The Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability class has launched several internationally known start-ups (including Embrace, Driptech and D.Light.) But main route for student teams to get their life-changing products into the hands of people in the developing world is by working with NGO partner organizations.
Working with partners is the quickest way to market: it eliminates the need to create a business model and distribution infrastructure, so that students can focus on getting the best possible product to people who need it.
Professor Jim Patel, who founded the class, and Erica Estrada, who teaches the class and directs our Social Entrepreneurship Lab, discuss why this is such a critical route-to-market for students in the class:
A splendid and courageous new book, Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War, by Andrew J. Bacevich of Boston University (and for many years previously, the U.S. Army), describes with lucidity the degree to which the power of the American presidency over war and peace has been weakened in our day, and, in important respects, superseded.
One might call this a silent coup against the presidency, but a coup implies intention: a responsible actor who sets the coup d’etat into action for a defined purpose. The argument Bacevich makes implies that a coup can be institutional or intellectual, and come from outside as well as inside government. Its characteristic is to create a situation in which a president is no longer free to act as he might wish, because all of the doors except one have been closed.
The name of the bureaucratic game, of course, is to remove all realistic alternatives to the Pentagon's preferred decision before that decision is made. Pfaff's discussion is based on Andrew Bacevich's new book “Washington Rules.” I have not read Bacevich's book yet, and will not be able to until I return to the states in November, but I have read several reviews and from that perspective can say that the behaviour Pfaff describes comports well with behavior I witnessed in my years in the Pentagon.
The picture is more subtle and far more complicated than that portrayed by Pfaff, however.
Before & After, How To Design Cool Stuff, is 226 pages of design for every designer, young and old, who is looking for inspiration as well as instruction. In a friendly and straightforward style, this book breaks down simple, elegant designs and shows you both why and how they work, so you can use the same techniques yourself over and over again to improve your designs.
Before & After's Graphics for Business, is 194 pages of designs for business essentials such as logos and identities, stationery, newsletters, charts and graphs, maps and sales materials, all first published in Before & After magazine. Learn how to make your good ideas great in ways that respect your time, budget and resources.
Before & After Page Design, is 192 pages of instruction for designing newsletters, ads, brochures, fliers, stationery and more, clearly explained and beautifully illustrated, all first published in Before & After magazine. You're sure to find the perfect project!
Below the Line: Long list of inspiring elements addressed in the three books.
We came across this while trolling for worthwhile new stuff on OSINT; finding none, we thought to post this as a reminder that the OSINT Wizard lives and works in The Netherlands, and is open for business.
Remember the two cardinal rules:
1. Governments are the beneficiaries of OSINT done by others, not the benefactors.
2. OSINT is the old new idea. It still needs development, but the new new idea is M4IS2.
Rumor has it that Reuser and Steele will be doing something together, very dangerous, very hush hush…..tell no one.
I held a bi-partisan vote today, with me representing the Democratic Party while I represented the Republican Party. Strict ballot access controls ensured a unanimous outcome — the new Virtual President of the United States of America is Robert David Steele, or for Latinos, Roberto David de Steele y Vivas.
Over the next 45 days, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I will announce one critical policy decision, always in the context of a balanced budget and always with the public interest in mind — this is not going to be pretty, but 45 days from today, every American will be able to compare my virtual track record with the actual track record of those seeking re-election, or in the case of a tiny handful that overcame enormous obstacles, those seeking election for the first time.
Phi Beta Iota: Steele's posts will be buried among 5,999 other bloggers posting twice weekly. The search bar at Huffington Post works well. You can also, if you wish, click on the fan logo at this first point, to automatically receive an email alert with the exact URL for each additional post as it appears.
Early in the book you tell the story of how your own perspective on engaging emergence began. Tell us about that experience?
In the 1990′s I managed software projects. I was excellent at figuring out the steps that needed to be done and then making those steps happen — planning the work and then working the plan.
As the projects got bigger and more complex, I ran into a one that involved enough people with different opinions that that old approach just didn’t cut it.
Fortunately, I had the opportunity to work with someone who understood how to work in a different way. Once I experienced it, I had to learn more.
