How Group Decisions Can End up Wrong!

How Investment Committees Go Amiss - WSJ.com

Jason Zweig, in his column, The Intelligent Investor, points out that financial decisions made by committees, are often bad decisions. His advice applies to all kinds of decisions.

• Measure what factors predict success.
  
• Rank the people (and rank the ideas) using metrics.
  
• Reframe the question. Develop arguments "pro" and "con".
  
• Ask "the five whys". Why is the idea superior? Why is this the 'right" answer? Why...?, Why...? Why...?
  
• Define the default position. Any deviation from the default should require extraordinary evidence.

Excellent advice for ANY decision making.

A List of 100 Attributes for People to Succeed

Thanks to Guy Kawasaki for putting this website on Twitter.
Check out the complete list.
Some of my favorites are:
3- Get comfortable asking for advice and help.
4- Present your (startup) ideas to anyone who will listen
5- Get really, really good at concisely stating your (business) idea.
11- What pain are you fixing? And whose pain is it? Who are the stakeholders?
14- Details vs. General. Actually you need both views.
19- Is work fun for you? If not don't bother.
26- "Ready, aim, fire." Should be "ready, fire, adjust."

Very valuable. For everyone, whether you are starting a new venture, or working to be successful in an existing company. I wish someone had given me this list 40 years ago!

Write an Elevator Pitch for Your Blog [Day 1 -31DBBB]

Help to Develop an Elevator Pitch... see this worthwhile website.
Elevator Pitch is not just something to snare an investor. Rather, we all need to create a 1 minute talk that explains-

1. Need- Who is the USER and What is his/her need/ problem?
   
2. Vision- What will we do to address the need?
   
3. Benefits- What will happen when we solve it?
4. Feasible- Why will we succeed? Technically possible, affordable, strategy for making it a reality.
5. Passion- Why is this something important that will make the world a better place?

And then "pitch it" to everyone you meet, to enlist support! Good Luck! Focus on NEEDS not wants. Never stop. Make your vision a reality.

Growth Model is Unsustainable Ponzi Scheme

Thomas Friedman in NY Times today- The Inflection is Near?

What if the crisis of 2008 represents something much more fundamental than a deep recession? What if it’s telling us that the whole growth model we created over the last 50 years is simply unsustainable economically and ecologically and that 2008 was when we hit the wall — when Mother Nature and the market both said: “No more.”

"Crisis is Opportunity" and young people in my class at RPI are working to change the present model. Some of their innovations include:

• Affordable method of providing safe drinking water for billions of people around the world.
• Inexpensive way to eliminate 20% of the mercury pollution in the world, caused by artisinal gold miners in countries like Brazil. We all suffer from this pollution.
  
• New method and device to find and eliminate land mines and other explosives- far less expensive, faster and safer. Finally, we could rid the world of land mines.

Agricultural Waste Plus Mushrooms = Sustainable, Affordable, Better Products
Ecovative Design, was started in 2007, by 2 former students from my class, Inventor's Studio. They continue to make great progress, turning agricultural waste material into useful, biodegradable products, that cost less and are far better in every way. And their work has gained support from numerous agencies including EPA, NYSERDA and Picnic Green Challenge- they won 500,000 Euros in November, first prize. Watch Eben Bayer's presentation. (Full Disclosure: I am an investor in Ecovative Design.)

These bright, motivated young engineers are passionate about making a real difference in the world, especially for the people with the greatest need. And the work that they are doing promises benefits for all. They are changing the model that relies on ever increasing consumption, to one that is based on addressing the most basic needs, in a sustainable way, that protects Mother Nature, creates new jobs for themselves and others around the world and makes life BETTER for everyone. I am so proud of them. They make me optimistic that we can successfully change the present Growth/Business Model. Let's all support this type of thinking and action.

Designers Need to Design the Business Model

An often overlooked part of creating a new product is to also design the Business Model. This is also the responsibility of the engineer or designer. Read about Business Model. Your choice of a business model provides many opportunities for innovation.

This is not the same as a Business Plan, which contains much more information including financial projections. Rather, your Business Model considers and defines the key elements needed to manufacture, distribute and finance your proposed idea.

Now More Than Ever- People, Products and Companies Must Create Value

Each of us needs to constantly ask ourselves, "How can I create more real value for my customers? What is the "Value Proposition"?" In the past, we could get away with simply creating products or services that looked better or were advertised in a clever way.
In this New Reality, long term success depends on producing real value.

• Products need to be FAR BETTER in Every Way, than what exists.
  
• Make the USER #1- Put the user first and always do what is best for him/her, rather than what seems best way to produce near term profits for you and your company.
  
• Green is good, but whatever it is, needs to be less expensive.
• Products and services need to provide additional FUNCTIONS. Look at the Apple iPhone. It isn't just a cool phone or a camera. It can provide a growing list of additional functions
• These new functions need to create value. Don't be fooled by applications that are just "Cute", with no real value that you can point to. How do they save- time and money?
  
• Perhaps the easiest route to making products better is to make them "smarter". Add low cost sensors and electronics in order to add value.
  

Willem Kolff, MD Lives On!

Dr. Willem Kolff, inventor of dialysis and heart machines died at 97. Read his obituary. I had the good fortune of meeting Dr. Kolff several times at meetings of the American Society of Artificial Organs, in the 1970's.
He knew that making progress requires taking risks, even with a person's life. But the results of his risk taking, vision and hard work have saved the lives of many thousands of patients, who rely on connection to a modern dialysis machine to keep them alive.

• He did not accept that failure of an organ meant certain death. Insisted that there must be a solution.
  
• Used readily available materials and quick tests to prove his concepts
• Improved results through iteration and collaboration with others.
• He was always open to new ideas and to listening to young engineers (like me).

Dr. Kolff's life and accomplishments live as an inspiration to future innovators. I teach a freshman design studio at RPI. Three years ago, Oliver Williams and his 3 teammates, were working to design a device to filter water and make it safe to drink. They did research and found 10 different methods. One was "reverse osmosis". They read that an animal intestine could be used as the membrane. Just like Dr. Kolff, Oliver built a working model, using sausage casing from the local butcher, a hand pump, some plastic tubing and 2 plastic 1 gallon jugs. He put apple cider in one jug, pumped and got clear water out into the second jug. Dr. Kolff LIVES.