THE BIG IDEA
Back in the late 1800s if you called a company for information you were routed through a telephone exchange and were able to speak with a person that could help.
The last switchboard operator for a hand-crank phone, Susan Glines, walked away her...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
A few years back the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report with an astounding conclusion:
Most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences.
That’s not cool.
Diagnostic accuracy of some conditions is staggeringly bad. For the...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
On a whim, I recently reviewed our car insurance.
Something didn’t feel right, so I went online and got a quote from another provider. It turns out they could cover our two cars with essentially the same coverage – for half the was...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
One of the big challenges for organizations in the fast-moving digital age is to understand what’s going on in their businesses right now.
Look at Facebook (FB). For a company that specializes in harvesting detailed user data and selling targeted ads you’d they...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
What if your doctor had a simple blood test that could predict Alzheimer’s Disease 15 years before any symptoms begin? Would you take it?
How about a test that could predict the likelihood of getting Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, and dementia?
Let’s say Miracle...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, “I’m fired up to buy stock in an Enterprise Work Management software company today.”
But not all investment ideas are sexy. Or make for a good story to tell friends. Or even sound a bit...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
On June 21, 2018 Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy issued his final decision before retiring, and reshaped the laws that will govern future taxation on interstate e-commerce sales.
For decades, states had been prohibited from collecting sales taxes on residents’ transactions when were...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
Fortunately, most people don’t ever have to think too seriously about donating an organ, or receiving an organ transplant. Perhaps they ponder it for a few moments when getting a new driver’s license. But that’s often as far as the thought goes...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
Let’s talk proteins.
Proteins are the large, complex molecules that do the lion’s share of the work in your cells and are essential for all living organisms. They’re made up of hundreds of thousands of amino acids, smaller units that are attached long,...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
A lot of attention is given to the companies that develop blockbuster drugs. Far less attention is paid to those that make the sophisticated manufacturing equipment that allow drugs to be developed, made for clinical trials, then produced at scale when approved.
These...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
Read slowly. This will take some time to digest.
We are on the verge of a renaissance in the industrial manufacturing industry that will forever change how products are designed, built and introduced to market.
This renaissance is being driven by the same that...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
Warren Buffett is widely considered one of the best investors in history. Over the last 53 years Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK/A) per-share market value has grown at an average annual rate of 21%. That works out to 10% better, every year, than S&P...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
The size of the market for electronic business-to-business (B2B) payments is hard to wrap your mind around. In the U.S. alone, it’s estimated that current B2B payment volume tops $20 trillion.
That’s a lot of Benjamins exchanging hands.
Even in such a big there’s...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
The year was 1956. Peter Pappas, originally from Cyprus, had recently returned to New York City after fighting in the Korean War. Sensing a need for food deliveries to local restaurants, Mr. Pappas teamed up with his cousin and founded the Butter...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
Warby Parker launched in 2010 selling eyeglasses online. With prices starting at just $95, its glasses have always been a lot less expensive than many alternatives out there, especially for buyers used to going through traditional eyeglass channels.
The business came about its...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
You’re as smooth as Tennessee whiskey,
You’re as sweet as strawberry wine,
You’re as warm as a glass of brandy,
And I stay stoned on your love all the time.
- Lyrics from Tennessee Whiskey, originally recorded by David Allen Coe, 1981
A few weeks ago, heard...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
If you’ve spent much time in the United Kingdom you might be familiar with Reading Buses. The company has been transporting passengers in and around Berkshire, England and the greater London area for over a century. Its fleet of 180 brightly single-...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
Are you concerned about cyberattacks?
Are your mobile devices, smart home devices and computers secure on your home network? What about in your car? At work?
These are questions people try not to think about too much. But the evidence suggests a dramatic in...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
Ever so slowly, biotech stocks are making a comeback.
The biotech index is up 7% year-to-date, and up 29% since the beginning of last year. Companies with good trial data and promising pipelines have garnered investors’ attention and their dollars.
The sector’s performance slightly...
Read More
THE BIG IDEA
As the world moves toward knowledge-driven economies, continuous learning is critical. It’s not an option to just sit on your rear end if you want to get into a great college, land a terrific job, move up the corporate ladder or five...
Read More