20070519
(answer to the question "What kind of questions would venture capitalists ask to prospective entrepreneurs?")
In the "simple, to the point" range, I suggest : why ? what ? when ? and most important : who ? (who are you, who is following you, whom are you facing...) what if ?
Showing posts with label answers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label answers. Show all posts
Friday
On brain training
200705
(answer to the question "Is Brain Training fun, fad or a little of both?" and various softwares for soft brains)
To me it's like training in a gym, following a program while checking your heartbeat and the number of calories you're presumably burning... It can be fun and even make sense for people under reeducation, for medical purposes... but this isn't the real thing.
You want to err in open spaces, off the path, work things out with people instead of softwares and machines. Brain is one thing, intelligence another. Try to stimulate your intelligence instead of training your brain. And diversify your programs - reading a good book, listening to great music, that often beats your DS provided you open your mind beyond your eyes.
(answer to the question "Is Brain Training fun, fad or a little of both?" and various softwares for soft brains)
To me it's like training in a gym, following a program while checking your heartbeat and the number of calories you're presumably burning... It can be fun and even make sense for people under reeducation, for medical purposes... but this isn't the real thing.
You want to err in open spaces, off the path, work things out with people instead of softwares and machines. Brain is one thing, intelligence another. Try to stimulate your intelligence instead of training your brain. And diversify your programs - reading a good book, listening to great music, that often beats your DS provided you open your mind beyond your eyes.
On books on business knowledge
200705
(answer to a question on the "Pretence of Business Knowledge")
As an author, I don't believe in books. Some people are swallowing books like pills to enhance their performance. I've never heard of a great businessman / manager who learnt from the books.
Experience, sharing views, challenging one's own way of thinking and seeing things, opening up beyond one's business and environment... this is actual business knowledge.
(answer to a question on the "Pretence of Business Knowledge")
As an author, I don't believe in books. Some people are swallowing books like pills to enhance their performance. I've never heard of a great businessman / manager who learnt from the books.
Experience, sharing views, challenging one's own way of thinking and seeing things, opening up beyond one's business and environment... this is actual business knowledge.
My favorite weather information source
200705
(answer to the question "What is your favorite weather information source, and why?")
The President of the United States. When he's wearing a flight jacket, I know it's gonna rain bombs. When he's wearing a tux, I know it's gonna rain blunders.
(answer to the question "What is your favorite weather information source, and why?")
The President of the United States. When he's wearing a flight jacket, I know it's gonna rain bombs. When he's wearing a tux, I know it's gonna rain blunders.
My favorite NGO / charity
200705
(answer to the question "What is your favorite NPO / NGO / Charity? & Why is it your favorite?")
Wal-Mart.
By far the most successful organization when it comes to make third world countries converge with US social standards. Working the other way round proved quite disruptive but efficient.
;)
(answer to the question "What is your favorite NPO / NGO / Charity? & Why is it your favorite?")
Wal-Mart.
By far the most successful organization when it comes to make third world countries converge with US social standards. Working the other way round proved quite disruptive but efficient.
;)
Is brand loyalty dead ?
200705
(answer to the question "Is brand loyalty dead?")
As Roy E. Disney smartly reminded us, brands are for cattle. If you are loyal to a brand, you are as dumb as a cow. You are loyal to a company that respects something somehow. You know the company wants to make business with you but you don't want to end up as a medium rare steak. I take what I need, you take what is fair. No one loses. You are loyal to a fair partner. Basically, P&G and their likes are still XXth Century foxes in the hen house. This model can't last long.
(answer to the question "Is brand loyalty dead?")
As Roy E. Disney smartly reminded us, brands are for cattle. If you are loyal to a brand, you are as dumb as a cow. You are loyal to a company that respects something somehow. You know the company wants to make business with you but you don't want to end up as a medium rare steak. I take what I need, you take what is fair. No one loses. You are loyal to a fair partner. Basically, P&G and their likes are still XXth Century foxes in the hen house. This model can't last long.
On the transparency of news reports
200705
(answer to the question "How transparent media Mass in reporting News?")
1) You can have a few hints after checking who owns the said mass media.
2) Anyway, you must understand that there is no such thing as objectivity - reporting news is necessarily subjective. Certain words are written, certain images caught, news are composed, selected, sorted, edited and formated - keyboards, cameras and the humans who operate them are not Godalmighties, even when they have the best intentions.
3) subjectivity is not necessarily bad - the only thing is you must realize it and understand the limits before enjoying the show.
4) You can be both subjective and transparent. The BBC and al Jazeera have different standards but both tend to present the points of views of different sides.
(answer to the question "How transparent media Mass in reporting News?")
1) You can have a few hints after checking who owns the said mass media.
2) Anyway, you must understand that there is no such thing as objectivity - reporting news is necessarily subjective. Certain words are written, certain images caught, news are composed, selected, sorted, edited and formated - keyboards, cameras and the humans who operate them are not Godalmighties, even when they have the best intentions.
3) subjectivity is not necessarily bad - the only thing is you must realize it and understand the limits before enjoying the show.
4) You can be both subjective and transparent. The BBC and al Jazeera have different standards but both tend to present the points of views of different sides.
On SWOT analysis
200705
(answer to a question on SWOT analysis templates)
I never used any template for a SWOT. I cannot open up my mind in closed walls. You must have a comprehensive view of your environment, but always a fresh one. You must always challenge it, leveraging on the expertise around you. Do not see your company and your environment as you see it but as your coopetitors would do. And don't see competitors as competitors ; see beyond your market to spot new coopetitors.
Rule number one : have fun. You know you cannot cover every dimension nor every angle so relax and embrace uncertainties. If you are looking for a competitive edge, think ahead.
20070606
(answer to another question on SWOT analysis in general)
SWOT is only a frame, and the value doesn't lie in the frame. Your kid's drawing may look terrific, you probably wouldn't get as much money from it as if you sold your Basquiat over eBay. Besides, SWOT should be open and dynamic, evolutive. It is a (big) picture, but you should be able to see the movement behind, get the notion of what's missing.
(answer to a question on SWOT analysis templates)
I never used any template for a SWOT. I cannot open up my mind in closed walls. You must have a comprehensive view of your environment, but always a fresh one. You must always challenge it, leveraging on the expertise around you. Do not see your company and your environment as you see it but as your coopetitors would do. And don't see competitors as competitors ; see beyond your market to spot new coopetitors.
Rule number one : have fun. You know you cannot cover every dimension nor every angle so relax and embrace uncertainties. If you are looking for a competitive edge, think ahead.
20070606
(answer to another question on SWOT analysis in general)
SWOT is only a frame, and the value doesn't lie in the frame. Your kid's drawing may look terrific, you probably wouldn't get as much money from it as if you sold your Basquiat over eBay. Besides, SWOT should be open and dynamic, evolutive. It is a (big) picture, but you should be able to see the movement behind, get the notion of what's missing.
Saving the US automobile industry
200705
(answer to the question "What can be done to save the U.S. Automobile Industry?")
Stop thinking as the US Automobile Industry.
Start thinking as mobility service providers in a new, open, competitive but respectful and responsible environment.
(answer to the question "What can be done to save the U.S. Automobile Industry?")
Stop thinking as the US Automobile Industry.
Start thinking as mobility service providers in a new, open, competitive but respectful and responsible environment.
On Europe, the Old World
200705
(answer to the question "Europe: how do you see the Old World?")
I see Europe as a chance because of the richness of its cultural diversity and the size and soundness of its common ground. I see Europe at the crossroads of reinvention and disruption.
I see China embracing its own diversity to design a more agile, pervasive and adaptative variety of imperialism.
I see America on the verge of negating diversity and evolutivity - more conservative and monolithic, more inwards than outwards. A Bushite Amerika and a neo-Showa Japan would be the Old World of tomorrow.
(answer to the question "Europe: how do you see the Old World?")
I see Europe as a chance because of the richness of its cultural diversity and the size and soundness of its common ground. I see Europe at the crossroads of reinvention and disruption.
I see China embracing its own diversity to design a more agile, pervasive and adaptative variety of imperialism.
I see America on the verge of negating diversity and evolutivity - more conservative and monolithic, more inwards than outwards. A Bushite Amerika and a neo-Showa Japan would be the Old World of tomorrow.
Define: power
Power is about perception. You can feel it when it is at work, but it is much more difficult to tell who has it at other times. You can feel your hair rise when you pass by a small and obsolete power plant because much of the energy is wasted and that's OK because not much is at stake. But while fishing on a quiet lake, you cannot feel the huge potential of the dam you cannot see.
Don't see people as they want you to see them. See them as they truly are, beyond the power the may exert on their environment, including you. And see yourself as you truly are. We all have power within, not all the same, and not the same capacity to control it.
200705
(answer to the question "WHAT IS THIS THING WE CALL POWER? Does it come from OTHERS or does it come from WITHIN US, as a state of mind?")
Don't see people as they want you to see them. See them as they truly are, beyond the power the may exert on their environment, including you. And see yourself as you truly are. We all have power within, not all the same, and not the same capacity to control it.
200705
(answer to the question "WHAT IS THIS THING WE CALL POWER? Does it come from OTHERS or does it come from WITHIN US, as a state of mind?")
Define: managing director, managing partner, general manager
The Managing Director manages the dates of lunches with the Managing Partner. The General Manager manages the rest.
200705
(answer to the question "What is the difference between a Managing Director, a Managing Partner, and a General Manager?")
200705
(answer to the question "What is the difference between a Managing Director, a Managing Partner, and a General Manager?")
What is unique in blogging ?
200705
(answer to the question "what is unique in blogging ?")
I use the term "blogule" for my small blogs. Red or white depending on my mood, not very important by themselves but somehow vital to me. As an author, blogging is part of what I call my "junk writing". And I enjoy it because as ugly as it seems, it can taste good and fulfil you. I need to zap from actual writing to junk writing to keep my balance. Because at the same time, blogging is like gymnastics to me. It's a quick fix when I need to stretch or let my mind wander on any topic I want.
You don't have to bother about the structure, nor the big picture. I've been blogging for 4 years but at the beginning, I didn't want to use a genuine blogging platform - that was frustrating and stupid considering the ease of use / instantaneity of blogs.
(answer to the question "what is unique in blogging ?")
I use the term "blogule" for my small blogs. Red or white depending on my mood, not very important by themselves but somehow vital to me. As an author, blogging is part of what I call my "junk writing". And I enjoy it because as ugly as it seems, it can taste good and fulfil you. I need to zap from actual writing to junk writing to keep my balance. Because at the same time, blogging is like gymnastics to me. It's a quick fix when I need to stretch or let my mind wander on any topic I want.
You don't have to bother about the structure, nor the big picture. I've been blogging for 4 years but at the beginning, I didn't want to use a genuine blogging platform - that was frustrating and stupid considering the ease of use / instantaneity of blogs.
Define: change
Change goes beyond trade (giving up something for something else). Change is about abandoning one's very nature, modifying it. You can change your shirt but there's no way back when YOU change. Change has a cost and an impact. It is both a sacrifice and an opportunity. You often grow stronger after a change but you often are weak during the change. Change is somehow more radical than evolution, quicker too.
200705
(answer to the question "CHANGE - What does it mean to you?")
200705
(answer to the question "CHANGE - What does it mean to you?")
On innovation and branding agencies
200704
(answer to the question "What are the most important qualities managers want in an innovation and branding agency?")
I prefer smaller structures for reactivity and true innovation - provided the casting and methology don't suck, of course. A big name will do if the aim of the game is just for the manager to have his own concept sold to his own hierarchy.
International reach helps for branding : you don't want to waste time on verifications, and you certainly don't want to end up like another case study (ie Alcatel means "killer" in Arabic, Sega "to masturbate" in Italian).
(answer to the question "What are the most important qualities managers want in an innovation and branding agency?")
I prefer smaller structures for reactivity and true innovation - provided the casting and methology don't suck, of course. A big name will do if the aim of the game is just for the manager to have his own concept sold to his own hierarchy.
International reach helps for branding : you don't want to waste time on verifications, and you certainly don't want to end up like another case study (ie Alcatel means "killer" in Arabic, Sega "to masturbate" in Italian).
On the success of reality shows
200705
(answer to the question "Why do you believe Reality Shows have grown in numbers regarding various subjects, along with the television viewers ?")
It is basically the same trend as on the internet : reality shows have this consumer generated content flavor and give the illusion something is really happening on the screen, something you could be involved in, something you could even be doing yourself. The illusion that at last TV is somehow about me, somehow as interactive as the internet.
The internet positioned TV as a monolithic media for the masses, TV answered with real life real time individuals. People get hooked to it for fear of missing an event, something happening, some naughty movement in front of these fake webcams. Of course everything is set, staged, programmed, scenarized, but it doesn't feel like broadcasting (or better : I'd dare say "downcasting") anymore. Rather like bottomupcasting / grassrootcasting. And it tastes like s..t.
(answer to the question "Why do you believe Reality Shows have grown in numbers regarding various subjects, along with the television viewers ?")
It is basically the same trend as on the internet : reality shows have this consumer generated content flavor and give the illusion something is really happening on the screen, something you could be involved in, something you could even be doing yourself. The illusion that at last TV is somehow about me, somehow as interactive as the internet.
The internet positioned TV as a monolithic media for the masses, TV answered with real life real time individuals. People get hooked to it for fear of missing an event, something happening, some naughty movement in front of these fake webcams. Of course everything is set, staged, programmed, scenarized, but it doesn't feel like broadcasting (or better : I'd dare say "downcasting") anymore. Rather like bottomupcasting / grassrootcasting. And it tastes like s..t.
Entrepreneurial culture and market valuations
200706
(answer to the question "Do you believe that large companies with more entrepreneurial cultures have higher stock market valuations than their more traditional counterparts ?")
To my humble opinion, the stock exchange is not the place where actual business is being done, except for stock traders. If you don't accept that fact, if you don't realize that you are in a different level of reality, you may wake up in the middle of a Twilight Zone episode.
That said, take two companies from the same field and with the same assets. In a rational market, the company with the higher value should be the one with the higher potential to grow beyond its current position.
But the market is not rational, there is no such thing as two similar companies, and communication / propaganda plays too big a role out there, especially where "culture" is involved. Remember the late nineties ?
(answer to the question "Do you believe that large companies with more entrepreneurial cultures have higher stock market valuations than their more traditional counterparts ?")
To my humble opinion, the stock exchange is not the place where actual business is being done, except for stock traders. If you don't accept that fact, if you don't realize that you are in a different level of reality, you may wake up in the middle of a Twilight Zone episode.
That said, take two companies from the same field and with the same assets. In a rational market, the company with the higher value should be the one with the higher potential to grow beyond its current position.
But the market is not rational, there is no such thing as two similar companies, and communication / propaganda plays too big a role out there, especially where "culture" is involved. Remember the late nineties ?
Define: innovation
An innovation literally brings something new inside a given environment, which means innovation shouldn't be considered without taking into account its impacts on the said environment, the time factor, the very process of "bringing".
Innovation can be immaterial, like a new way of considering that environment, even using the same old tools (ie your eyes and brain). Sign' o the times : I noted that in today's vocabulary, "progress" turned somehow negative (a colateral damage of the end of the myth of eternal progress during last century) while "innovation" became the new fave. As a matter of fact, innovation is not necessarily positive - the "novation" doesn't necessarily mean "one step forward" like in "progress". Who knows when this beautiful world will fall out of fashion...
200704
(answer to the question "how would you define innovation ?")
Innovation can be immaterial, like a new way of considering that environment, even using the same old tools (ie your eyes and brain). Sign' o the times : I noted that in today's vocabulary, "progress" turned somehow negative (a colateral damage of the end of the myth of eternal progress during last century) while "innovation" became the new fave. As a matter of fact, innovation is not necessarily positive - the "novation" doesn't necessarily mean "one step forward" like in "progress". Who knows when this beautiful world will fall out of fashion...
200704
(answer to the question "how would you define innovation ?")
On the impacts of new technologies
200704
(answer to the question "With all this great technology - computers, email, cellphones, IM, YouTube, MySpace, wireless Internet, etc. - where is it taking us? How is it impacting society?")
(answer to the question "With all this great technology - computers, email, cellphones, IM, YouTube, MySpace, wireless Internet, etc. - where is it taking us? How is it impacting society?")
This question has been answered by countless books and essays. As I feel it, the very texture of society has changed (society as a whole as well as society as a puzzle of societies) and identity crisis is not over yet. The tissue can look much more elaborate, yet it can easily be torn. Societies either lock out to protect themselves, or collapse - the fittest survive, their frontiers blurred and everchanging. No wonder identity became a more complex concept and challenge for individuals as well as for societies...
The technology boom you mentioned is neither good nor bad in itself. It changed our perception of time and space, it changed the way we interact with our environment and with each other It contributes to diversity (ie revival of languages) and speeds up evolutions, but also facilitates globalization and uniformization. It contributes to knowledge, but also threatens intelligence. The sexier virtual worlds become, the duller real ones appear and the more people try to escape. ... and so on....
All this is at least disruptive and upsetting for any society. Gaps and divides are formed and not everybody will adapt, not everybody will follow the same path nor the same pace. More than ever, education is key. Beyond the learning of the tools you mentioned, of course.
India 10 years from now
200703
(answer to the question "What are the images that come to your mind when you think of India 10 years from now?")
Plenty of hot spots and a few dark pits : a huge, diverse and beautiful powerhouse facing major problems which could endanger its very integrity. Beyond poverty, I'm thinking about terror, separatisms and religious clashes fueled by international fundamentalisms. Nationalism is bound to rise and I do hope it won't be only the wrong kind of nationalism.
Moderates may eventually rise against these attacks on the oldest democracy, and a positive common conscience could emerge as a new power, like South Korea's netizens. I also hope the urban / rural and litterate / illiterate divides will be better dealt with. I see more conglomerates become major players at the global level, but more and more in services instead of industries.
(answer to the question "What are the images that come to your mind when you think of India 10 years from now?")
Plenty of hot spots and a few dark pits : a huge, diverse and beautiful powerhouse facing major problems which could endanger its very integrity. Beyond poverty, I'm thinking about terror, separatisms and religious clashes fueled by international fundamentalisms. Nationalism is bound to rise and I do hope it won't be only the wrong kind of nationalism.
Moderates may eventually rise against these attacks on the oldest democracy, and a positive common conscience could emerge as a new power, like South Korea's netizens. I also hope the urban / rural and litterate / illiterate divides will be better dealt with. I see more conglomerates become major players at the global level, but more and more in services instead of industries.
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