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Here is a poll we have being running with clients and prospects. The questions are about the value of business intelligence. You may like to ponder them too and cast an anonymous vote.
If you want to know more about BI please visit us at Shernox Group, business performance and business intelligence specialists.
Be Disclosed or be closed is a theme we plan publish on later this week at Performance Controller.
This will talk about the new internet testimonial discloser changes in the US now being administered through the US Fair Trade Commission. This is law is designed to put out of business the dubious marketers who use false endorsements and testimonials to entice people to put their money in to rich quick schemes.
Here is a 5 minute point of view video recorded today by Gordon Wood.
Best Wishes to everyone for a very happy, prosperous and safe new year for 2010.
Well done to this video maker.
We need people investing in this type of education.
And even more prepared to to invest in listening.
Please don’t end up dead on this cell.
We want to see you and enjoy providing updates to you again this year.
Warmest regards
The Performance Controller Team
~0o~
Eric Schmidt, became CEO of Google in 2001, His watch in the decade saw the Google initial public offering in 2004 with stock skyrocketing from its $85 offering price to $600 by 2007. GOOG’s five-year return was 228.50%.
in the Huffington Post in her article updated: 12-24-09 01:46 PM Grace Kiser goes on to say”
The 2000s certainly seem like a ghastly decade. The era’s already fabled financial debacles — among them, Enron’s bankruptcy, the burst of the tech bubble, the collapse of a number of financial and lending institutions, and Madoff’s ponzi scheme — can inspire a certain cynicism about the merits and promise of business and entrepreneurship.
But at decade’s end, we didn’t want to forget about the companies and leaders that excelled during the boom and largely weathered the downturn.
We looked at a select group of elite CEOs from a wide range of industries, and plucked out who we think demonstrated the most exceptional leadership over the past ten years. Though our analysis is admittedly subjective, we also considered stock prices — a five-year return, to be specific. And because last year’s financial crisis has battered so many stocks, we also considered softer factors such as long-term vision, brand building, and what each CEO had to contend with when they took the helm.
I do recommended to take a look at the US CEO’s nominations in Grace Kiser’s Huffington Post article. It is a great reference with a summary of the achievements of business leaders nominated. People like Michael Dell, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison plus many more are featured.
There is a poll to vote on too if you want to participate
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/24/best-ceos-of-the-decade-p_n_403032.html
For the Christmas Party this week , management decided a liability issue meant staff could have alcohol, but only one drink per person…
I was fired for ordering the cups. B*stards!!!!
COP15 is generating plenty of press with more to come as the vested interest gloves come off in the US. There today they are fighting for the status quo and argue climate change is a myth.
But the options are unpalatable if they are wrong so the world leaders do need to agree on reduction measures that will surely also mean change our excessive way of living.
COP15 agreement is the step needed to make that happen so the work can really begin
Nick Main Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT) Global Leader, Climate Change & Sustainability is on the ground at the the Copenhagen Climate conference . His blog is worth subscribing to. Here is a copy of his latest update on proceedings.
9 December 2008
Negotiations at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) got down to action today, as controversy swirled around the release of what’s being described as a working draft of a Copenhagen agreement being proposed by developed nations. Comments we have heard suggest that developing countries should not be surprised at the existence of this paper as there are apparently several in circulation and their existence had been well signaled.
Here is Something to enjoy. I found this on Clair Hanbury’s site. She is proactively focusing on a project with Unesco to find best policy and practice on pre-service teacher training on HIV and Aids. Check her out if you are interested to know more.
In the meantime here is a Louis Armstrong version of “What a Wonderful World” from performer Raymond Crowe.
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If you want to achieve but think you can’t, then take a look at this man who can.
Nick Vujicic has no limbs but is able to do more in a day than most people can do in a lifetime.
It’s time again for the annual ‘Stella Awards’! For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonald’s in New Mexico, where she purchased coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That’s right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.
Here are the Stella’s finalists for the past year:
According to this news article, Twitter users have caused an uproar by impersonating celebrities on the popular micro-blogging service. Businesses, too, are targets of fake Twitter profiles — sometimes from competitors.
Exxon Mobil Corp. has found at least two unauthorized Twitter accounts under variations of its name.
Do’s and don’ts of business etc., are copied around the web by many as they share their finds. Here is one such resource.
Why Intelligent People Fail by psychologist, Robert Sternberg is worth bookmarking to use as a check list when you are planning your next failure.
John Robert Wooden (born 1910) is a retired basketball coach and a highly revered icon of leadership in the US
In a public domain video, Woodem;s biographical stories dwell on success, humility, and service to others. In recanting influences in his life and experiences he comments about someone asking him , “Why teach?” to which his reply was, “Where could I find such splendid company?”
I noticed many use this video under banners oriented to their pitch: Management, Leadership and so on. I like the title on this one and just wanted to share it. I learned much from what he freely gives Enjoy it, as I did..
How can we take holidays in the middle of recession. Just do it, I say and why not if you can get away with it? It is is a great thing but you sure come back to earth when you find it all there waiting for you. But I am back now and here is a quick round up the last month and some stuff on whats’ to come.
There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. – Peter Drucker
Last month over 7000 visitors come to read us and over 60% who stayed over. As I am wrting this there are 251 people visiting now according to our blog meter. So it looks like we got something going which we hope we can keep up!!
GM CEO Fritz Henderson is quoted as saying "bankruptcy is probable but not preferred; experts say it won’t be smooth or fast."
That is the news just in about this Giant USA Automaker struggling for its very survival.
But what is the cause of all this and how do people feel about the bailout?
To get some insights into it that question, here is a response to a recent General Motors North America President Troy Clarke plea to GM employees and suppliers "to call legislators and ask for a bailout for U.S. automakers"
The response letter, widely circulated in mid-December 2008, was attributed to Gregory Knox, president of Knox Machinery of Franklin, Ohio. After I got this in my email I verified the authenticity with Snopes. According to Snopes.com Mr. Knox (or, at least, someone responding from his e-mail address) said"
“I’m real….. I came into my office 2 weeks ago and the first email I opened was a pathetic plea from Detroit…and my fingers just started flying across the keyboard..
The letter was a "spleen vent" which just quickly flowed out of me, and when I was finished I copied my mom and hit the send button…and she asked me if she could share it with her friends…and the rest is history"
As my colleague said too "it is worth reading". I will add no further comment and just let it it speak for itself.
Ralph Eastman
Once again another month passes and those of us left are still here. And it seems ages since recession ended, doesn’t it?.
We did a bunch of posts this month and our readership short thru the roof despite my suggestion to turn off. Clearly people have too much idle time. Or is reading replacing TV as a pastime.. I wonder?
I have seen the future and it doesn’t work“.- a great one liner by Canadian author and journalist Robert Fulford
We know we are being widely read because some folks are complaining we don’t spend enough time proof reading. We have noted that too and will take that seriously, especially now we know we are being taken seriously.
I know you have already read this but in case you missed then here is a list of our March posts
Check out how to get email updates >>
This month we saw one of our colleagues, yes another Wood, added a second book to the reading maize. Trevor Wood an Australian illustrator, has again dug deep into the realms of the living dead with his comic books about a zombie odd couple. In this he re-animates the dead with the comic “Sawbones”.
Wood, who teamed up with writer Jen Breach, who together have been publishing weekly comics for over two years with books also coming in multiple story format.
The two main characters, are rough and ready cowboy, Sheriff Sawyer and pompous English buffoon, Bones O’Brien, They get involved in comic adventures, with a focus firmly on slapstick. “The violence is implied,” Wood says. who adds “We put them in everyday situations instead of dealing with the situation normally, they eat your brains,”
In keeping with www.PerformanceeController.com policy of no direct plugs, even to ourselves, (what a silly idea that is) we cannot suggest you visit their website and order a book. Actually that is not true.The truth is if you dont get an order in quickly, you will most likely have to go on back-order and wait.
Sawbones Volume 2 and 1 are both available at comic stores and http://sawbonesonline.com/comic/
Lawyers know, or should know, that the photos, documents, videos and other similar files that they attach to emails, and send out into the cloud, contain metadata. This hidden data contains information about the attachments that may, or may not, be intended to remain confidential. Lawyers, especially, must be concerned about confidentiality of communications.
Do you have a Twitter account yet? If not you may get left behind as everyone else seems t have one.
But and for the life of me the value is still elusive as we are sending out and receiving loads of tweets to see what happens. But not so for many who just use it daily and for early adopter marketers who learning about this new channel for communication. They could be onto something here so I plan to follow this.
There is a lot more to come on Twitter I am sure as phenomena that is growing exponentially. The present Google acquisition rumors reflect Twitter’s importance as a social media and micro blogging service.
New entrant to the business blog world is Singaporean Vince Chew. Vince is a young IT veteran and business change consultant who packs a punch when it comes to contributing to others. Knowing Vince as we do in person, we know his new blog will be worth watching for sure. we have also added it to our blog roll.
Why not check check out his new Creative Management blog and take a look at his post Writing good reports for success
I was doing some research on marketing and awareness programs and I came across this titillating advertising, designed to get attention, as it asks you to Guess The Nationality!
Is it….American? Swiss? Spanish? French? Italian? Brazilian?
As you can see on the picture right .. the answer is Polish
Microsoft and TomTom announced they have reached a settlement in their respective patent suits.
As part of the deal, TomTom will pay Microsoft for coverage for the software maker’s mapping-related patents as well as the file management patents that Microsoft claimed were infringed by TomTom’s use of the Linux kernel. Microsoft will also get access to the TomTom patents that were cited in TomTom’s countersuit against Microsoft, although Microsoft won’t be making any payment to TomTom.
In a statement, the two companies said that the settlement provides TomTom patent coverage “in a manner that is fully compliant with TomTom’s obligations under the General Public Lucense Version 2.” As part of the agreement, TomTom will “remove from its products the functionality related to two file management systems patents,” over the next two years. The agreement protects TomTom’s customers under the patents during that time, the companies said.
In a recent Mashable.com post reported a Microsoft quote about Encarta closure
“Encarta has been a popular product around the world for many years. However, the category of traditional encyclopedias and reference material has changed. People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past.”
The post goes on to say Wikipedia boasts 2.7 million entries in English versus just 42,000 for Encarta.
This month, Ina Frieda a writer at CNet, has her attention focused on on Microsoft. In one article this month she talks about the Software giant coming under anti trust scrutiny in Russia. Talk about maturing, it was not long ago Russia was listed on Microsoft’s piracy board as one of the highest offending countries outside Indonesia. It is amazing how the wheel turns.
Anyway if you are interested in Microsoft check out Ina’s Recent posts from Beyond Binary
It is a well know that John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz wrote the original Dartmouth BASISC programming software that got Microsoft started. As the story goes Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the founders of Microsoft, then modified it and sold as their first product at Micro-Soft (that was the company’s name when it started business).
According to Sam Varghese at ITWire in his post last month he adds that everyone agrees the famous whine in 1976 saw Gates invent the term “software piracy.” He also outlines more about Gates view on the ling term benefits that will flow to Microsoft from China when they do start paying for software.
I for one have always been convinced that the 3 US dollars
price you pay for any software in Jakarta is a Cartel level rate agreed by vendors to propagate its software into this developing nation. In Thailand a common folk law view is the Pantip Plaza, is actually owned by Microsoft Pantip is the home of the 15 minute pirate copy burners.
Read more on How piracy benefits Microsoft>>
Singapore’s latest technology blueprint, called Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015), was announced in 2006. It is designed to help the nation achieve various economic and social benefits through more sophisticated and innovative use of infocomm technologies.
Through iN2015, Singapore is aiming for a two-fold rise in value driven by its infocomm industry to S$26 billion (US$17 billion) and a three-fold increase in infocomm export revenue to S$60 billion (US$39 billion). It is also targeting for this industry to create 80,000 new jobs.
Uma-Kataya, of The Dancing Feather Fashion fame, is in India buying and coordinating her designer ranges in productions for the summer releases this year. Nothing new there but as a student of India and the constant change in the fashion business, she noticed the consultants trend is very interesting.
India as a country has had an English speaking base for over 400 years and the richness of this and other languages makes for interesting influences on their cultures.
As India maturing commercially continues with its increasing economic importance, so does the Indian consultants influence in the world’s largest managements.
“Conventional wisdom in the US holds that consulting firms like McKinsey have nothing to fear from Indian firms. The reason is that Indian firms are most unlikely to win high-end strategy and board level consulting business, at the expense of the likes of McKinsey and Bain, because the cultural barriers are way too high.”?
That is a quote from this Indian journal which challenges this conventional wisdom as it goes on to ask “will companies like Wipro and Infosys work to help US and other developed nation firms change their culture”?
Check it out www.indiajournal.com/pages/event.php?id=6300
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