Articles by Mark Beckford
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Thursday
May 28
2009Educating in Unforgiving Times
The cynical view of Corporate Social Responsibility is that large corporations do it just to make themselves look good, or to help in some way to improve revenue growth or the bottom line. The opposite is what you read on the company CSR reports or web pages. But used strategically, CSR can improve a company’s long-term growth while doing good.
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Tuesday
March 31
2009Will the next “thought leader” please stand up? – Part 2
Thought leadership is recognition from the outside world that a company deeply understands its business, the needs of its customers, and the broader marketplace in which it operates. Thought leadership is built on what others say about you. When you have it, companies look to you for insight & vision, journalists quote you, analysts call you.
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Tuesday
March 31
2009Will the next “thought leader” please stand up? – Part 1
Four years ago, Nicholas Negroponte announced the One Laptop per Child initiative and the $100 laptop to much fan-fare at Davos in Switzerland. He captured the imaginations of world leaders with promises of ultra-affordable computing for school children around the world. He talked about changing the way children learn, improving their education ...
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Wednesday
March 11
2009Mobile Disruption
Even if PCs was made so easy to use (simplify the interface with large, logical icons) so someone that couldn’t read or had no computer skills could use the PC easily, they likely wouldn’t see that much value in it. The missing element is some unique value for consumers and enterprises at the BoP. I do not think this value exists in PCs today.
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Saturday
December 20
2008The Definition of Success
I recently read an article titled Negroponte - missionary not manufacturer, in which the author makes the argument that, well, Nicholas Negroponte - founder and Chairman of the One Laptop Per Child project - is a missionary, not a manufacturer. I think this is a very interesting point and...
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Wednesday
December 10
2008The Mother of All Disruptions: Part Two
This is Part Two of a two-part series on the economic crisis and what disruptive leaders everywhere should do to survive and thrive. Go here for Part One. “You can’t save yourself out of a recession.” This quote was used often by Craig Barrett, Intel’s CEO in 2001. The basic...
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Tuesday
December 9
2008The Mother of All Disruptions: Part One
This is Part One of a two-part series on the economic crisis and what disruptive leaders everywhere should do to survive and thrive. If you have been following my posts here or on my blog you’ll notice that my underlying approach to business is how all things disruptive - disruptive...
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Thursday
October 23
2008Ignore the Price Tag
The initial $100 price tag of the XO Laptop from Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) created quite a furor when it was first announced three years ago. At the time, the cheapest laptops were hovering around $400 to $500.This subject has been rehashed many times in the press...
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