The Pulpit - Onesimus - Foster

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=52cBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA72&dq=the+pulpit+biographical+%22henry+foster%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-b8nT4e8IeWuiQeS5KDQAg&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Great quote about web debates...

"If you get into a fight with a pig, you both get dirty, but the pig enjoys it"

Management Tool - Open The Front Door

This is a helpful little management technique you can use when you want to change behaviour. It's called "Open The Front Door", which is a mnemonic device for the four step process - "Observe Think Feel Desire".

The first step is to state what you have Observed. For example, "I saw you slam the door."

Next step is to describe what the observation made you Think, that is, what conclusions you drew. For example, "I thought you must be angry with me".

Third step is to state how this makes you Feel. For example, "This made me feel sad and hurt, and a bit angry myself."

The final step is to state what you Desire, what you want to happen. For example, "I want us to be friends again."

It's a simple tool, but surprisingly effective in practice. Here's what you might say to a staff member who is on the Internet too much -

"Hi Jenny, I've observed that whenever I walk past your desk, you always seem to be on Facebook. This makes me think that you either don't have enough work to do, or you have work that you don't want to do. I feel frustrated by this because there is a lot to be done, and everyone else in the team is working really hard. What I desire is for you to be fully productive during work hours. How can we achieve this?"

You don't have to use the exact keywords, of course - equivalent words are just as good, and might suit your style better.

This technique can also be used outside of work. It could be useful in a volunteer organisation, such as a church. For example -

"Hi Sam, I've noticed that you haven't been at church much lately. This makes me think that you either don't enjoy it anymore, or else something prevents you from coming. I feel sad about this, because you've made such a great contribution in the past. What I'd like is to go back to the old days, when you were with us every week and really enjoyed it. How can we make that happen?"

Some people might think such an approach is too confrontational, but I've used this technique a number of times, and found that it really helps open up effective communication. Give it a go...

Software Estimation and Uncertainty

This is a very insightful and compelling report on the subject

Very Easy Chicken Soup

Made this tonight and it tasted great! Ingredients are -

5 carrots

3 celery sticks

2 onions

2 chicken breasts

1 cucumber

salt

pepper

thyme

Chop everything up and put it in a big pot. Fill with water until everything is covered. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours. Add spices to taste. Delicious!

 

Why Microsoft will win the tablet war

Microsoft looks dead in the water with regards to the tablet war. Windows 7, though a stellar OS for PCs, is far too cumbersome for tablets, and Win7 tablets have been non-starters. Windows 8 will run on ARM processors, and has been optimised for tablets - but it is not due to late this year, possibly next year. This gives Apple a massive lead, and even more time to consolidate their market dominance. The only serious competition at this point is Android, which is just starting to get serious in the tablet space.

Given this, it seems outrageous to suggest that Microsoft will one day dominate the tablet space. Still, I think it will. Firstly, history has shown that it is very foolish to write Microsoft off. I remember very clearly in the late 90s that people thought Netscape (and the internet) would destroy Microsoft. Seems laughable now, with Netscape just a distant memory, but people honestly thought that. Microsoft was very slow out of the gates with the internet, and instead messed around trying to build a proprietary public network. But once they realised what way the wind was blowing, they quickly made up ground and continued to dominate the OS scene throughout the noughties. In technology, it is very common for an early market leader to lose what seems an indominatable market position. Hello, Blackberry?

Next, you need to consider the Steve Jobs factor. Jim Collins in "Good to Great" found that rockstar CEOs tend to leave behind companies that struggle without them. With Jobs, you have the typical rockstar CEO with the volume turned up to 11. Apple customers weren't just buying into a product line, they were kinda joining a cult. Can the cult survive the death of it's guru? I'm doubtful in this case.

Lastly, we need to consider the advantages a well designed Windows tablet would have. The same cost dynamics that drove down the price of the original Wintel PCs would be at play, and so we can expect tablets at much cheaper prices than are currently available (my guess is that the magic number is about $250 for an entry level tablet). Business would jump on such a tablet in a way that they haven't with the iPad. The 90% of home users currently running Windows will be more tempted by a compatable machine. And there will be a heap of software (good and bad) flooding the market pretty quickly, free from Apples tightly regulated content regime.

All up, even if the first Windows tablet doesn't get here until 2013, and even if it is not that good, I would lay odds that MS will eventually win the tablet war.

Leadership Without Excuses

I've been reading a few management books lately, but this one is the best so far - Leadership Without Excuses. Not only is it well written, it is intensely practical, and it's obvious that they guys have been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. The chapter headings alone show you they know their stuff -  

1. Equip your people for moments of truth and tradeoff
2. Invest excruciating minutes to ensure role clarity
3. Use commanders intent to promote ownership. Stretch your people. Align them with your business strategy
4. Compete for attention
5. Boost the credibility of your high expectations
6. Reward what you want to see more of... and stop tolerating what you don't
7. Use the other F-word to tap hidden sources of motivation
8. Wield your biggest stick: the power to take things away
9. When you have no authority - use increased confidence and reduced anxiety as your consequence currency
10. Whet the appetite for truth
11. Prevent excuses before they happen
12. Banish the fantasies and fetishes that lead to fingerpointing
13. Treat mistakes as intellectual capital and give negative feedback that doesn't freak people out