Many people working in large companies speak business-buzzwords as a second language. Business language is full of pretty meaningless words. I Don’t Understand What Anyone Is Saying Anymore article tells that the language of internet business models has made the problem even worse. There are several strains of this epidemic: We have forgotten how to use the real names of real things, acronymitis, and Meaningless Expressions (like “Our goal is to exceed the customer’s expectation”). This would all be funny if it weren’t true. Observe it, deconstruct it, and appreciate just how ridiculous most business conversation has become.
Check out this brilliant Web Economy Bullshit Generator page. It generates random bullshit text based on the often used words in business language. And most of the material it generates look something you would expect from IT executives and their speechwriters (those are randomly generated with Web Economy Bullshit Generator):
“scale viral web services”
“integrate holistic mindshare”
“transform back-end solutions”
“incentivize revolutionary portals”
“synergize out-of-the-box platforms”
“enhance world-class schemas”
“aggregate revolutionary paradigms”
“enable cross-media relationships”
How to talk like a CIO article tries to tell how do CIOs talk, and what do they talk about, and why they do it like they do it. It sometimes makes sense to analyze the speaking and comportment styles of the people who’ve already climbed the corporate ladder if you want to do the same.
The Most Annoying, Pretentious And Useless Business Jargon article tells that the stupid business talk is longer solely the province of consultants, investors and business-school types, this annoying gobbledygook has mesmerized the rank and file around the globe. The next time you feel the need to reach out, touch base, shift a paradigm, leverage a best practice or join a tiger team, by all means do it. Just don’t say you’re doing it. If you have to ask why, chances are you’ve fallen under the poisonous spell of business jargon. Jargon masks real meaning. The Most Annoying, Pretentious And Useless Business Jargon article has a cache of expressions to assiduously avoid (if you look out you will see those used way too many times in business documents and press releases).
Is Innovation the Most Abused Word In Business? article tells that most of what is called innovation today is mere distraction, according to a paper by economist Robert Gordon. Innovation is the most abused word in tech. The iPad is about as innovative as the toaster. You can still read books without an iPad, and you can still toast bread without a toaster. True innovation radically alters the way we interact with the world. But in tech, every little thing is called “innovative.” If you were to believe business grads then “innovation” includes their “ideas” along the lines of “a website like *only better*” or “that thing which everyone is already doing but which I think is my neat new idea” Whether or not the word “innovation” has become the most abused word in the business context, that remains to be seen. “Innovation” itself has already been abused by the patent trolls.
Using stories to catch ‘smart-talk’ article tells that smart-talk is information without understanding, theory without practice – ‘all mouth and no trousers’, as the old aphorism puts it. It’s all too common amongst would-be ‘experts’ – and likewise amongst ‘rising stars’ in management and elsewhere. He looks the part; he knows all the right buzzwords; he can quote chapter-and-verse from all the best-known pundits and practitioners. But is it all just empty ‘smart-talk’? Even if unintentional on their part, people who indulge in smart-talk can be genuinely dangerous. They’ll seem plausible enough at first, but in reality they’ll often know just enough to get everyone into real trouble, but not enough to get out of it again. Smart-talk is the bane of most business – and probably of most communities too. So what can we do to catch it?
2,592 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Should you pay $50K for your pitch deck? Yes, why the hell not?
https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/21/should-you-pay-50k-for-your-pitch-deck-yes-why-the-hell-not/
Every once in a while on VC Twitter, a comment or statement seems so outlandish, so completely outrageous, that it must be — certainly has to be — false. Such as it was for Primary Ventures investor Jason Shuman, who commented on the recent prices for pitch deck advice in the Valley today:
Founder friend just told me that SF deck designers have quoted him between $20K to $40K + the right to invest up to $250K…my mind is officially blown
https://pitchdeck.improvepresentation.com/what-is-a-pitch-deck
Investment pitch-deck 101
A pitch deck is a brief presentation, often created using PowerPoint, Keynote or Prezi, used to provide your audience with a quick overview of your business plan. You will usually use your pitch deck during face-to-face or online meetings with potential investors, customers, partners, and co-founders.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Against Silicon Valley.
Big Tech amplified the culture war: now it is putting its thumb on the scale.
https://humanevents.com/2019/12/20/against-silicon-valley/
Tomi Engdahl says:
This brilliant map of 3,500 occupations will help you find a new job based on your personality
https://www.fastcompany.com/90444453/this-brilliant-map-of-3500-occupations-will-help-you-find-a-new-job-based-on-your-personality?partner=rss&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss
Tomi Engdahl says:
The (un)sustainability of digital sales
https://www.columbiaroad.com/blog/the-unsustainability-of-digital-sales
Adopting sustainable business behaviour is not just an act of corporate social responsibility – it’s fundamental to a company’s brand and bottom line. Sustainability is also driving innovation in ecommerce services and business models.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3 ways to train your brain to perform better under pressure
Life is filled with high-pressure situations. But you can teach your brain to perform better in these scenarios.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90438410/3-ways-to-train-your-brain-to-perform-better-under-pressure?partner=forbes
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon Spent Years Learning What It Takes to Do Great Work. These 4 Steps Contributed Most to Its Success
“Skill is overrated,” says Jeff Bezos. These four things are not.
https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/jeff-bezos-thinks-these-4-steps-contributed-greatly-to-amazons-success.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
17 Things You Should Leave Off Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile
Sometimes, all you get is one chance to appeal to companies you’d like to work at. Don’t blow it
https://www.inc.com/peter-economy/17-things-you-should-leave-off-your-resume-and-linkedin-profile.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Want A Better Resumé, Or Job? Adobe Says You Should Focus On These Five Things
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dbloom/2019/11/13/want-a-better-resum-or-job-adobe-says-you-should-focus-on-these-five-things/
The overlooked/undermentioned skills include, according to the study:
• Complex Problem Solving
• Creativity
• Critical Thinking
• People Management
• Coordinating with Others
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.digivallankumous.fi/asiantuntijabisnes
Tomi Engdahl says:
27 Easy Ways To Make Money Online
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2019/09/30/quit-your-job-travel-the-world-easy-ways-to-make-money-online/
Tomi Engdahl says:
An amazing card for anyone in the computer science field to have!
https://soranews24.com/2019/12/18/japanese-twitter-blown-away-by-super-cool-business-card-that-looks-like-computer-hardware/
The University of Tokyo is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan, and is a spearhead of much important research in the fields of science, medicine, and technology. That’s probably why one graduate student at the University of Tokyo has this awesome, tech-inspired business card to hand out to potential business associates
This super cool card is designed to look like a piece of computer hardware, as if it’s a circuit board with wires stretching across it and an array of pin connectors. It has all of the information a business card needs, but with more flair than any traditional design.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Here’s How Google Knows in Less Than 5 Minutes if Someone Is a Great Leader
https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/heres-how-google-knows-in-less-than-5-minutes-if-someone-is-a-great-leader.html
After years of study, Google uses a few simple questions to identify the company’s best leaders
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Marketing Topics That Resonated Most With Readers In 2019
http://on.forbes.com/61891XYYx
#1: “Comcast Violates A Key Marketing Principle: Never Give Your Customers a Reason to Switch”
#2: “New CEO Study: The Undergraduate Degrees of Fortune 100 CEOs”
#3: “Study Results: The Top Companies that Prepare Marketers to Become CEOs”
#4: “A New Study on Fortune 100 CEOs: The (Surprising) Undergraduate Institutions they Attended”
#5: “The Customer Journey Doesn’t Exist…So Stop Trying to Manage it”
Tomi Engdahl says:
35 employees of the French telecommunications company Orange died by suicide. 10 years later, 3 top corporate executives were convicted of “collective moral harassment” and “institutional harassment” for creating a toxic work environment.
French CEO Sent To Prison After His Policies Resulted In The Suicides Of 35 Employees
http://on.forbes.com/61871XCYL
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bezos, Buffett, Ma And More: Biggest Billionaire Gainers Of The Decade
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2019/12/23/richest-billionaires-decade/?utm_source=FBPAGE&utm_medium=social&utm_content=2995010874&utm_campaign=sprinklrForbesMainFB#54403d8fd4cd
Gleaned from the pages of a book purchased by accident at the University of Nebraska, Warren Buffett’s investment philosophy–buy and hold stocks forever–has proven to be one of the best-performing strategies of all time. It has also paid off particularly well this past decade.
The never-ever let go strategy has worked for most of the decade’s other biggest gainers as well, all of whom are at least $40 billion richer than in 2010. Altogether the ten added an astonishing $555 billion to their fortunes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Unsure how to take your business to the next level 2020? Refresh on growth hacking in this interview with its creator, Sean Ellis.
This interview digs deeper and goes beyond the basics of growth hacking. Learn about its scientific process, the common pitfalls and how to build a growth hacking culture that will be the real game changer for your company’s top line.
Beyond Growth Hacking – an interview with Sean Ellis
https://www.columbiaroad.com/blog/beyond-growth-hacking-an-interview-with-sean-ellis?utm_content=109319761&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-1180887171984670&hsa_acc=10153848399300580&hsa_cam=6148151134254&hsa_grp=6155893839654&hsa_ad=6155894634854&hsa_src=fb&hsa_net=facebook&hsa_ver=3
What really, is growth hacking? How has it evolved and what does Sean Ellis, the father of growth hacking, prophesy about its future?
In your own words, what is growth hacking?
It’s a scientific approach to rapid experimentation across the full customer journey to drive successful customer and revenue expansion.
Do you think growth hacking will exist in 10 years from today?
The name of it may change, but how companies grow hasn’t changed much in my career. Rapid expansion, using data, and understanding customers’ principles haven’t changed and I don’t think that they will in the future.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3 Ways Your Leadership Will Improve When You Demonstrate More Respect
http://on.forbes.com/61861kZwq
If you’ve worked for any length of time in a business environment, you’ve personally witnessed the good, bad and the ugly in the managers and leaders around you. “Leader” is an interesting term because it implies that as a “leader” you lead people well. But we all know that’s not necessarily true. In my 35+ years of working, I’ve seen that there are precious few standout leaders in corporate organizations, government and other arenas today who are making a lasting positive difference in their leadership and who serve as inspiring examples for others to follow.
These great leaders never openly and publicly–or even behind closed doors–harshly judge, belittle, or attack people. And they don’t fall apart or become furious when they are challenged and told they’re wrong. This doesn’t mean they don’t have their differences with others, or always see eye-to-eye. It means that whatever the situation or challenge they’re presented with, they respect the individuals they are dealing with.
One definition of “respect” that is powerful and key in our leadership and managerial endeavors is that we recognize the inherent worth and value of the other person, and honor that inherent worthiness in our words, actions and behaviors.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Great Leaders Bring Out Others’ Self-Confidence
http://on.forbes.com/61891kZkd
Leaders inspire and enable others to do their absolute best together to realize a meaningful and rewarding shared purpose. Great leaders add bringing out others’ self-confidence by emphasizing confidence-building in their approach to the direction, authority, resource, and accountability aspects of delegation.
“They can because they think they can.” – Virgil
Why people follow leaders – John Maxwell in “The 5 Levels of Leadership”
5 – PINNACLE – Respect – Who you are and what you represent.
4 – PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT – Reproduction – What you have done for them.
3 – PRODUCTION – Results – What you have done for the organization.
2 – PERMISSION – Relationships – They want to.
1 – POSITION – Rights – They have to.
Tomi Engdahl says:
In A ‘Post-Digital’ Business World, Autonomous Tech Is On The March
https://www.forbes.com/sites/oracle/2019/12/19/in-a-post-digital-business-world-autonomous-tech-is-on-the-march/
The idea of Oracle’s Autonomous Database might have seemed novel when it was announced two years ago, but it’s quickly proven to be a bold move in the right direction, said Accenture’s Pat Sullivan during Oracle OpenWorld 2019 in San Francisco.
“Oracle’s Autonomous Database has proven to be a solution that thrives in what we call the post-digital world,” said Sullivan, a managing director. Sullivan explained that “post digital” means companies are facing such high customer expectations that they are moving beyond adopting complex digital tools to get at the information they need, and toward technologies that simply let businesses use data well at massive scale, and do it securely.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How the CIO fought their way back from the edge of extinction
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-the-cio-fought-their-way-back-from-the-edge-of-extinction/
By fighting a decade-long battle with the combined forces of consumerisation, cloud computing and disruption, CIOs learnt to embrace internal challenge and external change.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.digiyliopisto.fi/vapauden-ja-vaurauden-virta/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.digiyliopisto.fi/joulukalenteri-2019-kiitos/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Where the World’s Banks Make the Most Money
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/where-worlds-banks-make-money/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Get A Sponsor, Not A Mentor: 3 Steps To Skyrocket Your Career
https://www.forbes.com/sites/averyblank/2019/03/05/get-a-sponsor-not-a-mentor-3-steps-to-skyrocket-your-career/?utm_source=FBPAGE&utm_medium=social&utm_content=3000230715&utm_campaign=sprinklrForbesMainFB#71b828c61238
Mentors are great, but sponsors are key to your career advancement. Mentors provide behind the scenes advice and support. They help you to learn. Sponsors are on the front lines and will tell others that you are the person for the job.
Sylvia Ann Hewlett, founder of the Center for Talent Innovation, puts it succinctly: “Mentors advise. Sponsors act.” You need an advocate that will act on your behalf and create opportunities for you.
Generally speaking, you don’t get to choose a sponsor; a sponsor chooses you.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Truth About Open Offices
https://hbr.org/2019/11/the-truth-about-open-offices?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
It’s never been easier for workers to collaborate—or so it seems. Open, flexible, activity-based spaces are displacing cubicles, making people more visible. Messaging is displacing phone calls, making people more accessible. Enterprise social media such as Slack and Microsoft Teams are displacing watercooler conversations, making people more connected. Virtual-meeting software such as Zoom, GoToMeeting, and Webex is displacing in-person meetings, making people ever-present. The architecture of collaboration has not changed so quickly since technological advances in lighting and ventilation made tall office buildings feasible, and one could argue that it has never before been so efficient. Designing workplaces for interaction between two or more individuals—or collaboration, from the Latin collaborare, meaning to work together—has never seemed so easy.
But as the physical and technological structures for omnichannel collaboration have spread, evidence suggests they are producing behaviors at odds with designers’ expectations and business managers’ desires.
That physical architecture is paired with a digital architecture: email, enterprise social media, mobile messaging, and so forth.
But although knowledge workers are influenced by this architecture, they decide, individually and collectively, when to interact. Even in open spaces with colleagues in close proximity, people who want to eschew interactions have an amazing capacity to do so.
When employees do want to interact, they choose the channel: face-to-face, video conference, phone, social media, email, messaging, and so on. Someone initiating an exchange decides how long it should last and whether it should be synchronous (a meeting or a huddle) or asynchronous (a message or a post).
Until recently the anatomy of collaboration was hard to observe. But technology has made it possible to detect and analyze the flows of communication.
Sensors are all the rage.
When the firms switched to open offices, face-to-face interactions fell by 70%.
These advances have allowed us to confirm something many people have suspected: Collaboration’s architecture and anatomy are not lining up.
We found that face-to-face interactions dropped by roughly 70% after the firms transitioned to open offices, while electronic interactions increased to compensate.
Why did that happen? The work of the 18th-century French philosopher Denis Diderot suggests an answer. He wrote that performers should “imagine a huge wall across the front of the stage, separating you from the audience, and behave exactly as if the curtain had never risen.” He called this the fourth wall. It prevents actors from being distracted by the audience and allows them to divorce themselves from what they cannot control (the audience) and focus only on what they can (the scene)
People in open offices create a fourth wall, and their colleagues come to respect it. If someone is working intently, people don’t interrupt her. If someone starts a conversation and a colleague shoots him a look of annoyance, he won’t do it again. Especially in open spaces, fourth-wall norms spread quickly.
a Fortune 500 retailer with more than a dozen buildings showed that just 10% of all communications occurred between employees whose desks were more than 500 meters apart. These findings suggest that locating people in proximate buildings won’t improve collaboration; to increase interactions, workers should be in the same building, ideally on the same floor.
And remote work, while undeniably cost-effective, tends to significantly inhibit collaboration even over digital channels. While studying a major technology company from 2008 to 2012, we found that remote workers communicated nearly 80% less about their assignments than colocated team members did; in 17% of projects they didn’t communicate at all. The obvious implication: If team members need to interact to achieve project milestones on time, you don’t want them working remotely.
Leaders need to make the call about what collective behaviors should be encouraged or discouraged and how. Their means should include not just the design of workspace configurations and technologies but the design of tasks, roles, and culture as well.
If keeping real estate costs in check is the priority, leaders should be honest about that with themselves and their employees. Most office redesigns aren’t undertaken to promote collaboration. They start with objectives like the one described by the head of real estate at a Fortune 50 company: “The leadership team has just given me a mandate to restack our headquarters to fit another 1,000 employees in here.”
If the aim really is to boost collaboration, you need to increase the right kinds of interactions and decrease ineffective ones. You’ll have to carefully choose your trade-offs. That means you need to understand current patterns of interaction and consider how you want to change them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pekka Seppäsen kolumni: Ennen vanhaan työpaikoilla oli työntekijöitä, nyt työntekijöistä on tullut osaajia, moniosaajia ja tiimiläisiä
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11119537
Kun keksii vanhalle asialle uuden nimen, voi laskuttaa enemmän. Siksi yrityksissä käytetään hassuja ja hämääviä sanoja, kirjoittaa Pekka Seppänen.
Tuukka Tervosen kolumni: Elämme hevonpaskan aikakautta
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11079762
Hevonpaskaa valuu korviimme ja silmiimme jokaisesta mahdollisesta mediasta ja mikä pahinta, me tykkäämme siitä, kirjoittaa Tuukka Tervonen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
7 Science-Based Strategies To Boost Your Willpower And Succeed With Your New Year’s Resolutions
https://www.iflscience.com/brain/7-sciencebased-strategies-to-boost-your-willpower-and-succeed-with-your-new-years-resolutions/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Break The Psychological Barriers Holding Back Your Career
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/12/31/break-the-psychological-barriers-holding-back-your-career/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/vickyvalet/2019/09/17/the-worlds-most-reputable-companies-for-corporate-responsibility-2019/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2020/01/02/teknologiaosaaminen-korostuu-megatrendeissa/
Tomi Engdahl says:
U.S. Religious Groups Generated MORE Money Than Microsoft And Apple Combined
https://thisblowsmymind.com/religious-groups-in-u-s-generate-more-money-than-microsoft-and-apple-combined/
Tomi Engdahl says:
5 Things To Ask Your Boss In The New Year
https://www.forbes.com/sites/averyblank/2020/12/29/5-things-to-ask-your-boss-in-the-new-year/
Tomi Engdahl says:
In the Stock Market, Watch What They Know, Not What They Do
A new study finds that similarities in technological expertise can bind the fortunes of seemingly unrelated companies.
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/stock-market-watch-what-they-know-not-what-they-do
Tomi Engdahl says:
How To Be Productive At Work, According To An Email From Elon Musk
http://uk.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-productivity-tips-for-tesla-employees-2018-4?r=US&IR=T/#large-format-meetings-waste-peoples-time-1
Tomi Engdahl says:
A bunch of people in tech are setting resolutions to spend less time using tech
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/31/new-years-resolution-for-the-tech-industry-spend-less-time-with-tech.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
16 Of The Funniest And Most Epic Business Signs Ever
https://www.factswt.com/16-of-the-funniest-and-most-epic-business-signs-ever/
Tomi Engdahl says:
4 REAL WAYS TO MAKE YOUR REMOTE TEAMS FEEL CONNECTED
https://thescalers.com/4-real-ways-to-make-your-remote-teams-feel-connected/?utm_campaign=Remote+Team+Boost+Post&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid&hsa_acc=448733685815838&hsa_cam=23844108737000567&hsa_grp=23844108737020567&hsa_ad=23844108737040567&hsa_src=fb&hsa_net=facebook&hsa_ver=3
Working remotely has many perks, both for a company and its employees. The freedom to work from wherever they want to is a huge draw for today’s millennial workforce. On the other hand, companies are no longer restricted by geographical obligations and can leverage talent from different countries and set up remote teams anywhere in the world.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Someone actually thought it would be a good idea to do a “study” on the obvious. Good job! Love corporate America! Real thought leaders here guys.
New Study Suggests Lead Generation Is A Key Growth Challenge For Most Companies
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2020/01/04/new-study-suggests-lead-generation-is-a-key-growth-challenge-for-most-companies/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Americans dying because they can’t afford medical care
Millions of Americans – as many as 25% of the population – are delaying getting medical help because of skyrocketing costs
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/07/americans-healthcare-medical-costs
Tomi Engdahl says:
Confucius say: “Smart grasshoppa knows to not use a smart device.”
Billionaire Warren Buffett, a major Apple investor, uses a $20 flip phone
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/28/billionaire-warren-buffett-a-major-apple-investor-uses-a-20-flip-phone.html?__source=twitter%7Cmain
He uses a Samsung phone that sells for between $20 and $30 on Ebay.
Apple is Berkshire Hathaway’s biggest investment, but Buffett still doesn’t use an iPhone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nikolas Kairinos, CEO and cofounder of Prospex.ai, said: “Lead generation is the lifeblood of a company, so it is a concern to see so many businesses struggling in this area. Our research shows there is an over-reliance on old methods of lead generation
Salvatore Minetti, CEO at Fountech Ventures, said: “The lack of sales predictability and the challenge of converting a lead into a customer, be it a consumer or business, is a top concern companies of all sizes face. What’s more, traditional sales and lead generation techniques are typically labor intensive, expensive and time-consuming
That’s why this shift towards automation and AI comes should come as no surprise.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2020/01/04/new-study-suggests-lead-generation-is-a-key-growth-challenge-for-most-companies/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Working at a CERT and shifting to Technical Lead
https://pentestmag.com/working-at-a-cert-and-shifting-to-technical-lead/
Promotion
After about three years I was promoted to a technical lead position in the Red Team of the CERT with some new duties:
Ensure that all provided services (Pentesting, Vulnerability Management and so on) work properly
Adjusting with the other CERT teams and management
Conducting job interviews
Organizational tasks (yes, writing excel sheets)
Conclusion
Besides all things I learned from a technical point of view (Incident Response, Trainings etc.), the more important lesson for me was and still is what I can learn from a management point of view and the personal development. Sometimes the attitude and the political thinking is more important than the technical knowledge for improving things in a big company, I try to find a way where I can combine both.
Two important take aways:
The exploitation trainings in that depth were not necessary when I look back at this time. It was no total waste of resources, but choosing more careful and adjusting your learning goals is always a great idea.
After staying for 18 and then 17 months at the two jobs before it is a good idea to stay a bit longer at the new job. Changing jobs too often might look bad on your CV. Also staying for a longer time is also opening new perspective (when you are on the right company).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ei mutua, vaan aina mitattavaa!
https://www.sunprofile.fi/ei-mutua-vaan-aina-mitattavaa/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why “Explainability” Is A Big Deal In AI
https://www.forbes.com/sites/googlecloud/2020/01/08/why-explainability-is-a-big-deal-in-ai/?utm_source=FBPAGE&utm_medium=social&utm_content=3039759131&utm_campaign=sprinklrForbesMainFB#b2c76bb55169
There is a little-noticed talent that’s critical for success in a tech-centric world; it’s up there with being a great programmer, a master strategist, or even an innovative entrepreneur.
It’s being good at explaining stuff.
Explaining how and why something functions has always been a high-value pursuit, essential for leadership. How you explain things frames how you see the world, and the ability to clearly convey your intentions, goals and methods is the stuff of clear mission statements, great speeches, and effective selling. Defining something effectively, in this sense, establishes a kind of ownership of it, and can stir thousands to action.
Something like that level of patience and skill is now needed in the engine rooms of business, where cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and an explosion of data are reshaping how we live, work, and play, even as the rest of the world struggles to understand what’s going on. These new technologies are incredibly powerful: they can deliver us new insights, they make things happen at an accelerated rate, and they touch an increasing number of areas in life.
Putting these technologies into rapid use, then telling people how the technologies worked and why they did what they did, is critical. In fact, it’s already a big part of information technology. Providing fast and accurate answers to questions, easy navigation, and clean and organized web pages, all inherently show an understanding of both user needs and product capabilities.
practitioners of AI call “explainability.” That means sorting out what an AI algorithm did, what data was used, and why certain conclusions were reached. If, say, a machine learning (ML) algorithm also made business decisions, these decisions need to be annotated and presented effectively.
Tomi Engdahl says:
This U.S. Programmer Outsourced His Job to China and Spent Working Hours Surfing the Web
https://unbelievable-facts.com/2020/01/programmer-outsourced-his-job-and-spent-days-surfing-the-web.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
VW CEO says carmaker faces same fate as Nokia without urgent reforms
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-strategy-diess-idUSKBN1ZF1OB
Tomi Engdahl says:
NÄMÄ KUUSI TEKNOLOGIATRENDIÄ MUUTTAVAT IHAN KOHTA ARKEASI
https://www.avoinkuitu.fi/juuri-nyt/nama-teknologiatrendit-muuttavat-arkeasi
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ihmiskoe, joka otti niskalenkin teknostressistä
https://drum.fi/fi/blogi/tyoaikalaki-muutos/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Who Are The 100 Most Sustainable Companies Of 2020?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthatodd/2020/01/21/who-are-the-100-most-sustainable-companies-of-2020/?utm_source=FACEBOOK&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Valerie/#76616c657269
A ranking of the organizations doing the most to embrace sustainable business practices was revealed Tuesday at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Compiled by Canadian research firm Corporate Knights since 2005, the Global 100 list ranks corporations with revenue in excess of $1 billion based on key metrics of sustainability, among them carbon footprint and gender diversity.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A newly released survey of 1,520 executives, including 740 CEOs, shows that there’s still a fair amount of ambiguity with regard to the subject of talent retention. via Quartz
CEOs everywhere are stressed about talent retention—and ignoring obvious solutions for it
https://qz.com/work/1782419/ceos-worried-about-talent-retention-are-overlooking-obvious-solutions/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=partner-share&utm_campaign=partner-parAC
In today’s tight job market, business leaders spend a lot of time worrying about how to hire and retain great employees. But a new report suggests they’re strangely inattentive to the very changes that could go a long way toward solving the problem.
“Demand for highly talented employees now exceeds supply in most mature economies and, as a result, job openings are more difficult to fill,” the Conference Board notes. Indeed, competition for talent was the top stressor for CEOs in the US, Europe, Latin America, and China. (Only Japan had a different top concern: developing “next generation” leaders.)
“If you don’t create the conditions for people to stay, you can do an amazing job at hiring and then people aren’t going to stay.”