Peter Stilson - Godengo
Now we are starting to get into the topics that made me excited to take a MBA level IT class. I'm amazed that we attend a top 75 MBA program that doesn't focus more on the internet and the business opportunities that it presents (how could we really when we can't even get our own wireless to work). Peter's pitch was very similar to the type of pitch I would make everyday at LexisNexis. I would meet with managing partners at some of the most prestigious law firms up and down the West Coast (I even met with a number in Walnut Creek) and talked about how they could represent themselves on the interweb. We provided similar services too: web hosting, site development, SEO, SEM, banner advertisement and sponsored results. This proved to be a very lucrative business for us, but was very difficult to prove an ROI for our clients. Inevitably clients would lose faith as they wanted immediate and trackable results, something that was near impossible on the internet. I hope we talk about web-analytics before this class ends.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Class 8
Explicit, tacit and embedded knowledge.
This was a very interesting topic and Doug made some points that I completely agree with. Tacit knowledge is the most valuable. In my previous profession, advertising/software sales, it was important to have some knowledge management, but considerably more important to have knowledge exchange. We used CRM systems to organize and manage client accounts, but this provided little benefit when you were in a meeting talking about your products/services and how they can benefit your customer. It was the experience you had at hundreds of client meetings that were the real selling points. When you can exchange, first hand, the knowledge you have gained through battles you've personally experienced you have a much more compelling point-of-view. Doug is right, these are the things that effect the ROI, both your clients' and your own.
This was a very interesting topic and Doug made some points that I completely agree with. Tacit knowledge is the most valuable. In my previous profession, advertising/software sales, it was important to have some knowledge management, but considerably more important to have knowledge exchange. We used CRM systems to organize and manage client accounts, but this provided little benefit when you were in a meeting talking about your products/services and how they can benefit your customer. It was the experience you had at hundreds of client meetings that were the real selling points. When you can exchange, first hand, the knowledge you have gained through battles you've personally experienced you have a much more compelling point-of-view. Doug is right, these are the things that effect the ROI, both your clients' and your own.
Class 7
Your city council is debating implementing a service that would allow residents to access a wide variety of municipal and school services from their home computers for the 40% of residents that own home computers. Do you urge the city council members to vote yes or no?
I would urge the council to vote yest on implementing this service. Sure everyone would not be represented initially, but the hope would be that this program would be successful and could spread to other geographies and income brackets. The innovation of technology should not be held back based on political reasons. I agree with one of my classmates that this might cause unfair advantages for first access to building permits or gymnastics enrollment. This problem can be avoided by having a preregistration for non-service based citizens or other ideas. We can't let old tech keep us from going forward due to socially sensitive topics. If we did, everyone would lose.
I would urge the council to vote yest on implementing this service. Sure everyone would not be represented initially, but the hope would be that this program would be successful and could spread to other geographies and income brackets. The innovation of technology should not be held back based on political reasons. I agree with one of my classmates that this might cause unfair advantages for first access to building permits or gymnastics enrollment. This problem can be avoided by having a preregistration for non-service based citizens or other ideas. We can't let old tech keep us from going forward due to socially sensitive topics. If we did, everyone would lose.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Class 6
The right e-commerce model - I'm sure this depends on the type of business you're in and your role inside the business. In my previous profession at LexisNexis we used Siebel as our CRM software. This software rental was supposed to be customizable but was mostly used in the "out-of-the-box" settings. I think in a lot of cases that the customization bells and whistles aren't used anyway. For the most part, I just wanted an easy to use system that could track my clients in the way I wanted it to. I'm sure most systems can fulfil this need. Even excel in a lot of ways has the same capabilities of the high-end software. Another disadvantage of Siebel is that it wasn't web-based like a salesforce.com. Sure you could access it while you were on a plane and then sync when you got to a land line, but there's something about accessing all of your information on the web. It's much faster and considerably more convenient. Just an old rant thanks.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Day 5
Cole Orndorff - This was the best class so far. Cole did a great job of showing how technology can be applied in a real life workplace. I liked his presentation so much that I took a drive by the new baseball stadium to understand better what he was talking about. It really is a 20 acre building shoved in a 16 acre lot. Amazing. 10 years ago this would probably not even be possible, but today it is. I can't imagine where software or technology will be in 10 more years. Maybe we'll be able to show a slide show presentation and launch a software application at the same time.
Another enlightening concept was the google social network that Cole had with CIO's from other construction companies nationwide. This idea just shows the application possibilities of social networking in any industry. The fact that he uses this network for bargaining power among other things made me think of ways I can benefit from a social group. Maybe a Carlson Social Group.
Another enlightening concept was the google social network that Cole had with CIO's from other construction companies nationwide. This idea just shows the application possibilities of social networking in any industry. The fact that he uses this network for bargaining power among other things made me think of ways I can benefit from a social group. Maybe a Carlson Social Group.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Day 4
TMI - Let me start by saying that I love technology. I think it has made our lives easier and has made us more mobile as a society. However, too much information has led to analysis paralysis. For example, I love reading and learning as much as I can about the stock market and the ongoing financial crisis. I like it because I get to draw parallels to my degree in social history. But keeping up with the details of everything going on is impossible. I get daily info from more than five different business website, business colleagues and future work folk. One could spend her entire day hearing different thoughts or theories, and she wouldn't even be able to form her own opinion. It's a daily challenge.
Day 3
Globally integrated enterprises - It isn't just the large corporations that are benefiting from technology. Small boutique companies are also able to expand their reach through the tech channel and sometimes even better. I think that's because most people kind of root for the underdog and back them by spreading the word. One example is Surly Beer. It's a local craft beer company (my favorite) that was started a few years ago by some twenty-year-old. Through guerrilla marketing, the business has exploded to the point where demand far exceeds capacity. 15 years ago this might not have been the case but in 2009 the internet allows opinions or reviews to travel quicker than ever before. Now it seems that small companies can truly outpace bigger ones.
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