Writer's Block

Ever been typing away and suddenly can't find the right words to define what you are thinking? Our Head of Business Development, Mark Tillison overheard my frustrated mutterings as creativity escaped me.

Mark suggested I tried typing in colour. Colour? What difference would that make? Looking forward to proving him wrong, I humoured the idea - and worked!

Apparently, one side of the brain is better at dealing with the analytic side of things and the other deals with creativity. Research shows that the left hand hemisphere manages the logical thought processes whilst the right responds to colour and creativity. I have finally finished the document that I started this morning and yes, I made sure I changed the technicolour text to monochrome before I sent it to our client.

Understanding

We had a recent engagement with a supplier, offering a service to Compsoft that required a deep understanding of our business. That supplier knew their offering well and provided excellent service to a wide range of clients.

With Compsoft, they failed - why?

Because they didn't understand our business. They didn't have a strong grasp of our strategy or our market. Or of what makes Compsoft unique. Who our clients are and why what we do is so critical to their business.

It failed because they didn't immerse themselves in our business, just took a superficial view of our requirements.

The experience brought in to sharp focus Compsoft's method of engagement with a client.

We're creating a unique piece of software that matches a business' unique needs, those that usually set them apart from their competitors. After all, if the requirements aren't unique, why on earth would a bespoke system be the right choice?

Our Project Managers, Developers and I take great care in understanding the business we're engaging with, the market in which it operates and what the plans are for growth.

It's critical to successful outcome that we completely engage in, understand and share that companies' vision.

Without understanding, without working hard to maintain a dialogue of feedback and reinforcement, without regular project meetings, we'd deliver something that matched the specification but not the vision.

And that would be a failure.

Firefox 2.0 Beta 2 should ship on Thursday

Microsoft is by far the market leader in the competition between browsers, but Firefox has been making steady inroads. Now it appears that Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer are releasing new versions to a similar timetable.
Last week, Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 7 release candidate 1 (RC1), the first version of IE7 that was deemed up to release quality, without being quite ready for general release.

I've been using Firefox's Beta for a few weeks at home and monitoring a few web sources on progress. I've been impressed with some of the new features included in the release after being extensions in earlier versions. My personal favourite is the session saver that remembers the tabs from your last session: it's a fantastic aid for research.

The new version also seems much more stable, I've experienced far fewer crashes since upgrading (not that there were many anyway).

It is disappointing, however, that some of my old extensions don't work with the new version just yet. I guess I can't have my cake and eat it, so I'll sit and admire it from afar, anticipating the feast.

I'm the first to admit I can't offer an objective opinion on IE7: I've yet to download it personally.

More great news:

But while the competition between Microsoft and Mozilla is seen as being quite fierce, the two companies have been making overtures to show that they are prepared to co-operate.

Earlier this month, Microsoft sent an open letter to Mozilla offering facilities and help to make Firefox fully compatible with Microsoft's upcoming Vista operating system — an offer which Mozilla appeared to accept.

The browser war hots up...

Train Surfing

Nomad Digital - Wireless Roaming:

Nomad Digital Rail have launched a system that provides mobile Wireless Local Area Network ('WiFi') services for use on trains. Train passengers can have a reliable and seamless internet connection, without the need for mobile phones, cables or adapters."

And not a minute too soon.

I prefer to travel by train when it's practical - it's an opportunity to catch up with work on the laptop without the interruptions associated with working in the office. If there's one thing that's been bugging me though, it's that I can't get a reliable Internet connection whilst traveling. Surely it can't be that difficult?

Now if someone could please resolve the intermittent mobile coverage too, my life would be complete. Oh, and whilst you're at it - how about Internet access on the plane too?

The Individual Revolution

Yesterday, I was privileged enough to enjoy 45 minutes listening to the future of marketing according to the vision of Richard Duvall, described as a revolutionary figure in the creation of 21st century business. With Prudential, he co-founded Egg and is now working his new project, Zopa.

I found Richard inspirational and his vision compelling of what he calls, the individual revolution.

He suggests that technology has created an environment in which the mass market culture is dying. For example: no longer are there a few TV or Radio channels to listen to, there are hundreds. Every individual has their own taste in music, and is able to fulfil that desire through podcasts or radio or a number of television channels.

The Internet has created a culture where every individual can express their own unique personality through the music they listen to, the fashion they create for themselves, the web sites they browse, the hobbies in which they indulge, the businesses they create.

Increasingly, people percieve themselves as individuals, not as consumers.

Seth Godin's work also supports this change in culture, proposing that the Internet is not a mass-marketing medium. It's not a replacement for television. It's just the opposite - it creates a fragmented, splintered culture where every individual, every business can satisfy their own unique needs and requirements. Small communities with common interests communicate through blogs, chat rooms and web sites and perhaps buy from stores specialising in the things in which they are interested.

The age of the individual has arrived.

I consider myself fortunate to work for a company whose strategy and approach reflects this unique culture, it's clients holding dear their individuality and recognising that, for them, it defines their business and more often than not, their competitive advantage.

If you get a chance to catch Richard speaking at an event - I'd recommend it!

Attention-Juggling in the High-Tech Office

Interesting observations on the impact of technology in the workplace and the work/life balance. It is very easy to get distracted from our objectives or even the quality time we should be spending with our families. On occasion, I'd have to plead guilty as charged on both counts.

"We have 120 hours of waking time a week. These new technologies - the combination of BlackBerries, home computers and cellphones - expand the time that's available for you to be working, if you choose. What's curious, and perhaps even a little insidious, is that the traditional boundary of work is being expanded to maybe not 24 hours a day, but maybe 17 hours."

Original Article from the New York Times