Presented “A Verbal Glimpse into Dark Matter and Dark Energy”

On July 18, 2012, I presented a verbal glimpse into dark matter and dark energy, as part of the “Innovator’s Showcase” 7th anniversary program of the Silicon Valley Innovation Institute.

The  program included the following.

• Geri McGilvray (a painter) produced (and explained what she was doing and why) a portrait of Jessie Chen.
• Howard Lieberman and Dave Solhaug; Jason Marsh and his computer; Adam Kauk; and Andy Markham, Shawn Ellis, Chinh Tran, and Alan Spearot provided musical performances.
• Elzbieta Holsztynska discussed synergies between art and science.
• Birgitte Rasine read from her book “Confessions.”

Throughout, it was an enjoyable evening and an opportunity for informal innovation and learning.

I am pleased that people (who came for such a diverse program) took an interest in my talk, asked good questions, and (in effect) catalyzed dialog.  Perhaps I met my goal (stated near the beginning of my segment) that people would gain as much insight about dark matter and dark energy as the insight of essentially almost anyone else today.  (Of course, it might be good if the view I presented [and the patterns/theory behind it] were more widely known, substantiated, and accepted.)  I ended with a request that people think of people who might want to participate in or around the research I have done.

Here is a copy of a note (received while I was writing this blog) from Howard Lieberman.

Tom,

Thanks for the adventurous romp into an area where no doubt none of us have ventured. You managed to make an extremely obtuse topic fun and you looked like you were also having a good time. Also thanks for being a stalwart part of this ongoing SVII saga which you have contributed to in multiple ways for the entire time. Yesterday was really a pleasant surprise I love the idea of bringing the cosmic dance of physics in front of a diverse audience. After all who does not want to know what makes the universe tick? Maybe we should do more of this stuff. I doubt most people could handle three hours worth but the size of the bite, you and Jessie worked out was perfect.

Howard

Howard R. Lieberman

Chairman

Silicon Valley Innovation Institute

1611 Borel Place, San Mateo, CA 94402 USA

I hope that soon I can provide links to video of the evening.

My thanks to Howard Lieberman for organizing and sustaining SVII; to Jesse Chen and Adam Kauk (among others) for supporting “my” segment of the program; and to Angelica’s Bistro in Redwood City, California, USA for hosting this event.

(My presentation was based on work discussed in my book Physics 642b:  Patterns, Forces, Particles, and Stuff.)

Led Discussion on From Great Potential to Not-So-Great Results – What are we missing?

Recently, Mark Finnern and SAP hosted an “open mike” Future Salon.  I led a discussion on “From Great Potential to Not-So-Great Results – What are we missing?”  (link: https://t.co/shxaWiaF , starting around minute 26:20 and ending around minute 38)  People presented concepts.  There did not seem to be much disagreement with the concept that society can and should try to frame more important issues, solve more important problems, and capture more specific opportunity.  In response to a question, I mentioned opportunities to reconsider to what extent people and discussion focus on individuals and to what extent people and discussion focus on groups.  I also noted opportunities to consciously improve self-awareness and thinking skills.

Another person led a later session and recommended people’s focusing more on deciding what they want to achieve compared to trying to achieve what they think they want.

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Interviewed by Personal Branding Pioneer

Recently, Peter Sterlacci, who is pioneering personal branding in Japan, interviewed me and produced the “Branding Mechanics’ Video Interview: Dr. Thomas J. Buckholtz” (link).  I hope I provided useful insight in areas such …
• The importance – for a team or individual – of what people think about when they think about “you.”
• The potential to use my game “2-Brains: Tell it & Sell it” to help develop marketing messages, including personal branding messages.
• The potential to use checklists from my book “Create Crucial Insight” to support the above two items.

It was my pleasure to work again with Peter. Previously, he led the San Jose State University program via which I led classes on American government (plus leadership and innovation) for more than a dozen groups of China government officials.
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Gave presentation for Phi Beta Kappa

Recently, I led an after-dinner session on “From Great Potential … To Not-So-Great Effects. What is society missing? What can we do about it?” for the Northern California Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

I very much appreciate audience members’ contributing much during the presentation, Cal Wood’s having invited me and being such a considerate host, the opportunity to help support Phi Beta Kappa’s scholarship fund, and my being able to enjoy some time at Asilomar State Beach.

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Published book “Create Crucial Insight”

Recently, I completed and made available a new book, Create Crucial Insight.

Insight matters.  People use insight to be aware, to plan, to achieve, and to appreciate achievements.  Needs for crucial insight range from personal to global.

Now, you can use Direct Outcomes checklists to create crucial insight – easily and quickly – throughout your work.  People use Direct Outcomes to frame issues, solve problems, and create opportunities.

Address pivotal questions such as the following.  “What services do our customers need?”  “What do we need to do?”  “How well do we need to do it?”  “Who best should do it?”  “What impact will it have?”  “What should we say?”  “What else should we consider?”  Gain crucial, situation-specific insight.

I wrote this book so that you can use Direct Outcomes, think well, create crucial insight, use the insight, do great, and thrive.

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Wrote service-science chapter on metrics that matter

Recently, Springer published a book Service Systems Implementation containing my chapter Metrics That Matter: Measuring and Improving the Value of Service.  The chapter’s abstract states the following.

This chapter features two metrics for the value of service and provides how-to advice for using them to attribute value, improve service, create service-innovation roadmaps, select metrics, and promote service science. The chapter also presents perspective and advice regarding service offerings and measurement and provides examples of using the two metrics.

Key words include the following.

Metrics – value – innovation – roadmap – functionality – proficiency – service science – service systems

The following material (from Springer) describes the book.

Service Systems Implementation provides the latest applications and practices aimed at improving the key performance indicators of service systems, especially those related to service quality, service productivity, regulatory compliance, and sustainable service innovation.  The book presents action-oriented, application-oriented, design science-oriented (artifacts building: constructs, models, methods and instantiations) and case study-oriented research with actionable results by illustrating techniques that can be employed in large scale, real world examples. The case studies will help visualize service systems along the four key dimensions of people, information, technology and value propositions which can help enable better integration between them towards higher value propositions.

The chapters, written by leading experts in the field, examine a wide range of substantive issues and implementations related to service science in various industries. These contributions also showcase the application of an array of research methods, including surveys, experiments, design science, case studies and frameworks, providing the reader with insights and guidelines to assist in building their own service systems, and thus, moving toward a more favorable service customer and provider experience.

Service Systems Implementation, along with its companion text, The Science of Service Systems, is designed to present multidisciplinary and multisectoral perspectives on the nature of service systems, on research and practice in service, and on the future directions to advance service science. These two volumes compose a collection of articles from those involved in the emerging area known as service science.

I would like to thank the book’s editors – Haluk Demirkan, James C. Spohrer, and Vikas Krishna – for providing me the opportunity to contribute thus to the field or service science.  The book is one in a series – Service Science: Research and Innovations in the Service Economy.

As well as being available via links above, the Service Systems Implementation is available through Amazon.com via this link.

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Spoke regarding grassroots innovation

On November 18, 2009, I led a discussion entitled “Grassroots Innovation: One Pebble Creates a Ripple.”  The event was one in the EMC Leadership & Innovation Speaker Series, which meets at EMC in Silicon Valley.

I presented a “recipe” for grassroots innovation (and other endeavors), based on a Direct Outcomes thinking tool. I discussed two histories, one (the creating of the Palos Verdes Estates Shoreline Preserve) in which I provided a pebble and one (Pacific Gas and Electric’s early to mid 1980s company-wide innovation program known as the Office Technology Project) in which I had various roles regarding “ripples” and “creating new pebbles.”

Audience-suggested discussion involved topics including …

• LUC – The law of unintended consequences.
• Converting problems into opportunities.
• Moral responsibility.
• Timing, regarding pursuing innovations.
• What constitutes an “innovation?”
• Is the term “innovation” overused?
• Are people “saturated” with too many ideas?

I note that there is a blog noting “10 Principles of Pebbles” – http://curiosityquotient.blogspot.com/2009/11/10-pebble-principles-for-innovation.html

I appreciate the contributions of the committee the organized this event.  It developed the “pebble and ripples” title for the event.  Sheryl Chamberlain (of EMC) hosted the meeting and helped involve the audience.  Mike Alvarado provided suggestions for setting expectations.

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Attended CED program regarding healthcare reform

On November 10, 2009, I attended a program, co-sponsored by the Committee for Economic Development (CED) and the Bay Area Council, regarding healthcare reform in the United States.

A highlight was a description of Safeway‘s programs to promote employee wellness and (in so doing) foster employee and Safeway financial health.  This talk presented key concepts – from overall principles … to steps people can take to improve their health … to details as to how the company is capping the charges associated with one type of insurance-covered procedure.

The principles include …

• Insure everyone – no one should be left out.
• Create more personal responsibility.
• Encourage prevention and wellness by linking healthy behaviors to financial incentives.
• Provide cost and quality transparency.
• Pay more for results and less for service rendered.

Some observations include …

• 70% of healthcare costs are driven by behavior.
• Four chronic conditions comprise 74% of healthcare costs.
• Obesity is a driving factor in all four chronic conditions.
• Transparency is critical to controlling costs.

The talk included suggestions for how people can decrease weight via reduced food consumption and more physical activity.

One cost-capping measure is based on the notion that previously, in one geographic area, the billed cost of a colonoscopy might be as low as under $900 and as high as more than $8,000 – with the most significant difference being the cost of, in effect, renting the facility in which the procedure is performed.  Safeway insurance plans now pay up to an amount for which any employee in the region should be able to get a colonoscopy without travelling more than 30 miles.

Evidently, Safeway is finding enough success and promise in the overall program that it is now providing how-to advice for other employers.

Also, this CED / Bay Area Council program discussed aspects of possible forthcoming legislation, including a bill proposed by Senators Wyden (Democrat – Oregon) and Bennett (Republican – Utah).  CED provided copies of its report “Quality, Affordable Health Care for All: Moving Beyond the Employer-Based Health-Insurance System.”

I appreciate perspective provided by key speakers, including ..

• Charles Kolb, President, CED.
• Robert Chess, Chairman, Nektar Therapeutics.
• Ken Shachmut, Executive Vice President, Safeway Health LLC.
• Alain Enthoven, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University.

And, I appreciate CED’s inviting me to this event.  (Previously, I served on its Board of Trustees).  It was good to reconnect with Charlie, Rob, and Michael Petro (each associated with CED) as well as to talk briefly with Ken, Alain, panel participant Lenny Mednonca (Chairman, McKinsey Global Institute), and panel moderator Lynn Jimenez (KGO).

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Attended TiE event featuring Aneesh Chopra

On September, 19, 2009, I attended a  TiE Silicon Valley event featuring remarks by Aneesh Chopra (federal Chief Technology Officer and Associate Director for Technology, Office of Science & Technology Policy, U.S. federal Executive Branch), Dow Wilson (Corporate Executive Vice President and President, Oncology Systems, Varian Medical Systems), Dave Anderson (President and CEO, Headsprout), Scott Lang (Chairman, president and CEO, Silver Spring Networks, Zia Yusuf (Global Ecosystem and Partner Group, SAP), and Steve Wozniak (co-founder, Apple).

Mr. Chopra’s remarks focused on three areas of initiatives – building blocks of innovation (including secure infrastructure, research-and-development collaboration, and 21st-century workforce), innovation for national priorities (including healthcare information-technology, smart grid, and education technology), and open-government culture (including initiatives and platforms).  I was also intrigued by education-oriented remarks from Mr. Anderson and Mr. Wozniak.

After the formal program, I was pleased to have opportunities to …

• Talk briefly with Mr. Chopra.  During the formal program, I had submitted a written question regarding initiatives to foster the development of information systems that help people understand the appropriateness and risks of making decisions based on the information the people are using.
• Talk briefly with each of Mr. Anderson and Mr. Wozniak and offer to send each some thoughts about making better matches between learners and sources of learning. (See “Guide Your Learning Initiatives,” via this link.)
• Talk briefly with Mr. Lang about ‘smart metering’ and related services from energy utilities, based in part on my being cognizant of such an effort (regarding agricultural refrigeration facilities) when I led a company-wide innovation program for Pacific Gas and Electric Company during the 1980s.
• Be introduced to Kiran Kini Malhotra, Executive Director, TiE Silicon Valley .

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Co-produced video “From Outrage to Outcomes – Let’s produce pivotal progress!”

On August 27, 2009, LectureMaker posted a video featuring my presenting From Outrage to Outcomes: “Let’s produce pivotal progress!”.

There is much that society, businesses, and individuals need and want to achieve.

I hope many people will learn from, use, benefit from, and teach the presentation’s recipe for producing pivotal progress.  The presentation indicates needs for new progress (in education, healthcare, transportation, and politics and governance; throughout society; and specific to individuals), discusses why progress seems so hard to achieve now, provides the recipe, illustrates uses of the recipe, encourages people to act, and notes means for obtaining help.

From Outrage to Outcomes - "Let's produce pivotal progress!"

I will be happy to help foster communities that form to take positive action.

Also, perhaps people will consider sponsoring follow-on videos regarding specific challenges, opportunities, and means to improve how society and individuals try to achieve results.

Ron Fredericks (of LectureMaker) added considerable value by making suggestions about the presentation’s content and my delivery of that content, by adding effects to the video, by tuning the technical quality of the images and sounds, and providing a web-presence home for the video and related comments.  I recommend people contact him to explore producing high-quality videos.

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