manager

More unsolicited advice for CEOs

I realize that the advice I give CEOs may fall on deaf ears. Still, that's a lot of ears; they can't all be deaf. And if a board director, a staff member, a good friend or a gutsy employee was to forward this link, isn't a good CEO obligated to at least take a look? I know, I won't hold my breath.

Still, the CEOs of the future need to know this stuff. Now that's a thought.

Assuming somebody's getting something out of all this, today's unsolicited advice is about the business. Many technology CEOs are surprisingly short on what it really takes to build a profitable, growing company in today's competitive marketplace. This is the biggest challenge for any CEO of any company. It's not the kind of thing you learn in executive MBA school.

In many cases, and this is especially true in small- to mid-size technology companies, CEOs play to their strengths and ignore weak areas. It's human behavior. Unfortunately, they're not getting the guidance they need from their boards or others.

And that brings us to what is, without a doubt, the shortest version you'll ever see of what every CEO of every technology company needs to know about running the business, along with a few links for more info.… Read more

One big idea is not enough: innovating innovation management

Management's focus on innovation comes and goes in cycles. Right now, it is all the rage again (although it remains to be seen if that's still the case as innovation budgets may be cut when the looming recession hits the US), and the business press is covering it all across the board. Managing innovation is one of the most critical tasks companies face, and yet it remains one of the biggest challenges. Not only do companies need to come up with new ideas, but they also need to nurture a culture that consistently encourages and rewards innovation. If … Read more

How to manage a terabyte of music

There's a funny thing about technology: It's supposed to make life easier, but things just seem to get more complex as time goes on. Still, that's the price you must pay when fanaticism drives you to collect a terabyte of music.

In those extreme cases, something like the Qsonix Q110 may be one of the few solutions to keep life in order (at least as much as can be expected). This touch-screen music management system not only takes care of your archives but can also control four zones independently with their own tunes, volume and other settings, … Read more

Power Downloader finds a better way to manage files

On his main desktop computer at the Power Lair, Power Downloader has huge hard drive volumes filled with old case files, spy photos, and secret documents. Though he's a master of software and navigating the intricacies of Windows to get the files he wants, he has always found that Windows Explorer isn't exactly ideal for some of his more complicated file management tasks. Fortunately there's a better way.… Read more

Corel snaps off MediaOne Plus

Today, multimedia software publisher Corel released Corel MediaOne Plus--a brand-new software program designed to let you organize, edit, share, and create projects with your digital photos and videos. The software provides users with an all-in-one solution for managing their digital photos, all the way from their cameras to finished projects like greeting cards or scrapbooks. It also lets users combine photos, videos, and music into what are called "shows," or video compilations.

The main MediaOnePlus interface consists of a large viewing and editing area on the right, with four-pronged navigation on the left: Home provides the organizational features; Enhance includes basic image editing and effects; Show lets you combine photos, videos, and music into your own remixed creations; and Create offers a variety of photo products like collages, albums, and magazine covers.

A photo-tray feature on the bottom of the interface lets you create on-the-fly media lists of photos and videos for easy access and editing. The trays are placed in a tabbed interface, and you can create as many sets of media as you'd like. You can also select multiple photos or videos from any photo tray and add them to a "storyboard," the playlist component that creates the Corel Shows.… Read more

Micro-productivity: man vs. machine, divergence vs. convergence

According to a McKinsey & Company study of US economic activity, "Raising the productivity of employees whose jobs can't be automated is the next big performance challenge." The study argues that "as more companies come to specialize in core activities and outsource the rest, they have greater need for workers who can interact with co-workers, partners, and vendors," supported by highly personalized organizing and communication tools. 40 percent of labor activity, says McKinsey, comes not from making things or from traditional transactions but from what the consultancy calls the "Interaction Economy," which it … Read more

Dysfunctional-workplace anecdotes

I joined Texas Instruments as a chip design engineer in 1980, straight out of school. I had thought we partied hard in New York; I realized how wrong I was when I moved to the Lone Star State.

Open containers of alcohol and drinking while driving were actually legal in Texas, back then. That's right, you couldn't drive drunk, but you could pull up right next to a cop with a beer in your hand. Wild.

Lots of guys--including our manager--would sometimes go out drinking at lunch. I'm not talking about a beer with lunch; I'm talking about pitchers of beer with maybe some food. In case you were wondering, we worked on defense projects, like missile and radar guidance systems. We all had secret security clearances.

Our manager used to throw annual keg parties at his home. They were a blast and great for morale.

The timeframe happened to coincide with America's country-western phase. You know, when Dallas was a hit show and everybody wanted to know who shot J.R. A bar called The Corral served, not two-for-one, but three-for-one happy hour drinks. I wish there was a videotape of all those engineers from New York and everywhere else trying to do the Texas Two-Step after a few triple Jack and Cokes.… Read more

Active Directory...without the Windows - the Centrify way

Last week I spent some time talking with Tom Kemp, CEO of Centrify. Centrify is not open source but, depending on how you look at it, either solidifies or dilutes Microsoft's hold on its customers. In Centrify's case, it extends Active Directory to platforms other than Microsoft, meaning that it:

...centrally secures...heterogeneous systems, web applications, databases and storage systems using Microsoft Active Directory. Centrify DirectControl secures...non-Microsoft platforms using the same authentication, authorization and Group Policy services deployed for your Windows environment.

In other words, it lets customers choose to leverage their Microsoft technology without being forced completely into the Microsoft ecosystem. This is a good thing. Choice is good.… Read more

DIY reputation management

Reputation monitoring and management have become hot topics and will only continue to grow. These are becoming important areas for all businesses, large and small, to focus on as more and more people turn to the Web to communicate through blogs, their own Web sites, as well as the ever-growing opportunities for online consumer reviews and ratings.

Here is a quick Reputation Management 101 rundown of five tips in each of five different areas to get you started:

Pre-emptive measures are best

The old adage of prevention being the best cure carries a lot of weight here.

Always strive to … Read more

Killer Download: The quick way to free up hard drive space

Recently a friend of mine asked me about good programs to find duplicate files. She had important files on two different drives and knew she had a significant amount of duplication, but didn't want to lose newer files in either location. Moreover, she wanted to transfer all of her files to a new computer she had just bought.

I knew of one program that worked for me in the past, but did a little research to find several programs that quickly scan drives and let you compare files to know which ones you can delete. Not only do these applications offer a solution to my friend's problem above, you can also free up a significant amount of hard drive space by getting rid of duplicates.… Read more