|
JimPinto.com - Connections for Growth & Success™
No. 65 : October 22, 2001
Keeping an eye on technology futures.
Business commentary - no hidden agendas.
New attitudes, no platitudes.
Stay e-tuned....
Contents:
- Anti-terrorist technology - 5
- Software: Predicting & Detecting Suspicious Activity
- Is this the end of snail-mail?
- New Book : The Perfect Engine by Moody & Sharma
- The fall of Invensys - tracking the story
- Automation Decline - what's a good person to do?
- eFeedback:
- Things have changed - forever
- Stupidity vs. malevolence
- Personal loyalty vs. short-term profit
Anti-terrorist technology - 5
Predicting & Detecting Suspicious Activity
There were several unusual occurrences on the morning of 9/11 - a one-way
ticket for a transcontinental flight paid for in cash, multiple tickets
charged to a single credit card, etc. Could the FAA and the FBI have
prevented the awful events of 9/11 by being alerted, perhaps even minutes
before?
Banks use a wide range of fraud detection techniques, employing both human
judgment and sophisticated data modeling, in their credit card and lending
areas. Some systems distill expert knowledge into a set of rules that can
be applied to each transaction ("rules-based systems").
San Diego-based HNC Software uses neural-network techniques to build models
of complex transaction patterns such as consumer credit card fraud. The
models are "trained" to recognize patterns through an iterative process in
which large numbers of transactions are passed through a neural network
algorithm. Once training is complete, the neural network uses these learned
patterns to predict the probability that a new individual will exhibit the
modeled transaction patterns.
HNC released a version of its Falcon fraud detection system designed
specifically for money laundering. This software is now being considered
for use not only in tracking terrorist accounts, but also to pinpoint
terrorist behavior.
Can Govt. learn risk-management from banks?
HNC Software website
In another approach, intelligence analysis software is capable of sifting
through and analyzing existing databases of information, both public and
private, and spotting suspicious patterns of activity.
The software, being developed by Applied Systems Intelligence in Roswell,
Georgia, is called Knowledge Aided Retrieval in Activity Context (KARNAC)
and uses "profiles" of different categories of terrorist attacks to seek
out key components of possible events. If such a system had been available
it might have been capable of predicting the Oklahoma City bombing, and
possibly even the 9/11 disasters.
Intelligence analysis software could predict attacks
Applied Systems Intelligence - website
The end of snail-mail
Electronic communications, particularly e-mail, fax and the Web, have
already supplanted the postal service - now commonly known as snail mail.
The threat that a deadly disease might be a consequence of opening an
envelope could be a tipping point, leading to daily visits by the mailman
going the way of the milkman.
It seems that whatever comes in the mail can’t come electronically. Or can
it?
The bulk of my own snail-mail is mostly junk advertising that I simply
throw away. Advertising "spam" also pops up regularly in my email, but
these I quickly delete with a click of my mouse.
Airmail from England, India, Australia, etc. often arrives within a few days, but
sometimes unaccountably turns up 2-3 weeks late. My friends and family
have long since given sending snail-mail letters.
I get some bills - but I'd rather receive those by email and surely the
senders would prefer that too. I get a nice-looking invitation now and
then, but those too could be send as personalized e-cards, saving a lot of
paper and postage and time.
So, the hand-delivered packages are left. How long will it be before we can
"beam them over”?
Newsweek: The end of snail-mail?
The fall of Invensys - tracking the story
Invensys has already admitted that it is in danger of breaching its banking
covenants and wants to sell up to GBP 750m of businesses to cut its debts.
Interesting, this is almost exactly the amount that Allen Yurko paid for
almost bankrupt BAAN, just over a year ago.
According to the UK Independent (Sunday, 21 Oct. 2001), Invensys now has a
potential value of zero, implying that it could go into receivership. "We
have assumed the company fails to reduce debt and falls into the hands of
its bankers."
UK Independent news story (21 Oct. 2001)
This past week Invensys stock climbed inexplicably to mid-50p, amid some
rumors that Foxboro and other ISS companies are already in the final stages
of being sold off. Some suggested that Bruce Henderson was no longer
needed, because the acquirer would bring in new management anyway and
Haythornthwaite would be "acting" out the role during the due-diligence
period.
About my labeling of Bruce Henderson as "the last of the good guys",
one insider retorted:
"You must be joking! Every time you mentioned Al Yurko and his yes-men
minions, I would envision Bruce Henderson's face. Bruce was an invisible
manager, and thus it is unlikely that he will be missed here at Invensys.
The inside word is that Rick had no confidence in his ability to execute."
Regarding my challenge to name just one good-guy who could step in as
Henderson's replacement, the same knowledgeable insider responded:
"That's a tough one! The division as organized makes no sense. Some of the
pieces have obvious synergies, but who would place APV within a software
company? The inside word has it that Mike Carmen (you know - that savior
who left within weeks) figured this out but dishonored those who hired him
when reporting that the combination of APV and Foxboro to form a division
made no sense.
"It's pretty clear that Rick is going to have to sell things, and it is
also pretty obvious that the timing could not be worse. It's awfully hard
to deny that he has started to dismember the thing. You have to wonder how
he will get on with the dismemberment while the company is busy dissolving
legal entities and the infrastructure that made up some of the saleable
pieces.
"Guys like Haythornthwaite negotiate their golden handshake on the way
in...."
Background:
Allen Yurko formed Invensys, after UK-based Siebe merged with
BTR. Siebe had previously acquired Foxboro, Wonderware, Eurotherm and
several others, hoping to generate growth from industrial automation. When
growth eluded Yurko, and Siebe was a target for Emerson, he merged Siebe
with BTR, another UK hodge-podge, and changed the name to Invensys. With
further decline, Yurko bought BAAN, a bankrupt Dutch software company - a
risky move that didn't pay off.
After having put Invensys into a downward spiral, with serious
cash-problems and troubled loan covenants, Allen Yurko departed Oct. 1 '01,
pocketing a princely pension. Under the new CEO, Rick Haythornthwaite,
Invensys is moving towards break-up and a piecemeal sale.
Complete story: Invensys in decline - since Sept. 2000
Pinto Baanalysis - when the trouble started (June 00)
New book : The Perfect Engine
You remember Tricia Moody - she & technology guru Dick Morley wrote the
popular book: The Technology Machine - how Manufacturing will work in the
year 2020.
Just when some short-sighted companies think they must out-source
manufacturing to cut costs, Patricia Moody has teamed up with manufacturing
expert Anand Sharma to write a new (just published, October 2001) book that
shows how the best companies can thrive: The Perfect Engine - How to win
in the new demand economy by building to order with fewer resources.
Sharma (named by Fortune as one of "America's Heroes of Manufacturing") &
Moody (also named by Fortune as one of ten "Pioneering women in
Manufacturing") have produced a new bible on manufacturing in the new age.
This excellent and insightful writing describes the practice of Six Sigma
and lean manufacturing, beyond just the buzzwords.
Become a Manufacturing guru - Read "The Perfect Engine"
Moody & Morley’s "The Technology Machine"
Automation Decline - what to do
Today, major industrial automation companies are consolidating and
laying-off. What’s a budding young engineer or technician to do? Or, if you
’re already in the instruments business, should you simply wait for the ax
to fall?
In this recent article, published by ISA - InTech - Oct. 2001, rather than
suggest defection to other "burgeoning" markets, I propose more practical
directions that combine ones own personal strengths with new thinking in a
new economy.
ISA InTech Oct. 2001: Have you paid your daily dues?
Pay your daily dues - on the JimPinto.com website
eFeedback
On September 11, Jeremy Gilleard [jeremygilleard@bigpond.com] was in Rome, Italy:
"I was being served with tea by a waiter in a morning suit (long black
jacket, very formal) when the mobile rang to say a plane had run into the
WTC. Thought my friend was joking. Terrorism has now changed the world so
that threats and fear, no matter how unreal, can potentially create panic
in the general public.
"I believe our world has changed for ever because nothing is now left to
the imagination. Time is obviously a healer but in the immediate future the
travel & tourism industries and their associated supply chains appear to
have collapsed. Globalization may prove the savior and the Internet the
vehicle. I'm a marketing man, so ever the optimist."
Regarding my comments on "Stupidity vs. Malevolence", Wally Pratt
[wallyp@hartcomm.org] wrote:
"This is perhaps one of the most profound things I have witness over the
years. Never attribute to bad intentions when simple stupidity can explain
the situation! I cannot tell you how many times I have seen this happen
and the escalation that follows can become really hard to unravel. I look
forward to your thoughts and insights on this subject!"
A long-term Foxboro employee gave me his feelings, which I felt worth
including here. He was quite explicit, but requested that his name be
withheld, because "I need to be effective locally".
"I too appreciate your info - No one tells us anything! Your clear, blunt
reporting of the facts is critical at this juncture.
"About this business of "stupidity", what I find is that one person's
stupidity is another's brilliance. It depends on one's goals.
"I've been with Foxboro since 1974. When I started, we made process control
equipment. I noticed at some point that people started saying, "We don't
make process control equipment - we make a profit for the stockholders."
And now, it's no longer profit vs. loss; it's profit this quarter!
"In this climate I perceive management considers it stupidity to not
achieve an expected quarterly profit. The world financial structure seems
to support this, especially among publicly held businesses.
"Personal involvement is not there (as was the case in the days of the
Bristol's, the Edwin Land's, the An Wang's, etc.). Short-term has replaced
long-term. "Human Resources" has replaced "Personnel" (a "person" has
become a "resource"). Nibbling at product development has replaced
research. "Stretch goals" you can never achieve have replaced achievable
goals you could feel good about.
"If executives of companies in bankruptcy receive bonuses, who's the
"brilliant" one?
"I try to be sympathetic to the dilemmas of today's business world. And at
my low level, we can't even know the half of it. What I would like
management to believe is that there are many, many, many individuals who
want the best for the company and would be ready to pitch in. Perhaps at
some point, there will be time for trust and communication between top and
bottom levels again.
"Perhaps I should just forward this whole exchange to Rick
Haythornthwaite."
JimPinto exclaims: I hope you did!
JimPinto.com eNews - on the web
If you've missed a couple of issues of eNews, or wish to refer to earlier items,
please note : You can see ALL past issues online at :
Click here to see the Index of ALL past JimPinto.com eNews
eSpeak to me
If smell something fishy in your pond, please e-let me know and I'll check it out.
Please send your tips and alerts, your news, views and stews. I'd like to e-hear from you.
If you have comments or suggestions for Growth & Success News, please contact me directly at :
Jim@JimPinto.com
Subscribe or Unsubscribe
If you got this eNews through someone else, you might like to subscribe for a regular free copy,
direct to your own email. Just click your mouse on :
Or, if you're lazy, simply send a blank email message to :
Sign-up@JimPinto.com
with subject line :
"sign me up for JimPinto.com E-mail news".
To be removed send a blank email message to
eRemove@JimPinto.com with subject line "Remove".
Stay in e-touch!
Cheers:
|
Return to JimPinto.com HomePage