This week, Amazon announced it is starting to offer quantum computing services (called “Amazon Braket”) on AWS.
Here is a videos to explain the basic unit in quantum computing, Quantum Bit, or Qubit.
Blog
CB Insights: Everything You Need To Know About What Amazon Is Doing In Financial Services
A 2018 report by CB Insights.
A good reading as I was thinking about future payment industry (also you can find a previous post on How Card Networks May Fail: Top Merchants With Gift Cards + Mobile Wallet)
Full report here; table of contents below
- Amazon’s product strategy
Payments
Cash
Lending
Amazon’s Next Financial Pillar - Market strategy outside the US
India
Mexico - Rumors: What will Amazon do next?
- Closing thoughts
Some Wisdom From LEAD Class
- Team Culture is better thought of as an outcome than as an input.
- Find proper balance of advocacy and inquiry
- Organizational design can be a source of innovation and competitive advantage
- Distinguish between performance gap and opportunity gap
Some common bias/problems
- Attribution Error
- Failure to discuss and integrate uniquely held information
- Intention vs impact from ourselves and others
- Growing without transition from informal to formal organization
Master Innovation And Development Plan By Sidewalk Toronto
Earlier this year, I shared 「Video of the Week」Future Cities by Sidewalk Labs.
Now we have many more documents from Sidewalk Toronto. Google is trying to build cities.
The plan will begin with Quayside in Phase I.
There will be several focuses
- Mobility. A transportation system that reduces the need to own a car by providing safe, convenient, connected, and affordable options for every trip.
- Common & social areas. A system of streets, parks, plazas, and open spaces that encourages people to spend more time outdoors, together; health, civic life, learning, and workforce initiatives and facilities that enable people to thrive.
- Buildings & Housing. Sustainable and adaptable buildings with mixed uses; affordable residences.
- Environmental friendly as a climate-positive community.
- Digitalize every possible part of the city.
Read more here.
Waterfront Toronto’s Digital Strategy Advisory Panel Preliminary
Commentary and Questions
Digital Innovation Appendix (DIA) for Master Innovation and Development Plan (MIDP)
「Shoe Dog」Nike’s CRM Started In 1966..
Sharing an except from Nike founder Phil Knight’s book Shoe Dog:
“…when he [Johnson] wasn’t selling, he was beaverishly building up his customer data files.
Each new customer got his or her own index card, and each index card contained that customer’s personal information, shoe size, and shoe preferences. This database enabled Johnson to keep in touch with all his customers, at all times, and to keep them all feeling special. He sent them Christmas cards. He sent them birthday cards. He sent them notes of congratulation after they completed a big race or marathon. Whenever I got a letter from Johnson I knew it was one of dozens he’d carried down to the mailbox that day. He had hundreds and hundreds of customer-correspondents, all along the spectrum of humanity, from high school track stars to octogenarian weekend joggers. “
This where Nike’s superior customer relationship management came from… two years after Nike was founded.
More recently, Nike’s SNKRS app launched in 2015 was a hit. The app is where many head for a chance to get Nike limited releases and special products.
It’s become Nike’s latest way to game supply and demand of hyped products. SNKRS keeps shoppers hungry by sending out regular push notifications about drops every week. When consumers inevitably flood the app for the release, many take an L, walking away empty handed. A share of those who do get the shoes never wear them. Instead, they immediately resell them for multiples of what they paid, fueling the burgeoning resale market. [Quartz]
And Nike just launched Chinese version of its Nike App in November, with Nike Fit and Nike App Retail expected to launch next year in China.
「What’s News In China」
Gree Electric Appliances (格力电器) finalized the 15% stake sale for RMB41.7 billionIt is one of the most watched private equity deal in China. The deal, part of China’s efforts to reduce government ownership, will reduce the state-owned Zhuhai Gree Group’s stake to 3.2 percent. Hillhouse’s Zhuhai Mingjun with the newly acquired 15% stake becomes the largest single shareholder. Hillhouse through Zhuhai Mingjun can nominate 3 seats in the 9-member board (in addition to two board seats from Hillhouse’ Zhuhai Gaoling and alliance Pearl Brilliance) and agreed to an equity incentive plan of no more than 4 percent. // 36Kr
Baidu’s smart speaker leads in China in 2019 Q3. According to Strategy Analytics, Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) shipped 4.3 million smart speakers in 2019 Q3, growing 130% yoy, surpassing Alibaba and Xiaomi, whose product shipments follow closely. Before Baidu launched its smart speaker with proprietary DuerOS voice AI, Alibaba and Xiaomi were dividing up the market share in China. // StrategyAnalytics
Tencent is officially launching Nintendo Switch in China. Tencent held a press conference on Dec 4 in Shanghai, announcing that the official Chinese version of the Nintendo Switch will launch in mainland China next week (Dec 10). Tencent and Nintendo first announced the partnership in April this year. The Switch will include a copy of New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, selling for 2,099 yuan (~$297). // Tencent
