Category Archives: Frog Thoughts

I’m getting back into the swing of living urban. Coffee shops and a killer french cruller within walking distance. Sounds of human life drifting in on morning breeze. Alternate Tuesday street cleaning and parking tickets… My wife and I started out on the Plaza in Kansas City. Relaxed compared to hard core Chicago city life, but a great all night coffee shop for late night talks between newlyweds. Waitresses that let you nurse a cup knowing your tip would rent the booth. Been a long time since kids and yards came calling. Since our focus shifted from ‘worldview’ to ‘family view’ where teacher meetings, softball, and scouting beat a night out every time.  Our move to the Chicago of skyscrapers and jazz clubs became real life with neighbors and life-long friends. Quiet nights of Mancala. Long walks on dark streets. A dog, two cats. Sometimes loud, laughter filled nights of … Continue reading →

In the Managing Technology and Innovation MBA course I am teaching this summer there is a paper due at the end of term that has a minimum and maximum page count. One of my more talented students asked me if there is a penalty for going over the ten page limit. Thought my reply might be of interest because it applies to writing in general and business writing in particular: One question I ask when reading a paper is: “Could the writer have found anything that distracted from their primary points to cut?”  My experience indicates that the answer to this question is usually yes when the paper falls within length guidelines and almost always yes when it runs longer than guidelines. This is not to say that what you might need to cut isn’t interesting or in some way important. Or that you won’t have to rewrite a sentence … Continue reading →

Teaching college has been an energizing event. It’s a nice reminder as the grown-ups have difficulty getting along that there is a great batch of excited, imaginative youth coming up the road – ready to disrupt with gusto. What I’m seeing up close now is the impact new tools have on the ability jump-start ideas.  Wasn’t that long ago that the VC’s of Silicon Valley were the enlightened financial doorkeepers to the innovation community. They’re still driving – but new tools are bringing the ability to drive entrepreneurship downstream. Moving from a technical focus to all things business. A few years ago I described Cardboard Theatre, a production my daughter helped initiate. She’s at it again this time using the latest start-up tool on the net – KickStarter. Three things I’ve noticed about KickStarter: It’s a great pre-order tool – allowing start-ups to get the customers they need before investing … Continue reading →