TRC - Advisory, Consulting, Engagement

McK on the supply chain of the future

TRC — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 10:15:55 +0000

Building the supply chain of the future. Fascinating analysis from McK on new options for the supply chain. The ideas of splintering based on volatility and component-based assembly-to-order are excellent.

What is the perfect startup team?

TRC — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 12:14:18 +0000

Saul’s experience suggests that companies need a developer, a designer and a distributor (could be two rather than three people):

someone who understands how to build technologies and systems to solve problems
someone who understands the human factors behind those problems, why they exist, what it takes to fix them and how to shape the experience
someone who understands how to reach, talk to and sell to the people who’s problems are being sold – and keep finding more of them

So I know what I’m looking for, then…

via What is the perfect startup team? – Quora.

Social media cost-effective for councils?

TRC — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:39:15 +0000

Use social media rather than traditional is the call from public service. It is hard to make savings on social media unless they are carefully targeted and run.

Conversations

are

often

open-

ended

in

new

media,

and

this

can

increase

costs.

Triple shared services

TRC — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 08:40:31 +0000

Three councils to share services. Everything is on the table. This could be real transformation using economies of scale to deliver most cost effective services.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2032bfcc-ddb2-11df-8354-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss

Innovation in practice

TRC — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:57:12 +0000

Good reminder that innovation doesn’t have to be ground-breaking: the Japanese Kit Kat regional specialities is genius. What is the equivalent disruption in your sector?

Shirky on paywall

TRC — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:20:11 +0000

Lovely quote among many:

And to put it in one bleak sentence, no medium has ever survived the indifference of 25-year-olds

Digital engagement needs to part of something bigger

TRC — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:54:53 +0000

Lots of good stuff in Dave’s post on the need for a new focus for digital engagement. My take is compatible, but different. I think digital engagement will become a substrate to “normal” activities. We won’t think about digital or social for much longer: they will just be what we do.

Digital inclusion needs careful management

TRC — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:20:27 +0000

Lots to digest in this summary of evidence on the effects on children of increased home computer availability. Two key points:

Mathematics and reading test scores drop a little with the growing use of home computers
Introduction of broadband internet widens racial and socioeconomic development gaps

As the study says, the skills highlighted in reading and mathematics tests may not be as valuable in the workplace as others learned with home computing.

Big question: how to track whether this effect is present as we roll out computing and the internet to all (which I am still fully in favour of, by the way). We must avoid digital engagement that leads to societal exclusion or leads to digital inclusion that is slightly damaging for the included.

Tableau public and open data

TRC — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:54:28 +0000

Tableau Public looks like a great data analysis option for open data munging. Quick and easy to use and generates web interactive visualisations. Neat.

Expensive apps give an intriguing glimpse of the future

TRC — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:46:28 +0000

Good to see that there are reasonably priced apps available (here $15 / $25) that can make real money for their creators. These aren’t micropayments, but they are small enough to be impulse purchases and not really noticed in the wider scheme of things.

Bootstrapped, Profitable, & Proud: iTeleport – 37signals.

We’ll purchase more and more of this price of app, I believe.