Apr 4, 2022
Dear Friend,
I have the incredible privilege of chairing the Science and Innovation Management category at the Falling Walls conference. It truly is an incredible conference which, should you have the opportunity, attend (in-person or virtual). We opened our calls for applications (also in the many other categories of course) and would love to get your recommendations and nominations. More info here.
Disrupt Disruption
Remember Wright’s Law? In essence it states that “for every cumulative doubling of units produced, costs will fall by a constant percentage.” Proven in many, many technology areas (including microprocessors, with Moore’s Law being a special case of Wright’s Law), it holds true for robotics as well. Just this week we saw the launch of new robot subscription services, starting at only $8/h, robot dogs patrolling the ruins in Pompeii, and iconic robot maker Boston Dynamics selling out of its newest warehouse robot. We are using robots in manufacturing for quite a while, now they seem to come to the masses. A good reminder to look at the world through the lens of Theodore Paul Wright’s observations from the 1930’s and 40’s. (via Pascal)
FutureFWD
Much has been said and written about the shift in work culture due to COVID-19. From forecasts predicting “the office is over” to hybrid-worlds, many forecasts are rather enthusiastic and euphoric about the new world of work. The reality seems to be, sadly, the exact opposite: We get the worst from the pre-pandemic world without (m)any of the benefits. Which reminds us to look at both the positive and negative outcomes and be careful in designing for the future. All of which is one of the many reasons why we love working with Disruption Maps so much. (via Pascal)
What We Are Reading
♟ Make Resilience Your Company’s Strategic Advantage Resilience is not merely an operational consideration — it’s a potential strategic advantage that enables companies to capitalize on opportunities when competitors are least prepared. Here’s how you can help your leaders to build a more resilient organization. Jane ⇢ Read
🏢 A New City, Built Upon Data, Takes Shape in South Korea Would you volunteer to share and allow to track everything about your life for the construction of future smart cities? Mafe ⇢ Read
⚡️ Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine Will Accelerate Climate, Energy, and Deep Technologies Energy expert and deep tech investor Ramez Naam (a longtime friend of ours) lays out his vision for how the geopolitical fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine will accelerate innovation in the energy and tech sectors. Jeffrey ⇢ Read
🔤 Designing with words While extending UX as far as to the detail of the words written seems logical, this is a great call for doing so in a focused manner to make your audience feel included and guided. Julian ⇢ Read
📣 Quantum computing has a hype problem Another technology which was hyped to be “the future” faces the reality of physics and how hard things really are. Pascal ⇢ Read
Internet Finds
There are fun things you can do with satellite imagery — including looking for (and finding) the largest conveyor belt in the world. 🛰
In Case You Missed It
🏴☠️ The Heretic: The Three Question Journey to Sustained Growth
⚠️ Disrupt Disruption: Listen in on our latest conversation with Bruce Smith, founder and CEO of connect rowing machine company hydrow (and if you happen to be a hydrow rower — find Pascal on hydrow as “RowingPopeye” 🚣)
Radically yours, take good care, friend!
— Pascal, Mafe and the three Js (Jane, Jeffrey, and Julian)
