Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Oil production cut!! Oh no!!!
They cut it to raise the price. Boy did it ever work. What is oil today? Take a look.
That worked well (no pun intended). This just goes to prove there is no logic in our stock/commodity markets anymore.
That worked well (no pun intended). This just goes to prove there is no logic in our stock/commodity markets anymore.
'Twas the Night Before The Big (Tech) Demo
I got this sent around and wanted to share. (With sincere apologies to Clement Clarke Moore and thanks to Peter Cohan, Marc Eaman for tweaks)
'Twas the night 'fore the demo and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, 'cept my SE and his mouse;
I'd proposed a big licensing deal with great care
In hopes a big order soon would be there;
Management was restless and not in their beds
As visions of bonuses danced in their heads;
And my VP with his forecast and me with my own,
Had just started a long EOQ roam,
When out from my mobile there came a great ring-tone,
I sprang from my chair to answer my phone,
What could it be? Was it good news or no?
A last-minute order? A contract? PO?
Greetings, said my assistant, who spoke on the line,
It was someone to see me, offering help at this time!
Who could it be at this late eleventh-hour,
To make the deal sweet and avoid something sour?
Away to the door I flew in a flash,
And swept it open in my quest for fast cash,
When who to my wondering eyes should appear,
An Adobe Evangelist! And standing so near!
He came in my office and, while dusting off snow,
Said, "I have some news that you'll want to know."
He drew up a chair and asked for some tea,
And said to my VP, SE and to me:
"Your deal is in trouble and I'll tell you now,
Your demo's confusing, complex and lacks 'Wow!'
It's riddled with features and functions and more,
And too many cool things, mouse clicks galore,
Don't flog them with features and other neat stuff,
Stick with the substance, stay away from the fluff,
The more that you show is not always nice,
Customers may say, 'Please lower the price!'
The Buzzword-Compliant Vocabulary list,
Are words, I'm afraid, that are better-off missed,
Not Flexible, nor Powerful, nor Easy-to-Use,
Not Robust, nor Seamlessly Integrated abuse,
And no corporate overview, please don't do that,
After ten minutes they're grabbing their hats,
Present as a team, so if things get hairy,
Sales folks aren't lost in the back with Blackberry.
Your customer's queued and ready to go,
They love the vision you've built with them so
They want Technical Proof in the demo you've planned,
Just the key capabilities, everything else banned."
"But how can we do this?" I heard myself cry,
"We're victims of momentum, we're nervous to try,
Another approach, a new way to go,
We have to admit we're just a bit slow!"
"Do the Last Thing First!" he said with a smile,
"Then peel back the layers, and Do It with style,
Peel it back in accord with their interest,
Stay focused and execute, and you'll find it best,
Your customer's Situation is a great way to intro,
Their Reasons and needs, from CBI flow,
Review these and check - is this still the case?
Are we aligned or are we off-base?
Start with the end, that big pay-off piece,
Illustrate and describe, those are the keys!
Capture their interest, compel their attention,
Make sure it aligns with their mode of consumption.
When it clicks and they're hooked, they'll then ask for more,
There's absolutely no way that they'll head for the door,
They'll say, "Please show us, prove that it's so,
Show us the rest, please do demo."
Then Do It, just Do It, with no extra clicks,
To return to that Engaging Vision that sticks,
Make it simple, make it fast, make it easy and clear,
Then they will realize they've nothing to fear,
Encourage their questions, most are not new,
Good ones and Great ones and Stupid ones too,
Treat Hostiles with courtesy, use your Not Now List so
Those mean, nasty folks can't damage your flow,
Peel back the layers, Do It Again,
Show only what's needed, put nothing else in,
Let them drive the demo, let them think they're in charge,
While their Vision Solution you work to enlarge!
Summarize, summarize, tell them again,
'Cause adults do learn by repetition,
And when you show a key take-away screen,
Leave it up, let it linger, so they'll know what they've seen!
"I get it - I'll do it!" exclaimed my SE,
"This is all so obvious, it's way clear to me!"
And he sprang into action, his mouse flew like lightening,
(Frankly, his speed was a little bit frightening!)
And with that the Evangelist smiled and said,
"Your way is now clear, put that baby to bed,
Your deal's now on track, your order secure,
You'll make your numbers at the end of the year,
Then he strode from my office in a blink of a pun,
Turned 'round and he said, "My job here is done,"
Ere he drove out of sight, I did hear him say,
"Great Demo! to all and to all a Great Day!"
Happy Holidays everyone!!!!
;-)
'Twas the night 'fore the demo and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, 'cept my SE and his mouse;
I'd proposed a big licensing deal with great care
In hopes a big order soon would be there;
Management was restless and not in their beds
As visions of bonuses danced in their heads;
And my VP with his forecast and me with my own,
Had just started a long EOQ roam,
When out from my mobile there came a great ring-tone,
I sprang from my chair to answer my phone,
What could it be? Was it good news or no?
A last-minute order? A contract? PO?
Greetings, said my assistant, who spoke on the line,
It was someone to see me, offering help at this time!
Who could it be at this late eleventh-hour,
To make the deal sweet and avoid something sour?
Away to the door I flew in a flash,
And swept it open in my quest for fast cash,
When who to my wondering eyes should appear,
An Adobe Evangelist! And standing so near!
He came in my office and, while dusting off snow,
Said, "I have some news that you'll want to know."
He drew up a chair and asked for some tea,
And said to my VP, SE and to me:
"Your deal is in trouble and I'll tell you now,
Your demo's confusing, complex and lacks 'Wow!'
It's riddled with features and functions and more,
And too many cool things, mouse clicks galore,
Don't flog them with features and other neat stuff,
Stick with the substance, stay away from the fluff,
The more that you show is not always nice,
Customers may say, 'Please lower the price!'
The Buzzword-Compliant Vocabulary list,
Are words, I'm afraid, that are better-off missed,
Not Flexible, nor Powerful, nor Easy-to-Use,
Not Robust, nor Seamlessly Integrated abuse,
And no corporate overview, please don't do that,
After ten minutes they're grabbing their hats,
Present as a team, so if things get hairy,
Sales folks aren't lost in the back with Blackberry.
Your customer's queued and ready to go,
They love the vision you've built with them so
They want Technical Proof in the demo you've planned,
Just the key capabilities, everything else banned."
"But how can we do this?" I heard myself cry,
"We're victims of momentum, we're nervous to try,
Another approach, a new way to go,
We have to admit we're just a bit slow!"
"Do the Last Thing First!" he said with a smile,
"Then peel back the layers, and Do It with style,
Peel it back in accord with their interest,
Stay focused and execute, and you'll find it best,
Your customer's Situation is a great way to intro,
Their Reasons and needs, from CBI flow,
Review these and check - is this still the case?
Are we aligned or are we off-base?
Start with the end, that big pay-off piece,
Illustrate and describe, those are the keys!
Capture their interest, compel their attention,
Make sure it aligns with their mode of consumption.
When it clicks and they're hooked, they'll then ask for more,
There's absolutely no way that they'll head for the door,
They'll say, "Please show us, prove that it's so,
Show us the rest, please do demo."
Then Do It, just Do It, with no extra clicks,
To return to that Engaging Vision that sticks,
Make it simple, make it fast, make it easy and clear,
Then they will realize they've nothing to fear,
Encourage their questions, most are not new,
Good ones and Great ones and Stupid ones too,
Treat Hostiles with courtesy, use your Not Now List so
Those mean, nasty folks can't damage your flow,
Peel back the layers, Do It Again,
Show only what's needed, put nothing else in,
Let them drive the demo, let them think they're in charge,
While their Vision Solution you work to enlarge!
Summarize, summarize, tell them again,
'Cause adults do learn by repetition,
And when you show a key take-away screen,
Leave it up, let it linger, so they'll know what they've seen!
"I get it - I'll do it!" exclaimed my SE,
"This is all so obvious, it's way clear to me!"
And he sprang into action, his mouse flew like lightening,
(Frankly, his speed was a little bit frightening!)
And with that the Evangelist smiled and said,
"Your way is now clear, put that baby to bed,
Your deal's now on track, your order secure,
You'll make your numbers at the end of the year,
Then he strode from my office in a blink of a pun,
Turned 'round and he said, "My job here is done,"
Ere he drove out of sight, I did hear him say,
"Great Demo! to all and to all a Great Day!"
Happy Holidays everyone!!!!
;-)
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Leaving Dubai - sadness and happiness
I am now sitting at the Dubai International Airport (really one of the modern wonders of the world) waiting for a red eye to Frankfurt to get home to Canada. I really enjoyed talking to the local developers and found their level of enthusiasm and knowledge to be world class. Everyone I met was deeply technical and on top of their game.
The government in Dubai has done something right to attract this kind of talent and build this kind of infrastructure. I am sad that I am leaving but happy I leave knowing I now have another 100 or so new friends who I got to share time with. We traded code samples, IT stories, advice and architecture ideas around SOA and especially the new Media conference conversations.
The new Media idea is one I will encourage everyone not to take lightly. A free and independent media is the cornerstone of a democracy. Once the media becomes controlled by corporate interests, we have lost some of our democracy. Once we have lost part of our democracy, we have lost some of our freedoms. If freedom is worth fighting for (as I believe it is), it is certainly worth paying for. Spend part of my taxes to fund the Canadian Broadcasting System so they can deliver unbiased, impartial news without fear of funding cuts. I like this idea.
I am happy also because as I start this long and arduous journey, I am coming back home to my family where I will be able to spend more than 3 weeks before traveling again. Time to take some time off!
Peace to all!
The government in Dubai has done something right to attract this kind of talent and build this kind of infrastructure. I am sad that I am leaving but happy I leave knowing I now have another 100 or so new friends who I got to share time with. We traded code samples, IT stories, advice and architecture ideas around SOA and especially the new Media conference conversations.
The new Media idea is one I will encourage everyone not to take lightly. A free and independent media is the cornerstone of a democracy. Once the media becomes controlled by corporate interests, we have lost some of our democracy. Once we have lost part of our democracy, we have lost some of our freedoms. If freedom is worth fighting for (as I believe it is), it is certainly worth paying for. Spend part of my taxes to fund the Canadian Broadcasting System so they can deliver unbiased, impartial news without fear of funding cuts. I like this idea.
I am happy also because as I start this long and arduous journey, I am coming back home to my family where I will be able to spend more than 3 weeks before traveling again. Time to take some time off!
Peace to all!
Monday, December 15, 2008
My Talk from Dubai on Blogging
First - I really want to thank the staff from IIRME at the recent New Media Conference in Dubia. They are pros and treated us all very well.
Second, as promised, my presentation is now online at:
http://www.web2open.org/presentations/Nickull_Blogging.ppt
You are hereby granted free use of this material as long as you respect the IP rights of others. Please remove the Adobe logo and my name and replace them with your own name/logo if you plan to present it. Also - this was heavily influenced by problogger.com. Please make sure they get credit as noted within.
Special thanks to all the people of Dubai!!! If you have not been here, get here. This place is awesome!! Everyone I have met is 100% friendly to the MAX!
Duane
Second, as promised, my presentation is now online at:
http://www.web2open.org/presentations/Nickull_Blogging.ppt
You are hereby granted free use of this material as long as you respect the IP rights of others. Please remove the Adobe logo and my name and replace them with your own name/logo if you plan to present it. Also - this was heavily influenced by problogger.com. Please make sure they get credit as noted within.
Special thanks to all the people of Dubai!!! If you have not been here, get here. This place is awesome!! Everyone I have met is 100% friendly to the MAX!
Duane
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