Maira Kalman celebrates invention
Readers might know Maira Kalman as the author of children’s books like Sayonara, Mrs. Kackleman; grammar nerds might know her illustrated edition of the immortal Strunk & White’s Elements of Style. Lately, Kalman has been busy writing an illustrated online column for the New York Times.
This month, Kalman celebrates invention with a whimsical run-down of great inventors, writing, “Don’t mope in your room, go invent something.”
Brains fitness: An introduction
Games are a very powerful medium for health, education and social impact. The phenomenon was well captured at the Games for Health conference. Alvaro Fernandez, CEO of SharpBrains, created the Cognitive Health Track for the conference, where he covered convergence of the scientific, technological and demographic trends that led to creation of a new market: software and online applications that can help people of all ages assess and train cognitive abilities.
In part one of this interview series, I talk with him about his book and the market positioning for this emerging industry.
It's time to find out who your customers are
You may know the lyrics to this Beatles classic:
“I read the news today, oh boy
About a lucky man who made the grade…”
Jack Noonan, President and CEO of SPSS Inc., has just done that, as IBM announced its plans to purchase this leading provider of social science statistical analysis. And if you don’t yet understand how important that is, it’s time you found out.
Light bulb: business or innovation?
With tax incentives such as SR&ED and the promise of financial freedom from owning a business, more Canadians are looking to entrepreneurship as an alternative or supplement. However, does it start with a business, or does it start with innovation? What is the difference between innovation, commercialization, business and exit?
Canada lags
Starting to rest easy because of the recent bounce in your stock portfolio? Hold on a minute. An expert panel with a long term view says don’t be distracted by boom or bust. Focus instead on the fundamentals of corporate strategy – like business spending on innovation.
In its recent report, Innovation and Business Strategy: Why Canada Falls Short, The Council of Canadian Academies once again highlighted Canada’s productivity disadvantage. It traces the problem to weak multifactor productivity (MFP) – ineffective use of labour and capital in the economy compared to competitors. Put simply, lagging productivity growth is due to shortcomings in the way we invest in new technologies, enhance work methods and implement new forms of business organization.
