• Human Resources and Lean - Commentary on what HR is. And what it could be - the foundation for renewal and success in organizations, instead of a compliance function.

February 4th through February 6th:

• DC Moves for Safer Sidewalks - Get There - Washington government takes a step toward promoting walkability. Sidewalks stay open for business.Walkers rejoice!
• Apple //c - a photoset on Flickr - The OOB experience of an unopened AppleIIc computer. Remember when technology was fun? It still is. And I never even learned to program in Pascal.
• Ryanair’s Changing Altitude - Efficient cost management and charging for everything keeps margins high at RyanAir - a great example of “copy how we think” in terms of being like Southwest
• Running a hospital: More on fetching and work-arounds - BIDMC launches an improvement methodology called SPIRIT. Looks like it’s at least partially based on LEAN?
• The Health Care Blog: Bad Medicine: How The AMA Undermined Primary Care in America - Brian Klepper - Analysis of RBRVS and impact on primary care.
• The ethics of CEO blogging - Nice discussion from Paul Levy about the approach that a CEO takes to blogging. I’m in support!
• Insurers Begin To Reimburse for Online Visits, Concerns Remain - Nice profile of Kaiser Permanente’s program.
• Marriot Rolls Out Web-Based PHR System to Employees Nationwide - iHealthBeat - An employer-sponsored PHR. Will the lack of connection to the health care team be an issue?
• KUOW: Program Archive: Patient Safety, January, 2008 - Dr. Matt Handley, from Group Health Cooperative, is featured
• Best Companies 2008 - FORTUNE Magazine’s Top 100 Employers to Work For - The 2008 list is out. From an HR/Leadership perspective, it is interesting to look at some of the most important qualifications for being on the list, such as support for diversity.

I’m starting to track the disruption of other industries, like music and real estate….

December 29th through December 31st:

• The Fleecing of the Avatars - The downsides of virtual worlds are starting to match the physical world.
• The Battle for Radio Royalties - Picture two dinosaurs. Both are wounded. And both are grappling with climate change that has weakened their ability to compete. Once they coexisted. Now they’ll do whatever it takes to survive?even if it means turning on one another.
• The RIAA Will Die in 2008 - Forecasting hard times for this industry protector.
• Number of Jobs Held, Labor Market Activity, and Earnings Growth Among the Youngest Baby Boomers: Results From a Longitudinal Survey Summary - Individuals born from 1957 to 1964 held an average of 10.5 jobs from ages 18 to 40.
• 12 Filtering Tips for Better Information in Half the Time | The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss - Nice overview of information management tools from the guru of efficiency. Tim Ferriss’ blog.

• Business Writing: A Great Letter from My Doctor - Good written communication makes a difference. From a Group Health patient.
• Blackwell Synergy - Family Process, Volume 37 Issue 1 Page 3-15, March 1998 (Article Abstract) - Article by Kathy Weingarten on Postmodern Narrative Therapy
• Treatment Dedication Project - Empowering patients undergoing cancer treatment through dedication.
• Microsoft customizes its workspaces - I suppose sliding glass doors are becoming the norm. Video of new Microsoft Research Facility. Note the Metro-type entrance gates.
• 60 Minutes - Here Come the Millenniels - GenY - All Carrot, No Stick. GenX - forgotten….

November 5th through November 10th:

• Analysis of Paralysis - Chip and Dan Heath - Decision making - Leading company - Cool Motto: “We don’t want to be first but we sure as hell don’t want to be third.”
• Modern Healthcare: Get an EHR or leave the Partner’s Network - Where will the mandates come from in the future?
• MAeHC Blog - Another e-Health leader blog, from Mass e-Health Collaborative
• Life as a Healthcare CIO - John D. Halamka, MD, MS’s blog. More physician leaders are online.
• Team Familiarity, Role Experience, and Performance: Evidence from Indian Software Services ? HBS Working Knowledge - Link to paper about Wipro Software and interesting study on performance and role experience. Especially interesting in the way they quantify performance in software development.
• Bringing ‘Lean’ Principles to Service Industries ? HBS Working Knowledge - Great summary about what LEAN means for service (e.g. health care)