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CLEAR SPACE THINKING - the original - lipscombe.richard@gmail.com
Thursday, 2 February 2012
the state of digital media

 

digital media should be in great shape right now because it is so pervasive...  everywhere you turn there is a digital media message for you about whatever brands you favour.... you and I are being carpet bombed with digital media that aims to help us decide what to spend our money on...  problem is digital media is not like the old analogue media... it does not work well as a prompt to buy or a demand creator instead its role is to re-inforce what you already think, believe, experience, etc.... it works best as a 'like button' on Facebook rather than a commercial on TV....  problem is the 'like button' is over rated....


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 2:59 PM EADT
the state of digital media

 

digital media should be in great shape right now because it is so pervasive...  everywhere you turn there is a digital media message for you about whatever brands you favour.... you and I are being carpet bombed with digital media that aims to help us decide what to spend our money on...  problem is digital media is not like the old analogue media... it does not work well as a prompt to buy or a demand creator instead its role is to re-inforce what you already think, believe, experience, etc.... it works best as a 'like button' on Facebook rather than a commercial on TV....  problem is the 'like button' is over rated....


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 2:59 PM EADT
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
like buttons on Facebook

 

like buttons are popular but meaningless.... no they are dangerous... everyone feels good when other like them, their opinions, their ideology, or their taste.... but what if you don't?  in that case there is nowhere to go... nowhere to object, to begin a debate, to openly discuss alternatives.... we are stuck with de-leveraging, deflation, slow growth, unequal shares of wealth, etc... what is there to 'like' there?  when people consider what is in propect they adopt what others think by pushing a 'like button' ....  the more of us who do that the longer this de-leveraging misery will last....


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 12:17 PM EADT
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Who controls the cloud?

 

my data sits on a US server or cloud.  I own the data t who is responsible for controlling it?  turns out it could be the US government.  but I know nothing about the US privacy laws that pertain to the storage and transfer of data across America's borders. my data could be swept up in a national security net that is looking for something unrelated to what I own - what do I do then.  

the concept of cloud computing is that our data sits up there above the land based conventions, rules, and acts of society.  the reality is that the cloud is land based and subject to new laws that are being passed without reference to you or me.  this is not something to be concerned about per se because most of these laws will not affect us.  but corporates and bigger entities may have to consider where thier clouds are located and what legal responsibilities apply to the storage and transfer of data in 2012 and beyond. 


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 9:38 AM EADT
Updated: Thursday, 26 January 2012 12:19 PM EADT
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
The State Of The Union

 

The United States is in deeper trouble than anyone thought.... the trouble is not with the people because they are hardworking, innovative, and peace loving... the trouble is not with the economy because there are signs of improvement.... the trouble is the President is not up to the job...  his State of the Union address was simply not credible and not worthy of the high office he holds... Obama is likeable, intelligent, and a skilful orator but he is not a leader and thus not what America needs right now....  RIP America at least until you find a President who is up for the job....


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 3:46 PM EADT
Updated: Wednesday, 25 January 2012 3:54 PM EADT
Monday, 23 January 2012
digital misinformation kills brand trust

 

digital overload exists for all of us....  this problem will build as Facebook integrates with brand marketing....   as digital data overload hits us we will increasingly have trouble discerning what is information and what is misinformation.....when misinformation begins to surround the brands we trust then the branded company/person has a problem...  


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 1:07 PM EADT
Sunday, 22 January 2012
here it comes again.

 

Twenty years ago I passed on a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy assets in Europe.  i have regretted it ever since. In 2012 I am happy to say - here it comes again.


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 3:08 PM EADT
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
The junk economy.

 

In 2012 I will say goodbye to the junk economy.  It is the economy stupid that is creating all the problems in the world today.  Specifically it is the junk economy.  Government too big says The Tea Party.  Wall Street too greedy says Occupy Wall Street movement.  Both complaints should really be directed at the junk economy.  Problem is we all built and maintained the junk economy - we are all to blame for its growth and now for its failure.

The junk economy lasted nearly 30 years and in its final throws it was  based on wasteful consumption fuelled by cheap goods (low cost production in china) and easy credit (too much liquidity in banks). 

The junk economy is over...... what's next?


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 10:17 AM EADT
Updated: Tuesday, 3 January 2012 10:27 AM EADT
Sunday, 18 December 2011
Deviants Inc

 

Deviants needed to fix the world - apply within.  Are you a deviant?  Do you know a deviant? Can you get a deviant to apply for this position?  Will you become a deviant for the cause?


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 11:03 AM EADT
Friday, 16 December 2011
Focus rather than discipline....

 

It is often claimed by expert commentators that there is too little discipline being shown management and employees within today's large/national/global  organisations.

In Australian organisations there is rather too much discipline - corporate life changing discipline - rather than too little.  Management and employees, alike, strive to maintain the discipline they need to live in negative, reductive, blaming, meaningless workplaces.  What is missing is not discipline but FOCUS. Because there is no long-term view - there is no long term view because nothing, and I mean nothing, would get done if it was not labeled urgent, immediate, due yesterday - there is no FOCUS.  Focus is needed to sort out what is important, valued, appropriate work effort and what is not.  No amount of discipline will compensate for a lack of FOCUS. 

Focus is what Steve Jobs enabled/facilitated at Apple, Pixar, Next, etc.  Without FOCUS success is an illusion.


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 2:31 PM EADT
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
being trustworthy

 

being trustworthy is the biggest asset a person, company, government,  or country can possess today... to be trustworthy in a global digital world one must be transparent, accountable, and equitable.... 2011 has not been a great year for trustworthiness...  let us all hope that 2012 will be better - the thing is it all starts with you and me, not them and theirs,....


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 10:40 AM EADT
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
what should we make a stand on?

failure is an abused term today. we are caught in a time of little success and no appetite for failure of any kind.  failure is all around us but it is not being acknowledged nor is it being tackled. we all need to understand exactly what we should make a stand on and what failures we are willing to take on to get to future successes.
 
 
British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has stood up for Britain.  He will be seen by future historians as a hero of our times.  Well "that's what she said" (refence to Steve Carell who owns that term - see The Office).
  
David Cameron is trying to downsize government.  Europe is trying to get Germany to underwrite a continuation of big government at a time of bank deleveraging and stagnant growth.  Britain will do best over the next 10-20 years if it is 'outside' the Euro Zone - again, "that's what she said"..... 

Posted by richard-lipscombe at 11:34 AM EADT
Updated: Tuesday, 13 December 2011 11:48 AM EADT
Monday, 12 December 2011
cheap information...

 

an abundance of data/information creates the illusion of thoroughness, risk management, and good decision-making.  the opposite is often the case.  it is much harder to get the right information in the right place/hands/minds at the right time.  information is like gold.  it is only precious when it is scarce.  an abundance of data/infromation persists today, so be careful because it may turn out to be 'fools' gold'...


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 5:09 PM EADT
Thursday, 8 December 2011
getting the small stuff

 

its the small stuff stupid....  the small stuff is super important....  I know because I bought the book 'don't sweat the small stuff' and lived by that rule.... but today, more than ever perhaps, it is the small stuff that really counts... it is the small stuff that differentiates us....


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 1:03 PM EADT
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
deleveraging....

 

deleveraging is here to stay for awhile it seems.... perhaps a decade.... may be a generation.... the interesting thing about deleveraging is that most people get it...  what goes up must come down is all we really need to know...

excessive cheap credit supported by expansive governments in the US and Europe led to debt fuelled 'leverage' for consumers....  big houses, fancy cars, international holidays, secure jobs, etc.....  everything was leveraged by the fact that China emerged to feed the world with cheap goods backed by even cheaper labour..... China also picked up the debt tab for a leveraged Western World....  but in 2007/08 the music stopped and the leveraging ceased...  so what went up must come down and it did with a bang....  we are in for a sustained period of deleveraging.... 


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 11:44 AM EADT
these times may suit you....

 

your time is coming, perhaps here now, if you are focused on delivering quality.... if you are generous, not mean, in the way you treat others...  if you are confident about your view of the future... if you are determined to produce goods or services that consumers 'love'...  if you are aware that tecnnology change is only useful when it makes life better or more enjoyable for people who use it or rely upon it....


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 8:05 AM EADT
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
the future is you....

the future is currently looking for its shapers...  it is looking for you and me to make it as good as it can be...  at present we have a major reset going on in the present... this is an asset for all of us who are up for shaping our part of a digital, connected, cohesive world of diversity, discontinuity, and change.
 
you and me are the shapers of the future if we have the courage to be so.... 

Posted by richard-lipscombe at 8:57 AM EADT
Monday, 5 December 2011
has the tide turned?

 

has the tide now turned from max to min....  for the two decades the West has maxed-out on cheap goods from China... spending was maxed-out on housing, travel, entertainment, etc so long as it could be bought on credit..  the home or shares were the backstop for consumer credit because housing and share prices were booming...  then the tidal waves stopped coming... so now we have to deleverage our debts...  we have to min-out our housing, travel, entertainment, etc because credit is hard to get and hard to sustain without booming house and share prices.... the maxed-out tide left the beach with such a rush it caught most people by surprise...  in its place came a new tide with far less energy and much less excitment about it...  but the surprising thing is that this new tide is just as powerful...  it seems a paradox but surely those of us who can ride this new tide of min-out will do just as well as we did with the old max-out tide..... to learn to ride it is the trick... new rules must be set, obeyed, and practiced but there are a lot of new opportunities coming with this new tide... who is willing to ride it all the way back to the beach?


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 2:07 PM EADT
Updated: Monday, 5 December 2011 2:23 PM EADT
How much social cohesion do you contribute?

 

social cohesion is not usually a subject raised by business people...  it should be and it will be more and more in the future if the Occupy Wall Street and The Tea Party mean anything...

beyond 2011 business can be more and more profitable, sustainable, robut, and global if it facilitates social cohesion.... social cohesion will prosper if there is ease of access, inclusion, openness, transparency, and shared values.... but to sustain social cohesion there must be a sense of value in belonging or at least in not being excluded...  Facebook is a platform for social cohesion but it is not yet a business venture that facilitated it... Amazon is a business venture that facilitates social cohesion as is Google, Apple, Twitter......  the core asset of social cohesion is trust....  if your consumers or users trust your business then they will form networks of social cohesion to support you.... 

its simple really....


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 1:37 PM EADT
Saturday, 3 December 2011
Predictable

 

I suspect that being predictable is the essence of a good brand....

How predictable is your brand?  Can I depend upon your brand to serve me well in the future?  How can you assure me that the innovations you are working on are consistent with what I expect and respect about your brand?

What is it that makes the experience of your brand predictable to me? 

 


Posted by richard-lipscombe at 7:29 PM EADT

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