Not sending any signals but seriously

how cool is this....

Making small progress in the footsteps of Giants

India won its first Olympic Gold since they started competing in the Olympics in 1928.

Abhinav Bindra won India's first individual Olympic gold medal on Monday with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the men's 10m air rifle.

How much #$%# are we willing to put up with

Umair Haque as usual has a thoughtful and provocative post on the need for fundamental change

Yes, business really does change. 400 years ago, corporations were formed by royal decree. 300 years ago, many countries were powered by slave labour, or its closest moral equivalent. 200 years ago, debtors didn't go bankrupt, they went to prison. 100 years ago - well, business is largely the same as it was a century ago. And that's exactly the problem. Business hasn't changed, but today's array of tectonic global shocks demands a different, radically better kind of business. Yesterday's corporations visibly cannot meet today's economic challenges.

Complete post here.

Let us learn from others mistakes but with caution

My context here is a blog post on Alfresco's blog roll that discusses Vignette's slow but sure decline - full post here.
I don't have domain expertise in the CMS/ECM market and in general i agree with a lot of what Uzi says in his post. He points out the Vignette is "losing the people that they should keep. And they’re keeping the people that they should lose" - which leads me to assume that has inside knowledge about what is going on at Vignette.

My bone of contention is with that following phrase (please read the full post for context before jumping here)

And that’s where the old businesses are falling over. Customers cannot trust in how their money is being spent. It isn’t simply that Vignette’s brand has lost its trust - it’s that the products actually do not work.

Why? Because managers don’t know how to develop good code.

Give them credit, though, for knowing how to keep their jobs.

Umm... really, that is the problem --- "managers don't know how to develop good code". Wow! that scares me.
So let us trace this a little.

a. the brand lost its trust ---> (why?)
b. the products do not actually work ----> (i can see how this can lead to 'a') (why?)
c. managers don't know how to develop good code ----> (let me ask you again -- FOR REAL?)

Products don't work for a lot of reasons - chief amongst them being being poor software, poor understanding of the market problems, poor quality of requirements being given to engineering, ignorance of how the market has changed since v1.0 of the product came out, etc. But rarely does "managers not developing good code" show up on that list.
I would agree that if the product direction is driven by a manager with no technical background or software development experience, that is not a recipe for success. But that is a far cry from "managers don't know how to develop good code".

I understand the point Uzi is trying to make and the distinction being drawn between open source philosophies and "big elephants" but i caution against blaming everything associated with "big elephants" by association.

Imho, one of the reasons I think Alfresco executed so well out of the gate and continues to build on that momentum is Kevin Cochrane - who did not necessarily code (he might have a coding background, i don't know) but did a stellar job of understanding market needs and helped R&D build against it. Kevin's title was product MANAGER :-) if I remember correctly.

Disclosure - I have no stake, interest or strong affiliation with Vignette or the CMS industry. This is more from my perspective as a product manager.

My jaw continues to stay open...

CNN Money headlines

UPDATE: GM Loses $15.5 Billion As Sales Plunge, Charges Mount

This is just Q2 loss - i.e. in a 3 month period. Is this funny money, is this real money. Can we make sense of WT$ this means to a lay man.

How does a company send this information out, lose "investor confidence" but talk about "putting this behind us". How many layers of funny talk and magic financial numbers are we hiding behind.

Forget GM shareholders --- what does this mean to the auto industry in the country?

This is not just GM though, we saw almost all the big financial institutions do this and continue to do this. What needs to happen before there is a outcry for clarity and simplicity in messaging?

Mysteries of Pittsburgh

I am visiting Pittsburgh this week on business. I was uninformed and sadly had prejudged this city. I thought the only thing that was noteworthy about Pittsburgh was the fact that it is the Steeler's town.

This is a really cool city. I have the pleasure of a pitt native guide me through the city and i am really seeing it in a different light. Here are some neat facts about Pittsburgh.

• Pittsburgh turns 250 years old this year.
  
• The Cathedral of Learning - the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh is a remarkable building.

Standing at 535 feet (>163 m)^[4], the 42-story Late Gothic Revival Cathedral is the tallest educational building in the western hemisphere and the second tallest educational building in the world. (Moscow State University's main building in Russia is the tallest.)

• Pittsburgh has the second most funiculars (active and inactive) of any state or province in the world (Valparaíso Chile has the first)

I am sure there are many more things cool about this city - I am just starting to scratch the surface :-). Yes, the title is a nod to michael chabon.

Success..Success..Success... what next?

If you are Pixar --- you freak out and decide to shake things up. That will turn out to be the best darn thing you could have possibly done.

I just read a McKinsey Quarterly article on innovation (thanks boss :)). It was an interview with Pixar's director Brad Bird. In this Brad talks about how Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter came to him because they were afraid. They were coming of 3 huge movie wins in Toy Story, A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2. They were clearly the best animation movie studio in the world and 3 continuous wins to prove it. So what was their reaction?

They were afraid of complacency and sought Brad Bird. Brad's latest venture "The Iron Giant" had received critical reviews but was a financial flop. An unorthodox move at the very least :-) so what do you think happened.

Incredibles - Oscar
Ratatouille - Oscar

Some great quotes in this article but the gist of it seems to be locating, encouraging and harnessing the power of the "black sheep" within your company. Brad defines black sheeps as restless contributors with unconventional ideas.

Who are your black sheeps?

Change is typically met with resistance - PSA

(from my inbox)

Thank you for signing up to "opt out" from getting telephone books at www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org.

A quick update on what is going on in the Yellow Page industry and their resistance to changing their behavior. The following is an excerpt from one of the Yellow Pages leading advocates to help fight anything anti-Yellow Pages:

Time to fight back!!! "Contrary to what you may be hearing and reading, the print Yellow Pages are NOT dead. Far from it. It’s time for the 50,000+ people who make their living from this industry — publishers, agencies, and suppliers, to start to fight back. Now."

www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org is a grass roots organization that can use your help to combat the 50,000+ group of people that don’t understand the issue. As we have stated previously, we are not against the telephone book, rather the unsolicited delivery of its many versions on our doorsteps without our permission.

Please send out our link www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org to as many people as possible. The "opt out" request is growing monthly, and the way to change the world for the better is growing rapidly.

Thanks for your help!

YPGG Organization

Ask yourself "why" before you do something

1. if you are going to record a short video -- Believe in your message
2. if you are going to record a short video -- stitch it together from beginning to end with a good story.
3. if you are going to record a short video just for the sake of putting up a video - it will show.

Gartner video telling you why YOU should attend the BPM summit this fall - http://www.gartner.com/it/summits/611409/video/index.html

Fascinating to read but why?...

Swimming the Amazon: 3,274 Miles on the World’s Deadliest River

Amazon book link

Btw the same gentleman has also conquered the Danube, the Mississippi, and the Yangtze. In 1997, he became the first to swim non-stop from Africa to Europe, and he did it in 29 hours, 36 minutes, and 57 seconds… without a wetsuit. WTF? Seven swimmers had attempted it before and all had failed.

Reality check - a pilot's blog

I was led to Patrick Smith's blog - courtesy Brad Feld. Patrick is an airline pilot who shares his view of the world and specifically the atrocity that is TSA + DHS + Airline industry. I would encourage people to read his blog to get a better all round perspective. Below for instance is a quote that Patrick used to address the misconception that pilots are overpaid, underworked and live lives of ease.

I think of my friend Chris, age 29, who flies for US Airways Express. He is away from home 21 days every month and earns $18,000 a year, with $100,000 in student loans and flight training debt hanging over him. And yet, each time he walks down the concourse, no doubt there are people who eye him with a sneer. Just another overpaid pilot putting in his 20 hours.

-amar

links from kottke day

• Swimming holes in central texas.
• Understanding the work behind mundane things (magazine layout).

The ability to change the world is not in your title

Blogs, blogs and more blogs

This page contains a list of official us government blogs. Interesting blogs include

• EPA's National Dialogue on Access to Environmental Information – EPA's online discussion about identifying and sharing the best resources, tools, and ideas for improving access to EPA's environmental information.
• Health Marketing Musings – A blog about research, science, and practice in health marketing and communication, social marketing, information technology, public health partnerships, and more with Jay Bernhardt, Director of CDC's National Center for Health Marketing.
• NASA Goddard CIO Blog – NASA Goddard CIO, Linda Y. Cureton, blogs about technology, leadership, and being a Chief Information Officer.
• Pushing Back – Office of National Drug Control Policy blog to educate Americans about illegal drugs and the latest international, federal, state, and local efforts to reduce drug use (i like the name :-))
  

Gas saving tips

I am not big into 12 step programs. If I cannot remember it of the top of my head, I have trouble changing my behavior. So here are the 4 things I am doing differently to save gas by increasing the fuel economy of our vehicles. YMMV

• Keep your engine below 3000 rpms. This typically translates to drive on or below speed limit. I rarely exceed 65mph these days. It is yet to make me late to an appointment btw :-)
• Use cruise control as often as possible. Your vehicle is a lot more efficient at moderating gas usage than you ever will be so cruise control is your friend.
• Avoid braking hard. Anticipate stops and watch out for red lights and slow down proactively. Hard breaking burns a lot of fuel.
• Try to group your errands together. Cold starting your engine (been over 3hrs since you last drove the car) consumes twice as much fuel as if your engine was running recently. This might not be a big deal for us in Texas heat but nonetheless a good bit of advice to keep in mind.

Good luck :)

I have to make it official

I am a Celtics fan. I did think I was rooting for the Lakers in the finals but a couple of things made me realize who I am truly rooting for

1. Sports Guy for the Celtics. The Lakers don't have a Sports Guy, they have a bunch of gucci totting spectators (spectators not fans).
2. Curt Schilling's blog observations on Kobe's leadership.
3. Kobe's leadership. Seriously watch him - this man has one thing in mind - it is all about 24.
   
4. Celtics team play - way cool .... watch how they hung around Ray Allen till he started to take of in the last round, watch how Sam Cassell got the bench fired up for game 4 (he is stinking on everything else btw), watch how they make eye contact.

Statistics are not truths, they are pithy descriptions of the past. So the fact that no team has ever won after being down 1-3 in the finals does not mean it won't happen. It just means it is really really really hard for it to happen.

I want the Celtics to win. I was rooting for the Lakers because they beat the Spurs. I live in Texas and if anything I am a Suns fan (stupid me), i know complicated logic.

I just had to take a public stance for my own integrity. Kobe is way too self absorbed imo and i just don't see how I can root for his team. He might be the most talented player in the league right now (not PER, raw talent) but boy is he a d$%^&bag. Anyways :-) I hope the Celts make it.

p.s thanks Sports guy.

Obama announces his director of economic policy

• About him

Get to know him.

1. Slate article from April 4th
2. Debate on the stimulus package.
3. Other interactions on mankiw's blog.
   

What AA could have done better yesterday

Kim and I were flying out of Chicago yesterday. Kim was returning to Austin while I was going to Pittsburgh for a day and then to Austin on Monday (tonight). Here are the facts:

• Kim's Austin flight was cancelled and she was automatically booked on an 8am flight for Monday. I had to repeatedly hit '0' till I could talk to some one real. I was then able to book Kim on a 9:45pm flight out of Chicago (Sunday night). They had no answer to why this was not offered as an initial choice.
• My flight to Pittsburgh showed up as being on time.

This is what transpired through the evening:

• By the time I got to O'Hare (for my 4:15 departure), the crowd had grown. Flights had been cancelled initially due to weather and the domino effect was building up exponentially.
  
• I checked in my bag.
• My flight was rescheduled three times and was eventually canceled.
• My bag was going to Pittsburgh whether I was or not.
• I got in a line with ~200 people in front of me, called AA advantage desk and was put on hold for 15 mins (the line moved 3 people).
• Finally I got a person who explained to me that the earliest they could get me into Pittsburgh was Tuesday. My meeting was for Monday so I asked to be booked on the same flight as Kim which was now moved to 10:40PM. They were able to do that.
• Kim showed up at O'Hare. We got on the flight, which finally departed at 11:45 and we made it into Austin around 2:30AM.

This is what AA could have done better - remember O'Hare is AA's hub so if they have the most resources in any airport in the country, it is at O'Hare.

• Red phone lines are good. AA set up red phones with direct access to AA help line. But 3 to 8 lines is a joke when you have 2000 stranded passengers. You are only going to create chaos, confusion and feed the rage.
• Buy free wifi for a day for the whole freaking airport. Chicago has boingo providing WiFi but you have to pay 7$ for a day pass. AA should have opened free wifi access so people can start connecting with the outside world quickly.
• I called the AA Advantage help line and got an automated voice recognition system. I kept repeating "Operator Assistance" and it kept telling me "I understand you would like to talk to someone, have you considered the automated options". Seriously ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? I am in line with a gentleman who is flying international and he has to hit 4 countries in 5 days and you have screwed his schedule royally, the least you can do is allow him to talk to someone. Especially since the automated options HAVE NO OPTION FOR CANCELLED FLIGHTS.
• Set up drink and snack stations. Not saying cater gourmet food but realize that O'Hare has not meaningful food/drink options unless you go through the security check. You have 1000's of people standing in line outside waiting to get re booked BECAUSE OF YOU (weather but from their pov - YOU!). At least have some quick healthy snacks and bottled water around to help people calm down.
• Learn from your mistakes. This is the fourth or fifth time this is happening on a massive scale this year. Why is there no improvement in how AA responds to these situations? Weather is going to be a #$%#$, get used to it. But you can at least work harder on your response plan.
• Prioritize - I would have gladly let the gentleman trying to make 4 countries in 5 days ahead of me but you should help him get there. There is no way he is going to verbally make his case to 250 people and get in the front of the line.
• Deal with emergencies - I saw no paramedics on post or people monitoring for emergency situations. What if someone went into labour, what if an elderly person got into serious distress. What if 4 of these scenarios happened simultaneously across the airport. There did not seem to be a plan in place...

This is just the top of my head. I am sure Weather is an unpredictable factor for any airline but there is only so much you can blame on weather.

Oh btw AA, nice knowing you. I am definitely jumping on the Herb Kelleher bandwagon. Adios.
(I still want my bag back btw).

A biker's nightmare

Stupid drunk drivers. Seriously, what a shame and what a waste of life. Click on the image for the story.

Product Management: Thought exercise

If you were to product manage this, what would you dream about?