Commentary

Jim Collins has researched and written extensively about the characteristics of successful companies. Recently he has published a short book, “How the Mighty Fall,” describing the characteristics of companies that fail. Collins defines five stages of decline prior to the company’s failure. Thinking...

The latest figures from the National Science Foundation confirm what many people in Wisconsin already knew: the UW-Madison is one of the nation's leading research universities. The numbers also underscore the fact that academic research and development isn't confined to the labs and research offices...

One of the biggest obstacle to marketers in the 21st century? The common penny. Getting consumers to pay “anything” to sample a product or service — even just a penny — is one of the greatest challenges that marketers face, according Chris Anderson, author of Free:...

This week I am attending the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2009 for the 12th consecutive year. It is one of the largest and most important annual gatherings of CIOs and senior IT leaders. There are many influential CIO's & senior-level IT executives with ties to Wisconsin including...

The latest figures from the National Science Foundation confirm what many people in Wisconsin already knew: the UW-Madison is one of the nation's leading research universities. The numbers also underscore the fact that academic research and development isn't confined to the labs and research offices...

Defects are the last of the seven sources of waste aka Muda (Japanese for waste) in lean thinking. Defects in manufacturing are errors, damage, mistakes and other situations that do not confirm to standards and processes. Defects and defect elimination is...

Will Web 3.0 shatter axioms behind your current business model? What are the implications of Web 3.0 for marketing, supply chain management, IT infrastructure and information security? Aged-old assumptions underlying many business models no longer hold true as Web 3.0. Technology changes how we communicate...

Ever wonder if the network cabling within your commercial building is substandard or the network connectivity coming into your building is obsolete? Commercial buildings have lost value in the current economy. What most appraisers as well as owners don't even measure is the technology within...

Fair use analysis is about as complex as determining whether an older work is protected by copyright. There are hundreds of cases that analyze and apply the fair use factors, including an analysis of the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the...

Earlier this year I proposed that the good ol' predictable days of "aligning IT with the business" have come and gone, and that such an approach has become counterproductive and career-threatening. Since then, a series of factors--from the withering global economy to the relentless demands...