Noam Chomsky Speaks

Who is a terrorist?

Wal-Mart pulls out of Germany

There have been many reasons given for Wal-Mart’s failure in Germany. It seems obvious in this article that Wal-Mart had nothing new to offer the German market.

Fucked Up World

They didn’t show these images on the six o’clock news in Canada, wonder why. I’m not picking sides about this conflict but only can come to one conclusion STOP THE FUCKING MADNESS.

Luck

Seth Godin always has something insightful to say like this recent post about Factor L. I like this line:

“We live in a world of fashion, not rational computation. A world where everything from brake linings and ball bearings to clothes and airlines is chosen for unpredictable reasons.”

Also check out this Business Week article about the Crazy Logic of Sales.

Nature of Things:Cuba The Accidental Revolution

Next Sunday the CBC will be airing the first of two part documetary about Cuba.

Please don’t send me Microsoft Word documents

How many times have you been asked to send a Word document? Well don’t!

The Power of Nightmares

This evening the CBC broadcast the first episode of The Power of Nightmares which won a British Academy Television Award. The description: Every day the media reports of threats to global safety from an international terrorist network. But now, filmmaker Adam Curtis boldly asks should we be worried at all about these apparent threats? Could this be just a phantom menace constructed to keep society manipulated by fear?

Eiffel Tower is or was ugly?

As I was floating across the globe with google earth I visited the Eiffel Tower and quickly recalled the story about how ugly people thought it was went they first viewed it. Then this idea led to Malcolm Gladwell’s story about how the Aeron chair was considered ugly by many when they first looked at it and then ended up being one of the most successful chairs for Herman Miller. So how does a company or individual go against market research that says NO. Gladwell never tells us how they did it at Herman Miller but gives us this:

“Gladwell argues that it’s a mistake to rely on the first impressions of customers who are inherently biased against the unfamiliar. Herman Miller execs went against the market research, stuck with their instincts, and created the Aeron, which eventually became the company’s best-selling chair ever. “What once was ugly has become beautiful,” he writes. Unless you’re willing to take that kind of leap, he says, you’re condemned to doing knockoff, me-too chairs.

For every Herman Miller “going with your gut” success story, though, there are 100 flops by companies that didn’t listen to customers. Gladwell acknowledges this, but notes, “only by accepting the risk of failure will [a company] ever hit a home run.” Relying on the good judgment of your staff, he believes, is the key ingredient for a new kind of decision-making environment, and judgment is what companies should be screening for when hiring. With the right people in place, companies can liberate themselves from their obsession with data-driven decisions.” Fast Company
Here is a Business Week story about How Failure Breeds Success.

Ikea Bus Shelter

Link 

The Rise and Fall of the Hit

This Wired article from Chris Anderson is a great read, highly recommend.