Category Archives: humour

None of Us …

… is as dumb as all of us!

While generally regarded as true, there has, unfortunately, been a lack of evidence to support the belief … until now! As per this recent article on the Knowledge @ Wharton site on “how group dynamics may be killing innovation”, a recent study by Christian Terwiesch and Karl Ulrich demonstrated that the average quality of the ideas generated by the hybrid process [where participants were given time to brainstorm on their own] were better than those that came from the team process by roughly 30 percentage points. While this may not be the gap the researchers were hoping for, it shows that even in a simple study where there is nothing to lose by trying to get the best idea pushed through, it won’t happen if everyone is asked to innovate as a team. I can only imagine how much innovation is being lost when there are real stakes in the real world! Innovation requires creativity and vision … more specifically, creativity of the individual and the vision of the group to realize it.

Is The Road to Riches Paved With Oil?

… and blood?

According to this recent article in the Wall Street Journal by Scott Adams, if you want to get rich, put your money on companies that you hate the most because the usual reason for hating a company is that the company is so powerful it can make you balance your wallet on your nose while you beg for their product. Why? Those companies are typically wildly successful and the type that will generate a big return on your investment. Like the oil companies. One accident turns paradise into purdition, but they still get richer and more powerful. And if they have a Dogbert in charge, with a Catbert managing human resources, they do even better. Which leads me to ask, is the road to riches paved with oil, or, as the recent rash of suicides at a major manufacturer appear to demonstrate, blood?

Only Three Weeks To Go. Help Dave Reach 10 Million Views!

On July 6, 2009, Dave Carroll shared his story with the world about how United Airlines carelessly broke his guitar on March 31, 2008, when he was on the way to a week-long tour of Nebraska, and how United refused to accept any responsibility or fix it. (Full story.) As you may recall, his story, expressed in a music video on YouTube, was an overnight sensation that quickly received over Three Million views in the first week. It was such a sensation that it even inspired the Harvard Business Review to do a case study on how viral videos spread and what firms can do about them.

 

To date, the trilogy has garnered over 9,860,000 views!

United Breaks Guitars Views (June 15, 2010)
Song 1  8,676,851
Song 2  1,025,128
Song 3  160,662
TOTAL  9,862,641

 

Since the first video was released on July 6, 2009, this means that we’re only three weeks away from the one year anniversary! It’s time to step up and thank Dave by ensuring that his fantastic efforts receive the Ten Million Hits they deserve before the anniversary is reached … because the airlines, as a whole, still haven’t gotten the message. United Breaks Guitars, Northwest Breaks Dulcimers, and now Delta Smashes Bicycles, proving that they just don’t care whether or not you TriAndGiveaDam or whether or not the children in Africa have water.

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