clair075

As innovators, we are constantly entranced by the idea of signals in the marketplace.  Signals that indicate new opportunities, shifts in consumer demand, emerging technologies.  But so often it's easy to get captivated by the new technologies.  This is happening right now, as concepts like "digital transformation", artificial intelligence and blockchain are all top of mind. The problem?  No one really knows what the long term impact or implications of any of these emerging technological solutions is or will be.  I have a hard time getting a good, clear definition of what 'digital transformation' is.  It seems to differ based on the potential adopter and the company making the offer.  Right now, firms are entranced by what emerging technologies like blockchain or artificial intelligence could mean for their businesses, and are ignoring sweeping changes that may be harder to quantify.  But these other changes I think can be shown to have greater im...

In older times, when kings ruled countries with little input from their subjects, it was easy for the king to exhibit some hubris.  After all, the king's family and retinue encouraged the idea of divine coronation - the sense that the king had his power from a divine source and that everything under his domain should pay homage to him.  Given this power, it wasn't hard for kings to become a bit deaf to other ideas or suggestions, or the idea that he could be fallible.  To compensate for this, some kings employed jesters, who were people who could actively question the king's decisions.  Jesters of course are an outgrowth of slaves who rode with generals returning from major conquests in ancient Rome .  The slaves were employed to constantly remind the general that he wasn't a god. I bring up this history lesson to illustrate a key point.  Today's executives are very powerful, but are beholden to markets that demand exceptional financial precision.  Any...