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Category: education
Innovation
Olivetti Exhibit, Pisa (2019) Innovation is everywhere. During an October 2019 visit to Pisa, one of the great university cities of Europe, if not the world, I saw a poster (pictured above) for an international exhibition titled: “OLIVETTI @ TOSCANA.IT, Territorio, comunità, architettura nella Toscana di Olivetti. Recall, perhaps, Adriano Olivetti, the Italian industrialist, of typewriter, calculator, … Continue reading Innovation
The Art and Science of Negotiations
Let’s start with the “science.” Professional negotiators know about (and how to create and execute) negotiations plans (opens, fallbacks, accepts, walks positions), BATNAS (best alternative to a negotiated agreement), etc. They know what is and is not negotiable. They know the relevant market. They understand timing. They know how to listen, actively. You cannot learn … Continue reading The Art and Science of Negotiations
Future-Proofing Work
If you want to see the future, visit Japan. Pepper, a semi-humanoid robot from Softbank Robotics, greeted us in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Shinjuku in October 2016. On it was mounted a tablet (iPad?), displaying information in an interactive manner. Unfortunately, we could not discern any other capability. About a week later, on our last full … Continue reading Future-Proofing Work
The Accidental Polyglot
Floyen, Bergen, Norway It is unfortunate that the act of learning and mastering a new language is generally viewed as a chore and not an opportunity. As for me, the first new language I learned was English, starting my formal (and informal) studies soon after I arrived in the United States in 1979, from the … Continue reading The Accidental Polyglot
Viareggio
If I cannot travel, I might as well reminisce. Viareggio is a quintessentially Italian seaside town on the Tyrrhenian, equidistant from Pisa and Lucca (https://johnpavolotsky.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/lucca/), our base for a 3-day visit to Tuscany this past October. The vibe is art deco. A certain timelessness pervades Viareggio; it seems that little has changed, and but for … Continue reading Viareggio
The Peninsula Hiking Club 