Management Musings

It was interesting for me to note that the Economist, in its Sept. 7th edition, had an article on "Clever cities - The multiplexed metropolis", touching on Smart cities as the cities of the future. New cities can plan and develop along the lines of smart phones by relying on computer networks and grids to Operate, Administer and Manage governmental tasks. It would then be possible to gather data and have it made available online for people to use in ways unbeknownst as of today. Gamification of some of the processes within the city ties in wonderfully if the smart cities do come into existence. Indications are that some cities are already implementing a few concepts. The corresponding potential pitfalls were captured in the Bruce Willis movie - Die Hard 4 in which the bad guys take over a city's online grid system causing wide spread chaos. Of course, in a secure network and process, the bad day never comes to pass! Intelligently done game concepts built into the fabr...

Sebastian Vettel is on a roll. He is winning the Formula 1 Grand Prix like it is nobody's business. He reminds me of Michael Schumacher in the 2000s when he drove for Ferrari and won 13 races in a single season. Winning one Formula 1 GP is achievement enough for mere mortals, to win multiple races in one season, to win 3 championships in a row is what makes these people great. Not all races are won "easily". Not every time that success is tasted is the story the same. The end result, however, is the same. When on a roll, everything just seems to fall in place. The path is difficult, always unyielding and always challenging - it is the end result that people see and the past is forgotten while jubilating over and celebrating the success of the present. So what is it that people do to get on a roll? If Seb Vettel can do it, if the Australian cricket team under Steve Waugh that won 15 or 16 test matches on the trot could do it, can't it be replicated everywhere? Yes, ...