Next Week at NRF

Next week is the National Retail Federation (www.NRF.org) Expo in NYC. It will be interesting to see the impact of the falling dollar, aging hardware, social networking and the lack of solid ROIs being presented by vendors. Many retailers have already removed much of the labor from their operations. Increasing worker productivity will have its limits. Improving customer experience and increasing the work by "empowering" customers remains furtile ground. Let's see how well the product managers have balanced listening to their customers and to wanting to build what might be.

"If you don't go out, nothing happens." Millie Garfield

It is a small world.

What a pleasant surprise to see a reference to Millie Garfield and her Blog in David Corbett's book, "Portfolio Life". Check it out on Page 157. The book is great and Millie's motto rings true for us all. (Glad to see her AOL connection is back up)

Transparency

I've been reading postings on various blogs and websites, thank you Steve Garfield, and am intrigued by the need for transparency.

How do we promote transparency and accountability in the midst of increasing identity theft?

Reading anonymous consumer reviews before going to a movie or buying a book are interesting at best. The summarized rating seem to have more weight and are becoming more common. I only look at the details, examining the transparency of the comments, if the ratings are on the extremes or counter my assumption. This holds true for ratings on Amazon, Ebay and many retail websites.

The small community of professional critics have create a reputations. The larger community of blog posters requires readers to question and learn more about the qualifications of the posters until a reputation can be created.

Just some thoughts from a new poster.

The things that entertain us

In the midst of family get togethers, its often those side events that create the strongest memories. Look what two minds, two straws, some water and a table cloth can create.

The Black Swan

Thank you Kate. This book was compelling and difficult, and I am glad to have read it. Finally, and quite unpredictably, I've found someone who talks about the real world AND what is outside the box others consider the universe. I have more questions after reading Nassim Nicholas Taleb's book, the way it should be.

Off to School

Yesterday college started for our family. Great, and early, morning trip to NYC. Great move in, student helpers carried everything up to the fifth floor room. Great room setup and a very happy freshman class, including their parents. Another chapter has begun. We even had a good ride home concluding a long and monumental day.

1000 miles since Jerusalem

A milestone of sorts. This morning I passed 1,000 miles on my bike since leaving Jerusalem on the Israel Ride 2007 bike ride.