31 January 2005

Paradigm shifts in the computer industry

open source paradigm shift@Tim Oreilly

Paradigm shifts occur from time to time in business as well as in science. And as with scientific revolutions, they are often hard fought, and the ideas underlying them not widely accepted until long after they were first introduced. What's more, they often have implications that go far beyond the insights of their creators.

28 January 2005

effective meeting management

Ideal Board Meetings@Feld Thoughts

The board package came out five days prior to the meeting so everyone had plenty of time to read it. We had a typical three hour board meeting that started on time. The meeting then occurred as follows:

- 5 minutes: Administrative items (approve the minutes, approve new options).

- 55 minutes: Department updates. We used the board package as the guide, but each exec spent a few minutes summarizing key points (rather than reading from the package) and then we drilled into Q&A and discussion on each area. It was a spirited discussion that was forward looking (e.g. "what are we doing in the next 30 days about issue X") rather than backward looking (e.g. "good job on doing Y last month.")

- 90 minutes: 2005 Strategic Priorities. We worked from a six page powerpoint presentation (that had crappy production value, but was high content value) and spent 80% of our time on one slide. The entire leadership team participated in the discussion - it wasn't a "presentation of a conclusion" but a "discussion about what to do given limited resources and divergent opportunities."

- 30 minutes: Executive Session (Board Only). We talked about a handful of personnel related issues, summarized the discussion, and set the tone for Q105.

27 January 2005

rugby needs to promote the game

IRB launches 'Total Rugby'@sportbusiness

Rugby on television is vital not only for the promotion of the game, but also for its development.

21 January 2005

MOU = Australia + China

Closer sporting ties between Australia and China@ASC

Key points of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) are:
- Greater cooperation and communication on international sports issues;
- Facilitation by both peak bodies of greater direct links between national sporting organisations in Australia and China;
- Encouragement of more cooperation and exchange between researchers in the fields of sport education, science, research and medicine;
- A joint commitment to working against doping and violence in sport, including a closer working relationship between the respective anti-doping bodies in both countries;
- Support for cooperation on training of sports administrators, coaches and athletes.

11 January 2005

biology + engineering

Life, Reinvented@wired

A group of MIT engineers wanted to model the biological world. But, damn, some of nature's designs were complicated! So they started rebuilding from the ground up - and gave birth to synthetic biology.

05 January 2005

IOC pledge $1M in aid

IOC PLEDGE $1M IN AID@sportbusiness.com

The International Olympic Committee will donate $1million in aid for the tsunami disaster in Asia, according to a statement from the IOC.

03 January 2005

wish you all happy 2005!

Retrospective 2004: An Interview with Jacques Rogge@IOC

The IOC will continue to uphold and develop the social values of Olympic Solidarity, the role of women, development, culture and education, the environment and humanitarian action.

We believe in the educational value of sport, and encourage the athletes to respect the values of fair play, honesty, respect for the rules and fraternity.