Electromagnetic theory is an interesting model for thinking about the relationship between knowledge and imagination. The former involves flows of physical energy, the latter flows of psychic energy. Just as a flow of electrons creates a magnetic field, a flow of knowledge (eg, a stimulating discussion) creates an imaginative field and just as a changing Continue Reading...
Joseph Campbell, one of the preeminent scholars of mythology, said this about its future: “You can’t predict what a myth is going to be any more than you can predict what you’re going to dream tonight. Myths and dreams come from the same place. They come from realizations of some kind that have then to Continue Reading...
The “sky is falling” urgency isn’t new, but it’s puzzling if our goal is to make a convincing case. Aren’t there enough facts without polluting them with fiction? Here’s a tongue in cheek Op Ed Piece about the Social Media Juggernaut which I recently wrote for the Pacific Coast Business Times
You accept the diagnosis that SOCIAL MEDIA IS CHANGING EVERYTHING. You’ve heard that your company’s long term health requires that you GET STARTED IMMEDIATELY. Fortunately, all the experts agree on EXACTLY WHAT YOU SHOULD DO. But wait a minute…. You no longer blindly accept courses of treatment just because they’re the state of the art Continue Reading...
Your social media strategy needs to address social media as a symbolic as well as a material reality. The management of symbols is different from the management of technology and confusing them can lead to both wishful thinking and missed opportunities. Symbols are emotional objects pointing to something beyond themselves. Their value derives from what Continue Reading...
Base Hit Innovation is the unsung hero of innovation. It doesn’t grab the hearts and minds of the thought leaders, headlines, business school cases and conference presentations. Home run innovation is the killer app, the sensational new toy that sells out, the cool new digital audio player or video recorder that takes popular culture by Continue Reading...
Social media is essentially an interactive technology that supports two learning dynamics: learning from and learning with. The general view of it as a communication tool that lets us add to and listen to the global, unstructured data stream emphasizes the “learning from” dynamic: When you read a blog entry that tells about an experience Continue Reading...
A wiki is a collaboratively created web site. Instead of sending out an email with an idea, a person puts that idea in the appropriate place on the wiki. Instead of responding to an email, people go to the wiki and elaborate or edit. This article contains a brief overview of how wikis and email Continue Reading...
If you’re getting involved with social media, you must believe the premise that it gets you better and more robust ideas than a consultant could deliver. So then why use a consultant to feed you social media ideas? Instead, use social media to get ideas from your employees and other stakeholders. There are at least Continue Reading...