FiberGeneration

Feedly And The Customer Satisfaction Fairy Tale

Since last week and the latest Firefox 3 update (3.0.1), I can't get Feedly running any longer. That's a real pitty for me, as I consider Feedly as the best RSS feed reader so far - for once, you can design your own online newspaper at a fingersnap.

Unfortunately, the automatic FX update stopped the service. No chance to re-install the add-on : "The feedly 1.0b3 could not be installed because it is not compatible with Firefox 3.0.1."

So after several attempts, I decided to call on Feedly' support. I discovered the Get Satisfaction service : technical support the Web 2.0 way. Absolutely stunning, for it is the one place you as an end-user can go and call for help on most of your favorite tools and apps. The list of companies currently being supported by Get Satisfaction is definitely impressive, from the smallest newest startup (say... Feedly for instance) to the biggest largest company (say Apple). Twitter seems to be the number one in terms of questions and support team.

Among a few other Web 2.0 apps, Get Satisfaction is typically the sort of tool which every single Enterprise 1.0 should adopt and integrate immediately. It's a fantastic way to keep in touch with your end-users, by proving them how much you care about their satisfaction.

Actually, this type of service is based on an old concept made modern. In this case, it's Usenet and its numerous FAQs and discussion boards at the Web 2.0 sauce. Nothing new ("the people-powered customer service for absolutely everything") but all new (the ease of use and the flexibility).

As soon as I get my own startup up and running, Get Satisfaction will be part of the toolkit.

ps : my own dashboard is here.

Say Goodbye Farewell To Second Life

Second Life is dead. Google just launched its own "virtual world" platform : Lively. The difference with SL ? Lively is entirely Web-based. You don't need to install and run a standalone piece of software, as opposed to Second Life (how many of us have been rapidly fed up launching SL ?...). To play with Lively, you just stay with your favorite browser, aka Firefox 3 (it runs with IE too).

Lively is truly the signal most of us were waiting for to go investigate the potential of Virtual Worlds for business. And it's made by Google.

For a complete review on Lively here by Techcrunch.

Download Lively here. That's the only thing that sucks, by the way : there's no Mac version for the time being, although Mac users are among the most efficient beta testers because we easily become early adopters...

[The Year Of The People] Say Welcome To My Friend Andrew

Do you know Andrew Luzgin ? I'm a friend of him. He's a friend of mine. Not the Facebook style of "friends", see what I mean ? A true friend.

Andrew and I have met years ago, before the Bubble. Virtually. On Usenet. We were discussing Fiber Optics stuff thru the sci.optics.fiber newsgroup.

A few years later, when I was with HP/Agilent, I got to test a fiber documentation software developed by Andrew and his peers at the IIT Institute of Information Technology of Minsk, Belarus. We Agilent didn't go further with this software, but Jim Hayes of Fotec (at this time) did.

Fast forward to November 2005 : working with Sunrise Telecom who were outsourcing its optical handhelds to IIT, I visited Minsk for the first and only time to date. Thanks to a missed connection flight in Vienna, a lost envelop containing 150 USD cash, and a Mickey Mouse type of manager, I did land in Belarus at night and ganz alone. Right into the deep cold winter of... the former USSR. To make it short, I almost had was to spend the night in the airport to go home the next morning, should Andrew not show up with enough american money to set me free of the Belarus' customs.

Thanks to Andrew, I had one of the most enjoyable evenings in a foreign country in my life.

Since then, we kept in touch. Virtually. Thru Skype. Among other business-related things, I've coached Andrew on the "Western World Way Of Life". Until I convinced him to look for a new job outside of Belarus. Hey, this guy was able to design one of the most technically advanced optical tester... out of nothing. The equipments in the IIT' labs ? Dated 1980 or so, see what I mean ? My take was : if Andrew is able to create little jewels in Belarus, he'll be able to create big marvels in the Western World.

I've worked on that for a year or more, helping Andrew to feel comfortable with the idea of leaving Minsk for the Unknown Regions.

Since last month, Andrew lives in Vilnius, Lithuania. He's working at FOD Fiber Optic Devices, a Test equipment maker supplying the big guys in the Test & Measurement industry with components and OEM/ODM products.

View Larger Map

Vilnius is only 130 miles away from Minsk, but it's a totally new World for my friend.
That's why I've asked Andrew to share his Once-In-A-Lifetime experience with you. Stay tuned for Andrew Luzgin' diary here on FiberGeneration. The first posts are ready, we just have to... tune Andrew's english a little bit ;-)

post-scriptum : have you noticed how the Belarus map is empty ?...

IM-Translate Goes To Microsoft' Windows Live

My friends of IM-T have reached their first major milestone : their Messenger plug-in is now referenced on Windows Live' s Gallery.

That is an amazing success story for the young start-up, formed by my old yet always up-to-date friend Georges Pantanelli and some of his developers.

Since the IM-T' journey is quite an unusual adventure, I've asked Georges a couple of months ago to post its diary here on the FiberGeneration blog. Now that they're WindowsLived, he has a bit more spare time to share it with you. Stay tuned for Mister Georges' s first post - due sometime by next week, as they say in the Web 2.0 area -)

post-scriptum : shall you know somebody able to help IM-T to get in touch with the US press, you can contact Georges at : gpp@im-translate.com

Optical Network Test : The Sun Rise Again ?

Rumor is spreading around the Test & Measurement small world : some interesting news coming soon from Sunrise Telecom, San Jose, California, and its swiss subsidiary.

It seems that SRT' management finally realized that the R.O.I. of the former startup could have been way better.

Stay tuned for more, as I wait for one last confirmation before publishing the whole story.

A Job Offer That Kick The Ass

See here. Corporate World, welcome to the Web 2.0 Age.

Freak This

Seen in Pau yesterday, this banner at a perfume shop. Just curious to learn what a "Nail bar" consists of.

A Day Without Email Is A Nice Day

For those of you who still have some issues dealing with email writing, Marketing guru Seth Godin has recently published a funny piece of advice :a 36-points check-list aimed at helping us think twice before hitting the "send" button. If you're used to put your whole company into the "To:" field or bcc your colleague on the message you send to your boss, then you better learn and apply this list ;-).

[The Changing The World Edition] Muslima.com

Looking for some info to get the most out of FriendFeed, I found this post by Digital Inspiration.
Although a pretty interesting article with lots of useful tips, an ad banner catch my eyes : " Muslima.com, the International Muslim Matrimonial Site." That was kind of a surprise to me, since I always thought Islam religion would forbid such of dating services.
Says the About page :

" Muslima.com is a specialist Muslim dating and matchmaking website that assists Muslim ladies to find their perfect match anywhere in the world. We offer friendly service combined with sophisticated search and messaging facilities that will make your search for true love fun and enjoyable. "

The website is available in 4 languages : English, Dutch, French, and German. No Arabic, at least on the .com domain. Does that mean that the target audience is not the one claimed above ?...
Anyway, dear Muslim readers, shall you be looking for a friend or a husband/wife, you can go here.

[Web Too] IM-Translate

French startup IM-Translate is born, offering the first online instant translation of instant messages:

Immediate translation of instant messages. You do nothing differently — IM-Translate™ integrates seamlessly into your existing IM application — just type as usual. Forget copy, pasting or jumping back and forth to a web-based translator. Your buddy receives your message plus a translation — instantly. You see the translation of the text you typed. You also receive your buddy’s messages in both languages. Free! — Downloads in seconds with broadband.

First IM app targeted : Windows Live Messenger, aka MSN.
As I told my friend Georges, CTO of IM-T, they should release a Mac version as quickly as possible, since Mac users are more suited for beta testing campaigns : we love giving feedback, for the developers to enhance their products.
Also in the pipe : the app for Google.

Interesting : IM-T is formed by... US citizens and registered in... France, for some legal and market issues.
IM-T is a typical Web 2.0 start-up : of the six co-founders and team members, nobody knows more than two others face-to-face. They never met altogether so far ! Their collaborative tools : Google, Skype, and email.
One of the founders is my old buddy Georges Pantanelli. A french High-Tech industry veteran, who relocated to the US in the 90's. Georges got his american passport two years ago, in San Francisco. The lesson : in California, everything is possible for those who have the entrepreneurial spirit.

IM-Translate site and download here.

The Blackberry Tale Of The Day

In the aircraft bringing me back home last friday, I was sitting next to a Finance guy. You know, the kind of big-head/stripped-suit/heavy-smoker/VIP trader.

To give you an idea, the guy was still on the phone whilst we were ready for take off, discussing about a client of his willing to leverage on the fiscal package that Sarkozy offered to the richest French citizens on Day One of his Presidency.

Why post on that poor little anecdote ? This : during the flight, I've watched Al Gore' speech at the recent TED conference, on my iPhone. When the guy saw me, he took his Blackberry out of a pocket, and started to... play some kid's brick game.

Definitely, we are not on the same planet ;-)

Belgium Goes Web 3.0

This is true User-Interaction. Just amazing. And so funny ;-) Enjoy !

April Fool's Day For A Goofy Man

To my friend Handy.

Direct link to AlternativeEnergy' Comedy here.

My "About Me" Page Sucks

Luckily enough, more and more people go to the "About Me" section of this blog. Unfortunately, the more I read it myself, the more I think it's not appealing enough. Too much of a light resume.
The fact is, the people who go to the "About Me" page of a blog want to know who's the author, his background for sure, but mainly his current activities, hobbies, passion, or whatever make him write this blog.
Nothing people get when reading my own stuff. At least not in a proper "elevator-pitch" manner...
That's why I'm to rewrite this section sometime over the week-end. Easter is supposed to be a new start, isn't it ?

Just This. No Comment.

To end Human Rights abuses in Tibet, go to RaceForTibet.org here.

A Quick Note On eXperide' s Presentation

See those two folks on this slide ? On the left hand photo, this is Jim Hayes himself, during a training at his fantastic FOA Fiber Optic Association. On the right one, this is my fellow Musketeer colleague Dieter Gustedt, formerly OTDR Product Line Manager with the Optical Network Test Division at Agilent Technologies.

Just This [06-08] For A Smile

Sunset over the Pyrénées, shot with my iPhone from the boulevard right next to the office in Pau.

It's About Small Teams Within Large Companies Making Big Impact

[updated 10:06PM]
Reading Robert Scoble' s latest post, on how small teams can make a big difference within large companies, I thought about... the Agilent Mini-OTDR. This little box, which is not as sexy as the iPhone of course, was the GameBoy of his kind at its release back in 1996.

To make it short, this product was a breakthrough-paradigm shifting optical tester, inventing a brand new category - the so-called handhelds - for a brand new type of end-users : the fiber optics installers. Almost 12 years after its release, the Agilent Mini-OTDR is still the reference, as the two main competitors JDSU and EXFO (ever heard of those names ? ;-) even do copy & paste - including the naming system.
What's the link with Scoble' s post ? Small teams. The Mini-OTDR has been defined, designed, and engineered by a 6-people team, within the HP Optical Communications Division group (aka Agilent Photonic Test Division or something like that as of today). Take Scoble' s text, replace "Microsoft" by "HP", "Yahoo" by "EXFO" and you get the same picture.

Who said "Less Is More" ?...

post-scriptum : the hands carrying the Mini belong to my dear buddy Dieter *John* Gustedt, the guy who made the Agilent Modular Network Tester real.

Europe Is On Its Way

Look at the blue flag at the bottom of this FiberGeneration' stats snapshot. The missing detailed location says it all.

Dear FTTx Contractors, Say Hello To Customer-Facing Coaching

When you think about it, Fiber-To-The-Home is the ultimate experience for outside plant technicians. For the first time ever, those folks are working right in front of the end-user.
That implies a lot of new behavior for the OSP people, as they are kind of the front-desk of the service provider. To make it short : the guy who's installing the fiber at the subscriber' s place is also the ISP' s sales rep.
Hence the need for coaching the OSP technicians to customer-facing situations. Be the best sales rep. That's quite an interesting challenge, for both the trainers and the installers themselves. Have a look at this video, and you'll understand why.

It's About Finding A Job In Downturn Times

Robert Scoble has posted a very long article on how to find a job during recession. Worth reading, provided the current situation in the Global Economy.

Here are a couple of my favorites, based on my own experience back in 2003 when I had to leave Agilent Technologies - should TypePad and YouTube have exist at this time (I think TypePad was in its early stage online by then), I would have jumped on them to do exactly what Scoble suggests. Hey, I've got the job with the city of Pau thanks to the Blogosphere, and I've discovered the wonderful world of WebTV last year thanks to Usenet. Lesson : listen to what Scoble says.

Here we go, with my own comments/feedback.

6. Do a video everyday on YouTube that demonstrates something you know. Loic does a video everyday. If you’re laid off you have absolutely no excuses. Get a cheap Web cam and get over to YouTube or Seesmic.

Do it. It'll pay back quickly. That's the true aim of the so-called Web 2.0 : help people make connections faster.

10. Go to any job networking session you learn about. All of them were valuable to me, even though they didn’t necessarily bring me a job. Part of it is just feeling like you’re doing everything you can to get back on your feet. It’s an attitude thing. If you have an attitude that you’re going to work at this that will come across and will bring opportunities to you.

I'll never forget the workshop sessions at the outplacement consulting firm I've been to thanks to my severance package at Agilent. Outstanding outcomes. For instance : at the very first workshop I've attended, I was with C-level people, from many different areas; industry, computing, bank, consulting, even politics (the chief of staff of a very popular yet powerful mayor of a city nearby Paris). It helped me realize two things : a) I was definitely not the only forced to look for a new job, b) I am a C-level guy (well, of the free-electron type ;-)

16. Go to every business event you can attend. Can’t afford to get in? Me neither and I have a job! Hang out in the hallways. You never know who you might meet. At minimum you’ll get interesting interviews for your blog. Have your resumes ready.

My worst regret, when I look back at the 2003-2005 period. I didn't take enough time to attend those business events. I learned the hard way how proactive networking is mandatory (just because, before being laid off by Agilent, I never ever had to look for a new job : I always had the chance to meet the right persons at the right time).

Full post here.

Scoble And I.

So, World' s famous blogger Robert Scoble is born on January 18 too. Until today, my references were Montesquieu, Cary Grant, or Kevin Costner. Now I have to add Mr. Scoblezeir. That's the Web 2.0 Age, Folks ;-)

Thumb Up, 37Signals !

Web services firm 37Signals faced a severe network outage earlier today, which lead to a 2-hours long interruption of service. Read here the explanations and apologies of the company to its end-users. This is customer care per the book. Such of quick reaction is the sign of a truly customer-focused enterprise. Thumb up, 37Signals !

Welcome To The New French President Era

Want to know why my home-country is going mad those days ? Read this true story on our "new" President, who just made it on TechCrunch, by the way. Jaw-dropping. When the journalists at your top-5 medias are unable to double-check an information, you're in big trouble.

post-scriptum : Congrats anyway, Mister President ! ;-)

This Is What WebTV Is All About

The CES big circus has just started. If you can't make it to Las Vegas, you can still attend the show and get the whole flavor of it... on the Web.
See here, here, and here. Lesson : WebTV is the future. And the present, too, should you have a broadband access.

Ed. note : for a full coverage of CES'08, Robert Scoble has the list.

Post-Scriptum : I wonder if the folks at the Optical Society Of America are going to offer the live coverage of the forthcoming OFC-NFOEC exhibition in San Diego next month.

Never Lost In Translation

When I go to San Fran, I love having a lunch break at the Cafe Zoetrope of Mr. Francis Ford Coppola. Of course, "The Godfather" is one of my favorite movies, as Sofia Coppola' s "Lost in Translation". Nicolas Cage ? Simply the best.
What about the Coppola family then ? Well, this : my wife and I have got a Season' s greetings card from one of its members. I tell you : reading a letter signed "[ ] Coppola" is just a pure wonder.
And it's another proof that human relationships is the most important matter those days.

2007 : The Year Of Learning People

Before kicking-off the new year with a traditional round of Top-Ten stuff, I'd like to wrap up 2007 with the mandatory yet often forgotten WWW session. Every business developer, marketeer, and sales man must do the WWW after each and every meeting with her customers, prospects, or teammates. Hence a blogger, who should do the same with his readership.

What does 'WWW' mean ? If you think " World Wide Web ", think again. It stands for : " what went Wrong, what went Well, what we Will do better next time." I've learned about the WWW session for the first time back in early 2000, with my Forever-Coach Hal Stitt at Agilent Technologies. Seven years (not in Tibet) after, I can testify how the WWW session is the most powerful tool to get you improve your product, your behavior, your business.

The WWW rules are simple : the meeting facilitator captures every input from each participant, including herself, in each of the three categories, on a round-robin basis (important : names are not recorded). I tell you : the first time you do a WWW session with a channel partner or a customer, the guy looks at you as if you were an Alien coming straight from Planet Mars, but he quickly realizes how important he's for you. That's how you'll prove you listen to your customers. Same with your teammates and colleagues. Conclusion : the WWW session helps you demonstrate that you care of the people.

That's why I'll do the first WWW stuff here on Fibergeneration. As I'm also the 'facilitator', I'll kindly ask you Dear Readers to fill in your own feedback about the blog. Feel free to drop me a line or two or even more in Comments.

The "Fibergeneration 2007 WWW (online) session"
----------------
What Went Wrong :
- couldn't stick with the Fibergeneration' s marcom plan, as previously defined at the end of 2006 (e.g. the 10 "Top-Ten").
- too many unpublished posts (ed. note : I will do a "Top-Ten" on it ;-).
- not so many in-depth articles (ed. note : sometimes, I wonder if I shouldn't start a fake blog so I can publish all the confidential stuff I learn thru my jobs ;-).
- didn't get paid of my job at Kazados.tv, although this post is a hit in the search engines.
- couldn't deliver articles for a new Dubai-based online news magazine so far.
- achieved less than 1,000-km cycling in 2007.

----------------
What Went Well :
- got unexpected messages from unexpected people (see here for instance).
- learned the WebTV business. At the age of 47 (soon, unfortunately ;-), I might be one of the few guys in France able to set-up and launch a television channel on the Web those days.
- Fibergeneration well positionned in the Search engines. With surprising results sometimes. See here as an example.
- Fibergeneration spotted by an amazing Amazon probe.
- Fibergeneration in the Blogosphere at large. See the comments (and the related posts) here and here for instance.
- made a lot of contacts through blogging. Amazing encounters, thanks to the powers of the Web 2.0.

- in a more broader/general point of view, 2007 has been the year of learnings to me. The most important one : People. Learning new people, read and hear people's learnings, learn how to share with other people, etc. Learnings and People, those two words are my own keywords to summarize 2007. (ed. note : as a WWW' record shouldn't include personal in-depth comments, you may jump to the note at the end of this post to... learn more about my learnings).

- Friendship, not the Facebook style. The true meaning of Friendship. See the note below as well.

----------------
What We (I) Will Do Better Next Time (This Year) :
- Stick to the plan.
- Deliver on time.
- Share. Share, share, share. Experiences, customers feedback, business stories, as much as official contracts and NDAs allow me to go.
- Emphasize on the people' side of things.

Note : Personal Acknowledgements :
All along the year 2007, I have had the chance to meet, either online or face-to-face, a tremendous bunch of extraordinary people. From good old friends who suddenly came back into my life to my new boss who hired me thru a discussion on Skype, it has been quite an amazing journey...

Here's the list of people I'd like to thank before the whole Blogosphere, because they're worth being recognized :

To Armelle, thank you for the fast-track training on the WebTV business.

To Olivier Hamon, thank you for your entrepreneur's spirit.

To Laurent F. and Philippe C., thank you for helping me rediscovering the true meaning of The Force.

To André Relandeau, aka "Dédé" with the whole Optical Communications industry in France, thank you for your kind-always accurate advices. You deserve a better career' s ending, Buddy.

To Andrew Luzgin of Belarus, thank you for trusting me.

To Richard Stephen, thank you for believing me since all those years.

To Jean-Michel Planche, thank you for helping me feel younger than ever despite my 25-years long career in the Telecoms business.

To Benoit Felten, thank you for being one of your favorite blogs' s authors.

To Jean-Michel Billaut, thank you for making me meet both my new boss and my new teammate.

To Jean-Pierre Jambes, thank you for being my new boss.

To Jean Hughes Lauret, thank you for being my new teammate.

To Georges Pantanelli, thank you for thinking at the speed of light. Also, thank you for showing me the way to the Bay Area. And thank you for proving that there is no age limit for the true entrepreneurs.

To Bruce Bonini and Jim Gelose, thank you for supporting the idea that we old T&M Fellows can reinvent the Test & Measurement industry.

To Robert Jahn, thank you for taking care.

To Hal Stitt, thank you for always being there when I call you.

To Peter Schweiger, thank you for being everywhere.

To Gülper, thank you for being there still, somewhere.

To Handy Phelper, thank you for cycling and skiing. 2008 will be The Goofy Year.

To François Piccin, thank you for all.

To Bernard Millorit, Charles Raduszinski, Christian "Cricri" Bernard, and Didier Boucher, merci d'être là, aussi, et surtout, toujours.

To all of you, I'd like to say 'thank you'. I hope to see you (again) soon, somewhere sometime in 2008.

Photo credit : Cafe-Ole.

Endless Shameless Proudless Bastards

The cupidity and the stupidity of some so-called human beings will never stop amaze me. Read this one. Who the heck said "Change The World" ?...

Ma Gray Has You By The Calls *

The old story about Alexander Graham Bell stealing ideas for the telephone from someone else resurfaces, with a new book due to be on the shelves on Jan. 7.
Quote Yahoo! : In "The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret," journalist Seth Shulman argues that Bell — aided by aggressive lawyers and a corrupt patent examiner — got an improper peek at patent documents Elisha Gray had filed, and that Bell was erroneously credited with filing first.

If you are interested in learning more on this long-lasting dispute " Who Really Invented the Telephone? ", the Telephone Tribute report here has the answer(s).
More on Shulman's perspective in the article here.

* original quote found on Wikipedia.

Post-scriptum : this story makes me think about my own idea. What if, in 100 years from now, somebody else than me will be credited for the reinvention of the Test & Measurement industry ? Well, I have the answer (al)ready : no one cares about T&M ;-)

Photo credit : Per Hardestam. Photo available on Stock.xchng here, royalty-free as usual.

Season' s Greetings, Take One

Dear FiberGeneration Readers :
To all of you who do celebrate Christmas, I wish you and your loved ones a happy holiday.
To everyone else *, enjoy the day and the night.
To all : enjoy the time with your loved ones.
Peace Out, and Carpe Diem.

* especially to You, Dear (Un)known Reader from Ankara, Turkey.

Change The World

Over the last few days, I've been dealing with people who should learn the true meaning of "teamworking". For those guys, "sharing" and "collaboration" are obscur concepts promoted by some psychologists. Don't talk about the Web 2.0, whilst they even don't use email to communicate with their so-called team mates.

In the meantime, I also discussed with those team mates. I realized one thing : give people a smile, and they'll give you the World. It works both ways : when I play the Pierre Cardin salesman at this menswear store, I always welcome the visitors (not yet customers, see the difference ;-) with a large smile and big "hello, how are you today ?" kind of greeting. Outcome : 80% of those visitors become customers, most of them loyal. When I go shopping myself, the same large smile on my face will bring me a better service 80% of the time.

Conclusion : smile, and you'll make the World a better place.

Leveraging On A Waste Of Time

Formula One champion Fernando Alonso just signed up a 2-years contract with the french team Renault Sports, which he left at the end of 2006 to join the Brits of McLaren.

The 2007 season was kind of a disaster for Alonso, who couldn't become F1 World Champion for the third time in a row because of some conflict with his own teammate, the young Lewis Hamilton.
The question is : did Alonso lost a year at McLaren ? Did Renault lost a year too, not being in the top-3 teams this year ? Answer is : not at all. Fernando Alonso has had the unique chance to learn a lot about another team, another philosophy, another strategy. Renault Sports has had the opportunity to test different technical solutions to overcome its interim misfortune. Combining both experiences will bring both of them to the next level.

What's the point ? This : change the names for whoever you want in your own business, and you'll understand why sometimes companies let their best people go to the competition for a while and then bring them back home.

Another Bubble In The Burst

Think the Facebook hype is too much (I do) ? Pump up the volume, get up, and watch this hilarious video. You'll get the real picture.

Visit The Richter Scales here.
YouTube video here.

This Is Not My High-Speed Internet

French ISPs do face some road bumps with their FTTP roll-out plans. It seems that customers are not that much interested going the extra mile on fiber just for HDTV and VOD.
When you see this, you understand why such of reluctance.

Google Is My New Friend

Some folk in Turkey recently searched Google for the famous book "iCon Steve Jobs : The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business''

I have no clue how (well, not true : I love playing with hidden keywords for SEO ;-), FiberGeneration appeared on the first page, fourth result. See here by yourself. Amazing, huh ? Çok tesekkur ederim, Buddy.

Just This (29.07)

That's me in the corner, after a 5-days long Agilent Musketeers workshop in Keystone, Colorado, back in July 2000.

Doesn't look like, but I promiss : this workshop has had tremendous outcomes for me and the team two years later.

Warm thanks (and much more) to my very friend (and much more ;-) Handy of Boulder, CO.

See this post's geographical context.

geo:tool=blockrocker.com geotagged geo:lat=40.2782161 geo:lon=-106.8516541

Thanks(for)Giving Us So Much Fun

Once again, His Highness FSJ goes straight to the point. Peace out. And enjoy the ride.

Bicycle Bang Gang (no typo here ;-)

Madame Christine Lagarde, French Minister for the Economy, Finance, and Employment (that's a title as big as the Ministry itself...) recently asked the French citizen to use bicycles instead of cars, in order to not spend their money on gasoline (and diesel).

Nice try, but she better had read this survey from Virgin Vacations before going with such a stupid statement. The survey is about : The eleven most bicycle friendly cities in the World.

Here's the list :

1. Amsterdam, Netherlands

2. Portland, Oregon

3. Copenhagen, Denmark

4. Boulder, Colorado

5. Davis, California

6. Sandnes, Norway

7. Tronheim, Norway

8. San Francisco, California

9. Berlin, Germany

10. Barcelona, Spain

11. Basel, Switzerland

That's seven cities in Northern/Central/Eastern Europe and four in the US. Paris, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, France ? Nowhere to see. I've been in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Boulder, San Francisco, Barcelona, Basel : I'd love to ride my bicycle there. I live nearby Paris : I would never ever jump on a Velib. Life is way too much important to me.

Full survey and more here.

Bicycle Friendly Community here.

Photo credit : George Bosela

Thoughts For Thought

Last night on Franco-German TV channel Arte, I saw a young kid riding an old refurbished bicycle made by his father. Of course, it was about Poverty, the real plague of Western European countries (not speaking fo the rest of the World, of course). To the question "what if you got 3 wishes to tell to a Genie ?", the little boy answered this :

"Wish number one : a brand new bicycle. Wish number two : a PlayStation. Wish number three : a 1000 more wishes."

Since then, I keep thinking about this last wish...

Always Look Ahead, Buddy !

It's About Accountability

Christopher Harris, President of Inventure Global, an IT consulting firm based in San Diego, CA, tells the World about his own worst day in business. In brief : Inventure Global was supposed to provide a new startup with the alpha version  of their website, but missed the deadline, hence endangering the startup' successful launch. Here's the lesson :

“Some of our most avid customers here were customers that we totally screwed at some point.  We went to them and told them we knew that we screwed up, told them we were going to fix it, and told them that whatever it cost them we’d make it right as best we could.  We did that, and now they respect us more for it.  That’s the way you earn trust is by how you handle yourself when the situation goes against you.”

I've personnaly encountered such a disastrous situation more than once along my 15+ years-long career as an entrepreneur and business developer. Most often, it occured when someone in the team screwed up the whole thing because she simply didn't feel accountable. It was always a "not my fault", "not my business", or "not my whatever"... Hence the mandatory Musketeers' Spirit : "One for All, All for One", which should be the only motto of any team of any sort. Because it makes the people accountable and responsible for every single decision that they take under the team's umbrella (and by extension, the company itself)...

I screwed up a project myself. Back in '83, when I left a fiber optics cable installation work to go home - because my girlfriend was expecting me to be back before night. I did it once. That has been one of the best lessons I've ever got from real life : don't act for yourself, act for the team, no matter the consequences at home. Because at the end of the day, that's your customer who's paying you. Not your girlfriend (otherwise, you're a lucky guy ;-).

See Christopher's article on GoBig Network here . Inventure Global blog here.

Fiber To The Home ? What For ?

Ever w