better doing
How to give employees feedback.
On the same topic as above, feedback is probably the most important part of being a good manager. | learn more
retail therapy
AR and VR in Retail.
The author of this post makes an interesting, albeit premature (in my opinion), claim that retailers should be threatened by the changes that Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality will make to the shopping process. I see home furnishings as a […]
better doing
On being a bad manager.
Jason Fried, founder of Basecamp, writes straight from the heart and discusses why it’s so easy to be a bad manager. This hits one of the biggest challenges I see people struggle with in business. | learn more
tech, startups, internet
Velodyne started with speakers, but now they make LIDAR.
Founder David Hall originally started Velodyne to make speakers with great bass, but pivoted (before the word was cool) to making the best LIDAR on the market. The business is at the epicenter of technology powering the autonomous vehicle movement. | learn […]
tech, startups, internet
How one VC thinks about blockchain.
This excellent memo from NYC’s Notation Capital provides some worthy thoughts about how to capture value from blockchain. The memo was originally written for internal use of their limited partners. | learn more
book recommendations
The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
I don’t recall where, but somewhere I heard good things about Matt Ridley’s books. This one didn’t disappoint. He calls himself a Rational Optimist – meaning he’s optimistic about the future of humans and the prospect for our prosperity. There […]
big ideas
The next billion mobile users won’t be typing.
The WSJ explores the poor and less-literate users that will make up the next consumers of the internet. The safe prediction is that they’ll be using video and voice to interact with devices, rather than reading and typing. Note: the WSJ […]
big ideas
Analysis shows renewable energy subsidies already pay for themselves.
A study published in Nature Energy quantifies the climate and air quality benefits of wind and solar energy. It’s important to be skeptical of these calculations, but also worth reading the argument. | learn more
thoughts of food
IBM, Kroger, Walmart and others are trying to use blockchains to improve food safety.
“The idea behind this project and the collaboration between these different companies is to figure out where exactly blockchains can benefit the food ecosystem.” The plan is still light on details, but this will be something to watch. | learn more
thoughts of food
The case for lab-grown meat.
This is one of the food technologies that I’m really excited about over the long term (decades from now). If lab-grown meat can economically replace the livestock industry, it’ll be a game changer. | learn more