This short video is a great illustration on how IT departments often communicate with other functions within their organizations. Same language, same office, same coffee… yet a world apart…
The business might have been shaky in the last year or so. The recovery is tentative, yes, I’ve heard that. Your clients are not ordering… that’s understandable. You have to cut cost and offshore your operations, or die. It is next to impossible to hire qualified people… of course.
I guess Apple is not aware of these pearls of wisdom, since they have just had their most profitable quarter ever. Ever!
Apple reported net income of $3.4 billion, or $3.67 per share, in the latest quarter ending Dec. 26. In the same period of 2008, it had income of $2.3 billion, or $2.50 per share (adjusted due to changes in accounting policies).
You can read more about the numbers some place else but here is the point I want to make. If you have a great product strategy and you execute well, you don’t have to listen to all the wisdom being spewed out by th numerous prognosticators. You don’t have to count pennies and compete on price. You can always hire great people.
Most importantly, you don’t have to play by the others’ rules. You set your own.
One of the key issues many new professional services businesses face is how to relay their value proposition to a prospective customer effectively.
In short, you need to do it so that the statement is not about you, your methodology or your credentials but about the results which the other party will realize by working with you.
Sometimes, things get much worse than just being inarticulate. Sometimes, the message you project is so flawed that your counterpart may suspect an onset of split personality disorder in you.
Take a look at the image below. This is a back cover of the phone book, which is probably not inexpensive to advertise on. It is perhaps because of the cost that Mr.Rayner decided to make the most of it. Not only will he take any legal work you may have for him, but will also provide an Elvis impersonator for your aunt’s birthday party.
I hold a lot of respect for people who, despite the odds seemingly stacked against them, doggedly stick to their guns, ultimately, to succeed.
It takes a healthy sense of self-esteem, the willingness to go against the grain, the sense of urgency and, of course, sheer determination.
Here is a case in point. Roman, a former IT administrator from Toronto. At some point it dawned on him that IT wasn’t really his calling. So, he went on to devote five years of his life to building a search and rescue vehicle – through ridicule, superciliousness and assurances that he would fail miserably.
Here are the fruits of his labour.
Losing is not pleasant, especially if you are not used to it. How did it happen? What did go wrong? How is it possible?
Losing is daunting, heartbreaking, horrible. You are not the best at it, despite what your mother or spouse told you. How can one carry on?!
Oh, pleeeeeaaase! Get over it.
The very best of us are not immune to setbacks every now and then. Sometimes, things just don’t work out. You can make a mistake, your employee can make a mistake, your client can make a mistake or any other living soul close enough to you can make a mistake. You are also bound to meet reprobates, thieves, liers, egotists and others you’d rather never know.
However painful, get over it. Jay Leno, a brilliant comedian in my books, has just had his new show cancelled. Did his famous chin quiver as he tried to hold back tears? Nah, he laughed it off. Nothing he coulc do, nothing to do with his performance.
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Cola was a flop. Guess what, he didn’t get into bouts of self-pity, nor did he blame anyone for it.
I think that two key points are important. On the one hand, you should always learn from your setbacks, figuring out what went wrong. On the other hand, you should never dwell on them. Move on. Live your live,
Sometimes, things don’t work out. Don’t take it personally.
A local photographer decided that he does not like selling and marketing as much as he liked taking pictures, so he outsourced it to a small local firm. We received a call from them today, which in its abridged version went something like this:
Saleswoman: “Hi, this is Brenda from Such-n-such Photography. We would like to come to your home and take a picture of your baby – free of charge.”
Kim: “Sounds good. How many pictures are included?”
Saleswoman: “Oh, just one pose, one picture”
Kim: “Can additional pictures be ordered?”
Saleswoman:”Yes, packages start at $120″
Kim: “What is included in a package?”
Saleswoman (miffed): “I have no idea, I just book appointments”
Kim: “Thank you. Not interested”
Outsourcing is as old as the hills and we all do that – I don’t deliver my correspondence in person but the postoffice and courier companies do – but remember that judgement needs to apply.
You should consider outsourcing non-core activities that others do either better or cheaper (while maintaining acceptable quality) than you do in house. For the vast majority of businesses, relationship with clients is a core activity and should never be outsourced. The issue in this particular case is therefore twofold: not only a third party is retained to perform a core activity but, also, they cannot do it well.
You may be reading this and saying to yourself, “but of course, it’s asinine!” You may feel that what I am saying is just common sense.
The trouble is, even large and sophisticated business often make outsourcing decisions that seem to be against this very common sense.
It turns out that common sense can be remarkably uncommon…
I am happy to announce collaboration with a media outlet dedicated to outsourcing, in particular nearshoring. My articles will appear every couple of months.
In the first article I share my thoughts on three strategic errors in decision making on outsourcing. Read on…
My article named among the top three blogs of 2009 by Techrepublic: http://bit.ly/8ClV0l
If you ever wanted to wean yourself off blogging or twittering, try adding a new family member.
We did so on October 24, 2009. Off the bat, Justin decided that his parents’ sleep is grossly overrated. He wanted attention when we were desperately trying to sneak a little bit of rest. Add this to significant client commitments and there is no time left to updating the blog. I sense that it has not detrimentally impacted the course of the Western civilization.
Justin has been mellowing down somewhat and we are almost back to our normal schedule.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Ilya, Kim, Kelly and Justin.
Sounds harsh? Overblown? Too far fetched ?
I don’t think so but you be the judge. Read it here.
