Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't believe I've ever seen a negotiation handled, with all due respect, as dysfunctionally and amateurishly as the way Yahoo has handled its negotiation with Microsoft.
Saturday's shenanigans seemed more like a reality television show than two industry giants sitting down to negotiate a deal.
Steve Ballmer
(Credit: Microsoft)Unfortunately, negotiating with Microsoft is not a job for amateurs. There was a time when the two companies were more-or-less evenly positioned in this dual, but that time has come and gone. The weekend's activities have left Microsoft holding all the cards. ... Read more
- Topics:
- CEOs,
- Governance,
- Strategy
- Tags:
- Yahoo,
- Jerry Yang,
- Steve Ballmer,
- Microsoft,
- board of directors,
- CEO,
- Microhoo,
- dysfunctional
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Sun's business model does not work and it hasn't worked for a long time. Moreover, open source, MySQL, StorageTek, and SaaS (software as a service) will not fix it. Here's why, but first, a little background.
My interest in Sun began in 1999 when I had dinner with Mel Friedman, then president of Sun's microelectronics group. He was looking for a marketing VP and I was looking for a job.
At the time, Sun had essentially one customer for its UltraSparc chips, and that was Sun. I assumed the company wanted to take its chips into the merchant market, thus the interest in me. That, as it turns out, was an erroneous assumption.
... Read more- Topics:
- CEOs,
- Governance,
- Strategy
- Tags:
- Sun,
- Jonathon Schwartz,
- open source,
- restructuring
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I've got a question for you: How are you doing? Sure, of course you're fine. Here's a follow up: How do you know you're doing fine? Tougher question, huh?
What's that, you have a question for me? Why am I asking these inane questions?
Because, when people ask us how we're doing, we respond automatically. I'm fine, we're fine, everything's fine. After all, if we engaged everyone in a rant about the gory truth, nothing would ever get done.
But it doesn't stop there. We don't even engage ourselves in a dialogue about the gory truth, and for much the same reason. We're too busy "living."
The truth is that seemingly simple questions can actually be pretty loaded, so loaded that we'd sometimes rather not know the answer. We have all these sayings about leaving well enough alone. Why upset the apple cart? Why open a can of worms? Don't fix it if it isn't broken. ... Read more
- Tags:
- career,
- strategic planning,
- turn-around,
- Apple,
- IBM,
- Yahoo,
- Microsoft
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Question: How did the Borg--the not-so-lovable cyborgs in Star Trek--get to be that way?
Answer: it all started with Bluetooth headsets.
I see more and more people walking around with Bluetooth headsets lodged behind their ears every day. Most states are passing hands-free laws for drivers. Even my technophobe wife wants one.
I could be wrong, but I think it's only a matter of time before some enterprising startup comes up with an implantable device. ... Read more
Fear is a human emotion. It's part of our survival mechanism--the adrenaline fight or flight response. In ancient times when a caveman felt fear, he ran and hid or readied himself for battle. Those who paid attention to their fear survived; those who didn't, well, let's just say their descendants probably aren't around to read this.
Having courage does not mean ignoring fear. It means facing fear head-on and doing the right thing anyway. At least that's my definition. If you fail to face fear and act appropriately you're not necessarily a coward, but you're not the best you can be either.
The most successful people on the planet are the ones who face the cold, hard truth of reality and act accordingly. They don't surround themselves with "yes men" and they don't view the world through rose-colored glasses. ... Read more
- Topics:
- CEOs,
- Governance
- Tags:
- Yahoo,
- Jerry Yang,
- Terry Semel,
- Steve Ballmer,
- Microsoft,
- board of directors,
- CEO,
- Microhoo
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Compaq Portable II, c. 1986
(Credit: Oldcomputers.net)Believe it or not, my high-tech career began using punch cards and card readers to enter data into an IBM mainframe computer. When we got keyboards and monitors, we used them to enter what we called "card images."
As a chip designer in the '80s, I used GE Calma, Apollo, Daisy, Valid, and Mentor workstations. I had to know a whole smorgasbord of platforms and operating systems. I don't know how I did it. Guess I had a lot more brain cells back then.
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After describing a particularly exciting consulting opportunity, a friend called me "lucky." That got me thinking: Is he right? Is luck a component in business success, or is it all about knowledge and experience. And if luck does play a role, how important is it? Can it be influenced, or is that taboo by definition?
To answer those questions I first did a little research. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines luck as "a: a force that brings good fortune or adversity, or b: the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual."
Gee, "luck" sounds a lot like "competition" to me. ... Read more
- Tags:
- Luck,
- startups,
- Apple,
- Microsoft,
- Steve Jobs,
- Bill Gates,
- IBM,
- Starbucks,
- Howard Schultz
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I don't know about you, but I've experienced job burnout, and it isn't pleasant.
In case you're not acquainted with this somewhat poorly understood phenomenon, burnout is sort of a workplace version of depression. You know, you used to whistle while you worked, and now you'd rather get a root canal than get out of bed to go to work.
Burnout is bad news. If you're not aware that your work stress and frustration have reached the boiling point, you can find yourself in a near-constant state of irritability or anxiety. You might end up doing things you'll later regret and damaging your career or your personal life.
In addition to high-stress jobs like emergency workers, air traffic controllers, and doctors, I was surprised to find that high-tech professionals are prone to burnout, according to a number of studies.
There are three things you need to know about burnout: how to recognize it, what to do about it, and how to avoid it.
How to recognize burnout
This is not rocket science. If you complain about your boss or have an ongoing feud with the jerk in the cubicle next door, that's not burnout. If you used to enjoy or at least tolerate your job, but now you're constantly stressed and frustrated, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight, then you're probably experiencing burnout.
If you recently took a swing at your boss, then you've ... Read more
A quarter of a century ago (I've always wanted to say that), when I was a young engineer with Texas Instruments, I had a manager named Dick Carroll. Dick was a big guy who looked a lot like Mr. Clean without the eyebrows.
One day, I was working on a drafting table in a large, open bay, when Dick walked up and started talking about how great his sex life was. That was more information than I needed to know, but I held my tongue. Conversations with the big boss were always precious, regardless of how they began. ... Read more
Sometimes I'm so uninspired I can't come up with a decent blog post to save my life. When that happens, I turn to what comforts me: numbers. Yes, I know how weird that sounds. What can I say, I'm a geek.
Anyway, I just got to wondering how investors in various technology companies fared over the long haul. I was just as interested in how technology companies performed versus companies with a more traditional business model. ... Read more
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