Understanding the Food Supply Chain…

Food, Inc. (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)

We’re coming out of Thanksgiving. Appreciating all of the bountiful harvest, right?

However, it seems like those quaint images of Pilgrims that gave way to hearty farmers is nothing but an idyllic image of the past.

You know about big Agri-business and Factory Farms (“CAFOs”) and more.

Fast Food Nation took us into that world.

Now, comes Food, Inc., which was a riveting documentary further peeling the layers back. I watched it on Amazon, but I’m sure it’s on Netflix.

Now, I knew a lot of this stuff happened, but there was an awareness that dawned on me from a society security perspective about what happens when only a few companies control the global food chain…and the danger of the potentially huge external shocks to the system.

Whether you think they have an agenda (they do, of course) and disagree or not, I think you’ll agree that food is pretty important. This is 90 minutes worth the time.

Although, I should add, prepare to get depressed.

The Ascent of Money…

The book I successfully borrowed from the library on my Kindle was Niall Ferguson’s The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World

I’m about 50% of the way through it and am really enjoying it.

I like to think (don’t we all), that I have an above average understanding of finance, but this book has been eye-opening for me as it has helped provide a framework for how money works (on faith…it’s like belief in God) and the role of finance.

As a history buff, I also enjoy how the story unfolds beginning in Cuzco, Peru (since I’ve been there) and then taking us to other key places in the development of financial tools.

Since we’re all so greatly affected by finance (even more than I think we all realize), I’ve found it helpful to take this step back and think about the macro-forces that toss us around so often.

At least next time it happens, even though you can’t control it, you may be better positioned to weather the storm.

Alaska and the Flat World…

When you arrive in Alaska, you can’t help but think about how big the world is, how magnificent nature is, and how you fit into it.

Tyler Arnold grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and at age 16, a teacher gave him a copy of Tom Friedman’s book, The World Is Flat .

So, Tyler did what comes naturally to people with an “Alaska Perspective,” I suppose…

He started a company…at age 16.

But, this company sells services to agencies in New York and San Francisco and manages computer programmers in Pakistan and Romania.

His business took off as he was “managing it from a Blackberry” during 10th grade and, now, at age 19, he spends 8 months a year outside of Alaska (not because of the weather), because he’s either seeing clients or managing his teams around the world.

His monthly revenues would make most of you pretty happy.

There’s been a lot of talk recently about creating jobs and innovation. IF we had more people like Tyler, who understood how to create value in a new, globalized world, we wouldn’t be having that discussion.

Just an inspiring guy. Meet Tyler in this video or check out his website: www.tylersystems.com

How to Raise Money For Your Big Idea…

One of the things I know is that no industry will be left untouched by the forces of the network that the Internet enables.

So, I was particularly interested after I watched a TED talk by the founder of Kiva when she introduced a new concept called “Profounder.”

Essentially, what it does is allow anyone starting a business to go out and raise money from their friends and family, BUT to do it in a way that makes them investors in an easy to manage manner.

If you wanted to raise money before, you either had to go to VC’s (or Angels…people with a lot of money), now, you can distribute that to many smaller investors and manage it using a scalable technology.

Kind of like Prosper and Lending Club, but very business focused.

It’ll be fascinating to see how this model plays out.

How are jobs created?

Image via Wikipedia

In the debates I have been having recently, this seems to be the core area of disagreement.

There are some who believe that the government can create jobs.

Others believe that the government can create jobs, but that they are jobs for the sake of being jobs…not that fundamentally help the economy.

• Jeff Jarvis talks about the “jobless future” and offers some thoughts on where/how the government should spend its money.
• Mark Cuban says “If you want to see more jobs created – change patent laws” and then offers up some ideas on how to do it.
• If you really want to get crazy, you can check out this thread from YCombinator.

It’s all well and good to talk about jobs, but frankly, I think our paradigm is outdated.

The Internet and social tools are creating an upheaval in the definition of work in the same way that James Watt’s steam engine brought people from rural to urban areas.

It’s that big…only bigger.

Along those lines, I think Rob Patterson has the best summary of it all.

What we can do is to stop worrying about the next Job.

It wont come anyway.

Start working instead on recreating an economy that is based on mobilizing all of us in networks to do the things that are useful.

Yes, there may be some “jobs,” but the idea of a 9-5 “show up and get paid” type job is going to be increasingly anachronistic and limited.

Mobile and internet technologies, social networks, globalization, digital measurement and automation…all of these will require us to focus on value creation…in one form or another.

The government can’t create these types of jobs..it can do things to help, but it can’t make the jobs happen.

Only people with the right skillsets and ability to identify the opportunities can.

I don’t have the answers, but I do believe that’s where we need to focus our energies, not on creating “jobs” just for jobs sake.

Related articles

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It’s not about whether the rich can afford a tax hike…

It’s about what’s the best way to have money optimally distributed throughout the economy.

Lonnie started this debate on FB. Feel free to chime in on the comments below. This should be fun.

Tuition and Assistance

Image via Wikipedia

There’s a growing sense of anxiety within my community about the rising costs associated with parochial school education.

Let’s assume, for a moment, that alternatives don’t exist and that it’s desirable for everyone who wants to have their child attend the school to be able to do so.

Tuition costs have risen pretty consistently over the past few years and with each raise, it becomes an additional financial stretch for an incremental number of families.

Obviously, there are families that have enough means to be able to absorb the impact.

Once you focus on the key issues like driving out inefficiencies, etc., you are left with the question of: how much should those who can afford tuition subsidize those who cannot?

That’s at the heart of our tax code and healthcare (regardless of whether it is gov’t or insurance companies who ‘pay’).

In discussing this recently, one friend of mine was shocked that someone she knew had said, “you should pay your own way and not for anyone else. If you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it and you have to accept that as a fact of life.”

In my friend’s mind, the community has an obligation to help each other out.

I agreed with her, but still challenged her initial reaction.

“Until what point?” I asked.

“All your friend is saying is that she’s at the line where it doesn’t make sense for her and her family to support others in this respect. You have a line as well. Everyone does. It’s just REALLY uncomfortable to figure out what it is and put a price tag on it.

“If I asked you to pay $500 to help another family, you would do it.

“$5,000? Well, then you might have to think about it.

“$50,000? Then, you’d say no.”

Economics is about the study of choices. It’s not about money. It’s about deciding…would I rather send someone else’s kid to school or take a vacation? (or whatever the alternative is).

And it’s really, really tough to measure those.

But, there’s another side to this equation which came up as the NFO and I were discussing the whole issue of tuition and explaining it to Tonka and Paco.

The question is, for all of us, “once we accept money from the government or our friends, does that mean they get to question us about all of our other decisions?”

My friend, Jose, often complains that he can’t stand when “families who plead poverty and take tuition assistance then turn around and ….(go on vacation, get a new card, re-do their kitchen…whatever)”

Obviously, you can say “don’t judge a man/woman until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes,” but if your charity (and I guess this is the whole ‘welfare queen’ notion of a few years ago) is going to me so that my family has a  a place to sleep or food to eat, that’s one thing.

If it’s so that I can take my kids to the beach for a week, is that another?

I definitely don’t have the answer.

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Could IBM’s Watson Do It?

Image via CrunchBase

The other day someone asked me about what I do for phone service when I am travelling in a foreign country.

After about 4-5 minutes, we had discussed the pros/cons of the various options.

Later that day, I was thinking about how people tend to ask their friends for this type of information.

It’s just data which the questioner then will process against his preferences (time, money, convenience) to come up with an optimal solution.

Then, it occurred to me, “well, pretty soon it would seem that we’ll all have the equivalent of IBM’s Watson computer and just be able to say (kind of like Star Trek), ‘I’m going to country X, what’s the best phone solution for me?”

Then, we’ll get the answer and be done.

THEN, I started to think about the nature of work today and how many, many jobs are relaying this type of information.

Having recently finished “Re-Imagine,” the idea of the future of work is very much on my mind.

The conclusion I’ve reached is that we all need to start asking ourselves: “Could Watson do this?”

And, if we see that it’s just data/information and not experience/emotion, then it’s probably something that a Watson will do….

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Economics…in a Rap

This is great. Here’s round 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc&feature=player_embedded

In case you missed round 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk&feature=player_embedded

Public Unions and Undercover Boss…

Image via Wikipedia

I’m sure this will create some controversy, but hey….look at the tagline for this blog.

What’s happening in Wisconsin is fascinating to me. In some respects, I think the future of America hangs in the balance.

It’s no secret where I stand on unions and even though that can sometimes lead to anti-Semitic diatribes by NEA board members, I’m ok with it.

When I look at this debate, I tend to (no surprise) look at with my marketing hat.

Where I think the unions and public sector employees are hurt is in the perception of their attitudes about work and responsibility.

The public discourse seems to be most often about “benefits” and “entitlements.” You’ll frequently hear stories about people who leave their jobs at the pre-appointed time whether the work is done or not.

Living in the DC area, you hear this a lot.

You hear people talk about vacation days they’ve accrued, etc.

It’s like (and again, this is just perception), the concern by public employees is about these benefits and the need to protect them.

I think very few people these days say “we need unions so that bosses don’t abuse people on the job.” There are enough safeguards around that the Triangle Shirt Factory Fire (or its public sector equivalent) is a widespread problem.

Now, I’m not saying that the perceptions are right. I’m just arguing that this is what the perception is.

Changing that perception is part of the battle.

Watching Undercover Boss the other day (perhaps the best reality show on TV), I saw an episode where the mayor of Cincinnati, Mark Mallory, went on the front lines with sanitation workers, parking attendants, etc.

What that show did for me (and judging from the comments, millions of others) was help to change that perception.

That’s a good thing.

If the public unions can do more of that and less of the stories about benefit and salary abuse, they will help their cause.

I still think that public sector unions are a bad thing and a huge drain on the resources of the economy (see this story from California), but just because I think it doesn’t mean that’s what will happen (though it should).

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• Behind public standoff, Wisconsin lawmakers talked - Reuters (news.google.com)

Better Place and Israeli Clean Tech…

On the day I was leaving, I saw this article from AP about the Israeli Clean Tech economy.

Combine that with what I saw at Better Place and I came away super-excited about the potential for innovation and growth in the Green economy in Israel.

It already is one of the world’s hotbeds.

I am going to have to come back just to investigate this angle.

Here’s my 7 minute video of a test drive of the car.

Here’s a bit on how the battery switching process (when needed) works.

Here’s the video explaining the charging process.

Israel and Sustainability…

After seeing India, the enormity of the environmental challenge in front of us was driven home for me.

After visiting Israel, I see a possibility for HUGE amounts of innovation to happen here that ultimately impact the entire world.

Already limited in natural resources and exacerbated by the Arab embargo, what you are seeing in Israel in terms of innovation in desalination, electric cars, renewables, solar….it’s really remarkable.

This place will be (if it isn’t already) recognized as a leading R&D lab for the ecological future of the planet.

America’s Economic Forecast

The NFO sometimes accuses me of walking around with a “doom and gloom” view of America’s economic prospects.

In this video, casino mogul, Steve Wynn, shares why.

Stock Market: “A Hoax”

If you’ve read The Black Swanor Fooled by Randomness, you are familiar with the work of Nassim Taleb.

Here’s a powerful video on the state of the economy. Be prepared to have your assumptions challenged.

More on these issues in the coming days.

HT to Mike Eisenberg.

Care about America’s Financial Future? Watch this.

I don’t usually watch CNBC.

Most of the time, the talking heads there don’t make a lot of sense to me.

For whatever reason, I caught it yesterday morning just as the interview with Kyle Bass (whom I had never heard of before) was starting.

It was perhaps the most salient finance interview I’ve EVER heard.

His analysis, the data. I couldn’t help but think, “wow, this guys knows his sh*t!” (sorry, mom, that IS what I thought!)

What troubles me about this interview, however, is that Kyle lays out the case pretty clearly that we are driving in the direction that will take us off the financial cliff. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the President and the Congress will just not have the political will (or the American people, for that matter) to go through with it.

The fact that he points to Japan as the example of how things go horrifically wrong (a case with which I have some familiar) made it resonate even more.

Still, you could see when they went back to the anchor that even he was blown away by the information.

I highly recommend you watch this video…and share it.

Note: I was so impressed, I called Kyle Bass’ office today in Dallas to ask if had a blog, twitter account or whatever…I need to stay on top of what this guy says.

Here’s the video, if you can’t see it below.

It’s a Recession…Time for a New Job, New You

My new friend, Alexandra Levit, has a book coming out that I’ve checked out and think that it may be worth it for you as well. New Job, New You: A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career is different than a lot of career guides (as is Johnny Bunko, by my client Dan Pink. Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

What I love about this book is how it is so based in the practical.

In fact, the bulk of the book are true stories of transition (and we’re talking TRANSITION in a big way) by regular people who figured out how to both reinvent their careers and, without sounding overly melodramatic, themselves as well.

Back in March when I got that nice mention in the New York Times, the focus was on how I was offering to assist the members of my network who had been laid off or “downsized.” (As we saw the other day, it’s not over yet, either)

So, I’ll now add this book to that list.

BTW, Alexandra also has a great blog where she cites a study she just completed saying that “half of employers say they currently have such a serious gap between their needs and employees’ skills that it affects their productivity.”

I think she’s got a very good read (having been a subscriber now for a while) for how our economy/workforce will need to change. 

 

Bonus Points and Avoiding Sibling Rivalry

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The NFO rightly felt that redeeming bonus points for lost privileges sent the wrong message, i.e. If you have enough ‘money,’ you can buy yourself out of punishments.

So, the system has been modified and updated.

There is a base level of expected behavior that I have for each of my kids.

If the child goes “above and beyond” the call of duty (entirely subjective) by me, I will award a number of bonus points (between 1 and 5).

If the child behaves in an inappropriate manner, the child is “fined” and loses bonus points, again determined by me.

Each child keeps track of his running tally.

Now, here’s the beauty of the system.

Bonus points are not redeemed for prizes, rather they are the means through which sibling disagreements are resolved.

For example, Tonka and Paco were both playing with the paints. They both decided…at the same time, of course, that they wanted the pink colored paint.

Instead of serving as the negotiator between the two of them, I simply let the market decide by establishing an auction.

Each child may bid up to his/her maximum number of bonus points (which will be deducted, of course) for the right to the disputed item.

The best part…and the key lesson here…is that I want my kids to understand that at a certain point, even if they have the money and can afford it, they should know that it is just not worth it to do so.

In the case of the paint, Tonka had 47 bonus points and Paco had 21 (they accumulate at the same rate, but Paco is fined more often).

I instructed them to begin the bidding at 1 (since we’d never want to overpay, would we?)

Well, at 9 bonus points, Paco decided that it wasn’t worth it to spend 10, so he let Tonka have it.

She then had 38 bonus points and Paco still had 21.

Peaceful resolution.

And, it’s worked two other times  as well.

It’s far from scientific, since there are times where, after a series of fines, I might be inclined to award a higher than average number of points to Paco to balance his self-esteem or to “age adjust” and award Tonka fewer than I would Paco for the same type of “above and beyond behavior” (e.g. “the playroom looks messy, I will clean it up”), but so far it seems to be working.

 

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On Trickle Down Economics and Job Creation

Not to re-open old wounds, but I was reflecting on the post and series of comments around "trickle down" economics which got a lot of people involved last month.

The reason?

I created a job.

Sort of.

Fortunately, I am at the point where, for now, my business is at 100% capacity. It's a good problem to have, I suppose.

And, I realized that there were a few administrative tasks that I could profitably outsource.

So, I hired someone.

It's not a lot. Not big, but hey...it did trickle down.

Drill, Baby, Drill..

Image by NewsHour via FlickrThe refrain from St. Paul/ RNC convention has been haunting me recently. 

It's not that I think we shouldn't drill in Alaska. We probably should.  It's what the chant symbolizes.

And it's not a callous disregard for the environment.

It's the propensity for people to prefer short-term quick fixes to long-term strategic solutions.

Yes, if we drill, oil/gas prices will probably fall...which, honestly, is NOT what we want. At higher prices, entrepreneurs see the incentive to pursue alternative energy.

That's what we need.

When I hear "drill, baby, drill," I hear people who say 'let's just solve this problem for today...not for tomorrow."

That's not what we  need.

Got a forward from Josh with a Tom Friedman article that does a really good job of explaining it.

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NYC on the Day After Meltdown 2008

I woke up in New York to a city in a daze.

Like the morning after a hangover, you could see the confused looks on people's faces.
I overheard snippets of people's conversations.

"Everyone is stressed out!"
"Nobody knows what is going to happen."
"This is just insane."

The great 2008 Market Meltdown had hit the day before and here I was walking through the smoky ruins.
Yet, not. 
The energy of New York is eternal.
It is that energy that, once I felt it, I realized I missed it.
Not so much that I would live there again-the city does tend to grate on you-but the vivacity and the speed and intensity....and the beauty.
I've long said that New York is a 'walker's paradise,' and this 75 degree day only served to reinforce that image. With one exception, I walked everywhere over the two days.
It is the people who make up a city, so I focused on them.
Starting out on the East side, I met up with Todd at Discovery. He's a social media guru and we shared stories and ideas.
Next, I headed towards Times Square, but not before seeing both David and Marty whom I called consecutively with the message of "I am going to be walking by your building in 5 minutes, meet me on the street to say hi."
And they did.
As luck would have it, one of the bloggers I read, Robert Scoble, had posted that the first 20 people under the Kodak sign in Times Sq. at noon on Tuesday would receive a free Seagate Hard Drive. 
I was #15 and after meeting some great people in line waiting for Scoble, I got my 500 GB portable drive. Yeah, baby!
Meeting me there was David, a social media strategist, whose work I greatly admire. We took the subway down to Union Sq., got some falafel, sat in the park, and talked shop. I had never met him in person, but took the opportunity to reach take a social network based relationship and 'make it real.'
Watching the people and seeing their life stories unfold, I made my way down Broadway to the first of the two FOJ meetups (details tomorrow) before my presentation at Stern business school.
When all was said and done, I was in bed at 1am.
And after three more quick meetings Jeff Siegel (an innovator and businessman in the green roofing arena), Frank (the founder of Outsourcing.com) and Philippe, (a bundle of energy who is going to save the CBC Orchestra), it was back to Amtrak and return home.
36 hours in New York and the opportunity to engage with over 270 people (there were over 250 at the Stern even). Plus, I got to walk everywhere and enjoy the city.
That's high ROI on your time.
And the people of the New York, regardless of financial market meltdown, maintain their incessant drive. Love it, baby!

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