Blog Archives
Is Tech Navigating a Roundabout Future?
Similar to Clark W. Griswold, the potential technological roundabout ahead may not have the easiest exit strategy. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is still in the TBD phase.
Literally.
But it’s intriguing nonetheless.
The innovative new headquarters for Apple, Inc. (at least there’s still some form of innovation still happening there) is receiving its finishing polishes as I write this sentence and as you are reading this awesomely intriguing sentence. Many have labeled the gigantic circular design as “space-like.” Actually, there’s some credence to that description. Recall the circular, clocklike spaceship in 2014 science-fiction epic Interstellar.
The sleek design and environmentally sustainable compound campus will likely serve as a model for future buildings in myriad industries (possibly including schools?), business mentalities (hopefully, not like the 2017 big brother film The Circle) and, brace yourself…
as a future handheld device?
Rumors surrounding any Steve Jobs-like inventions have been lacking under the Tim Cook era. Apple, for lack of a better word, has been grounded in recent years. Ironic that the new Apple HQ looks like a spaceship, right?
Was that deliberate?
Is it possible that Mr. Cook has been cooking up (had to) a new wave of Apple products right underneath our noses? My random Tuesday, May 16th hypothesis is that Apple might soon be releasing a product or line of new products that utilize the circular structure seen in the video above showcasing Apple’s new HQ in the near future. This is not to say that the next iPhone will be circular, but that some brand new product or series of products just may capitalize on the power of circular motion. Or that a new revolutionary feature in Apple’s products will take on a prominently round shape.
Why not? The symmetry between Apple’s daily lifestyle for its employees at the circular spaceship would be perfectly synched with the gadgets of its tech consumers spread around the globe. Plus, as Apple’s competitors are focused on the rectangular, square-like shapes for its devices, a circular product of some sort would stylistically one-up its rivals.
As they say, you can’t fit a round peg into a square hole.
Or vice-versa.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, could be Apple’s next insanely great competitive advantage.
Curb Your Sales Pitch
When someone (or some company) gets it, as in really gets it, that’s worthy of a spotlight.
Apple is the tech company that doesn’t act like a tech company. And, because of that approach, Apple became the leading personal technology firm in the world. Maybe they took a page from Jason Alexander’s book pamphlet Acting Without Acting.
When you’re browsing in a store without any specific focus, do you find it helpful or less than helpful when the salesperson approaches/sprints to you with their commission-based agenda? Most people, I would imagine, would respond with annoying less than helpful. As consumers, we’re well aware that the employee is the store’s personalized informational resource. But, like most situations in life, we’ll ask for help when we need help.
Turns out, Apple executive Angela Ahrendts feels the same way. Ms. Ahrendts recently sat down for an interview with Norah O’Donnell on CBS This Morning.
Apple’s mentality of selling without selling is certainly a multi-faceted, top consumer strategy in the digital era. And this modus operandi should be applied to more than just selling tech products or acting. If you act like a salesperson, you’ll be treated like a salesperson. But if you act differently than people expect, then you’ll be treated differently than people expected.
Imagine the possibilities.
The Checks (and Balance?) of Precision Craftsmanship
“Columbus Crew SC will live stream a historic club jersey partnership announcement on Facebook Live on Friday, February 24, at 11:30 a.m. ET in a press conference held at MAPFRE Stadium.”
–Crew SC Communications
First, the Owner/Chairman of Columbus Crew SC and MAPFRE Stadium, Anthony Precourt, cleverly teased “Fresh bananas arriving soon” in his Twitter account back on February 10th. Second, the Crew SC Communications team promises “a historic club jersey partnership.”
Bottom line: This better be good for Columbus Crew Crew SC fans.
Specifically regarding jerseys, Mr. Precourt and Co. have a mixed record. While he and his team designed a fantastic black checkered kit with a great local partner (Barbasol), the same corporate team also (purposefully, if you can believe it) chose to inject the colors from the little known Columbus, OH flag (I barely know it and I was born and raised in Columbus, OH) for a genuinely atrocious soccer kit. To add insult to injury, the team had horrible performances while wearing their Minion kits. Talk about poetic justice.
The Good
And That Time When Ugly Called Something Else Ugly
(Look at their faces!)
As the Joker would say: “And here we GO…”
The black checkered jersey (seen above) will remain the same, except with the new Acura logo/sponsorship.
At first glance, the v-neck is fine, the State of Ohio flag is a nice addition and the Charter Member #01 is a cool, subtle statement. The new Acura sponsorship is fine (a local connection), but Barbasol was also a worthy local sponsor. Time will tell to see what advertising and marketing campaigns Mr. Precourt and Co. have in mind for promoting Acura as being synonymous with Crew SC specifically and the city of Columbus, OH more broadly.
Acura’s slogan is, “Precision Crafted Performance.” After last season and the 2015 MLS Cup Final, Crew SC was smart to adopt this corporate slogan…and hopefully as a coaching strategy?
Returning back to the new 2017 kits, for some reason, the black and gold checkered pattern is tripping me up because while it’s a great design (I actually won an award for using that precise color scheme and design for/inside a headline in my high school’s yearbook), the placement seems…awkward. It’s unclear at the moment as to whether the checkered pattern’s placement balances the rest of the jersey, kit and complementary design elements.
Still, kudos for incorporating the checkered pattern into Crew SC’s famous “banana kits.” However, until the full kit (shorts and socks) are revealed, the verdict on the 2017 “banana kits” will remain TBD. The fact that Mr. Precourt and Co. prioritized telling Crew SC’s story through its jersey design does deserve high marks.
Now it’s time to play better soccer on the pitch, trade for Mix Diskerud (among many other necessary personnel changes) and for Mr. Precourt to grow a spine and declare to Los Angeles Football Club that the colors black & gold are officially the MLS property of THE Crew SC.
After all, as he and his team declared with their new 2017 kits, Columbus Crew SC is Charter Member #01.
We’ll discover soon if that truth actually means anything to the front office of Crew SC.
Changing IDEOlogy
IDEO’s approach to innovation and business deserves one very succinct word:
Amen.
Diversity is not restricted by race or gender, but expands in equal capacity and wonder to thought process. How we think certainly varies based on our gender and our personal experiences growing up in different places, as well as growing up in the same place as our peers. Incredibly, there are no limits to creativity, especially if (and when) we adopt a more lively dynamic to be initiated for problem-solving.
This is where IDEO comes into play to redefine not only what we innovate, but how we innovate in the 21st century with proof from the late 20th century. And this solution is people-centric. Keep in mind this aforementioned proof includes the very first mouse for Apple, as directly requested by this guy who went by the name of Steve Jobs. Exploring what IDEO’s founder David Kelley and his brother Tom Kelley deem as “creative confidence” that’s currently in concert with Stanford University has the potential to gradually revolutionize not only how universities design curriculum, but also how businesses in a myriad of industries could (and should) approach hiring and operating in the not-so-distant future.
Currently, there is IDEO (the company), IDEO U (offering online courses for the public) and D.School (Stanford Graduate Students).
To put a finer point on it, IDEO is Silicon Valley’s transferable future to us all.
While no “app” is necessary, the application of IDEO’s ideas should be downloaded ASAP.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 