Monthly Archives: September 2004

FOUR CRITERIA FOR NEW PRODUCT SUCCESS

If you’re wondering why you’ve seen so little original thought on these pages of late, it’s because I can’t seem to shake the post-vacation blues. ‘Til they’re gone, I’ll keep relaying good ideas and inspirations from others. It’s been said … Continue reading

Posted in Working Smarter | 3 Comments

HOW EUROPE SEES THE US

A recent global survey carried out by Gallup with a consortium of other pollsters paints an interesting picture of the US, as seen by residents of ten European countries: Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, the UK, … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works | 6 Comments

BUYER BEWARE: CONSUMER REPORTS’ TOP 10 SHOPPING TRAPS

Consumer Reports has a useful list of ‘shopping traps’ in its annual Buying Guide — a list of the ten most common scams perpetrated by disreputable corporations. Freebies and cheapies with strings attached: If you’re offered something for ‘zero dollars’ … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works | 2 Comments

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES FOR OUR WORLD?

Recently I summarized my long analysis of How to Save the World in four bullet points: We need to communicate to everyone in the world a new story of our planet’s destiny, showing them a better way to live than … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch | 4 Comments

IMPORTANT STUFF YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

A test batch of Monsanto’s new genetically modified grass. A bunch of interesting news and links from the past week or so: Project Censored list — Project Censored lists the top events of 2003-04 that went unreported in the media. … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works | 3 Comments

THE MEDICI EFFECT

Frans Johansson’s The Medici Effect offers an encouraging recipe for engendering innovation, but it saves its most compelling message for the final few pages. Beginning with a pragmatic definition of innovation (anything that is new, valuable and realized), Johannson argues … Continue reading

Posted in Working Smarter | 5 Comments

HEALTH CARE: SIMPLE SOLUTIONS NO ONE WANTS TO IMPLEMENT

Canada has an enviable record of providing universal, quality health care at a reasonable price for the last half a century. But, as in every other country, our health care system is facing several strains: Soaring health care costs, driven … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works | Comments Off on HEALTH CARE: SIMPLE SOLUTIONS NO ONE WANTS TO IMPLEMENT

A GLOBAL IDEA: TAXING ‘BADS’ THROUGH A SECOND CURRENCY

This is the first of a series of articles discussing some of the remarkable ideas in a new book called The Global Ideas Book. The book, with a forward by Charles Handy (pictured right) is the brainchild of the UK-based … Continue reading

Posted in Working Smarter | 6 Comments

STIMULATING AND MEASURING CANADIAN INNOVATION — BADLY

It is a strange irony that the people who study innovation seem to be rather unimaginative at finding ways to stimulate it and measure it. Two new Canadian studies retread tired old ground in this regard. First, a Canadian federal … Continue reading

Posted in Working Smarter | 5 Comments

Awfully Personal Question for September 18, 2004

Welcome to That’s Awfully Personal, an opportunity for blog writers and readers to reveal a little more about themselves than might normally happen during the daily blogging process, and hence get to know each other a bit better. It’s a … Continue reading

Posted in _ Uncategorized | Comments Off on Awfully Personal Question for September 18, 2004