Many forms of technology requires standards to work. As a result, it is in the best interest of all parties in the technology ecosystem to participate in standards bodies to ensure interoperability. The two main problem with getting standards working can be summed up, as all good things in technology can be, in the form [...]
One of the dangers of a consultant looking at tech is that he can get lost in jargon. A few weeks ago, I did a little research on some of the most cutting-edge software startups in the cloud computing space (the idea that you can use a computer feature/service without actually knowing anything about what [...]
A recent Dilbert cartoon pokes fun at the struggle that I’m sure many people feel between breaking off and doing something on their own versus sticking with their current job: When I sent this to a few of my startup friends, one of them replied with a set of very entertaining cartoons (from Startup Comix) [...]
Every company that is successful eventually runs into a problem which my favorite business-comic strip Dilbert pokes fun at in the two latest strips: (from Nov 20) (from Nov 21) Think about it. How many large companies do you know of where there isn’t a massive layer of mysterious “vice presidents” (or some other equally [...]
… upon layers… upon layers… of bureaucracy (HT: Dilbert) It’d be even funnier if it weren’t such an accurate depiction of many companies today. (Dilbert cartoon strip)
In my Introduction to Tech Strategy post, I mentioned that one of the most important aspects of the technology industry is the importance of ecosystem linkages. There are several ways to think about ecosystem linkages. The main linkages I mentioned in my previous post was influence over technology standards. But, there is another very important [...]
Am I sad that I’m not able to go to this year’s Comic Con like I was able to last year? Yes. Thankfully, Google, in its infinite wisdom, must have sensed my sorrow and not only decorated their home page with a Google-ified version of DC’s Justice League, but they released a whole suite of [...]
I had an interesting discussion the other day with a colleague about creating a growth strategy for Starbucks. The challenge for Starbucks is one of success – how do you continue to grow when you’ve: saturated your home market (for the purposes of the conversation we ignored the very obvious “grow internationally” strategy which was [...]
As I’ve mentioned before, a good businessperson makes contingency plans. But to make those plans, its necessary to have some insight into what the future will bring – which explains why agencies like Gartner, IDC, and Forrester make millions of dollars selling market research reports to companies who are seeking either: insight into the future [...]
As frequent readers of this blog know, my Benchpress-partner-in-crime Anthony and I like making ridiculous $100 offers for failing companies/divisions. One may inquire, then, given Blockbuster’s pitiful plight (which has been so poor that they’ve even been the subject of an Onion video parody), why we haven’t made our usual $100 offer. The reason is [...]