Brewed Fresh Daily

Your Comfort Zone

I'll bet that this is one of your favorite places. You probably feel warm all over when you're in your comfort zone!

But doing the things that make you comfortable can result in an unwillingness to embrace changes. Change is usually necessary in an organization to continue growth and improve market viability.

So, don't get too comfortable. If you wait for discomfort to move you along, the price you pay may be too severe.

XON XOFF - October 12, 2002 : Cleveland, Ohio Posted by StaticBeats on Friday, September 27 @ 11:46:22 PST Headroom Digital and Experimedia Present: XON XOFF- a night of sight and minimal tech-house and IDM sound explorations. online flier: http://www.four09.org/xonxoff SATURDAY : 10/12/02 : 9PM @ THE TWO DOLLAR BOOKSTORE : 6820 Euclid Ave : Euclid and E.69th Streets : 216.881.1800 info-line : $7 : BYOB. FEATURING LIVE: STEWART WALKER - Persona : Force inc : Minus GEOFF WHITE - Edit : Force inc : Cytrax TWINE - Hefty : Bip-Hop : Komplott THREE_M - 409 DJ's Nopan vs J_bible - Lektro-tech tagteam style. Jugoe : Nitty-Gritty : HD - Smoked out dub and future blunts. Boompsie - Lektro/Techno style. Visuals by Phase4 - Bip-Hop : HD

Marketing Daily:

No, no, no, no! Most prospects will say "no" four times before saying "yes." Most salespeople stop asking after two "no's." Once the prospects say, "yes," they feel a tinge of remorse, so offer support for their decision.

What are your favorite aromatherapeutic smells? Lavender is the best. Followed closely by clove.

Got to talk with Shasta! and Jeff Stacklin of CrainTech. Jeff was telling me that he thinks things in the area are starting to pick up because there is more advertising in the papers, therefore he has to write more articles. An interesting metric. I'm going to call it the Stacklin Key Indicator. Shasta! had to go home early to watch 'friends'. She told me what Chris was really doing in Silicon Valley, but I promised I wouldn't repeat it.

I had a long conversation with Rich Spinner at Trusted Tech. It sounds like they've got a good project that's going to pop.

It was great hanging out with Jason and Christine of ThunderTech (two of the many JCU alum there). They've also got a project about to go up - ClevelandIntern.com.

All in all TechThursday was a great evening out. I'd encourage you to be there the 3rd Thursday of every month!

What is the one thing Cleveland needs to shed if it's going to attract more entrepreneurs and young knowledge workers?

If you know me, you know ideas don't come to me one at a time. I think in bullet points. So here's a few things that Cleveland needs to stop doing right away:

• We've got to stop wearing suits and ties to every damn meeting
• We've got to stop refusing to set foot on a city sidewalk (Playhouse Square's garage walkway, Cleveland Clinic's overhead bridges, suburban malls)
• We've got to stop staying home every night watching reruns of the Drew Carey show rather than checking out the town
• We've got to stop finding out what the boss thinks before stating an opinion identical to his
• We've got to stop creating little dynasties (political, economic social) rather than working together in collaboration
• We've got to stop ignoring Cleveland's bounty of world class arts and culture right under its nose
• We've got to stop banishing our annual graduates from the 23 colleges and universities in the region, rather than offering them internships, mentorships and work study programs
• We've got to stop worrying about what everyone else thinks of Cleveland
• We've got to stop thinking that big league sports is the only culture worth supporting
• We've got to stop pretending that the problems of the City of Cleveland aren't the problem of Solon, Strongsville, Bay Village and Beachwood.
• We've got to stop treating gays and lesbians like they come from another planet
• We've got to stop ignoring the lake and the river
• We've got to stop allowing the city center to become a ghost town
• We've got to stop being afraid to cross the river
• We've got to stop being afraid

You're already cool, Cleveland, you just need to convince yourself of that fact.

How would you bring together various forces and institutions in the community to elevate Cleveland's cool quotient?

No one that's actually cool goes around trying to elevate their own cool quotient.

One project I'm working on now brings together disparate institutions here in Cleveland. Its called "One Week in the Life of University Circle," and it's a collaboration between students at three universities. During one week in September, they will capture on digital media what goes on behind the scenes at hospitals, museums, businesses, transportation services, security departments, observatories, garbage bins, dance halls, and in public spaces. Then they will process the digital work, turn it into twenty-six separate projects, and present digital video, CD-ROMs, virtual reality caves, interactive DVDs, high tech performances, GPS devices, virtual museums, web sites, dances, films and sculptures during Holiday CircleFest in December.

Actually, the goal of this project is to demonstrate how partnerships between different institutions can be useful in creating something that no single entity could do, regardless of how wonderful they are. And to demonstrate the opportunities of having a world class digital media center in the region. Another goal is to demonstrate how digital media technology can be used to document, communicate, and virtually express the human condition and to show how cutting edge digital media can enlighten, educate, entertain and engage.

This is more than about "cool," although it is undoubtedly one of the coolest projects Cleveland has been involved in recently. It's about assuming and understanding that we are cool, and what we can do with that.

"Built to Flip. An intriguing idea: No need to build a company, much less one with enduring value. Today, it's enough to pull together a good story, to implement the rough draft of an idea, and -- presto! -- instant wealth. No need to bother with the time-honored method of most self-made millionaires: to create substantial value by working diligently over an extended period. In the built-to-flip world, the notion of investing persistent effort in order to build a great company seems, well, quaint, unnecessary -- even stupid."

He's followed up that article with another where he talks about Enron, WorldCom, and Qwest. He comments:

"All of those stories were connected by one underlying theme: the built-to-flip ethos. I began to see that the dotcom IPO bubble was just one particular strain of a larger pattern, a reflection of a deeper trend in American corporate culture. We didn't just have a built-to-flip IPO bubble; our entire business culture had become a version of built to flip. We became a built-to-flip economy, perhaps even a built-to-flip society."

"An interesting article in USA Today suggests Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged is helping more than a few corporate executives get through today's anti-business climate. "Executive headhunter Jeffrey Christian says many of his clients are re-reading the 1,075-page novel to remind themselves that self-interest is not only the right thing to do from an economic standpoint but is moral, as well."

We had lunch at Slyman's, a historic landmark in Cleveland. I had one of their legendary corned beef sandwiches. They're everything I've heard.

According to a September 2002 Aberdeen Group report, �2002 User Buying Intentions Update,� global senior information technology (IT) executives plan to increase their budgets by 3.7% over the next 12 months. Aberdeen surveyed members of its Technology Forecasting Consortium and notes that in February 2002, the same respondents planned to decrease their IT budgets by 1.4%. Aberdeen finds that popular categories of applications respondents plan on buying include force automation applications (48%) and query, reporting and analysis tools (45.2%). Popular technology infrastructure categories, in terms of buying plans, include systems management networks (72%) and security gateways and services (60%).

tompeters! blogs here

Mandatory Participation At staff meetings, a few employees always control the majority of the time. How can you insure equitable participation among your staff? Create a feedback portion of your staff meetings that requires each individual to bring at least issue to the table for discussion. In this manner, the most burning matter for each employee will be discussed. Continue to do this until everyone is bringing appropriate and useful topics. For those who are naturally inhibited in this manner, coach them toward becoming effective.

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"Our deeds are but catalysts to change the world. Their size and visible impact are not really what matters. In everything you do, consider that there is but one last fine adjustment the world needs before it may transform. Who knows -- perhaps your deed is it." - Tzvi Freeman

What's It Going To Cost?

The perception of most business owners is that they must be price competitive in order to make a market with their products or services. While extremely high prices might be impossible to achieve, at reasonable levels price is not the most important purchasing factor.

Most customers are willing to pay more for the service that a company provides. If you spend the time to educate your customer before the sale and service them after the sale, you'll be able to sell at a higher price than your less capable competitors.

- Rick Fields

ok. i'm sure it seems like i'm hyping craintech, but they do a great job reporting the tech scene in cleveland. i just want to point out the '3 questions' with jennifer thomas, the director of clevelandclicks - and also this opinion piece by chris thompson - who i know would rather be fishing. chris does an excellent job foreshadowing the storm brewing on the horizon.

Ray Bethea, Associate, Giraffe Design, Inc.
Ray Leach, Senior Vice President, Business Development, OverDrive, Inc.
Tim Mueller, Chief Development Officer, City of Cleveland
Robin Segbers, Executive Vice President, Brokaw, Inc.
Brad Whitehead, Senior Fellow, Cleveland Foundation

when i got home, i just wanted to crash in front of the tv for a while. flipping through the channels i found ayn rand: a sense of life on the independent film channel. so much for veggin' out in front of the tv.

after watching this excellent documentary, i have an even greater respect for her personal philosophy. i also have a deep sense of the effect her writings had on my own beliefs. i read both the fountainhead and atlas shrugged when i was in high school. to put it into a sentence "objectivism is an integrated system of thought that defines the abstract principles by which a man must think and act if he is to live the life proper to man".

I really have my doubts about the success of this strategy. Sun should be attacking weakness with strength, not trying to win a battle of attrition with Microsoft. The company with the most resources will win this one.

i talked to a lot of people today. i like the city i live in and the people here. i think there's really good businesses here. and i feel good about what we're accomplishing, even though things are "smaller". to be flexible, you've got to be small.

so after that i went downtown to cleveland state university to attend the Greater Cleveland PC Users Group meeting. i'm really not clear why a meeting like that is on a saturday morning, but equally unclear was the number of people who showed up. it was held in UC1 and the place was packed! probably about 150 people. they all came to see the panel discussion - "raising cleveland's digital bar - IT is not optional". the panel consisted of:

• Ronald Copfer, president of Fathom Interactive Solutions Inc., is the chairman of the IT Leadership Committee, recently formed to devise a plan for Northeast Ohio to elevate its profile in the IT industry here and nationwide.
• Joe Frolik, well known and extensively read writer at The Plain Dealer, has been concerned about Cleveland�s "Quiet Crisis" including the direction of IT.
• Dr. Lev Gonick, vice president for information technology services and chief information officer at Case Western Reserve University, is a member of the IT Leadership Committee.
• Bill Callahan, who heads the Westside Community Computer Center, is presently interim director of Digital Vision, a group also working for some time on Cleveland�s technology future
• Dan Hanson is the editor of technology for Cleveland�s Inside Business and a long-time member of GCPCUG.
• Stacy Condon is the associate director of the nonprofit technology group NorTech. This is the group that organized the IT Leadership Committee and the group working to increase the region�s IT work force, along with influencing major software and hardware companies to think about Northeast Ohio when they open new research and development outposts or choose to relocate their businesses.

Joe Frolik - "Cleveland needs to get over its Eeyore complex, it's time to regain self confidence"

Stacy Condon - regarding all the studies that get publish - "Enough Reports! Let's create some buzz!"

Ron Copfer - "This train's going to a notsogreat place. Instead of sitting on one side of the aisle, then switching to the other side, we better get off this train!"

Dr. Lev Gonick - after asking if the bottle he was holding was half full or half empty - "if you pull back the paper, you'll see that the bottle is almost three-quarters full!"

Bill Calahan - of Cleveland City Councilwoman Fannie Lewis - "She's one of the ones who is able to knit together the Big Themes with what's happening on the streets".

Dan Hanson - "Give your money to local companies, not big ones."

afterwards, some of us went to cooperstown for lunch. i got to talk with dan hanson about some of the cool stuff the john carroll university entrepeneurs association. one last quote - Bob Coppedge: "Read any management book written at any time and it's applicable. It's the implementation that's important".

1. What is your biggest pet peeve? Why? bad coffee. i roast my own beans and measure the ingredients to get the exact ratio i like. 2. What irritating habits do you have? i don't think i have any. i'll have to ask around. 3. Have you tried to change the irritating habits or just let them be? if i did, i'd let them be unless it annoyed my wife. then i'd change. 4. What grosses you out more than anything else? Why? i hate to see needles. ouch. 5. What one thing can you never see yourself doing that other people do? skydiving or bungee jumping. makes no sense to me.

i started paying more attention to tim russert when i found out that he is an alum of john carroll university. i guess it was of interest that someone who graduated from a small jesuit college in university heights, ohio went on to become the Senior Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief of NBC News. that's an achievement.