links for 2008-10-30

  • Market intelligence for buyers sellers of Consulting services
    Large organisations are often incapable of changing course promptly, even in the hands of a capable consultant. So it sometimes makes sense to pursue innovation outside the main business. “You need to remove that risk aversion – one of the key barriers to fostering innovation”, states Attari. He describes a client that realises it has such a large mass moving in one direction that steering from that direction is a near impossibility. “How do they do logical experimentation in developing innovative capabilities that allow them to both test and assimilate while creating this new platform?” The solution is often a Skunk Works where a company can develop a new capability in a logical way, addressing the needs of the marketplace and internally growing and driving profitability growth without having a real impact on the traditional organisation.
    (tags: Innovation consulting)
  • McCain camp trying to scapegoat Palin – Yahoo! News
    McCain aides now say Palin is “going rogue” and straying from their script. Wow. What a condemnation. McCain sticks to the script. How well is he doing?

    In truth, Palin’s real problem is not her personality or whether she takes orders well. Her real problem is that neither she nor McCain can make a credible case that Palin is ready to assume the presidency should she need to.

    And that undercuts McCain’s entire campaign.

    This was the deal McCain made with the devil. In exchange for energizing his base by picking Palin, he surrendered his chief selling point: that he was better prepared to run the nation in time of crisis, whether it be economic, an attack by terrorists or, as he has been talking about in recent days, fending off a nuclear war.

    “The next president won’t have time to get used to the office,” McCain told a crowd in Miami on Wednesday. “I’ve been tested, my friends, I’ve been tested.”

    But has Sarah Palin?

    (tags: McCain Palin politics)
  • The McCain campaign is unusually upbeat. Does it have reason to be? – By John Dickerson – Slate Magazine
    How do McCain aides get around this dire picture without the aid of strong drink? Let's just say that McCain's campaign now relies on hope more than Obama's does. They hope that the Obama organization isn't as impressive as signs suggest it is. They hope that the greater enthusiasm apparent among Democrats turns out to be less than advertised on Election Day. They hope that the public polls that show a big Obama lead are poorly designed, overstating participation by young voters and African-Americans. They hope undecided voters will all break to McCain in the end.
    (tags: McCain Obama politics)