Comments for Amol Kapila http://www.amolkapila.com/blog A venue for my thoughts Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:00:22 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.1 hourly 1 Comment on Bonfire in my neighborhood last night by tv http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/2010/04/bonfire-in-my-neighborhood-last-night/comment-page-1/#comment-249 tv Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:00:22 +0000 http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/2010/04/bonfire-in-my-neighborhood-last-night/#comment-249 <strong> samsung http://isharpfgpd6qr.03GMCPARTS.US/tag/samsung+tv+inch/ : inch...</strong> tv... samsung http://isharpfgpd6qr.03GMCPARTS.US/tag/samsung+tv+inch/ : inch…

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]]> Comment on Free profits for banks by Joel Lewis http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/2010/04/free-profits-for-banks/comment-page-1/#comment-217 Joel Lewis Sun, 18 Apr 2010 02:19:48 +0000 http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/?p=432#comment-217 I'm not positive, but I think there is a rule preventing commercial banks in the US from investing the funds they are lent from the federal reserve in treasury instruments. There is a rule preventing local governments from investing the proceeds of municipal bond sales in federal treasury instruments. I’m not positive, but I think there is a rule preventing commercial banks in the US from investing the funds they are lent from the federal reserve in treasury instruments. There is a rule preventing local governments from investing the proceeds of municipal bond sales in federal treasury instruments.

]]> Comment on Ironic sign of George Orwell by Chris http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/2010/04/ironic-sign-of-george-orwell/comment-page-1/#comment-216 Chris Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:56:52 +0000 http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/2010/04/ironic-sign-of-george-orwell/#comment-216 It is especially funny since it appears it might be for real. Maybe the Spanish have their own literary allusion associated with Big Brother. Chris It is especially funny since it appears it might be for real. Maybe the Spanish have their own literary allusion associated with Big Brother. Chris

]]> Comment on Google, innovation, and listening to your customers by Amol Kapila http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/2010/03/google-innovation-and-listening-to-your-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-215 Amol Kapila Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:12:11 +0000 http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/?p=392#comment-215 Chris, I think you make excellent points, especially in your second paragraph: "Innovators don’t listen to what is actually said but what is implied by inference." Chris, I think you make excellent points, especially in your second paragraph: “Innovators don’t listen to what is actually said but what is implied by inference.”

]]> Comment on Google, innovation, and listening to your customers by Chris http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/2010/03/google-innovation-and-listening-to-your-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-214 Chris Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:04:08 +0000 http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/?p=392#comment-214 "So long as it is black" was so as to produce an affordable vehicle to the masses. Ford's goal was that Ford's own workers should be able to afford to buy what they produced. This implied too that they be paid enough to do that. You could argue that this set the stage for these workers' pay and benefits to eventually become unsustainable. For decades this was hidden by increased productivity, mainly via automation. Listening to the customer: there is listening, and listening. Innovators don't listen to what is actually said but what is implied by inference. They said "a faster horse” which implied "get me from a to b quicker." “So long as it is black” was so as to produce an affordable vehicle to the masses. Ford’s goal was that Ford’s own workers should be able to afford to buy what they produced. This implied too that they be paid enough to do that. You could argue that this set the stage for these workers’ pay and benefits to eventually become unsustainable. For decades this was hidden by increased productivity, mainly via automation.

Listening to the customer: there is listening, and listening. Innovators don’t listen to what is actually said but what is implied by inference. They said “a faster horse” which implied “get me from a to b quicker.”

]]> Comment on Poor incentives for journalism favors Obama by Chris http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/2010/04/poor-incentives-for-journalism-favors-obama/comment-page-1/#comment-213 Chris Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:48:02 +0000 http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/2010/04/poor-incentives-for-journalism-favors-obama/#comment-213 Bob Woodward (now associate editor) at the Washington Post is a case in point of a journalist who must have been faced with his duty to report contemporaneously in his paper versus keeping it for his next book. The New York Times infamously was confronted with a journalist Judith Miller who it seems was "played" by the Bush administration in the lead up to the Iraq war, and as a result (along with other factors) the paper was not skeptical enough, for which it later apologized. The relationship between a journalist and his/her sources is complex, requiring trust, judgment and continuous skeptical reassessment. This too is where editors come in. Bob Woodward (now associate editor) at the Washington Post is a case in point of a journalist who must have been faced with his duty to report contemporaneously in his paper versus keeping it for his next book. The New York Times infamously was confronted with a journalist Judith Miller who it seems was “played” by the Bush administration in the lead up to the Iraq war, and as a result (along with other factors) the paper was not skeptical enough, for which it later apologized. The relationship between a journalist and his/her sources is complex, requiring trust, judgment and continuous skeptical reassessment. This too is where editors come in.

]]> Comment on Google, innovation, and listening to your customers by Amol Kapila http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/2010/03/google-innovation-and-listening-to-your-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-212 Amol Kapila Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:41:58 +0000 http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/?p=392#comment-212 Haha, wow! I never realized that one of the greatest industrialists ever cared so little about the preferences of his customers! This reminds me of Howard Roark, from Ayn Rand's <em>The Fountainhead</em>, who thought that his customers should listen to his own tastes, rather than the other way around. I guess, as long as you care <em>enough</em> about your customer's preferences so that they continue to buy your products and you can make a profit, you are fine. Haha, wow! I never realized that one of the greatest industrialists ever cared so little about the preferences of his customers! This reminds me of Howard Roark, from Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, who thought that his customers should listen to his own tastes, rather than the other way around.

I guess, as long as you care enough about your customer’s preferences so that they continue to buy your products and you can make a profit, you are fine.

]]> Comment on Google, innovation, and listening to your customers by Joel Lewis http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/2010/03/google-innovation-and-listening-to-your-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-211 Joel Lewis Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:53:02 +0000 http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/?p=392#comment-211 Of course there's also Henry Ford's other quote: "A customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants, so long as it is black." Of course there’s also Henry Ford’s other quote: “A customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants, so long as it is black.”

]]> Comment on Entrepreneurship in China by Amol Kapila http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/2010/03/entrepreneurship-in-china/comment-page-1/#comment-210 Amol Kapila Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:20:04 +0000 http://www.amolkapila.com/blog/?p=363#comment-210 Point taken. I did note in the post that such a high level of entrepreneurship might be inefficient, reflecting a lack of a division of labor, economies of scale, etc., rather than the reverse. As you mention, the high rate might reflect that transitioning of many functions from the "internal household sector" to the business sector, which is a good thing. However, greater specialization, consolidation, and many more processes are probably in their infancy, and over time, may lead to a lower rate of self-employment and greater economic efficiencies. Why can't we compare US and Chinese entrepreneurs, especially given that the indented quote in the post compares those involved in "high-growth-expectation entrepreneurship"? Presumably, such entrepreneurs aren't cutting grass or doing laundry (or even starting restaurants). A high involvement in that kind of entrepreneurship probably leads to greater economic growth. Yes, US entrepreneurs face many hurdles, but so do Chinese ones: poor infrastructure, a poor financial system, weaker property rights, et al. Regardless, US entrepreneurs are not to blame; if anyone is, it is probably government policy (licensing and other barriers to entry, high taxes, labor laws, et al.). Point taken. I did note in the post that such a high level of entrepreneurship might be inefficient, reflecting a lack of a division of labor, economies of scale, etc., rather than the reverse. As you mention, the high rate might reflect that transitioning of many functions from the “internal household sector” to the business sector, which is a good thing. However, greater specialization, consolidation, and many more processes are probably in their infancy, and over time, may lead to a lower rate of self-employment and greater economic efficiencies.

Why can’t we compare US and Chinese entrepreneurs, especially given that the indented quote in the post compares those involved in “high-growth-expectation entrepreneurship”? Presumably, such entrepreneurs aren’t cutting grass or doing laundry (or even starting restaurants). A high involvement in that kind of entrepreneurship probably leads to greater economic growth. Yes, US entrepreneurs face many hurdles, but so do Chinese ones: poor infrastructure, a poor financial system, weaker property rights, et al. Regardless, US entrepreneurs are not to blame; if anyone is, it is probably government policy (licensing and other barriers to entry, high taxes, labor laws, et al.).

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