Mousetrap to market

November 1, 2018  |  Editorial

“It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) that those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” ~Charles Darwin We’ve reached my annual time-travel episode, at least in terms of my message to you this issue, which will be written before…
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Royalty checks

October 1, 2018  |  Editorial

“The question isn’t who is  going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me?” ~Ayn Rand The first time Minnesota hosted a Super Bowl, it was January 26, 1992. The Washington Redskins met the Buffalo Bills at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome for Super Bowl XXVI, with the Redskins on to…
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Shared success

September 1, 2018  |  Editorial

Networking is not about just connecting people. It’s about connecting people with people, people with ideas, and people with opportunities. Michele Jennae, author of The Connectworker Shared success This year’s IFAI Expo is shaping up to be an exceptionally dynamic show, as we work to keep pace …
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Any messages?

August 1, 2018  |  Editorial

You want to know what to buy? The business that makes an object of desire is now the worst source of information about it. The best source is all of us. Doc Searls, David Weinberger, Two “Cluetrain Manifesto”  authors, Jan. 2015 Communication is content. Markets are conversations. Electronics a…
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Industry 5.0

July 1, 2018  |  Editorial

It was probably a $200 billion mistake. After that, we made a rule: No more meetings in the bathroom. ~Michael Eisner, former CEO, Disney   Recently, my book club was discussing the merits of the book “Exit West” by Mohsin Hamid, which portrays the adventures of a couple (and a world) esca…
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Success: customer-centric innovation

June 1, 2018  |  Editorial

If your business proposition is innovative, your ultimate goal has to be ‘The customer always thinks that WE are right.’ ~Richard Branson   Back in February 1997, before my editorial advent at IFAI, the Industrial Fabric Products Review cover was graced with a simple shot of a computer, in …
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Tradition and transition

May 1, 2018  |  Editorial

Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire. ~ Gustav Mahler I can’t help but date myself if I tell you that when I started working at IFAI in 1988, staff were still allowed to smoke in the office, we had a fax machine that was so large it had its … <div><a href="htt…
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Automation and full employment

April 1, 2018  |  Editorial

Pessimists have already begun to worry about what is going to replace automation. ~John Tudor If any of you watched the “X-Files” episode in early March entitled “Rm9sbG9eZX.Jz” and are still happily chatting with Alexa … your intrepid nature is an inspiration. The program basically depict…
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The Vikings, innovation and editorial coverage

March 1, 2018  |  Editorial

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid. ~Albert Einstein Okay… I guess I have to report that The Curse of the Vikings is still intact (see February editorial). We upset New Orleans well enough that &hell…
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Will the Vikings ever win the Super Bowl?

February 1, 2018  |  Editorial

Whether you’re a football fan or not, you’re probably aware that in a few weeks (as I write this), Minneapolis will be hosting Super Bowl LII, about four miles from my house (the newscasters don’t always mention that part). Last Sunday, the Vikings pulled off a stunning last-minute victory ove…
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