Archive for November, 2006
Good Complexity, Bad Complexity
Yahoo’s Peanut Butter Manifesto reminded me of Whole Systems Thinking. In Whole Systems Thinking, there is a distinction between good complexity and bad complexity. Below are the following rules:
- End-to-End, systems is an organic ecosystem, with inter-dependent parts.
- From a business perspective, eliminate complexity that the customer is not willing to pay for (if she knew about the complexity).
Yahoo’s Peanut Butter Manifesto reminded me of Whole Systems Thinking. In Whole Systems Thinking, there is a distinction between good complexity and bad complexity. Below are the following rules:
- End-to-End, systems is an organic ecosystem, with inter-dependent parts.
- From a business perspective, eliminate complexity that the customer is not willing to pay for (if she knew about the complexity).
Venture Capitalist Aptitude Test
I took Guy’s test today. I scored a 36.
According to Guy’s scoring algorithm:
Here’s how to assess your readiness to become a venture capitalist:
- 40 or more points: Call CalPERS and tell them you’re raising a new fund.
- 35 to 39 points: Call Sequoia and Kleiner, Perkins and tell them that you’re available.
I took Guy’s test today. I scored a 36.
According to Guy’s scoring algorithm:
Here’s how to assess your readiness to become a venture capitalist:
- 40 or more points: Call CalPERS and tell them you’re raising a new fund.
- 35 to 39 points: Call Sequoia and Kleiner, Perkins and tell them that you’re available.
Learning from the Dot Com Meltdown
The Business Plan Archive is rich with history of what didn’t work during the Dot Com Bust. There, you’ll find interesting facts, business plans, and technologies that were just plain lame, very good but marketed poorly, or just too early for its time. Take, for example, the chart below which shows the shutdown velocity, by month, of dot com companies between 2000 and 2002:
The Business Plan Archive is rich with history of what didn’t work during the Dot Com Bust. There, you’ll find interesting facts, business plans, and technologies that were just plain lame, very good but marketed poorly, or just too early for its time. Take, for example, the chart below which shows the shutdown velocity, by month, of dot com companies between 2000 and 2002:
Only in Utah
Only in Utah, or the Bible Belt, or other religiously-fanatical states…but, I have to admit, this one is pretty darn, hecka, and flippin’ funny.
Unrelated, but interesting, is this nice, ajaxy, draggable presentation of all the completed acquisitions by Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. If you enjoy what you find on shmula, consider subscribing. Enjoy.
Only in Utah, or the Bible Belt, or other religiously-fanatical states…but, I have to admit, this one is pretty darn, hecka, and flippin’ funny.
Unrelated, but interesting, is this nice, ajaxy, draggable presentation of all the completed acquisitions by Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. If you enjoy what you find on shmula, consider subscribing. Enjoy.
Little’s Law for Product Development
This post is part of a series on Queueing Theory. The other articles can be found here:
- Queueing Theory: Part 1
- Queueing Theory: Part 2
- Queueing Theory: Part 3
- Queueing Theory: Part 4
- What is Waste?
- On Time-Traps and Waste
- Call Centers as Queueing Systems
- Travel Time & Waste
- Little’s Law for Product Development
This post is part of a series on Queueing Theory. The other articles can be found here:
- Queueing Theory: Part 1
- Queueing Theory: Part 2
- Queueing Theory: Part 3
- Queueing Theory: Part 4
- What is Waste?
- On Time-Traps and Waste
- Call Centers as Queueing Systems
- Travel Time & Waste
- Little’s Law for Product Development
On Buying a 2007 Suburban
After several weeks of research and having to decide between a GMC Yukon XL or a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban, I decided to go with the 2007 Chevrolet Suburban. We recently bought a new suburban — 2007, Gray Metallic Color, 4WD, and it’s really nice and — it fits my whole family.
After several weeks of research and having to decide between a GMC Yukon XL or a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban, I decided to go with the 2007 Chevrolet Suburban. We recently bought a new suburban — 2007, Gray Metallic Color, 4WD, and it’s really nice and — it fits my whole family.
Book Review: 11/25/2006
I just finished two books on Venture Capital and Private Equity. The first one is Buyout: The Insider’s Guide to Buying Your Own Company and the second one is Venture Capital and Private Equity: A Casebook.
So,
This was an interesting book, written by a long-time practitioner in the private equity industry. It was an easy read and provided some good, in-the-trenches stories and tips.
I just finished two books on Venture Capital and Private Equity. The first one is Buyout: The Insider’s Guide to Buying Your Own Company and the second one is Venture Capital and Private Equity: A Casebook.
So,
This was an interesting book, written by a long-time practitioner in the private equity industry. It was an easy read and provided some good, in-the-trenches stories and tips.
Christmas Season, Lights, & Death
Thanksgiving was good; the turkey wasn’t that dry; and the rolls turned out just fine, and I’m reminded of Thanksgiving everyday by the weight I’ve gained. Now, The Christmas Season is here, people are crazy shopping today (Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year), and I’m home with the new baby.
Well, Merry Christmas…and the lights are starting to come up.
Thanksgiving was good; the turkey wasn’t that dry; and the rolls turned out just fine, and I’m reminded of Thanksgiving everyday by the weight I’ve gained. Now, The Christmas Season is here, people are crazy shopping today (Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year), and I’m home with the new baby.
Well, Merry Christmas…and the lights are starting to come up.
Bodybuilder Recalls 650,000 PS3’s
A fake article posted by a bodybuilder was dugg lastnight and made it to the front page of digg within 2 hours. The article was fake and many digg voters saw it, but it still received over 800 digg votes, which brought tens of thousands of eyeballs to the fake site and eventually made the fake poster’s server shut down.
A fake article posted by a bodybuilder was dugg lastnight and made it to the front page of digg within 2 hours. The article was fake and many digg voters saw it, but it still received over 800 digg votes, which brought tens of thousands of eyeballs to the fake site and eventually made the fake poster’s server shut down.
Yahoo’s Peanut Butter Manifesto: A Good Recipe For Many Companies
Update: This Manifesto points to problems that bad complexity brings, which I discuss in “Good Complexity, Bad Complexity“.
The manifesto is straight-forward, pragmatic, and is a good recipe for many, many companies. It was allegedly written by Brad Garlinghouse, a SVP of Communications, Community, and Front Doors at Yahoo. Prior to Yahoo, he was a CEO at DialPad and attended Harvard Business School from 1995 – 1997 and attended The University of Kansas from 1990-1993.
Update: This Manifesto points to problems that bad complexity brings, which I discuss in “Good Complexity, Bad Complexity“.
The manifesto is straight-forward, pragmatic, and is a good recipe for many, many companies. It was allegedly written by Brad Garlinghouse, a SVP of Communications, Community, and Front Doors at Yahoo. Prior to Yahoo, he was a CEO at DialPad and attended Harvard Business School from 1995 – 1997 and attended The University of Kansas from 1990-1993.
