Freeing One’s Mind from the Past

By Dean McCleland in Other Opinion Pieces 0 Comment

In most cases, the culprit for not allowing mankind to open their mind to possibilities is the past. More specifically it is the way that things are currently done which is the ultimate hindrance. 

Whilst one might actually embrace new technology, one often employs that technology in the same manner in which the older technology was utilised. By implication, utilising new technology also means embracing not only the new way of doing things and but also casting aside how things were done before or unlearning the past. 

That is why youngsters are so adept with new gadgets. They are not constrained by the past and how things “should be done.” 

Main picture: Creative positioning mirror

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Cellphone Call Rates: The Elephant in the Room

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Opinion Pieces 0 Comment

A Personal View – May 2014

 The cellphone industry has reflected all the attributes of a rapidly expanding industry. Like the automobile or the railroads before it, initially there was insatiable demand for their product which created a bubble of overinvestment and overgenerous returns on investments.

These industries appeared not to conform to the script of other industries where low margins, excessive competition and continual cost cutting dominated the playlist. Making a buck became possible only to the most cost effective and efficient.

On reaching maturity, the bubble in these revolutionary products ineluctably bursts. A plethora of competitors are no longer sustainable where only the top three make money: the top performer – super profits, the second placed performer – above average returns whereas the third placed is marginally profitable with the remainder never making a satisfactory return on their investment.

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