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The Problem with Most Thought Leadership Today is Simple: It’s Godawful Boring

It doesn’t seem to matter who publishes it, whether a big accounting or consulting firm, or a leading IT company. And it doesn’t much matter if it’s a white paper, a blog, an assessment tool, a LinkedIn post, or a tweet. Most thought leadership — which collectively costs billions of dollars to develop and distribute — seems crafted not to engage and not to offend. It’s just another checked box on the annual marketing plan. Here’s a typical example (fill in the blanks as you wish): In 2016, [choose from “leading, “savvy,” or “smart”] executives in the [insert economic [...]

By |2016-12-21T23:37:20+00:00February 11th, 2016|John R. Brandt, Thought Leadership|Comments Off on The Problem with Most Thought Leadership Today is Simple: It’s Godawful Boring
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Internet of Things Executive Summary

The MPI Internet of Things Study was designed to evaluate the readiness of U.S. manufacturers to incorporate smart devices and embedded intelligence within their plants and processes. We’re particularly interested in executives’ plans to improve business performance via the Internet of Things (IoT) — and for developing and selling products with embedded intelligence. The study looks deeply into how manufacturers will leverage IoT capabilities, along with the challenges they face. Download the Internet of Things Executive Summary The MPI Internet of Things Study was conducted by The MPI Group, and sponsored by Rockwell Automation, QAD, and BDO. In August [...]

By |2019-10-29T17:10:55+00:00February 5th, 2016|Internet of Things|Comments Off on Internet of Things Executive Summary
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Innovation Evolution

I recently retrieved my turntable from the basement, dusted it off, and tossed on the 1978 vinyl classic Life in the Foodchain by Tonio K. I enjoyed it as much as ever, and could hear why Steve Simels, Stereo Review magazine, once wrote that it was “the greatest album ever recorded.” This got me to wondering what had become of Tonio K. (Steve Krikorian). I found www.toniok.com, and learned that Krikorian had released eight albums through 2001. He has been writing songs for other artists, including Al Green, Patty Smyth, and Burt Bacharach, with works appearing in films such [...]

By |2019-10-29T17:11:01+00:00November 2nd, 2015|George Taninecz, Innovation|Comments Off on Innovation Evolution
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Gardening PDCA

The do phase of PDCA (plan/do/check/adjust) usually gets the most attention. Even if people don’t like change, they eventually get on board during the do phase and try to improve their function, process, or work activities. It often happens, though, that after changes are made, many move on to the next problem or opportunity and fail to follow the PDCA cycle to the check and adjust phases. For one activity that I annually seek to improve — vegetable gardening — I prefer the check phase. Each year in late November and December, I receive seed catalogs from across the [...]

By |2016-12-21T22:49:33+00:00August 11th, 2015|George Taninecz, Operations Improvement, PDCA|Comments Off on Gardening PDCA
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