John Caddell's blog

Want to predict the future? Look at the demographics. And they say that in the future we’ll have many, many more women leaders than we do now: women are 57% of college students, USA Today reported in 2005. They’re the majority of medical school students and 45% of law school students, too. So, the days of “old white men” running the place are numbered.

Which has caused me to wonder how that may change our lives. Today’s New York Times has a small glimpse (”Madam Speaker, After Her First Year of Firsts.”) Christine C. Quinn is one year into her term as the first woman Speaker of the New York City Council, an unruly body of fifty-one representatives which has typically been a vocal adversary of the mayor. Here are some notable quotes from the article:

“She has injected more democracy, with a little ‘d,’ into the Council,” said James S. Oddo, the Republican minority leader, who has known Ms. Quinn since they worked for different council members in the early 1990s. “Every single council member has a say in the budget. Every single council member has the ability to fight for their constituents….”

She first indicated her willingness to work with the mayor three weeks into her term, after he called for restrictions on lobbyists in his annual address to the City Council. Instead of rejecting the idea, since it opened the Council’s inner workings to public scrutiny, she embraced it….

In April, she sought to end the bazaar-like process by which members lobbied the speaker for projects to be included in the city’s operating budget. She required that members limit themselves to four written requests that had the support of nine colleagues from three boroughs….

Then she charmed, cajoled and fought the mayor into considering her call for an end to the so-called budget dance….

“I find that if we disagree, she’s very, very clear,” said Simcha Felder, a Brooklyn councilman. “I don’t walk out of the room thinking she said yes but she means no….”

It’s dangerous to generalize from one person’s experience to an entire gender, but if more women in power means more collaboration, more effective negotiation between opposing parties and more disciplined political processes, then I’m for it.

innovation, politics, New York, New York Times, leadership, demographics

I saw this book at Barnes & Noble last week while buying a Christmas present. (Orange cover, memorable title in a huge typeface–great marketing.) I was skeptical–most business books, especially ones that seem this sales-y, turn out to be poorly-written rehashes of business cliches or outdated ideas.

Not this one.

It’s well-written, and the subject is very important to any executive or entrepreneur: how to discover, nurture and build relationships. What Keith Ferrazzi reveals is that with good and deep relationships one can make and close great deals. And without them, it’s tough sledding indeed. (Usefully, he also tells you how not to be a “networking jerk”–a mercenary who collects business cards like big game trophies, not caring a whit about the people who carry the cards.)

The style is that of a how-to book, but with lots of concrete examples, using real names. I could have done without the “Connectors’ Hall-of-Fame Profiles,” where legendary networkers such as Vernon Jordan and Bill Clinton are discussed–it almost seemed as if that was a suggestion from the publisher rather than an organic component of the book. But that’s a small complaint.

You also get a good sense of the author, and he’s very likable. You realize quickly why he has so many useful and valuable relationships.

So pick up this book. It might help you create some new and valuable relationships.

And there’s a related blog.

reading list,
relationships, marketing, networking, strategy, psychology, entrepreneurship, sales, business, alliances

This review is for the Fortune 500 Corporate Blog project. As I mentioned in the earlier EDS blog post, I worked for Electronic Data Systems (NYSE: EDS), in its Telecommunications Strategic Business Unit, between 1992 and 1997.

This is the second EDS corporate blog I’ve reviewed. (Here’s the other.)

Name: “The Goal: Customer Service In The IT Industry.”

History: regular posts since June 2006.

Frequency of posts: Not a lot. Two-three per month, decreasing from a high of seven in June, and none since November 7. See, here’s what happens with blogs with infrequent posts. It generates questions, such as: has Kim Stevenson, the only poster, gotten very busy? Has she left the company? Or lost interest in the blog? The lack of new content on the blog is important to EDS, because their blogs are a reflection of the company, its people and its insight. The last thing EDS (which has upwards of 100,000 employees) wants to convey is: we have nothing to say.

Nature of posts: Customer service in the IT industry. It’s a great topic; not covered much elsewhere, and very nicely done. The posts have a definite point of view, are well-constructed, and reflect the voice of a single author. [But please give us more of them!]

Design/functionality: Like The Next Big Thing, text, text and more text. It uses the same template, with EDS website tabs and links. No references to external blogs or resources (other than in the posts), which is sending another message–EDS is not curious about the outside world, and has all the insight they need inside the company. (I hope I’m wrong.)

Kim Stevenson, EDS’ Vice President of Infrastructure Service Delivery, writes all the posts. I like the integrity and consistency that results from a single author, but I don’t like the scanty posts (have I said that twice already?).

Links etc.: The blog is unclaimed in Technorati and is ranked #1,563,799, but #25,018 on Alexa. With more posts and some time, it would certainly get a lot more links.

So, EDS… let’s get Kim some help in her department so she has more time to make “The Goal” everything it can be!

blogs, corporate blogs, marketing, EDS

I learned in this New York Times article that Peter McColough, a longtime CEO and chairman of Xerox, died last week. (UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal has a bittersweet remembrance in their December 23 issue.)

He oversaw Xerox during the late ’60’s and throughout the ’70’s, when it emmerged as one of the most successful companies in the world via its creation and popularization of xerography–i.e., the copying machine.

But perhaps his most enduring legacy is his creation of the Palo Alto Research Center in 1970. PARC was responsible for bringing into use some useful tools that you are using RIGHT NOW–the mouse, Ethernet and the graphical user interface. (For a taste of what PARC is thinking about now, click here.)

That Xerox never profited much from these innovations should not diminish PARC’s importance, nor Mr. McColough’s legacy.

(picture: Ethernet cable by Hilary via stock.xchng)

innovation, strategy, management, obituaries, Xerox, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, business

innovation, Christmas, YouTube, cartoons, business, Friday Comix

Wrapping up the year with a final best-of list. These were the best, most inspirational, funniest or otherwise most interesting things I read this year in magazines, newspapers or scholarly journals. (Upon reflection, there isn’t a funny one in the bunch. Better luck next year!)

Sadly, most of these articles cost $$ or require a paid subscription. They’re worth a few dollars, though, if you haven’t read them. Enjoy!

10. “Primer on ‘Open Innovation,’” Michael Docherty, PDMA Visions, April.

9. “Asking, ‘What Would Ann Do?’” Amy Merrick, Wall Street Journal, September 15.

8. “Strategies To Fight Low-Cost Rivals,” Nirmalya Kumar, Harvard Business Review, December.

7. “Innovating Through Design,” Roberto Verganti, Harvard Business Review, December.

6. “Maybe We Should Leave That Up To The Computer,” Douglas Heingartner, New York Times, 18 July.

5. “Internet Encyclopaedias Go Head To Head,” Jim Giles, Nature, 15 December 2005.

4. “I’m OK, You’re Biased,” Dan Gilbert, New York Times, April 16.

3. “Out To Maximize Social Gains, Not Profit,” Vikas Bajaj, New York Times, 8 December.

2. “Innovation: The Classic Traps,” Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business Review, November.

1. “The Perfect Payday,” Charles Forelle and James Bandler, Wall Street Journal, 18 March. Remember options backdating? This is what started it all.

design, marketing, innovation, strategy, psychology, entrepreneurship, sales, management, business, advertising, best of, top 10

Continuing our look back at 2006 with the best posts (though who am I to judge?) from Shop Talk this year. Feel free to agree, disagree, shoot these down, or call them all unworthy of a best-of list. Cheers.

11. “Passion beats resources every time,” November 28.

10. “Successful innovation takes PIEER,” August 15.

9. “Vince the fashion label: lessons in building a brand,” September 14; and its related post, “Vince sells out,” September 28.

8. “If you want to innovate, get some rest,” October 4.

7. “Make some mistakes and profit from it,” June 21.

6. “Ending the war between sales and marketing,” July 6.

5. “A bit of foolishness,” October 10.

4. “What in hell is the fuzzy front end?” July 25.

3. “Storytelling in business–and I don’t mean fudging the numbers,” November 30, and “More storytelling–this time listening,” December 5.

2. “Kanter’s Innovation Pyramid,” November 8.

And the winner, who will be represent the blog at public functions, charity events and local TV appearances for the next twelve months (in case of illness or injury, the runner-up will assume the role of blog representative):

1. “Building business alliances: lessons from ‘Miami Vice,’” August 1.

innovation, strategy, psychology, entrepreneurship, alliances, sales, management, business, advertising, narrative, best of, top 10

‘Tis the season for Top 10 lists. I’m working on three–in addition to this one, a list of the newspaper/magazine/journal articles that most influenced me this year and the posts of the year from this blog. So stay tuned. And if you like this list, spread the love–do your own top 10 list!

10. “Why are referrals the BEST KIND of sales lead?” Landing The Deal. Poster: Dan Tudor.

9. “Designing for experience: webinar,” PDMA Blog. Poster: Montie Roland.

8. “Advice for a freshman,” Blogspotting. Poster: Stephen Baker.

7. “I agree with Tom. And yet…,” The Impact of IT on Businesses and their Leaders. Poster: Andrew McAfee.

6. “Why economists like immigration,” Greg Mankiw’s Blog. Poster: Greg Mankiw.

5. “10 Awesome Places To Get Free Images For Your Blog,” BusinessBlogWire. Poster: Easton Ellsworth. (Where do you think I got the picture at the top of this post?)

4. “The Open Space Fishbowl – A new way to an energised conversation,” Anecdote. Poster: Andrew Rixon.

3. “Add a 2×12 to your foundation,” Duct Tape Marketing. Poster: John Jansch.

2. “Iqbal Quadir on TEDTalks: the difference one cell phone can make to a village…,” TEDBlog. Poster: June Cohen. (Honorable mention: “Malcolm Gladwell on TEDTalks.” Honorable honorable mention: “Happiness Expert Dan Gilbert on TEDTalks.”

Drum roll, please… bhrrrrrrrrrr…

1. “Gary Hamel: the importance of continuous management innovation,” The Business Innovation Insider. Poster: Dominic Basulto. (Honorable mention: “The difference between design and craft” from the same blog.)

(Picture from abimages via stock.xchng.)

innovation, strategy, psychology, entrepreneurship, sales, management, business, advertising, best of, top 10

Surprise! This is not a post about Second Life.

Rather, according to this New York Times article, a plot element of the cable TV show “The L Word,” about the lives and interactions of a group of women, will be evolved into a full-fledged social network for lesbians.

Says the Times:

From the first season of Showtime’s “The L Word,” a chart mapping the relationships of the character Alice has been a central motif, growing to take over an entire wall.

And now it’s grown into cyberspace as well, ready for new-subscriber signup as of January 7. Some of the key actors in the show are partners in the site, called OurChart.com, as is Showtime. (Here’s a map of the chart that will serve as the site’s logo.)

You could call it product out-placement.

innovation, virtuality, product development, New York Times, business

“Recently, Mr. Schmults has placed a big emphasis on the FAO Schwarz-created toys — commissioned and branded by the company. Meticulous by nature, Mr. Schmults is determined to make sure they are durable and desirable — and not sold anywhere else.” – The Wall Street Journal, “Reviving FAO Schwartz“

retail, marketing, cartoons, business, Wall Street Journal, Friday Comix