background preloader

Business

Facebook Twitter

Productivity

Be Relentlessly Resourceful. March 2009 A couple days ago I finally got being a good startup founder down to two words: relentlessly resourceful. Till then the best I'd managed was to get the opposite quality down to one: hapless. Most dictionaries say hapless means unlucky. But the dictionaries are not doing a very good job. A team that outplays its opponents but loses because of a bad decision by the referee could be called unlucky, but not hapless. Hapless implies passivity. To be hapless is to be battered by circumstances—to let the world have its way with you, instead of having your way with the world. [1] Unfortunately there's no antonym of hapless, which makes it difficult to tell founders what to aim for. It's not hard to express the quality we're looking for in metaphors. Unfortunately this is just a metaphor, and not a useful one to most people outside the US. But finally I've figured out how to express this quality directly.

Be relentlessly resourceful. This test is also useful to individuals. Notes. Trends: EMC presages broader rise in software audits? Over the years I have heard of many enterprise software customers being audited by enterprise content management (ECM) vendors, but there is usually a good reason for an audit to be instigated. Either you have threatened to throw that particular vendor out of the door and had the temerity to trial a rival vendor's software (so now the gloves are off), or the vendor has had a tip-off that you are abusing your licensing agreement. What we know for sure is that the rush to audit started in the late Q3 to early Q4. We also know that the audits all seem to fit a rough pattern. Two targets: Larger enterprise buyers that have not spent much money with the firm in awhile Buyers who may be moving from cpu-based pricing to user-based pricing.

EMC has a perfect right to ensure that its licensing agreements are not abused, and it is a sad fact that many buyers do in fact abuse licensing agreements, so auditing as such is not wrong. CIOs Must learn to Deal With Social Networking - Messaging and C. Today’s techno-culture has spawned a generation of “info-brats” who demand immediate gratification when it comes to getting the information they want from the Net. Whether for personal use (MySpace and Facebook) or for business (blogs and instant messaging), this new way of communicating is a major concern for IT—especially for the CIO. Today, CIOs must navigate the fine line between accessibility and security—a line that gets grayer every day.

The larger the company, the more complex the issues become, leading to the creation of policies that must be explained and justified to both employees and management. But CIOs can’t turn their backs on these technologies, which can provide many benefits. For example, the use of instant messaging has been a valuable tool for our employees. Since we’ve put the proper safeguards in place, it has not caused any security breach to date. The issue of personal use is another story. UPDATE 2-Metastorm pulls IPO, citing tough market. HR Dimensions of BPM (business process management) Are Mission-C. Business Process Management (BPM) promises to bring the disciplines of IT and HR together. That’s the promise, anyway. BPM draws the map and establishes goals while HR provides the framework to hold people accountable for those goals.

Sadly, I rarely see the integration of HR in BPM projects led by IT folks and yet I believe it’s absolutely essential. Bridging the divide between HR and IT is not so difficult if you follow some simple guidelines. Understand HR’s Role. This is fundamental to your success. The most often-cited reason BPM projects stumble and fall is that organizational dynamics and human behaviors weren’t properly assessed and accounted for.

Like this: Like Loading... S&P Downgrades TIBCO to Sell On Financial Services Exposure. StartupNation | DavidCrow.ca. Jevon announced our efforts to continue to facilitate the opportunities for entrepreneurs in Canada. The goal was to have a grand gesture. To create a point in time to bring people together to learn, to connect and to inspire each other to build the NEXT BIG THING. What? Canada’s conference for startups Who? Students, entrepreneurs, and funders When? November 13 & 14, 2008 in Toronto The event is a two day event. Assessing your market opportunity Why should I use your product? Day two is all about connecting Canada and our startups to the rest of the world.

This is going to be fun. The Changing Software Business: Moving from Products to Services. The Changing Software Business: Moving from Products to Services January 2008 (vol. 41 no. 1) pp. 20-27 A dramatic shift is under way in the enterprise-software industry as established vendors embrace services in the wake of declining product revenues. It remains to be seen whether life-cycle dynamics or business-model choices are behind the long-term trend. 1. M.A. Index Terms: software, business models Citation: Michael A. Web Strategy (Advanced): Applying a Social Computing Strategy to. Warning: For Advanced Strategists only This is for the advanced only, not a company that is still trying to answer “what or why”.

To gauge the sophistication of your organization, see this chart. Deploying this strategy without grasping the foundations of social media, the cultural changes it implies or testing trial programs will likely lead to failure. You: A Social Media Strategist You’re responsible for the direction of your online strategies for your company or organization, specifically using social media and computing tools to reach, connect, and build communities around your brand. Most folks at your company know this space is important, but don’t know how to do it, they are relying on your expertise to think holistically, integrated, and strategically. [Think Bigger. How did I learn this strategy? 1. 2. Tactics include: Conversing with those in the market through comments, email, and other means, involving them. 3. [Think bigger. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

5 Reasons Entrepreneurs Should Understand IT. When it comes to being an entrepreneur, Luddites are at a distinct disadvantage. That's the bottom-line message gleaned from a survey of 152 CEOs and senior executives at mid-size companies who have grown their enterprises from small businesses. The more IT-savvy business executives were, the faster they were able to expand. Almost three out of four reported having been "totally involved" in decisions about information technology during their companies' early growth years. What's more, almost half of those who rated themselves as "total geeks"—48 percent— reported reaching the 100-employee milestone inside five years of launch, compared to only one-third of all survey respondents whose companies grew as fast.

Doug Bartholomew is a career journalist who has covered information technology for more than 15 years. A former senior editor at IndustryWeek and InformationWeek, his freelance features have appeared in New York magazine and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. Tecosystems » Will I Get Fired For Buying Google? A couple of weeks ago while discussing the release of Google’s Gears browser persistence mechanism, David Berlind took the opportunity to ask James and myself whether the day would arrive when “no IT pro ever gets fired for buying Google?” My feeling was that while that day might indeed arrive – as it did for IBM decades ago and Microsoft in more recent years – Google would have to be patient, for the simple reason that enterprises don’t turn on a dime.

While the value proposition is increasingly compelling, and Google’s attacking the barriers to adoption one by one, it’s not what enterprises have been buying for years, and it’s Software-as-a-Service. For a certain segment of the buying population, one of those would be enough to disqualify it from consideration. Both is a non-starter. RedMonk, however, is not an enterprise. While we have our organizational shortcomings, a lack of agility when it comes to embracing new technologies usually isn’t one of them.

Conclusion I’m sold. StartupNorth. The Twelve (or so) Step Program for Conference Speakers and Orga. Posted by Suw Charman-Anderson There’s been a lot of talk the last few days about Office 2.0, a conference that brought gender inequality in technology to a new low. Fifty three speakers and one woman was the original unpleasant statistic, and a few people got very cross about it. Rightly so. But who is at fault? The organisers? If the women think that it’s the organiser’s fault for not looking for more women, then we risk becoming passive, quietly waiting our turn. So, what do we do? I also want to give organisers a heads up, but I’ll do that below.

So… on with the program. How To Become A Conference Speaker 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12a. 12b. Note for Conference Organisers This doesn’t let you off the hook. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12a. Right… those are my thoughts off the top of my head. UPDATE: For the record, I did get an invitation to Office 2.0 from Ross Mayfield (after this, but probably unconnected as I’ve worked with Ross in the past).

Corporate America wakes up to Web 2.0 | CNET News.com. How to speak at a tech conference. « Death by Devil's Advocate | Main | Give users something to talk about » How to speak at a tech conference Apparently the O'Reilly conferences have hit The Koolaid Point. Complaints are coming in from all sides, most recently (and most loudly) about both the conference and the very idea of Web 2.0. (See some of the discussions here, and here.) Some of the most vocal complaints have been about the lack of diversity in presenters, so I've asked some conference organizers to help me come up with tips for those who'd like to speak at a for-profit tech conference. In no particular order: Do NOT wait for an invitation! Do NOT expect to be specifically notified about the CFP (call for proposals) Depending on the conference, the call for speaker proposals may or may not be widely publicized.

KNOW what the conference is about It's not up to us to decide what the conference should be about. Don't be coy, don't be full of marketing. Answer the question: How will my talk help the attendee kick ass? Why Technology Negotiations Are Different. Technology negotiations are complex and many managers are left with a sense of unease. Am I getting the best deal? Will the ERP system I buy today be obsolete tomorrow? Lawrence Susskind offers keys to help you avoid the pitfalls. From Negotiation. by Lawrence Susskind Executives are increasingly faced with the task of negotiating in a realm that many know little about: technology. 1. 2. 3. 4. Negotiators embroiled in a high-tech deal must take purposeful steps to avoid these pitfalls. Negotiating technology: The Hexiglass case Cremtech Corporation, which develops and manufactures leading-edge glass and ceramic products, was considered the industry leader in terms of innovation and profits for many years.

Advanceramics, a Cremtech competitor, recently offered $2.5 million for Cremtech's Hexiglass line of extra-durable glass products. The product line manager wants to accept the Advanceramics offer. Given these complications, how should the managers proceed with their negotiation? 1. 2. Nine Questions to Ask a Startup. Most of the information that you can find about recruiting is for the employer, not the employee. (I'm as guilty as this as anyone: for example, The Art of Recruiting, I and II.) Let's turn the tables, switch modes, and balance the scales by discussing what a hot candidate should ask a private, venture-backed startup before making the leap to “infinity and beyond” as Buzz Lightyear would say. Nota bene: there is a definite order in how to do this: First, get the job offer, then ask these questions! 1. How many outstanding shares of stock are there?

Most companies make offers of dazzlingly large amounts of stock options. The number of options that you're offered is a meaningless number unless you know the total number of outstanding shares of stock. Here are some “Guyed”lines for a startup that has already raised its first round of venture capital of $1-3 million with no more than fifteen employees. 2. 3. 4. 5. This is just another way of asking about positive cash flow. 6. 7. 8. 9. JAJAH - web-activated telephony. Teamslide could disrupt WebEx. Munich, Germany based Teamslide is a new and very low cost alternative to services like WebEx, Placeware and GotToMeeting that allow people to share applications (like power point) online. A typical use of WebEx, Placeware, GoToMeeting, etc. is a sales call. The host, or presenter, sets up the call using WebEx software.

The attendees click a link in an email at the scheduled time, and everyone is joined in a virtual meeting. The host is able to share applications (powerpoint, browser, pdf, Word, etc.) and make the pitch. A drawback of all of the existing services is price and the need for browser plugins for both hosts and attendees. WebEx and Placeware both have minimum pricing of $375/month, and GoToMeeting is a minimum of $50/month. Teamslide, which just launched, has many of the features of the other services, is much easier to use (no plugins or other software for host or attendees) and is a fraction of the price. 10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed. Having been a non-employee for about 14 years now, I’ve made my share of stupid business mistakes. I’ve also coached a number of people to start their own businesses, and I’ve seen many of them make similar mistakes.

This advice is geared towards small business owners, particularly people who are just starting (or about to start) their own business. 1. Selling to the wrong people. While sales are important to the survival of any business, you don’t need to push your business on everyone you meet, including friends and family. Selling to the wrong people includes trying to sell to everyone. Just because someone is interested in doing business with you doesn’t mean you should accept. 2. Until you have a steady cashflow coming in, don’t spend your precious start-up cash unless it’s absolutely necessary.

In 2004 I started this personal development business with only $9 cash even though I could have spent much more on it. 3. It’s also a mistake to be too stingy with your cash. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Innovation Commons | Building third spaces for Canada's ent. Small Biz 101: Digg is Your Marketing Secret Weapon. What if managers had to do tech support? The World's Shortest Marketing Plan, Version 2.0. Inbox Zero. Amazon Mechanical Turk. LinkedIn. CanadaOne Small Business Resource Centre. IQI Insurance.

Ministry of Government Services. Canada Business.