Category Archives: Uncategorized

Michael Porter’s 4 Generic Strategies

                I’m considering creating an AI-based strategic-planning tool.  After learning about Porter’s generic strategies, I think it is a good starting point.                 Michael Porter’s generic strategies framework offers a comprehensive approach for firms seeking to achieve competitive advantage. The four strategies – cost leadership, differentiation, focused cost leadership, and focused differentiation – provide aContinue reading “Michael Porter’s 4 Generic Strategies”

Prep for RSA 2023: Get your calendar organized

As I’m prepping for RSAC2023, I remember the amount of meetings that I had last year and I wanted to come up with a way to be more organized. Vendors and potential partners are there in droves and they want to meet with you at their booth, for coffee, at the bar, at a party,Continue reading “Prep for RSA 2023: Get your calendar organized”

Learning from the Past: Mars Orbiter Failure Due to Quality

            The NASA Mars Climate Orbiter (MCO) mission suffered a series of defects leading up to its mission in 1999 which led to catastrophic failure of the orbiter spacecraft.  The root cause of the failure was the use of the incorrect units between Lockheed Martin and NASA in system interfaces.  Some places used metric andContinue reading “Learning from the Past: Mars Orbiter Failure Due to Quality”

Motivational Factors

            Motivation plays a key role in learning and productivity at school and at work.  Engagement refers to the level of commitment to a goal or organization, where motivation is the willpower and drive to act on that commitment.  Engagement and motivation are both needed and forward momentum is lost if a person becomes unmotivatedContinue reading “Motivational Factors”

Industry 4.0: Internet of Things, Operational Technology, Integration, and Automation

                It is important to note that the source of the article What is Industry 4.0—the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is Epicor, a software vendor that sells ERP software for manufacturing companies; so the author is not an academic source, but they are a knowledgeable industry source.                 Industry 4.0 is the digital transformationContinue reading “Industry 4.0: Internet of Things, Operational Technology, Integration, and Automation”

Checker-playing Managers vs. Chess-playing Managers: Thinking Strategically

                Marcus Buckingham, in his 2005 Harvard Business Review article “What Great Managers Do,” said that average managers play checkers, great managers play chess, and great leaders rally people around what is universal and capitalize on that (Buckingham, 2005).  As someone who prefers leadership to management, I agree with this sentiment.                 The average managerContinue reading “Checker-playing Managers vs. Chess-playing Managers: Thinking Strategically”