Brewed Fresh Daily

�It�s all about changing the dynamics of a community,� said William Brody, president of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The dynamic of Cleveland is dysfunction.

• What if the decisions affecting the area�s economy were being made by people whose companies are actually growing here?
• Would the community�s priorities be different?
• And who might those decision-makers be?
• What do we do with all that pent-up energy and creativity?
• How do these entrepreneurs re-invent the community�s institutional infrastructure so that it becomes more relevant in a post-industrial economy?
• What might the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders do to shake up Cleveland�s corporate status quo?

"We Build Community through our everyday actions, and some of these actions have the cumulative effect of increasing the quality of life in a community. By deliberately doing more of these specific activities we can build the kind of community we want to live in."

"What we have learned is this: Communities where trust is high, where people are informed about current events, where there are strong connections and high civic activity are communities that we want to live in. These are communities that have a good quality of life. We have also learned that doing only one of these activities (trust, inform, connect, get involved - what we call splotz of glue) is not enough. They must be done together and in abundance."

Richard Florida's Innovation Center may have to relocate outside of his hometown of Pittsburgh, where he teaches at Carnegie-Mellon. If you're a Cool Cleveland reader, you've probably got a well-read copy of his book, The Rise of the Creative Class, and how it's transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life. And you may have even caught one of his three or four appearances here in Cleveland in 2002, preaching from the podiums of the City Club or University Circle, Inc., about how Cleveland needs to become more tolerant and diverse, focusing on the arts, technology and creativity in order to attract, harness and mobilize the key 30% of the population that Florida calls The Creative Class: those individuals such as designers, software developers, financial wizards, legal eagles and medical geniuses. Now he finds that his message may be more welcome outside of Pittsburgh. He wants to start an institute devoted to the issues of the creative class and to put those ideas into action, and places like the University of Toronto, the New School in NYC, the Gates Foundation in Seattle, and supporters in Kansas City, Chicago and LA have stepped up to make him offers. It is always the prophet who is ignored in his own land, but is this an opportunity for Cleveland? He only needs $5-6 million for a staff of 5 to start. What could such an institute do for CWRU, the City of Cleveland and NEOhio?

"Computers should be put in places where low-income users are likely to find other people to help them--such as churches, barbershops, and commercial laundries. So says Lynette Kvasny, assistant professor of information sciences at Penn State. Without this kind of social networking to support learners, the millions of dollars invested in initiatives to bring information technology to minorities and low-income groups will largely be wasted, she claims."

The key is to abandon top-down, centralized control in favor of exploring and exploiting the power of decentralized communication networks. Organizations can enable and exploit swarm power in two ways:

1. distribute the intelligence throughout the organization by making information on products, services, and important processes easily accessible to all employees
2. operate in "real time" by allowing swarm members to provide immediate, often live responses to customers and business partners.

Adopting these practices will help companies react faster to incoming customer demands.

"The construction and structure of graphs or networks is the key to understanding the complex world around us. Small changes in the topology affecting only a few nodes or links can open up hidden doors, allowing new possibilities to emerge."

'According to some business writers, "defining reality" is the primary job of every CEO. The best leaders tend to be those that are best at assessing the situation objectively. Leaders who fail to define reality accurately rarely lead effectively... My question of the day for you is, "How would you rate your ability to assess the situation and communicate it to others?"'

Cover your path With fallen pine needles So no one will be able To locate your True dwelling place. - Ikkyu (1394-1481)

"Duncan Watts is a network theorist. And these days that means fielding frequent calls from powerful admirers, Wall Street moguls and government officials eager to tap into a nascent academic science that few understand but that many think may hold the key to everything from predicting fashion trends to preventing terrorism, stock market meltdowns and the spread of HIV."

Our organization is called The Gorilla Group. We have been meeting for about two years. The Gorilla Group is named after Professor Richard Osborne at Weatherhead. He is one of the driving forces behind the Entrepreneurship program at Case Western. In each of his classes he requires that everyone go by a nickname. It is one of the ways he inspires creativity and originality in the class. His nickname is The Gorilla. Hence, the moniker for our gathering. The purpose of The Gorilla Group is to provide a forum for aspiring business owners to get together and share ideas. We hold a monthly meeting with the express purpose of discussing what types of ventures people are actively pursuing in the real world to get into the owners chair. It is an excellent place to meet potential board members, advisors and partners. As I am sure you are aware a lot people think or claim that they would like to be their own boss, but rarely put the steps into motion make it a reality. By associating together we push ourselves to achieve our goals rather than just day dream about them. Most organizations have rigidly organized meetings that include guest speakers that produce very little interaction with the members. Our meetings run differently. We typically have ten to fifteen people at each event and our focus is on close discussions of the entrepreneurial activities that our members are currently pursuing. We talk about products, markets and the strengths and weaknesses of the business plans currently being executed.

On another note, TeamNEO was announced today. It seems like more of a whimper, not a bang.

Luva will be performing its unique style of MODelectro - live- this Friday, January 24th, 2003 at the Beachland Tavern. Luva will also be debuting new material, and is excited to announce their inclusion on the new self-titled debut album by Twine for Ghostly Int'l Records. Also playing this show: the Scinema [moody ambient] and the Tellers [analog garage]. Adding stylish flourishes on the turntables will be Wax Factor Sound System [aka dj cornflake and dj lowvolt - fresh off gigs at Flex and the Tool Shed]. Show begins at 9:30 p.m. Door is $6.00 peace.

"The state budget crisis could make Silicon Valley an even more expensive place to do business as taxes rise and services are cut -- jeopardizing any economic recovery -- according to members of a business and government regional group."

'If your area is a leader in the biomedical and bioscience fields, maybe the new buzz word for your area is "Biophotonics." According to the Biophotonics International Journal, photonics has a strong track record of success in solving various clinical and research problems in diverse applications through products and techniques like spectroscopy, lasers, microscopy, imaging and fiber optics. Cleveland, are you listening?'

I thought of The Tipping Point as I watched it.

"The statute before us, the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, extends the term of most existing copyrights to 95 years and that of many new copyrights to 70 years after the author's death. The economic effect of this 20-year extension, the longest blanket extension since the Nation's founding is to make the copyright term not limited, but virtually perpetual. Its primary legal effect is to grant the extended term not to authors, but to their heirs, estates, or corporate successors. And most importantly, its practical effect is not to promote, but to inhibit, the progress of Science by which word the Framers meant learning or knowledge.

Libraries are becoming community centers, where people come to meet and chat, says Frederick Schlipf of the Urbana Free Library. Both Champaign and Urbana are considering adding coffee shops to their new facilities.

'There is no place in downtown Oakland, Calif., to stick your feet into one of the most storied bodies of water in America, San Francisco Bay. Reason: From the beginning, Oakland's waterfront was controlled by railroads, steamship companies, factories or the U.S. Navy. But that will change soon with the completion of a 38-acre park, including a real live beach, called Middle Harbor Shoreline Park. Actually, this is part of a trend in riverfront and coastal cities to reclaim their waterfronts. What it took in Oakland, as in other places, was a lot of economic misfortune: The Navy pulled out, the rail lines moved further inland, the ports dwindled, the factories closed. To its credit, Oakland is using the vacant land to introduce its residents to their waterfront. "Middle Harbor is a place few people have been to, in Oakland and certainly in the region," said a planner with the Port of Oakland. "It's remarkable to find an area that's so poorly known right in the middle of the region."'

In July 1999 David Letterman was interviewing Leigh Nash, lead singer for the pop music group Sixpence None the Richer, on his Late Show. He asked Nash to explain how her band got that unusual name. She replied, "It comes from the book Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. A little boy asks his father [for] a sixpence [coin]. . .. to buy a gift for his father. The father gladly accepts the gift but realizes he's not any richer because he gave his son the money in the first place." Letterman summed it up then, saying, "So he really bought his own gift." "That's right," Nash continued. "C. S. Lewis was comparing that to his belief that God had given him and us the gifts that we possess, and to serve [God] the way we should, we should do it humbly, realizing how we got the gifts in the first place." Letterman responded, "Well, that's beautiful."

'One of the handiest concepts for understanding how cities develop is the notion of "clustering," developed by Harvard business professor Michael Porter. Simple concept: It holds that, in some highly developed industries, leading practitioners need to be near one another, even when logic and high land costs might suggest that it's better to disperse. Hence, the Silicon Valley, Hollywood, the auto industry in Detroit, high finance in New York and scores of other advanced industry clusters. But maybe it's not just high-tech or high-value industries that need to rub elbows.'

"If you couldn�t find the powerbroker you were looking for, it was probably because he was surrounded by four entrepreneurs in one of the dark corners of the Pickwick�s funky martini bar."

'Why is branding a city so hard? The Baltimore Sun asked that question to several people, including Sam Bass Warner, the urban historian. The problem, said Warner, is "we all have bits and pieces" of a city's image in our heads, from beautiful architecture and exciting baseball games to horrific crimes and homeless people. To be a believable marketing effort, he goes on, "you really have to have multiple images. I don't see any reason not to throw in (Baltimore's) harbor and ballparks, but it needs to be rooted in something more. Marketing people always want an Eiffel Tower, but no matter what one image they chose, they leave out so many people and so many experiences. If you want an image, maybe it's a fish stew with potatoes and onions and crab. You just can't market it like a stretch sock." '

The Role of Professional Services in Software Start-Ups - For software start-ups to gain entry into the marketplace, they must minimize technical and marketing and sales risk. This is especially important for business software start-ups with new technologies and complex products. Building the right professional service organization is a key driver in delivering new, complex business software�it can make or break a start-up's transition from good idea to commercial success. There are four key points to keep in mind when starting a software start-up's professional services organization:

• Understand the long-term strategy
• Focus professional services on the end-goal
• Bring on the right people
• Outsource to partners

Help support Cleveland host the world's largest science and engineering competition for high school students and meet students, teachers and fair guests from across the world. WHAT: The Intel ISEF is the world's only international competition for high school students. It happens annually and involves over 1,200 high school students from all 50 states and some 40 international delegations. WHEN: Volunteers are needed from the time that the fair moves into the Cleveland Convention Center through closing events -- May 8-17,2003. You do not need to volunteer for the entire time period; you will be able to specify the dates and times you are available. WHERE: Volunteers will be needed at all venues for the Intel ISEF including the Cleveland Convention Center, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Great Lakes Science Center, as well as tours to nearby attractions. HOW AND WHY: Over eight hundred volunteers (800) are needed to staff the week-long event. If you are bi-lingual, be there to welcome the over 40 international student delegations who will come to Ohio to compete in the "Olympics" of science fair competitions. If you'd like to help, it's easy.

Personally, I think it's a shame that one institution (the Supreme Court) is allowing another institution (big business, i.e. disney) to stiffle creativity. How can individuals create lasting value if they can't create?

Angle magazine is a new Cleveland arts journal, "born of equal parts frustration and hope, knowledge and grit," and founded by local legends Amy Sparks, Dan Tranberg and Douglas Max Utter, rising "from the ashes of the Free Times." The inaugural issue includes art, film, theater, dance, performance and book reviews, previews, commentary, features, profiles and more. The editors promise: "we have a proposition: You continue making art and finding ways to present it, and we'll review, preview, examine and support it. Others have discovered the link we knew was always there � the connection between culture and the future of the "Setback City" � and we aim to be there when the curtain opens." The current issue is only available online and features film reviews by Sparks, art reviews and features by Tranberg and Utter, a profile of art-ivist John Chaich, and two literary columns by Mike DeCapite and Lola Rodriguez. Print version is coming soon. Way 2 go!

The Grog Shop Lives On! Everyone rallied around Kathy Simkoff when she was kicked out of her Coventry Road space to make room for apartments. She had already found a space on W. 25th when Cleveland Hts woke up and realized that the Grog brought 40,000 people to their town every year. They got her a low interest loan when she promised to soundproof the old Arabica space in the courtyard at Euclid Hts & Coventry, four times as big as the old place. Maybe now that hideous mall-esque Coventryard will finally breathe some authentic life. Happy landing.

"At the risk of offending the presidents (not to mention the alumni, faculty, staff and students) of the region's state universities and colleges, it is time to explore blowing up their institutions and starting over." "I suggest this radical proposal not because the universities and their leaders have performed horribly, but rather because they cannot possibly perform well enough with the limited resources made available to them by the state." "After warning of more funding cuts, Gov. Taft says he will form a Commission on Higher Education and the Economy that will improve efficiencies and reduce unnecessary duplication at the state's universities and colleges. Sounds like a recipe for half-measures and petty arguing over which school truly deserves a doctoral program in sociology."

Business cards that really sell: Guerrillas know how to create really effective business cards. The best are mini-brochures that open up and list benefits and features. Print your photo on the card and opt for full color. Print cards to fit in a rolodex. List all of the ways to reach you; office phone, car or cell phone, voice mail, pager, fax number and e-mail address.

NEOSA will transfer its resources, which are "stretched pretty thin," from Tech Thursday to new quarterly networking events that will be targeted to specific audiences, such as chief executive officers, chief financial officers, chief information officers and entrepreneurs of tech firms. The first of these events, called CEO Synergy, is tentatively scheduled for early February.

Connectivity 'If a city is �only as good as it�s connections�, this is seen as one of Pittsburgh�s biggest weaknesses and biggest areas for opportunity. Neighborhoods (including Downtown), communities, and key facilities are isolated; the city is difficult tonavigate; �scenes� exist in pockets.'

Do You Give 110% On Your Job? This is the standard we've heard about for years. "100 percent isn't good enough if you want to get ahead. You've got to give 110 percent." Now that time has elapsed, studies detailing the effectiveness of all of our collective extra effort have been made and summarized. The results - 110 percent isn't the best route at all. The 110 percenters are constantly trying to see how much they can do. Their habits include longer work weeks and a passion for larger numbers in all areas. However, this group tends to average 25 percent more mistakes than others do. A better approach is to make certain that you are effective. Understand that effectiveness requires different things at different times. Sometimes, a situation may require extra effort to complete a project by a deadline. At others, a slower pace may be more effective to insure thoroughness and quality during a project completion. More and faster isn't always the best answer.

"Intelligent people, when assembled into an organization, will tend toward collective stupidity." Thus states Albrecht's Law, proposed by management consultant Karl Albrecht in his new book, THE POWER OF MINDS AT WORK. This "collective incapacity" can be overcome with leadership that focuses on making organizations more intelligent. Drawing lessons from Disney, Continental Airlines, and other models, Albrecht identifies the seven traits of organizational intelligence: strategic vision, heart, alignment and congruence, performance pressure, shared fate, knowledge deployment, and appetite for change.

Gonzo journalism is characterized by the use of quotes, sarcasm, humor, exaggeration, and profanity. Dr. Thompson bases his style on William Faulkner's idea that "the fiction is often the best fact". While the things that Dr. Thompson writes about are basically true, he uses satirical devices to drive his points home.

"And that, I think, was the handle---that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting---on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark---the place where the wave finally broke and rolled back."

Forty percent of publications produced in Japan are comics, which provide 30 percent of Japanese publishing revenue. But the comics, or manga, market in Japan is divided into two types: one is purely (or as pure as one can get) original work; the other is "amateur" or copycat comics, which develop the work of original artists in different and unauthorized ways. This second kind of comic, called dojinshi [doh-GIN-she], is a huge and growing market in Japan. Dojinshi conventions are among Japan's largest mass gatherings, drawing more than 450,000 fans and 33,000 artists each year. And as comics move online, through the increasing penetration of online games, the dojinshi market is only expected to increase.

"When I was 17 years old, a high school English teacher told me that I would never make it as a writer. My prose was weak, my grammar poor, my ideas stale. What did she know? Absolutely nothing!" - Katie Struckel Brogan, Editor, Writer's Market 2003

The Federal Reserve: Why the US is Completely, Utterly Fucked President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, which PRIVITIZED the US monetary system. He said on his deathbed, "I have unwittingly destroyed my country." Article I, Section 8, Clause 5, of the United States Constitution provides that Congress shall have the power to coin money and regulate the value thereof and of any foreign coins. But that is not the case. The United States government has no power to issue money, control the flow of money, or to even distribute it - that belongs to a private corporation registered in the State of Delaware - the Federal Reserve Bank. The Federal Reserve is a misnomer, since it's privately-held. The Fed prints US currency and lends it to the government at interest. The national debt is composed of this interest. It's not meant to be repaid. It is meant to grow through inflation so that the interest generated will completely consume the productive capability of the USA. So that the Federal Reserve can, in the end, finally foreclose. Thomas Jefferson was concise in his early warning to the American nation, "If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." Here are the top shareholders of the Federal Reserve Bank: 1. Rothchild banks of London and Berlin. 2. Lazard Brothers Banks of Paris. 3. Israel Moses Seif Banks of Italy. 4. Warburg Bank of Hamburg and Amsterdam. This should be The Issue Of Issues, but it's not even on the radar. When you see a US President increase the deficit through increased spending and lower taxes (such as our current one), you know who the filthy SOB is serving.

Simple Community Service Projects for Small Business Owners One way businesses can get attention is to do good for their community. Many community service projects don't involve extended periods of time or great financial outlays, but are beneficial and greatly appreciated. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Collect food or clothing for the homeless
• Collect for Toys for Tots.
• Host a fundraising dinner for a local event
• Start an apprenticeship program at your place of business.

"Is Elvis Presley immortal? Maybe. But his fans are not and, unlike Mozart, he�s not forever spawning new generations of listeners..."

"The competitive agenda for cities is clear. Cities must invest in the institutions that build their knowledge base and cultural assets. Cities must become inviting places where people and enterprises concentrate. Cities must eliminate the obstacles to productivity growth and improve the environment for business so that their natural economic advantages are not eroded. If cities can do these things, they will be successful."-- Michael Porter, Harvard Business School

"Design visionary Neil Spiller wants architecture to catch up to the groundbreaking discoveries in science and technology. Spiller says the traditional notion of building is obsolete. Instead, architecture must marry its time-tested concepts with scientific theories and cutting-edge technologies. Spiller's concepts are theoretical, and some are as abstract as a Salvador Dali painting.

"Quality in a product or service is not what the supplier puts in. It is what the customer gets out and is willing to pay for. A product is not quality because it is hard to make and costs a lot of money, as manufacturers typically believe. This is incompetence. Customers pay only for what is of use to them and gives them value. Nothing else constitutes quality." - Peter Drucker

How about you? Can I have coffee with you sometime? Send me an email and we'll talk about it!

Am I Dreaming? Unique stores rather than national chains? Cleveland-based retailers? "Stores that offer merchandise that you can't get anywhere else"? The new owners of the Galleria and Tower at Erieview (bargain price: $30 million) have been drinking the same kool-aid as many who feel we've had enough chain store crap: "We are looking for local tenants that are uniquely Cleveland." One of the first new tenants: the Cleveland Hungarian Heritage Museum Gift Shop. I'm not lying, read it for yourself!

Cincinnati Tomorrow? It's a new group intent on "building a city that attracts and retains young and creative people." Local media says, "Move over Chamber of Commerce. Stand aside Cincinnati Business Committee. A new development organization has been launched�Cincinnati Tomorrow�and it's not your father's city development group."

'Looking for good examples of "regional e-portals for economic development?" Take a look at what the West Midlands region in the UK is doing. What's cool about it? It is built around the region's best future growth prospects. It is industry-focused and provides useful information about the West Midland's target industries and clusters. The website provides very good information for businesses and it is also effective in supporting regional marketing efforts. As we turn up other good examples, we will pass them along.'

"GeoURL is a location-to-URL reverse directory. This will allow you to find URLs by their proximity to a given location. Find your neighbor's blog, perhaps, or the web page of the restaurants near you."

Whether you are an innocent beginner or seasoned adept, you must show some spirit! Don�t vainly memorize other people�s sayings: a little bit of reality is better than a lot of illusion. Otherwise you�ll just go on deceiving yourself. - Yunmen (864-949)

The Word of the Day for January 8 is: abulia � \ay-BOO-lee-uh\ � (noun) : abnormal lack of ability to act or to make decisions

"Only 3% of people called sit through a computerized telemarketing call, 33% sit through a call from a live human being. Some 4% of people reached by telemarketing actually place an order. Figure the cost/return feasibility before starting a telemarketing campaign."

"You'll make more friends in two months being interested in others than in two years trying to get others interested in you." - Dale Carnegie

"Invited to a lunch to meet folks from the business community, I awkwardly stood there, hands in pockets, approached by no one (not even the man who invited me)�until Mark walked up and began a conversation with me." "Mark has a degenerative neural disorder; at times he moves involuntarily and irregularly. At the luncheon he wasn't in a position to be shaking hands and impressing potential business partners. He'd have done that better at the end of a phone line." "I only met one other person that day. That was Bill, whom Mark introduced me to. Bill was stooped. His head was a bit misshapen on one side too, and he talked in almost a whisper. Bill was recovering from the removal of tumors in his brain. That didn't stop him from extending me a warm greeting." "I'm sure the three of us weren't the business community's idea of the Welcome Wagon and its slickest crew. I could tell by the way most people veered in a wide arc around us as we stood talking before lunch. Yet no one could have made a better impression on me. I never went back to another business luncheon, but I did become friends with Mark and Bill."

You like it? Click 'have a cup ?'.

"A handful of Valley independent coffee bean roasters will take on the [coffee house] chains [i.e. Starbucks] Jan. 18 in Chandler when they hand out free cups of fresh-roasted brew outside the city library at the Valley's first coffee festival.

The Return of The King 'The most influential SF writer of the last two decades, his ideas have come to change the way we think about computers and networks. But William Gibson has always been unhappy with the future visionary tag. SF is actually about the present has been his mantra. Pattern Recognition, his new novel (his first for three years) does something he's always threatened. It's set in the present, not the future, in London, and follows a trend-watching heroine who's over-sensitive to corporate logos and obsessed with tracking a "garage Kubrick" who is releasing fragments of an art film on to the net. It's published here by Penguin in April.

"I will be doing my part at a fundraiser to try to save one of Clevelands little known small business super reputations, Black's Health World. Most of you probably don't know that Cleveland was considered one of the nation's centers for bodybuilding and powerlifting. My wife's competitive start was at Black's and John Black, an ordained minister, is considered one of the strongest men in the world for his age. Celebrities such as Bruce Springsteen seek him out to get a workout when they are in town. This business is another example of how the city has overlooked some of the local treasures and has not provided any assistance, in spite of the community involvement the business has. (The powerlifting team regularly go to prisons for motivational speaking, gratis.)"