The spacecraft Voyager 1 is the furthest man made object from Earth & is miraculously still transmitting data 0ver 35 years after it’s launch in 1977.
As it travels out of the solar system and heads for deep space we can only marvel at the journey of this object which has passed close to the asteroid belt, Jupiter & Saturn and has provided extensive scientific knowledge about our solar system.
It is well worth reminding ourselves of Innovation back on Planet Earth since 1977.
The first commercially available mobile phone went on sale in 1983.
The Internet was in it’s infancy in 1977 & didn’t become widely available until the 1990’s.
The World Wide Web did not exist until 1991.
The first commercially available personal computers only appeared in the late 1970’s & had a fraction of the computing power of today’s machines.
This makes the achievements of the Voyager programme all the more remarkable.
The UK automotive industry is set to break its all time production record of 1.92 million cars (set in 1970!!) in 2015. These figures are from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders.
Neil Armstrong will forever be remembered for his unique achievement of being the first human being to set foot on another planet. His famous quote ” that’s one small step for man, a giant leap for mankind” is burned forever in our collective memory and recalls a seemingly simpler age of great optimism and opportunity when anything could be achieved given the right determination. Armstrong had that “right stuff” is spades and was an inspiration to millions of scientists and engineers the world over.
You only have to follow the News to find out who’s suing who in the Intellectual Property wars, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Nokia – they’re all at it – but is the whole intellectual property industry an anachronism of the past ?
The news today that Barclays CEO Bob Diamond has resigned has been greeted in many areas with unbridled euphoria. Those who blame “greedy bankers” for the current crisis are rubbing their hands in glee.
Sometimes Project Management can be like “juggling sand”, tasks to complete, schedules to meet, requests to be met etc etc
A new sales record of over 314k cars and profits of 1.5 billion GBP illustrate the success of British car maker Jaguar Land Rover and it’s innovative new products including the Range Rover Evoque which is selling like “hot cakes” at the moment particularly in China. In fact Jaguar Land Rover is opening a new dealership in China every week. China sales now represent almost 20% of the companies sales.
policy of Quantitative Easing. In March 2009 75 billion pounds was created electronically followed by another 200 billion pounds later that year. Further episodes of Q.E pumped a total of 325 billion pounds into the U.K economy, devaluing the pound & increasing exports.
Recently released results from Nissan the Japanese automotive manufacturer illustrate how good product design leads to improved financial returns.
Are you a Manager ? Do you spend all day glued to your screen ? Are you stuck in your “Ivory Tower” ? Are you far too busy to leave your office to walk around ? Think again….. In the book “In Search of Excellence” by Thomas J. Peters, Robert H. Waterman, Management By Walking Around or MBWA is described as “Getting management out of the office”. At United Airlines, Ed Carlson labeled it Visible Management or management by walking about. The Hewlett-Packard (HP) version of management by walking around” describes this technique as “marked by personal involvement, good listening skills and the recognition that everyone in an organization wants to do a good job.” Simply walking around is one of the most significant Management techniques you can employ, people feel valued that a Senior Manager has taken the time to get out and listen to her staff. “If you wait for people to come to you, you’ll only get small problems. You must go and find them. The big problems are where people don’t realize they have one in the first place.” – W. Edwards Deming Tomorrow get off your butt and have a walk around, you won’t regret it! 