The upside of pursuing an MBA has been the rekindling my interest in reading actual books. Here are some of the books completed this summer:
Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
A solid, quick and entrepreneurial read by the 37 Signals guys.
Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History by David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan
Some great lessons on when to zig when everyone zags.
The Financier by Theodore Dreiser
Dreiser’s tale based on the life of Charles Yerkes, financier and “robber baron”. It took about 100 pages for me to root for the main character, Frank Cowperwood.
4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
Enjoyable and eye-opening read. Worth checking it out.
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
A different historical and enlightening read. I was amazed at how interconnected many of the great men of science have been throughout history.
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
An addictive read. Made me ditch my orthotics.
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Another great book by the Heath brothers. Some useful strategies that I have been able to successfully implement.
No More Mister Nice Guy by Robert A. Glover
I came across this book from The Art of Manliness blog. At some point everyone has a lack of confidence. This book has some great ideas on how to get it back.
Long time, no-post. Been busy in the good way. A trend over the past few years is talk of commoditization of products, features and generally everything. Is the current market seems to be headed towards rampant commoditization? Check these two excellent articles that say this is not true.
Interesting read in the latest Forbes on Wal-Mart and Patagonia’s efforts on sustainability. Patagonia pioneered and is helping Wal-Mart. Funny, that did not make it in to the most recent Patagonia catalog that hit my mailbox. Glad to see that sustainability is gaining mainstream traction.
One thing I know about myself is that I am better when I have a full plate. To stay busy, I enrolled in the Evening MBA program at University of Washington’s Foster School of Business last fall. I have been impressed with the curriculum and faculty.
The Blue Ocean Strategy was a recent assignment. The concept is about value innovation. “Red” oceans are known industries and markets. The competition is constantly trying to outperform rivals and the waters bloody. “Blue” oceans are industries and markets that are unknown today. Demand is created rather than fought over with ample opportunity for growth and profit. Blue oceans are often created from red oceans. A competitor finds an opening to create value and finds their blue ocean. Several examples are cited.
The authors, Kim and Mauborgne, are too dismissive of red ocean companies. They state that corporate strategy is heavily influenced by its roots in military strategy. Competition, confronting the opponent and driving him from the battlefield are listed; however this is not military strategy. It is the goal of a direct attack. It made me think how the blue ocean strategy would compare to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy.
Here are some select passages from The Art of War that conflict with the red ocean view of corporate/military strategy:
1) All warfare is based on deception.
2) In all history, there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.
3) Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.
Clearly, Sun Tzu would not advocate a red ocean. In contrast, The Art of War is blue ocean:
You can only be sure of succeeding in your attacks is you only attack places that are undefended.
Pretty clear talk of finding uncontested market space, capturing new demand and making the competition irrelevant. In contrast, red oceans are prolonged fights exploiting differentiation or cost. These are commodity markets, not drivers of innovation. Blue oceans are value innovators and clearly have roots in military strategy from the 6th century BC.
Big news that Joel Spolsky is ending his Joel on Software blog as announced in Inc. The money quote:
To really work, Sierra observed, an entrepreneur’s blog has to be about something bigger than his or her company and his or her product. This sounds simple, but it isn’t. It takes real discipline to not talk about yourself and your company.
It is true. It has to be bigger than yourself and it does take a lot of time to blog. A lot of people are disappointed. He has a company to run. His choice. The audience will move elsewhere. The video below is a re-post but relevant on the power of blogging. I find myself talking about my tiny little blog more than I ever thought I would. It is true that my traffic is tiny and likely irrelevant. I blog to build my brand and make me better. The blog forces you to think and stay relevant. It is mental pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups all in one.
I am looking forward to digging into their new book Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. As part of the inevitable book launch, they have been producing articles and blog posts fast and furious. I came across this one on Van Halen from Heather Hamilton and her excellent One Louder blog. Turns out that the brown M&M’s were used as a signal to make sure their contracts were read and understood.
I never did get to see Van Halen in their prime (pre-Hagar). Since I grew up in Chicago, we will always have that summer of 1984, Jump and the Chicago Cubs. I did get a chance to catch DLR at the House of Blues in Hollywood for a New Year’s Eve bash a few years ago. No doubt DLR is a party. Great time and great show. I still truly think that “Panama” should be the national anthem of Panama.
by Chip and Dan Heath. It is engaging and practical and a worthwhile read. I have found myself recommending it lately. Great resources on