03.06.09
Posted in General Rant at 6:28 am by Administrator
Conventional wisdom would suggest that and economic depression (we’re way beyond recession here, folks) is the worst time to start a business.
I, for one, would strongly disagree. And so would FedEx. And Burger King. And IBM. And about two dozen more “household names” that were all founded during economic downturns. I think that now is a terrific time to start a business (or expand the one you already have).
Why? Well, we’re at a unique place in history.
Any “normal” economic downturn forces businesses and people to do one thing that they normally don’t do: examine where they are going and stop doing the things that are stupid and waste time and money. They “get back to the basics” and focus on things that are important to them.
For individuals – it too often also means that they’ve grabbed their seat cushion because the “unlikely event of a water landing” has happened to them in terms of their career. They have to focus on the skills that they have that are not only “marketable” or “hireable” but that will actually add value to whomever will toss them money so they can live.
For businesses (the ones that are not stuck in an ostrich pose with their heads in the ground and asses in the air) – it also represents a prime opportunity for them to examine the same thing – where do they add value to THEIR customers? Do they? If not – then it’s time to join the ranks of the deadpooled companies and stop doing whatever it is they’re doing.
This renewed focus on adding value, and I would argue, just STOPPING all the “activity” that seems to consume our lives – can gently lead people to view things in different, radical, potentially life-changing ways. In the “downtime” of waiting in the unemployment line or waiting for the Dice.com site to load – there can be moments of clarity that can lead to great things – in terms of monetary success as well as lifestyle adjustments.
In this way – recessions, depressions, wars, and other catastrophic events are the same. They cause people and companies to focus.
But of course focus isn’t enough. If you focus long enough, hard enough, and you put yourself in the place of others (either the poor schmoe who’s out of work or the poor schmoe who is left to do 8 people’s work and not get a raise for the next 3 years) – that’s where the intersection of needs, wants, desires, opportunity and desperation collide into “the idea.”
But, of course, the “idea” isn’t enough in and of itself. There’s that whole pesky implementation “thing.” That’s where the technological advances of the modern age really come into play.
Never before in history have we had the ability to start an international business where we don’t have to stock product, don’t have to have a shipping department, don’t need to buy computers or software, and don’t need to hire people to answer phones in order to make money selling stuff.
All we need is a credit card and the the unique knowledge that we possess on how to add value to someone, somewhere.
All the other functions of what it would take to start a “real” business can be purchased, rented, and consumed via a single computer, a browser, and Internet access.
The barriers to entry in the “new” business world – the “utility” parts needed to run a business – have already been virtualized (or are getting there). You can rent hardware, software, have companies handle your phones, faxes, shipping, warehousing, product creation, order processing, payment processing, order fulfillment, customer service, technical support, marketing, promotions and advertising.
The thing that hasn’t (and can’t) be virtualized – is the VALUE that you bring to the table and the RELATIONSHIPS you have with friends, customers, colleagues and fellow business owners. Everyone is in the same boat in these times. Everyone has a certain skill set, business process knowledge and/or a set of experiences that are unique to them.
There’s never been a better time to figure out the value you can add – and then come up with a plan on how to share that value with the people that need it. People will pay you for the value you add – even in a down economy.
The key is to get focused… and get started!
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03.05.09
Posted in General Rant at 11:01 pm by Administrator
Well – as seen on numerous blogs around the world today – it’s finally come out that Facebook really DID try to buy Twitter last fall. There had been rumors all over the place that Mark and team was vying to snap up the microblogging site – and roll it into their own offering.
So after the negotiations had come to an unfruitful end (from Facebook’s perspective) – they took a play out of the Gates handbook for business 101 – and just decided to build their own microblog format. I say good for them!
Now I don’t know Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter personally, and I don’t have any inside information as to what they have in the works – but it just seems to me that if someone like MarkZuckerberg and team come to you and want to buy your brand (for an “undisclosed sum” – read: HUGE cash) – then unless you have a really, really, really good plan to monetize your platform – you should just sell the damn thing.
I mean, really! So, you invented the space of microblogging. Bully for you! It’s still not really caught on to the mainstream yet – and your own site’s features are so anemic that a whole industry and dozens of others have stepped into the ecosystem to siphon off users from your site (read: less eyeballs for ads)…
So, you have a super simple site – which is a good thing. You have a medium that lots of tech folks (and PR folks) use as sort of a “live AP” feed – also good.
But… ummm… the idea and the tech behind it are… well… just NOT that hard to re-create. The barrier of entry to create another service just like yours is, well,trivial. Just look at all the Twitter-like, me-too spin offs that have come about.
Yeah, you have first-mover advantage, but the Facebook people have a little think called “150 million registered users.” Oh, and a valuation that’s backed by the largest software company in the world – Microsoft. Oh, and some really, really smart people…. AND… a really robust infrastructure…. AND… did I mention 150 million registered users?
I think it’s a good thing that Facebook will put in a microblogging feature – I think that people will use it and that it will really be a welcomed addition to their service. In a way – it’s already there. You can see the status updates of your friends, get a “live feed” of what others are doing… so it just makes sense that if you could “broadcast” your status to anyone… you’re done.
So – Twitter – unless you’re going to announce something (and soon) – I’m afraid you’ll be relegated to the MySpace bid of “cool idea, first-mover advantage” slow death. The difference is – you didn’t sell out for $850 (while the getting was good).
I hope I’m wrong. Maybe all the people who are addicted to Twitter will continue to tweet forever. I’m sure that people who have used the service for a long time will continue to use it. However, all the “new” people who are just discovering social media (both individuals and businesses) – they WILL sign up forFacebook.
And when they do – they will have a new option to “broadcast” their stuff to anyone on the Internet – as well as to “subscribe” to other feeds. All in the CONTEXT of their friends, customers and other relationships.
OR – they could choose to go to yet another source, start cross posting (or do what I do – and use the EXCELLENT Ping.fm to do it for me) and reading two sets of feeds.
Ummmm… yeah. In-context feeds all in one aggregated place with the largest social network on the planet – or a spartan interface in scrolling format.
My money’s on Facebook to win and Twitter to place.
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03.02.09
Posted in General Rant at 4:44 pm by Administrator
Ok, ok, so as much as I (and everyone else) bitches about Microsoft – I think they’ve had another “Ah, the Internet!” moment.
I was reading Mary-Jo Foley’s EXCELLENT blog entry on Microsoft’s “Cloud OS” (code name: Red Dog) and at the same time read in ComputerWorld about how Microsoft was bringing the (almost) full “power” of SQL Server to the cloud… when all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks: somebody, somewhere, (or everybody everywhere) told Microsoft that they were missing the boat.
And here’s the “best” part: they actually listened.
It sort of reminded me of when Bill Gates (rest his Microsoft soul) finally “got” that the browser was the wave of the future. Back in 1995 Bill bought the rights to Spyglass – the raw underbelly HTML rendering engine that powered the then-numero-uno Netscape “browser.”
Once he assembled Spyglass into “the collective” and renamed it “Internet Explorer” – he proceeded to write an internal memo – a manifesto, if you wish, about the Internet – wherein he basically said – ‘…NOW I see it. This ‘Internet’ thing is going to be huge. Let’s buy the biggest player – make up our own crap (screw the “standards”) and give it away for free. We’ll kill those Netscape ass**les yet!” (well, he DIDN’T SAY THAT – but that’s my take on the gist of it)
So, they proceeded to kick the browser market’s a**, and eventually forced Netscape out of business (only to be revived in the Mozilla project and Firefox).
Get ready for IE round 2.
So, Microsoft is going to port a lot of the functionality of MS SQL Sever into “the cloud.” They’re coming up with their own OS – Azure (code name: Red Dog), they’ve got Ray Ozzie and the whole “Mesh” thing going on…
Yeah, the 1.0 version will suck and it will take them 2-3 years to get the 2.7.89.1054 version to where it’s actually usable…. but still, I think they’vebasically “got the plot” on the fact that they can’t rely on the Windows OS and Office to fill the company coffers forever.
I’ll bet you it’s all Bill’s idea! He has nothing better to do now – and I mean – how many cocktail receptions can you go to in order GIVE AWAY your children’s inheritance? To be fair – Bill Gates didn’t get to be the richest man in America so many times by being stupid (or by being “nice”).
My personal opinion is that he has daily calls with Steve Ballmer – and Steve has become his puppet master. Meantime, back at the Bat Cave, Bill has been the ultimate puppet master: pulling the heartstrings of charity and overall worldwide “do-gooder” while secretly slipping into his “evil” black spandex “Internet War” suit at night.
He probably has that golden bust that Batman had with the big red button – and he pushes it to open the bookcase where there are pole he slides down into the “Bad Cave” to call his head henchman (Ballmer) to plan how to overtake all the other “losers” in the whole Internet game (Amazon, Google, Zoho, et al).
OR – he really doesn’t give a crap. He has enough money to last his lifetime and, as long as the stock stays above… well… ZERO… has nothing to lose… except the thrill of an “evil” opponent and the dream of world domination…
But that’s just “crazy talk”….
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02.27.09
Posted in General Rant at 8:20 am by Administrator
As I was trying to think up something witty and poignant for today’s entry – I came across an old story from 1997 that pitted Microsoft against the now-up-sh*ts-creek-without-a-paddle – GM.
Back in the heady days of the late 90’s the computer industry was bragging about how far the technology had come in comparison to the automotive industry. That spawned a single 3 line joke with a cool punchline:
There’s word in business circles that the computer industry likes to measure itself against the Big Three auto-makers. The comparison goes this way: If automotive technology had kept pace with Silicon Valley, motorists could buy a V-32 engine that goes 10,000 m.p.h. or a 30-pound car that gets 1,000 miles to the gallon — either one at a sticker price of less than $ 50. Detroit’s response: “OK. But who would want a car that crashes twice a day?”
Ba-dum-bah.
The over time the joke morphed from that simple 3 liner into one that has replaced the “computer industry” with Bill Gates and the “automotive industry” with GM. Somewhere along the way, some unnamed person added some additional observations and it circulated around the (then spanking new) Internet via something called “email.”
Over the years it’s turned into one of those urban legends that has been repeated so many times that people think it’s actually true. Well, it’s not – but I think it’s especially enlightening given the current circumstances with both GM and the on-going Vista controversy.
Plus, it made me chuckle – and I think we could all use a little more of that these days:
If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
- For no reason at all, your car would crash twice a day.
- Every time they repainted the lines on the road, you would have to buy a new car.
- Occasionally, executing a manoeuver such as a left-turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, and you would have to reinstall the engine.
- When your car died on the freeway for no reason, you would just accept this, restart and drive on.
- Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought ‘Car95′ or ‘CarNT’, and then added more seats.
- Apple would make a car powered by the sun, reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would run on only five per cent of the roads.
- Oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single ‘general car default’ warning light.
- New seats would force every-one to have the same size butt.
- The airbag would say ‘Are you sure?’ before going off.
- Occasionally, for no reason, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key, and grabbed the radio antenna.
- GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of road maps from Rand-McNally (a subsidiary of GM), even though they neither need them nor want them. Trying to delete this option would immediately cause the car’s performance to diminish by 50%t or more. Moreover, GM would become a target for investigation by the Justice Department.
- Every time GM introduced a new model, car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
- You would press the ’start’ button to shut off the engine.
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02.26.09
Posted in General Rant at 11:53 am by Administrator
Nothing in the world works 100% of the time. That’s a fact of life.
Why is it then when Gmail goes down for two hours – or the Twitter “fail whale” comes up – people go crazy? Hey – people – do YOU ever do anything 100% of the time – every day, all day, every day of the year?
Neither do I.
Why, then do most people just expect all software, hardware and Internet connections to be up 100% of the time? Well, I guess because we’re starting to come to see them as utilities like electricity and phone. They’re just supposed to “work” all the time.
And, when they don’t – we get a little panicked. Do you remember the last time the electricity went out?
It also means that if you have only a single source for your email (or social networks or whatever) – then you’re choosing to put all of your eggs in one basket. That means – that WHEN (not IF) your favorite service goes down (and they ALL will at some point) – take a chill.
Pull out some paper and jot down your notes with a “pen” – or save them in a text file so you can immediately flame the company and have your inflammatory blog post all ready to go when the service DOES come back up.
That’s what I do…
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02.24.09
Posted in General Rant at 12:35 pm by Administrator
The level of panic in companies is getting almost palpable. They are cutting, cutting, cutting – and a lot of the time not THINKING about the ramifications of those cuts.
Some companies are cutting valuable IT staff, killing business-enabling (and enhancing) projects, and doing other stupid things like cutting benefits, reducing work hours and making the overworked people who are “fortunate” enough to be left behind after massive layoffs the mostde-motivated group of people on the planet.
Yes, these are uncertain economic times.
Yes, in many cases, cuts do have to be made.
Yes, not every single project should be continued (or even started in the first place).
Yes, dead wood needs to be trimmed.
Yes, business does need to keep a careful eye on expenses and especially cash flow.
If you find yourself one of these “fortunate” few who survived (so far) – then here’s a little tip to help ensure you make the next round of cuts: help your company to measure the contribution of your role/project/salary in terms of cash flow, tangible benefits and consequences if they kill it/fire you/lay you off.
At the end of the day no one knows your project/role like you do. And if you’re working on a high-profile project or you’re making a decent, livable salary – there’s no doubt that you’re in the sights for future “cost savings.”
The time to act is now.
Step 1: Take a good look at your project/role and make a quick spreadsheet that lists all of the costs in one column and hard-dollar revenues (and when they’ll occur) that you/your project influence. If the costs exceed the hard dollar revenue (or hard dollar cost savings) – then it’s time to go to Step 2.
If your costs are lower than your hard dollar revenues (or savings) – then jump right to Step 3.
Step 2: Double check your assumptions and figures. If you’re still coming up short – then figure out how much it will cost in time, money and resources to make the + side greater than the revenue side. If you’re able to pull it out – then go on to Step 3. If you can’t – then you should either be getting your resume polished up or make friends with someone whose calculations ARE in the black – and get re-assigned to that project and/or make yourself invaluable to the other person in their role.
Step 3: Share your work. Don’t wait for bad news to “hit you” – you should take a proactive approach and share the information you’ve discovered with your boss (or executive committee or whomever you report to). Talk them through the numbers and show them how your project/role is adding value to the company.
It’s not so much about cover your ass – as it is about being perceived as someone who cares about the company and cares enough to take the time to quantify it. I can guarantee you this – if there are 20 people/projects on the potential chopping block and you can cost-justify your project/role – then there will only be 19 projects/people on the chopping block and you will NOT be one of them.
On the other hand – if you can’t wait to get out of where ever it is you’re working – it might be a good time to keep your numbers to yourself. There might be a possibility for you to work with your current employer on a consulting basis – in which everyone wins.
Your company will reduce taxes, overhead, benefits, and conserve cash flow – while you gain flexibility, a solid project to start with, and an in-depth knowledge of the process and people involved in order to help ensure the project is successful.
Regardless of which way you go in the end – it’s still a good practice to cost-justify what you’re working on and what value you bring to the company. If you don’t do it – chances are good that someone else (usually a bean counter) will – and other decisions will be made that are outside of your influence/control.
Change is inevitable. You can either make it happen – or have it happen to you.
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Posted in General Rant at 8:16 am by Administrator
It seems that Microsoft does have a heart after all (or just a really, really, big aversion to bad PR)…
After laying off 1,400 workers – it accidentally overpaid some of them by $4,000 to $5,000. Once HR realized the error – the laid off workers were promptly written an letter that demanded they give the money BACK to Microsoft.
Nice!
In an abrupt about-face, Microsoft has now said that the people can keep the money:
“In the normal course of business, we may underpay or overpay in a bonus situation,” said Lisa Brummel, senior vice president of human resources at Microsoft. “If we overpay, we ask that the money be returned. Severance is not unlike that. “But this is a unique time and our normal practice didn’t make sense.”
Oh yeah, and the fact that 1,000,000 bloggers have been raking Microsoft over the coals every since? I’m sure it had no impact on Microsoft’s ethical decision making process – and constant zealous care for the people that make them money….
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