Owner: Modern Magellans URL:http://www.modernmagellans.com Join Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:39:56 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A Modern Magellan is anyone who owns, runs, or in some fashion controls a part of a business operation. This also includes those who want to. Site statistics:Click here
How to Layer Proof your Email – It’s not Lasagna 2007-07-20 16:51:32 The August 2007 edition of Wired magazine arrived in my mailbox today. As I was flipping through the pages, I spotted a headline that I thought said "How to LayerProof
Your Email
". I thought what an important topic - seriously. How many of us are caught in a cycle of "RE's" that never ends? If you use Gmail, then it can be even worse. You don't have to worry, Google does it for you.When I settled in to read this very short bit, it turns out the title is "How to Lawyer Proof Your Email" which is a completely different thing (pg 108). Granted, it may even be more important but it was not what I was looking for. It's good advice: The less you do in writing, the less they can pin on you later.Nevertheless, what about the problem of email layering?
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Wall Street Journal - Where Are the Innovators in Health Care? 2007-07-19 12:48:35 Today, July 19, 2007, the Editorial section of the Wall StreetJournal
published a commentary by Regina Herzlinger, titled "Where Are the Innovators in Health
Care?" Ms. Herzlinger is a professor at Harvard Business School, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and the author of "Who Killed Health Care
?" (McGraw Hill, 2007). In this commentary, Herzlinger bemoans the dearth of innovation in healthcare delivery. At the same time, Michael Moore is denouncing the current state of medicine and heralding the benefits or the need for socialized medicine with his "Sicko" movie. (If you would like a second opinion you may want to read the english translation of Stefan Karlsson blog.)They are out there Dr. Herzlinger (She has a PhD). They often can't get past first base...
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, Wall Street Journal
Business Transformation – Can the boss be a friend with everyone? 2007-07-19 02:03:25 The short and quick answer: NO.This is not to say that a boss should not be friend
ly with everyone
. However, familiarity breeds contempt. The closer you are to people the more difficult it can be for them to take direction, criticism, and correction. Everyone likes to be liked. Well, almost everyone. There are those who seem to enjoy being a pain. They get a kick out of causing pain to other people - and I don't just mean dentists. (Little Shop of Horrors reference.) I am not talking about the difficult boss or the boss who enjoys being difficult. I am talking about the person who genuinely feels that they are not successful unless everyone is their friend.There is a big difference between being respected or admired, and being a friend or pal...
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, Transformation
Business Development - What if you cannot be number one? 2007-07-18 02:01:00 People love to quote Jack Welch, "Be number 1 or number 2, or get out." That's fine for GE and for other fortune 500 companies but that may not be an option for you. You have a business and you may never be number one or number two for that business. As a point of information, the phrase was popularized long before Jack Welch came along by George Zipf - see the wonderful explanation on the Whisper blog. It is an important concept and not one to be swept aside casually. There are plenty of instances where it is just not possible to have only 2 of something:Are there 2 doctors?Could we really get by with only 2 lawyers? (All kidding aside.)Are there only 2 kinds of Ice Cream?Can 2 fire departments do it all?Clearly there are plenty of situations where the market needs more than 2 of most things...
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, Development
Business Models - Who is OpenAds anyway? 2007-07-17 11:50:28 In light of the previous post, I thought I should clarify who OpenAds is.Openads calls itself the "web's largest ad-space community." Recently they were able to raise $5 million in funding from First Round Capital, Mangrove Capital Partners, O'Reilly Alphatech Ventures, and Index Ventures (who lead the round). Donna Bogatin did a very nice analysis of the issues that OpenAds faces and she raised some interesting questions in her June 13, 2007 post - How Openads Can Stifle Google.From the OpenAds website, I plucked this marketing gem:"Openads is the home of some of the most popular online advertising software available anywhere in the world" Which software is popular and which is not, is not clarified. What is meant by popular, is also left to your imagination…
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Business Mistakes - When is shrinkage a good thing? 2007-07-17 03:00:00 Why would a Venture Capital firm like First Round Capital say something like this on their "Our Focus" page:We love investing in technologies and business models that are able to shrink existing markets. If your company can take $5 of revenue from a competitor for every $1 you earn - let's talk!Shrinkage in markets or other places is usually an undesirable thing, but it actually makes sense in appropriate and rather specific cases ...
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Founder Issues - New wine in an old bottle Part 4 2007-07-16 03:00:14 There is usually a sense of excitement and apprehension around the offices of a new company. There is a lot of potential but also a great deal of fear. For all of the planning and preparation that have been put into the creation and operation of the new entity, no one can be too sure of the actual outcome. Aside from the fact that a market has a mind of its own, a business often has one internal uncertainty that can be more disruptive than any outside force: The Founder A business founder has more than money tied up in a business. The founder has pride, ego, emotion, and reputation that affect decisions, plans, and the product. There are many stories of founders that would not listen to well-meaning advice and were still successful. There are many more stories of instances where sound advice was given but not received that lead to disaster.The 5 most important founder issues for a new company: Control Communication Personal value Short-sightedness Salary It could be argued that Read more:Issues
, bottle
The Age of Conversation - a new book 2007-07-14 12:57:45 According to an article in the July 14th, 2007 Wall Street Journal (weekend edition, subscription required) the 10th anniversary of blogging will occur in December. The article has a number of lengthy comments on blogs and blogging from a diverse range of important people (Newt Gingrich, Mia Farrow, Christopher Cox, and novelist Tom Wolfe). In the run-up to this momentous occasion comes a work that really exemplifies how things are changing:The Age of Conversation
- Available July 16th, 2007A collection of brief chapters from over 100 blog writers and authors focusing on various aspects of this new era of human interaction and advertising brought together by Gavin Heaton (Servant of Chaos blog) and Drew McLellan. Matt Kinsey wrote a great review for Advertising Age. It will be available in 3 formats, with all proceeds beyond, printing and mailing costs, going to Variety, the Children's Charity. A more detailed description of how this project came to be can be found at Drew's Ma
Business Mistakes - Sprint and the 1000 2007-07-11 19:38:26 A company must see that it is benefiting from its relationships with suppliers and customers. If it is not, it should fix or discontinue those relationships. I have seen companies lose a lot of money because they were afraid to tell a customer that they were losing money on the deal. It hurts the business and it hurts the other customers of the company.In a story that seems to be taking on a life of its own, Sprint
announced it was going to drop 1000 customers for excessively contacting customer service. I have made comments on several of these posts and now I think I'll chime in here.I agree with Seth - they should use the savings to do a better job for the rest of their customers. I also agree with him that different customers may require different methods. I agree with Dan - You should figure out one customer you probably need to fire.As I told Cord - This is an interesting story but you have to wonder, why Sprint did not come forward with the “full story” as told on Read more:Business
Business Analysis - what is the iPhone? Phone, Computer, or Transformer 2007-07-10 14:40:38 I had hoped to be done with iPhone
blogs but Julie on her blog, The Dozen, made a request for opinions and as I pondered mine I decided it was too much to put in a comment. I also like trackbacks because it then allows me to make a comment and at the same time have that comment fed to readers via Feedburner.There are those, like Paul Paetz of the Disruption Group, who feel the iPhone is not a phone at all but a portable computer that allows you to also make calls. If you wanted to you could put a card in your laptop and use it in a very similar fashion - not as conveniently. I personally don't know that I want everything on one device. If the battery or some other critical piece goes out, you have nothing. As I have said on my own blog - I would prefer a way to seamlessly integrate each of my devices so that I can listen to music through my phone, stereo, or computer regardless of which device has the files. The same goes for making calls and viewing movies. The egg image is Read more:Business
, Analysis
, Computer
, Transformer
Leading - New wine in an old bottle (Breaking the old rules) Part 3 2007-07-10 11:10:10 Establishing new rules and the way they are initially implemented sets the tone for the future. As discussed in the previous two posts a new leader has several challenges when stepping into an existing situation. After the issue of being a stranger in a strange land has been dealt with, it is time to establish who is the boss. Covey says that one of the habits of highly successful leaders is a desire to first seek to understand, then to be understood. He does not say a leader has an infinite amount of time to gain that understanding. (Gannon Beck has an interesting Marine Corps version of the 7 Habits - a very entertaining read.)Each of the following has advantages1. Draconian change2. Gradual transition3. Shock and Awe4. Arm wrestling5. Meek and MildWhich side of the line benefits the most depends on which strategy is chosen and how well the appropriate strategy is employed…
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, Leading
, Breaking
Leading - New wine in an old bottle (Why was a new leader needed?) Part 2 2007-07-09 23:49:12 The reason a new leader is brought in has a big effect on the way the new leader is viewed. The reasons for change can be put in just a few categories. There a million specific reasons, but this is a blog not a Tolstoy novel or the Kennedy assassination recap by Bugliosi ("Reclaiming History" is 1692 pages.).1. The previous leader left of their choosing (new job, retirement, illness, death…)2. The previous leader was asked to leave (fired, demoted, lateral transfer…)3. The previous leader was promoted The images for this set of posts were used with permission from www.wpclipart.com Where you will find hundreds of images that have been placed in the public domain. This image is a depiction of Patrick Henry proclaiming "Give me libery, or give me death!" How a leader handles each of these in the first few days or weeks will determine how long that leader stays and how successful at that positi Read more:bottle
, Leading
Leading - New wine in an old bottle (Leading an established entity) Part 1 2007-07-09 15:14:16 Perhaps the analogy will be lost on those who are not familiar with winemaking. Maybe it should be trying to install a new operating system on an old computer. What about, bringing a Mac into a Windows world. Finally, I could go with, trying to get dial-up users to switch to iPhones is a more up-to-date metaphor. As a company grows, struggles, or just passes through the normal stages of operating, managers, bosses, and leaders will come and go. Founders are often asked to step aside, step aside willingly, or are forced aside as a company matures, faces difficulties or the capacity of the founder is exceeded. The transition is often difficult because change is not usually a welcome event. People like consistency and change is typically viewed as the opposite of consistency. The images for this set of posts were used with permission from www.wpclipart.com/US_History/ Where you will find hundreds of images that have been placed in the public domain. One of the more difficult tasks a l Read more:bottle
, Leading
Reaction instead of action - usually the wrong move 2007-07-07 13:01:04 I recently read on the WebMetricsGuru blog, that Squidoo is changing because of complaints not because of a desire to do better. Complaints have been coming, from a limited number of people, that Squidoo is just a spammer, SEO gamer, and porn trading haven. This has not been my experience but then I have the Safe Browsing setting on "G" and I don't browse Squidoo much. The same complaints lobbied at Squidoo can be said for the Internet as well. I don't hear any of these people asking to have it closed down. Squidoo is going to take away the ability to use iFrames on lenses as a reaction not an action. This adversely affects me because I use it to display ScribD hosted PDF files and to point people to Joe Martin's cartoon of the day. ScribD allows you to put files online as Word, HTML and PDF files that can be read online and where you can limit the format and download capabilities of readers. It also means that people can see what they will get before downlo Read more:usually
Why does Rupert Murdoch want the Wall Street Journal? 2007-07-05 21:35:02 Business is more like chess than checkers. You have to plan your moves several steps ahead. You need to make multiple small steps to setup your big move. If nothing else is to be learned from this current wave of mergers and acquisitions, understand that these moves are part of much larger plays. This move by News Corp. is not the beginning nor the end of the game, but another step in RupertMurdoch
's long plan to be the dominant source of news around the world.If you do not understand the analogy of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic then you may have trouble understanding this story. If you do understand the analogy then you may wonder why all of this is going on in the first place. Then again, maybe Rupert is smarter than we give him credit for...
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, Journal
, Wall Street
, Wall Street Journal
, Rupert Murdoch
The Right Name Makes a Difference 2007-07-22 23:13:41 This will be a very short post about branding. I was looking at the Sitemeter report that shows the number of visitors to this blog. One of the other reports is Referrals. This shows what pages people were on that led them to this blog. I like to see which Google searches result in visits here and what sites bring the most traffic. One site that caught my eye is Casatelenovela. This was a bit odd since I did not think I had written anything related to that topic. (It turns out that it is another Know More Media blog - they are looking for a writer for that blog if you are interested.) This blog, Modern Magellans, is only about 60 days old. There have been 95 posts and 80 comments. Traffic has been growing slowly but that is to be expected. As of this post the average visit rate is 32 people viewing 44 pages a day. There are about 40 feedburner readers. I had a nice chat with Liz (the Successful Blog) via Skype yesterday and she said that these numbers were not bad for 60 days. Ho Read more:Right
Saturday Post - A Very Good Week 2007-07-21 02:01:01 This past week saw the release of the Age of Conversation anthology. Over 100 authors particiapated in the creation of this book. It has received significant media attention and sales in just one week.AdAgeSocial ComputingMedia Post's Marketing DailyMedia Daily NewsMarketing Profs Daily FixFast CompanyBusinessWeekPSFKDes Moines Register Tuesday will mark the 2nd month of this blog - almost 100 post so far. Technorati rating as of today 282. It was 193 at the beginning of July. The links provided by the other authors of the AoC have certainly helped. (Of course this is nothing compared to Xu Jinglei) It was actually last week but I did not see it until Sunday or Monday, Slate.com cited my post about Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal. That helpped traffic a little and helped me to work on being more topical once in a while. Best laugh of the week came from watching the video recommended by Roger van Oech's Creative Think blog.
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Mistakes Happen - Prepare Now, Prepare Well 2007-07-24 18:23:42 People expect a certain level of redundancy from Internet Services companies. Such as backing up all data, backup power, and for larger operations redundant facilities so that the service remains available if the main location is offline. For our own systems we know we should, but don't always, backup our hard drive and important files. What we do with our backups depends on how important they are. Valuable files need to be stored offsite. This way, if there is a fire or other catastrophe, the backups are not destroyed with the originals.It was with a bit of a laugh that I read this note from Technorati today. The system had been off for about an hour. When it returned I went to the message they had highlighted at the top of the screen...
What is Your MTBF? (Mean Time Between Failures) 2007-07-23 17:54:16 In the world of Information Technology, or manufacturing, MTBF is a measure of reliability. It is a measure of the time you can expect an item to work before it experiences a serious malfunction. Some people see this as another way to describe planned, or programmed, obsolescence; the period of time over which an item is designed to function and then fail. Failure of a computer part or machine usually requires the purchase of a replacement. This can give a manufacturer an expected rate of repeat business.If you look at this on a personal level, it has a different meaning. Everyone has failures. Failing is a part of living. Few people like to fail and failure can be interpreted in a negative way, but it is an unpleasant fact. One might even say it is an inconvenient truth. If you look at the rate of failures in your business, it can be an indication of several things...
Genius or Deception? – Selling Something for $1 That Can Be Had for 1 Penny 2007-07-27 14:13:51 Reuters is reporting to day that Pepsi will begin adding to their Aquafina brand labels that the water comes from a "Public Water Source" but it will not say which. The water is filtered beyond what the public facility provides, so it is not just tap water in the strict sense. Pepsi argues that it will not make a difference in sales since this has been common knowledge for some time. Are the Ad Men and Women that Good?Is the reason people are willing to pay a dollar, or 3 in the airport, for something that can be obtained for much less, one of ignorance, confidence, or suspicion? It may be all three or maybe something else. Have the marketing geniuses finally demonstrated that they really can sell ice to Eskimos? It this carrying coal to Newcastle and getting them to buy it? Is it really something we can have for a penny? Perhaps the filter you use at home could never be as good as what Pepsi provides.
Read more:Deception
, Penny
Why Don't People Call Back? 2007-07-26 19:56:32 I have seen too many companies that collect information at trade shows and meetings that then fail to follow through with a call or mailer. Why collect information from people who stop by the booth and then just add it to the database for some future use? What purpose is served when a customer service representative takes a note to be passed on to a product manager or technical specialist and that customer is never contacted?Whenever I am asked about the best strategy for growth I tell people: stop losing customers. Everyone loses customers. It happens. Not everyone will be a raving fan. The trick then is to lose fewer customers, or a smaller percentage, than you competition. In "How to Talk to Customers" Diane Berenbaum and Tom Larkin describe the Magic system. Magic: Make A Great Impression on Customers
Growth Options – Business Development 2007-07-25 16:57:20 Nerd Guru had a very informative post about growing a business that inspired me to think about looking for more examples of thinking about growth differently. When I developed the "More Cycle" (Chapter 6) I was primarily thinking about businesses that were very focused. Often they don't see how their product or service can be easily expanded.
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, Options
, Business
, Development
No Shock - Murdoch Buys WSJ and the rest of Dow Jones & Co with it 2007-08-01 19:30:23 Having written about this a few weeks ago, in an article that was referenced by Slate.com, it should come as no surprise to readers of this blog, that Rupert Murdoch
has succeeded yet again in his quest to increase his media empire. It was announced officially this afternoon - see the WSJ article (may require a subscription) There is some concern about the various assets of Dow Jones
& Co remaining neutral, if that is what they have been in the past. Perhaps they will even move farther to one side after a while. There is also talk of some of the assets being sold off to accelerate the recovery of the $5 billion paid by News Corp. Not every family member was happy with the deal but enough were willing to go along and for News Corp. that was good enough. There were symbolic resignations from the board, the Wall Street Journal, and other properties. Perhaps they should have waited as many received change of control additions to their contracts in June. (the picture for this blog is an Read more:Shock
Paying Consultants – Performance or Hours? 2007-08-01 15:33:24 For early stage companies, Consultants
are often a luxury they cannot easily afford. At the same time, a consultant is possibly just what they need. Figuring out the balance is a difficult task. Start-ups want to pay using equity or a percentage of the deliverable. Consultants want some cash up front because too often start-up equity never achieves liquidity. If you are interested in the appropriate salary range, you may want to do some online research first. PayScale.com is a great resource to start with. If you are considering an SEO or SEM consultant, you may want to look at fellow Know More Media Blogger Marshall Sponder's July 28th post on Search Engine Optimization Pricing. One of the great things about the amount of information available on the web is the ease of finding competitive information such as this. One used to have to as for a stack of proposals and to get a feel for the average price. Now, a simple search and you have the information you need.Finding t Read more:Performance
, Hours
Which Would You Invest In - Biotech or IT? 2007-07-31 20:44:09 Which is more important - Biotech or IT? Do we show it by our investments? Do we encourage one over the other by legislation? If there were two stories, two competing headlines, one for the new iPhone and one for the recent advance in diabetes research, which do you read? Which is more important for our future? Perhaps most people consider it sufficient to read about pharmaceuticals in the context of which celebutart (Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, or Nichole Ritchie) has been arrested this week.I was intrigued by Guy Kawasaki's interview with Moira Gunn that he posted yesterday. I'm not sure I care for the title. I think that it might hurt her ability to be taken seriously but that is between Moira and Guy I suppose.My thoughts were piqued by one of the questions he asked? "Just how pervasive is biotech in our everyday lives?" I imagine that very few people realize how pervasive it is. Her answer was very enlightening. (the link above will take you there. I'm not s
Better Sliced Bread But No Takers 2007-07-30 23:02:12 Last month I wrote an article "Effectiveness - Right Thing, Right Time, Right Place" Recently I have found a new example. I have been working with two small companies; both are about 5 years along. Both companies have some very nice, patented technology. As you can imagine, both believe they are on the verge of great things. I can see where they could but I was having trouble with a nagging question...
Read more:Bread
Getting a better connection 2007-07-29 07:11:42 On weekends, so that more people can find this blog, I usually try to do a few housekeeping and linking projects. One is joining the Blog Catalog. If you have a blog it may well be worth your time to join.You can also find a number of similar blogs or blogs on a topic you are researching. If you would like, you can rate this blog on the Blog Catalog - <a href="http://www.blogcatalog.com" mce_href="http://www.blogcatalog.com" title="Blog Directory, Find A Blog, Submit A Blog, Search For The Best Blogs"> Blog Catalog Blog Directory </a> There are a number of things joining such a site can provide: <a href="http://www.blogcatalog.com" mce_href="http://www.blogcatalog.com" title="Blog Directory, Find A Blog, Submit A B Read more:better
, connection
Modern Magellans makes Technorati #1 2007-08-04 12:49:55 I have been working hard to get a higher ranking but this was much more than I expected. When I went to check my Technorati
position today I got the shock of my life. I quickly screen captured it so that I had eveidence. I also called witnesses to see that I had not just editted a file. Here is the screen capture - click to enlarge: I realize that it is probably some glitch in the software but for a few minutes anyway it was a great feeling. I would like to thank everyone who visited and linked to this blog to make it possible. I could not have done it with out your help.
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, makes
Saturday Post - Cataloging 2007-08-03 21:32:55 As with any marketing project - building awareness is a key factor. This post will primarily serve as a place to put links to blog catalog services.
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Is It OK to Put the Company On Autopilot? 2007-08-03 15:14:27 Recently I was approached to see if I had any advice for a company that has wireless ground moisture sensors. As a person who has a fairly large garden, I immediately envisioned have these units all over my yard. I would know where there was too much water and where more was needed. The next thought was that I could tie this to a computer and to the sprinkler control system and never have to go out to find dry spots or hand water. In business, there are times when we try to do something similar. Today in the OC Register, John Gittelsohn wrote a piece on Henry T. Nicholas III, former CEO of Broadcom, and his involvement in an options backdating case. Nicholas said that the options were given to provide a stake in the company for everyone. That's great. The troubling part of the article is this:
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