A lot of people don’t think about oil and gas in terms of the medicine we need or the food we eat, but most products we buy are touched by this industry. The energy that heats our homes, and powers our cars, trains, planes, and boats allows us to enjoy an advanced quality of life. Much of our current technology is directly powered or indirectly in need of oil and gas. That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be regulations and safe practices to ensure the welfare of our planet and the living things that inhabit it. Oil and gas companies have a big responsibility, other than just bringing in a profit. The environment is as much a major concern for them as it is for everyone else.
APPEA 2013
The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) is holding the 2013 APPEA Conference in Brisbane, Australia from May 26 to 29. This is the Southern Hemisphere’s leading oil and gas event, where local and international experts from the industry — including people from the technical, economic, environmental, and political sectors — come together and exchange ideas and ways to help promote the sale and reliable use of oil and gas. [Read more...]
For years I have collected miles with a few different airlines, but have managed to fly only twice using my miles. Here, in one sentence, you have the problem with airline loyalty programs, but also my loyalty strategy.
It used to be that companies drove traffic solely with a new product launch. While that’s still largely the case for how marketing cycles work, we are in an era of consumer event triggers where each product cycle is increasingly dictated per person. Why? Because new things launch every day and we are constantly inundated by all forms of outbound marketing messaging. There are very few things we need (not want) when they’re new. Sure, new things can be better, but when we have a problem and need a solution, we don’t care when the solution was created; we care that it’s available at our fingertips.
Getting the right information on demand is an eternal problem of today’s knowledge workers, and will only grow. Lack of knowledge causes a delay in decision-making, and ultimately leads to bad decisions. This is the essence of the 
Think of business in a new way. If one runner speeds up to get ahead of the pack, what tends to happen is everyone else speeds up to match his pace. With everyone running above their optimal level just to keep up, no one gets ahead and everyone loses efficiency… the market becomes less efficient. What if someone from the pack starts to run in a particular direction? The pack will follow and match the “leader.” Just like the Keystone Cops, the pack becomes a slapstick routine where everyone expends energy and resources to end up in another huddle, just at another location.
Only a decade ago, India and China fully opened their societies to the West. Instead of telephone poles and landlines, Asian companies met 21st-century challenges head-on by skipping investing in outdated infrastructure for moving directly to smart phones and deploying mobile apps. A parallel can be drawn with the healthcare industry. Let’s leapfrog to 21st-century information technology solutions and stop trying to solve today’s problems with yesterday’s outdated technology.
Symphonies and orchestras are the two things that come to mind when I think of banking operations. Today’s banks have to outshine competitors and provide exceptional customer services; that’s the path of success. In doing so, banks need to harmonize technology and IT services that run and monitor business operations.
I fly fairly often. I don’t fly so often I am always upgraded to first class, but I find myself in a plane at least a couple times a month. Let’s put it this way, I fly frequently enough that my status waives luggage-checking fees.
When it comes to shopping, today’s consumers are in control, with more choices and more options than ever before. It is no longer enough to offer a good selection of merchandise at an attractive price because customers want “experiences” to go with the products they buy.
