clamper.
CNN.com - Paper: Diet guru Atkins
qualified as obese - Feb. 10, 2004
CNN.com - Paper: Diet guru Atkins
qualified as obese - Feb. 10, 2004
02/11/2004 10:49 AMDr. Atkins wasn't so heart-healthy after all .. Look At This Article
About Atkins .. Atkins was
fat
cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/02/10/atkins.widow.ap/index.html
track this
site | 6 links
"she's still there."
"she's still there."
06/17/2004 11:33 AMElectrophysics® Jade™ LR Offers Powerful
Long Range Surveillance and Tracking
Capabilities Qualified For Demanding
Military Applications
Electrophysics® Jade™ LR Offers Powerful
Long Range Surveillance and Tracking
Capabilities Qualified For Demanding
Military Applications
04/06/2005 02:41 AMCamera is compact, waterproof and fully compliant to military
specifications. [PRWEB Apr 6, 2005]
She's a Man Baby!
She's a Man Baby!
12/13/2003 12:41 PM Ex-Female Combat Pilot Can't Sue Critics (AP) AP - A federal appeals
court says one of the Navy's first female combat pilots cannot sue...
She's got legs, she knows how to use
them
She's got legs, she knows how to use
them
04/09/2004 04:11 PMShe never begs, she knows how to choose them. She's holdin' leg
wonderin' how to feel them. Would you get...
I can't remember if she's 42 to 43
I can't remember if she's 42 to 43
12/16/2003 04:08 PMToday it's my mom's birthday! Happy birthday momoo. I'm so royally
pissed off...I got 78% on my Media Studies essay...and...
She's Baaaaaaaack!
She's Baaaaaaaack!
04/09/2004 03:58 PMShark Tank: This site's network is hit by the Netsky worm, which
begins sending infected e-mail that appears to be from people in
users' address books -- but some users haven't cleaned out their
address books for a while. ...
She's no Barbie
She's no Barbie
04/14/2004 01:15 PM
She's
no Barbie To readers of Russian Fairy tales, the name Alyona
conjures images of simple peasant girls who become princesses through
modesty, hard work and intelligence. A modern day
Alyona
has surfaced in the cut-throat world of beauty pageants.
She's fired
She's fired
04/22/2004 01:33 PMShe's dead, Jim.
She's dead, Jim.
03/31/2005 12:11 PM
Terry Schiavo has
died. She's Got Game!
She's Got Game!
04/08/2005 05:55 PMZDNet Apr 8 2005 8:50PM GMT
She's So Heavy
She's So Heavy
08/12/2004 09:14 AM
Obese
Florida woman melds with couch after laying on it for six years.
Meanwhile. She's got a thing for teacher
She's got a thing for teacher
09/27/2004 09:14 AMI get crushes on my professors -- I only like older, more accomplished
men. Is there something wrong with me?
She's still preoccupied with 1985
She's still preoccupied with 1985
03/17/2005 04:00 AMOne of my guilty pleasures (which I blame on the era in which I grew
up) is power ballads. Tom, knowing this, recorded VH1's The 25
Greatest Power Ballads for me, which we watched last night. Their top
25 list...
She's lost control?
She's lost control?
04/11/2005 11:35 PM
"I
was just besotted." Rock music does not lack for
tragic heroes; perhaps none more doomed
than
Ian Curtis,
lead singer of
Joy
Division, the post-punk precursor to Madchester's
New Order. Debilitating
epilepsy, depression, charges of Naziism, an impending divorce -- 25
years ago, the day before the start of a US tour, Curtis hanged
himself in the kitchen of his flat while Iggy Pop's "The
idiot" played. His widow Deborah speaks in this
new
interview in
The Guardian; is she drumming up interest for
the new starring-Jude-Law
biopic?
She's lost control
She's lost control
07/21/2004 11:29 PM
Joy Division, fancy
undies, Dita Von Teese, and a Dubya knockoff. What more do you need to
know? Fleshbot reports that in this viral marketing vid from Agent
Provocateur, "one of our favorite Joy Division songs gets the full-on
cheesecake S&M treatment." You'll need Windows Media Player to watch
it, which is a total buzzkill, but the nipple wrenches kinda make up
for it. The song will be released as a single on a promo CD in August.
L
inkShe's in Deep Hindu
She's in Deep Hindu
03/28/2005 10:25 AMA college student at Lewis University in Illinois is about to learn
that hiring a random Internet stranger to write a paper for her costs
a lot more than $75.
Parrot May Have Been Churchill's, but
She's Not Saying
Parrot May Have Been Churchill's, but
She's Not Saying
03/08/2004 11:12 PMWas Charlie the parrot once owned by Winston Churchill, as the British
tabloids have reported, and did she spend her more splenetic moments
"cursing the Nazis"?
Woman Insists She's Not a Day Over 105
(AP)
Woman Insists She's Not a Day Over 105
(AP)
03/30/2005 06:17 PMAP - Minnie Stein had just one complaint on her 106th birthday. She
was sure she was only 105. "She always thought that she was a year
younger," Stein's daughter, Joan Gillespie, said on her mother's
birthday Tuesday.
Damn, she's good!
Damn, she's good!
03/19/2003 10:27 PMMy.day.has.been.made. Robyn honestly rocks my socks. She knows how to
make me feel better in like 2 seconds. I am...
notes that she's moving on
notes that she's moving on
09/12/2004 03:56 PMshe's found it is time
asmallvictory.net/archives/007435.html
track
this site | 3 links
Abu Ghraib general says she's scapegoat
Abu Ghraib general says she's scapegoat
06/15/2004 09:56 AMAbu Ghraib General Says She's a
Scapegoat (AP)
Abu Ghraib General Says She's a
Scapegoat (AP)
06/15/2004 08:41 AMAP - The American general who was in charge of Iraq's Abu Ghraib
prison claimed she was being made a scapegoat for the abuse of
detainees, and said her successor once told her that prisoners should
be treated "like dogs." A spokesman for Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller,
accused of making the "like dogs" remark, categorically denied the
charge.
Serena Says She's 90 to 95 Percent Back
(AP)
Serena Says She's 90 to 95 Percent Back
(AP)
08/27/2004 09:05 PMAP - The first thing you notice is the scar. It's a jagged 2-inch line
running just above Serena Williams' left knee, a reminder of the
surgery that sidelined her for the last half of 2003 and the start of
this season.
She's got class, style and sex appeal
She's got class, style and sex appeal
03/06/2004 01:54 AMAny girl who sports batgirl is definitely a chick I'd hang with any
day! I'm spending way too much time...
Google Recognizes Darrin Widick as a
Qualified Google Advertising
Professional
Google Recognizes Darrin Widick as a
Qualified Google Advertising
Professional
04/15/2005 04:41 AMWidick is among the initial group of 100 international recipients of
this designation, which is a resource for advertisers and third party
marketers skilled at managing Google’s AdWords cost-per-click program.
[PRWEB Apr 15, 2005]
Grok Description matches for "Brown gets borked: Her problem is that she's too qualified -- and black."
GrokA matches for "Brown gets borked: Her problem is that she's too qualified -- and black."
"Brown gets borked: Her problem is that she's too qualified -- and black."
