Harvard Business Review (January 24)
Clayton Christensen (1952–2020) changed the way people think. “Once you see the world through his theories of innovation, you can’t un-see them. They pervade everything in your life.”
Tags: Christensen, Innovation, Pervade, Theories, Think, Un-see
The Economist (September 1)
“If Silicon Valley’s relative decline heralded the rise of a global web of thriving, rival tech hubs, that would be worth celebrating. Unfortunately, the Valley’s peak looks more like a warning that innovation everywhere is becoming harder.”
Tags: Decline, Innovation, Peak, Rivals, Silicon Valley, Tech hubs, Warning
Financial Times (June 13)
“We live in an age judged to be one of exciting technological change, but our national accounts tell us that productivity is almost stagnant. Is the slowdown or the innovation an illusion?” The truth is we don’t yet know and it might be something else. There might be a measurement error or a lag before big gains from AI and other revolutionary technologies kick in.
Tags: Change, Illusion, Innovation, Lag AI, Measurement, Productivity, Revolutionary, Slowdown, Stagnant, Technologies
The Atlantic (April Issue)
In the 1950s, most “Americans had a favorable opinion of large businesses.” These days, they only hold small businesses in esteem. “A majority of Americans now view large businesses as self-serving and self-dealing.” But these perceptions are based on myths. “Disdain for large businesses exaggerates their malfeasance while misapprehending their vital role in continued American success.” And that leads to more problems. “Feeding off the popular esteem for small business, policy makers are handicapping Big Business—in the process lowering productivity, dampening innovation, and hurting U.S. global competitiveness.”
Tags: Disdain, Esteem, Favorable, Global competitiveness, Innovation, Large businesses, Malfeasance, Myths, Opinion, Perceptions, Productivity, Self-dealing, Self-serving, Small businesses, U.S.
Institutional Investor (May 15)
“The Cambrian explosion has nothing on institutional investing.” Rather than millions of years, institutional investing’s journey from small and simple to enormously complex took only half a century…. The unfortunate and ironic part is that all this innovation has done little to quell crises…. Underlying every instance of disaster is the same root: We simply do not know what we think we know.”
Tags: Cambrian, Complex, Crises, Disaster, Innovation, Institutional, Investing, Simple
The Economist (January 14)
“When education fails to keep pace with technology, the result is inequality. Without the skills to stay useful as innovations arrive, workers suffer—and if enough of them fall behind, society starts to fall apart.” Robotics and artificial intelligence now emerging “call for another education revolution.” But to succeed, the offerings will need to be lifelong and attract those who aren’t already considered high achievers.
Tags: AI, Education, High achievers, Inequality, Innovation, Lifelong, Pace, Robotics, Skills, Society, Technology, Useful, Workers
Institutional Investor (June 16)
“Short-termism, often driven by activists, can have grave implications for corporations, for our economy and sometimes for society overall. Innovation, discovery and hiring are curtailed when R&D projects are put on hold or cancelled because of short-term pressures…. Short-termism also leads to mispricing, misallocation of assets and a lack of reliable information about long-term prospects.”
Tags: Activists, Assets, Corporations, Discovery, Economy, Hiring, Innovation, Misallocation, Mispricing, Prospects, R&D, Short-termism, Society
The Economist (April 23)
With a dominant European market share, Google has come under fire from the European Commission. Google deserves to profit from its acumen, but this “has to be balanced against the need to inspire innovations that might complement Android or Google Search—or even displace them. It is now up to Google to demonstrate that its mobile strategy does not harm competition, and thus consumers.”
Tags: Android, Competition, Consumers, Dominant, Europe, European Commission, Google, Innovation, Market share, Mobile strategy, Profit, Search
Financial Times (April 3)
“The tide in the debate over the UK’s continued membership of the EU is turning against those campaigning to remain. This is not surprising, but the weakness of their arguments is puzzling.” Relying on scare tactics and narrow appeals to economic arguments misses the mark. “The main economic factors in favour of EU are not trade, but research, science and innovation policy.”
Tags: Debate, EU, Innovation, Membership, Remain, Research, Scare tactics. Economic factors, Science, Trade, UK
Wall Street Journal (January 3)
Not just one, but “two U.S. companies have landed a rocket safely after space flight.” This major breakthrough “could make space commuting for commerce and exploration a reality.” This “is also a sign of America’s continuing economic vitality.” The competition between two private sector companies “should lead to more rapid innovation, and the development of private U.S. rocketry will make the country less dependent on Russian rockets for various government or commercial purposes.”
Tags: Breakthrough, Commerce, Competition, Economic vitality, Exploration, Innovation, Private-sector, Rocket, Russia, U.S.
