How do you combine technologies to innovate?

This makes so much sense. It is the combination of technology that becomes so powerful in this model.

Well worth reading and thinking through as an enabler of innovation. Adam really nails this one.

These technologies can be combined in numerous ways, and we are just starting to see companies really taking advantage of the possibilities. These four technologies will have a disruptive impact on your business, almost regardless of which industry you're in. The question is whether you will choose to adopt them before a competitor does.

What are they?
1.  Microprocessors
2.  Sensors
3.  Wireless connectivity
4.  Databases

The Four Technologies You Need to Be Working With - Adam Richardson - Harvard Business Review

What is the real cost of email?

Tom Cochran  believes that email is the most abused method of communication in every office environment. And the widespread perception that it has no incremental cost is chronically damaging workplace efficiency. According to Tom, the challenge we are facing isn't an aversion to technology, but change. I think that sums it up very well.

Tom suggests there is an entrenched level of comfort with email, making it habitual and a communications crutch. We have to take a holistic view and see email as one of many channels for collaboration. Adopt a breadth of tools to connect people, teach them the appropriate use of each and encourage smarter use of the right technology.

I also find that an open office environment creates less of a dependency on email as "literally" walls come down and teams naturally collaborate.

More here: Email Is Not Free - Tom Cochran - Harvard Business Review.

As a great leader, do you pay attention to politics?

Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback, authors of "Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader," describe the three types of networks you need to succeed. Harvard Business Review video with Linda A. Hill, the Wallace Brett Donham Professor Business Administration at Harvard Business School and Kent Lineback who has spent many years as a manager and an executive in business and government.

A very honest conversation about politics in organizations and why it is important not to ignore it. You may be a CIO or a part of the C-Suite, a VP, a Director, a manager or team player. Should you ignore the politics of relationships?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGdRyPN3IRk&feature=g-vrec

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Are you a hyperspecialist?

Tom Malone, professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and author of the HBR article "The Age of Hyperspecialization," explains why breaking jobs into tiny pieces yields better, faster, cheaper work -- and greater flexibility for employees.

Is this a good thing or not? Are you taking advantage of it? What are the implications for managers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slK1RbPPGqY&feature=relmfu

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Is it a technical problem? Or is it a human problem?

Eric Ries, entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School, explains how to find the human causes of technical problems. He suggest using the five why's to go beyond what seems like the root cause. He also suggests making incremental investments at all five levels that avoid all or nothing investments.

Very powerful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmrAkHafwHI&feature=g-vrec

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