Google Reader Feed: My Shared Items
A while back I stumbled on the video below about Thaumoctopus mimicus, or the Mimic Octopus. Discovered in 1998, the Mimic Octopus is unique in that it doesn’t simply manipulate its physical features to blend in to its surroundings in order to escape predators. Instead, the Mimic Octopus manipulates it’s physical appearance in order to [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: applied signaling, communication, Strategy | Leave a Comment »
Jeff Ely over at the excellent Cheap Talk writes about his attempt to fool himself into being punctual: I once tried setting my watch ahead a few minutes to help me make it to appointments on time. At first it worked, but not because I was fooled. I would glance at the watch, get worried [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: behavioral economics, nudge strategies, Strategy | Leave a Comment »
Joel Spolsky, an entrepreneur and columnist for Inc., wrote an interesting piece last month asking whether his strategy of slow, consistent growth was actually a recipe for failure: I have always believed that there is a natural, organic rate at which a business should grow, and that if we expanded too fast, the wheels would [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Brands, Business, Economics, LinkedIn, Strategy | 3 Comments »
Tyler Cowen points to a fascinating article from 2003 about the depths of Dolphin intelligence: At the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Mississippi, Kelly the dolphin has built up quite a reputation. All the dolphins at the institute are trained to hold onto any litter that falls into their pools until they see a [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: adaptation, Innovation, Strategy | 1 Comment »
Sam Becker at Brand New discusses the recent branding and spin-off of AIG’s property-casualty unit. Unlike it’s namesake, the P&C unit turned a $2B profit. The unit is being spun-off in an attempt to generate capital to help pay back the large government bailout of the parent firm. And while the unit itself is doing [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: AIG, Brands, Strategy | 1 Comment »
Fiction
Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)
Non-fiction
The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball
Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value
The Numbers Game
Codes of the Underworld: How Criminals Communicate
Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception
The Rational Optimist
The Quiet American
How Doctors Think
The Wisdom of Whores
Switch
Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory
