Management Is Not a Verb

by Chris Goodrich on March 28, 2009

I spent some spare time reading Seth Godin’s newest book Tribes.  After some thought and reflection on the topicwp_96s of management and leadership it has become apparent that the typical understanding and teaching (or maybe just my own understanding) of management is flawed.

In business school, management is taught as an activity comprised of five functions;  planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling.

What most employees (and even managers) often fail to understand is that management is not something you do, it is a process.  The word management is a noun, not a verb.  Management is the process of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling an organization.  To manage is to be responsible for one or more functions of the process of management.

As a manager; you don’t manage a task list, you plan a project; you don’t manage a hierarchy, you organize a chain of command; you don’t manage labor, you staff according to demand; you don’t manage people, you lead them; you don’t manage a process, you control it,

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California Needs To Go Bankrupt

by Chris Goodrich on February 19, 2009

After 106 days at an impass, the California State Legislature passed a “budget.”  I put the word budget in quotes because it is isn’t a solution, it’s a patch.  We are still in the same exact situation we were years ago when we recalled Gray Davis from office - a huge deficit.  The only difference between now and when Gray Davis was in office is instead of a $23.6 billion deficit, we now have a $42 billion deficit.

Today the media reported the new “budget” which includes a hefty amount of tax increases.  I am not against paying taxes so long as the tax money is being spent wisely and I am not so sure that is happening here in California.  The second part of the “budget” calls for spending cuts - namely $8.6 billion in cuts for education.  Lastly the “budget” calls for a hefty amount of borrowing.

This “budget” sounds like a fairly good compromise to get enough bipartisan support to pass, however, I take issue with such sweeping changes during such a harsh economic downturn.  The downturn that has gotten us into this predicament is only going to be worsened by an increase in taxes.  Aren’t we putting the nail in the coffin here?

I think it is time for California to go bankrupt.  Scratch it all and start over.  At least under Chapter 9 Bankruptcy protection, the state would still operate and the federal government could come in and clean up the mess we have in Sacramento.  Without some major changes in the way we do things here in California, we will see this happen every single year until we are bankrupt.

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Are Social Networks Compromising Internet Security?

by Chris Goodrich on February 4, 2009

image2A few months back there was quite a bit of news about Sarah Palin’s email being hacked.  According to news sources, the hacker was able to answer the security questions using the internet to find the answers.   It’s not surprising given the amount of information that is posted on the internet about key political figures such as Sarah Palin.  Today, I ran across a tweet that read “um, whoever tried to reset my twitter password… you’re a big dork.”

Many newer web-services use an email address for password recovery, but some services still rely on the old security question and answer method of password recovery.  Sharing and finding information is so easy these days that it seems that the old security question method should be phased out entirely.

The problem with the security question method of password recovery is that they rely on factual non-secretive questions like “What was your mothers maiden name?” or “What street did you grow up on?” or even better yet “What was the name of your childhood pet?”  These are factual pieces of information that are not usually secrets.  Over the course of a few thousand tweets or facebook wall posts one could very easily answer this question in natural conversation and thus compromising the security of their online accounts.

More shockingly, this problem is even more relevant when it comes to banks, credit cards, cell phone companies, etc.  Most companies have a set of security questions that they ask to verify your identity when you call regarding your account.  Generally this will stop identity theft if somehow your account number was comprimised, however, if the answers to these questions can be easily found in your tweets or flickr streams the entire method of identity verification is useless.

Some might argue that the easy fix to this problem is to either not use social networks, or to block all access to all of your information.  For some people this just isn’t a viable solution as the purpose of social networks is to interact and network with people outside your normal social circle.

Here are some tips to help keep your identity secure while using social networks:

  • Know the security questions that all of your accounts use
  • Be aware of what you are posting to social networks
  • Choose the security question that you are least likely to answer in normal conversation
  • Choose the security question that you have to think hard to remember the answer

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Washington Needs to Understand Marketing

by Chris Goodrich on January 28, 2009

For more than 10 years the FCC has been attempting to inform consumers about the Digital Television Transition.  The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was passed stating that traditional analog broadcasting would end by the end of 2006, giving 10 years for the industry to adapt to the new technology.  In February of 2006 the DTV Transition Act of 2005 was passed to delay the final transition date to February 17, 2009.

For quite a while consumer awareness about the transition was extremely low, but within the past six months broadcasters have utilized unsold ad inventory to inform television viewers that the transition is coming.  Consumer awareness for the transition is much higher and there has been strong marketing placed around the transition.  Companies like DirectTV et al. have spent research and development and marketing funds to help customers (and potential future customers) understand the transition.

In comes President Obama and other congressional leaders who believe that the date should be pushed back even further.  It is impossible to inform consumers of such an important transition when the date of the switchover is everchanging.  Washington has failed to understand that in order to market the DTV Transition, they must have a unified and clear message of what the transition means to consumers.  Consumers don’t understand what the DTV Transition is about, they only understand that they need a “convertor” to watch TV after February 17, 2009.

Have you ever heard or seen an advertisement for a sale at a store, and when you get to the store nothing indicates there is any type of sale?  It happens all the time.  To maximize the effectiveness of any marketing endeavor, you must ensure you are consistent with your message.   Lack of consistency creates confusion.

But then again, did we expect anything less from government?

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Why a 0% Fed Funds Rate Won’t Help

by Chris Goodrich on January 26, 2009

It has typically been the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to inspire borrowing and thus grow the economy, but what happens when it doesn’t work?  We change the target of course!

In a typical economic downturn, lowering interest rates can help relieve some pressure and create the growth that the economy needs, but the United States is now in uncharted territories; 0% Fed Funds rate.  Will it work?  We will see, but it’s not very likely.

Japan experimented with 0% interest rates from 1999 to 2006.  It took 7 years to recover from that downturn.

The problem with a 0% interest rate is that there is no incentive for the bank to loan out money.  Of course, everyone wants to borrow at 0% interest, but nobody wants to loan at 0% interest.  Of course, the Fed Funds rate will never truly hit 0%, but it will inch closer and closer to 0% where there will be fewer and fewer loans made.

It’s a necessary move, but it’s not likely to make the difference we need to bring us out of this recession.

I am convinced that we need a turnaround in the fundamental belief in the strength of our economy, a renewed spirit of consumerism dictating that we spend and earn wisely and without greed.

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Open Response to Cory Miller the Well Driller

by Chris Goodrich on January 26, 2009

This letter is a response to the open letter written by Cory Miller to Barack Obama.

Dear Cory Miller:

I take major exception to your recent open letter to Senator Barack Obama.  You see, your simplistic description of the middle class is demeaning and elitist.

In your letter you state “…to those who have never toiled, sweated, fretted, fought, stressed, or risked anything.”  I am offended that you would even begin to suggest that I, as an avid Obama supporter, have never “toiled, sweated, fretted, fought, stressed, or risked anything.”

I, too, am an average American.  I grew up in a very middle class family where my parents struggled financially, but were always able to provide me with a good life with no government assistance.  I am now 21 years old and graduated from an underperforming high school, managed to work hard and gain acceptance to a respectable private university in Southern California.  I now am a senior here at Chapman University, which I was able to attend because of my financial aid.  Yes, I do receive government assistance to attend this university, however that does not mean that I didn’t work hard to get here nor did I ever expect to receive assistance.  I have spent the past 21 years of my life studying and working hard to get where I am today.  On top of being a full-time student I have worked full-time since my Junior year in high school as well as owning my own business.  I will graduate from Chapman University with over $20,000 in student loans and my parents have taken out a $6,000 loan, all of which I will work hard to pay off over the next decade.

I am apalled that you would assume that because my family is “middle class” that we haven’t tried hard enough.  I, nor anybody in my family, has ever expected anything from our government, all the while working just as hard paycheck to paycheck just to get by with little opportunity or time to move up.

What we do expect and are entitled to, however, is for our government to favor the people’s interest over the interest of big oil companies and to treat everybody fairly.  I am happy to pay my taxes, whatever they are, so long as the government is working on behalf of everybody’s best interest.  What entitles you to a tax break as a wealthy American?  You seem to feel a sense of entitlement to that Bush tax cut that John McCain promises to extend.  Why should’t I get a tax cut?

I truly commend your success and honorable business practices, but that is not evidence that proves why you should receive a tax-cut over anybody else.  The Obama plans are not to punish any single class, but rather to restore fairness to the tax code.  Everybody should have the opportunities that you have had to start your business, and unfortunately the Bush policies of the past 8 years have made it nearly impossible for Entrepreneurs to have the same opportunities that you had to get bank loans for your business.  Again, we don’t expect or feel entitled to anything but opportunity and fairness.

I am disgusted that anybody would believe that people in the “middle class” don’t work as hard or are lazy or haven’t tried hard enough to get where we are.  We don’t expect government handouts, we expect our government to work in the best interest of ALL people, not just the wealthiest people.

Sincerely,

Chris Goodrich

Central Desktop Customer Network

by Chris Goodrich on January 26, 2009

Central Desktop Customer Network:

Central Desktop launched the industry’s first customer network allowing users to communicate and share their experiences using Central Desktop.

I have been working on this project since July, so it is nice to finally see the project finally launch with such an impact.

If you get the opportunity, take a look and see how the more than 200,000 Central Desktop users are using Central Desktop to improve productivity and get things done.

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Alan Greenspan didn’t create this crisis

by Chris Goodrich on January 26, 2009

Blaming Alan Greenspan for this current credit crunch is like trying to blame your parents for not teaching you not to kill somebody.

I don’t care how you spin it but Alan Greenspan, nor any other single person, is the cause for this crisis.  Remember briefly that the number 1 goal of the Federal Reserve system is to direct the monetary policy of the United States.  The goal is to stabilize the value of our currency by increasing or decreasing the United States money supply.

To assume that the Federal Reserve, or any of it’s past or present governors, is solely responsible for the ups and downs of our economy is preposterous.  The very thing that has caused this crisis is something that is very hard to control; greed.  In the free market capitalistic society that we live in, greed seems to be the foundation for most of our decisions.

This crisis was caused by our collective greed.  Greed from Wall Street investors looking for even greater returns, greed from homeowners thinking they could live a life better than they can afford, greed from credit card companies in seeking high interest rates on people who would never be able to repay.  We all have a part in causing this crisis.

In the 95 years of existence, the Federal Reserve has consistently changed it’s policies in how to best regulate the money supply.  The Federal Reserve has been around long enough to have seen many of these crises.  It is during a crisis that we find new and better ways to smooth out these ups and downs.  In all of this finger pointing of who caused this crisis, I have yet to hear anyone propose a solution that would guarantee this from happening again.  And until that solution comes along, the Federal Reserve is the system we have that has gotten us through the past 95 years of downturns.

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Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Unboxing and First Impressions

by Chris Goodrich on January 26, 2009

If you follow me on Twitter you will know that I have been not so patiently awaiting the arrival of my Dell Inspiron Mini 9.  I placed my order on September 16 hoping for a ship date of September 30, however I was quickly disappointed when I received my order confirmation with an October 7 ship date.

One of two things happened this week:  either the computer God’s were watching over me, or I am forever convinced that the customer-service-by-twitter model works as I have voiced my frustrations quite vocally on Twitter.  Either way, I thank whoever was watching over me and my sanity by shipping me my Dell Inspiron Mini 9 two full weeks early.  I had paid for overnight shipping when I placed my order, so I was quite happy to see the little box waiting for me when I got home from work today.

Without further digression, here are some shots I took while unboxing this little tiger.

I’m surprised I was patient enough to take the pictures.

This little laptop is actually smaller than I had expected.  It isn’t a bad thing, in fact it actually is quite remarkable that this tiny thing can do everything that it does.

I actually really like what Dell has done with the charger for this thing.  It is quite a wall-wart of a charger, however it lacks the brick in the middle of the cable that is quite common among laptop chargers.

The biggest problem I had before ordering this thing was that I had a hard time visualizing the size.  There are plenty of pictures around on the internet, but I still couldn’t get a good enough grasp to visualize how little this thing would be.

The boot-up process started to worry me a little bit, as it took longer than I had expected.  The first boot takes you through the required windows setup screens where you select the computer name, time zone, etc. and the first few screens advanced quite slowly.  After finally getting through the setup process, I was presented with the obligatory Dell setup.

I was quite annoyed at the factory setup.  It seemed like it took the machine 5 minutes to actually load up all of the applications that were isntalled by default.  Before I took this screenshot I changed the visual settings for best performance to remove the standard Windows XP resource hogging visuals.  I wanted this computer for utility, not for aesthetics.

The computer booted with 13 items in the system tray, which I quickly used the MSCONFIG command and removed everything from startup.  I want to be able to control what runs and when, so nothing boots in my system tray.  I also took the liberty to remove some services as well.  I didn’t want to use Dell’s trial version of the anti-virus, so I removed all of it’s services from startup.

My initial fear over the limited resources of this machine were erased rather quickly.  After I performed the clean-up and setup the machine the way I wanted, everything has run smoothly.  Here is my desktop after I cleaned things up a bit.

No more useless processes using up vital resources.  A very basic desktop, but it provides me with the very basic functions that I need to use.

My initial areas of concern was the keyboard, mouse, and screen size  I wasn’t sure if it would be usable for the fast typing of notes and other things (read: facebook) that I normally do while sitting in class.  Here are my initial reactions to my concerns.  It will take at least a week of class-time use to know for sure if this tiny laptop can handle the rigorous strain of constant facebook use (er, I mean note taking).

Keyboard

My inital concerns over the keyboard was it’s size.  If the keyboard was too small to use as a normal keyboard, there is no way I would be able to use this regularly.  I was concerned that the keyboard was too small and would require a hunt and peck style of typing, which would drastically reduce my typing speed and accuracy.  Not to mention that I could type just as fast on my iPhone and therefore would have no use for the Dell Mini.

So far, my concerns have been completely unfounded.  My only major issue has been the movement of the question mark and apostrophe keys.  I constantly am pressing the enter key and then realizing that the apostrophe has been moved.  After a little bit of use, it’s pretty easy to get used to the compact keyboard.  It’s awkward at first just as the iPhone typing was, but I was typing my full speed within about 15 minutes of use (as long as I didn’t have to use an apostrophe).

Mouse

I had seen pictures of the track pad on this thing, but I wasn’t sure if it would be usable for me because it is quite a bit smaller than my Powerbook G4’s track pad.

The mouse is definitely better than I expected, however, still not what I am used to.  I have a USB mouse that I am using currently, and as soon as I find my bluetooth mouse I will be using that regularly.

Screen Size

I am used to using twin 22” monitors on my desktop and a 12” monitor on my Powerbook G4, so I wasn’t sure how I would adjust to the smaller screen size.

I am very impressed with the screen resolution.  The quality is good, and although things are much smaller than they are on my twin 22’s, it’s definitely a change that isn’t hard to get used to.

When I originally boot this little thing up, I had an issue with the default resolution being set to 800×600, which made the screen look terrible.  I quickly changed the resolution to the more appropriate 1024×600 and it now looks better than I expected.

My Setup

Since making the changes to remove the unnecessary Dell software, I have since installed Google Chrome, Firefox 3, and Pidgin.  I have run all 3 quite a bit to test them out and they all operate as expected.  Chrome works very nicely on the Dell Mini because of it’s simplified interface.  I haven’t had any major issues in my testing so far.

After bringing this thing home, I quickly realized the decreasing size of the mobile devices that I own.

From bottom to top:  17” Widescreen HP Laptop, 12” Powerbook G4, Dell Inspiron Mini 9, and of course the iPhone 3G.

The bottom laptop is on it’s last leg, and the Powerbook G4 has seen happier days, but I am attempting to preserve it’s life as long as possible because I love that thing.

Conclusion

I purchased the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 to replace my Powerbook G4 as my everyday “commuting” laptop - the one that goes with me everywhere.  So far, in my limited testing, the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 has exceeded my expectations.  I happy with how usable the keyboard is, and am satisfied with the resources that this thing has.  I upgraded the RAM to the 1GB option, because I wanted to maximize my resources.  I get very frustrated with lag, so I was more than willin to pay the nominal fee.

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Please don’t judge me for my preferences

by Chris Goodrich on January 26, 2009

All of these new Microsoft Ads are beginning to cause an epic internal struggle for me.

Most recently, Microsoft released an ad that proclaims by many different types of people that “I’m a PC.”  These ads are in direct response to Apple’s brilliant ads that proclaim “Hi, I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC…”

You may be asking yourself why this might be causing an internal struggle for me?  Well, like our Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, I don’t come from a single side of this segregation.  I am both a Mac and a PC.  Can this even be true?

Why must we constantly attempt to segregate our society and try to classify people by any type of characteristic?  Please don’t judge me for my platform preference, I am just as human as you are.  Can’t I just be Chris, Chris who is not defined by his platform preferences?

In the (slightly modified) words of Sen. Barack Obama during the 2004 Democratic National Convention:

Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us — the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of “anything goes.” Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America. There is not a Mac America and a PC America — there’s the United States of America.

And in the (slightly modified) words of our forefathers:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty the pursuit of their favorite platform.

Therefore I must vote YES on Prop 546841:  The constitutional ban on divisive operating system advertisements.

Let us be who we are; whether that be a Mac, a PC, or what about Linux?  Can you please not judge me for my platform preference.

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