Disintermediation

Sometimes I think I should write a book about failing companies.  Having been at Tower Records and Borders, I feel like I've seen enough to fill dozens of business school case studies.  However, I'm not really sure I'm the one to spin it into something interesting or marketable.  I'm also a bit of a fatalist, probably to a fault - something that is not particularly helpful at times.  I actually think Borders' fate was probably sealed almost a decade ago.  The same people hailed as geniuses at Tower Records in the 80's and early 90's were vilified as failing to respond to a changing market.  Were these people suddenly completely incompetent?

When viewed from that perspective, I find myself thinking that much of success or failure is based on greater forces and circumstances than can be manipulated by a few good managers or executives.  If Borders' was already doomed in 2001 because of its real estate strategy, product strategy, lack of operational/systems investment during its heyday, and failure to credibly engage in internet retailing, then everything afterward was just an elaborate stage play leading to a foregone conclusion: executives promising results they couldn't deliver, finger-pointing, ass-covering, short-term decisions, reorganization after reorganization, delusional group-think, naked emperors.  By and large, all of these depressing and unpleasant behaviors are more a result of the declining results, not a cause of them.  When times are good, the aggressive forecast gets hit sometimes and the executive gets the credit.  Mistakes are covered by the rising tide.  Almost every decision seems like a good one.

To state the obvious: it is better to be at a growing company than a shrinking company, and a lot (not all) of what determines whether a company is succeeding is outside its control.

A New Day, with podcast recommendations

Listening to Diane Rhem's Friday news roundup right now.  She is awesome!  Seriously!  As an aside, I've discovered that because of my dry sense of humor, people sometimes can't tell if I'm being serious or not.  I sympathize, 'cause I do veer from ironic to wildly sincerely.  In this case, I'm completely sincere.  She is awesome.

If you haven't checked out her show, and especially her Friday News roundup, you totally should.  It is available via podcast.

Also, if you're a moderate or liberal, you may like the Slate Political Gabfest.  I listen to this every week and I highly recommend it.

There's Something About Joe the Plumber...

I don't know what it is, but there's something about Joe the Plumber. (I assume the "P" in "plumber" is capitalized.) I don't know if it is his handle bar mustache; his neatly trimmed silvery hair; the monocle he's frequently polishing and replacing; the small hairless dog he holds lovingly in one hand or the cane he clutches in the other. He's clearly never fixed a leak - his crisp all-white suit, his turquoise bolo tie, his warm southern drawl betray his very name. Is he a Bond villain or a master purveyor of eleven herbs and spices? One thing is very clear: he's no plumber.

I really intended to write about how to get ahead in larger business environments. It's really quite easy if you can stomach it:

1) Always sound like you know what you're doing. If a question comes up in the meeting, have an answer and say it convincingly. It doesn't matter so much if the answer is right, but that a group of people have repeated glimpses of you seeming to be in full, confident command.

2) Kiss your boss' ass like there is no tomorrow. Most people are insecure. They like to be liked; they like to have their insecurities assuaged with the cheap balm of flattery. They want to believe they have good ideas, good judgment, and a good nature (and they very well may.)

3) This overlaps with 1 and 2, but by far the most important skill in getting ahead in larger organizations is the ability to talk well, talk confidently, talk a lot.

I'm sure there's a lot more to it, but that' s my two cents.

Unemployment - Ideas Part 1

So, I resigned from my job on Friday and that's really the first time I've ever done that when I wasn't going straight into another job. My boss and I "didn't see eye to eye" as they say, so I felt it was time to move on. The good news for you is that there may be more blog postings than my usual 1 every other year. Of course that doesn't count the Congo Letters blog I did, which was quite a lot of output actually, and had 160 views in the last month (who are these people?).

For the past several days, I've been thinking of what I'll do next and taking a mental inventory of my opportunities and assets.

Last night, while I was shaving my feet, I realized that I have 440 followers on Twitter. That's right - 440! If I could get each of these "followers" to send me $1, I'd have $440 - not really a life-changing amount but almost enough for a fun night out. The real trick would be to get each follower to send me $1,000 - $440,000 is some real money - that's what you really call "monetizing your social media." The key question: how could I persuade these people to send me that kind of money? Ultimately, I think that even if I were able to crack that nut, I'd feel bad 'cause there's really nothing I could do to really earn it from them. I wouldn't feel right about it.

I'll leave it on the list with "High" difficulty and "High" opportunity.