The Gradient

Book Review - The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs

2011-12-28T16:38:00.002-06:00

I just completed The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs. The book is a nice, easy read with plenty of insight into the Steve Jobs approach to innovation.

Here are some key takeaways from the book that I have:

Apple did not create any truly 'new' inventions. They took existing concepts to the limits. 1000 songs in your pocket. The thinnest laptop.
One key principle is 'Simplicity'. Do only the minimal amount of features required to make the product useful.
Have deep passion about what you do and why you do it. Make products you want to use.
Learn outside your field. Apple learned design from many non-computer places. They hired designers and artists from different fields to be a part of it.
Change the world.

There is a lot we can learn from Steve and Apple.

What's wrong with offshoring for software jobs

2011-10-19T09:34:00.003-05:00

In my job I spend a lot of time talking with various offshoring companies. I feel that offshoring is an important tool to consider when growing a company. I can talk more along these lines ('necessity') if there is interest, but that is not the focus of this post.

I keep running into the same problem and I think this presents an opportunity and a challenge to these companies. The problem can be summarized in the following question:

Who is responsible for the team and the team's productivity?

From what I can tell, the most comment offshoring company thought process is as follows:

I (the offshore company) can provide to you plenty of resources with foo skill set. 'foo' could be Java programming, cloud development, testing services, cloud management services or any other skill set.

While skill/knowledge is critical to the job, there are other critical elements that can get in the way. I will refer to Joel Spolsky's model, of 'smart and gets things done'.

First, let me say that in my experience, I believe these companies have smart people. I am very impressed with the education systems in the various countries and their ability to get people ready. I have no issues here.

What's really missing is what happens after someone begins a job (the 'gets things done' part). In solid software companies, starting a job is only the beginning. People begin a career, learning how the company works, working with other smart people, and producing useful and high quality software in the context of how the company works.

Unless you are a company producing lots of small, independent apps, your code will be interrelated. No programmer is on an island.

We have seen that this process requires a high dose of collaboration, and in that process knowledge transfer, learning and debate. This is not something that can happen effectively over the phone or using some other remote communication model. At least not as the only communication model. The team building aspect takes a lot of time. The term 'jelling of a team' has been used to describe this process.

If it goes well, this process leads to highly productive teams. Let me be clear, I used the word 'team' instead of ' individuals'.

From the experience I have so far - I have not seen an offshore company that deals directly with this aspect. I have many theories about why this is the case.

What are your thoughts on this?

It Doesn’t Exist If It Isn’t Written Down

2011-07-26T11:16:00.001-05:00

http://professorford.com/2011/06/06/it-doesn%E2%80%99t-exist-if-it-isn%E2%80%99t-written-down/

This is related to the previous article about integrity. I find that writing things down is critical to my personal productivity. Once written down, I free my mind up to focus on higher value activities rather than trying to remember things.

Where do you keep your word after you give it?

2011-07-26T11:05:00.001-05:00

http://professorford.com/2011/06/01/where-do-you-keep-your-word-after-you-give-it/

Integrity: Without It Nothing Works

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=920625

This is good reading and I agree with it 100%.

11 things Microsoft did right in fiscal 2011

2011-06-14T09:48:00.000-05:00

http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/article/11-things-Microsoft-did-right-in-fiscal-2011/1307976732

Where Is the Listening?

2011-05-22T19:32:00.001-05:00

This is a good one also. This is something I think about a lot...

http://professorford.com/2011/04/13/where-is-the-listening/

Does Authority Reduce Leader Effectiveness?

2011-05-22T19:29:00.000-05:00

http://professorford.com/2011/04/20/does-authority-reduce-leader-effectiveness/

This is a nice blog post... worth a read.

The Verizon iPhone

2011-02-28T07:49:00.003-06:00

I recently posted about a Windows Phone 7 device that I have had the joy of carrying around. It's a demo unit, but it has been loads of fun. There was one major drawback, though, and that was lack of CDMA network support... which means "No Verizon". As I understand it, there are plans for that... however, my network is Verizon.

The Windows Phone 7 is on T-Mobile. I have been carrying around both phones. In my experience, Verizon has been far superior in getting the phone to work.

However, this was not meant to be a post about that. I want to just focus on my new Verizon phone... the iPhone 4.

In short, the phone is excellent. Having worked with previous iPhones, everything is as it should be... except, I can make calls on it consistently. When I carried around an AT&T iPhone as a demo, it was great and fun to play with, except that I couldn't count on it when I really needed to, to be a phone.

I also pay for the tethering package from Verizon. This allows me to use the phone as a 3G modem if I am in a hotel and they want me to pay $15 for internet access per day. Tethering is integrated nicely into the iPhone.

In short... the Verizon iPhone is an iPhone that also works as a phone consistently.

Windows Phone 7 ... worth a shot...

2011-02-20T18:29:00.005-06:00

I recently was given the opportunity to spend serious time with a new Windows Phone 7. The specific model is an HTC HD7 running on T-Mobile. I m going to spend time talking about the phone and not T-Mobile.

My first impressions were very positive. The first thing I was looking for was how responsive the user interface was. I had previously has a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone (HTC Imagio ... don't buy one!). The user interface was very slow and the phone, at time, was unusable. The HD7 is quite the opposite. I have found it as responsive as the iPhone 4 (more on my new iPhone 4 in a later post).

The phone, in general, is very enjoyable to work with. It comes with excellent email integration. Integration to Exchange was flawless. It took only a few minutes to set up. Integration to Gmail was simple as well. Web browsing is excellent, as well. The built-in Internet Explorer performs admirably.

The 'killer app' part of the phone is the integrated contacts list. You can enter your various contact list logins, such as Facebook, Windows Live, Exchange, etc... When you pull up a contact, the phone has already combined the contact information into a single contact. Also, you can get the contact's picture and status updates. The clearly differentiates the device from the iPhone. It's an excellent experience. Your user profile is easy to update as well, and updates across your various services.

If you are about to get a new phone and one of these is available, you might want to give it a shot. The phone has great potential. The apps are not there, yet, but that is only a matter of time, especially given the Nokia announcement.

Rule #1: Human First, Then Leader

2010-12-17T14:31:00.002-06:00

Read at TerryStarbucker.com

Human First, THEN Leader
We have to keep humanity first, before we can truly inspire and lead.

Can we eat to starve cancer?

2010-12-03T12:17:00.001-06:00

This is an unbelievable talk... 20 minutes well worth your time!

http://www.ted.com/talks/william_li.html

What Does it Mean to Work Hard?

2010-12-03T07:21:00.002-06:00

I am beginning to really enjoy RibbonFarm.

Here is the latest post, What Does It Mean to Work Hard?

I hope you enjoy it. I definitely fall into the category of 'negative space', in that I am probably working more hours per week than I think.

The iPad... 30 days

2010-11-25T10:21:00.004-06:00

As many of you know, I now have added an iPad to the collection of devices I use. I have concluded that for my use, it is somewhere in between and iPhone and a Windows 7 Laptop. My conclusion is that for its size and value, it is worth adding to my backpack, but I won't be removing the laptop.

iPad > iPhone

The iPad is definitely capable of doing much more in a more ergonomic fashion than an iPhone. For instance, surfing the web, doing some online shopping, and checking in on your friends using Facebook (I am using 'Friendly lite'). It is not a phone though. I am using the WIFI version, so I always need a WIFI connection to use the internet, but not to watch videos.

My favorite use of the iPad is to watch TED videos on the plane.

Also, the most surprising thing about the iPad is the battery life. I can go a whole day, with heavy use, and never worry about battery life. More on that below.

iPad > Tablet PC (Lenovo X61 Tablet)

The biggest thing that the iPad does for me is to allow me to be untethered during the day, keeping up with meetings and urgent emails. It weights so much less than the Thinkpad, even though I have a small Thinkpad. I recently discovered the iPad makes a great 'carrying around' device for coferences. You can take notes, email them, then later dump them into OneNote (one of my favorite apps, especially when used with Windows Live SkyDrive and the 25 GB it offers for free. OneNote natively integrates, so I have my Notebook on every Windows PC I use, work, home, laptop, lake house PC.

One big difference between the iPad and the tablet is the battery life. All day (iPad) versus 4 hours max. (Tablet, with Battery settings minimized, and the screen is hard to see).

Tablet PC > iPad

The iPad is not a replacement for a desktop Windows 7 machine or laptop. At least, not for business uses. Most of my business apps do not run on it. For instance, if I need to schedule a Live Meeting with coworkers... can't do it. If I need to work with SharePoint and office documents, the iPad just doesn't get it done consistently. Office Communicator... no way.

And, many web apps do not support the Safari browser. There is no Flash player (at least unless you want to Jailbreak, search for 'Frash').

There is one glaring feature missing in the iPad, which requires Jailbreaking to get. That is the ability to hook a projector up and run a demo of your homegrown iPad application. If you Jailbreak, there is a great app called 'DisplayOut' which works like a charm, but for some reason Apple doesn't like it.

One of my coworkers said the other day: "Steve Jobs likes to play God. He makes the decisions for you whether you like them or not."

Ok, Tofurkey is coming soon, with family and friends, so I will cut this short... Enjoy your holiday!

Here's to hoping Microsoft Windows Phone 7 is a home run...

2010-10-13T17:46:00.004-05:00

Are your employees empowered or are they victims?

2010-10-01T11:34:00.001-05:00

Golf at Whistler

2010-09-11T00:44:00.001-05:00

My Windows Media Center Setup

2010-08-21T10:57:00.003-05:00

My friends know I am a bit of a computer hack. I live to experiment with technologies. For several years I was running a home media center using MythTV. It was really cool to show off but it took some serious time to maintain. Luckily there were lots of people out there doing the same things that I could learn from.

A friend told me about BeyondTV, but I never took the time to get into it. He really loves it.

One of the reasons I didn't invest was that I upgraded my home package to AT&T U-verse. U-verse came with a Hi-Def DVR, which worked pretty well and didn't require me to maintain anything (especially not Linux).

After upgrading some of my home computer systems to Windows 7, I realized that I had Microsoft's Media Center Server at my fingertips. It looks to be able to be a DVR, but I am not really sure how to capture Hi-Dev video off of AT&T U-verse and I didn't really need to be able to.

I have a large collection of DVD's. Entire seasons of 24, for instance, and many movies. The one thing I don't like about DVD's is that they take up space. Yes, you can put them on a spindle and that reduces the space, but they still are physical objects. Also, they go bad. They get scratches and get lost...

I decided to start recording my DVD's into MP4 files and storing them on Media Center, using MyMovies to pull down cover artwork, descriptions, actors, etc...
Now, this is really cool technology, but I dont want to have to watch movies on my computer. I'd really like to watch them on my HDTV. I did some research and found out you can buy technology to act as a Media Center Front End. This is a device that can connect to Media Center Server and bring forward any media and stream it/control it with the front end. The Front End can connect directly to a TV, and voila!

My first front end was a DLINK DSM-750. It had decent reviews and a 'wife-friendly' remote. We hooked it up and it worked great for a while. Eventually we started discovering stange things, like after pausing a movie it would just hang. The bad part of this then was even more apparent when we realized it was nearly impossible to fast forward to the place you were at after rebooting the thing. I went online thinking that I could just upgrade the firmware and that eventually the software would get better. It turns out DLINK decided to stop supporting this model. BTW, they are still selling it. DLINK lost a lot of reputation with me based on this.

Here is a helpful tip:

DON'T BUY a DLINK DSM-750!

Enter XBOX 360. XBOX360 can be connected to your network wirelessly (I ended up connecting it wired for better throughput) and can act as a Media Center Front End. It's a little strange using an XBOX controller as a remote, though. It's not so 'wife-friendly'. However, Microsoft is updating the software and making it work well. I bought one used off of eBay and I have been very happy with it. After initial install, it upgraded itself several times and now acts as a great front-end, of course except for the wife-friendly remote.

Next steps...

I now have an older PC out ay my lake house running Win 7. I need to find a way to keep my Media Library synchronized out there. So far I have been carrying a USB drive back and forth with the latest stuff on it. I have also tried to use WEBDAV to share my media and pull it down using file synchronization software across the internet. Thiis has proved to be a hard problem.

If anyone has any good ideas on how to keep a media library in synch across the internet, I am all ears.

How Ideas Trump Crises

2010-08-21T08:36:00.000-05:00

This is a nice talk by economist Alex Tabarrok.

Checking In...

2010-08-19T06:22:00.002-05:00

I've been absent when it comes to blogging for a while. Here's a quick post to get things going again... a brief set of topics (not in any particular order) that I plan to write more about shortly...

I've been doing my best to again 'break 80' on the golf course. This has been a personal battle that was on haitus for about 6 months after the passing of my mother in law... but I am back at it...

My wife and I bought a place on Lake Conroe and I have been spending time out there on the weekends... it's given me a different perspective.

My team at work is continuing to amaze me. I have plenty to talk about here. To give a few hints... iPad, Salesforce.com, Microsoft SharePoint 2010... more to come...

I have a new dog. 'Izzy' the Shetland Sheepdog.

I am deep into Neil Stephenson's "Anathem".

My Windows Media Center project.

Using Google Voice... this is a game-changing technology.

More to come...

How success is measured... in the lives that you touch

2009-10-22T09:01:00.003-05:00

My mother in law passed away last Saturday night. I knew her, but not as well as I should have. Over the last week we have been planning a service and I have been coordinating getting the message out. I have learned that Karen touched the lives of many people through teaching.

I have read letter after letter of testimonials to how Karen changed the lives of many people of all ages. My wife and I are getting to see a side of her that we never knew about. We are so very proud to have known her.

After spending the last month with her circle of friends, it is clear that they just loved having her around them. She helped soften the rough edges of everyone's personality and changed the people that were around her.

She will be sorely missed.

http://www.star-telegram.com/obituaries/story/1703355.html

My best friend...

2009-10-20T23:16:00.002-05:00

I want to show everyone my best friend... she left me yesterday.

Sacred Hoops

2009-09-20T11:10:00.004-05:00

If you don't know Phil Jackson, you should get to know him. He was the coach of many NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Now, the coach of the LA Lakers, and continuing to win championships.

If you want to know what it takes to manage great egos, to build great teams, and how to work with people, in general, I recommend you read this book.

The book mixes philosophy with history and takes you through many of the events in the history of the Bulls. It also helps you to understand Phil's philosophy, a mix of Zen and Christianity.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and wish it hadn't sat on my shelf for so many years before I picked it up. You don't need to be a sports fan to appreciate this book, but you will enjoy it even more if you are.

This book is all about how to make 1+1=3 (or more).

The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity

2009-09-19T11:57:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post... this is a great, short book that talks about how prices play into our everyday lives. It's an easy read... just a few hours, but it puts in perspective our entire economic system.

Whatever your politics are, you will get something out of this book.

My employer is a pricing systems vendor, so this has particular relevance to me. I hope you enjoy it.

What I am reading...

2009-06-28T09:10:00.002-05:00

I am reading the following at this time:

(1) The Uplift Saga (3 books) by David Brin. This is pure sci fi fantasy, but really enjoyable.

(2) Several SharePoint books.

(3) about to start on a book about BizTalk 2009...

What's going on....

2009-06-28T08:55:00.001-05:00

It has been a while since I posted... This is just a quick "what's going on" update...

(1) Pricing Leadership Blog.

I am doing some light blogging over at http://www.pricingleadership.com. This is meant to be a blog about topics related to Pricing and I will be writing about technology topics.

(2) Keeping busy at work.

My team is working on several technology areas, from SharePoint MOSS 2007 to Blackberry to Salesforce.com, to name a few. I am drinking from the fire hose lately.

(3) Resting a bit.

My wife and I bought a house out at Lake Conroe, and we have been spending some weekends out there.

There is some really interesting stuff going on and I will write some posts soon. I have been getting a lot of experience with off-shoring, or really near-shoring, as some of our new development areas are being built working with a partner. There are some good lessons in this area I can share, especially around Agile and remote teams.

If you are interested in any of these topics, post a comment and let me know and I will target some future posts.

I hope things are going well for you in this economy. It is tough right now.

John

Book Review on Code Squeeze: Steve Krug's 'Don't Make Me Think'

2009-02-02T07:39:00.001-06:00

Code squeeze beat me to it... so I am linking in their review of the book...

http://www.codesqueeze.com/book-review-dont-make-me-think/

My first thoughts on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007)

2008-12-30T12:21:00.004-06:00

I am spending a lot of time over this break learning about SharePoint.

So far, I have to say I am very impressed. Microsoft has put together an application that will allow individuals with some data modeling and high-level software design skills the ability to build applications that are web-based with very little effort. This application, to me, just makes sense.

My company set up SharePoint 2003 and I just didn't get it. It seemed like a file-system, but with less usability and multiple annoyances, such as IT departments having drank the Microsoft marketing kool-aid to push it on us. I didn't see what value it really added.

Now I see where Microsoft has been investing in R&D in the last 4 years. The 2007 version is very powerful. I have researched SalesForce.com as well as other application configurator tools. MOSS incorporates many of the features, as well as integrating with Active Directory and Office on the Desktop. Offline capabilities are available. Much of the configuration capabilities are handled through the web browser.

The integration with Outlook 2007 is awesome. Some of the prebuilt workflows include document approvals, with integration as a Task in Outlook, and even notifications using email with workflow integration.

Microsoft appears to have built an amazing product, with lots of capabilites, to help companies manage the multitude of documents that are sitting on file systems. I can see where Bill is coming from in his optimism about the future of Microsoft competing with Google.

The battle is certainly not over, but I can see MOSS taking a hold in the enterprise. The capabilities are there now. Office is on a lot of corporate desktops. People are used to using it.

Count me as a believer! ... more to come as I learn more...

Bright ideas for 2009

2008-12-28T09:51:00.000-06:00

This is a nice collection of quotes from Houston people.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6183157.html

"...Houston is an utterly optimistic place. The surveys, he said, repeatedly show "that area residents remain stubbornly optimistic about their own and the region's future, despite deepening anxieties about the direction in which the country as a whole is heading."

Houston Farm Corps creator wins cash prize

2008-12-17T07:13:00.000-06:00

http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=11874&SnID=1521497554

"Hurricane Ike left more than 5.6 million cubic yards of fallen trees, broken branches and dead greenery in Houston, and Mayor Bill White today awarded a $2,500 cash prize to a Rice University employee who suggested founding Houston Farm Corps, a youth-oriented volunteer gardening initiative that would both get rid of the debris and teach kids the value of growing their own food."

Josh Tabin's post on the Rice Alliance event

2008-12-15T07:17:00.001-06:00

http://www.startuphouston.com/2008/12/14/one-crazy-week-part-1/

This is a good post. He has some additional information that I missed in my post.

Rice Alliance Event

2008-12-14T09:43:00.002-06:00

I attended a Rice Alliance event last Thursday. It was loads of fun and I learned a ton. The three keynote speakers,

all gave very interesting talks with good information.

Jeff spoke about "how we got where we are" in terms of the financial crisis. Here are some bullets from my notes of his talk:

The current crisis is caused by greed, in the negative sense of the word
It is a crisis of conscience
Spoke about "TheFunded.com"... there will be more openness in investing
Businesses will be transformed by the social networking phenomenon
His new company, Dachis corporation, is focused on bringing this to the enterprise
Beyond "buddies", currently we are in the "buddy" phenomenon, facebook, linkedIn ("who are my "buddies")
magnified communication; who should I be working with? how do they do business? business ecosystem of Your Business with Competitors, Customers, Partners, Suppliers, Employees, Stakeholders...
Technology will enable the strengthening of "weak ties"
How many of you have had a long-distant friend find you in the last few months, that you had forgot about? This is the strengthening of "weak ties"
The "Burn rate" mentality needs to go away, people should start companies that meet a market's needs and do it profitably... "basic business model"

Jaime spoke about the "connected generation", or those who are 18-24 right now, and their trends:

Always knowing a computer
Always knowing cell phones
Text messaging and other technologies that are used heavily
Are you considering these people in your strategy?
Have you used any of these sites?
myspace
facebook
orkut
hi5
linkedIn
flickr
yelp
netlog (I had never heard of it, but apparently 30 million in Europe have)
meetup
digg
bzzagent
bebo
xanga
zooped
twitter

Jones Soda - this is scaring Coke and Pepsi

Bruce's talk was a lot about Benchmark... very interesting, here are a few brief points

Getting money will be harder
Benchmark turned down eBay 2 times before funding, then they gave it only on a 3-2 vote
Benchmark turned down Google on a 1-4 vote
They make money by being "lucky"
The success stories like eBay fund the "unsuccessful" businesses

Overall, I would recommend this event for anyone interested in early stage companies. If you want to learn how this works, and see the people who are risking it all to be the next eBay or Google, this event is for you.

Crazy snow dog!

2008-12-14T09:41:00.002-06:00

http://www.dogwork.com/dogsnow/

New company that helps you manage your finances: http://rudder.com

2008-12-14T08:00:00.003-06:00

If you haven't heard of rudder, I highly recommend you check it out. This is a local Houston startup that has a unique approach to helping you manage your finances. I saw their presentation at the Rice Alliance event last Thursday and it was impressive. I met some of their team and they were passionate about what they do.

I signed up for an account myself and set up all of my accounts. It took about 5 minutes to do.

In case you are worried about security, they are a full Verisign-verified / https based service. They use your email as an approach to helping you stay up to date with what is going on. If you spend a little more time telling it about your recurring expenses, it will do forward-looking analysis to help you see where your money is going.

There is a lot this site can do to help people... I am bullish on these guys.

Really Good Food in Chelsea

2008-12-13T17:01:00.004-06:00

I just visited my friends in New York. I really enjoyed the restaurant Boqueria. The food and ambiance were both excellent. Check it out.

They had great vegetarian, but also, plenty of other stuff for the carnivores.

Also, this stuff was really good.

Lastly, the wine in the picture listed below was awesome.

Book Review: The Cuckoo's Egg

2008-12-13T16:54:00.002-06:00

If you are looking for a fun book, but with some good computer technology (UNIX :)), and a lot of suspense, you should pick up a copy of The Cuckoo's Egg, by Clifford Stoll. This book is an easy read, comes in paperback, and is loads of fun.

The premise of the book is an everyday I.T. guy tracks an international computer criminal. I won't ruin the end for you...

One last thing, the story is true. This isn't fiction.

Book Review: Innovator's Dilemma

2008-12-13T16:41:00.003-06:00

Using the cycles of the computer hard drive industry, this book deals with the difficulties many companies face with innovation. Innovation is necessary to survive. However, innovation threatens the internal existing products of a company and its culture, especially innovative companies.

This book is a must read for anyone in technology-related fields. The book is very timely, with the impending bailout of the automobile industry, while silicon valley is still running strong. Will we see any bailouts for Microsoft? Why is Microsoft able to continue to innovate?

The book suggests several strategies for dealing with disruptive technologies, such as the internet was to retailing. Christensen does a great job of setting up a hypothesis and proving it with multiple examples. There is hope for entrenched cultures, but you must act before the little guy, with the "bad product", down the street beats you to the punch.

My Ike Story

2008-09-17T18:20:00.003-05:00

My wife and I stayed in Houston through Ike. We lost power at about 2 am on Saturday morning. The winds were incredible. We stayed in the lower floor of the house to avoid flying debris coming through the windows. We had some water come through in a few places, but nothing more than a towel could handle. Our house was built in 1939 and held together nicely.

By about 10 am on Saturday, you could go outside but it was windy and raining a lot. We were able to get the dog to use the bathroom a few times as needed. By about 4 PM, I was able to get my generator running I had 5 gallons of gas that I had bought on Friday. I waited in line on Friday for 1.5 hours to get a generator... when we got into the store (a Home Depot about 25 miles from my house), we realized we were probably the 5 or 6 generators away from not getting one.

The generator ran out of fuel at about noon on Sunday. I didn't run it past about 9 or 10 PM at night, since it is very loud and I am sure the neighbors weren't happy. I was able to keep the fridge cool by running it 7 or 8 hours during the day time. I went out on Sunday to buy fuel and couldn't find a single open gas station for about 2 hours. Finally I found one and waited in line 1 hour to buy 5 gallons of gas. I also topped off my tank.

Monday and Tuesday progressively got better. On Monday, there were about 2 stations that had gas. On Tuesday there were 5 or 6. On both days, I spent about 2 hours locating and acquiring fuel for the generator.

My wife and I had food in the fridge and plenty of wine to drink. We didn't go hungry and had water and natural gas the whole time. We were able to cook, take hot showers and see by candle light at night. On Tuesday night the power came on for 15 minutes. Then we heard a huge explosion nearby. A transformer blew up. We had the entire fire department 2 houses down for about 15 minutes. Everything was OK, but there was no power again.

On Wednesday, half of the stations in Houston had gas. I was starting to run out, but I had a good feeling the power was going to be restored. That leads me to now...

The power was just restored 1 hour ago. The generator ran out of fuel about 15 minutes after that. I could have bought more gas, but I had a good feeling things were getting better.

The news out of Galveston is grim. My wife and I considered buying a house there a few years ago. I am glad we didn't. It would have been nerve racking.

The office is still without full power. Hopefully it will be back up tonight. The building took damage, but there are boards now covering the windows that blew out. We are on the 10 floor and I heard the storm was a category 3 (130+ mph winds) there.

My wife and I decided that next time, we will leave. It just wasn't worth it. I have never been as afraid for my life before. I looked out the window int he middle of the storm and couldn't believe the houses were staying standing. I can't imagine what a Cat 5 would have been like. I don't want to.

I hope everyone else fared well. The weather that came this week was a blessing. Typical Houston weather would have been unbearable without power. We were very lucky in many ways with this storm.

Our house has no real damage. The house across the street had a large tree fall on the roof. They are bringing in a crane to remove it and the house is not inhabitable at this time. They will need major repairs.

LinkedIn, finally paying off, 200 contacts achieved

2008-06-01T17:42:00.004-05:00

Lately I have been doing a lot of networking. I have to say, Linked In is a great tool. Here is my public profile if you want to research me, or link to me...

If you aren't using Linked In professionally, then you should. At first, it took some effort to get it going. More and more people began using it, and it has reached critical mass. For instance, I was looking for people with Sharepoint experience. Voila! I searched and found that there are several people out there, only 2 degrees away, that know people I am linked to. I reached out to them... we will see how that goes.

It's a great tool and, IMO, is just now becoming very valuable.

Oh, and as the title of this post says, I just reached 200 contacts...

The Driver, by Alexander Roy

2008-06-01T17:22:00.005-05:00

Another book review... this time, it's a fun book... not intended for professional growth or learning... the book is The Driver, by Alexander Roy.

At first, I had reservations about the book... I opened it on a plane to Chicago and started reading anyway. After 30 minutes, I was enthralled and had to keep reading until I finished it, which was on the plane back the next day.

This is a story of pure determination. Alex, or Polizei, as his friends and admirers call him, is a rally champion. He is willing to sacrifice everything for his dream. He is thorough in his planning and doesn't always play by rules... well for that matter, he never plays by the rules.

He has a web site setup called gumball144, which has all kinds of video clips, pictures and other media for you to enjoy. I would recommend reading the book first...

All I can say is that this book was most excellent and I have to thank my good friend, Michael Stuart, for recommending it to me. I am inspired to go do something like this, now.

Here are a few things I learned from the book (yes, I was still learning things even though it was a fun book :)):

Determination is very powerful
I should widen my scope of reading and not only focus on work-related books
I need to enjoy life a little bit more
We are all capable of amazing things, like driving non-stop for 32 hours

Oh, and if you are really interested, he has a movie coming out soon. It looks interesting...

Brief comments on Egonomics

2008-05-18T12:56:00.002-05:00

All I can say about this book is it is a must-read for anyone in a leadership position. I learned a lot from reading it... I hope to change some of my low-ego and high-ego behaviors based on it.

This book is worth its weight in gold for your life and career.

It's on sale right now for $6.99 at Amazon with free shipping...

Sonoma trip pictures

2008-05-18T12:30:00.005-05:00

Ok, I know it's been a while since I posted here, so I am going to drop some 411 on my latest vacation... in Sonoma Valley, CA. Here are some pictures...

Yes, that's me using an iPhone instead of relaxing :/

Here is a picture of John Kelly (left) and me (right) having a glass of wine on his vineyard property just outside of Kenwood, CA. John owns a boutique winery called Westwood. If you are in to Pinot Noir, you should look them up.

Here is a picture of Geyser Peak winery. We really enjoyed their wines.

Another photo from Jordan... good stuff.

A couple of photos (front, Sheryl and Snoopy) from the Charles M. Schulz museum. That guy was amazing...

The view from Matanza's Creek.

The most lively and entertaining tasting crew was at Rodney Strong.

It's official.... and my musings on Australia

2007-11-18T17:33:00.000-06:00

Well, it's official, mates! ... I'm now able to drive on the left side of the road in Australia. It was 5 minutes of sheer terror as I watched the cars approach me... but once I got past that I was able to do it. My wife and I drove approximately 500 Km (yes, it was Australia, and they converted to metric in the 1970's) in a hired car (that's a rental car to you and me in the USA).

We drove from Sydney to a place called Pokolbin, which is part of the Hunter Valley wine region. It's much less commercialized than Sonoma and Napa, which was nice. There were no fees to taste wines, and there were plenty of good ones.

We brought back a couple of bottles from Peterson's and learned about Verdelho, it's a wonderful white wine variety. We have found a few varieties sold here in Houston. It's always fun to learn something new!

Here are some general thoughts:

Yuch! ... there were flies almost everywhere... and they were aggressive. Imagine trying to hit a golf ball with a fly in your ear... not fun :( ... that's the only bad thing...
The people in Australia are very friendly and have a low worry quotient... "no worries, mate!"
Getting around was easy, although you have to get used to the "left side" being the primary side.
Sydney is beautiful, but hard from a transportation/commuting standpoint.
Melbourne isn't as beautiful, but is much easier to move about in.
The Great Ocean road is unbelievable. It's a must see. If you go, take the helicopter!
Overall, Australia is a very livable and vibrant place. There is a lot going on economically as well as in the arts. Prices were a bit high, but the dollar is weak right now. If the dollar were more solid, I would expect that prices would have been fine.

Why Living a Life of Gratitude Can Make You Happy

2007-09-22T15:35:00.000-05:00

I'm starting to really enjoy this Zen Habits blog!

Why Living a Life of Gratitude Can Make You Happy

Here's a poem from the article:

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.
~ Author Unknown ~

Habits: Good Tips

2007-09-22T15:00:00.001-05:00

Here are two great articles on Habits. They can be applied to any habit you are trying to change:

4 Simple Steps to Start The Exercise Habit

Set Up Habit Changes So It's Hard to Fail

Enjoy.

Making an Incremental Transition to Software Product Line Practice

2007-09-22T14:05:00.000-05:00

I found a really intriguing article about a transition to a software product line approach. This transition in many ways mirrors the transition that my current employer is going through. Here are the three parts (it's a fairly quick read):

Part I
Part II
Part III

Here are some interesting quotes:

"With the sequential approach, after the transition in one area was complete, the need for transition in the next was more clearly illuminated."

"The "people issues" are always the most difficult when imparting change in an organization[7]."

Find Out If Your Computer Is Secretly Connecting to the Web

2007-09-22T13:50:00.000-05:00

I found this blog entry on Lifehacker that was both interesting and useful to me. If you are concerned you have malware or some software that is using your computer to connect to the internet, here are a few articles to help you check into it...

Is Your Computer Connecting To Websites Without Your Knowledge

Find Out If Your Computer Is Secretly Connecting to the Web

Lifehacker is an interesting site with tons of productivity tips on various things.

Excellent NYT article on Ayn Rand

2007-09-21T11:38:00.000-05:00

I found a great New York Times piece on Ayn Rand. She still beats out Jack Welch!

Here is a quote from the article:

"Last year, bookstores sold 150,000 copies of the book. It continues to hold appeal, even to a younger generation. Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, who was born in 1958, and John P. Mackey, the chief executive of Whole Foods, who was 3 when the book was published, have said they consider Rand crucial to their success."

For those of you who haven't read Atlas Shrugged, you are really missing something great.

Great Vegetarian/Vegan in the Big Apple

2007-09-17T08:21:00.000-05:00

This will just be a quick post...

Many of you already know that I am almost a vegan (vegetarian + nothing from a cow, see D'Adamo's book if you want more info on this). My wife and I were in NYC last month and had a chance to have a few meals with a few pseudo-vegetarian friends of ours.

I have two restaurants I want to recommend:

First, is Candle 79. The food was excellent although pricey. It was nice to be able to eat anything on the menu! There was a wide variety of different choices... all the way through desert, including Soy Ice Cream (yum!). My wife isn't a vegetarian, but she enjoyed the meal as well.

Second, is Teany. This is a tiny little restaurant, but the food was great. They have a kitchen the size of a postage stamp, but they are still able to turn out all kinds of vegetarian meals, coffees and teas. This is a good lunch spot.

If you are in Manhattan sometime, check them out!

Book Report: Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager

2007-08-22T18:38:00.000-05:00

Hmmm, I always seem to do a lot of reading while traveling. The latest trip (to the Agile 2007 conference) gave me time to read a few other books. This post is about Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager. This book is definitely in my recommended list for anyone interested in or currently employed as a development manager in a software development company.

First, the author has been publishing his blog for several years under the nom de plume "Rands". His blog is called Rands in Repose, and I have been following it for a while. It's not for the faint of heart. He is direct and uses a lot of colorful language. His management philosophy is very interesting, as well. He has managed through several companies (big ones, like Borland) and knows the engineering personality very well.

The book is a collection of his blog articles along with filler. The order in which the articles is arranged is discontinuous, at times, but all of the articles are interesting and have value for people in software engineering organizations. There are even sections written towards engineers on topics that include understanding your manager and how to get noticed through your resume.

Lopp doesn't get into too much development process. He is an organic manager, who seems a lot less focused on process and more on people and how they work together. I enjoyed this aspect of the book, as I feel that not too many people write about it. I found the book to be very practical and full of useful information on a variety of topics.

One last comment: I enjoyed the stories in the book. They seemed real and effective at communicating the topics.

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I do. If you want a sample of his writing, take a look at Taking Time to Think. I think you will see why I enjoyed it.

Book Report: Up the Organization: How to Stop the Corporation from Stifling People and Strangling Profits

2007-07-28T11:44:00.000-05:00

While traveling recently, I also had the chance to read Up the Organization: How to Stop the Corporation from Stifling People and Strangling Profits by Robert Townsend.

Here is a review I found about the book.
Here is a second review I found.
Here is a brief biography of the author.

Review

This book was originally published in 1970. It's sad to see that most of this wisdom is still not being followed in corporations. I wonder what he would say about Enron? This book is an excellent set of wisdom. It is a collection of pieces about various topics, in alphabetical order. You can read only parts of it, or use it as a reference on a particular topic.

The book was very inspiring to me and was an easy read. I was able to read it in 4 hours. However, I am going to read it multiple times to get the information to soak in as best as possible. The pearls in the book are timeless.

Robert's philosophy on people management matches very well with the philosophy from the Agile software development community (self-organizing teams). He boils it down to two theories:

Theory X:

People hate work
They have to be driven and threatened with punishment to get them to work toward organizational objectives.
They like security, aren't ambitious, want to be told what to do, dislike responsibility.

Theory Y:

People don't hate work. It's as natural as rest or play.
They don't have to be forced or threatened. If they commit themselves to mutual objectives, they'll drive themselves more effectively than you can drive them.
But they'll commit themselves only to the extent they can see ways of satisying their ego and development needs.

If you can manage people as Theory Y, you will see a much bigger return on your investment.

Here is another great pearl of wisdom:

Promises: The world is divided into two classes of people: the few people who make good on their promises (even if they don't promise as much), and the many who don't. Get in column A and stay there. You'll be very valuable wherever you are.

This book is full of wisdom of this type. As I said, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and feel that RCT was a man ahead of his time. This book should be required reading for all executives, managers, and employees in general.

I highly recommend everyone who works at or owns a company to read this book and live by it.

Here is a link to some good RCT quotes.

How could you not love someone who said the following:

"If you don't do it excellently, don't do it at all. Because if it's not excellent, it won't be profitable or fun, and if you're not in business for fun or profit, what the hell are you doing there?"

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Book Report: Silos, Politics and Turf Wars

2007-07-27T16:56:00.000-05:00

While I was on the plane to Zurich, I had the chance to read Silos, Politics and Turf Wars: A Leadership Fable About Destroying the Barriers That Turn Colleagues Into Competitors by Patrick Lencioni.

Here is an online review I found about the book.
Here is an interview with the author that I found interesting.

My Report

I found the book to be generally easy to read and enjoyable. The author's premise is very simple:

People forget their titles and work together when there is a crisis. Why can't they operate like that everyday?

Speaking about the Emergency Room at the hospital: "... noone with a heart and brain would even think of bitching about departmental stuff while someone is lying there bleeding right in front of them. Emergencies tend to do that to people."

Many companies (and our government) face the problem where internal groups work against each other. These groups get into "US" and "THEM" types of attitudes. The author discusses different groups in a fictional hotel (front desk vs. cleaning crew), hospital (doctors vs. nurses) as well as several other examples.

How do you fix it? That is what the book is about. The author dissects why it takes an emergency situation for people to work together. He then presents an approach to changing behavior without needing an emergency.

The approach is summarized as follows:

1. Create a thematic goal.

The author recommends getting the heads of the different "silos" together to have a discussion. Ask the question "What is the single most important accomplishment that this team needs to make in the next six or nine months?" People need to take off their functional hats and think of themselves as generic leaders.

The author's definition of a Thematic Goal is: a single, qualitative focus (or rallying cry) that is shared by the entire leadership team - and ultimately, by the entire organization - and that applies for only a specific time period.

Note that I bolded a few words of importance.

2. Create a set of defining objectives.

Get the heads to come up with a handful of things that need to happen to succeed at the goal. These objectives must again be qualitative and shared across the team. All leaders must assume accountability for all objectives. For example, if your team isn't directly responsible for customer service, and the front desk needs help, you should help them to improve it.

Note that when the thematic goal changes, so do the defining objectives.

3. Monitor the standard operating objectives.

These objective don't change from time to time. They are the standard metrics that the company monitors, such as revenue, profit, customer satisfaction and quality. Note that the SOO's shouldn't be the thematic goal nor the defining objectives.

4. Metrics should be established and monitored, based on steps 1-3. It is up to the leadership to ensure that the goals, objectives and metrics are visible in their staff meetings. The groups should each take ownership to ensure they are met.

A few other notes:

It took me only 3-4 hours to read the book. It is an easy read, with only 200 very light pages. The chapters are only 2-3 pages long. The book is written as a fable, to add some plot and meaning to the author's suggestions.
The book's message is very significant. Anyone in a position of leadership in any organization should read it. The value return versus the time spent is very high.

I hope you enjoy it.

Post-trip musings after visiting Switzerland for a week

2007-07-25T15:58:00.000-05:00

I just got back from a week long trip to Switzerland (Montreux, 4 days; Zurich 3 days). It was a great trip and I really enjoyed it.

The main reason we were there was for the Montreux Jazz Festival. We saw Seal, The Pet Shop Boys and the B-52's.

Here are some thoughts:

It was expensive. Switzerland was already expensive, but with the recent decline in the US dollar, it was really rough.
The Swiss are well-organized. They think of the little things. For instance, we went to several concerts (Seal, Pet Shop Boys, B-52's, etc..). They provided ear plugs for everyone to help with the loudness. Also, they had a quiet room where you could go and recuperate.
The train system rocks! On-time and clean!
Smoking is still considered a normal, public activity. There were non-smoking areas in restaurants, but you could still smell it.
Service at restaurants was spotty. In many cases, wait staff treated you as if they were doing you a favor by waiting on you. There were exceptions, such as Haus Hiltl where the service was impeccable and the food was unbelievable. Make a booking if you want to go there. They serve all kinds of vegetarian food... unbelievable.
The best meal we had was dinner with our friends at their apartment.

Welcome to John's blog

2007-07-25T15:50:00.000-05:00

Not much to say to get started... let's just see where this thing goes. I am going to write down things I observe... I will use this as a personal journal....