Very good day today: a major company to be named later will be the 2007 iTest's "title sponsor," meaning they will receive top billing on our various marketing materials, website, etc...effectively becoming a key partner in the continued growth of the organization.
I had an opportunity today to discuss the iTest as a capable recruiting tool for reaching the best and brightest across the country with this company's senior VP of talent management. This particular company has got a very sophisticated HR strategy - a strategy we're now a part of.
I'll name the company later, but the important part is that we've again achieved success in the fundraising arena. The iTest has taken a major step forward today.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Saturday, November 11, 2006
And now, the first in what will be a hopefully infrequent series of posts that I'd like to call the GOOTUBE HALL OF SHAME:
Picard's Song
Just think about someone sitting there and creating this. If you can.
Picard's Song
Just think about someone sitting there and creating this. If you can.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Tomorrow's Veteran's Day (or at least the corporate holiday equivalent) so I am up late, listening to music, perusing this fine internet we've got, reviewing the day's email (particularly regarding the iTest, as we inch toward closing out the contest year by December 1), and blogging.
Tomorrow, Lori and I head out to Gatlinburg to visit with a couple of college friends of ours while staying at a chalet up there. That'll be a fun diversion for the weekend before heading back on Sunday to see the Titans get back on their winning ways against a difficult Ravens team.
Check this article out. Someone in New York City has started making cubes out of GARBAGE. Yep...goes around picking up trash just right off the street, and sells cubes of it for $100 apiece. Check the part where the guy discusses the importance of packaging...obviously a critical piece of insight there. There is not one single human being on the planet unaffected by corporate marketing; not one individual who is immune from the carefully crafted messages of modern commercialism that are unescapable through the multitude of mass media channels.
Obviously, this is incredible, groundbreaking innovation to do something this radical. But often, its incremental innovation that wins, and not the earth-shattering, mind-blowing stuff like this "garbage cube" story. Think about the jump from the regular iPod to the video iPod, for example. Big step for Apple that kept profits rolling in as they began to slow. Or, at my particular current place of employment, someone had the bright idea to, all of a sudden, start including an updated number of personal vacation hours accrued on the weekly payroll stub. Sounds simple, but really wasn't...but was just the type of incremental innovative step that adds to the company's cultural fabric itself. I could go on and on with other examples.
The basic premise that incremental innovation rules the day over radical innovation, because you just can't wait for lightning to strike, extends well to our personal lives as well. We can't sit there and wait for change ... we have to force the issue where necessary. That one difficult first couple of hours you stop smoking, that unflinchingly difficult first step in the right direction, is the way out...and leads to another couple of hours, another couple of days, another couple of months, another successful story. Obviously, the smoking example could be exchanged for many other scenarios. Just like one incremental innovation in business, the medical realm, the legal realm, or anywhere else ... on top of another ... on top of another, and another, and another ... leads to a successful, best-in-class venture over the long-term.
Who are the innovators out there?
Steve Jobs. Easy one.
Barack O'bama. Any man with a book called "The Audacity of Hope" within him immediately commands my attention.
U2. Innovated so many times that I've lost count, from raising countless new guitar players on The Edge's delay-pedal signature sound to innovating the way that current bands embrace the coexistence of political causes with the realities and necessity of mass marketing.
Warren Buffett. Continues to shape the way we look at investing. A financial rock in the shifty seas of daytrading, get-rich-quick schemes, and other bad ideas.
Kay Tipton. Created a national champion caliber math team program in arguably the most difficult state to do so, Alabama, from scratch. That's innovation.
Bill Gates. Incredibly dynamic leader often mistaken for just another computer nerd, this guy rejected Harvard for a world-changing journey called Microsoft. Imagine telling your parents "no, I don't think I'm going to the best school in the country ... I think I'd rather create a computer in my garage." Right...
My dad. Suffered through the hardships of a family business, then literally started giving the money earned from the sale of the business back to the world through advocating media literacy education and very-public crusades against business practices that harm our culture. I don't know anyone who's done more for the state of Alabama than he has in just a few short years. Many innovations here that were components of the overall outcome.
Hillary Clinton. Definitely an innovator in the way she redefined the role of the first lady from bystander to activist during her husband's tenure. How quickly we forget why she got where she is ... innovation.
Peter Ross. My boss while I spent some time in Beaufort, this man took control of a ship full of holes and almost immediately began using portfolio-leading technology to get occupancy up and instill a sense of mission to the project. Unafraid to incite change and challenge established company norms, he woke me up and got my attention, as well as my respect.
Tiger Woods. This guy is simply amazing. A black man dominating a white man's game, Tiger Woods COMPLETELY rewrote the rules of an entire professional sport while turning himself into his own brand which he continues to successfully use to market anything from Accenture to his own EA video game.
Jim Bradford. Took over as Dean of Vandy's Owen Grad School of Management right as I started business school there, and successfully crafted a magazine-rank-ascending strategy of slanting the school toward the obvious strength of health care management as well as the school's finance program. An incremental innovation, to be sure, but a good one that worked and has paved the way for more innovations later on.
Vince Young. Stared down a USC team full of future NFL players and beat them nearly singlehandedly, and then joined a Titans squad where his ascension into the starting role completely and noticeably changed the entire culture of the team from a downtrodden one into an upbeat, uptempo one. In the world of the NFL, for one guy to have such a profound impact is really amazing. Definitely an innovator.
Al Gore. Held the nation's hand in being the first to successfully articulate the imminent danger of global warming to the masses. But no, didn't invent the internet (THAT joke is DEFINITELY getting too old).
Bill Frist. Changed the way we view our elected officials by becoming the first real Congressional subject matter expert in the field of modern medicine. We have so many career politicians infesting Washington DC that the introduction of a guy who's actually gone and succeeded at another field first is quite refreshing. Another example of an innovator like this would be John Edwards, as well as Arnold Schwarzanegger.
Shigeru Miyamoto. The famous creator of Mario taught the world that video games don't have to be visceral to be captivating. Mario, Zelda, Metroid, you name it, this guy invented those franchises that drove Nintendo to be the only of the big three video game groups that was profitable in FY 06, and continues to spark the inventive culture that pervades Nintendo today.
Weird Al Yankovic. Practically invented an entire genre of music himself by crafting humorous reimaginings of popular songs and gaining popularity in his own right in the process. From infusing his music with polka to his fiendishly clever wordplays that carry his creative song concepts, this guy is as big of an innovator as anyone else in music right now.
I could go on, but why? You get the idea. Innovators are true to themselves, not deviating even slightly from their strategy just because there's skepticism greeting them at every turn. Once they've made up their mind to achieve an outcome, its pretty much over.
Anyway, off to Gatlinburg. Until next time.
Tomorrow, Lori and I head out to Gatlinburg to visit with a couple of college friends of ours while staying at a chalet up there. That'll be a fun diversion for the weekend before heading back on Sunday to see the Titans get back on their winning ways against a difficult Ravens team.
Check this article out. Someone in New York City has started making cubes out of GARBAGE. Yep...goes around picking up trash just right off the street, and sells cubes of it for $100 apiece. Check the part where the guy discusses the importance of packaging...obviously a critical piece of insight there. There is not one single human being on the planet unaffected by corporate marketing; not one individual who is immune from the carefully crafted messages of modern commercialism that are unescapable through the multitude of mass media channels.
Obviously, this is incredible, groundbreaking innovation to do something this radical. But often, its incremental innovation that wins, and not the earth-shattering, mind-blowing stuff like this "garbage cube" story. Think about the jump from the regular iPod to the video iPod, for example. Big step for Apple that kept profits rolling in as they began to slow. Or, at my particular current place of employment, someone had the bright idea to, all of a sudden, start including an updated number of personal vacation hours accrued on the weekly payroll stub. Sounds simple, but really wasn't...but was just the type of incremental innovative step that adds to the company's cultural fabric itself. I could go on and on with other examples.
The basic premise that incremental innovation rules the day over radical innovation, because you just can't wait for lightning to strike, extends well to our personal lives as well. We can't sit there and wait for change ... we have to force the issue where necessary. That one difficult first couple of hours you stop smoking, that unflinchingly difficult first step in the right direction, is the way out...and leads to another couple of hours, another couple of days, another couple of months, another successful story. Obviously, the smoking example could be exchanged for many other scenarios. Just like one incremental innovation in business, the medical realm, the legal realm, or anywhere else ... on top of another ... on top of another, and another, and another ... leads to a successful, best-in-class venture over the long-term.
Who are the innovators out there?
Steve Jobs. Easy one.
Barack O'bama. Any man with a book called "The Audacity of Hope" within him immediately commands my attention.
U2. Innovated so many times that I've lost count, from raising countless new guitar players on The Edge's delay-pedal signature sound to innovating the way that current bands embrace the coexistence of political causes with the realities and necessity of mass marketing.
Warren Buffett. Continues to shape the way we look at investing. A financial rock in the shifty seas of daytrading, get-rich-quick schemes, and other bad ideas.
Kay Tipton. Created a national champion caliber math team program in arguably the most difficult state to do so, Alabama, from scratch. That's innovation.
Bill Gates. Incredibly dynamic leader often mistaken for just another computer nerd, this guy rejected Harvard for a world-changing journey called Microsoft. Imagine telling your parents "no, I don't think I'm going to the best school in the country ... I think I'd rather create a computer in my garage." Right...
My dad. Suffered through the hardships of a family business, then literally started giving the money earned from the sale of the business back to the world through advocating media literacy education and very-public crusades against business practices that harm our culture. I don't know anyone who's done more for the state of Alabama than he has in just a few short years. Many innovations here that were components of the overall outcome.
Hillary Clinton. Definitely an innovator in the way she redefined the role of the first lady from bystander to activist during her husband's tenure. How quickly we forget why she got where she is ... innovation.
Peter Ross. My boss while I spent some time in Beaufort, this man took control of a ship full of holes and almost immediately began using portfolio-leading technology to get occupancy up and instill a sense of mission to the project. Unafraid to incite change and challenge established company norms, he woke me up and got my attention, as well as my respect.
Tiger Woods. This guy is simply amazing. A black man dominating a white man's game, Tiger Woods COMPLETELY rewrote the rules of an entire professional sport while turning himself into his own brand which he continues to successfully use to market anything from Accenture to his own EA video game.
Jim Bradford. Took over as Dean of Vandy's Owen Grad School of Management right as I started business school there, and successfully crafted a magazine-rank-ascending strategy of slanting the school toward the obvious strength of health care management as well as the school's finance program. An incremental innovation, to be sure, but a good one that worked and has paved the way for more innovations later on.
Vince Young. Stared down a USC team full of future NFL players and beat them nearly singlehandedly, and then joined a Titans squad where his ascension into the starting role completely and noticeably changed the entire culture of the team from a downtrodden one into an upbeat, uptempo one. In the world of the NFL, for one guy to have such a profound impact is really amazing. Definitely an innovator.
Al Gore. Held the nation's hand in being the first to successfully articulate the imminent danger of global warming to the masses. But no, didn't invent the internet (THAT joke is DEFINITELY getting too old).
Bill Frist. Changed the way we view our elected officials by becoming the first real Congressional subject matter expert in the field of modern medicine. We have so many career politicians infesting Washington DC that the introduction of a guy who's actually gone and succeeded at another field first is quite refreshing. Another example of an innovator like this would be John Edwards, as well as Arnold Schwarzanegger.
Shigeru Miyamoto. The famous creator of Mario taught the world that video games don't have to be visceral to be captivating. Mario, Zelda, Metroid, you name it, this guy invented those franchises that drove Nintendo to be the only of the big three video game groups that was profitable in FY 06, and continues to spark the inventive culture that pervades Nintendo today.
Weird Al Yankovic. Practically invented an entire genre of music himself by crafting humorous reimaginings of popular songs and gaining popularity in his own right in the process. From infusing his music with polka to his fiendishly clever wordplays that carry his creative song concepts, this guy is as big of an innovator as anyone else in music right now.
I could go on, but why? You get the idea. Innovators are true to themselves, not deviating even slightly from their strategy just because there's skepticism greeting them at every turn. Once they've made up their mind to achieve an outcome, its pretty much over.
Anyway, off to Gatlinburg. Until next time.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
I would be completely fine not hearing another word from John Kerry for the rest of my life. What a weak, pathetic man.
As bad as things have gone during Bush's tenure, does anyone really believe things would be better, on the whole, under John Kerry? I definitely don't, even though I've gone on record in this space saying that Bush is right on track to be considered the worst US President in history.
For me, as little attention as I try to pay to politics really boils down to a desire to have strong individuals running our government. Hillary Clinton has a fundamental, repeatedly-demonstrated inability to connect with lower and middle class Americans, but at least she has some backbone, so she might be OK if she softened her image a little bit and showed anything but unbridled ambition for power once in a while. The real candidate with promise within the Democrats is Barack Obama, who is a very impressive speaker who is quick on his feet in speaking and highly culturally literate. The prospect of having an African-American President to me is highly appealing, regardless of party, because I think such an event would provide a lot of positive momentum to effect change. The strongest candidate on the Republican side is our own Bill Frist, who has shown compassion in his office and is himself a strong speaker who talks with conviction.
I won't be voting in next Tuesday's widely-publicized brawl between Harold Ford Jr. and Bob Corker - I've already decided to express my sentiments with complete apathy toward the entire proceeding. Harold Ford Jr. is a member of a family known for corruption, and is tough to take seriously. Bob Corker hasn't done enough to separate himself from the President's failed domestic policies as well as hasn't expressed clearly enough his stance on how to get out of Iraq, but is a self-made entrepreneur who has made a fortune in the business world. (Note to Democrats: that is a huge plus, not a negative. Please note accordingly. The government could use someone who knows how to run a show without swimming in red ink. Thanks.)
And while I suppose the assumption would be that a man that rich would be out of touch, John Kerry comes and reminds us that self-made wealth is not a requirement to not understand basic American culture and have some semblance of respect for other humans different than you, much less our own armed forces.
Whatever. This entire election is a gargantuan waste of time. Until either party demonstrates they have the right goals in mind and the ability to build the bi-partisan consensus required to achieve those goals, I want no part of it. Someone come along and please prove me wrong...the sooner, the better.
As bad as things have gone during Bush's tenure, does anyone really believe things would be better, on the whole, under John Kerry? I definitely don't, even though I've gone on record in this space saying that Bush is right on track to be considered the worst US President in history.
For me, as little attention as I try to pay to politics really boils down to a desire to have strong individuals running our government. Hillary Clinton has a fundamental, repeatedly-demonstrated inability to connect with lower and middle class Americans, but at least she has some backbone, so she might be OK if she softened her image a little bit and showed anything but unbridled ambition for power once in a while. The real candidate with promise within the Democrats is Barack Obama, who is a very impressive speaker who is quick on his feet in speaking and highly culturally literate. The prospect of having an African-American President to me is highly appealing, regardless of party, because I think such an event would provide a lot of positive momentum to effect change. The strongest candidate on the Republican side is our own Bill Frist, who has shown compassion in his office and is himself a strong speaker who talks with conviction.
I won't be voting in next Tuesday's widely-publicized brawl between Harold Ford Jr. and Bob Corker - I've already decided to express my sentiments with complete apathy toward the entire proceeding. Harold Ford Jr. is a member of a family known for corruption, and is tough to take seriously. Bob Corker hasn't done enough to separate himself from the President's failed domestic policies as well as hasn't expressed clearly enough his stance on how to get out of Iraq, but is a self-made entrepreneur who has made a fortune in the business world. (Note to Democrats: that is a huge plus, not a negative. Please note accordingly. The government could use someone who knows how to run a show without swimming in red ink. Thanks.)
And while I suppose the assumption would be that a man that rich would be out of touch, John Kerry comes and reminds us that self-made wealth is not a requirement to not understand basic American culture and have some semblance of respect for other humans different than you, much less our own armed forces.
Whatever. This entire election is a gargantuan waste of time. Until either party demonstrates they have the right goals in mind and the ability to build the bi-partisan consensus required to achieve those goals, I want no part of it. Someone come along and please prove me wrong...the sooner, the better.
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bradley Metrock, President (bradley@ahsimc.com)
iTest crowns 2006 national champion, announces plans for expansion
(Nashville, TN) - The 2006 iTest culminated today in the crowning of a new national champion math team. "Quagga" cruised to victory in posting a brilliant 97.5 score out of a possible 100 points, besting runner-up "BARK" by a full 9 points.
Quagga team captain Shobhit Vishnoi attends the Hammond Academy in Columbia, South Carolina. Other team members include Yannik Pitcan (Lake Howell High School, Florida), Arnav Tripathy (East Chapel Hill High School, North Carolina), Rui Yang (Miami Palmetto Senior High School, Florida), and Alex Zhai (University Laboratory High School, Illinois).
These team members overcame geographical distances by working together using the internet. For the first time, iTest competitors had access to a variety of collaborative tools built into the competition's own webpage, which all students could utilize in delegating test questions and tracking team progress.
"The iTest combines the collaborative power of the internet with the educational power of team-based problem solving to create unprecedented opportunity for today's students," remarked iTest President and founder Bradley Metrock. "As a result, the iTest has attracted a diverse group of the nation's brightest young intellects to learn more mathematics and build their team-based social skills."
The organization's mission is to augment the United States educational system through competition by providing free contests across a variety of high school subjects; the iTest piloted a computer science competition earlier this year, and plans another pilot of a languages competition for release sometime in 2008.
"As the iTest expands into other subjects, a community where young people can network and meet lifelong friends will be created," noted iTest Chief Operations Officer Dave Cowart. "It's our job to use the social networking phenomenon to positively impact the lifelong education of our nation's youth."
The iTest, a product of parent non-profit organization AHSIMC, is the largest online mathematics competition and the fastest-growing academic competition in America. The iTest is made available for free to all students, educators, and schools thanks to generous contributions by corporate sponsors and charitable interests. High school students also have free access to monthly "challenge" problems, as well as a national ranking system for 'mathletes' to promote competition and continued math education throughout the school year.
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bradley Metrock, President (bradley@ahsimc.com)
iTest crowns 2006 national champion, announces plans for expansion
(Nashville, TN) - The 2006 iTest culminated today in the crowning of a new national champion math team. "Quagga" cruised to victory in posting a brilliant 97.5 score out of a possible 100 points, besting runner-up "BARK" by a full 9 points.
Quagga team captain Shobhit Vishnoi attends the Hammond Academy in Columbia, South Carolina. Other team members include Yannik Pitcan (Lake Howell High School, Florida), Arnav Tripathy (East Chapel Hill High School, North Carolina), Rui Yang (Miami Palmetto Senior High School, Florida), and Alex Zhai (University Laboratory High School, Illinois).
These team members overcame geographical distances by working together using the internet. For the first time, iTest competitors had access to a variety of collaborative tools built into the competition's own webpage, which all students could utilize in delegating test questions and tracking team progress.
"The iTest combines the collaborative power of the internet with the educational power of team-based problem solving to create unprecedented opportunity for today's students," remarked iTest President and founder Bradley Metrock. "As a result, the iTest has attracted a diverse group of the nation's brightest young intellects to learn more mathematics and build their team-based social skills."
The organization's mission is to augment the United States educational system through competition by providing free contests across a variety of high school subjects; the iTest piloted a computer science competition earlier this year, and plans another pilot of a languages competition for release sometime in 2008.
"As the iTest expands into other subjects, a community where young people can network and meet lifelong friends will be created," noted iTest Chief Operations Officer Dave Cowart. "It's our job to use the social networking phenomenon to positively impact the lifelong education of our nation's youth."
The iTest, a product of parent non-profit organization AHSIMC, is the largest online mathematics competition and the fastest-growing academic competition in America. The iTest is made available for free to all students, educators, and schools thanks to generous contributions by corporate sponsors and charitable interests. High school students also have free access to monthly "challenge" problems, as well as a national ranking system for 'mathletes' to promote competition and continued math education throughout the school year.
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