The Importance of DHA – Part 2 (Omega-3s vs Omega-6s and The Plight of Humans, Whales, & Dolphins)

August 22nd, 2010

dolphin

What do humans, whales, and dolphins have in common?  Besides the obvious that they’re all mammals, warm blooded, and give birth to “live young”, here’s one similarity you might not have heard of.

Dolphins, whales, and humans are the only animals on the planet that require a one-to-one ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 essential fatty acids.

The term “essential” is used to imply that our body can’t make them (easily), and as such we need to get them from our diet.  How essential are they?  Studies on mice have shown deficiencies in these essential fats cause extreme health issues, while restoring those fats to their diets immediately reversed their health.

The Omega-6 fatty acids are used to increase inflammation, constrict blood vessels, and stimulate blood clotting – functions that are useful as part of the immune system.  Omega 3s do the opposite – thin the blood, decrease blood pressure, and in general help to increase immunity. Hence the need for the 1:1 balance of Omega 6s to Omega 3s.

So, how are we as humans doing to achieve that 1:1 ratio?

Unfortunately, not so good – at least here in the West.  Rather than an ideal 1:1 ratio of Omega 6s to Omega 3s, a typical American diet is more like a 20:1 ratio.  And many experts believe this imbalance is significantly correlated with the increases in asthma, heart disease, several cancers, and neurological disorders (including depression, aggression, ADHD, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s, MS, and Alzheimer’s).1 A UK prison study demonstrated a remarkable 37% drop in violent offences once Omega 3s were added to the prisoner’s diets.2 Countless studies have since demonstrated a correlation between decreased Omega 3 intake and increased depression rates.

But that major imbalance of Omega 6 to Omega 3 wasn’t always the case.

Our food sources have always been and remain rich in Omega 6s (seeds, nuts, vegetable oils, etc.).  And, our diets once were replete with Omega-3s as a result of the fish and meat we ate.  But with over farming and the dramatic increase in grain-fed animals and processed foods that is no longer the case.

The unfortunate truth is that many of us are now severely lacking in Omega 3s, an essential fatty acid that is crucial for optimal health.

In Part 3 of this series, I’ll discuss the various forms of Omega 3 and how to get what your body really needs.  To quote Dr. Abel, author of The DHA Story, “All men may be created equal, but not all [Omega 3] fatty acids are.”

[1] http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400149/balancing-omega-3-and-omega-6.html
[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/oct/17/prisonsandprobation.ukcrime

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The Importance of DHA – Part 1 (Eyesight)

August 15th, 2010
One of our Healthy Humans doctors, Robert Abel, published a terrific book called The DHA Story – How Nature’s Super Nutrient Can Save Your Life (http://www.amazon.com/DHA-Story-Natures-Super-Nutrient/dp/1591200016/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281887588&sr=8-4) that offers a ton of compelling evidence for getting enough DHA in our diets.
In this multi-part blog post, I’d like to highlight some of the incredibly powerful correlations between DHA and optimal health.
Having recently discovered the meaning of myopia (nearsightedness) and my slow-to-admit need for some “corrective action”, I began studying the eye and general “eye health”.  Turns out the retina (as well as the brain) is composed of up to 30% DHA!
As a matter of fact, DHA is a key component of all our cell membranes. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is an Omega-3 fatty acid molecule with 22 carbon chains and a carboxyl group at the end.  And a key element of this structure is that six of the 22 carbon chains, starting with the 3rd (hence the term Omega-3) have double bonds between them (the rest all have single bonds).  Conversely, Omega-6 fatty acids have their first double bond at the 6th carbon chain (and only contain between 2-4 double bonds).
More double bonds better help counter the effects of free radicals and improve cell to cell communication.  A study from the NIH (National Institutes of Health) showed that if DHA were replaced by its Omega-6 counterpart (DPA), significant vision deterioration resulted (along with many other health problems).  And there is a ton of additional research showing the correlation between DHA and good eyesight.
While fish oils are great sources of Omega 3s, most of these oils contain 80% EPA and only 20% DHA.  EPA, or Eicosapentaenoic acid, is a precursor to DHA and contains only 20-carbon chains, five of them with double bonds.  Unfortunately, our bodies are not very good at converting EPA to DHA, and as such need to get our DHA intake from what we eat.  So, along with a begrudgingly painful trip to the optometrist for corrective lenses, I’ll also be starting a DHA supplementation regimen in an effort to strengthen the “windows to my soul”.
In Part 2 of this series, I’ll talk about the differences between Omega-3s and Omega-6s and how humans, dolphins and whales are unique amongst the animal kingdom.

eyechartOne of our Healthy Humans doctors, Robert Abel, published a terrific book called The DHA Story – How Nature’s Super Nutrient Can Save Your Life that offers a ton of compelling evidence for getting enough DHA in our diets.

In this multi-part blog post, I’d like to highlight some of the incredibly powerful correlations between DHA and optimal health.

Having recently discovered the meaning of myopia (nearsightedness) and my slow-to-admit need for some “corrective action”, I began studying the eye and general “eye health”.  Turns out the retina (as well as the brain) is composed of up to 30% DHA!

As a matter of fact, DHA is a key component of all our cell membranes. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is an Omega-3 fatty acid molecule with 22 carbon chains and a carboxyl group at the end.  And a key element of this structure is that six of the 22 carbon chains, starting with the 3rd (hence the term Omega-3) have double bonds between them (the rest all have single bonds).  Conversely, Omega-6 fatty acids have their first double bond at the 6th carbon chain (and only contain between 2-4 double bonds).

More double bonds better help counter the effects of free radicals and improve cell to cell communication.  A study from the NIH (National Institutes of Health) showed that if DHA were replaced by its Omega-6 counterpart (DPA), significant vision deterioration resulted (along with many other health problems).  And there is a ton of additional research showing the correlation between DHA and good eyesight.

While fish oils are great sources of Omega 3s, most of these oils contain 80% EPA and only 20% DHA.  EPA, or Eicosapentaenoic acid, is a precursor to DHA and contains only 20-carbon chains, five of them with double bonds.  Unfortunately, our bodies are not very good at converting EPA to DHA, and as such need to get our DHA intake from what we eat.  So, along with a begrudgingly painful trip to the optometrist for corrective lenses, I’ll also be starting a DHA supplementation regimen in an effort to strengthen the “windows to my soul”.

In Part 2 of this series, I’ll talk about the differences between Omega-3s and Omega-6s and how humans, dolphins and whales are unique amongst the animal kingdom.

Posted in Healthcare, Personal | No Comments »

Marriage, Happiness, and Death

July 31st, 2010
We’ve all heard the research reports suggesting that being in a good relationship or having pets might be correlated with a longer life span.
According to a study presented at the 2010 American Stroke Association’s conference, single men had a 64% HIGHER risk of suffering a fatal stroke than happily married men (http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ASA/18672).  While the data analyzed was fairly dated, the significance of the number is staggering.  But, perhaps even more surprising is that men who were married yet rated their marriage as “unsuccessful” – even their risk of fatal stroke was 64% higher compared to happily married men.
Uri Goldbourt, professor of epidemiology and preventative medicine at Tel Aviv University in Israel and author of the study, expressed surprise – “I had not expected that unsuccessful marriage would be of this statistical importance.”
It seems fairly obvious that unhappy relationships can lead to increased stress, blood pressure, and other nasty things.  But what do we really mean when we use subjective terms like happy, unhappy, successful, and unsuccessful to define relationships?
When it comes to cholesterol, we say our cholesterol is “good” or our management of our lipid levels is “successful” if total cholesterol is under 200.
Would it be possible to define a similarly objectified approach to relationship success?  I’ll suggest two diagnostic measures: blood pressure and the hormone cortisol.  The challenge of course would be “normalizing” the numbers to tease out the influence of other “external” factors such as job, international strife, and so forth.
Here’s one possible way.
Psychologists who perform couple’s counseling could use blood pressure cuffs and saliva testing during the “how does it make you feel when he/she …” bludgeoning and study the deltas from “baseline” to derive a relative success metric.  Let’s call it a Relationship Success Coefficient that indicates the +/- from baseline.
Consider then the opportunity for couples to learn how to “improve” their numbers.  Isn’t it easier to lower your cholesterol if you know exactly where it stands and what number it needs to hit?  That’s the whole point behind SMART goals (Strategic – it really matters, Measurable, Actionable – there are things you can do to achieve it, Realistic, and Time-bound).
Clearly a bit tongue in cheek, but could having mutually agreed upon, measurable Relationship Success Coefficients help to either improve existing relationships or more quickly terminate ones that consistently fail to achieve their RSC goals?
Obviously relationship “success” is far more complex than simple measures of blood pressure and stress hormones, but the data from Dr. Goldbourt’s and many others suggest the high correlation between dissatisfaction in marriage and death.

We’ve all heard the research reports suggesting that being in a good relationship or having pets might be correlated with a longer life span.

According to a study presented at the 2010 American Stroke Association’s conference, single men had a 64% HIGHER risk of suffering a fatal stroke than happily married men[1].  While the data analyzed was fairly dated, the significance of the number is staggering.  But, perhaps even more surprising is that men who were married yet rated their marriage as “unsuccessful” – even their risk of fatal stroke was 64% higher compared to happily married men.

Uri Goldbourt, professor of epidemiology and preventative medicine at Tel Aviv University in Israel and author of the study, expressed surprise – “I had not expected that unsuccessful marriage would be of this statistical importance.”

It seems fairly obvious that unhappy relationships can lead to increased stress, blood pressure, and other nasty things.  But what do we really mean when we use subjective terms like happy, unhappy, successful, and unsuccessful to define relationships?

When it comes to cholesterol, we say our cholesterol is “good” or our management of our lipid levels is “successful” if total cholesterol is under 200.

Would it be possible to define a similarly objectified approach to relationship success?  I’ll suggest two diagnostic measures: blood pressure and the hormone cortisol.  The challenge of course would be “normalizing” the numbers to tease out the influence of other “external” factors such as job, international strife, and so forth.

Here’s one possible way.

Psychologists who perform couple’s counseling could use blood pressure cuffs and saliva testing during the “how does it make you feel when he/she …” bludgeoning and study the deltas from “baseline” to derive a relative success metric.  Let’s call it a Relationship Success Coefficient that indicates the +/- from baseline.

Consider then the opportunity for couples to learn how to “improve” their numbers.  Isn’t it easier to lower your cholesterol if you know exactly where it stands and what number it needs to hit?  That’s the whole point behind SMART goals (Strategic – it really matters, Measurable, Actionable – there are things you can do to achieve it, Realistic, and Time-bound).

Clearly a bit tongue in cheek, but could having mutually agreed upon, measurable Relationship Success Coefficients help to either improve existing relationships or more quickly terminate ones that consistently fail to achieve their RSC goals?

Obviously relationship “success” is far more complex than simple measures of blood pressure and stress hormones, but the data from Dr. Goldbourt’s and many others suggest the high correlation between dissatisfaction in marriage and death.

[1]http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ASA/18672

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First 3 Days with iPad – Top 10 Loves/Hates

May 2nd, 2010

Hates:

10. No multitasking (yet) so can’t listen to Pandora and then pop out to another application.

9. Lots of great apps (see some in Loves), but still missing key ones like LinkedIn, Facebook, Skype, Yammer, etc.  Workaround to use them in regular “Safari mode”.

8. Get used to fingerprints all over the screen.  They don’t really show up in “operation” mode, but it looks ugly when the screen is “off”.  No idea why Apple doesn’t ship a micro-fiber cloth with the device (like they did with the iPhone).

7. Makes looking at all the apps on my iPhone seem so tiny and underpowered.  The only thing I now use the iPhone for is calls and text messages.  Anyone want a 32 GB iPhone 3GS?

6. No built-in camera for video conferencing.

5. iBooks application is really nice, but the selection of books isn’t really that large.  The Amazon selection is much bigger, but the Kindle application is nowhere near as nice as iBooks.

4. No easy file sync/transfer between my desktops/laptop and the iPad.  Box.net is an OK application, but it only lets you store 1 GB and requires the master file to be in the cloud.  I love Windows Live Sync – but no such app for the iPad.

3. No built-in text messaging application.

2. On screen keyboard in landscape mode is “ok” for typing, but with no tactile feedback, it is very difficult to fly.  I do 150 wpm on a regular keyboard – nothing close (yet?) on the iPad.

1. VOIP apps don’t run under 3G, only in WiFi mode.  That’s ridiculous.  AT&T lock out?

Loves:

10. This is the ultimate GTD (getting things done) device, especially with Evernote.  Maintaining an Inbox of zero has just gotten much simpler for me.

9. Newspapers and magazines galore, in stunningly beautiful display: Wall Street Journal, Thompson Reuters, New York Times, Bloomberg, Time, National Geographic, etc.

8. So many awesome applications already, many of them free: NPR, Dragon Dictation, TweetDeck, Wikipanion, Evernote, FeeddlerRSS, Epicurious, The Weather Channel MAX, ETrade Mobile PRO, and GoSkyWatch Planetarium.  And they keep on coming.

7. Being able to stay on top of email, Facebook, Twitter, Yammer, and LinkedIn accounts with a full size display and (relatively) decent keyboard anywhere, anytime.

6. Most incredible way to browse the internet.  Steve Jobs said something along the lines of, “It’s like holding the internet in your hands.”  I have to agree with him.

5. Perfect device for customer demos, especially if your product is a web portal :-) .  Much less impersonal than projecting something on the wall.

4. Streaming Netflix videos (application is free).  Unbelievable performance.  If you have a Netflix account, you can never be bored – over 12,000 movies/tv shows to watch anytime.

3. No longer having to crane my next close to my monitor to read documents.  Now they are in the palm of my hands in crystal clear display, without requiring a trip to the printer.

2. iBooks – Reading books on the iPad is terrific.  Being able to find all uses of a word, in-line dictionary, editable background lighting, fonts, and font size is great.  Coupled with the “Apple-esque” way of showing the page being turned with the corner of the page curling in as your finger moves – absolutely brilliant (and it even shows the shadow of the reverse text while being flipped in portrait mode).

1. The device is so amazingly gorgeous.  Hard to put into words, but reading articles, books, emails, web content, documents, etc. is an incredible experience.

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How NOT to Live a Life of Mediocrity

April 25th, 2010

mediocrity>> Thanks to Damu for the comment on my Secrets of Managing Your Advisory Board post which spurred the posting below >>

It all starts with your thoughts, which often come from the influences we allow into our life.  Hence my counsel that everyone maintain their own “personal advisory board”.

My experience has been that not only is variety truly the spice of life, but is also the spark of innovation.  You want to continually surround yourself with people that will challenge you to grow, not folks that cater to mediocrity (or worse).  Family members often don’t make great advisory board constituents because their tacit adoration often hinders the opportunity for really deep insight.  Below are some of my experiences, which may or may not work for others.

First, create your own vision statement of what you really want.  I got there by answering these questions:

  • What do I really enjoy working on?  In other words, what could I be doing – as part of a job – that I really love?
  • What are some of the things in my life that I’ve really enjoyed and have brought me great joy/pleasure?
  • If I won the lottery, what are three things I would do?
  • What issues or causes do I care most deeply about?
  • What are my most important values?
  • What are the things that I can do at the “excellent” level?  In other words, what are things that others would consider me to be an “expert” or at least “really good”?
  • What are the things I’d like to stop doing or do to a much lesser degree?

The key to making this work is being brutally honest and transparent with yourself.  As you write all this out, general themes/trends will emerge from which you can craft your vision.  And, this vision statement is probably best kept private, otherwise, you will tend to lose a bit of edgy honesty if you know others will read it.  Too many people live lives based on what they think others think they should do – some call that relinquishing responsibility – I call it fear.

This personal vision is not static – simply a reflection of “where you are” and “where you want to go” at this stage of your life.

Next, create a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) assessment.  While the WT is typically used in business settings (competitors, market trends, etc.), here consider them in the context of your vision statement.  What truly are your weaknesses and the threats that will hinder you from realizing your vision?  This honest WT will set the stage for the most important people to include on your personal advisory board.

Who are some people that can help you further develop your strengths and realize the opportunities?  Identify two of these people by name.  Based on your weaknesses (which I prefer to euphemistically call “developmental opportunities”) and threats, who are people that can significantly help you transcend them?  List them by name as well.

Now you have your “target” list, go get them.  How?

While there are probably 1000s of strategies (and books) written on how best to “network and connect”, my philosophy is pretty simple.  Find the overlap of interests/passions between you and the other person, and then figure out how you can “serve” or “selflessly give to” the other person.  There is perhaps no greater joy than in serving others in a meaningful, impactful way (especially around shared interests).  Once you’ve created that bond, reciprocity naturally flows and doesn’t need to be an awkward “ask”.  Furthermore, most people feel honored to lend their “guidance” and “expertise” to others who genuinely seek it.

Now create a personal development plan, with specific objectives and timelines to define the (very) specific steps to make your vision statement a reality.  Then, start implementing.

While I rarely meet with my advisory board as a whole, I regularly meet with them individually to share progress against my plan and discuss strategies for enhancement.  And, just as your vision statement isn’t static, neither is your advisory board.  As you grow, your developmental opportunities will change and you’ll want to bring on different people, and so forth.

Continually surround yourself with the kinds of people (influences/energy) you want/need to help you grow.  A great quote I once heard (although I don’t recall the source) goes something like: “If you find you are the smartest person in the room, then find another room.”  A really effective personal advisory board makes that a reality.

I’d love to hear success stories from others.

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Top 10 Tips to Land Yourself in Resume Hell

April 3rd, 2010

Over the past six months, I’ve reviewed so many resumes from friends and old associates out of work seemingly interested in finding jobs.

resume

I use the word “seemingly” because while I know they are sincere about finding work, you wouldn’t know it by reading their resumes.  And, the worst part is that many of these resumes have already been “edited and approved” by the outplacement firms that have “coached” and “consulted” these folks.

While I’ve never worked with any of these outplacement firms, I think I now have a pretty good grasp on how they “advise”.  From the results of their sage counsel I’ve crafted the following “resume enlightenment tips” they must be using to give their constituency their “best shot” at employment:

10.  Include every job you’ve ever had and everything you’ve ever done.  Be sure to include your high school gigs as well.

9.  Use lots of bullets with incomplete sentence fragments that don’t convey much meaning.

8.  Include plenty of acronyms and proper nouns that only people from inside your old companies would know.  That makes you sound really smart and “in the know”.

7.  Tell the reader what kind of job you are seeking.  Potential employers don’t want you to focus on their needs – instead, they want to know exactly what you want.

6.  Fill it with plenty of soft verb phrases such as “helped with …”, “responsible for …”, “reviewed …”, “served as …”, “learned …”, “completed …”, and so forth.  Avoid giving concrete examples of how much money you’ve made for the company – no one likes to hear about boring revenue numbers and other “business-y” stuff.

5.  Make sure you write that you are highly motivated, hardworking, and results-focused.  This will help you stand out from the people who write that they are lethargic and incompetent.

4.  Similarly, talk about how well you work in a team environment in order to differentiate yourself from those that say they are ego-maniacal loners who must work in a vacuum.

3.  Don’t allow any of your passions or game-changing skills to seep out.  This would only confuse the reader into thinking you might actually be interesting.

2.  Absolutely include your computer skills like Microsoft Word and Excel.  It’s sure to separate you from the masses that have never used a computer before.

1.  Above all else, be sure to bore the hell out of your reader.

Follow these tips and I can guarantee your resume will not only be the epitome of mediocrity, but it will also help ensure it looks like everyone else’s out there.

Happy job hunting.

Posted in Business, Personal | 2 Comments »

CIO Institute and Philadelphia

March 10th, 2010

Not only do I live in a great region that has some of the best universities, progressive companies, and a terrific capital ecosystem – but it also has some of the brightest technology and life-sciences minds in the world.

So, when I was asked to chair the CIO Institute for the Eastern Technology Council, it didn’t take me more than a picosecond to say yes.  It’s never “more work” when it’s something you love and it’s serves a great purpose – including cultivating the region’s “infrastructure” for emerging and established organizations.

With that, I welcome all technology and life-science executives in the Philadelphia area to join me as we look to further enrich the region.  I look forward to working with each of you.

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Health, Wellness, and Awareness

August 13th, 2009

Know anyone with Diabetes? Almost one in ten are affected, including my dad.

In my new role as the CEO of a healthcare company, I spend a lot of time with medical doctors and in the midst of medical research. One of the things that surprised me quite a bit when I first began with Healthy Humans was how much compelling research around certain illnesses is all but unknown by the general public. And, I’m talking about evidence-based research that can really make a difference.

Even more surprising to me was how many chronic diseases could not only be kept in check, but in some cases completely reversed! While I’m not a medical doctor, I certainly have a vested interest in seeing people get better outcomes.

Today I read a powerful study[1] that is fairly dated – it was published in the Journal of Clinical Pathology in 1988 – however, the results of the research are just as relevant today. People with diabetes who take metformin (a popular diabetes medicine that helps with blood sugar control) have a significant risk of hypomagnesaemia – low magnesium levels in the blood. Not only are low magnesium levels a suggested risk factor for diabetic retinopathy (damage to the retina caused by complications from diabetes that can lead to blindness) but also arrhythmias (abnormal electrical activity in the heart).

The solution seems simple – if you are taking metformin, then be sure to consider taking a magnesium supplement. [Actually, metformin also seems to deplete the body of Vitamin B12, but I’ll save that for another discussion.]

You’d be shocked at how many people with diabetes don’t know this information.

[1] McBain AM, Brown IR, Menzies DG, Campbell IW. Effects of improved glycaemic control on calcium and mangnesium homeostasis in type II diabetes. J Clin Pathol 1988;41:933-35.

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I’m Too Young For This

July 18th, 2009

It isn’t hard to spot the modern day social media heroes when you look beyond the blitz of self-proclaimed “online media moguls” amassing their hordes of “friends” and “followers” anxiously awaiting the next i2y1bathroom-break posting.

Last week, a few of us from Healthy Humans met one of those “real” heroes who not only has a remarkable personal story, but is touching the lives of many through an exploding grass roots movement.

His name is Matthew Zachery, and the organization he founded is called I’m Too Young for This [I2Y]. At age 21, Matthew was diagnosed with brain cancer. Many told the young concert pianist he’d never play again, let alone have much of a future. Now at age 35 and having survived his condition, he has built an amazing organization focused on young adults with cancer.

The first thing I saw when I walked into his office within the NYU campus was a poster that read:

Got Cancer?
Under 40?
Sucks, huh?

Get busy living!

The challenge that Matthew shared with us is that most cancer survivorship rates have gone up over the past few decades as technology has evolved, education has improved, and treatments become more diverse. Except in the young adult (18-39) demographic, where survivorship rates have remained unchanged for nearly 30 years!

I2Y helps young adults with cancer to connect, share, and tap into resources for topics like healthcare, dating, financial support, insurance, fertility, depression, and many others. They’re now promoted in over 200 cancer centers and 9 countries. I2Y groups are spontaneously cropping up all over the world. Matthew hosts aBlogTalkRadio show each week from his office/studio. The name of the radio show is Stupid Cancer and listener/subscriber rates are exploding as people tune in to Matthew’s brilliant blend of wit, humility, sarcasm, irreverence, and charming personality.

Wonder what someone like Matthew would do when told he would never perform classical music again? Well, besides starting I2Y and an underground movement that would make any open source enthusiast proud, he recently released a CD of his own compositions calledScribblings (available on iTunes) – 10 tracks of blissful tranquility.

It’s an honor to meet people like Matthew Zachary who really are “changing the world”.

Pictured is Matthew proudly displaying his “rack” of circa-1984 Macintosh computers.

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Posted in Healthcare | 3 Comments »

The Secret of Managing Your Advisory Board & Board of Directors for Success

May 20th, 2009

Long title, but another great topic hosted by the Entrepreneurs Forumwhere I again had the honor of serving as a panelist.

Along with Philadelphia lawyer (and jazzman) extraordinaire Steve Goodman, Neil Vogel (Recognition Media CEO and producer of the Webby Awards), Irv Safra (moderator and high tech speaker) and Marc Sinkow (Vistage Chairman and co-chair of the Philly 100) – we spoke about the nuances of Boards: how to use them, when to get started, issues to watch out for, how to find & keep the right members, and other related topics.

One of the great things about a room full of entrepreneurs is the incredible buzz of ideas and optimism. Pair them with information about how boards can potentially help them be more successful in funding, growth, strategizing, and even exiting – and we’ve got a plan for liftoff.

I spent some time discussing the concept of a “personal advisory board” which I’ve used throughout my career. To the audience’s surprise (as well as mine when I first began that board) was how easy it is to put together such an advisory group. There are a lot of really smart people who find great joy in helping cultivate talent. Many of them are very successful business executives who have learned a lot about what works, and perhaps even more importantly, what doesn’t work.

You can read all the great business and leadership books in the world (and there are plenty of them), but nothing will help you grow faster than real experience and hands-on guidance from and accountability to a personal advisory board. If you’d like more details on how I manage my board, reach out to me in email.

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Posted in Leadership | 2 Comments »

Radio Ga Ga

April 29th, 2009

Check out BlogTalkRadio’s Frugal Friday. It’s a great show that focuses on “all things Linux and Open Source”. I have the honor of speaking on this week’s show. It is hosted by Ken Hess and Jason Perlow (Linux superstar who I’ve worked with in the past), and airs from 6:30-7:30 pm (eastern) on Friday evenings.

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Posted in Leadership, Open Source | No Comments »

Sign of the times?

April 27th, 2009

I receive unsolicited resumes all the time, and I’ve yet to see one that really impressed me. As a matter of fact, not even a single email has yet lured me to open the attached resume.

Why is that?

It certainly isn’t through lack of purported “hard skills”

  • Generated 107% of $7.4 million quota in my first year with XXX
  • Closed many high-profile customers
  • One of the world’s best rainmakers

    Nor is it lack of “schmooze tact”

    • Dear esteemed colleague
    • Anthony, you won’t be disappointed by what you read below
    • I’m the strategic sales ace you are looking for

      I think I’ve seen and heard it all. Unfortunately, it misses the point.

      Do I want rainmakers or sales aces? You bet. But, if you can’t blow me away with your first entree into me, then you really aren’t either of those.

      What do employers really care about? Themselves and their businesses. So, while you may have generated a gazillion dollars in revenue for company XXX, tell me how that is relevant to me and my business. Show that you understand my challenges and directly correlate that to what you’ve done.

      And, in this incredibly interconnected world in which we live, you have no excuse for not getting an introduction from someone who knows the employer. Who are they connected to in LinkedIn? What organizations do they belong to or what interests to they have? Find the overlap with your network and take it from there.

      Are you following them on Twitter and working your way into that “circle”? When is that employer presenting their next webinar, and how can you ask the right questions there to get “noticed”?

      Everyone I know is so inundated by email. There is no way you are going to cut through the clutter without it being extremely relevant to the reader.

      So, to Mr. Strategic Sales Ace and Ms. Rainmaker, while you’ve succeeded in leading me to write this post, I doubt that was the outcome you were seeking.

      Tags: ,
      Posted in Business, Leadership | No Comments »

      Blood and Entrepreneurs

      April 15th, 2009

      Ever heard of the Entrepreneurs Forum or the American Society of Inventors? I hadn’t until last night, when I spoke on a panel session at their monthly meeting held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Both are great organizations that I plan to get more involved with.

      Our panel’s topic: Commercializing Your Intellectual Property. The session was moderated by Frank Taney of Buchanan Ingersoll (friend, and now famous lawyer for his unusual Second Life prosecution case) and I was joined on the panel by Adam Rosen (CEO of k-Technology Corp) and Marilyn Montross (VP at QVC).

      So, how do you commercialize your IP, and what are some of the “tips of the trade”, so-to-speak? Below are a few of my talking points from last night’s engaging session.

      Important factors to consider:

      • Understand what your core strengths are and find others who can help you with the other important pieces. Don’t try to do it all yourself – you’ll likely drive yourself crazy. There are plenty of online resources that can help.
      • Find good legal counsel. You don’t have to spend a lot to get basic guidance, and the best lawyers are very well connected.
      • Regarding patents, start the provisional route. It is far cheaper, and gives you time to really get your business going. BUT (and this is a big but), it’s probably best to have legal counsel help write your provisional. Why? Because if you improperly write a provisional application, it may be worthless. And, it is not too expensive having legal help with a provisional. I know a few firms that will do one for under $500.

      Lessons learned (the hard way):

      • Don’t be too over-protective nor under-protective of your intellectual property. There’s a fine-line you need to walk there.
      • Just because you can patent something doesn’t mean you can make money from it – and not just because of market limitations, but because of legal issues.
      • If you have a “great” idea for which there is absolutely no competition, then be wary, be very wary.

      Resources that might help:

      • uspto.gov is a must to learn who is doing what related to your (potential) invention. While reading patents can be incredibly boring, there are some great nuggets to be gleaned. I’ve yet to read someone else’s patent application that didn’t lead me to think of a potential “spin off” ideas.
      • Innocentive.com – great for people who want to create solutions for challenges that others pose – and make some money from it.
      • Social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) can be great resources. Lots of noise? Yes. Value of cutting through the noise and reaching lots of people very inexpensively? Priceless.
      • Great books: The Art of the Start (Guy Kawasaki); The Adweek Copyrighting Handbook (Joe Sugarman); The 4-Hour Workweek (Tim Ferriss – please note that I’m not a fan of the author or his self-aggrandizing methods, but there are some really good nuggets in that particular book).

      Closing thoughts:

      • Good marketing trumps even great products.
      • Pay no attention to the “naysayers” – and there are plenty of them. Yes, you want to be sensitive to market trends, product viability, barriers to entry, and all those sorts of things. But at the end of the day, it will be your passion/drive coupled with your network that will get your through.
      • Baron Rothschild: “The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.” Well, there’s plenty of blood out there. Use this opportunity to make your mark.

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      Posted in Business | 1 Comment »

      The end of an era

      March 5th, 2009

      Open source and new beginnings: it was obviously a very tough decision to make, having spent so much time there. But after 24 years, I’ve made the decision to leave Unisys and spend more time working with non-profits, doing some writing, and advising for startups.

      ebizQ posted my “Unisys story” on their site.

      The Open Solutions Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to furthering the reach of open source and open solutions in the enterprise, remains one of my top priorities. And, in this economy, open source is being looked upon even more aggressively for its ability to offer substantial infrastructure cost savings.

      But another component of open source that isn’t talked about as often (yet) is how its model of self-selection and mass collaboration is changing all facets of society. I plan to further study and write on this topic.

      Other non-profits that are close to my heart include organizations that focus on individuals with learning disabilities and other such challenges.

      Hello, new world!

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      Posted in Business, Personal | No Comments »

      Open letter to President Obama

      February 22nd, 2009

      Perhaps you heard about the open letter we sent President Obama urging the consideration of open source, where appropriate, in government. With signatures from many of the thought leaders in the open source world, the response was terrific.

      While such a position will generally attract comments from all extremes, the feedback was very positive. Interesting, in one interview, I was asked why the need for such a letter given that the US government has traditionally been receptive to open source.

      While it is true that many sectors are receptive, including organizations like DISA and the great work of folks like John Garing (CIO), there are many others where that’s not the case. But perhaps more significantly, the current economic conditions warrant a renewed focus on open source. It shocks me how few people appreciate how much money can be saved in infrastructure costs alone with open source software. But, those that “get it” are certainly reaping the benefits.

      Furthermore, Obama has made it quite clear that he and his administration are seeking input on how best to build and execute on key pieces of their strategy. And with IT a key piece of the administration’s focus, the time couldn’t be better for such a stance. What do you think?

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      Posted in Open Source, Personal | No Comments »

      Unleashing Potential – Part 2

      December 9th, 2008

      The age-old business challenge: how to get the most out of people? We all know the different kinds of leaders from the coercive drivers, authoritarian rulers, coaching/affiliative partners, and so forth. A lot of good material is written on these archetypes and how to become a better leader. What I’d like to briefly share, however, is a slightly different twist: How to become a better follower.

      Not in a passive sheep-like sort of way, of course. In this context, I use the term “follower” to mean one observing and being attentive. The most successful leaders are, in fact, the most adroit followers. And in addition to being very good at following the various characteristics and potential opportunities of their particular market segment(s), they are extremely effective at following (observing) people, especially themselves.

      What does it mean to “follow oneself”? Self-awareness. As Daniel Goleman eloquently puts:

      Self-awareness means having a deep understanding of one’s emotions, as well as one’s strengths and limitations and one’s values and motives. People with strong self-awareness are realistic – neither overly self-critical nor naively hopeful. Rather, they are honest with themselves about themselves. And they are honest about themselves with others, even to the point of being able to laugh at their own foibles.(1)

      But another key characteristic of self-aware people is the ability to tune into others. And tuning in to others gives us the ability to understand them – which of course leads to the opportunity to empathize, motivate, and enthuse.

      How do you get started becoming self-aware? It starts by honestly looking inward. It also helps to have what I call a “personal advisory board”. I liken this to a board of directors, where the company is You, Inc. These directors have “joined” because of what they can offer, and they have a vested interest in the success of the company (you).

      Your personal advisory board can obviously help you vet ideas, provide advice and guidance, create connections, etc. But, the board’s real power lies in its capability to help you grow you. We all have our obvious strengths and developmental opportunities. But we also all have what are known as hidden strengths and invisible blind spots. These “don’t know what we don’t know” areas provide the fertile ground for substantial growth.

      Once you’ve begun tapping into the unlimited potential of You, Inc., the ability to help grow others flourishes by design. And when you can get an entire organization of people who are excited, motivated, and driven to realize the vision you help articulate, you’ve not only unleashed incredible potential, but you’ve also become a world-class follower that others want to access.

      (1) Goleman, Daniel; Boyatzis, Richard; McKee, Annie; Primal Leadership – Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence; Harvard Business School Press; 2002; pg 40.

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      Unleashing Potential

      November 29th, 2008

      Have you ever witnessed the hidden potential suddenly unleashed inside of someone? It can be life transforming, as exemplified in this true story.

      As a committee board member for People’s Light and Theatre Company, I was invited to attend a play that was being performed by neurologically challenged kids at a local school. The theatre director had been working with these children for several weeks preparing for the “big show”. One boy, with the most severe autism, sat non-participative through every practice and rehearsal, never uttering a single word.

      As the parents, teachers, and board members sat watching the play unfold, smiles abound as the costumed children did their best to remember lines, manipulate the hand-made props, and sing little songs about the planets in the solar system. Of course, the autistic boy sat off to the side watching it all unfold around him.

      The play had intended to reach its climax with all the children from each act singing, in unison, a piece about the Earth being the most important planet. And just as this “final act” was about to start, the autistic boy shocked us all.

      He stood up and walked to center stage.

      No one knew what to expect, and the entire audience as well as all the other children fell completely silent. It wasn’t just an “awkward silence” where we were waiting to see what would happen; it was more of a “concerned silence” along the lines of “is this boy OK?”

      After about five or six seconds, this boy, standing alone on center stage, lifted his eyes from the floor to the audience, and began singing. And not just mumbling words, but true, choral singing! Something immediately stirred in the other children, and they joined this boy and began singing along with him. Goosebumps ran down everyone’s spine, and of course there wasn’t a dry eye in the school. It couldn’t have been scripted any more dramatically, yet this was real life.

      Something had been awakened in this little boy, however momentarily, that enabled him to reach that achievement. Yet how many of us allow potential and passion to remain locked away deep within us? And what can we do to tap into that hidden reservoir?

      In my next posting, I’ll share what I’ve learned over a few decades of cultivating talent and unleashing potential, including topics such as:

      • Personal development plans (based on unique personality traits and skills)
      • Self-awareness and the role of a healthy ego
      • Personal advisory boards (and other components of encouragement and compliance)

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      Has social networking reduced our “degrees of separation”?

      October 11th, 2008

      I’m curious as to how much more accessible everyone is from everyone else in our modern day Web 2.0 age.

      Stanley Milgram conducted the first such experiment in the 1960s, which came to be known as the “small world hypothesis”. In the experiment, he sent letters to 160 randomly selected people in Nebraska and Kansas. In the letter was the name and both the home and work address of a stockbroker in Massachusetts. The 160 people were asked to forward their letter such that it eventually reached the stockbroker, either at his home or office. The caveat: send the letter to someone you know on a first-name basis who you think would be more likely to know the stockbroker (or know someone who may know the stockbroker) than you yourself. Each person along the “chain” was asked to add their name prior to forwarding the letter. And, it turned out that the letters reached the stockbroker in an average of six steps, hence the “six degrees of separation” concept. Actually, the term seems to be shared by both Milgram and Fringyes Karinthy, who in 1929, postulated that the world was growing “smaller” due to the amount of networking and social connections such that there were probably at most 5 connections between any two individuals.

      Other experiments have since been done tracing emails between randomly selected subjects and a “destination contact”, which also seem to support the six degrees theory. In all the email experiments I’ve come across, the participants are only “allowed” to forward the email to someone they know … no “cold calling” or web searching allowed. So, in a sense, this isn’t much different than the Milgram experiment, so it doesn’t surprise me that the six degrees still holds.

      Another interesting concept suggested by Malcolm Gladwell, in his fantastic book The Tipping Point, is that not all degrees of separation are equal because there are some people who are extremely well connected, a term Gladwell calls “connectors”. As a matter of fact, over half of the letters in the Milgram experiment reached their destination through the same three individuals. Gladwell’s conclusion: “A very small number of people are linked to everyone else in a few steps, and the rest of us are linked to the world through those special few.”

      However, if we take into account the social fabric that has been weaved together over the past few years with the rise of Web 2.0, perhaps the number of connection points between any two people has dropped. Perhaps the “need” for these super connectors is no longer required to get from any person to another. Of course, I’m certainly raising the specter of doubt over the definition of “know”. In an earlier post, I speculated that we don’t know ourselves as well as we think. How well can we really know someone else, particularly those people we’ve never met in person but only know online? Furthermore, can one argue that a username or avatar is the equivalent of first name / last name?

      Interesting thoughts to be sure. So, what I’d like to propose is a new type of experiment that measures the connectedness of our current world as well as the “requirement” for super connectors to draw us together. Perhaps a “starter experiment” would be to see what the average degree of separation is between any two randomly selected people on Facebook or MySpace. In other words, if person S (sample) has n-number of friends registered on Facebook and person D (destination) has m-number of friends (that presumably differ from S’s friends) registered on Facebook, how many “connections” or “degrees” do you need to traverse between S and D? Do this for a large enough sample size and average out the number. I’m sure these sites have the internal information (and technical infrastructure) already in place to perform this experiment. So, two key questions to answer: 1)is it still six degrees?, and 2)is there still a need for “super connectors” to pull us all together?

      What are your thoughts?

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      Posted in Business | 1 Comment »

      How well do we really know ourselves?

      September 28th, 2008

      Probably not as well as we think. And yet, truly understanding oneself is perhaps one of the most significant differentiators of great leaders from merely good or even poor leaders. This is the realm of emotional intelligence (EI or EQ), a term popularized by Daniel Goleman in his published books from the late 1990s.

      Components of EI include empathy, organizational awareness, inspirational leadership, influence, developing others, collaboration, conflict management, optimism, and the like. However, at the core, and perhaps most fundamental to EI is self-awareness. Being truly in touch with ourselves, our emotions, and how we process information is not a simple task. As Aristotle once said, “Anyone can become angry – that is easy. But, to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way – that is not easy.”

      When I first started my professional career, I quickly learned that the skills possessed by the most successful employees were not purely intelligence-based (everyone was very smart in the field I worked – electrical engineering), but rather what I called “soft skills”. The people who were full of passion, energy, and enthusiasm … the ones who worked very well in teams, had good personalities, and had a great sense of humor (whether overt or not) – these were the people who did very well. These people rarely, if ever, lost their temper and were able to easily resonate with others.

      To this day, when I interview people for a role in my company, I am much more concerned with their soft-skills than their IQ, grades, or particular degree. Of course raw intelligence matters, but only to a degree … it’s the soft skills that really tip the scale.

      But, in order to really hone those soft skills (which, by the way, can be learned and developed to a large degree), one needs to first understand their current baseline. And, the best way I’ve found to establish such a baseline is to “get a 360”. Getting a 360 is the process by which feedback is obtained from your peers, your bosses, your subordinates, and even your clients/customers (a 360 degree view of your world).

      Best if the feedback:

      • Is solicited from a broad range of individuals (not your best friends)
      • Asks the right set of questions to derive the essential characteristics
      • Is collected by a 3rd party organization that can effectively process all the data and “anonymize” the results

      I’ve had great success with both the Clark-Wilson types of surveys and most recently with the Telios Leadership Institute in Philadelphia, for which the managing director is Annie McKee, co-author of Resonant Leadership. But a word of caution is in order: the first time you see your processed 360 results, you may have a negatively defensive reaction. We tend to be unaware of many of our developmental opportunities (a term I much prefer to “weaknesses”), at least consciously. But, working with an experienced coach who can help build and monitor a personalized development plan is a huge step toward leadership greatness.

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      Posted in Leadership | 2 Comments »

      Cultural biases and our unconscious proclivities

      August 16th, 2008

      I’ve written on this topic before and recently revisited the Project Implicit study at Harvard. They’ve built a virtual laboratory where “visitors can examine their own hidden biases.” The web tests measure which direction we subconsciously lean when it comes to certain “pairs” of traits. For instance, some of the pairings include fat-thin, native-American white, light-dark skin, and many more.

      A lot of people probably want to believe they don’t have a strong bias one way or the other. Unfortunately, the facts reveal otherwise. Now that nearly 5 million people have taken the test, here are some sad “truths”: over 80% of the experimenters subconsciously demonstrate negativity toward the elderly versus younger people. The same statistics apply for black skin to white skin. And, not surprisingly, most of the people who took the tests were initially unaware of their biases.

      So what is it about so many people’s thoughts and feelings that cause such disparities? Our heritage and upbringing? The media? And perhaps an even more significant question is, “How can we narrow the gap?”

      The deeply contemplative Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote: “Every man has reminiscences which he would not tell to everyone but only his friends. He has other matters in his mind which he would not reveal even to his friends, but only to himself, and that in secret. But there are other things which a man is afraid to tell even to himself, and every decent man has a number of such things stored away in his mind.”

      Do you have any ideas on how we as a global society and massively interconnected populace can improve this state? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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      The Nature of Learning (and Remembering)

      May 17th, 2008

      For the past several months, I’ve been serving as an Algebra tutor for my friend’s child. This kid is very gifted intellectually, but he suffers from pretty severe ADHD, and unfortunately Algebra is his last class of the day, right about the time when his lack of attentiveness and patience reach their peak. Couple that with an Algebra teacher who will be retiring at the end of the school year without much “student cultivation” interest left in him, and you have a recipe for failure … literally.

      What makes Algebra such a perfect study in learning is that you have the two fundamental brain concepts required for knowledge attainment – memorization and reasoning. The first getting the right bits of data stored in the brain, the second creating the logical (neural) connections between them. It’s fairly easy to remember (memorize) the equations such as the quadratic formula, but how you derive it and apply it is another matter entirely. And while I’ve long held that most education systems (the ones I’m familiar with) teach kids how to memorize and not really how to learn, I’ve never spent much time thinking about how to more effectively teach learning.

      The other day I was reading Josh Kopelman’s wonderful blog and I came across a Wired Magazine article entitled “Want to Remember Everything You’ll Ever Learn? Surrender to This Algorithm”. The article discusses the SuperMemo (super memory) program and its creator Piotr Wozniak (no connection noted to the Apple Computer co-founder). The concept is based on the scientific theory called The Spacing Effect that the essentially says that the ideal time to practice what you’ve learned is right at the time you are about to forget it. Any earlier than that is essentially a waste of time and energy, and any later is too late and you’ll be starting over. How to know when is the right time – that’s the engine behind SuperMemo. Supposedly by following SuperMemo’s techniques, you’ll retain information astoundingly better than by any other means. And there are plenty of people (both users and scientists) who are proponents of this technique.

      As for my tutoring sessions, the spacing effect is built in by default. It’s whenever I have time to meet with the kid since he doesn’t do any studying or practicing of Algebra between our sessions, and as noted earlier, there is no way he is paying attention in class. The question is, is it the right amount of spacing? I meet with him the night before every test and quiz, and any other times in between when I am available. The coefficients for the spacing effect are different for each person, and probably unique for each bit of information. But, so far, I’m happy to report that my student has aced every test since we’ve started. The big question is how much is being learned versus appropriately regurgitated during test time.

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      Posted in Leadership | 1 Comment »

      SOA as a Business Strategy

      March 1st, 2008

      Below is the beginning of an article Jim Irwin and myself wrote for SOA World on how the “real” play with SOA is business agility. Although you may not have heard of Jim Irwin, he is one of the brightest minds in the SOA world … quietly behind the scenes helping my team develop some amazing solutions.

      >>
      If you had to pick a single business benefit that service-oriented architecture (SOA) can provide, it is the ability to respond to change. Change occurs continually in a multitude of places that affect the enterprise: the market, the supply chain, strategic processes, regulations, and so forth. SOA can enable the creation of an agile environment that creates stability in the face of change because it restructures automated functions into reusable pieces that can be quickly reconfigured into new or modified processes.

      … for the rest of the article, check out http://virtualization.sys-con.com/read/492583.htm

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      $1,000,000,000 acquisition

      January 16th, 2008

      Sun’s purchase of MySQL for a cool $1 billion is all the buzz today and rightfully so. I think this news goes to show the power, visibility and growth in adoption of open source. And in this particular case MySQL.

      As enterprises continually seek competitive advantages they find their way to open source solutions. Sun has certainly recognized this with Jonathan Schwartz at the helm, but today’s news takes another step towards ensuring they are going to be a major player in offering such solutions. It will be interesting to see how this purchase affects Sun as the inherent value proposition of MySQL is that it is an open, potentially low cost alternative to Oracle. The other potential hitch is that companies want best-of-breed solutions for their needs and Sun just might be becoming a monolithic vendor offering one set of solutions.

      I am thrilled to see the increased adoption of open source and the excitement of my friends over at MySQL, but also see this news as an opportunity for system integrators (SI’s). With IT spending and acquisitions on the rise, it furthers the need for technology agnostic SI’s (Unisys, Cap Gemini, Accenture and others) in this space to play significant roles in customer IT implementations. Companies are looking for the best independent solution for their needs, not for one monolithic vendor to lock them into an IT environment of their choosing. The OSA’s common-customer view reference architecture, as one example, demonstrates interoperability across multiple vendor products to achieve best-of-breed functionality.

      Another piece of big news today (other than the continued economic impact in the Financial Services sector as a result of the sub-prime lending fallout) is Oracle’s purported acquisition of BEA. Obviously this would further position Oracle against IBM in the middleware space and further Oracle’s goal to dominate that market. But this also creates another “integrated stack” that possibly precludes clients from choosing best of breed product, hence furthering the need for large Systems Integrators to help fulfill that gap.

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      Posted in Business | 1 Comment »

      Web 2.0 and Generational Uptake

      December 1st, 2007

      Are there generational differences in business that result in operational challenges? You bet! Let me explain.

      I recently attended a wonderful seminar hosted by Kim Huggins, Owner and President of K HR Solutions on the subject of Generations at Work. Since the event was sponsored and promoted by my friends at the Eastern Technology Council and Tracey Welson-Rossman of Chariot Solutions, I was eager to attend. What I saw on the reception table when I walked in was quite amusing.

      Four large face pictures on display appropriately set the stage for our discussion. The first was of a gentleman in his 60s with a quote under his photo reading “Hello.” The second face shot was a woman in her late 40s saying, “Hi.” The third was a man in his 30s saying “Hey there.” And the last was a “young man” in his early 20s with orange spiked hair with a caption that read, “Wazzup.”

      They are referred to as the Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen XY-ers, and Millennials respectively. And, we had a lot of fun discussing topics like personality, expectations, and preferences of each group in the work force. Everyone smirked discussing the tone of emails across the generations and particularly the grammatical dumbing-down influence of instant messaging. LOL. (Sorry, had to throw that in. One woman reported that one of her employees often used the phrase, “IDK”.) Don’t know what that means? Ask a Millennial.

      But, I began thinking about the inhibitors to more rapid uptake of Web 2.0 technologies in the workforce, particularly large companies, and it hit me that these generational “diversities” played a very large part. I immediately recalled a comment a gentleman from a very large financial services company on Wall Street said to me following a seminar there in June hosted by myself and Don Tapscott. The financial services VP told me that they love Web 2.0 technologies because they allowed so many more people in their company to collaborate, but, those technologies weren’t being used that much – the primary users were only the new hires and more junior personnel.

      Millennials grew up with technology. There was never a pre-Internet for them. Instant access to information anywhere is “normal” to these folks. Furthermore, they (along with their younger GenXY peers) have a much more “flat world” view of life, including organizational “hierarchies”. Their view of management is not hierarchical and their style and tone is not necessarily adjusted based on the level or title of others in the company.

      One woman spoke about a CEO who toured one of his engineering labs to greet the “troops”. During his walk-through, the CEO stopped to say hello to one of the junior engineers. After casual “greetings” the junior engineer asked the CEO where he lived. After the CEO responded, the engineer genuinely responded with, “Hey, that’s the same town I live in. Maybe we can car pool to work some days.”

      The way the different generations “expect” to collaborate is diverse. Is that good or bad? Depends on who you ask. But, if you are a company that employs (or engages with) multiple generations and you’d like to collaborate more with them, you need to think through how best to make that happen.

      I know many companies who think, “OK, we’ve got this blog or wiki set up. Now we can start engaging more with our suppliers and employees.” Or, “If we install this SharePoint environment, we’ll really be able to start collaborating much more effectively.” But, it doesn’t work that way.

      The technology that is out there around Web 2.0 is spectacular. There are so many great tools for collaborating including SharePoint as well as many open source solutions like SuiteTwo and Jive to name just a couple. But the tools alone aren’t enough. It’s the culture that makes the biggest difference. And, since culture can’t be mandated but must rather be lived, this challenge is one that takes some time, cultivation, and visible support from all levels.

      Certainly the generational gaps are not the only factor influencing the uptake of Web 2.0 and more “globalized” collaboration in companies. But, I’m convinced it does play a large part. And, the most successful companies are those that can tap into the collective wisdom of all their employees, partners, suppliers, and other constituencies.

      Sun is a very open blogging company, including their CEO Jonathan Schwartz who publishes his own blog and freely accepts public comments (sometimes harsh and quite critical). That may seem like an amazingly open position for such a “high-ranking” person to take, but if I’m not mistaken, Jonathan is 42 years old – which puts him at the tail end of Gen XY range and not quite a Baby Boomer. So, perhaps it isn’t so surprising that he is on the front line of CEOs who blog.

      The companies who can create such a culture will have a huge advantage over those who can’t. So, to close this blog entry with another set of face shot comments from Kim Huggins’ seminar:

      Traditionalist – “Thank you very much.”
      Baby Boomer – “Thank you.”
      Gen XY-er – “Thanx.”
      Millennial – “Cool.”

      Amusing footnote: Generational differences were not the only diversity component that was discussed during that seminar. Besides seeing the four “generational” face pictures when I walked in the room, it became quite apparent that I was the only male in a room of about 50 or so women. Yep, the event was also part of the Women’s Leadership Networking Group. Hmm, guess I should have paid more attention to that little detail.

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      Posted in Business | 1 Comment »

      The Ultimate in Customer Service

      November 23rd, 2007

      How can you not be impressed with the way Apple packages their products? It’s obvious they put a lot of effort into the “user experience” all the way through to the opening of the boxes and the packaging of the components. But now I’ve personally experienced an even more remarkable touch.

      Today Apple offered a one-day holiday shopping sale, both online and in the stores. If you’ve ever been to an Apple Store, you know that you don’t want to be there around holiday time. They are packed with people on “off days” … imagine what it’s like around the holidays.

      As an iPhone customer, I had my $100 store credit to use and decided to buy iWork ’08 to build some newsletters I’ve been roughing out. So, while shopping online, sure enough it was on sale “today” (great marketing tactic), but I couldn’t easily figure out how to use my iPhone credit pay for it. They obviously wanted my credit card information.

      At the top of the screen was an “Apple Store Chat” link. I thought I’d click the link and just see what happened, this being Black Friday at 5:30 pm (prime shopping time). Within one second of hitting that link, I get a message that reads, “Hi, my name is David G. Welcome to Apple! How can I help you?” This has got to be a standard form reply, right?

      So, I fire off “How can I use my $100 iPhone credit for this purchase I want to make online?” Immediate on my “chat window” I see that “David G is typing a message”. Now I know I will be met with a barrage of questions like what am I trying to do, what page was I on, and so forth. What I see 20 seconds later takes me completely by surprise.

      From David G: “To use the credit, on your screen you should see a button Change Payment Method. Click on that. It will bring you to a page where you can enter your iPhone credit info.”

      Wow. So, I thank “David G.”. He responds with, “You’re welcome. I will keep the chat window open in case you have further questions about your order.” Turns out I do have a further question. On the final confirmation page, I can’t see where it indicates that my payment method is via the store credit and not my credit card. So, I reply a minute or so later that I do have another question. David must surely be busy with another customer now. Nope, within 1 second, he responds with “Sure, what’s up?”

      I ask my question, he tells me exactly where I missed it, and I go on to complete my order. I thank him again, and he concludes with “Thank you for visiting the Apple Store. We appreciate your business.” Truly impressive. Well done Apple.

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      Posted in Personal | 1 Comment »

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