We read a lot. So we ate our own dog food and got serious about focusing our own information diets—and sharing habits—in service of what our clients are really into.
Take a look at our magazines on Flipboard (which you can find under the research tab of our website or by clicking here: https://flipboard.com/@causeit to see what we've been reading.
So far, a great day here at the Cleantech Forum 2015. I'm seeing lots of great startups and committed corporates trying to connect the dots between old-school energy issues and new-school, software-driven solutions.
I've attached a few sketches of the problem spaces from the sessions for your commentary, and I look forward to reporting back with more tomorrow!
"We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice."
During his recent visit to talk with members of the Telecom Industry Association, MJ was interviewed about cyborg anthropology, digital business platforms, innovation and the Social Network of Things. In this nine minute video, he unpacks some of the core concepts, opportunities and challenges that we are engaging with in our current work:
Emotional intelligence is a real, and really important, factor at play in any business which employs and serves human beings. Leaders are learning how to leverage the impact that emotional intelligence—sometimes called “soft skills”—has in business, from individual careers to organizational culture. Articles on the subject are no longer relegated to fringe publications or social sciences, in fact mainstream business journals like Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and FastCompany have been talking about it for several years. The thriving conscious capitalism movement, the emergence of B Corps , and sold-out conferences like Wisdom 2.0 are all further evidence that more and more professionals and companies are taking the human element of business very seriously. This means that not only is the industrial age model of treating people like machines an outdated one, but companies who aren’t engaged with their employees and customers on a human level are at a competitive disadvantage in an increasingly networked world.
Full-Spectrum Innovation is the idea of creating value in every possible place—from culture & society down to end users of a product, service or platform.
Damon Albarn, famed for his frontman role in the bands Blur and Gorillaz, released this great music video "Everyday Robots" a few months ago. The lyrics provide a subtle and powerful critique of our relationship with technology and were a great soundtrack as our team crafted Cyborgs and The Social Network of Things, a visual guide to our progression from the information age and the Internet of Things (IoT) towards what might be called an age of cyborgs. You can read more about the Cyborgs and the Social Network of Things here on the Causeit site.
Our colleague Konstantin Peric at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has recently announced a million-dollar grand challenge for digital financial inclusion (as part of the Digital Financial Services project I volunteer for). Find out more here!
Google rolls out yet another killer feature for their Gmail suite: money as an attachment. For Gmail users with a Google Wallet account (or who can open one), now sending money as as easy as attaching an image to your email.
I'm at the Purple Beach Conference in London for the next few days—talking and listening and dancing and getting fired up about People Innovation. I've already captured some great content and inspiration for our Field Guide on Cultures of Innovation. Check out this video sampler of today's adventure:
![Hagel and Brown on Fragmentation and Concentration of the Business Landscape [VIDEO]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/500a17fce4b016a023c03626/1420747385907-KVCE3L8LS44WP42FXTAT/image-asset.jpeg)
