The reason it is legal to open a palm reading shop is that the public understands it to be entertainment and not prediction. Investment advice should be the same situation: You can buy investment advice if you want it, but not until you sign a document acknowledging that science says no one has magical stock-picking skills. I know…
Manage What Matters, Not What’s Measurable
There’s a simple formula for effectively managing something using metrics. Determine what matters to you and your organization Figure out how to capture it into a simple metric Manage that metric to improve your outcomes Number one is crucial, and it’s the step most people miss. People instead skip to two and three by picking from metrics that…
For Metrics, Less is Often More
Metrics are like power and authority—once you’ve tasted them you think the answer is always more. This is dangerous. With metrics the problem is that having one or two good metrics is empowering, but having 17 is debilitating. Similarly, drinking a glass of water when you’re thirsty is good for you, but only having water (and no air)…
The Three Tiers of Competitive Advantage
My friend Andrew just came up with a brilliant concept that we’re calling The Three Tiers of Competitive Advantage. He pitched it to me as a fantasy parable where a king is preparing to die and he brings his three sons in to pick which will follow him. The first talks about how he’s unbeatable with a sword.…
How To Safely Get Interviewed by a Journalist
I recently did a class on how to handle journalists, and I wanted to capture some basics of what I learned: Interviews can be highly chaotic based on many variables, and the goal of training is to have more control over outcomes. Your message is primary. Have it fully approved, planned, and ready before doing the interview. Every…
It’s Not About Your Features; It’s About How Well You Implement Them
Last week’s WWDC conference in San Francisco got me thinking about what makes companies successful. Apple released a ton of features that are going to revolutionize mobile communication. They released the ability to hold a button, talk, and then send that voice clip to someone you’re texting. That feature also works for video. They are unifying phone calls…
Why We Have Abysmal Broadband in the U.S.
What bothers me about the U.S. broadband situation isn’t how bad it is, but that many people seem to think the reason is a mystery. Other advanced nations are providing tens, hundreds, and even gigabits of bandwidth to their citizens, while we wallow in the relative modem-ages. People enjoy saying it’s the size of the country that matters,…
Prison Privatization FTW
An American judge known for his harsh and autocratic courtroom manner was jailed for 28 years for conspiring with private prisons to hand young offenders maximum sentences in return for kickbacks amounting to millions of dollars.Mark Ciavarella Jnr was ordered to pay $1.2m (£770,000) in restitution after he was found to be a “figurehead” in the conspiracy that…
Why Best Buy is Gradually Going out of Business | Forbes
The reasons for the company’s dwindling prospects are easy to find. Just walk into one of the company’s retail locations or shop online. And try, really try, not to lose your temper. I admit. I can’t do it. A few days ago, I visited a Best Buy store in Pinole, CA with a friend. He’s a devoted consumer…
Class Markers Used in the Real World
Image from Andrei Nacu Some are unaware that there are strong class distinctions even within the middle class, and that there are specific and key tells that those in the upper tiers look for when determining if someone is part of their group. Here are the main ones: Teeth Few things are noticed more keenly than teeth. Good…
Communicating Optimally in Email
The fundamental source of poor email style is the practice of quoting the entire message you’re replying to. If that’s what you do, then it doesn’t matter whether you put your response at the top or bottom. In fact, if you’re going to quote the entire message, top-posting probably is better. But both are poor form. Writing an…
Existing Bookstores Should Become Front-ends for Amazon
The bookstores are dead. Amazon won. gg. But people still enjoy going in and looking at books. And drinking coffee. And doing book signings, and poetry reading, etc. So, bookstores are good too. That’s why Amazon should buy them. They should become the bookstore interface to Amazon. They could even sell a bunch of other top-selling items that…
ROWE: Results-Only Work Environment
ROWE is a simple concept: let people do what they want at work — as long as they’re getting work done. Evidently Best Buy has put the system into place and has increased productivity by 41% This, like democracy, is another example of a great system that works for the best among us, but fails to deliver for…
What “Net Neutrality” Is, and Why it Matters
Net Neutrality is one of the most important challenges facing civilization as a whole right now, yet most people don’t even know – let alone care – about it. Here’s my simple summary of the issue, and please be sure to watch (and pass along) the video that comes after it. Radio and newspaper, when they were first…
Paul Graham’s Creativity and Development Philosophy
I like to find (a) simple solutions (b) to overlooked problems (c) that actually need to be solved, and (d) deliver them as informally as possible, (e) starting with a very crude version 1, then (f) iterating rapidly. I’d say that’s a pretty solid way of approaching entrepreneurship in today’s tech world.
Economy Failing, Exxon Making Record Profit
Does anyone else think it’s (shameful | criminal | wrong | outrageous) for Exxon to be making record profits (10.7 billion last year) while the economy and the dollar are heading into the toilet? That’s $1,700 a second, by the way — in profit, not earnings. This is while the country faces an energy crisis caused by our…
Apple vs. AT&T
As you may have heard, AT&T’s chief executive disclosed last week that the second version of the iPhone will be coming next year. And most importantly, he said it’ll be 3G. Think of what that does to sales of the current version of the device — and right before the most important sales period for consumer electronics. How…
New Project: PasswordStandards.com
I’ve just registered the domain of passwordstandards.com as part of a new project. The goal of the endeavor is to call attention to online services that don’t allow their users to select decently strong passwords. This is especially crucial for services that are financial in nature or maintain other types of sensitive information. Project Clarification First things first…
Leave an Outlet Free
I was put in an especially difficult business situation recently. My company, represented by myself, and another company (a massive superpower) were working the same project for the same client. The massive company had designed a network for this mutual client, and I was brought in to evaluate the security of said design. I found it unsatisfactory. They…
Made For AdSense (MFA)
MFA stands for Made For AdSense. It refers to a blog whose content is farmed out to non-professional writers (or scripts). The goal of these sites is not the creation of quality content, but rather the collection of revenue from AdSense or other advertising schemes. One attribute of these sites is often the creation and or organization of…
The Real Reason Apple is So Popular Right Now
I was in CompUSA the the other day and noticed quite a few people in the Apple section. I realized that this was becoming increasingly common everywhere I went. Indeed, much Apple love these days. But why now? I mentioned to an employee in the PC section that Apple interest seemed to be getting stronger overall, and asked…
Security Is Not A Technology Problem: Why Companies Need To Be Looking At Organizational Issues Instead Of Products
As a consultant I constantly come across organizations that are more than willing to throw millions of dollars at their information security problems. Almost invariably this money is spent on technology: elaborate IDS/IPS deployments, expensive SEM solutions, etc. All this, but I seldom see any real security improvement as a result of adding high-end security products. Too often…
The Consultant Joke
A shepherd was herding his flock in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him. The driver, a young man in an Armani suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie (Corb), leans out the window and asks the shepherd, “If I tell you exactly how many sheep you…
What Mail Server Do The Fortune 100 Companies Use?
Ever wonder what mail servers the top U.S. companies run? I found myself wondering what the top universities used a while back, and I just recently got curious as to what the Fortune 100 companies used as well. The results were quite interesting; it’s always fun to see what some of these admins put in their mail banners:…
Google’s Inevitable Betrayal
Tons of people all over the Internets are shedding all vestiges of sanity over how much information Google has access to. They’re especially rabid over the fact that Google is now archiving all chats. Many view this as proof that the company is heading down a dark path — a path that will eventually lead to them knowing…
Why Consultants Have A Bad Name
I’ve always heard two things about IT consultants — 1. they make tons of money, and 2. they don’t know much. In short, I’ve always heard that as often as not, they’re largely unqualified to be advising anyone on anything. Well, now that I am one, I’ve been paying close attention to my surroundings. I won’t go into…