2013 Jul 19

Enough Data... But Don't Forget Your Context

Just about every newspaper and online news source in the developed world has reported on the outing of J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame as the author of the new book "The Cuckoo's Calling." Apparently, quite a bit of technology went into the analysis of the book. The WSJ has a pretty good piece on the technology behind it. As a nice benefit, some of the general usage of technology for literary analysis and forensics has come to light.

2013 Jul 18

Well, Maybe You Will Buy More Toilet Paper

In an earlier post, I discussed how P&G and Georgia-Pacific are not advertising toilet paper in order to increase consumption (a.k.a. compete with non-consumption). Rather they are combatting each other for market share. Since people (in the developed world, at least), will use the same amount of toilet paper no matter what, based on the number of times they relieve themselves, no amount of advertising will induce someone to buy more toilet paper.

2013 Jul 18

Cha-Ching!

Every now and then, I see an article that is worth reading in its entirety. Mark Suster, wrote one just the other day. He called it, "Why You Need to Ring the Freaking Cash Register." I call it, "Cha-Ching!" I had a friend from B-school who was one of the first sales leaders at RightNow. They had a simple system. Sales were so important - without it, you have no business - that every time a sale was made, no matter how large or small, everyone's desk (cannot recall if it was a box or part of the phones or software on their laptop) went, "

2013 Jul 17

Rent-Seekers Part II: Incentives and Influencers

The smart people behind ET3, whom I mentioned in an earlier post, were kind enough to respond quickly via Twitter, which is public, so happy to repeat here. They made several key points: First the late 2013 3-mile long 400mph demo, then the flashy Web site with online reservations, features, etc. The real target market is the executive branch of the Federal government, who needs to line up behind this and drop expensive high-speed-rail (HSR).

2013 Jul 16

Who Says Toilet Paper Sells Itself

I was looking at my Facebook account the other day - normally a waste of time, but a great source of reading material - and came across this picture: [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="350"]Why does toilet paper need a commercial?[/caption] My first reaction, like most, was to laugh. After all, everyone is buying toilet paper. You need to advertise iPads, so people will buy them instead of Kindles, laptops, or nothing at all, but who, in a modern, developed economy, will go without toilet paper?

2013 Jul 16

Blind Leading the Blind

I love Yahoo. I know, it isn't politically correct to say so in today's Google- and Facebook-centric worlds, but I have always loved that company, from the early days when Dave Filo and Jerry Yang founded it. It has been difficult for me to watch this once-great company struggle to find its place over the years. Don't confuse my love for the company with love for its products or leadership.

2013 Jul 16

Want To Disrupt Air Travel? Watch For the Rent-Seekers

Yahoo News reports that a trial Vacuum Maglev Transport System is going to be in trial by the end of 2013. If successful, it might bring cross-continent travel - LA to NY - in 45 minutes, yet be built at a fraction of the cost of a train, let alone an airport. The big savings compared to trains is the much smaller number of tracks required. You still would need rights-of-way, although vastly reduced weight could allow for more elevation, reducing the impact and acreage of those rights-of-way, but overall requirements should be much cheaper.

2013 Jul 15

Why Maps Are Like Search

As of this writing, there are several major mapping providers used on the Web and in mobile apps: Google, Microsoft, MapQuest (owned by AOL) and, of questionable quality, Apple. As of this writing, there are two major search providers: Google and Microsoft Bing. Notice that there is a lot of overlap. Additionally, there are some secondary players in both markets. AOL still thinks of itself as a search engine, sort of, kind of, although its behaviour in that regard has been questionable for years, and has been schizophrenic: is it a search engine?

2013 Jul 15

What's Your Exit Strategy?

OK, I'll admit it. I don't usually like exit strategies. I really like people who are building businesses for the long run. I get excited when someone says to me, "I am building this to be a going concern." And truth is, even if you want to exit by IPO or M&A, having a long-term going concern is the best way to get a high valuation. But sometimes, as a consultant, I have a fiduciary responsibility to take the owners' (which includes management, founders and investors) exit strategy into account.

2013 Jul 14

Want to Advance? Win Over Your Peers

I was chatting online earlier today with a colleague of mine. This colleague has been highly successful over the years in large financial firms, taking on ever larger problems and fixing them, getting accolades and, along with them, promotions. He is a person whom I very much respect, especially his ever-present sense of humour. He had an insightful line during our conversation: "I have discovered that the most important relationships are with your peers - they decide in the end who gets promoted.