Quality Leadership Weblog :-)

Op-Ed. The Sidney Awards, By DAVID BROOKS, Published: December 25, 2009
Every year, I give out Sidney Awards to the best magazine essays of the year. In an age of zipless, electronic media, the idea is to celebrate (and provide online linkof poor quality:d “cost es to) long-form articles that have narrative drive and social impact.

One [...]

BOOK: Great Powers, by Thomas P.M. Barnett, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Pub Date: February 5, 2009Â
Barnett–who has been described as “the most influential defense intellectual writing these days (The Washington Post)” and “one of the most important strategic thinkers of our time (U.S. News.com)”–presents a remarkable analysis of America and the world in the post-Bush era.  He [...]

Defense Department Planning To Expand Minerva Initiative, (Inside The Pentagon)…Jason Sherman
The Pentagon plans this year to expand a fledging program launched by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to foster cooperation between the military and social scientists in a bid to improve understanding of 21st-century security challenges and develop a cadre of experts to influence national security [...]

Interesting post on options to reduce crime in America.
POST: Gangs rule over the most crime-free America in decades, Thomas P.M. Barnett on January 3, , 2009

CRIME: “The War on Gangs: Inside the feds’ strategy to get hit men and enforcers off the streets,” by Alex Kingsbury, U.S. News & World Report, 15 December 2008. [...]

BOOK REVIEW: The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life, by Richard Florida, Copyright 2002.
Creative Class Exchange
Florida classifies occupational categories as consisting of the: Creative Class (30%), Working Class (26.1%), Service Class (43.4%), Agriculture (0.4%).
Reinforces the importance of creativity at all levels in the workplace … “ensuring [...]

POST: The competitive landscape inside the States: How dire the picture? by Thomas P.M. Barnett on December 22, 2008
BUSINESS: “Innovation in America: A gathering storm? Confronted by Asia’s technological rise and the financial crisis, corporate America is losing its self-confidence. It should not.” The Economist, 22 November 2008.
Growing consensus says America’s technological lead is [...]

A Pentagon Energy Plan, (Baltimore Sun)…Thomas M. Spangler III, Dec 18, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama’s energy team is in place, and he has ambitious plans to reform the nation’s energy system. Where should he start? How about with the nation’s largest consumer of petroleum - the Pentagon.

See also previous posting: Air Force and DARPA — Energy [...]

“Headline news” …  themes indicate a challenging year both at home and abroad.  Current events have motivated me to start working on a proposal for an X Prize in order to accelerate application of the Quality Leadership technology.

A ‘Tough Fight’ Seen For Afghan War In ‘09, (USA Today)…Tom Vanden BrookThe top commander of U.S. and NATO [...]

Wal-Mart, Army Reserve Link For Recruiting, Hiring, (Boston Globe)…Associated Press, Nov 12, 2008.
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has signed on to an Army Reserve program in which the company and the Army will work together to recruit and train people interested in serving in the military and working for the giant retailer.
Wal-Mart, the world’s [...]

Aberdeen Starts Work On Robot Test Track, (Baltimore Sun)…David Wood, Nov 14, 2008
With U.S. and allied military convoys under increasing attack in Afghanistan, the Army began work yesterday on a new test track at Harford County’s Aberdeen Proving Ground that will be critical in developing high-speed unmanned, or robot, vehicles for convoy duty.
Robotic vehicles also [...]