Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

New York Magazine Profiles Malcolm Gladwell

New York Magazine profiles Maclolm Gladwell in advance of his new book, Outliers: The Story of Success.

Monday, November 10th, 2008

Jason Fried @ BIF-4

Jason Fried of 37signals gives a talk at BIF-4 Collaborative Innovation Summit.

Monday, November 10th, 2008

Design by Committee

Mark Boulton discusses redesigning Drupal.org with transparency and community feedback.

Sunday, November 9th, 2008

The Obama Campaign

After all of the glitter has been thrown, after all of the confetti has fallen, and after all of the ticker-tape has been swept away, there is a compelling story to be told. Beyond the historical reverberations and the political consequences, the story of the Obama Campaign is something to be marveled at.

From the perspective of strategists and Democratic Party optimists, Barack Obama’s run for the Presidency can be looked upon as the first steps into a brand new era of political promise—an era beyond pettiness, an era of substance and material.

So how did President-elect Obama and his campaign do it?

What the American electorate saw from the Democratic candidate was a steadfast demonstration of discipline, sound judgment, and steady temperament.

In an interview with Joe Klein, Obama gave his analysis of the suspension of John McCain’s campaign:

We were getting phone calls from people in Washington and I think there were some on our staff that were thinking that maybe we should interject and respond in some way. My strong feeling was that this situation was of such seriousness that it was important not to chase the cameras. One of the advantages that we had was that I think we had been steady from the start. I had already called my economic advisors together. I had already put forward a clear set of principles that were in the process of being adopted. I had been talking to Paulson and Bernanke and the congressional leadership on a regular basis so it wasn’t like I felt in any way that I was out of the loop. I felt like I was helping to shape the direction of this. And one of the things that I have become more and more convinced of during the course of this campaign is that in an environment like this one where people are really paying attention because they are worried and they are scared good policy will end up being good politics—more than I think might have been true during boom times in the nineties when people were just feeling like it was sport, it was a game.

As well, from Newsweek’s thorough report on the 2008 campaign, top Obama advisors are seen to have the foresight and wisdom to look past the short-sided stunts of the Republican ticket:

The mood at the normally staid Obama headquarters had been giddy when the news of McCain’s veep choice was first announced. “OK, game over,” someone ventured on the morning staff phone call. But anxiety soon set in. Axelrod was offended when one staffer dared to suggest that Palin was almost as good a politician as Obama. He said he was sure that the untested rookie Alaska governor would eventually implode. Plouffe was his usual “No-Drama Obama” self, urging everyone to calm down and wait for Palin mania to pass.

Barack Obama’s campaign for the presidency took a step forward for the Great American Experiment. By ignoring his worser instincts and honoring his charge as a candidate for this nation’s highest office, Obama came out victorious in a grueling two year campaign, ended forty-plus years of divisive elections, and fulfilled two hundred and thirty-two years of promise.

Sunday, November 9th, 2008

Mad Men Illustrated

Designer Dyna Moe has created a wonderful set of illustrations based on the AMC television show “Mad Men.”

Saturday, November 8th, 2008

Fostering Innovation at Pixar

Brad Bird discusses how Pixar fosters creativity and innovation.