Relationship advice from an economist? This podcast is both amusing and makes you think… (No hon, I’m not cheating… it costs too much)
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2009/07/hear_the_economics_of_cheating.html
What is Business Analysis?
Project Managers and Business Analysts have roles that blur together and are often confusing. So what is it that a BA does?
“…a Project Manager will deliver, on time, on budget and in scope, the perfect set of concrete shoes; but without a Project Manager, a Business Analyst might never deliver at all. … If [an] outcome doesn’t provide value for an organization we have concrete shoes. And here is our sweet spot for business analysis as a discipline. Yes I said discipline. It is time to stop thinking about business analysis as a role, title or profession. Business analysis is a disciplined way of approaching any decision so as to provide value to further an organization’s objectives. The objectives of an organization are fulfilled through its strategy. …”
The Common Denominator of Success
“… the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful — lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do.” Albert E.N. Gray; Mr Gray adds further detail in his 1940 major address at the National Association of Life Underwriters annual convention:
http://www.amnesta.net/mba/thecommondenominatorofsuccess-albertengray.pdf
Delicious Cake Futures
This podcast is an excellent example of how collective human psychology can take down the global financial system. From a school lunch room we here an eerily similar story to that of Tulipomania; widely considered the first economic bubble in 1637 when a single tulip bulb sold for +10x the annual income of a skilled craftsman.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2009/03/hear_delicious_cake_futures.html
Flutter: A possible alternative for wireless sensory networks (telemetry)
Range 1km (expected to be somewhat higher in future versions), low powered (DC battery), open-source, 600 kbps, 900Mhz unlicensed band. Project status: not yet ready for professional applications (KickStarter / hobby market). Competes with ZigBee (802.15.4) & augments WiFi (802.11) to enable the “internet of things”. In an oil & gas field application, a mesh system would need to be setup. This is preferred regardless in order to increase uptime. It is open-source, so conceivably the cost of such a system would be orders of magnitude less than current commercialized systems. I would expect that service companies would modify the code and make a branded version to augment their existing product suite. Special care would need to be taken for the oil & gas industry to minimize maintenance costs (labour being a key factor for oil & gas) and to enable installation in harsh environments.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2021474419/flutter-20-wireless-arduino-with-half-mile-1km-ran
The Economics of Directly Giving Poor People Money
Giving poor people money directly appears to work. This is counter to who we who are in the first world think however. This article discusses what the people do with the money; things such as starting a business or investing in a roof that has lower total cost of ownership. If this method of charity works, what does it say about the brick and mortar charities?
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/08/23/214210692/the-charity-that-just-gives-money-to-poor-people
The end of economic growth
The end of economic growth; or significantly slower growth (much closer to zero) – it’s debatable. What does this mean for 1st world nations? What does this mean for us personally? Are current events helping transition our economies? A great article exploring this new reality:
Scandals To Remember
Leadership matters. These are people who have the potential to short circuit humanity’s tendencies when applied to a misappropriate situation. For example, take this whopper. Described in the podcast is what happens to regulators when they interact with their peers and how their polite interaction let a world-wide crisis bloom.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2009/05/hear_forget_me_not.html
Are your best employees thinking about leaving?
A great intro to what to expect from recruiters. It summarizes the different job seeking types, how frequently they move jobs and the level of enticement needed. It then moves on to describe a successful recruiter/candidate interaction.
www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130805013502-15454-are-your-best-employees-ready-to-jump-ship
Business Analysts ask “is this of value to the company?”
The value of a Business Analyst is asking “is this of value to the company?” Without someone to ensure the value of a project a project manager will take and complete what is given to them. It is often said that a Project Manager will deliver, on time, on budget and in scope, the perfect set of concrete shoes. The skillsets are complimentary as often a Business Analyst needs a project manager. Even analysis requires project management.
http://www.batimes.com/articles/the-value-of-a-high-performing-business-analyst.html
http://www.iiba.org//ba-connect/2013/oct/future-no-more-uncertain.aspx