Good Money, Bad Money

It's no secret that Apple's iPad product announcement (and now a specific availability date) has been met with as much yawning as there has been excitement. Personally, the commercials look enticing, and anyone who owns an iPhone or iPod is probably drooling at having such a large surface to play with. I will avoid rehashing my questions regarding the lack of certain, "must have" features or the price of the device since I've already written about these two things in a previous entry.

Given the bevy of people calling this the iFail, iDontKnow, etc. it is surprising to see Nintendo announcing a new product that, like the iPad is in relation to the iPod, is essentially a new device with the same capabilities as before. (In reality, it's not really that surprising that these products are generating buzz since we've seen Blackberry release a huge number of products that essentially do the same thing: send email and make phone calls. In fact, I could still be using the 8830 that I was given 4 years ago and wouldn't notice the difference between that and my 9630 that I have now.)

Why did they do it? Granted the product has probably been under development for quite some time, and you can't simply throw away the R&D that you've done simply because another company's concept isn't necessarily a home-run before it steps into the batter's box. (And Apple has that sort of reputation, no?) Still, how much R&D do you need to produce a DSi with screens that are slightly larger; different pre-installed software; and no other differences?

"Hello Nintendo!" I want to scream. "This is what we call Market Research."

Finding Clarity in the Chaos of a Job Search

Job searches are humbling. They test your confidence, your patience, and your ability to stay motivated when things don’t move as quickly as you’d like. But they also teach you things about yourself that you might not have learned any other way. For me, the past few months have been a crash course in rediscovering what really matters: not just in a résumé, but in relationships, self-perception, and how we use technology to help tell our stories. Here are three lessons that stood out. Reach Out to Your Network (Long Before You Need It) Your network is a living thing. It requires upkeep, time, and attention, just like a flower garden. You can’t ignore it for years and expect it to bloom the moment you need it. Start planting early. Stay in touch with people whose paths you’ve crossed - colleagues, mentors, partners, even those you only worked with briefly. Drop a note once in a while. Comment on their posts. Share something that made you think of them. These small gestures are the sunl...

Time to Level Up!

With the recent news out of Salesforce and Oracle, it’s easy to understand why folks affected by layoffs might feel discouraged. Not only are they leaving companies they may have called home for years, but they’re also facing the daunting prospect of job hunting while headlines scream about “AI taking over human jobs.” Not long ago, another company I follow - let’s call it Acme - went through a similar round of layoffs. Two employees in particular (we’ll call them Jim and John) showed how mindset can make all the difference. Jim had been at Acme for over 20 years. He was reliable, steady, and well-liked, but not exactly the standout type. When he was laid off, he decided to take some time off before even thinking about his next move. After all, he had a severance package. Didn’t he deserve a break after two decades of hard work? John’s story was different. Though he hadn’t been at Acme as long, he’d built a strong reputation and had both technical and leadership skills. Instead of...

COSMIC Insights

Consider the following scenario: you're a mid-level manager and find out that a layoff is coming. You're about too lose one of your best direct reports, but you have no ability to influence the decision to lay them off. Oy! My head hurts! What do you do? Oftentimes, I find that people - when presented with situations where they feel compelled to act but have no ability to change the outcome - enter a state of mental lethargy. They don't know exactly what it is they should do but, "gosh darnit!", something has to be done. When they realize how helpless they actually are, they start lamenting about the situation, how they are backed into a corner, etc. In a very real sense, they go through the five stages of grief . I'd like to offer the following alternative way of approaching these and other situations: I call it the COSMIC method, not only because it sounds cool but also because I like science fiction (" Lisan al Gaib! "). COSMIC is an acronym...

A Businessman's View

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