Curious Voyager - Live like you mean it!

Metrics or Measurements In Business

This week there was a great guest post on The Tom Peters Weblog by Steve Yastrow, The Follies Of Marketing Measurement. I really enjoyed the article however I fully believe that this can be taken to many other facets of business.

I followed the article up by going to Steve Yastrow’s web site and looking up more of what he had to say and found the following; “The post focuses on the myopia inherent when an executive says, “If you can’t measure it, it’s not worth doing.”  What BS.  There are many things that can’t be measured directly that are worth doing.” Unfortunately too many businesses (large or small) fall into this belief.

Metrics are great histories however living by them is defeatist in nature. If you keep cutting to make the past numbers work and do not make an investment in the future you may not be there to reap the rewards. The future brings new and perhaps better opportunities for growth but if we plan our future on the absolute of the past we will never see it. Instead of how can we change to make those numbers work how about how can we change to make those numbers change for the better.

I would like to paraphrase a metaphorical statement that we have all heard, “Live by metrics, die by metrics”. It takes much more. Life is more than numbers. Steve’s last line in his entry; “… Look at them from many angles. Understand them.  And then, look past the numbers and make the right decision.”

The future is not the past. One needs to take historical information, analyze it and then plan for and make an investment in the future. ROI is Return On Investment, I have never heard of Return On Metrics.

Addition To The Last Post

I forgot to say that the table is inside the door of the Starbucks at Jungle Jim’s  where I like to do my research. It is pleasant since someone else makes the coffee and that coffee (Pike’s Place) is not bad. I do about 2 a day and then occasionally throw  in a Green Tea Frappuccino® with whipped crème. It’s rough life but someone has to do it.  We can consider it one of my ways of contributing to the economy.

Office Picture

Ok here is my office picture. Note the Starbucks “REUSE” mug and the table by  the door. Well I guess you can’t really see the door but it is there. This is my favorite work space. At the moment the Beetles are playing in the background and I am researching my next seminar. I have the power of focus – one has too in this environment.

 

Web Worker & Other – It’s Saturday

OK here I am at Starbucks and catching up on the news. It’s been a GREAT week doing another Windows 7 preview, I am not only getting good at it I am   enjoying it. Also discussed “Online Social Networking: Best Practices” and that was interesting because I do not comply with what others say are “Best Practices”. Oh well that is life.

Found a great article for web workers on the road at Web Worker Daily titled Mobile Workspaces: What To Look For and it is a good read. I often find the problems that are discussed. Panera Bread advertises Free Wireless however there are very few outlets for one to connect to. Read more.

I am not sure how I missed this but the IEEE ratified the 802.11n specification on September 11th. I have been using the ‘draft’ versions for a long time now and totally forgot that it had never been ratified. Well there you go. Read more. I find it interesting that I discovered this information in Web Worker Daily which led me to a Dr.Dobbs blog post and from that to IEEE. I had to verify.

OK so I have my invite to the new Microsoft Web Apps and now I have to find a computer that does not have Office 2007 on it to test them out because it will open my application. You have to have a Skydrive account to access these tools and I have been looking for this for sometime. Go to Microsoft Live and sign up and perhaps you could also get invited but do it quickly. Skydrive gives you 25 GB of space and that is a great place to put documents and have access from anywhere.

Have to do more reading. Enjoy Saturday, I am headed to the Ocktoberfest in downtown Zinzinnati.

Discovery – Every Once In Awhile

A couple of weeks ago while listening to the TWiT podcast Om Malik was a guest. At one time I had been downloading Om’s podcast but got away from it. While on TWiT Om was discussing the new GIGAOM network and I found it interesting but as time goes on I was in the car listening and then promptly forgot about it.

While going through my RSS feeds on Google Reader and reviewing my Google Alerts (which if you do not use you should) I discovered a link back to WEB WORKER DAILY which is A GIGAOM NETWORK SITE. It was a great read and then I started looking at other items around The GigaOM Network and let me say it is worth the time. Go for it – GIGAOM!

Oh yes, and while you are at it check out TWiG – This Week in Google which is part of the TWiT Netcast Netwwork. It is with Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis (Buzz Machine and his book: What Would Google Do) and Gina Trapani (Smarterware).

Netbook Issues For The Future

If you have read my posts I have become an avid netbook user. My HP Mini is fantastic however some of the issues that I have had with it are software related.

Most current software takes up too much of the landscape at the top of the page. Office 2007 allows you to hide the ribbon and I have come to love that on the netbook however at present that is the only piece of software like it.

Browsers IE8, Firefox, and Google Chrome take up more of the top half of your working monitor than need be. Google Chrome is the worse as you can see from the side clip. IE8 and Firefox take up between 20% and 25% whereas Google Chrome takes up about 50%. Google – this isn’t going to work. It looks nice however it is impractical.

I am one who bought the netbook knowing what it was since I have owned notebook computers for many years. I did not buy this in error.

Understand that Adobe, Microsoft, and others have this issue with the software that requires 1024 by 768 resolution. The dialog boxes are the prime issue because the developers have made them where they cannot be resized. This netbook is powerful and I intend to use software that will work on it.

Microsoft vs. Google (or Google vs. Microsoft)

There is an article in InformationWeek, Aug 31 edition titled “Microsoft, Google Ready To Square Off” and I found it very interesting. This is beginning to sound like the proverbial High School Thanksgiving football game or some college rivalry. My questions are; 1) who is the home team? 2) who is the underdog? 3) what is the point spread?

Google being the upstart I would put into both the underdog’s position as well as a potential favorite however Microsoft just could be the home team with great support. 

Google is quick and agile however they do not have the strength of Microsoft. Google’s email, contacts and calendar special teams are very good (and I use them every day) however Microsoft’s front line of application software is without a doubt the best. Google Docs are nice if used in a note taking function but do not have the stamina of Microsoft Office.

Writer’s Note: I have seen nothing that will replace my Microsoft OneNote and Windows Live Writer (with which this post is being written).

The next year will be interesting and even though I am a lone voice in the wind I will keep on evaluating what works best in what situations.