On December 28, 2005, The Wall Street Journal reported that the yield on long-term bonds had dropped below the rate on short term bonds — an unusual occurrence that often precedes a downturn in the economy. Just what the much-beleaguered software industry needs — more bad news! The economy may be beginning to slow, which…
End of year musings
This is the last update of 2005. We will resume on Tuesday, January 3rd. January 2nd is a holiday in the Ogden house (My Fighting Irish play the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl, 4:30pm Eastern on ABC. Go Irish!) Here are two comments from VP’s, East Region at two large business intelligence companies.…
Worst to First - How I won a Sales Deal
Here is a personal sales story… In the software business, companies like to do a “Proof of Concept,” (POC) in which the users install the software, test it and report which one they like best. What happens when your company is invited to participate and your software finishes dead last?Is the deal lost?Not necessarily. The…
A Great Lesson — from sports world
Update 5/12/2011 Charlie Weis is now the offensive coordinator at Florida. He turned out to be a great recruiter and poor player developer. Brian Kelly (Cincinnati) is now the Notre Dame football coach. __ The institution was legendary — even mythic. But her glory had grown faded and tattered. Her CEO of her leading division…
The Malaise in Software — What is it, Why and What Ought I to Do?
The Malaise in Software. Why it is happening and what to do about it? Sorry, but the news is grim. The customers are unhappy and rebellious. CFO.com“Unhappy Returns” Over the past year, have your IT investments produced the returns you expected?A whopping 40% say “No.” BPM magazine “Most users are not very satisfied with their…
Lessons in Leadership — from Scott Cook of Intuit
Note from the author: This article was in Fortune magazine, a great issue dedicated to Leadership. I highly recommend you pick it up and read it. There is a great story on Andy Grove in there — he is a remarkable man and leader. This article shows the importance of experimentation, fast failure and focus…
