Data Visualization

Being able to visualize data is an important step for identifying problems and making change. Luckily there are many data viz tools out there now.  Check out this list:

http://www.sourcemap.org
http://www.good.is/infographics
http://flowingdata.com/
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/david_mccandless_the_beauty_of_data_visualization.html
http://www.ted.com/speakers/hans_rosling.html
http://www.google.com/publicdata/home
http://data.worldbank.org/
http://www.coolinfographics.com/
http://www.infographicsshowcase.com/

Sustainable Politics depends on Trust

But when it comes to politics, where over 300 million people are affected, and the issues are many, complex and interdependent, systematic trust building is necessary.  Often, what is promised simply cannot be delivered in a short timeframe due to the complexity of the task and unanticipated roadblocks.  In this case, the best tool for building systematic trust is transparency.  It doesn’t help that the media likes to quote leaders out of context, taking promises made years ago and contrasting it with a shortfall clip of today, without explaining the complexities and direction change in between.  Adding to this are the emotional attachments to each political party’s historical branding.  To combat this requires a place where facts are displayed for all to see.   This would at least provide some basis for objective examination, even if political affiliations tend to be based on emotion rather than intellect.

Obama started pushing transparency in his administration with his Declaration of Transparency.  The reviews are mixed.  It’s better than before, but this TIME article criticizes the lack of total transparency by the administration on the item of White House visitor logs.  Indeed, even when it comes to transparency, there are many gray zones since there are national security concerns around transparency.  But federal program performance should be visible, and to a large extent, it is more visible today.  USAspending.gov provides information on where the government is spending money, while Data.gov provides various data sets from government agencies.  Recovery.gov tracks recovery dollar funded projects and results, and the coming-soon Performance.gov will provide reviews of agency performance that will be taken into consideration as the White House makes budgetary plans.

Today’s issues are complex and increasingly interrelated.  Transparency should a priority factor in trust building.  Everyone will have their own opinion when it comes to politics; check out this Bloomberg piece on CEO ratings of Obama’s performance.  So it’s imperative to provide all the information necessary so that people can make an informed opinion.  It's the essence of good, sustainable politics in today's skeptic environment.

The Money Fix and the Unemployment Paradox

The monetary system operates on the premise of scarcity.  Less money is issued than needed in order to maintain the value of money.  So while there is plenty of work to be done, and plenty of desire to work, there is currently a lack of jobs.  Why the unemployment paradox?  This movie, The Money Fix, explains how money is created and its systemic deficiency that creates the unemployment paradox.  Communities are solving the problem by bartering.

The movie provides a good explanation of how money is created by the federal bank, gives compelling interviews of community bartering systems, and explores money scarcity as the reason for the unemployment paradox.  It is weak on explaining the finer details of some of its assertions, such as the assertion that someone in the system has to eventually go bankrupt due to the scarcity in the money supply.  Nonetheless, it is an interesting watch.

Now Mentoring: Advice for a new student

It's the beginning of semester at Presidio Graduate School, which means a new batch of fresh minds.  I remember well my excitement on my first day at Presidio.  I cannot believe it has already been two dramatic and lifechanging years for me.  Here are a few things that are useful to know up front:
1. Experience it to the fullest.  You get what you put into it.  Budget time to attend the social events, spend time interacting with the students, and go on ski trips with Presidio.  As with any school experience, by the time you graduate, it's who you know, not what you know.  So budget your time accordingly.
2. Spend time to reflect.  Expect to grow not just intellectually, but also as a person.  The questions that we grapple with at Presidio are borderline philosophical.  Spend the time to reflect, be philosophical, and get to know yourself all over again.  It will be life-changing.
3. Chill out, and roll with the drama.  Presidio is a young school and quite dramatic at times.  This can be distracting.  Learn to laugh about it.  Remember the passion and positive intention of the Presidio community, and use that energy to find common ground.  If you are politically inclined, use this opportunity to involve yourself in student government.
4. Start something.  One benefit of a new school is that you carve your own path.  Presidio is not for the lack of courage.  Leverage this friendly community to test drive something, anything. Every club or function at Presidio was started by a passionate individual who just said "I'm doing it."  Get involved, get active and get your hands dirty.
5. Go part time in semester 3.  I took semester 3 full time, and there are certainly benefits to this.  But if school is not your only gig, take semester 3 part time because the classes are top notch, and you wouldn't want to rush through it.

Good Luck and Have Fun!

If you are a new student and have specific questions, add a comment or send me an email.  I'll respond with a post.  I will keep it annonymous unless you request otherwise.

Final Day of the Semester!

Semester three was the hardest semester from a workload standpoint, so I am glad to report that I just finished the last day of it!  With three projects involving outside partners, and one project which results in a product or service prototype, this semester has certainly kept me busy!  I have also enjoyed it the most out of my career at Presidio so far.  The classes were interesting, and the integration of learning between classes is phenomenal.  After building foundational knowledge in year one, year two starts connecting the dots, and that's really exciting.  Now, time to do some skiing!

Profit with Values

A great introduction talk about merging investing with sustainable values, and the value of diversity in decision making.

Social Media Tools to Aid Mid-cycle Strategic Planning

Mintzberg’s article, the Fall and Rise of Strategic Planning in Harvard Business Review set off a lightbulb for me.  By clearly defining strategic thinking apart from strategic planning, Mintzberg explained the curiosity of companies that hold strategy meetings despite continued lack of success.(Mintzberg, 1994)  When this subtle difference between strategic thinking and strategic planning is not successfully imprinted on strategy meeting attendees, causing epic brain shutdown in the annual stretch between strategy meetings.

To be fair, it is difficult to change course in large companies.  Once a strategy is decided upon, everyone breathes a sigh of relief, plops the old train cart on the new train tracks, and once again chugs along with blinders on.  Bringing decision makers to the table again mid-year is just too much trouble.  But it needs to be done, because strategic thinking never stops.  Or at least it shouldn’t.  There needs to be ways to differentiate between strategic thinking that can be tabled for the next big meeting, and the ones that must be acted upon ASAP.  In addition, since Strategic Thinking = Systems Thinking, all functions of the company needs to engage in it.  But how do we engage so many people in a meaningful conversation outside of the planning cycle?  I believe social media can provide some answers.  Google Moderator can be a useful way to capture thoughts and garner support.  Can you think of other tools that can help with mid-cycle strategic thought capture and strategy planning?

References:

Hoskisson, R. E., Hitt, M. A., & Ireland, R. D. (2008). Competing for Advantage. Cengage Learning.

Mintzberg, H. (1994). The Fall and Rise of Strategic Planning. Harvard Business Review, 72(1), 107-114. doi:Article