Archive for December, 2009

Back in the late 90s, as we were enjoying the glow of the dot.com boom, Andy Grove, CEO of Intel,  predicted, “…all businesses will be internet businesses, or they won’t survive.”  Instead, companies adapted to having an internet component to their business.

Now, in the late 00’s and heading into the ‘10s, Software as a Service (SaaS) has become credible, taking its rightful place as a mature business concern.  Increasingly, traditional software vendors (and others) are realizing their product offerings can continue in conventional form (here’s CD/DVD, you install, and maintain) or as a service completely delivered via the web (SaaS).

I think the path of SaaS will be parallel to what we found after Andy Grove made his original prediction for the internet.  I do not feel, ‘all software companies will be SaaS companies, or they won’t survive.’  Instead, many will develop a SaaS component of their business.

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A force reduction, wage cut, benefits change, or a (multiple) reorganization can each having significant negative impact on your team’s mental state.  Having gone through late 2008, and 2009, your team has likely experienced more than one of these major work life changing events.  So, it’s probably a fair question to ask.

Better yet, the question to ask is will they be, tomorrow?

Why should they still be with you tomorrow?  A common response, more of a retort actually, might be for the money.  But money, no matter how you slice it, is more often than not a negative in the overall equation.  Pay too much, it’s a problem.  Pay too little, it’s a problem.  No one wants to feel taken advantage of.  As long as they feel paid appropriately (which includes benefits), it’s a non-issue.

So what then are the issues?  They come down to leadership, purpose, and security.  While it’s important all three are addressed, at a minimum any two of the three must be.

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This week, my family celebrates Christmas.  Our faith traditionally recognizes December 25th as the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Many of my friends around the world recognize other religious traditions, dates, and beliefs.  Regardless of whether you are Christian or not, please accept my heartfelt appreciation for the relationship we have, and let me simply wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!

As is the tradition this time of year, we exchange gifts.  Some years it is harder than others to find a gift to give, especially for you, friends, colleagues, and visitors to my blog.  This year, has turned out to be easier than most.

Earlier this month, Seth Godin released a free ebook, “What Matters Now.”  It is a real gem of contemporary wisdom, a collection of one-page essays by over seventy of today’s recognized big thinkers.  To give you an idea, just a sampling of the contributors includes: Tom Peters, Fred Wilson, Tim O’Reilly, Elizabeth Gilbert, David Meerman Scott, Chris Anderson, and Guy Kawasaki. (Links for your convenience, I have no monetary interests.)

I’ve really enjoyed reading this compilation of fresh thought.  It’s down to earth, refreshing, and thought provoking.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Merry Christmas!

ps: Thank you to Seth Godin and all of What Matters Now’s contributors.

“Never Eat Alone”
by: Keith Ferrazzi
ISBN: 0-385-51205-8

A note to my father:

Hey Dad,

I can’t recall if I bought this, you gave it to me, or what. But having finished reading it, thought I’d share some thoughts with you.

For one, the title caused me to pass it by in favor of other books for quite a while. After all, just what I needed, another ‘networking’ book, but focused on making sure you took someone to lunch every day. Short story, not sure I need to read 300 pages on the topic. Having done so now, I’m pleased to have read it–should’ve done it sooner.

Keith has written one of my favorite books on the mechanics, personal experiences of connecting with others. He openly shares his knowledge and, as important, his most embarrassing mistakes too. Some I can really relate to, others I’m glad to have sidestepped, yet others serve as good warnings into the future.

Ferrazzi’s woven perhaps the most complete tapestry of its type in a down to earth fashion that everyone can benefit from. It helped I had already come to be in line with some of his thinking–being successful is less about title, income, and position. Successful, being happy, is more about the value of relationships with the people you know, how you can help them, how you can be both mentor and mentee.

Posting a review on Amazon, I find myself wishing they provided more of a ranking system, rather than the simple Recommend Yes/No option presented. On a scale of 1-5, I’d give this a 5.

Cheers

As someone consistently striving to be a top performer, my performance review experiences have generally been good.  They’re normally delivered well-past a HR-dictated deadline and contain few surprises.  And, unfortunately, they’re also often not worth the effort required.

This is probably part of why the review process is so dreaded.  Fundamentally it comes down to a manager being engaged and setting aside adequate time.  Time, unfortunately, is a major issue.  The larger your staff, the larger a block of time that’s required, bolted onto days, weeks already jammed full.  Reviews are often like the English lit papers you wrote in college or high school—the less time you put into them, the shallower they were, and it was apparent to whomever read it.

If I have only one piece of advice for managers, be engaged and set aside plenty of time to do it right.

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Dr. George Atsalis (DDS) and his team.

For more than a decade Dr. Atsalis has been my primary dentist.  After relocating some distance away my family had started visiting other dentists.  This week, I had the opportunity to revisit Atsalis Dental. The difference was noteworthy.

Being with George from the beginning, I have watched him consistently strive to be on the leading edge of his industry.  But first and foremost, he is focused on his customers!  It is evident in the major remodeling he did years ago; frequent updates to equipment and processes; and, professional staff in manner, appearance, and execution.

Three immediate additions to his practice jumped out at me this week: digital picture frames used to promote messaging; staff wearing earpieces (he keeps up on patient status wirelessly, “Is the patient tingly yet?”); and a full coffee bar.

As a coffee lover, I had to admit I was very pleasantly surprised to see this addition.  If coffee service is even available, it is normally hours old coffee in a Mr. Coffee maker somewhere, with some Styrofoam cups somewhere.  Not here.  Customers, I hesitate to say ‘patients’ or clients, are treated to 6 flavors of gourmet coffee and a Keurig coffee maker.

Sometimes subtlety can make a powerful comment.

Today, my hat’s off to Dr. George Atsalis and his Team, for Doing It Right!

Earlier this week, Israel García wrote an engaging post, Social Media With Ease.  He also reframed the title as a question, which I found particularly intriguing.

It is an interesting question and something I have previously thought about as well.  Why is it, so many people feel uncomfortable discussing social media?

Discomfort discussing Social Media stems from two basic issues.

First, most folks still do not have even a rudimentary grasp as to what ‘social media’ is. Gaining an understanding is made more difficult by those ‘in the know’ professing ‘everyone is using’ a particular item.  For instance, I’ve been to a number of social media presentations, or presentations having a related segment, where the presenter boldly states, ‘Everyone’s using Twitter…’ or the like. Fast Company’s November ‘09 issue Read the rest of this entry »

This is a topic I expect to revisit over time, likely more than once. Today’s trigger was a discussion with a friend considering a new leadership role.

Beyond the job description, she had already started looking at structural considerations, like compensation, reported corporate finances, and what she knew of the corporate culture. She just didn’t feel like she’d covered all the bases though. It helped I could relate some of my own lessons learned. There is a range of other, sometimes intangible, things to dig into.

Your personal network of colleagues, friends, and family, can provide invaluable feedback. In one past role, reaching out to folks in my LinkedIn network, I received a number of responses. Comments about past leadership successes, or failures, can arm you with poignant questions to ask hiring managers. Aside from making you look like you’re knowledgeable and prepared, it reminds them they need to sell themselves to you, as well.

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