Not Your Father's Telephone
"Ten years ago, I spoke to 300 telecom engineers ...and made the observation that within 10 to 20 years, most of the world’s telephone systems will have moved to Internet technology. You might imagine that my remarks were met with derision, if not outright anger, perhaps because the idea of an accountant explaining the future of something like the telephone system just seemed too bizarre at the time. Fast forward to 2004 — telecom industry prospects are looking up and there is much talk of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. It seems I have been proven right." Read my latest article, Not Your Father's Telephone. 
(PDF)
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Reinsurance and the future of risk
This week, I'm keynoting the Canadian Reinsurance Conference in Toronto. This is the third insurance event for me this month, after previous talks to senior management of Towers Perrin Reinsurance, and an opening adddress for the annual meeting of The Cooperators, a multi-billion dollar insurance company. A common theme in all of these talks is my unique insight into "the future of risk," a look at the complex, surprising, new and challenging types of risks that society might be faced with in the future. It's a good example of the type of customized talk that can come from my "What Comes Next? (and What Should You Do About It?)" keynote. (PDF, 800k)
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My time came -- I got hacked!
A year ago this month, my Profit article noted that "unfortunately, most entrepreneurs continue to ignore computer security shortfalls that leave them vulnerable to system crashes, hacker attacks, virus outbreaks and even internal sabotage. My point? Companies better pay attention to security issues, or they'll find things getting increasingly ugly.
Fast forward a year. Wow! Today I got an e-mail from Rogers Communications -- they're my high speed provider -- notifying me that an attempt had been made to break into a computer -- and that the attempt came from my Internet address.
Whoah! Obviously, I don't spend my time hanging around trying to hack into systems; indeed, I've long been warning companies about the risks of neglecting security.
Not only that, but through the years, I've taken the time to understand security from both a high-level and very-technical level. Given the complexity of my home system, I don' take security lightly.
Needless to say, the message struck my immediate interest ... and so I sent it on to the head of PR for Rogers, asking what's up!
A short time later, the answer came back -- it looked like my Web server on my inbound connection, which I use to access e-mail while on the road, had been compromised -- it appeared on a list of "public proxy servers" on several Russian sites. Sure enough -- I've been hacked.....
I'm digging into it further, and I'm really none too amused. What this involves is less any type of sophisticated "hacking' and more simple negligence on my part -- it looks like someone took advantage of what is known as an "open proxy server" on a Web server I run here. That allowed people to travel to other Web sites anonymously, using my Web server as the launch point. I could have sworn I took the time to ensure that all such features were turned off ... but somehow did not.
Needless to say, there was all kinds of nefarious activity underway, I'm red in the face, and there are some big lessons learned.
I imagine I'll have quite a bit to say about this -- quite a bit more to learn -- quite a few articles to write -- and quite a bit of guidance for those who might be overly confident about their own security!
Harrumphh!
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1/3 of e-mail is now spam - no problem!
Over at the Register, a statistic that is quite believable based on what is arriving in my mailbox.
But I barely receive any spam into my inbox now, given the tools that I've put in place. One of the eight Linux servers in my home grabs all the mail sent to my main inbox. I use procmail to first run a test against all the mail, accepting mail from known sources. It then runs it against Pyzor, which seems to accurately weed out a huge amount of inbound spam. Then, another series of tests are run using SpamAssassin, which gets rid of another large chunk. And finally, SpamPal processes any remaining stuff that might manage to get through the first two!
Does it work? You betcha -- I figure it's now weeding out 99.9% of all spam, and letting only the real stuff get through. (I have a look at the spam every once in a while, and for the last month, only one or two real messages per week have been labelled as spam). Pyzor seems to be the most effective tool, bar none, but SpamAssassin does wonders too.
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Please sponsor me for the 2004 Ride for Heart!
On June 6, 2004, I'll take to the streets of Toronto with my family, as one of thousands of participants in the 2004 Becel Ride for Heart, sponsored by the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada. It's a particulary poignant date -- it was my mom's birthday. She died of heart disease in 1988, and we'll do the 50k in her memory.
My goal is to raise over $2,500 for the Foundation; the money goes to ongoing research and education in the field of heart disease. You can make your donation online, and a tax receipt is issued to you.
Will you help?
[ sponsor me ]
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Comments in Small Market Meetings magazine
I'm featured on the cover of this months Small Market Meetings magazine, reporting on my comments in my keynote at the MPI MidAmerica session last March in Cincinatti. My belief? Based on the rapid rate of change and innovation in the economy, "there's an even greater need than ever to bring people together, to share the passion, and build relationships." You can read the article online. (PDF, 800k)
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Enough said! It's springtime!
Time for a swim! If you are curious as to what the heck this is about, send me a note.
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I'm a panelist for Meetings World 2004
I've been added as a panelist for the opening general session for Meeting World 2004 one of the world's premiere meeting industry events -- in July in New York City. I'm honored to participate on a panel with the well-known experts Joan Eisenstodt, Laila Rach and one other panelist to be named, focusing on the theme of "Creating meetings in a changing world."
The session description: "The way meetings are present is a reflection of a society we live in. In this highly facilitated discussion, we'll explore how shifting demographic, generational, multicultural and gender trends, as well as an aging population, are influencing the needs and wants of meeting attendees."
I've long been a proponent of the view that a world of changing complexity, rapid innovation and change, new business models, and everything else, is leading to an increase in the need for just-in-time-knowledge, just-in-time-training, and just-in-time-strategy application -- and that corporate and association meetings and events are a key cornerstone by which organizations can prepare themselves for the future.
Should be a fun, and fascinating panel!
Check out the conference site and learn more. [ details ]
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New article - "The commodization of human capital"
In my latest association column, I note that "With the political storm now raging around outsourcing and “off-shoring,” one fact seems to be rather obscured: it is happening because many individuals, and likewise, many professions, have not managed to make a transition from a role that is tactical to one that is strategic" and go on to note that "It’s a perfect storm – one that is resulting in the ongoing commoditization of human capital." (PDF)
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New article - work / life balance issues
Many studies indicate that those who better manage their time, and learn to divorce their personal time from their work time, reduce their stress, improve their health, and end up living a happier and more enriching life. But are we doing that? In this recent article I wrote for a variety of association publications, I suggest that many organizations need to question their corporate culture when it comes to employee “down time.” (PDF)
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Offshoring -- if anyone was listening....
I find it kind of fascinating that people seem surprised about the offshoring of many jobs to India and elsewhere. Back in 1996 or 1997, I released a list of 10 important trends to watch for -- among them, the fact that the location of work would increasingly become irrelevant over time. It's kind of fascinating to read the list today, considering what is going on out there.
It's not like the signs of a looming offshoring trend weren't evident or anything!
Jim Carroll's 10 Trends to Watch for (from 1997)
- The number of full time jobs will begin to dramatically shrink - yet, we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg in the change of the relationship between employer and employee.
- Companies will hire the best talent they can, regardless of where that person might be. A new form of career competitiveness is emerging, with extreme competition among highly skilled individuals who are beginning to call the shots.
- Lifestyle choice will come to dominate career decisions as employees begin to reject the accepted “norms” of the corporate environment.
- Where people work won’t matter - a trend that has implications for the future of both rural and urban economies.
- The ability to master the skill of “just in time knowledge” will be the key to a successful career. Knowledge is the currency of the 21st century, and as the information age descends upon us, the ability to deal with the era of the information flood will be crucial to survival.
- A generational battle for economic control and survival will soon be upon us, and business competition will increase dramatically, as a new breed of techno-savvy managers are inheriting the corner offices.
- The shape of tomorrow’s company won’t be defined by the walls in its offices - it will be defined by the reach of its computerized knowledge network, and its ability to tap into the skills and capabilities of its workers.
- Business and government will have undergone a dramatic transactional restructuring... as an era takes hold in which all the rules that we have known are being rendered irrelevant by the tools of the information age.
- The era of “wired competition” will play havoc with old-school business strategies, leading to a number of high profile business failures and dramatic new initiatives.
- Opportunity will come to strategic thinkers who embrace the information age. The continued evolution of the wired world will mean that senior management - not technical staff - will be more involved in steering their organizations through an increasingly complicated networked economy.
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Permanent link to this item ...posted at 07:12 AM...April 06, 2004
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My plans - and destiny!
In several keynotes last week, I noted how everyone is now faced with a life of constant and regular career change. Today I'm writing an article about why many people need to ensure they make a transition with their job and career from one that is tactical to one that is strategic -- in order to survive the current transformation of the global workforce.
Career change today is a reality -- in my case, I'm probably on my 4th or 5th career, and likely have a few more to go!The funny thing: when I spoke to the BBC in London Friday, I noted that in high school, my plan was to become a DJ! I was the station manager for CKWR, our high school radio station. That plan went no where once the idealism of being a teenager was replaced with the reality of university life and a looming career.
At the opening of my talk, I showed a scan from my high school year book of the radio station team. And that's me -- the long haired fellow above!
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Permanent link to this item ...posted at 11:34 AM...April 05, 2004
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