Cover via Amazon

If you want to understand where wealth creation will come from in the coming years then you should read Clay Shirky‘s latest book called Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age.

His argument is so simple but so profound and that concept is this:

“A trillion hours a year of participatory value are up for grabs. That will be true year in and year out.”

If you think about how most of us spend our time, you’d recognize that it’s probably spent  consuming media. We spend hours watching TV, checking Facebook statuses, reading articles, watching YouTube videos, but only recently have we begun to collectively contribute and generate our own content. When added together, this aggregate thinking and aggregate contribution, or “cognitive surplus” as Clay puts it, can add up to value that we are just beginning to fathom.

However, that value is … Read More »

School is mostly bullshit. The only way you learn things is by doing things. Real things. Things that have consequences and things that have rewards. A “C” on some school paper isn’t really a consequence, and an “A” isn’t really a reward.

A consequence is losing money on a sunk venture.

A consequence is damaging a good relationship on a failed project.

A reward is turning an idea into a reality.

A reward is getting recognition for some meaningful contribution to a meaningful endeavor.

When I was in high school I had the privilege of working for a person who threw me into the fire and showed me first hand what consequences and rewards, in the business world, were all about.  That person was Marc Harrison, President of a company called Silicon-East Inc which is a small, very technical and very experienced hands on IT firm.

On day one, Marc had … Read More »