Billy

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Great post Zach. I agree with your assessment that ESPN has not yet acknowledged the fact that it needs to pivot to a digital age. The ESPN brand was carried by cable-driven revenues, which, as you mentioned, are dwindling. ESPN needs to find alternate ways to generate revenue. I also agree with your second recommendation that ESPN partner with more leagues. My post was on the NFL’s use of digitization and I think ESPN could really benefit from a partnership with the NFL in this regard. ESPN can pivot towards interactive viewing through the utilization of the NFL’s Internet of Things strategy it is beginning to implement with things like RFID pads, electronic mouthpieces, and more. ESPN needs to capitalize on the millennial demands of interactive viewing, short attention spans, and hyper-connected social networks. While I think ESPN does need to do something bold to digitize, I do sympathize with their challenging predicament. I know I will continue to use ESPN.com! Thanks for the great insights!

On November 20, 2016, Billy commented on Electronic Health Records — when does data become too much? :

Great post, Graham! The integration of EHR’s into the medical community seems to be a tough challenge with many benefits, if done correctly. The integration strategy you outlined reminds me of a similar integration the Navy instituted over the past 10 years-the switch from paper charts to electronic navigation systems. Surprisingly, the outcomes you mentioned in your post (increased effectiveness but longer working hours) match very closely with my experience. While I experienced this integration first hand, I found the benefits obvious, but the changing of my behavior very difficult and time consuming. I wonder how long it will take to fully make the transition. Another concern I have about the nationwide standardization of electronic medical records is cybersecurity. I wonder about the implications of a nationwide medical record electronic database hack. Not only could personal identifiable information be released, but medical records could be potentially altered to adversely affect a targeted patient. While I think EHR’s are a net positive for society, there are definitely some risks that need to be addressed as we move forward. Thanks for the nice post!

On November 20, 2016, Billy commented on Rolls-Royce: Embracing IoT on a wing and a prayer :

Thanks for the great post, Mitch! I was surprised at how much money could be saved through the use of active, in-flight performance monitoring through the use of IoT components. In the Navy, preventative maintenance on machinery that operates in extreme conditions is absolutely vital. Preventative maintenance is solely based on historical engineering analysis and manual logs that are taken periodically-never on in-situ performance like the kind you mentioned in your post. The amount of monetary savings that are possible from this innovation is amazing and offers significant value to Rolls Royce customers. The amount of competition in this area of the business is exciting and offers great opportunities for the aerospace industry and its customers. Awesome post!

Great post Rob. I think sports is an ideal medium for the Internet of Things to enact a lot of change. I found your post particularly interesting because you highlighted the importance of how data is used by an organization and that it is not the end-all be-all answer. Data in sports is really meant to arm the managers, who, at the end of the day, still have to make decisions about people. Thinking back to that insane Golden State-Cleveland NBA Finals Game 7, I can’t help but think that data analytics still has a long way to go to surpass good old human motivation and talent. My question is how far will the digitization of sports take us and how long will it take for data analytics to simply outperform human decision making. Thanks for the insightful post!

On November 20, 2016, Billy commented on Citi: Banking on a digital future for financial services :

Great post Ben! I never thought about how the opportunities that FinTech provides to consumers threaten the big bank operating models through disintermediation. I think Citi’s efforts to remain relevant in the face of FinTech innovation is impressive, but I wonder if it is enough. It seems as though their efforts significantly lag the industry. I think big banks are positioned well to offer advanced FinTech solutions to consumers given their experience in the banking field and their considerable balance sheet to finance such innovation. Additionally, Citi’s efforts to scale back their physical consumer bank presence is interesting. USAA, a consumer bank that does not even come close to the size and scope of services that Citi has, actually does not have any physical bank locations. They do all banking online and they provide outstanding service and security-so I think it can be done by Citi. However, as you mention in your post, the conversion from physical locations to online will likely disenfranchise a large number of Citi customers which will provide a tough challenge for them to tackle. I think it is the right move, if done carefully and slowly. Thanks for the great insight!

On November 7, 2016, Billy commented on Kick your CO2 Habit –> Save $$Millions :

I had no idea that such a company existed, and I am very optimistic about this concept. I think it addresses the gap that consumer electric cars have yet to address: the fact that no one wants to buy electric cars (except for $80,000+ Teslas). Tapping into the commercial market is both smart from a financial and strategic perspective. The commercial need is there. They are governed by regulation and consumer pressure to be green. XL Hybrid gives them a tool to enact measures that bring tangible cost savings and reduce CO2 emissions. Furthermore, from a strategic perspective, it is more reasonable to ask a commercial company to retrofit its fleet of trucks and vans with this kit rather than completely replace them with electric vehicles. I think XL Hybrid has found a niche market that it can benefit from while simultaneously helping the world gain ground in the battle against greenhouse gases. My only concern is long term viability. I wonder what is the long term strategy of XL Hybrid. I have an intuition that over the next generation, or so, electric cars will become much more mainstream, and it will not be unreasonable for a commercial entity to have a fleet of electric vehicles. The viability of XL Hybrid comes into question in that world. Great post!

On November 7, 2016, Billy commented on TSMC: Moving towards sustainable semiconductor manufacturing :

Awesome post, Haibo. I think it is vitally important for a market leader, such as TSMC, to lead by example in the integration of sustainability in business operations. Furthermore, leading sustainability efforts in the Asian markets is particularly important due to the high population densities and aggressive manufacturing that accompanies emerging markets. I think you did a great job highlighting the unique challenges TSMC faces due to being spread out around the globe, and thus being subject to a wide variety of regulatory agencies. That varying degree of regulation forces TSMC to take sustainability seriously and ensure that it is properly integrated into its culture. Finally, the fact that TSMC is actively sharing its sustainability innovations with other industry leaders is extremely encouraging. Thanks for the insightful post!

On November 7, 2016, Billy commented on General Motors: Navigating the Road to a Sustainable Future :

Thanks for the great post, Jordan. Something I hadn’t thought of until this post was how GM has to confront climate change on two fronts: its manufacturing processes and the products themselves. It must be a very challenging problem for GM to tackle-innovate to make your manufacturing process cleaner while at the same time push the envelope on electric/hybrid cars. It seems that GM has no choice but to attack both simultaneously. A single approach strategy would be incomplete and could make GM seem anti-green, a car maker whose lost its innovation edge, or a combination of both. I find it very interesting how it seems GM has gained more traction in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its manufacturing processes when compared to the low popularity of its green products (such as the Volt). I wonder why that is. Perhaps it is easier to innovate your own manufacturing processes, which are not directly under the consumer eye. Secondly, the timeline of government regulation helps in this area. GM is under higher pressure to get its manufacturing emissions under control, given that the manufacturing emission reduction regulation push has been going on much longer than the electric car push from President Obama in 2011. The problem with GM’s approach is that it is losing market share competitiveness to companies like Tesla and Toyota by remaining stagnant in electric car innovation. The Volt was a huge step in the right direction, but it may have been too early for consumers and it did not strike the right chords with potential buyers. I think GM needs to reinvigorate its efforts on the electric car front and leverage its “first mover” advantage in this space. Thanks Jordan!

On November 7, 2016, Billy commented on United: Flying the EcoFriendly Skies :

Great post! United has a unique climate change challenge: as wind patterns increase in intensity, flight times could increase. This could result in more fuel burned, which results in more greenhouse gases emitted, which, in turn, results in accelerated climate change. This vicious cycle that airlines face is daunting from a business perspective (not to mention the environmental perspective). The measures taken by United that you have pointed out seem like a step in the right direction, but it I wonder if more could be done by the industry to push the boundary on airline climate change innovation. I see this as a difficult task given the passenger safety aspect and the proven track record of turbojet engines. Secondly, in the spirit of debate (and the fact that I wrote my post on Maersk, a shipping company! 🙂 ), I’d like to challenge the idea that the shipping industry is the largest contributor of CO2 emissions. In absolute terms, I think your post proves that to be the case. However, I don’t think that statistic shows the whole picture. My research highlighted the efficiency of the shipping industry and how it relates to CO2 emissions. Specifically, ships tend to be the most efficient mode of transportation when looked at through a “gram of GHG/(ton-km)” lens. While the sheer volume of pollution is absolutely the most important metric to watch while trying to reduce pollution, and the shipping industry certainly needs to work to reduce that, I think it is important to not discount the amount of “value” we get from a given amount of pollution. Thanks!

On November 7, 2016, Billy commented on BP: what should we expect? :

This is a great post, Akanksha! Too often developed societies take advantage of the benefits provided to them from traditional (and reliable) energy sources such as oil and gas. I think it is important to keep perspective and not lose sight of the fact that oil and gas supply 86% of the world’s energy needs. With all that said, it is critical that we continue to move forward on renewable energy source development and sustainability programs that ensure the long term viability of our planet. It is great to read about the steps BP is taking to accomplish that. The one area that I’d like to see more information on is the development of nuclear power because I see that as the only real competitor to oil and gas, in terms of energy supply capacity. Recognizing that nuclear power development is at odds with BP’s entire business, I’d love to learn more about how BP views the development of nuclear power and what steps it is taking to prepare for any advances in nuclear power that may occur in our future. Thanks for the insightful post!