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    <title>cmdln.net_2007-05-02</title>
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    <outline text="Intro" Offset="00:17">
      <outline text="Balticon" Offset="07:57">
        <outline text="May 25th to 28th"/>
        <outline text="http://balticon.org/"/>
        <outline text="http://balticonpodcast.org/"/>
      </outline>
      <outline text="Pod aid song" Offset="36:54">
        <outline text="To promo the Joe Murphy Memorial fund"/>
        <outline text="Thanks to Paul Fischer and Phil Rossi"/>
        <outline text="http://addcast.net/wordpress/"/>
        <outline text="http://fillingthepage.blogspot.com/"/>
        <outline text="Link to the Song"/>
        <outline text="http://addcast.net/wordpress/podpress_trac/web/83/0/FirstOfMay-JoeMurphyMix.mp3"/>
      </outline>
      <outline text="April CopyNight"/>
    </outline>
    <outline text="Word of the Week: chase pointers" Offset="08:57">
      <outline text="http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/C/chase-pointers.html"/>
    </outline>
    <outline text="Inner Chapter: Vision" Offset="10:03">
      <outline text="On the business side, vision is necessary">
        <outline text="Visionaries keep a focus on the positive"/>
        <outline text="Drive the strategic plan, keep a company abreast or ahead of competition"/>
        <outline text="Many criticism CEO's and founders for only having visions"/>
        <outline text="If there isn't a well rounded management team, then the criticism is warranted"/>
        <outline text="But a leader without vision won't know where to take a company next"/>
      </outline>
      <outline text="Vision even applies at the smaller scale">
        <outline text="Being able to see the outcome of a single project"/>
        <outline text="Understanding the ultimate goal can help motivate"/>
        <outline text="Bigger picture keeps design, implementation from local optimums that aren't a good fit globally"/>
        <outline text="Finding opportunities for cheaply won value along the way"/>
      </outline>
      <outline text="Lack of vision">
        <outline text="Often only considering short term gain"/>
        <outline text="Usually misses longer, deeper opportunities when they appear"/>
        <outline text="Leaving first job because they didn't see the potential of the internet">
          <outline text="Top sales guy got it, we did some interesting work together"/>
          <outline text="The company as a whole didn't see the internet as worth pursuing"/>
          <outline text="To be fair, they made money from services, no one had proven internet services yet"/>
          <outline text="It is even somewhat possible the department head foresaw the bubble"/>
        </outline>
      </outline>
      <outline text="Vision needs to be fluid">
        <outline text="Competitive realities change"/>
        <outline text="Frantic shifts are disastrous, incur heavy retooling costs"/>
        <outline text="Changing horses mid stream will lead to drowning"/>
        <outline text="Online auction company">
          <outline text="Excellent vision"/>
          <outline text="Well articulated, demonstrated a good understanding of the customers' needs at the time"/>
          <outline text="A good fit for the early competitive landscape"/>
          <outline text="As customer sophistication grew, they didn't adapt"/>
          <outline text="Customers want to get more value out of online information"/>
          <outline text="Tried to buy their way into bid optimization and contract management"/>
          <outline text="Too little, too late"/>
        </outline>
      </outline>
      <outline text="Vision without execution">
        <outline text="Having a good idea alone is not enough"/>
        <outline text="Many other people may have the same idea, the idea alone is worthless"/>
        <outline text="You don't have to know how to implement it but you should hire folks who do"/>
        <outline text="The idea has to be in some way practical, too"/>
        <outline text="R&amp;D company">
          <outline text="All vision, no execution"/>
          <outline text="Founder claimed to have worked out the math"/>
          <outline text="I never saw any evidence of this and no shortage of bright scientists"/>
          <outline text="Worse, resistant to management team trying to find value"/>
          <outline text="Wanted to boil the ocean"/>
          <outline text="Lucky to warm the tea, but didn't want anything less than the big win"/>
        </outline>
      </outline>
      <outline text="How to nurture healthy vision">
        <outline text="Make sure that there are skeptics present and accept their feedback"/>
        <outline text="Ensure their are moderators who can mediate peace between skeptics and visionaries"/>
        <outline text="Hire people smarter and more experience than yourself"/>
        <outline text="Study competitive intelligence"/>
        <outline text="Use creative techniques, like brain storming"/>
        <outline text="Be receptive to all input--business, technical, customer feedback, et. al."/>
        <outline text="Read unrelated news sources, look for novel ideas and opportunities that may apply to the situation at hand"/>
      </outline>
    </outline>
    <outline text="Outro" Offset="25:07">
      <outline text="Contact me">
        <outline text="Email to feedback@thecommandline.net"/>
        <outline text="Web site at http://thecommandline.net/"/>
        <outline text="IM to command.line@skype"/>
        <outline text="Listener comment line is 360-252-7284"/>
        <outline text="del.icio.us tag is &quot;for:cmdln&quot;"/>
      </outline>
      <outline text="I'd like to thank libsyn.com for AAC hosting and Wouter de Bie for MP3 hosting"/>
      <outline text="These notes and the show audio and music are covered by a Creative Commons license">
        <outline text="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/"/>
        <outline text="Attribution, non-commercial, share alike"/>
      </outline>
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