Monthly Archive for January, 2007

Natural or Unnatural - that is the question

Published
by
Keith Coats
on January 31, 2007
in Leadership
. 0 Comments

Currently reading Dotlich and Cairo’s book titled, ‘Unnatural Leadership’ with the subtitle, ‘Going against intuition and experience to develop ten new leadership instincts’. So what are these 10 ‘new leadership instincts’?

Well here they are in the order in which they were given…
Refuse to be a prisoner of experience
Expose your vunerabilities
Acknowledge your shadow side
Develop a right-verses-right decision making mentality
Create teams that create discomfort
Trust others before they earn it
Coach and teach rather than lead and inspire
Connect instead of create
Challenge the conventional wisdom

I then got to wondering just how it was that, in the corporate environment, we could have perverted that, which in the context of human relationships, was the natural order, to such as extent that it is now regarded as unnatural? It seems that what was originally unnatural was able to first usurp and then masquerade as the natural order but all that is about to change once more as the natural state of things turns unnatural in order to displace the real unnatural natural!

Ummmm.

Cutting Costs reaches its event horizon

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on January 28, 2007
in Business sustainability & environmental issues, Ethics and Innovation
. 3 Comments

A nice article in the Economist, 18 Jan 07, entitled: “Browne out“, looks at the departure of BP’s boss, Lord (John) Browne. He has been in charge since 1995, and his tenure coincides with some huge changes in the industry. These include massive mergers, the “greening” of Big Oil, and at the same time some big mess ups - “In March 2005 a fire at an American refinery killed 15 people and injured 170 more. Since then, BP has suffered corrosion and spills on its pipelines in Alaska, delays in developing new oilfields and two investigations of its trading arm for price-rigging.”

But the article makes a very interesting point: most of these issues relate to massive cost cutting that has characterised the oil industry in the past decade. Ruthlessly cutting costs eventually strips out the ability of a company to do what it has to do. It stretches staff, and demoralises them as well, often beyond their ability to cope with situations that arise. In oil companies, as in other industries, this can have catastrophic results, in the glare of public scrutiny. But for other companies, especially in the service industries and professional firms, the results can be equally catastrophic - yet unseen until the company teeters and topples.

There are only so many costs you cut, until you and all your competitors are all running on empty. In most industries, we’ve reached that point. Now, I predict, we’ll see competitive advantage coming in the form of “we’re not the cheapest, but we are the best” type approaches, as companies rebuild strategic capacity, and focus on VALUE, not just COSTS.

David Beckham, Ted Koppel, CNN and Sky

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on January 16, 2007
in Media tidbits
. 0 Comments

I’ll be honest - I think David Beckham was (is?) a great football player (for my American readers, that’s soccer player). His ability with the dead ball is breathtaking. So is his salary package. And he did marry the prettiest Spice.

But, the hoopla over his move to LA is nauseating. Enough already. Who cares that Victoria has arrived in LA to look for a house? Really, is that the headline on the world’s top 24 hour news channels? For the last week? When last did the fact that a sportsman was NOT playing for his club this newsworthy?

Then, watching a Daily Show segment with Ted Koppel on Iran (on YouTube), he explained it in one simple sentence:

“The nature of especially 24/7 cable news is a focus on what is most recent, rather than on what is most important”. He was lamenting the lack of real insight, historical reflection and real journalism on CNN, Sky, BBC and other 24 hour news channels, who’s focus is ratings, entertainment, and viewership, rather than news, analysis and insights.

I concur.

How not to apply for a job

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on January 15, 2007
in Blogging, Connection Economy, Media tidbits, Talent - Bright Young Things and The Quick and the Dead - case studies
. 1 Comment

This is too good to be true… It was reported in London newspapers last week, and is just unbelievable. It’s an anti-talent story. The story of a young web designer looking for a job in Dubai. He applies by email, and gets a favourable response. And, then… well, its hard to describe, but the guy has a complete mental breakdown.

The reason I’m giving you this link is to show you how powerful blogging is, how important understanding the Connection Economy can be, and how NOT to get ahead in advertising. It’s worth reading the whole thing through. My best is the last line: Congratulations, you’re famous. Read this great story here.

The Company of the Future

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on January 14, 2007
in Connection Economy and The Quick and the Dead - case studies
. 0 Comments

In Fast Company, Dec/Jan 07 edition, there is a short piece about a new type of company, entitled “Ears Wide Shut“. The company is Squeezebox, which sells “a $300 device that lets audiophiles take digital music from their computer hard drives or from Internet-radio streams, and play it with impressive clarity on high-end speakers in their living rooms.” It is made by Slim Devices, founded by Sean Adams, a 27-year-old college dropout in 2001. They have sold over 50,000 units with about $ 10 million revenue in 2006.

This is a classic Connection Economy, open source and “citizen development” story, because the product is “largely the brainchild of its customers around the world, who have done much of the vital engineering and design work–for free. They’ve been motivated by their passions–for great audio, for cool products, for the art of engineering–and also by the satisfaction of being admired and relied on by a global community of their peers… People around the world have been contributing to Slim Devices free of charge for all sorts of reasons. Some do it to showcase their skills in the hope of attracting a job offer. Some do it for the challenge. But much of it comes down to this: We want things our way.”

Continue reading ‘The Company of the Future’

Top 10 Hottest Jobs in 2007

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on January 11, 2007
in Global View, Talent - Bright Young Things and Trends - Future Trends
. 0 Comments

Fast Company’s annual list of the hottest jobs, taken from a survey of trend spotters and futurists, is as follows:

  • Experience Designer

  • Medical Researcher
  • Web Designer
  • Security Systems Engineer
  • Urban Planners
  • Viral Marketers and Media Promoters
  • Talent Agents
  • Buyers and purchasing agents
  • Art Directors
  • News Analysts, Reporters, and Bloggers

NOTE, at the Fast Company site, each job listing contains and explanation of the position, why it’s hot for 2007, and suggestions for further topical reading from Fast Company articles from the past year. Some positions have a tech focus, some are design based, but they all share common ground: It takes a creative soul with an endless amount of determination and innovation to thrive in these fields.

WH Smith closes pension fund

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on January 10, 2007
in Ethics, Generations, The Quick and the Dead - case studies and Trends - Future Trends
. 0 Comments

Today, it was announced that WH Smith, the UK retailer, would close its company pension fund and restrict it only to existing members. This would mean that over the next few years, the pension fund would decline and eventually die out as current employees use it up.

This is an example of exactly what we have been predicting for a number of years, as Gen Xers hit the workplace in force. Companies will cite increasing costs, but the effect will be that Gen Xer workers will be excluded. At one level, this is not a problem as most Gen Xers would prefer to look after their own retirement planning anyway. But it will breed further divides between young and old in the workforce, and reinforce the lack of loyalty (if you don’t look after me, why should I look after you?) attitude of today’s young talent.

Wanted: Baby Boomers in the workplace

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on January 10, 2007
in Boomers RetYrement and Generations
. 0 Comments

The aging Baby Boomer generation is key to the employment outlook in many countries over the next few years, as 60-somethings either retire or choose to work shorter hours.  This is especially true in many Western European nations (Germany and Italy in particular), Japan and the USA.

These workers (now in their 50s and 60s) are likely to work part-time rather than full-time, and may be more project-driven.  They will also probably cost slightly more (on a per hour basis) than they do now as full-time employees - but, of course, you only have to pay them for the hours you use them.

Companies will need to adapt their attraction and retention policies to pre-empt this coming trend, so that when retiring (or re-tyring) Boomers start to look around for employment opportunities, your company is top of mind and an “employer of choice”.

Read an interesting piece on this here and a Reuters report from staffing executives and recruitment research.

Apple iPhone

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on January 10, 2007
in Technology and Trends - Future Trends
. 3 Comments

So can Apple really do it? Break into the mobile phone market. They’ve tried once already with Motorolla and failed dismally. Could this be it?

Check it out - click here

YouTube - YouBuscuit

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on January 6, 2007
in Media tidbits, Technology and Trends - Future Trends
. 1 Comment

YouTube for many is very old news (almost 12 months now). But I keep getting pleasantly surprised, hence this post. I first clicked on over while in the US reading about a debate as to whether some teenage girl posting her videos to YouTube was for real, or had a crew backing her? It really ended up being a silly but interesting first visit/investigation. But as time has marched on I’m spending more and more time on the site.

For those still not in the know, YouTube describes itself as:

YouTube is a free online video streaming service that allows users to view and share videos that have been uploaded by our members.

And while there’s a lot of ‘citizen media’ being posted that’s quite personal and useless outside of a touch of voyeur-ing I’ve found a truck load of useful stuff as well. It helps that I have a mate who’s addicted to ‘Comedy Central‘ and sends copious links through to me, keeping me amused listening to mostly Dubya bashing by John Stewart on the Daily Show. On a more relevant (to me) level, I’m reading a book by Richard Dawkins at the moment, and on a recent visit found many short interviews with Dawkins on all kinds of issues.

Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on January 5, 2007
in Book Reviews, Ethics and Trends - Future Trends
. 1 Comment

Just before going on leave I picked up a couple of books to read while I was away. I’ve never read a ‘Noam Chomsky‘ (apparently he’s one of those must read human beings before you die) and found this one, “Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World“. I chose it because it’s written in conversation style (interview by David Barsamian) around issues pertaining to the US imperial ambitions for the rest of us.

“I think not only the region (Middle East) but the world in general correctly perceives the U.S. invasion as a test case, an effort to establish a new norm for the use of military force.”

It felt like it could be an easy ’slide’ into Noam, and it was. What surprised me was that it didn’t turn out to be a monster, thud-factor, academic read that I was going to have to work hard at getting my mind around. It turned out to be a straight forward, in your face, heck of an interesting read. He, in fact, spoke regularly of academics and I enjoyed his abuse of them and their role in making things more complicated than they should be.

If you’re looking for an easy to read overview of Noam Chomsky’s view of the world post-911, and haven’t read anything of his before, then I’d recommend this as a good starting place.

His book left me with a few paradoxical thoughts. One being that on one hand the voice of the average person has never counted for more and has the ability to change things; sharply contrasted with the idea that there are powerful people and governments out there, and that if they can take out an entire country, they don’t even work up a sweat when contemplating me.

“The new doctrine was not one of pre-emptive war, which arguably falls within some stretched interpretation of the UN Charter, but rather doctrine that doesn’t begin to have any grounds in international law, namely, preventative war. That is, the United States will rule the world by force, and if there is any challenge to its domination-whether it is perceived in the distance, invented, imagined, or whatever-then the United States will have the right to destroy that challenge before it becomes a threat. That’s preventative war, not pre-emptive war.”

Fat Cats march on in 2007

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on January 5, 2007
in Connection Economy, Ethics, Leadership, The Quick and the Dead - case studies and Trends - Future Trends
. 0 Comments

The last few years have seen obscene payments made to CEOs. The gap between what the top managers earn and what labourers in their factories earn has never been as wide as it is today (unless you go back to Feudal landlord days). Of course, if these top managers with all the pressures on them were delivering serious financial returns to shareholders on a consistent basis and developing not only short-term, but also long-term capacity and sustainable comeptitive advantage, then they deserve to be rewarded appropriately.

But the trend has been to pay bonuses and perks completely unrelated to performance. Even worse, is when badly performing CEOs leave a company (by choice, or pushed) they are often paid unbelievable severance packages, rather than simply being sent packing in disgrace!

Bob NardelliThere has been great hope that those fat cat days were a thing of the past, and that the backlash of shareholders would stop this trend. But 2007 has started with the departure of Home Depot’s Bob Nardelli (he had previously been on the GE shortlist to replace Jack Welch, and left when Immelt was appointed to that post). For the last 6 years, he has consistently been near the top of the list of “most overpaid CEOs”. This is particularly true because Home Depot has gone nowhere under his leadership. Under the terms of his contract, his severance package is worth $210m. Not too bad, considering that the share price on the day before his departure (3 January) was slightly less than it was when he took the job in 2000.

This is unbelievable, indefensible and immoral. Simple as that!

Luckily, it appears as if shareholder activism is working, and this hopefully will be one of the last of these sorts of fat cat payouts.

The Economist sums it up this way:

Continue reading ‘Fat Cats march on in 2007′

Be a Reporter for CNN (or not!)

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on January 3, 2007
in Blogging, Connection Economy and Technology
. 0 Comments

Blogs were the front runners of a new phenomenon that has swept the world over the last 3 years or so. It now has a name: Web 2.0. Other words used to describe this new approach to online activity include: interactivity, citizen reporting, social networks, folksonomies, wikis, blogs, vlogs, and so on.Major news networks were wuick to jump onto the concept (if not making the most use of the software) and began inviting viewers to send in photos and videos in addition to comments and questions. Pictures of the Boxing Tsunami in Asia, and the London Underground bombings cemented “citizen reporting” as a mainstream phenomenon. But, I wonder if the future will see some further changes. Most people in the world know how valuable those images and videos are to the news media. How long will it be before people stop wanting to send in their reports for free?

iReportI’d suggest that 2007 might see that change. News media will be overwhelmed this year by stupid reports, and underwhelmed by serious and usable ones. And they’ll have to do better than CNN’s iReport, which says that in exchange for sending in your reports, you will get… wait for it… the chance to tell your friends, “I report for CNN”. Wowwww!

Actually, I can’t say it better than Jon Stewart of the Daily Show did. This was originally available at YouTube, but has since been removed - so right click here to download an FLV file of the video (you need an FLV viewer to play it). 6.8Mb download.

Batteries not included

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on January 3, 2007
in Gamers and Game Theory, Generation Y, Technology and Trends - Future Trends
. 1 Comment

As my three daughters eagerly opened their Christmas presents, my heart sank further and further to the floor. There are two things that stirke fear into the soul of any self-respecting Dad (at least, those with the limited handyman skills that I have).

BatteriesThe first is the euphemism emblazoned on some of the more serious toys: “some assembly required”. This invariably requires about 5 different screw drivers sizes (only one of which I might have somewhere back here in my rusting and dusty toolbox), a ratchet set (are there really people who actually have a complete ratchet set neatly laid out in their shed?) and other tools I don’t even know how to pronounce, let alone use. And, of course, all the “English” assembly instructions were written by the rural supervisor in the Chinese factory, having first translated them from the Russian translation of the hand scribbled notes of the original engineer (who designed version 1, but not this version you’re trying to assemble in front of your increasingly less adoring tribe of juvenile female sapiens).

The second is: “batteries not included”. I mean, really, why not? The adrenaline rush of wripping the paper off is followed by the endorphin rush of recognising the very electronic gizmo the advertisers so cleverly convinced them they could not live without. Loud shrieks, arms aloft and shrill screams (I told you I had three daughters) are rapidly followed by waves of disappointment and frustrated little arms crashing down to their sides, as they realise that their darling daddy did not have the foresight to stock up on a carton of AA and AAA size batteries. And it’s Christmas today, and the shops are closed, and we can only get batteries tomorrow. And, yes dears, I know you’re disappointed - believe me, with all your whining and complaining, I’m as disappointed as you are!

Continue reading ‘Batteries not included’

Weeping, by Josh Groban (errr, actually Bright Blue)

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on January 1, 2007
in General and Ripping and burning - Digital entertainment
. 22 Comments

I am a big Josh Groban fan - have been ever since he made that remarkable debut on the Ally McBeal show. “You Lift Me Up” (which he sang on the show) still gives me goosebumps and brings tears to the eyes. So, it was with delight that I opened a Christmas present this year to discover his latest album, “Awake” inside the wrappings (buy a copy for yourself at Kalahari.net or Amazon.com).

This blog is not the place for an album review, but suffice to say that it’s his standard mix of songs. After listening to it a few times, I actually think it might be a touch weaker than the other two albums - not his fault, but maybe just the songs being a little less powerful than I would have hoped.

Track 12 was a surprise, though - “Weeping”. This song is actually one of the legends of South African music history, a personal favourite of mine, and a deeply meaningful protest song from my home country’s dark apartheid past. The first time I listened to Josh singing it, I felt betrayed - I don’t think he does justice to it. I’ve softened that view with further listening. But more of that in a moment. It’s a real pity he didn’t put the background to the song in the album sleeve.
Here are the words of this great song:

WEEPING
by Bright Blue
Recorded by Bright Blue (1987), by Vusi Mahlasela (1994), Soweto String Quartet (1999), Soweto Gospel Choir (2005), Josh Groban (2006) - these are the most well known version (a full list available at the official song website: weeping.info)

Bright BlueI knew a man who lived in fear
It was huge, it was angry, it was drawing near
Behind his house, a secret place
Was the shadow of the demon he could never face
He built a wall of steel and flame
And men with guns, to keep it tame
Then standing back, he made it plain
That the nightmare would never ever rise again
But the fear and the fire and the guns remain

It doesn’t matter now
It’s over anyhow
He tells the world that it’s sleeping
But as the night came round
I heard its lonely sound
It wasn’t roaring, it was weeping

AwakeAnd then one day the neighbors came
They were curious to know about the smoke and flame
They stood around outside the wall
But of course there was nothing to be heard at all
“My friends,” he said, “We’ve reached our goal
The threat is under firm control
As long as peace and order reign
I’ll be damned if I can see a reason to explain
Why the fear and the fire and the guns remain”

It doesn’t matter now
It’s over anyhow
He tells the world that it’s sleeping
But as the night came round
I heard its lonely sound
It wasn’t roaring, it was weeping

Copyright: Heymann/ Fox/ Cohen/ Cohen.
First Recorded and released by Bright Blue in 1987

Listen to an extract by Soweto Gospel Choir or an extract by Soweto String Quartet - maybe not as slick as Josh’s, but certainly more plaintive, which is how I believe the original was intended. I cannot find an online version of the original by Bright Blue. In a few days’ time, I’ll rip and post an extract here (but you won’t regret buying their best of album at Kalahari.net anyway). This is not just a song. It’s not a lullaby, its a protest song.

Continue reading ‘Weeping, by Josh Groban (errr, actually Bright Blue)’