"Create The Future" Design Contest

Some company called Emhart is running their 4th annual "Create The Future" design contest. The Grand Prize is a Toyota Prius... first place is a Segway transporter... not bad!

Oh, and it turns out NASA is involved as a sponsor too...

So all you designer-wannabe's out there, check it out and send in your design ideas. Deadline is 18 Nov.

Overwhelming...

I swung through a bookstore the other day... and I must admit, I got a little bit overwhelmed.

Now that I've published a book of my own, I've got a sense of how much effort, brainpower, emotion, energy, love, passion, creativity, anguish and self goes into making a book... and the sheer quantity of books in that store really took my breath away.

How can these books actually sell? What makes a book stand out? Each individual book is the product of painstaking care and tremendous effort. Each represents hope and optimism... and each one is a small blip in a sea of thousands and thousands of other books.

So that got me thinking - why do I buy a book? What makes me actually pick one up and fork over some $$?

Usually, it's because someone recommended it... and I usually have to hear the recommendation more than once. For example, I'd been hearing about Hairball for a year (from multiple sources) before I ran across it in a used bookstore... and even then, I almost didn't buy it. And it's perhaps the most remarkable book I've ever read (certainly in the top 5).

So... how does one generate persistent, sustained recommendations for one's product or service...? And yes, this has something to do with program management, technology development and general PBL-ish topics.

More to follow...

Apple's Multi-Media Blitz

Wow, Apple is on a roll lately - check out this story from Information Week... some excerpts below. Some seriously important lessons to learn from these guys!

Apple Computer today introduced hardware designed to help the company dominate a market that doesn't really exist yet: online video downloads.

Apple also announced the immediate availability of iTunes 6, only a few weeks after the arrival of iTunes 5.

The new iMac comes with a built-in iSight video camera for out-of-the-box video conferencing.

Jobs began his second act by praising his company’s iPod. "It’s been a huge success," he said. "And therefore it’s time to replace it."

What Did You Do This Year?

I know, the year isn't over yet, but it's not too early to start thinking about what you accomplished in 2005.

Was it cool?

Was it worth while?

In what sense did it change the world for the better? Did it make a difference?

What did you learn... what did you experience... what connections and contacts did you make... what drove you forward and got you out of bed in the morning?

Check out Tom Peter's answer to those questions, if you dare...