Improving the effectiveness of information

Contextual intelligence is the practical application of knowledge and information to real-world situations. This is an external, interactive process that involves both adapting to and modifying an environment to accomplish a desired goal; as well as recognizing when adaptation is not a viable option. This is the ability that is most closely associated with wisdom and practical knowledge. It is the best predictor of success in real-life performance situations.” Charlie Brown PhD ( http://headinthegame.net ) It is inevitable that enterprises need to become more intelligent as they are facing increasing complexity, global competition, severe cost pressure, demanding stakeholders, constant change and uncertainty. An intelligent enterprise is social, high performing and future-resistant at the same time. To reach such a status, in my opinion enterprises need to  be able to systematically adapt knowledge, input from smart devices and data. The Internet of Things Current devel...

The new Healthkit app and the improved Siri in combination with HomeKit - introduced in the new Apple iOS 8 - are two perfect examples of how contextual intelligence enters our daily lifes. Although Healthkit seems to be focusing on monitoring, making it possible to share this data with your doctor, the next step could be that your phone advices you to go on a diet (or even tells you what to eat) or go to the hospital. Siri in combination with HomeKit is also interesting. If you tell Siri (your phone) that you go to sleep, the HomeKit system is able to switch off heatings, dim the lights and lock your doors. What I would find interesting to see is what happens if you add more context data to this system, like data from a video surveillance system in front of your door, or location data provided by your phone. Combine these with dynamic rules and you could have doors that automatically unlock in front of you and lights that follow you through your house (when it is dark). I have f...

We’re at the final episode in this blog series about writing effective articles.  In this series of blog posts I have explored the criteria for a successful article, providing you some best practices, lessons learned and examples from my own work.  The recipe for an effective article So what is the recipe for an effective article? For those of you that just jump in, I would recommend going back to the first blog post. For those of you who have followed me all the way through, let’s summarize it: Start with the definition of your goal: What do you want to achieve with your article? Add to it a clear definition of your audience: Who are you writing for? Now – while keeping an eye on goal and audience – make a sketch of your story: What should the high level structure of your article look like. Detail the building blocks of your story and place them in the high level structure Gather the information you need for your article – in a raw form - and start placing it in ...