TOP and OCRI for Innovation Hub

It looks like the innovation hub is making some progress. I'm very happy that Ottawa is standing up for its fair share of money regarding this kind of infrastructure. I was at the Mars center in Toronto, it's pretty impressive and vibrant place to visit and work. I'm also very happy that the site they are looking at in Ottawa is downtown. There is so much going on in the market now, this will help create even more tech activities in that area.

More access to the c-level at Google for Canadian businesses?

 Patrick Pichette from Bell is joining Google as CFO. Congrats to him for landing such a job in a great company like Google.  I'm sure - Lot's of people will be trying to leverage that relationship now I'm sure from this side of the border!This makes me very optimistic about the opportunities this could bring for Canadian businesses within Google.

HP Press Release: HP to Acquire EDS for $13.9 Billion

After trying to acquire the consulting arm of PWC, HP has decided to swallow EDS HP Press Release: HP to Acquire EDS for $13.9 Billion. This is a large transaction by all means. From the press release HP is seeing an opportunity to improve the operational sides of EDS by consolidating, but all in all the two businesses will stay  the way they are.

Valuations for Indian IT Companies Hit New Lows

From Business Week 

According to Capitaline data, since 2005 India's largest IT company TCS has seen a decline of almost 52.5% in its P/E ratio while Infosys has seen a decline of 39.5% during the same period. In fact, Infosys P/E ratio has come down from 202.92 in fiscal 1999-2000 to 19.73 in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008, a decline of 90.2%.

That is truly interesting. As they say earlier in the article P/E ratio the investor way of saying how much growth this comany has in store, P/E going down is not a growth slowing down indicator. Where are those concerns for growth from the investors coming from. The Recession in the US, to the contrary wouldn't that drive more outsourcing. Or maybe investors don't see india as cheap anymore and in recession time money is king. The recent quarter numbers among the big Outsourcers in India were still very good. On the other hand Infectious greed mentioned recently he had heard from two Indian outsourcers business was down.

Technology knowledge vs Business domain

Francis posted an interesting tidbit about the technology totem pole. It got me thinking about it. Francis took the technology angle an dived. The perspective I would like to take is one of a balance to explain the sometimes condescending behaviours of programmers. If we think of a spectrum in software you have one end which is pure technology, and the other which is pure business.

In mind mind the technology end is where one will find Linux Kernel Hacking, C++, etc... While at the business end one can find more the VB like skills. At the technological end we have functionality based engineering, while at the business end we have task based development, business needs. The business end of the spectrum is you've guessed it by now much more rooted in solving a problem for a business to go better, faster, bigger with much more efficiencies with no degree of separation or very little between the end result(the need) and the software person/team.

At the technology spectrum end most of the time for the kernel hacker the link to a very specific business improvement in a given project is not there. How many times have you been in a discussion where - if only the kernel could do this, then I would rack in that much more money. The point is many more avenues will be explored before one even think about the kernel, so the connection to the business is not nearly as strong.

The reality, and this is where I high five Francis', in my my mind if I'm from one end of the spectrum and I want to go work at the other end I will have a steep learning curve. In one case it maybe technological, and in the other it will be in business "saviness". Neither one can't be taken lightly they are both crucial to the success of any given project.

high end software development and haute cuisine!

I'm just finished reading Kitchen Confidential. What strikes me is how much similarities there is in the perception of what is cool in cooking and what is cool in software engineering, or how similar things have to be so that an organization becomes predictable.

The perception in software development is - one you write a lot of code, and two you get to exercise your creativity all the time. Well most of the software projects out there are software where you do add-ons, new features, rarely do you start from scratch. Regarding creativity, in order to be predictable and measurable, creativity must give way to some form of processes and discipline.

This is exactly what I found while reading Kitchen Confidential - if you think you want to be a chef so that you can cook crazy things, stay home, in your own kitchen. There is absolutely no improvisation on the cooking line, it's all mechanical and very precise movements, so that at the end of the line the dish that comes out is always the same no matter the day or the time of the day.

The creativity is not in production, the creativity is when you build the menu, just like us when we design for the users. The reality sets in when you get to talk about the cost of the products on the menu, the same for us when we start to factor in the business goals.

So for predictable and successful innovation there is a process and time for everything, just like when it's lunch time it's no time to try out new things. You have to depend on talent, people, and processes to funnel the energy and creativity in the most effective way, to read more about it see some material and here we have put together.

WordPerfect antitrust case greenlighted by the Supreme Court

It brings back so many memories. I was right there in 96 when Corel took over WordPerfect. No body knew what we were getting into really, in retrospect. The joke at the time as they say in this article was really that Novell was mismanaging things, the examples were check Unix, since Novell bought it, it's dying, check out WordPerfect same thing. So the joke would wrap up - if MS wants to win a given business they just have to have Novell buy that business and it's just as good as stick a fork in it, it's done!

Wal-Mart To Dump HD DVD Movies, Players -- Wal-Mart -- InformationWeek

Stick a fork in HD-DVD it's done! I'm one of the few who thought Toshiba could pull it off and since I had an xbox360 I bought a HD-DVD player, now I feel like a betamax dude. People were saying what killed the betamax was that the porn industry went with VHS format, well it in this case the porn industry went with HD-DVD and Blu-Ray still won. So Sex doesn't rule the world after all, and next time someone asks - my answer is Sony!!!

Is using a process making you less creative or innovative?

The story is often about getting push back about how a process hinders creativity. Somewhere along the way I think we're getting confused. As long as what a company has in place process wise always encourage the attitude "Do the Right Thing!" I'm all for good processes and automation.

My thinking is that only then can we get people to focus their creativity on what matters most, the mundane and repeatable stuff is taken care of. We're in the business of software creation, innovation - I have to make sure the intelligence of the team is put toward the creation, and whatever else is distraction.

Whatever can be de-risked through a risk assessment - then do it, so that the team focuses on solving the real problems, knowing very well the alarm bells will go off at the right time should they need to. This gives us all the peace of mind to focus and do on what is important.

Can you imagine how fast you would be driving in the city if your car didn't have breaks? One of the reason one can drive at the speed limit, is the fact you can get the car to accelerate and slowdown at will.

time management - WaitingFor folder

I attended a seminar back in November by a very good consultaint on Workplace performance, his name is Jason Womack. I took away many things but like everything else only a few end up sticking, or making their way into the workflow. The one that is proving very useful and very simple is the WaitingFor Folder in Outlook or any mail clients.

The concept is simple - when you send an email and you need to keep track of the content of the email for some reason or another, like you're asking a question, you need to know about something or whatever, you bcc yourself and you add a rule that when you're in the bcc field it gets routed to the WaitingFor Folder. This way when I send an email that I know there is chance I might need to follow up on - I bcc myself. So on a weekly basis I make sure I review what is in the folder, and I take actions  from there, create a task, or send a reminder. For me it works well because I used to create a task after sending the mail, or taking a note or worst of all making a mental note I needed to revisit this issue later. This way the regular review of the folder does this automatically for me, and it saves me stress and time. Give it a shot!

ottawa marketing campaign - 82000reasons.com

OCRI is launching a campaign to show off the benefits of doing business in Ottawa. It's about celebrating our own successes which I fully endorse, we need to do more of this. It's called 82000reasons. We can add our own videos just like we can add content, very web 2.0, let's go add your stuff, remember it's the era of the audience is in charge! You can find a very good Macadamian profile right here.

Ottawa is a great innovation place, we have great entrepreneurs, and to the last count we would be about 82000 people in the high tech business, that's a lot of good things going for the area. Let the world know about it! Find the press release of the launch here.

Time management

A great quote from Robin Sharma - "Every time you say yes to something unimportant, you say no to something that is important". What a great way to put that if you don't prioritize right you will not get there. I need to be a little more brutal about my time management. Time is a finite resource and I'm spending mine as if I had a limitless supply. I will have to remember that quote to help me make the right decisions when I get pulled into a meeting or I make a phone call assuming I know what is important!!!

Knowing what is important means I have spent a decent amount of time understanding where I want to be and what it will take to get there. That's another one that is no picnic.

Macadamian in the Global Services 100 Companies!

From the congratulations-to-the-whole-team-dep - Macadamian made it on the Global Services - The 2008 Global Services 100 Companies this year. As Matt mentioned - A few years back we set ourselves the objectives to be among the top firms in the world, this year's selection shows we're making our way there, and this is a good thing(tm) as Martha would say(Martha Stewart, and don't ask why I know).

Rove at DEMO

Our very own Rove at Demo - watch them here! This must be nerve racking as well, but Rob and Paul pulled it off...

Outsourcing Humour Part III

Here is another take at a common misunderstanding in outsourcing!

if business is like hockey, a good team knows how to get the puck out of the corner!

Last week I posted my impression of doing business in Canada,  and that to be in business you have to want to run fast and want it bad.

Another article along those lines from Pat DiPietro the fact that we may not play to win, we like being liked! and then he goes to explain that when we play and compete in hockey we're a totally different beast, we play to win, we do what it takes to win. So his answer, imagery is "Let's do business like we play hockey. Play to win, expect to win". I like the image.

Business is no picnic, and it's not about being liked, alright I get that. It's also very much about knowing what to say, how much to push, what to ask, and not being afraid to take a chance. So to use the hockey analogy, you have to have the guts to go get the puck in the corners.

I think other cultures like the US are much better at going in the corners to get the puck. I think it's about being decisive, it's clarity over certainty. If I want to be certain, it will take time, and I will probably miss my window. Clarity is about everyone on the team having clear marching orders, and executing. Ok but what if I make the wrong decision, and we're all marching the wrong way - well let's change the decision fast, so being able to revisit and having the robust dialog that goes with it. And this is another thing that the US I think do best, anyway from my experience in the valley, they don't mind being wrong as much, and changing their mind.

Outsourcing Humour part II!

As a follow on to my first post on outsourcing humour. You need people that are versed in more than just code, or pop corn!

From the Science-is-cool dep: basic concepts in science

Here is a blog(evolving thoughts), I got to read over the weekend that I think is pretty cool, and I should share. The concept is simple, it's a list of basic concepts in science, from biology, to math, including the hotly debated subject among our American friends subject, the evolution. So if you want like me a refresh on concepts I've learned already too long ago, like standard deviation or just plain learn about why spiders aren't insects this is the source for you.

 

Oh btw I got this link from GeekDad(wired).

Canada Needs to Realize The Technology Business is a Race | StartupNorth

Read this post from StartupNorth, running a business is no picnic and starting on even less so. Whatever the market, whatever the business - it's a competition.

It's about outmanoeuvring, being smart, and being able to run fast! I like Donovan Bailey's quote the day before the race against Johnson in Toronto back in 1997, he was bragging about how he was going to leave him in the dust - it went like this - "what he[Johnson] is my butt getting smaller and smaller"

Yes you loose some, but to go back to my top 10 - I make sure I learn and move on, cause tomorrow is another race!

Good Programmers = success

From Slashdot again - an interesting topic - how to recognize good programmers. While I strongly agree with most of the conclusions, in particular, passion as in how many side projects, or programming someone is doing just for fun, or investigation, or analysis of what is going on in the industry.

• I'd like to also point out that during an interview getting someone to dig and explain his/her work (the so what?, and how so?, how did you do it?) will help  assess if this person understands what work he/she has done. One pattern I've found over the years is, how easily senior guys can answer the technical questions you ask them, they've been there done that. If one doesn't corroborate those answers with the person hands on experience and understanding of it - the risk are high that you're hiring process is letting in the wrong people.
• The candidate MUST be doing 80% of the talking during the interview, otherwise you are speaking too much!
• Don't hesitate to interrupt if an answer is not going where you want - you only have so much time.
• But you have to be willing to tolerate silence, so that what you hear from the candidate comes from the candidate, and not the answers you want to hear.
• Assess the people fit - the performance of your team is highly dependant on how well the team gels, hiring people that will fit in your culture is key. So when talking about past experience listen in carefully how the candidate speaks of his past bosses, colleagues?
• The people doing the interviews must be a good representation of what you're looking for. They will know what to look for, with much better ease.
• Remember the saying as well "A programmers hire A type programmers, B programmers hire B programmers, and C programmers have no idea who they hire"

From there you're done with Step one of Demarco's description of a manager's job (If my memory serves me well!)

• Hire the right people
• match the right people to the right jobs
• make sure the team gels!