Schedule for April

For the next month, I am going to be a little less connected.

For the beginning of April, I will be off site working on the first draft of our book project. My only connection to the internet will be through Bamnet, a convenient (but slow) dial up service. I am going to try a method that has been recommended by a number of people: banging out a first draft in a marathon session.

The first time my co-author (and husband), Michael Oleksak, and I wrote a book together, we labored over every chapter together. This time, we developed the outlines and will do the editing together but, for the sake of time, I will get the first words on paper. I’ll let you know how it goes. By the way, the baseball book was one of the first books on Latins in the sport. We hope that our new book project also blazes new trails.

The last week and a half of the month, I will be travelling in Europe on business. Stops include Warsaw, Amsterdam and London. Peder Hofman-Bang and I will be presenting a paper at the European Conference on Intellectual Capital. I’ll be sharing the paper when I get back. Let me know if you will be at the conference so we can touch base.

I still plan to post but the posts may be shorter and may not have illustrations. I have a lot of ideas for new content on the blog and website in May so stay tuned!

Mintzberg on America’s Management Failures

Henry Mintzberg is the authority that I most respect on the subject of strategy. He has written both the best textbook and the most thoughtful critiques of current practices of strategy and strategic planning I know. The easiest way to get a feel for his perspective is Strategy Bites Back.

So I pay attention when he speaks. And he had lots to say in his piece in the Globe and Mail recently here entitled, “America’s Monumental Failure of Management” which I found thanks to a post by Richard Florida. Read more

Automobiles and The New Sputnik Moment – Will America Leverage its Intellectual Capital?

One of the lead stories in this morning’s New York Times announces that:

Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and making it the world leader in electric cars and buses after that.

This comes at a moment when American auto makers are practically on the floor, still breathing due only to government subsidies. Yet I hope that Americans hear this announcement and think, “why not  us?” Read more

Even the Movie Industry Having Trouble Monetizing Its IC

In the context of the problems facing media like newspapers and radio (see my post here), it isn’t surprising that Hollywood is also being challenged by changes in our economy.  Richard Florida has a fascinating post here on the threats to the Hollywood financial model.

It seems that digital media and the proliferation of television channels are sapping the movie industry’s traditional channels. These changes and the troubles in the financial sector mean that even Steven Spielberg is having trouble raising money. Read more

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