[rgrieselhuber]

Whenever I read Umair's work I find myself agreeing with many of his ideals (sustainable, local business, etc.). But the way he presents them as the necessary solution for today's business woes feels a little force-fed.

Let's see some data, some real research.

[colortone]

Unfortunately, to get real value out of his writing you have to do your own homework.

Put another way: show us some data, models, or research that he's wrong.

Put another way: assume he's right about everything. What are the implications for your business?

etc

HTH

[rgrieselhuber]

Kind of sounds like a religious discussion at that point.

[colortone]

Self-driven edification is a religious experience for me, yeah.

Read up on game theory, network econ, information econ, financial analysis, and modern art criticism...it's totally spiritual!

[time_management]

Big picture: the old world and social model is falling apart rapidly. There's no hope of repairing it, and most open-minded people really don't want to, when the opportunities for creative destruction and reinvention are so abundant.

What shall replace the old world is unclear. I don't know "the right answer". No one does. Those of us who will step to the plate are going to improvise an answer (or more appropriately, answers) to the many emerging problems and get some right, some wrong.

When I read a piece like this, I have to take it as exactly what it is. A proposed solution, or set of solutions. He's offering ideas, and they're worth consideration and debate, but it's not worth debating whether they're "right" in a platonic ("communism works on paper") rather than pragmatic sense, because the present and future are unprecedented.

[rgrieselhuber]

I can see that - I guess it's his approach. I'm wary of anyone claiming to know the right answer based on little actual experience, especially when those claims are backed up by nothing more than statements like "we must do this or that,etc." If it was just some dude's blog post, it would be one thing but it's a post on Harvard's website so I'd hope for a little more rigor.

*Edit: I recommend a book called Deep Economy that does a much better job of explaining why these were good ideas worth investigating.