Author Archives: brendansterne

About brendansterne

Sr Director, Indeed.com Product Incubator

Applying Lean Startup in an Enterprise with Steve Sanderson

Posted on February 19, 2014 by brendansterne

I had the pleasure of hearing Steve Sanderson speak at the Austin Lean Startup Circle last night.  Although I’m a big fan of the Lean Startup, with a working wife and two little kids it’s rare that I prioritize a … Continue reading →

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JPMorgan Chase to set up an Innovation Lab

Posted on February 17, 2014 by brendansterne

I noticed a new job announcement this morning from JPMorgan Chase seeking a Head of Chase Labs: The Head of Chase Labs will lead a new team focussed on digital product innovation across banking, credit and consumer payment product groups. … Continue reading →

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People Lab: The Next New Thing in HR

Posted on February 10, 2014 by brendansterne

A while back Nordstrom Innovation Lab posted a great video of the team working inside a Nordstrom store to rapidly prototype and iterate on a iPad app for sunglass shopping: When I went back to re-watch recently I noticed an interesting … Continue reading →

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Kauffman Foundation joins the Lean Startup Movement

Posted on January 30, 2014 by brendansterne

The venerable Kauffman Foundation has jumped on the Lean Startup bandwagon.  They just launched the Kauffman Founders School, “an online educational resource dedicated to entrepreneurship.” The school is organized as a series of topics, each presented by an expert in a … Continue reading →

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Bill Gates: 3 Myths That Block Progress for the Poor

Posted on January 22, 2014 by brendansterne

If you haven’t already read the 2014 Gates Annual Letter: 3 Myths That Block Progress for the Poor, go do so now.  It’s probably one of the more important things you’ll read all year. Here are some highlights: Myth 1: Poor Countries … Continue reading →

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The Art of Innovation

Posted on January 6, 2014 by brendansterne

Ever wonder who is really good at Innovation?  Clearly Apple comes to mind.  But what about when Apple goes looking for a little help? If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find … Continue reading →

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The Future of Commerce

Posted on January 2, 2014 by brendansterne

“Online commerce currently accounts for only about 6 percent of all commerce in the United States. We still buy more than 90 percent of everything we purchase offline, often by handing over money or swiping a credit card in exchange … Continue reading →

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Why People Hate New Ideas

Posted on December 22, 2013 by brendansterne

“Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas.  If they’re any good you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats”  – Howard Aiken There are many bad reasons why people hate new ideas – and a few good ones.  Scott Berkun … Continue reading →

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Revealed: The 4 Reasons Amazon Web Services Got Approved

Posted on December 19, 2013 by brendansterne

In the summer of 2003 Amazon was a fast-growing online bookstore.  Nine years old, it had pioneered many innovative components of e-commerce that we take for granted today: customer reviews, a personalized shopping experience, relevant product recommendations, and frictionless buying. … Continue reading →

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Recommended Reading: The Log, what every software engineer should know

Posted on December 18, 2013 by brendansterne

Today I found this absolutely superb article on distributed systems and the central role of the log:  The Log: What every software engineer should know about real-time data’s unifying abstraction It’s a technical-but-readable exploration of the role of the humble log … Continue reading →

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