Services 2020

"Open Foresight"

"China saw $54.5 billion invested into its clean energy sector, mostly to wind power projects, according to analysis by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Germany was second with $41.2 billion of investment, largely in small-scale solar. Some of the biggest growth in investment was in India and Latin America."

More evidence that the future needs to slow down or we need to write faster.....

"They are computer scientists, statisticians, graphic designers, producers and cartographers who map entire oceans of data and turn them into innovative visual displays, like rich graphs and charts, that help both companies and consumers cut through the clutter. These gurus of visual analytics are making interactive data synonymous with attractive data. "

The US increasingly conforms the equality of its economy to those of its nearest rivals: Russia, India, Iran.

Malcolm Turbull on Wikileaks, "There will be a medium term impact on the candour with which people talk to American officials. Frankly if I were an American citizen I would be less outraged with Assange than I would be with a Government that can allow such a gigantic breach of security. The United States will need to demonstrate that it has changed its ways, and it is not that hard. Most large organisations will not permit downloading of material to an external medium without express authorisation as those of you who work for large firms should already know. And it goes without saying that if a young Private can copy so much classified material off his own volition, how vulnerable are US systems to more sophisticated operatives who have the backing and expertise provided by foreign intelligence agencies. We will remain forever, I imagine, rightly angry at the recklessness of receiving and publishing so much confidential material. So far it seems less harm has been done than might have been the case, but the risks are extraordinary and if only one life was lost, if only one sensitive operation was compromised then the heavy responsibility for that must lie with Assange. I would like to hope that in the future such revelations will be more discriminating, but it is hard to be confident. The lesson for Governments, apart from improving their security, is to assume that everything said or written will, sooner or later, see the light of day. That may not be a good thing, and it certainly doesn't make life easier, but it is, I fear, a reality. The Governments with most to fear from such disclosure are those whose public statements are at odds with their private opinions - and as I noted earlier so far it appears, to its credit, that the US State Department's private cables have been consistent with their public policy."

Really great summary of future themes at SXSW. The less sensational headline is "the internet considered as something distinct from everyday life is over".

There are two people, and only two, whose ideas must be taught to every MBA in the world: Michael Porter and Henry Mintzberg.  This was true more than 25 years ago, when I did my MBA at USC. These are two academics who have had real impact for a long time.  Part of their success, beyond having big relevant ideas, is due to their clear and concise writing skills (There is certainly a lesson in there for many of us business school academics). Both have been very influential in the study of strategy, an area of considerable interest to many Forbes readers.  You can contrast their two views as Porter's taking a more deliberate strategy approach while Mintzberg's emphasize emergent strategy.   Both are still taught, in fact, I taught Porter's 3 Generic Strategies and his 5 Forces Model not two weeks ago in an undergraduate strategy course at McGill. Which is most useful today?

an interesting argument that latin america is on an ascendant trajectory

"U.S. intelligence officials say that in hindsight, using open sources like Facebook and Twitter could have helped them predict the uprisings that have swept the Arab world."

Nice summary from Jamais on open foresight