#business

Recognize Failure and Avoid the Sunk Cost Fallacy:
There's no shame in shooting for the moon and missing

Failing fast is one of the most overworked business tropes. The underlying motivation is for companies to take big risks with immense potential payoffs. To fail fast, the company must put sensors in place to recognize early if the risky move is panning out and worth continuing.  In comparative mythology, the hero’s journey requires the protagonist to face and overcome adversity before they become worthy of winning. Biographers of business… Read More »Recognize Failure and Avoid the Sunk Cost Fallacy:
There's no shame in shooting for the moon and missing

Firefighters putting out an uncontrolled blaze in a building

Containing and Eliminating Business Fires:
Unexpected catastrophes kill companies

Startups are motivated by youthful energy, fueled by adrenaline, and supplemented by caffeine. The frenetic pace of a startup cannot be sustained forever.  If a company remains a startup too long, it will either burn through its cash or the original team will become too long in the tooth to muster the same enthusiasm that powered its early victories. Or both.  Companies that successfully navigate the transition from a startup… Read More »Containing and Eliminating Business Fires:
Unexpected catastrophes kill companies

Boxers fighting in the ring

Listen to Mike Tyson and Avoid These 5 Project Planning Pitfalls:
The best-laid plans go so easily awry

As Mike Tyson so eloquently stated, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Iron Mike’s subtext is that, when faced with obstacles, even the best-laid plans go to hell.  Zigging and zagging become easier when a team is unencumbered by grandiose long-term plans. Here are some ideas about how to keep project plans achievable and maintain your sanity in the process. 1. Know thy business If you… Read More »Listen to Mike Tyson and Avoid These 5 Project Planning Pitfalls:
The best-laid plans go so easily awry

Back to the Office? Hell No, We Won’t Go:
Winners and losers of the no-office future

It’s almost like the workers of the world have unionized. Pre-pandemic, employers could demand physical presence in an office because many other companies made the same demands. It took a global pandemic to change the calculus of in-person work. Now that workers have a taste of freedom, returning to offices is a hard sell, especially since many employees have experienced remote work success. For many smart companies, remote work is… Read More »Back to the Office? Hell No, We Won’t Go:
Winners and losers of the no-office future

The Battle of Grocery Shopping Tech:
Innovations in supermarket smart carts

Never have grocery prices been so high. The sting of inflation makes parting with hard-earned cash even more painful after a sub-standard shopping experience. This article focuses on the high and low points of three in-store technology solutions intended to remove friction from grocery shopping. While these technologies do nothing to curb out-of-control prices, they do minimize or eliminate some of the things shoppers hate most — like waiting in long checkout… Read More »The Battle of Grocery Shopping Tech:
Innovations in supermarket smart carts

Pete Rose and Software Rearchitecture:
Yup, the two are related

Children of the ’70s may remember Pete Rose, aka Charlie Hustle, as a superb, hard-charging Cincinnati Reds baseball player with a Popeye physique. Millennials may remember Rose as the Reds’ manager banned from baseball forever for betting on games. A spectacular, Rudy Giuliani-like fall from grace. What does Pete Rose have to do with software rearchitecture? Plenty. The most fraught words a CEO will hear from a CTO are, “We need… Read More »Pete Rose and Software Rearchitecture:
Yup, the two are related