Archive for the ‘General’ Category

With programmed trading exploiting every advance in computing, are we headed for an environment where trades happen so fast that they cannot be stopped, even when something goes wrong, for fear the problems would only get worse?  People make emotional judgments when trading, and may overreact to surges in activity that trend downward - but [...]

I was watching a documentary the other night about Ralph Nader called An Unreasonable Man. Despite the fact that Nader was never elected a politician, he has been incredibly effective in implementing policy. Some of his efforts include:

Mandatory seat belts in all vehicles
Airbags
Warning labels on cigarettes
The Clean Air Act
The Freedom of Information Act

Regardless of your [...]

Whenever a group starts out with the ambition of transforming any aspect of the economic and social eco-system, (e.g. banking), they are met with skepticism. This has been true from trans-Atlantic shipping in the days of Columbus, to the first personal computer in the 70’s and the more recent Tata Nano car concept.
The rationale for [...]

What’s the typical career choice for a Poly Sci/French major-the U.N.? The U.S. State Department? Well, for me it was banking. Not the typical choice, but one that has proven to be extremely rewarding for me over the last 14 years. I’ve had the opportunity to learn everything from operations, marketing, project management, and now [...]

I recently spent the day at MediaLabs to understand how Javelin’s client Bank of America is experimenting to find the next series of financial services breakthroughs, and came away stricken with all the possibilities. While Javelin’s research is all about taking careful aim at a particular problem or opportunity, the MediaLabs approach is something that [...]

The traditional song for ringing in the New Year in almost every English speaking country in the world is Auld Lang Syne. It is generally credited to Robert Burns, but earlier versions precede his time. Burns combined a common Scottish folk song with his own lyrics to arrive at the version sung on New Year’s [...]

I believe that most, if not all, innovations occur as the result of an individual or team’s passion to solve a problem and improve how we live. Innovation matters because it advances our health, wealth and happiness. (This trio of fundamentals comes from Frank Moss’s vision for MIT’s Media Lab) 
Over the long run, innovation is [...]

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji on “The Takeaway,” on WNYC radio. It was a great discussion, during which I stepped back for a moment from the here-and-now of the economic crisis and glanced at the sun coming up against some clouds on the horizon.It strikes me that [...]

On April 1, 2008 Bank of America announced a multiyear collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab. Located on campus, the new research center is called The Center for Future Banking, and it will serve as an innovation engine to transform banking for social, economic and information environments [...]