June 2006 Archives

In his new book, "Smartsourcing: Driving Innovation and Growth Through Outsourcing," Thomas M. Koulopoulos, CEO and founder of Delphi Group, believes that companies must shed non-core business activities. He says this type of outsourcing, smartsourcing, will allow companies to focus on innovation which is what differentiates one company from another.

From a Q&A article with Koulopoulos:

PC World published an article "The 100 best products of the year".

Of PC World's top 100, products that I use regularly include #17 Google, #36 Apple iPod, #45 Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro and #69 Rhapsody

I would add the following favorites to the list:

Just received a note from my friend Ben Elowitz in Seattle saying that his company, Wetpaint, has launched a new free hosted wiki service that enables people to easily create websites.

What's so special about a new wiki service? In this case, it is the ease of use. Wetpaint's new technology makes it possible for anyone - even those without technical skill, to create entire websites on any topic. No HTML code required - just click and type. As CNET notes, once you set up your site, other people can add or improve it (think Wikipedia, but with a WYSIWYG interface).

The firm, which is backed by Trinity Ventures and Frazier Technology Ventures, said Monday that it is targeting school clubs, sports teams, neighborhood groups or enthusiasts who are looking to share their personal interests and hobbies.

The company intends to use advertising sales as its main source of revenue.

Ben is super-smart and has a strong track record as an entrepreneur: he co-founded online jeweler Blue Nile and worked at online bookseller Fatbrain.com.

Microsoft is developing a wiki-like internal communications system to let its employees contribute ideas about the future direction of the company. Employees will be able to make suggestions and collectively debate and refine ideas.

It's part of Microsoft's effort to make the company less dependent on any particular individuals, including Bill Gates as he continues to draw back from running the company.

I'm not convinced this tool will be the cultural change agent Microsoft needs to accomplish that purpose.

But if the goal is innovation, there is a need to think collaboratively. Depending on how Microsoft changes its culture, the tool has some potential.

Everyone presumes the best brainstorming is group brainstorming - but is it?

The Wall Street Journal has an article about the pros and cons of brainstorming.

John Clark, a former university dean of engineering, says brainstorming sessions come in handy to distribute blame in the event of failure. But in his experience, most often someone hijacks the topic at hand, tries to prove everyone else wrong, works to impress the superiors who are present, or just plain blathers for his own enjoyment. "I can't remember a single instance where a group produced a really creative idea," he says.

Paul B. Paulus, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Arlington conducted research on the topic and has found that group brainstormers typically perform at about half the level they would if they brainstormed alone. The prescription: ask people to brainstorm alone after the group brainstorming session.

A fascinating inside look at what went wrong with Sony's Connect digital music project. A case study in how not to manage the engineering side of a digital media consumer business.

What happened at the start?

Digital media start up Kinoma had developed a specialized code base called FSK, a new system for handling multimedia files as they're transferred online, to PCs and between handheld devices. By early 2005, Kinoma demonstrated prototype digital music software dubbed KTunes, which was based on FSK. For Sony, with a severe case of Apple envy, partnering with Kinoma could provide a way to jump-start their digital music effort.

Seemingly a good match. NOT. The project, said one high-level Sony insider, was an "unmitigated disaster."

What went wrong?