Creative Destruction It is often said that it is easier to use government to stop something from happening than to use it to make something happen. Some members in the U.S. House of Representatives this week suggested that banks be held liable for global warming and other ills since they financed the activity. It is akin to punishing the candlestick maker since the candlestick holder was the murder weapon. Others seek to stifle imports with suggested carbon tariffs or taxes on goods that are predominantly imported. The marketing this week of hydrolyzed soyoil, free of trans fat and with a longer shelf life, is occurring because of what the government has failed to do, which is to stifle the development of products made with new gene editin...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.