Sunday, February 24, 2013

Speed Kills

Most technology is connected to “speed.” The need to make things go faster, to download faster, to transmit faster, to just simply do whatever is required - faster.

Mike Bloomberg became the richest man in New York by selling financial traders just fifteen seconds head start on the data they needed. Fifteen seconds can cost thousands of dollars a month per financial analyst.

In sports, speed is everything. A faster fastball, a faster race car, or a speedy wide receiver is worth millions. Speed is everywhere in the business of sports. Is anyone going to watch the Daytona 500 tonight?

The reason why “speed” is a commodity in such demand is that from having more “speed” you then have more time to go slow. The reward of being so speedy is you now get to go slow!

Look at the Bloomberg business model.  If all stock brokers in the world had the exact same computers with all computers and networks operating at the exact same processing speed, then speed no longer matters. Speed is a non-issue.  But if just one (or a few) traders are faster by even just a few seconds, then the entire game changes. It is no longer a fair fight.

Evelyn Wood is synonymous with quality, dependability and speed reading. When I was in High School, there were classes in speed reading. The concept was easy to grasp; if you could read at two or three times the speed as everyone else, then you would have a strategic advantage in class, and in life.

I have not heard the name Evelyn Wood in years. The need for speed in “reading” has been replaced by the need for speed in “Googling.” The need for speed was not to help you to simply turn the pages faster. The need for speed was to get the content - to increase the reading comprehension - faster.

A major change in education is well underway. You can get an excellent college education from home, at a time and place of your choosing - faster - by taking courses online. And once you have your degree you can then go nice and slow, enjoying years in the career of your choice.

You can go very fast via distance learning technology, to then enjoy the rest of your life going very slow, following your passion in a wonderful and rewarding career that you chose because you find this field of study interesting and fascinating.

If you are going faster and faster to then enjoy going slow - savoring your life as you work in a field that is rewarding and nurturing, congratulations my friend, you have cracked the code! You have mastered technology for a grand and wonderful purpose.

If, however, you are going faster and faster - to then go even FASTER for sake of going faster, you have missed the point. Technology should be a tool to serve you, the master. Not the other way around. Going faster now to then go slow and savoring the rest of your life - good.

Going faster to then simply go faster and faster and even faster still - not so much.

I guess that is where the saying “Speed Kills” comes from, yes?

Danica Sue Patrick (born March 25, 1982) is an American auto racing driver, model and advertising spokeswoman. If she wins the Daytona 500 tonight, she will have gone very fast indeed, in a race car powered by the best technology money can buy. If she wins the race tonight, then for the rest of her life, she can go very slow indeed. Drive very fast tonight for 500 miles, and then you get to drive very slow for a lifetime. That would be using technology as a tool to go very fast indeed, to then "get" to go very slow while enjoying the ride.

Ah yes, Sunday, the day of rest.  Who is working today?  Are you working on “going faster” for the week ahead, or are you working, working, working today so that you can then go nice and slow one day soon?

Hurry up so that you can slow down. That is the way to play the game.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

I skipped going to church today. While I was in the backyard playing with Bella, she began to speak. She said that I could do penance by writing about the ten commandments of running a technology company. The conversation went like this:

“Thou must establish relationships with other breeds,” she said.  I asked a clarifying question - not the best thing to do to a talking dog.  “With whom?” The answer was simple. “With everyone - public sector, private sector, industries, nonprofits, and anyone else who can help to build your company.”  "Sounds pretty inclusive” I said.  “It is,” she replied.

  • “Thou shall not construct false idols.”  Dummy me, I asked, “Like what?”  She said, “Don’t think that there are any magic doggie tricks or solutions. Think outside the box and be creative. Lassie and Rin Tin Tin were actors, not real dogs.”

  • “Thou shall not growl about not having enough kibble.” She said, “For what has been given to you might be taken away in an instant.” Make it work with what you have, I thought.

  • “Thou shall take some time off - all work and no play leaves no time for walks in the park.” A little self-serving for Bella, I thought. But a good point nevertheless.

  • “Thou shall honor the dog catcher so that they shall be well with thee.” Smart dog, I thought. “I am talking about the IRS, you know,” she said.

    “Thou shall not make enemies of other doggies.” She went on to point out that “Friends come and go, but enemies you keep forever. Remember, you can’t make people or companies (or doggies) cooperate with you.”

    “Thou shall keep your promises to the pack and promise less and deliver more.” This commandment immediately struck home. I was always trying to do more than what my staff and resources would allow.  

    “Thou shall steal all the good ideas and doggie tricks that you can.”  This one seemed negative to me, based on my memories of the original Ten Commandments, so I suggested that maybe this was wrong. “Nay,” she said, “you are to use all good ideas, no matter where they come from. Someone else has dug up that bone for you.”

    “Thou shall not talk bad about other breeds.” Since this has become a national sport on Facebook, Twittter and such, I thought this might be a tough one to follow. With a loud bark, she pointed out how this commandment and No. 6 (make no enemies) are related.

    “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s kibble.” I think about all of the money given to dumb companies by dumb VC firms for dumb ideas, and how much we could do with a fraction of that funding. Don’t waste time thinking about what others have; go make your own kibble.

    With that being said, the voice stopped talking and Bella went back to barking, as she saw a squirrel. 
    And then I realized that Dog is God spelled backwards. 

    Sunday, February 10, 2013

    Was this trip really necessary?

    As of the writing of this blog, there are 40” of snow on the ground at  Most of Connecticut and New England got slammed with the storm. Some people in Long Island slept in their cars. Many are trying to figure out how they are going to get to work tomorrow morning. It is hard to take a train when there is several feet of snow covering the tracks.

    Here in New Jersey we were lucky with less than 10” of snow in our town.  And according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg everyone in New York City “dodged a bullet” as far as the storm is concerned.

    Because we did not lose power, the storm had zero effect on me and my business. As long as I have the Internet, I am a happy camper. But when the Internet goes down, well, let’s just say you don’t want me in your Internet-less lifeboat.

    So, people will not be able to get to class tomorrow at Quinnipiac and UCONN as will be the case with many of the major colleges and universities in the region. People will not be able to take the train to work in New York City, and most of of the major highways in the area have yet to be properly cleared.  

    Why not work from home?  Why not take classes from home?

    Both of my sons went to college in Connecticut (who just got dumped on with snow). Tommy is now taking Graduate classes at Quinnipiac University (online). My youngest son Robert has one more semester to go (brick and mortar) at UCONN.

    The COA (Cost of Attendance) for college is made up of direct charges such as tuition, fees, room and board. Indirect costs are things like books, transportation and personal expenses. 

    For a Freshman Resident at Quinnipiac here are the numbers:

    Tuition & Fees: $36,130  
    Room & Board: $13,430  
    Books: $800  
    Personal: $900  
    Transportation: $500  
    Total: $51,760
    I can tell you this: the above numbers are just an estimate - a low estimate. Factor in trips to visit campus, special events, special sporting events and dining out. Also iPads, iPhones, various types of tablets and smartphones. Throw a few thousand dollars per year on top and you might be close to the real numbers. Then multiply by four years (and how many kids do you have again?)

    The Internet has changed the world forever. It has changed the way that we work, live and play. It certainly has changed the way that we learn. The costs of higher education have spiraled out of control, and it not clear if the value of a four-year education is worth the expense.

    Tomorrow, all classes on campuses in Connecticut will be canceled. Many people will not be able to make it to work in NYC. Airports will be trying to recover from thousands of canceled flights from the weekend. For me, the “Blizzard of 2013” has reminded me of the true costs of traditional business and classic higher education. If you were one of the unfortunate people who had to sleep in their cars on the Long Island Expressway, you will be thinking about this storm for quite some time, I am sure.

    I believe that the future of education is distance learning. I think that the future of work is telework, and I believe that technology will continue to change the way that we live, work and play.

    The “Blizzard of 2013” is making people think about distance learning because of the snow on the roads and the canceled trains. But when you look at the spiraling costs of higher education, it looks like it has been "snowing" on college and university campuses for many, many years. 

    We are just now starting to take notice of how deep the cost of a four-year college education has become. When buried by snow - eventually it melts. 

    Sadly, it does not work the same way with college debt.

    Sunday, February 3, 2013

    What Time is the Game On? VI?

    Roman numerals, the numeric system in ancient Rome, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as follows: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X.
    The Roman numeral system is a cousin of Etruscan numerals. Use of Roman numerals continued after the decline of the Roman Empire. From the 14th century on, Roman numerals began to be replaced in most contexts by more convenient Arabic numerals; however this process was gradual, and the use of Roman numerals in some minor applications continues to this day.
    Numbers are formed by combining symbols together and adding the values. For example, MMVI is 1000 + 1000 + 5 + 1 = 2006. Generally, symbols are placed in order of value, starting with the largest values. When smaller values precede larger values, the smaller values are subtracted from the larger values and the result is added to the total. 

    For example MCMXLIV = 1000 + (1000 − 100) + (50 − 10) + (5 − 1) = 1944.
    But why? Why do we still see Roman numerals with things like the Super Bowl? Why do we see Roman numerals on clocks, after names (John Jeffrey Jones III) and certain things, but not other things?

    What time is the big game?  You know, the XLVII Super Bowl? Are you having a Super Bowl Party? How many people are coming over? X? L??? Wow, C?!!!

    There is a marketing lesson here buried in letters and numbers. 

    There is a reason why our brains accept Roman numerals for certain things, and yet we completely reject Roman numerals for others. It was explained to me by my friend Seth Godin. This "brain trick" goes to the core of the advertising world including social media and mass media. 

    Want a hint why the use of Roman numerals makes perfect sense on some things and not others? Think Twitter, Tweets and TXT MSGS. RU LOL? WTH?  

    See my blog next week for the answer....... TTYL!

    Quick: What Number Super Bowl is this?