Business, Tech, Consulting, Analytics

What happens with the internal combustion engine (ICE) goes away? My postage sized yard was due for a haircut this weekend, so I stepped into the garage to get my lawnmower. I thought ... nuts; I forgot to get gas, and it has been a while since I have changed the oil.  Oh, wait .... I have an electric lawn mower with an 82 volt battery.  Just press the button and go.  Gas in the garage is gone forever. Take a look at the graph below (courtesy Bloomberg,  https://about.bnef.com/blog/behind-scenes-take-lithium-ion-battery-prices/ ): I t does not take a genius to figure out what will happen.  Batteries are getting cheaper and more powerful every year.  It’s an inexorable form of Moore’s law.   Making no assumptions about the environmental goodness of human beings, we can assume that if two things provide the same service and one is cheaper, we’ll go low cost.  Some implications: Within 5-7 years no more ICE powered cars will be ma...

Getting stuck Nearly everywhere you’ll find examples of people who are too good at their specialty.  The Latin term is “ stuckus-in-placeus .”   Let’s do a thought experiment:  assume you could go back in time and look at some of these people when they were  new employees.  They probably had a wide range of interests and skills.  Then, perhaps by chance, they got involved in projects that were a good match with their talent and personality. Praise, raises, and respect came shortly after.  They focused even more on their narrow strengths and become respected by peers and management.  They felt great until one day, working at 10pm, they experienced the unsavory feeling of being stuck. Perhaps one of them was an attorney.  She thought “I’m the best at bankruptcy lawyer in town.  Partners look to me for guidance whenever the topic comes up.  But after five years I’m still a senior associate.  No partner track gets me...

The Great Filter I just began writing an introductory book on immigration law, with Gianelli Henley, immigration attorney in Jacksonville, Florida.  A few things struck me as I started my research: First, naturalization is an arduous process.  It is easier to thread a sewing machine while it is running than to become a naturalized citizen.  If you are Joe Wanna-be-a-citizen, you start with dozens of forms, any one of which could be rejected and need to be resubmitted.  Next,  you jump through lots of hoops: Can you prove you have cash for at least six months' of living expense? Can you prove you are marrying a US citizen for love and not just to be naturalized?  If Joe wants to marry Sally, a US citizen, then they need to make sure all their stories line up for the interview.  Immigration services are looking for any hint that the marriage is a sham.  Ever been arrested?  Ever had financial problems in the home country?  Ever oversta...

Fashion I'm reading Foundation , by Peter Ackroyd, a book about early English history,.  He's an entertaining writer and throws off some interesting FYI-type comments.  Apparently in medieval England, the thing was to show off clothing with the brightest possible colors.  No matter that the colors clashed.  Bright, loud clothes showed your membership in the well-to-do gentry or aristocracy.  Even different colored shoes were au courant.  I started thinking about fashion in general.  There is no real standard, except that change is mandatory. Many people like quasi-random style variations--it provides an opportunity to broadcast status and success.  So how can this help business people?  Style can be embedded in anything. Customers at the grocery store may walk by the bathroom supplies section and see a toilet bowl brush.  Surely there are no style considerations there.   But yes indeed, a brush with a long, delicately curv...