Weekly Download 14.15
Posted: July 23, 2014 Filed under: Business, Change, Technology, Weekly Download | Tags: change, Microsoft, Satya Nadella, Steven Ballmer Leave a commentHere’s a recap of news and notes from around the Web that caught my attention over the past week or so.
Microsoft’s CEO message to employees on July 10 was called Bold Ambition & Our Core. Change is a-comin’. Satya Nadella addresses:
- A “mobile-first and cloud-first” world.
- Abandoning “devices and services” which Steven Ballmer rolled out last fall (September, 27 2013 Shareholder Letter), to be replaced by “productivity and platform.”
- Transitioning from automated business processes to intelligent business processes.
- Digital work and life experiences.
He comments on culture change:
“Nothing is off the table in how we think about shifting our culture to deliver on this core strategy. Organizations will change. Mergers and acquisitions will occur. Job responsibilities will evolve. New partnerships will be formed. Tired traditions will be questioned. Our priorities will be adjusted. New skills will be built. New ideas will be heard. New hires will be made. Processes will be simplified. And if you want to thrive at Microsoft and make a world impact, you and your team must add numerous more changes to this list that you will be enthusiastic about driving.”
I really like the closing:
“A few months ago on a call with investors I quoted Nietzsche and said that we must have “courage in the face of reality.” Even more important, we must have courage in the face of opportunity. We have clarity in purpose to empower every individual and organization to do more and achieve more. We have the right capabilities to reinvent productivity and platforms for the mobile-first and cloud-first world. Now, we must build the right culture to take advantage of our huge opportunity. And culture change starts with one individual at a time. Rainer Maria Rilke’s words say it best: “The future enters into us, in order to transform itself in us, long before it happens.” We must each have the courage to transform as individuals. We must ask ourselves, what idea can I bring to life? What insight can I illuminate? What individual life could I change? What customer can I delight? What new skill could I learn? What team could I help build? What orthodoxy should I question? With the courage to transform individually, we will collectively transform this company and seize the great opportunity ahead.”
Pathways to Success
Posted: July 21, 2014 Filed under: Business, Technology | Tags: Box.com, IBM, SaaS, Salesforce.com 1 CommentRecently there have been major write-ups on tech companies that have pursued very different strategies to achieve their desired financial results. The contrast between blue chip IBM and Software as a Service (SaaS) pioneer Salesforce.com is remarkable. Box.com, one of the newer cloud storage and file sharing services, is charting yet another course.
Image courtesy of cooldesign / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Why IBM is in Decline. IBM, under the realm of CEO Samuel J. Palmisano from 2002 – 2011, doubled earnings under a plan called Roadmap 2010 and is on schedule for a repeat with Roadmap 2015. This extreme focus on profitability and wooing investors has left a trail of wreckage for new CEO Ginni Rometty, who, inexplicably, seems committed to follow the same path. Catastrophe may be looming for one of America’s greatest brands. The singular and narrow focus on quarter over quarter, year after year earnings may not be sustainable in the long term. There are many cycles in the economy and in business that may not fit this smooth curve approach. Also, while meeting short-term profit goals, IBM is paying the price in terms of low employee morale, suffering customer service, lack of innovation and lagging technology.
Understanding SaaS: Why the Pundits Have It Wrong. At the other end of the spectrum, there are many SaaS companies or cloud providers that lose more money annually than they earn in revenue. One example is Saleforce.com, one of the early pioneers (founded in 1999) of cloud-based CRM systems. They incurred a net loss over the past couple of years due to their focus on growth rather than margins. It’s a vicious cycle: to fuel growth, they spend a lot to acquire customers, which negatively impacts margins. See Salesforce Q1’15 Earnings: Revenue Growth Strategy Continues To Trim Margins to learn more.
Tech companies like Box.com spend more on marketing than they generate in revenue. Box.com has the dubious distinction of having a financial profile that it is out of line even compared to other SaaS companies. THE BOX IPO ANALYSIS: This Company Is Burning Twice As Much Cash As Any Comparable Company is enlightening. Customers and employees alike will pay a significant price if one of these companies implodes.
What is the right balance? How do mature companies continue to fuel innovation and growth while also serving their shareholders? How do you allocated monies in your budget for innovation and growth while also delivering bottom line results? Is there a balance of investments in people and customers to achieve long-term sustainable success?
A moderate approach that may serve both maverick and mature companies equally well is based on the patient use of capital and a balanced portfolio. Companies that plan seeds now for growth that will be ready for harvesting in three, five or ten years will experience some ups and downs, but the overall trend will be positive.
In the end, only time will show which path is sustainable.
Weekly Download 14.14
Posted: July 14, 2014 Filed under: Cycling, Technology, Weekly Download | Tags: Airdog, Lance Armstrong Leave a commentHere’s a recap of news and notes from around the Web that caught my attention over the past week or so.
What will they think of next? The Airdog is a Video drone that flies itself
Even in the most utopian workplace environments, conflicts arise. These 5 Questions You’ll Need to Settle Workplace Disagreements is a handy tool for finding a resolution.
- Question 1: “Are we arguing about intent or impact?”
- Question 2: “What are our goals here?”
- Question 3: “Are our priorities aligned?”
- Question 4: “How are we defining success?”
- Question 5: “What would you do in my place?”
To a bike geek like myself, there is no greater hero or villain than Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong in Purgatory: The After Life recaps his rise and fall and shows how life has changed for the super athlete now that he is no longer atop the podium.
ZMAB15 