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Posts in category Economy

Motivating the Individual on Your Team for Sustained Peak Performance!

Apr26
2013 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

Check out Motivating the Individual on Your Team for Sustained Peak Performance! from Dr. Jeffrey Magee’s PERFORMANCE Leadership Blog. Article deals with on how to achieve performance and here is the list of actions:

“[...]

  1. Meet with your entire team before deploying the following action plan and communicate to each how you are going to proceed.
  1. Have each individual on your team take a 3×5 index card (or similar online drill) and create his or her own master list of items that could be deployed to them for powerful peak performance attainments in the future.
  1. This list should contain two sets of entries. One should be the items that have no monetary amount associated with them. The other should be items that have a monetary amount attributed to them. You can even determine a set ceiling on the appropriate monetary amount.

The beauty of this list is that it is individualistic, allowing you to draw upon it repeatedly for greater individual impact and meaning. Because the items come from the individual, the likelihood of lasting impact is greatly increased. [...].

I agree on the approach in which, in my opinion the only point missing is the fact that list is well balanced, separating what is monetary and what is not and discussing the items in a team meeting so to leverage and value also the needs behind those requests.

This post as a comment also here

Posted in communication, Work - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Regulators look into expensive in-app purchases

Apr13
2013 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

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Ian Steadman has written an article on  Ars Technica on the fact that regulators look into expensive in-app purchases to see if there’s the chance that “[...]children are “unfairly pressured or encouraged” to buy expensive in-game extras [...]“(photo by mrceviz).

As reported in article, “[...] The OFT’s statement reads: “The OFT investigation is exploring whether these games are misleading, commercially aggressive, or otherwise unfair. In particular, the OFT is looking into whether these games include ‘direct exhortations’ to children—a strong encouragement to make a purchase, or to do something that will necessitate making a purchase, or to persuade their parents or other adults to make a purchase for them. This is unlawful under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.” [...]”

I think that in app purchases are good until a certain point, because at the end can be misleading for small children, but also for adults.

De facto the good thing is that in some cases you can enjoy the good of a game in a “basic” way without paying, but if you get into the loop of paid upgrades you can pay easily 10-20 Euros for an app. Which is not good.

This post as a comment also here

Posted in Other, Tech - Tagged , , , , ,

How to Handle a Micromanaging Boss

Apr13
2013 1 Comment Written by hotrao

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Katie Douthwaite has written a good article on Lifehacker (originally on the daily muse) on How to Handle a Micromanaging Boss. (photo by coxci)

Is something we often find: a manager not delegating and micromanaging people. Not exactly the perfect match for productivity, though sometimes happens that a boss is forced to micromanage due to poor reaction/attitude from his own resources.

So in case you need it, here are the main advises:

  • Eliminate any possibility that He/She needs to micromanage
  • Anticipate what He/She wants and be proactive
  • Provide updates proactively
  • Use your words

At the end all deal with pro activity, because this is the real key: the more you are responsible and proactive, the less will be the need to be micromanaged.

This post as a comment also here and here

 

Posted in Other, Work - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Feltron 2012 Annual Report is out

Mar17
2013 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

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The Feltron 2012 Annual Report is finally out. You can see some parts on FlowingData or directly on the original site.

Posted in Other - Tagged ,

App shows what the Internet looks like

Mar17
2013 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

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Nathan Yau at FlowingData has reported of a new app that shows what the Internet looks like.

He writes: ” [...] In a collaboration between PEER 1 Hosting, Steamclock Software, and Jeff Johnston, the Map of the Internet app provides a picture of what the physical Internet looks like.

Users can view Internet service providers (ISPs), Internet exchange points, universities and other organizations through two view options — Globe and Network. The app also allows users to generate a trace route between where they are located to a destination node, search for where popular companies and domains are, as well as identify their current location on the map.

[...]”

App is available for free at Itunes and can be helpful in showing how the internet works.

Posted in Other, Tech - Tagged , , , , ,

Words of Wisdom from Bugs Bunny

Mar16
2013 1 Comment Written by hotrao

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I came through some  Words of Wisdom from Bugs Bunny from Only Positive News.

Here are my favorites:

Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out alive. - Bugs Bunny

I knew I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque! - Bugs Bunny

Well, what did you expect in an opera? A happy ending? - Bugs Bunny

My, I’ll bet you monsters lead such innnnteresting lives. - Bugs Bunny

I bet you say that to all the wabbits. - Bugs Bunny

I know this defies the law of gravity, but I never studied law! - Bugs Bunny

:-)

 

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Social responsibility

Feb10
2013 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

Check this post Eric Schmidt To Sell 42% Of His Stake In Google from Fast Company:

If the shares remain at their current price, he will make $2.5 billion in the sale.

Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt is selling approximately 42% of his stake in the search engine giant over the upcoming year, according to an SEC filing. Under Schmidt’s plan to sell 3.2 million shares of the company, if the current price holds (Google shares closed at $785.37 on Friday), he would receive a whopping $2.5 billion.

Read Full Story

While I understand that this is part of every manager’s compensation, on the other side I think that especially for this big amounts managers have a responsibility towards society.

Selling in this moment is in Eric full availability, but I think is a little bit inappropriate in a moment where trust into companies is needed.

This post as a comment also here. Feel free to discuss this here.

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Innovating in financial services

Jul23
2012 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

Kaihan Krippendorff at Fast Company has wrote a good article on innovation in financial services.

Article focuses on 9 different innovations recently introduced that match with 9 areas of possible innovation.

Main highlights:

  • positioning: HDFC targeting farmers
  • product:  ”[...] SecondMarket, which has become the destination for investors who recognize there is little systematic opportunity in publicly traded stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, and more in alternative assets[...]“
  • pricing: “[...] Progressive Insurance, which last year introduced “Snapshot,” a little device you put into your car to get a more carefully tailored insurance rate.  [...]“
  • place: “[...] BancVue is taking perks typically only affordable to large institutions–like high interest savings accounts, ATM-free reimbursements, online banking and proprietary credit cards–but instead of delivering them directly to customers they offer them though small community banks and credit unions.[...]“
  • promotion: “[...] Yodlee [which] recognizes that offering online personal financial services is a critical market tool [...]“
  • process “[...]  iGate, which challenged the long-held belief that the attractiveness of a loan depends on the features the lender offers. They recognized, [...], that we rarely make the time to read through those terms and conditions tomes. Instead we want to choose the lender who approves us first. So iGate redesigned the process by which its bank clients processed loan applications, cutting the approval time to 17 days from 40. [...]“
  • physical experience “[...] we saw the launch of a fascinating experiment called the Mango Store, a bank designed exclusively for the unbanked. Meant to take on predatory check cashing services, the Mango Store is bright, orange, welcoming, and entirely automated. [...]“
  • People: something to say :-)
This all are “good” innovations that help making a wider number of people access the financial services. Which at the end can be a good thing.

Unfortunately in last years we experienced that this is not always a good way to proceed, because expose not experienced people to the perils of what goes around to financial markets. Which at the end is a bad thing (of course the problem doesn’t stay in getting a personalized insurance, rather in getting more people accessing debt/financial instruments).

This post as a company also here. Feel free to discuss here or on our forum.

 

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Targeted tweets

Jul22
2012 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

Barry Levine at CRM daily published an article on Twitter announcement that starting from now on there’s the new capability to send targeted tweets. This means you can target a specific tweet to a certain state instead than to everybody.

Barry reports also that he “[...] asked Andrew Frank, research director for media, marketing and advertising at Gartner, if the new targeted Twitter ads were likely to increase the appeal of businesses advertising in that medium.

He replied that it’s not yet clear, although, in general, “the more targeting you can have, the more valuable it can be” to advertisers. Frank said that, at any rate, it’s likely to “be a benefit to Twitter, because they can be more efficient about their inventory.” [...]“.

I think that targeted tweets “per them self” are not worth the effort. The net has demonstrated within the years that the connection is the key. The more you spread around, the more awareness you create, the best is.

The targeted tweets can, in my opinion, succeed in addressing very specific, locally tied advertising, but, again, I expect that in a globalized world like we have, this feature won’t be a killing one.

Posted in behaviour, communication, Other - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Facebook IPO is really worth or it is a bet?

May05
2012 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

Paul Sloan at cnet writes an opinion on Facebook IPO.

He writes “[...] When Facebook executives and its bankers hit the road Monday to pitch the company’s public offering to money managers, two questions will surely face prospective investors: Should we worry about the slowdown in the business? And what’s up with Zuck calling the shots on, well, everything?

The answer to the first question is yes. Facebook does state in its IPO filing that “rates of user and revenue growth will decline over time.” And while the company still has unprecedented reach — an astounding 526 million active daily users — that’s a troubling harbinger given how Facebook has boosted revenue over the years by adding more users to its service.

But what Facebook will do to make more money off that already giant audience leads to the second question, which is a lot harder to answer: Can Mark Zuckerberg can keep coming up with the right answers? [...] ”

I don’t like Facebook “world” nor the way it is managed by Mr. Zuck.

But I do have to admit that the idea was good and well followed, and definitely brought to the billion giant we all know.

The problem now will be if the bubble remains and continues to grow or it will blow up.

I think that maintaining this levels of expectations is not feasible. Though in some way is desirable for all of us that the Facebook bubble doesn’t explode, but either remains stable or slowly decreases, because a burst will be a(nother) problem for the economy.

I also fear the “high school” approach that is a distinctive point of Mr. Zuck company, because a company that owns almost a sixth of all world personal data cannot afford to have holes in security like happened in recent past, And moreover now will be a public company, with all the risks (economic and not) connected in violating this kind of rules.

This post as a comment also here and feel free to discuss as a comment here or here.

Posted in Work - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Setting up a quick demand management process

Feb26
2012 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

Demand management for wikipedia is “[...] In business, the term is used to describe the proactive management of work initiatives (demand) with business constraints (supply). [...]“, that means a complex process to evaluate the possible work request towards the available capacity.

This kind of approach is widely used in IT to prioritize projects, but, can be applied also in other contexts.

As in any other topics things can range from simple to very complex, either in term of tools or of process.

Today we will focus on a “quick and dirty” solution to gather data if you are starting from scratch.

First of all we will remain for a moment on the specific process that from a general point of view can be highlighted as follows:

  • Request definition:
    • This is the initiative form setup
    • is a critical point since the format of data, the quality and homogeneity of what is being requested are key inputs to establish a good process, limiting rework
    • At this point clear guidelines and a good form help in granting that this prerequisite is addressed the best way
    • It depends on the approach you’re setting, but in general terms is important to have similar requests coming from same area grouped into same “dossier”
  • Gather data and dispatch for verification:
    • Data should be gathered into a defined time frame having in mind that some of the request, being cross thorough organization, will need to be evaluated by more than one function
    • Timing is crucial, because in case you don’t process information fast, you risk to be collapsed by “all urgent” requests
  • Define solution and do estimates:
    • Requesting functions should give a first estimate of required resources which should be evaluated also at a central level
    • A business case should be attached to each request either by requesting function or by a central office to better understand the business impact, the economic profitability and the funding requests
  • Verification and approval
  • Planning

So what to request?

Here are the most common things you need to evaluate the project and some hints:

  • Short name and description: easy isn’t it :-)
  • Code: to be assigned by the governance office and is easier if has a “talking” code (i.e. MAN-INF-001 can represent a MANdatory INFrastuctural project coded as 001). The most you get to standardize the more will be easy to analyze
  • Proposed classification:
    • Classification of projects into different categories that really depend on the kind of demand you’re managing.
    • In IT a good classification can be:
      • mandatory: Projects needed to fulfill specific legal obligations or that are needed to fulfill the monitoring requirements
      • Business: projects that are identified in terms of returns: more revenues and/or lower costs
      • Risk Control: useful projects for the monitoring and management of risks
      • Structural projects
      • Other activities not required to rationalize why you can not make a business case justified by higher revenues or lower costs.
  • Requesting organization
  • Business sponsor if any
  • IT Area/s impacted
  • Start date planned
  • End date planned
  • Business case main points
  • Project advantages
  • Main impacts if project is delayed/not executed
  • Rating if project can be delayed, for example using a scale from 1 (highest) to 4 (bottom):
    • 1: absolutely not put off the project
    • 2: put off the project but with consequences
    • 3: put off the project but with consequences in terms of risks in the operation and
    • 4: put off the project with limited consequences
  • Rating in same scale above if project is not executed at all
  • Project dependencies


Posted in Other, Work - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Building a personal development plan

Jan04
2012 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

Sometimes, though not frequently, we need to build a simple tool to address personal development needs.

What follows is a simple and reusable content you can use as a base to put in a form and be customized.

Section 1: Title and help sumup

  • Remember to give a title to your document
  • Give a synthetic (no more than 6 lines) view of guidelines. Prepare a separate document with detailed instructions and distribute in advance

Section 2: Demographic informations

  • Name and Surname
  • Performance Year PDP refers to
  • Organizational references:
    • Direct supervisor
    • Organizational unit

Section 3: Goals and actions

  • Goals and development needs
  • Actions to achieve each one of them
  • Training needed
  • Time and action dependencies (are objectives stand alone or do they come after a path? Are goals in short, medium or long term?)

Section 4: Job and company specific goals

  • Are there any actions you’re willing to do to help your company or job?
  • Which role are you playing (e.g. facilitator, owner,…)

Section 5: Your open points

  • Track any open point you would like to address during the year
Posted in Other, Work - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Evaluating people potential – What to look for

Dec18
2011 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

In our previous episodes we covered where to start from and the objectives and tools that you’re going to set and use.

At this point you may be able to have all informations needed and you should focus on what to look for inside them.

Now we will focus on this last point.

The informations you collected help in determining different sides of people, ranging from experience, to possible development actions. All of this determine people profile that needs to have at least two dimensions:

  • the first is qualitative/descriptive
  • the other that is numeric and measurable (this second one cannot be an “absolute” measure, but should be “crafted” on the specific context people work into. In other words, stay away form absolute measures of “potential” and determine your specific ones.

But at the real end you should search for at different kind of persons

  • Those who can be developed autonomously having still in place all the skills, experience and behavior to go immediately through next steps in career.
  • Those who can grow immediately through next steps in career but need to be helped in sustaining the role.
  • Those who can go through a period of consolidation (e.g. horizontal growth) before going through “vertical” developments.
  • Those that can develop but that need an evident consolidation in some areas
  • Those who do not have the potential to grow

In doing this choice, that we all know is a difficult one, you should be able as a manager to strip of all “personal” sensations, because, remember, you’re deciding on who deserves most and not on “personal” aspects.

Posted in behaviour, Other, Work - Tagged , , , , ,

The right kind of leadership

Nov19
2011 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

Leading does not mean being rude nor forcing other people to do things they don’t want.

Leading is being a point of reference for the team, being at same time recognized as a valued team member and having the authority to take decisions for the group.

Both of the above statements seem simple statements, but is often unattended, because people tend to use their authority not to reinforce their leadership but to exercise it to prove they have power.

But by a paradox, those leading at best are those that are still capable to be enough humble to value the others and have them achieve results together.

Time for “lone rangers” is over, better go for strong leaders with team approach!

 

Posted in behaviour, communication, Other, Work - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO

Aug25
2011 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

Yesterday Steve Jobs, one of the most influential persons of all times in tech resigned from Apple.

Many sites have launched the news and the question of what will be the future of Apple (and technology) without this guru (among them Matthew Humphries at geek.com, Tim Stevens at Engadget.com, Michael Trei at Dvice.com, Ken Mingis at Computerworld , Geeks are sexy.net, Betanews.com).

As I wrote many times, first of all the first sign of respect should be towards Steve Jobs’ health and privacy. From now own there will be no reasons to continue invading is life.

On a operational and leadership POV, Steve leaves a company solid and well ahead of other players (a study from this days says that Apple has leadership on tablet market at least for another 2 years).

This means Apple managers will have enough time to strengthen their position.

On a financial POV Apple can rely on the first (or second depends on times) value in stock market with over 320bln USD.

Overall I’m confident that Apple will continue in its market leadership and envisioning new ideas, despite the absence of Steve Jobs.

This post also at geek.com , at Engadget.com, at Dvice.com, at Computerworld , Betanews

Posted in communication, Other, Tech, Thoughts - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

iPhone 5 is on the final

Aug25
2011 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

Darrell Etheringhton at Giga OM reports that “[...] Sprint will be offering Apple’s iPhone 5 for sale beginning in October, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal  on Tuesday. The iPhone will go on sale in mid-October at the No. 3 U.S. carrier, according to the WSJ‘s sources. [...]“ (full article here).

Again Apple is mastering the art of controlling the news about its new jewel.

Many rumors, too much informations and the world (including me) that is struggling to buy the new phone.

Chapeau!

See this comment also here

Posted in communication, Other, Tech - Tagged , , , , , , ,

Kids on Facebook? No thanks!

May21
2011 4 Comments Written by hotrao

Different sites (among them Gizmodo with Sam Biddle and Cnet with Liz Gannes) report that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told to CNN (Here) that “[...] he would like to create a safe and educational social networking environment for kids younger than 13. (According to Consumer Reports, 7.5 million such American kids already use Facebook by lying about their age.)

“That will be a fight we take on at some point,” Zuckerberg reportedly said of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which mandates parental permission and other protections for young users. [...]” (Full articles here and here).

I think that having a dedicated social network for kids is not a good idea.

And is not a good idea to have it lead by Mr. Zuckerberg who proved us to be so “capable” of ensuring privacy and security in the past.

I also think that children deserve the right to approach Internet under a protected approach to ensure that is a discovery and not a nightmare.

Have we all lost so much creativity in business we have to  turn to kids to make money?

This post as a comment also here and here

 

Posted in behaviour, communication, Tech - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Facebook tried to smear Google

May13
2011 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

Again a problem with Facebook that reminds me more a high school joke than a 50 billion company behaviour.

Many sources, among them Ed Oswald at beta news (full article here) and Sharon Gaudin at Computerworld (full article here), report that “[...] Facebook found itself doing damage control Thursday after it was revealed the company had attempted to create negative press for Google. Two employees of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller had endeavored to pitch stories over the search giant’s privacy issues.

News of the botched effort was broken by The Daily Beast’s Dan Lyons on Wednesday night. Without specifying how, Lyons said evidence pointed to the social networking site as being the mysterious client of Burson-Marsteller’s, and the company admitted to doing so.

A spokesperson for Facebook said the company hired the firm in order to fight back against Google’s planned Social Circle, which uses some of Facebook’s data. In addition, it believes that the Mountain View, Calif. company’s efforts in social networking raise some privacy concerns. [...]“.

In love and business everything is admitted, but I think that especially if You have the kind of relevance Facebook has, a limit exists and cannot be exceeded.

Is the same old story told in security issues: a company should behave in a wise manner, either for ethics, either for investors.

And back talking others is for teens, not for IPOs.

This post as a comment here and here

Posted in communication, Other, Tech - Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sony knew of their weak security?

May06
2011 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

This is the question asked by Chris Matyszczyk at Cnet  based on “[...] The answer given by Gene Spafford, a security expert and professor of computer science at Purdue University, raises troubling thoughts.

In written testimony to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, Spafford highlighted recent data breaches at Sony and at Epsilon.

He wrote: “Both companies are large enough that they could have afforded to spend an appropriate amount on security and privacy protections of their data; I have no information about what protections they had in place, although some news reports indicate that Sony was running software that was badly out of date, and had been warned about that risk.” [...] ” (full article here).

Is everybody joking? of course Sony knew they had a faulty and risky security system. Maybe they underestimated the impact in terms of damage and image, but I cannot believe they didn’t know…C’mon it’s a tech firm, spending billions in IT and security…

The problem is that fixing security is costly and times are bad also for giants…

This post as a comment also here

 

Posted in Other, Tech - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Windows XP long death path

Apr25
2011 Leave a Comment Written by hotrao

Alan Henry at geek.com informs us that “[...] Even though it was only last week that news came out that Windows 7 has finally eclipsed Windows XP in market share, there are still a lot of people out there running Windows XP. That hasn’t stopped Microsoft from setting up a doomsday clock for those users, letting them know that Windows XP will no longer be supported after 2014: or according to the countdown clock, 1081 days from today. [...]” (full article here).

I understand Microsoft need for a move from XP to Win 7. Is a matter of support, compatibility, development.

But at same time is a demonstration of how much good was the idea and tech behind Windows XP. In 2014 will be more than a decade that the OS will be out.

I decided to move from XP to Win 7 in last days (for compatibility issues first of all) and I must admit that despite Win7 is really different from my source OS is a very good, fast and reliable OS.

But my heart is still there beating with xp…;-)

This post as a comment also here

 

Posted in Tech - Tagged , , , , , ,
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