Monthly Archives: July 2016

a big idea or a new discovery…

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“…a big idea or a new discovery is never enough. For any innovation to have an impact, there needs to be a discovery on an important insight; a viable, scalable solution; and, finally, a business model that allows the new idea to be adopted.


“Second, geniuses rarely act alone. Fleming’s pioneering work on penicillin not only was supported by Florey and Chain but also built on the work of earlier scientists, such as Ignaz Semmelweis, Louis Pasteur, and Robert Koch. Moreover, the science would never have found its practical application without support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the U.S. government.


“And consider that although government support has been instrumental in both medical breakthroughs and technological developments, such as the internet and GPS, the vast majority of innovators have to stumble ahead on their own when it comes to innovation’s final step: figuring out the business model.”

https://hbr.org/2016/04/its-time-to-bury-the-idea-of-the-lone-genius-innovator

The interim mayors between the Daleys were…

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“…The interim mayors between the Daleys were creatures of the Chicago Machine. Mayors Harold Washington and Jane Byrne were insiders. They knew how the city worked. They knew, for better or worse, what had to be done day to day to keep Chicago afloat.

“Even though both instituted changes, City Hall was business as usual. Just the names of people in charge changed. In the case of Harold Washington, the racial make up of those in charge also changed.

“We are living in a new era. New politicians with business experience are being elected from both parties at all levels of government. Governance is being managed like a business where costs, revenues, and debt are balanced against essential and non-essential services that make government operate.

“Neo-Libs and Neo-Cons are dirty words to progressive organizations and public employee unions. The new politicians, from both parties, are the enemy of progressives and arch conservatives alike.

“What all the protesters, activists, public employee labor unions, and other progressive travelers seem to forget is this salient point. At the end of the day, the real 99% of Chicagoans only care that the garbage gets picked up, the street lights are working, the police or fire department will show up quickly, the streets get plowed in the winter, public transportation is running, food service in stores and restaurants is sanitary, and traffic is controlled or at least controllable.

“The real 99% only care about coping with the challenges of day to day living in Chicago.

“Richard J. Daley, Jane Byrne, Harold Washington, Richard M. Daley, and now, Rahm Emanuel understand the real 99%. They gave and are giving them what they want. All the rest is window dressing, bread and circuses.

“If you lived in Chicago long enough, worked for the city, reported from the trenches, or really studied Chicago history and politics for a long time, you would know this.”

“…Times change. Politics changes. But, at the end of the day, Chicago’s population wants the city to work without making more sacrifices than necessary. Sacrifice being defined as taxation, fees, and fines.

“People are willing to pay some to get a lot.

“People are not willing to experience fiscal pain to satisfy others.”

http://www.chicagonow.com/interesting-chicago/2013/11/mayor-1-a-dud-book-review/

We can’t continue boasting our industry’s “innovation”…

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“We can’t continue boasting our industry’s “innovation” and how much we’re “changing the world” when we can’t even take care of people’s basic needs literally right outside these companies’ front doors.


“This isn’t just a San Francisco or tech-industry problem, but there isn’t another place in America that illustrates the problem quite as clearly, sadly, and disturbingly.


“Governments should be fixing this problem, but they have mostly failed due to public ignorance, judgment, and apathy. If you really want to be “disruptive” and have a meaningful impact on the world, disrupt the way our cities and citizens treat those less fortunate than the rich young people ordering overpriced burritos from their phones to avoid going outside.”

http://projects.sfchronicle.com/sf-homeless/civic-disgrace/