Thursday, July 24, 2008
Intelligent Business
Having recently completed contract work for a company, I'm currently filling the position of Head of Business Development for Me Inc. After years of working in roles which require various degrees of technical or analytical ability, the field which sounds the most interesting to me given my work history is Business Intelligence. I've seen it defined as "the art of sifting through large amounts of data, extracting pertinent information, and turning that information into knowledge from which actions can be taken", though that Wikipedia entry has now been modified. Just the same, the idea of helping people sift through data to extract the information from which they can make meaningful decisions appeals to me. If anyone has a suggestion, link, or contact for a smiliar position, please let me know.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Beijing: Environmental Focus of Olympic Proportions
(source: newsimg.bbc.co.uk)It was most certainly not the intent of the organizers of the upcoming Olympics to have the world focus on environmental issues, but that's what seems to be happening. By now, most of us have seen, read, and heard commentary from climatologists, meteorologists, and other scientists who have described the pollution situation in China near the Olympic sites. The government is frantically trying to perform a clean up, but in doing so, has captured the world's attention in how it proceeds in trying to resolve large-scale issues with water and air quality. Hopefully, some good will come of this attention and intentions:
First, the world is becoming more aware of how China operates. We are certainly no environmental angels in North America, but perhaps our business leaders will be forced to take notice. As savvy and conscientious consumers, we need to pressure them with our wallets and choices into considering the ecological impact of their decisions when considering options such as outsourcing. The term filthy rich may take on a whole new connotation in today's economic climate if companies continue to operate based solely on shareholder's equity and increasing the bottom line.
Second, now that China has drawn attention to its ability to mobilize, it will be difficult for it go backwards. It, too, will be (and should be) forced to continue to consider the environmental impact of its economic growth. It will no longer be able to sweep its soot under the rug as its own citizens, as well as the eyes of the world, have seen that it can be forced to change. What it needs now is to ensure sustainability as it grows in order to promote long term economic benefits and a healthy environment for that growth.
Lastly, when the IOC considers host cities for the next games, there needs to be consideration of the impact of the games by consultation with the scientific community. Why? Because host cities bend the truth to be chosen. In China's case, the world may actually benefit if it forces them to adopt better environmental practices: they may not have realized that in today's world of blogs, cameraphones, and YouTube, you can't hide for long. London is the next host for the 2012 games. We already know that the UK has the highest rate of landfill use per capita in Europe. How do you plan to handle waste of Olympic proportions? We'll be watching, London.
First, the world is becoming more aware of how China operates. We are certainly no environmental angels in North America, but perhaps our business leaders will be forced to take notice. As savvy and conscientious consumers, we need to pressure them with our wallets and choices into considering the ecological impact of their decisions when considering options such as outsourcing. The term filthy rich may take on a whole new connotation in today's economic climate if companies continue to operate based solely on shareholder's equity and increasing the bottom line.
Second, now that China has drawn attention to its ability to mobilize, it will be difficult for it go backwards. It, too, will be (and should be) forced to continue to consider the environmental impact of its economic growth. It will no longer be able to sweep its soot under the rug as its own citizens, as well as the eyes of the world, have seen that it can be forced to change. What it needs now is to ensure sustainability as it grows in order to promote long term economic benefits and a healthy environment for that growth.
Lastly, when the IOC considers host cities for the next games, there needs to be consideration of the impact of the games by consultation with the scientific community. Why? Because host cities bend the truth to be chosen. In China's case, the world may actually benefit if it forces them to adopt better environmental practices: they may not have realized that in today's world of blogs, cameraphones, and YouTube, you can't hide for long. London is the next host for the 2012 games. We already know that the UK has the highest rate of landfill use per capita in Europe. How do you plan to handle waste of Olympic proportions? We'll be watching, London.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Hey, you with the cell phone - pay attention. It could save your life.
On the way to the metro this morning, I witnessed something that gave me quite a jolt. A man with a cell phone glued to his ear jogged across a busy thoroughfare when the light was red for him. After he passed the median, he kept going. A car was coming in the centre of three lanes just as he got there, slammed on the brakes and hit him. With a screech and thud my heart stopped as I watched him bend at the waist and then bounce off the hood of the car and roll back onto the road. By some miracle, the man got up, phone still glued to his ear, and ran up the street. I couldn't believe it. I imagine he felt some pain after the shock wore off later on. That poor driver must have been shaken by the experience, as well.
The point of my telling you about this is not to wonder at his good fortune, but to underline the inevitability of the event. People lose focus while they're on the phone. I've had many occasions where I've had to honk at oblivious jaywalkers and judgement-impaired pedestrians as they wander into the street absorbed in their phone or music player. If this sounds like you, then I'm asking you to keep your head up, your eyes open, and to be more aware of what's going on around you. The last thing I'll say is that guy is damn lucky the driver wasn't on the phone.
The point of my telling you about this is not to wonder at his good fortune, but to underline the inevitability of the event. People lose focus while they're on the phone. I've had many occasions where I've had to honk at oblivious jaywalkers and judgement-impaired pedestrians as they wander into the street absorbed in their phone or music player. If this sounds like you, then I'm asking you to keep your head up, your eyes open, and to be more aware of what's going on around you. The last thing I'll say is that guy is damn lucky the driver wasn't on the phone.
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