I recently read an article where it described the U.S. Mint’s challenge in producing pennies and nickels at a cost more than their actual value. In 2011 it cost the US Mint 2.4 Cents to produce a penny and 11.2 cents for every nickel produced. I guess the old adage “A penny saved is a penny earned” does not apply to the US Mint. Ironically, every penny has put the Mint 1.4 pennies in the hole.
There have been many major successful IPOs in 2011. From Groupon to Linkedin and Pandora, in a shaky economic climate these major internet players have proven that the Web still has much room for growth. One of the more interesting IPOs in 2011 that sheds light on what businesses and consumers seek to gain from each other is “Angie’s List.” Founded in 1995 (a dinosaur by internet standards), despite still being in the red, Angie’s IPO has increased its valuation by 25% pegging it at approximately $900 million. Not bad for a company that started in Ohio by Angie Hicks Read More
It’s incredible how low the cost of memory has dropped! I recently purchased an 8GB mini SD card for my Blackberry for under $20, when considering I paid over $1000 for a PC back in 1999 with an 8GB hard drive. With today’s amazingly affordable access to cheap storage, organizations are increasingly drowning in the data they gather.
In today’s project environment capturing and storing project information is limitless. On the flip side, extracting and accessing relevant information quickly and efficiently has begun to pose a growing problem to stakeholders and project managers that are required to make informed decisions impacting Read More
With yesterday’s announcement of Steve Jobs stepping down as Apple’s CEO, the first thought that crossed my mind is the critical role leadership plays in any organization. As the story goes… after building Apple into an industry giant, Jobs was ousted as its leader in 1985. Following his departure, the company slowly deteriorated and by 1997 the company Jobs’ built was running at a loss of $1 billion on its $7 billion in revenue. Almost 15 years later, under Jobs’ leadership Apple has not only transformed its own DNA, but has revolutionized the music industry, the smart phone and the Read More
Up until the early 20th century the world viewed the automobile as a luxury item built for the elite of society. Cars were complicated in their use and required a significant investment that the average person could not afford. Then in 1908, Henry Ford introduced the Model T Ford that did not only revolutionize the world’s perspective on personal transportation for the masses but also re-invented the manufacturing process still applied over 100 years later. Although we have seen improvements to his original process, with the development of lean manufacturing, JIT, Six Sigma, Kanban, and others, the core philosophy of Read More
We often hear in software development circles how Agile development is taking hold of the industry. Created as a grassroots framework by developers for developers, the origins of Agile methodology began 10 years ago with a group of progressive software developers at a Utah ski lodge that established the Agile Manifesto aimed to establish a more inclusive, democratic and efficient system for running software development projects. As result, multiple Agile methodologies emerged including Crystal Clear, Scrum and Extreme Programming all designed to establish self-governing project teams that place equal accountability on all members that touch the project.
As this is Read More
Probably considered by some as one of the most famous hotels in the world, the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel has its roots steeped in catering to the social elite of New York City. The history of the Waldorf=Astoria is interesting in that its first incarnation on 5th avenue and 33rd street was a two tower structure, with the first 13-story building built by William Waldorf Astor in 1893 and later connected via a tunnel to a 17-story tower constructed by his cousin John Jacob Astor IV in 1897. As the largest hotel in the world at the time, the Waldorf=Astoria would be Read More
