Motivated Innovation

In good times and in bad, it is always important to know one's craft.  As a job applicant seeking employment or a professional seeking clients, knowledge and wisdom in one's field are critical to one's credibility and success. Yet, knowledge is not enough, nor is wisdom everything else.  Over the past 10-15 years, the buzz has been about "networking"--i.e. "it's not 'what you know', it's 'who you know'."  Communicating with numerous contacts opens up doors not seen by regular sight, as contacts can help a person uncover job and business opportunities.  Plus, communicating with industry experts can help a person compensate for a lack of experience. With that said, 'what you know' and 'who you know' are clearly important.  However, relying solely on 'what you know' and 'who you know' is not enough.  In today's evolving economy, the business world is changing.  Conventional knowledge sometimes ...

A long-standing adage states that, "Time is money."  If that is the case, do companies or governments evaluate decisions based on time or just based on money? Certainly, there are instances where there is minimal time to make a decision; the only practical consideration of 'time' is that there is little available.  Meanwhile, a number of useful calculations exist in finance and economics to consider number of years spent on projects and the time value of money.  Accounting practices also consider concepts such as appreciation and depreciation. Still, companies and governments must consider the results and consequences of their decisions.  What may save time now may cost time later.  Again, what may save time now may cost time later . Let's consider the following example.  Things are somewhat hectic for a company right now.  The company has found several new clients and is scrambling to hire the personnel to meet the new work demands.  With ...