http://hybridvigor.org Improving decisions and outcomes through collaboration and sensemaking Wed, 07 May 2008 00:51:04 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I recently read two different blog posts on measuring intangible benefits of IT (information technology) projects. The first by Paul Ritchie More On Intangible Benefits and the other by Tabrez Khan A Case for IT' s Non-financial ROI. Both bloggers make the case that intangibles are important but very difficult to ... http://hybridvigor.org/2008/05/06/it-intangibles-can-be-measured/ I’ve just finished reading Denise Caruso’s book, Intervention: Confronting the Real Risks of Genetic Engineering and Life on a Biotech Planet. I absolutely love it! As the book’s subtitle suggests, Denise recounts the tragedy of how hubris in the biotech industry -- compounded by sub-standard risk assessment methods used by ... http://hybridvigor.org/2008/04/18/the-absurdity-of-certainty-behind-the-theme-of-intervention/ There was a great post last week on the Empirical Finance Research blog that asked the question: Does the Stock Market Value Intangibles? The post reviews a paper by Alex Edmans at the Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania, which looked at the relationship between employee satisfaction ... http://hybridvigor.org/2008/04/07/intangibles-and-stock-prices/ Innovation is the major strategic challenge for just about every organization today. But it is an elusive goal. This great post by Brad Kolar on his The Question of Leadership blog advises, “Want to innovate? Stop trying to be innovative and start solving problems.” He talks about the ... http://hybridvigor.org/2008/04/04/the-intangible-innovation-process/ Larry Downes had a great blog post a couple weeks ago on The Writers Strike and the Battle for Virtual Value. Downes points out that the traditional media, with whom the writers were negotiating, have not figured out how to make money on the internet. Nevertheless, he asserts, they spent ... http://hybridvigor.org/2008/03/31/getting-paid-for-intangibles/ I resolved to start blogging about intangibles when I read a recent article in Fortune about soybeans called, “How Brazil Outfarmed the American Farmer.” The article explained how the Brazilians have used cutting-edge technology and well-designed market networks to become a dominant player in the soybean market. I saw ... http://hybridvigor.org/2008/03/21/intangible-imperative/ This post isn't about Eliot Spitzer. Yes, of course I'm as outraged as anyone over how this scandal takes the wind out of Cathouse: the Musical. But something else about the Spitzer incident really hit home: The confirmation that my financial institution is a federal agent. According to this USA Today ... http://hybridvigor.org/2008/03/12/the-disturbing-part-about-spitzer/ Last week, Melissa Lafsky cited some statistics on the rampant growth of click fraud and then punctuated the absurdity of the situation by questioning, rhetorically, whether everyone on the Internet is now a criminal for clicking with unlawful intent. Just who made it a fraud to click on a link, ... http://hybridvigor.org/2008/02/27/just-what-did-you-mean-by-that-click/ The latest (Spring 2008) issue of Strategy+Business magazine is on the newsstand and on the web -- and in it, my piece whacking cost-benefit analysis, the bane of innovation and sane regulatory policy. I'm already getting letters ... (Free) registration is required to read the article online. http://hybridvigor.org/2008/02/27/cba-the-bane-of-sane-regulation-and-innovation/ Earlier this week, Olivia Judson posted a much-commented-upon essay on the biology of clouds at the New York Times site. I am happy to report that in April 2002, Oliver Morton, Hybrid Vigor Fellow and the news and features editor for Nature (as well as the author of two books), wrote ... http://hybridvigor.org/2008/02/24/morton-scooped-judsonnyt-by-5-years/