http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/08/if_youre_the_boss_start_killin.html “Groups that can’t kill enough ideas often suffer from bad group dynamics, either because multiple members won’t allow the group to kill their pet ideas, or because the group avoids difficult conversations and decisions.”
Apr
13
Avoiding “the competence trap” and finding a meaningful life
“This is the competence trap: when you amass enough career capital to exert meaningful control over your life and career, the only investment presented as reasonable will be to further maximize your competence at the expense of the other areas of your life.” http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/04/09/corrupted-callings-the-subtle-difference-between-finding-your-lifes-work-and-loving-your-life/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+StudyHacks+(Study+Hacks)&utm_content=Google+Reader
Mar
29
“Digital Divide Data – eBook Conversion with Social Responsibility”
They recruit and train young Cambodians and Laotians who are trapped in the circle of poverty. These individuals are trained in various IT skills for 6 – 8 months. If they meet the DDD requirements, they are hired to perform IT services for global companies and spend half of their day in school, earning a… Continue reading »
Mar
18
“Up or Out: Solving the IT Turnover Crisis” (not just for IT peeps) #fb
If they were upfront with their employees and said something to the effect of, “we know that you’re not going to retire here; in fact, after two to three years, we know you’ll be ready to move on to a different job. But before that happens, we want to make sure that you feel that… Continue reading »
Feb
01
Mark Pincus: “Everyone Should Be CEO of Something” (NYT interview via @timoreilly)
You can manage 50 people through the strength of your personality and lack of sleep. You can touch them all in a week and make sure they’re all pointed in the right direction. By 150, it’s clear that that’s not going to scale, and you’ve got to find some way to keep everybody going in… Continue reading »
Jan
16
Dear Verizon: 13(!) “address validation tips”? Seriously?
Avoid the use of punctuation, such as periods and commas. www22.verizon.com If you need to add a link to “tips on entering your address” on a web form, then there’s something seriously wrong with whatever software is processing that data. Could you imagine if Google Maps had “tips for entering your address?”
Jan
14
“Why nobody knows what they are doing” (Software Engineering Tips)
The same happens when gathering requirements for a new software project, and very few customers understand that they cannot possibly know what they need the computer to do for them until they’ve seen how it works. The developer must be part of the requirements discovery process, and everyone must be aware that the discovery phase… Continue reading »
Dec
26
Puzzles, Anchors, Stars, and Plowhorses: Menu Marketing (via @abdelazer)
P uzzles, anchors, stars, and plowhorses; those are a few of the terms consultants now use when assembling a menu (which is as much an advertisement as anything else). “A star is a popular, high-profit item—in other words, an item for which customers are willing to pay a good deal more than it costs to… Continue reading »
Dec
23
Kevin Kelly: “Better Than Free”
The internet is a copy machine. At its most foundational level, it copies every action, every character, every thought we make while we ride upon it. In order to send a message from one corner of the internet to another, the protocols of communication demand that the whole message be copied along the way several… Continue reading »
Nov
16
Finding the Right Job For Your Product – The Magazine – MIT Sloan Management Review
Product and customer characteristics are poor indicators of customer behavior, because from the customer’s perspective that is not how markets are structured. Customers’ purchase decisions don’t necessarily conform to those of the “average” customer in their demographic; nor do they confine the search for solutions within a product category. Rather, customers just find themselves needing… Continue reading »