Links for Sunday Feb 9 2014

Technology Consultant - Eric D. Brown | Image for link posts
  • Ford’s data scientist: Keep all the data and sort it out later — Tech News and Analysis

    Quote: Ford Data Scientist Mike Cavaretta, talks about just how important all that social media output along with machine data could be to drive (ha!) the design and production of better cars. Oh, and sell more of them. As we enter the connected car era, the importance of accurate, actionable data will only get more critical.

  • Poor Results Should be Addressed by Improving the System Not Blaming Individuals » Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog

    Quote: Even when the person did totally mess up, why did the system allow that? Why did the system put that person in a place where they were not qualified? Answering and fixing these types of questions would help improve the system and the results going forward.

  • The Enterprise Strikes Back On Open Source Contributions – ReadWrite

    Quote: But it is the Web companies that are building data superstructure on the Internet. Do they owe a huge debt of gratitude to yesterday’s open source pioneers? Yes. But does this make it wrong to call them out for the exceptionally exciting work they’re doing enabling a new future built on data at unprecedented scale? No way.

  • How does the Collaborative Economy Weed out the Jerks? | Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang | Digital Business

    Quote: The system will break, then fix. Accidents will happen and jerks will game the system. Then the system will self-correct. Expect this self-healing process to go on for many years. The process of self-correction is a component of nearly anything systemic.

  • IBM Smarter PlanetVoice: Three Ways Social Networking Leads To Better Business – Forbes

    Quote: Companies that are not taking advantage of social tools and technologies are already falling behind, and this trend will only accelerate. Instead of just pushing messages out to people, successful businesses are becoming social businesses. They are creating dynamic connections and personalized experiences that pull people in by means of social networks, which define and deliver the information and value to customers. And they are constantly analyzing and improving the way that they are transforming themselves to become even more successful.

  • Canceling eFax by David of Basecamp

    Quote: If you allow a customer to signup 24/7/365, you should damn well allow that customer to cancel their service 24/7/365. If you allow them to signup self-service, you should damn well allow that customer to cancel by self-service. Anything less is just crummy.

  • The Value of Marginal Gains

    Quote: But the truth is that most of the significant things in life aren’t stand-alone events, but rather the sum of all the moments when we chose to do things 1 percent better or 1 percent worse. Aggregating these marginal gains makes a difference. There is power in small wins and slow gains. This is why average speed yields above average results. This is why the system is greater than the goal. This is why mastering your habits is more important than achieving a certain outcome.

  • “I Need To Hire A Rainmaker!” | Partners in EXCELLENCE Blog — Making A Difference

    Quote: In complex B2B sales, I don’t believe rainmakers exist. There may be that executive or person that participated in a significant call, helping move the ball forward. But what about all the work required to get the ball in position in the first place. What about all the work that continues after that call. That’s the real stuff of high performance B2B sales, that’s where the high performers live, consistently executing, every day, with each customer and each deal. It’s about making things happen, small and large, every day, week after week, month after month.