A full month? September, 2009
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
Over the last two weeks I was able to observe cross-cultural communication without moving more than few km from my place.
And I will never cease to be surprised at one of the few absolutes that still linger inside the mind of even the most open-minded people.
Language.
When we communicate, we do not just listen- our brain tries to anticipate, by using the patterns that we know.
With a foreign interlocutor, the risk is that our brain “puts the coach in front of the horses”- and infers a conclusion where none if forthcoming.
Our natural instinct to predict becomes a damage to our effective communication.
Tags: absolute, accent, communication, cross, cultural, divide, language, local, multicultural, relative, skill, thinking
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Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
If you do not know what is about, is a marketing event from Microsoft.
Why did I attend?
This time I was curious to see how convergence and competition are shaping the market.
Read the minutes, make up your mind, and maybe you will have ideas on how to apply some of the concepts from this conference.
The main ideas? Approaches about how people interact with technology.
No, not on software development- on other business and non-business activities.
Tags: brussels, bruxelles, convergence, hardware, interaction, internet, microsoft, remix09, silverlight, software, surface, technology, web
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Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
This part of the AGB2009 series (see the presentation)
AGB2009: creative burden sharing
BACKGROUND
In my activities with partners, we had occasional mismatches between the skills, the budget allocations, and the actual needs.
ABSTRACT
Map the partners and interests involved in international initiatives.
You will be surprised to see how the “geometry” of the parties involved lacks any symmetry.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A slightly unusual bibliography- more an inspiration than a reference
Tags: AGB2009, burden, creative, innovation, sharing
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Monday, September 28th, 2009
Whenever I was working on a project, I was always puzzled by the look I got when I asked about communication policy.
In most cases, communication is considered “embedded” in the activities- hence, no need whatsoever to plan or set guidelines.
This is a short article (1000 words is the limit), summarizing some suggestions that I keep sharing since late 1980s, when I was working everyday in a different project/site.
Tags: activity, budget, communication, contract, delegate, management, minute, structure
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Thursday, September 24th, 2009
Yesterday I attended the last EU conference that I had planned to attend for 2009, a public consultation on what should happen after i2010
Or: what the should European institutions (and their funding) consider a priority in using ICT to generate benefits for citizens in EU and beyond (private and corporate).
I shared my detailed “idea” draft minutes online, using the xMind.net community: you can download both my file and the software (free OpenSource) needed to “navigate” through the minutes.
If you want, re-use it: let me know if you have any questions.
This short article (less than 1000 words) contains my own commentary on both the event and the questions presented by the participants.
As usual: my comments are my own position, but anything reported inside the minutes is how I perceived the position of each speaker.
Tags: european, i2010, ict, innovation, post, union
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Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
This part of the AGB2009 series (see the presentation)
AGB2009: science and the nation state
BACKGROUND
The relationship between power and scientific inquiry has never been easy.
ABSTRACT
Science is not built in a vacuum. Despite what some scientists say, usually after mingling with the losing side in a war, the “political neutrality” of science has never been proved.
Can science be national? What is the real difference between basic and applied research? How do you communicate and control science in a democratic world?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The bibliography spans across few decades
Tags: AGB2009, communication, corporation, multinational, national, science, state
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Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
If you read old articles from this blog, you will see that questions or challenges are more common than answers.
Yes, I share some answers- but based on my business experience, or review of written material and news based on experience.
The point is: in our complex world, there are way too many people who hide behind a label: “expert”.
Recently I have been indirectly told that I like to ask questions.
And this article is a short summary…
Tags: AGB2009, answer, ask, assured, give, linkedin, MAR, mutually, question, reference, self-referential
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Friday, September 18th, 2009
This part of the AGB2009 series (see the presentation)
AGB2009: democracy @ work
This short article contains the visual outline of the article, using an OpenSource “mind mapping” software and community, called Xmind.net
The original abstract and bibliography was published on 2009-09-10
democracy @ work: the map
everybody talks about democracy- at the polls.
but why limiting democracy to a voting exercise? how could you extend that into the workplace?
and what are the consequences of new technologies and media access to the workplace social environment
read this short article for an explanation of the visual map (and a link to the source, so that you can study its details!)
visual approach
A picture is worth 1000 words.
Actually, a picture can be used as an outline to understand more than 1000 words.
I have no artistic pretense- but I think visually.
As explained in the the presentation, the abstract is the first step, followed by this map, and then, the article.
Read the abstract if you want to think about your own position on the subject. Read the map if you want to just see what are my arguments. And read the article if you want to read my position and some experience-based ideas and suggestions.
Tags: AGB2009, AGB2009MAP, democracy, employee, innovation, map, mind, motivation, participation, visual
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Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
This short article is about making “Enterprise 2.0″ a real-life experience.
To simplify: taking what you do now, and move it online, with benefits, not costs.
But before discussing the detailed approach, a short description of how I came to develop this approach.
(PS If you copy-and-paste the text of this article, except the “post-scriptum”… it is exactly 1000 words- I am trying to reduce my writings to 2-minutes bites 
)
Tags: 2.0, bpr, brussels, business, consulting, development, email, enterprise, innovation, offline, online, processes, service announces, skype, strategy
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