Big data. Huge results. 70yrs ago

Patrick Blackett used Operations Research to analyze raw data resulting in

- Reduced shots required to down a bomber - from 20000 to 4000

- Estimated time for aircraft to mount an attack after U-boat detected them - 15 seconds

- Optimized setting for depth charges - 25 feet

- Fewer serviceable airplanes and keep them airborne

- Increased convoy size from 24 to 45 - reduced sink rate 50% to 1.1%

- Moved armor to untouched areas of bombers which DID return

Not to be outdone - BestBuy changes Work@Home

http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/05/technology/best-buy-work-from-home/index.html

What's most interesting is that this is a cancellation of their pioneering Results Only Work Environment.

Under this model employees were paid for results (output) rather than specific work hours.

Unlike Yahoo's complete cancellation of work from home, some Best Buy employees may still be able to telecommute - but now they have to do it with manager approval.

It's all hands on deck at Best Buy to drive collaboration on how to improve the business.

Quantified team??? Marissa Mayer outsmarts the Yahoos!

Love it or hate it - Marissa Mayer used hard data to decide it was time to bring remote workers back to the farm.

It's hard to argue with data

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-marissa-mayer-figured-out-work-at-home-yahoos-were-slacking-off-2013-3

Good advice from (former) P&G CEO

Mistakes leaders make --
they "...don’t think they need a strategy, or their strategies are flawed. They think they have a hot product or hot service, and these don’t last forever."

As a manager --
"your colleagues and your team watch what you do; they don’t just listen to what you say."

Source Wall Street Journal:
http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2013/03/04/former-pg-ceo-what-companies-get-wrong

Big Bang theory - not just for astronomors

Big Bang

Kodak is having a rough ride. Founded in 1888 by George Eastman it's "Kodak moment" came in 1976 with a 90% monopoly. By the 1990s a slow response to digital cameras saw it's finances deteriorate.

TomTom is down over 66% in the 3yr since the first smartphone with a built-in GPS.

Business wants rapid change, but IT introduces change .. slowly... with disruptive upgrades. And creates incremental "value" with integrations and reporting.

Cloud solutions are changing that - NOW. Changes are deployed weekly even daily. Platforms used by millions. Faster innovation at dramatically lower costs.

Alternatives

Carry on: Slow upgrades. Committee evaluation of new solutions.High cost operations.

Outsource: Move non-core solutions out. Short term financial gain - long term benefits elusive.

Centralize and Standardize: Evaluate long term TCO. Run out of the box. Value accrued by maximizing utilization with good enough fit methodology.

SaaS: Select a specialist, evaluate based on experience and scale. Value in faster innovation.

Implications

Doing nothing is not an option. Competitors are evaluating lower cost solutions and startups are testing  disruptive business models.

Review options and form realistic alternatives that avoid an unexpected Big Bang.

Platforms. Start - but don't expect to finish soon

By Simon King

Platforms are BIG

Platforms are garnering a lot of attention these days.

New services in the cloud such as SocialGraph from Facebook, and Amazon's EC2 service platform are showing the potential value of such platforms. 

But it's not just as simple as steaming down the track to the platform, as other platform suitors have found to their cost.

Being first may land you last!

In an industry study by the Wall Street Journal, 14 of the 15 platform leaders they reviewed were NOT the first too market. Only SAP, in the integrated business software market has achieved that dominance from start to finish.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704007804574574211232106776.html

Entering the market later seemed to allow the followers to identify what really mattered at the First Mover's expense. The innovator spent all the money educating the market, but the Followers came in with faster, better solutions and took over control.

For a number of iterations, we have watched Apple time their product launches with more powerful devices, larger screens and new features - allowing them to take over the market initially owned by the BlackBerry.

Incremental and Continuous Innovation

Another key trend that the Journal observed, was that leaders  continued to develop their platforms - creating extensions which added value for their customers.

One of the most comprehensive demonstrations of such an approach was the way that DELL started with an initial concept of custom PCs. They innovated on cell manufacturing, creating a scalable way to for custom manufacturing. They expanded their channel through the web. Which generated more revenue.

The profit was re-invested in further refinements in vendor management and automation. They tried new models such as a stores, but backed away from them if the step wasn't a positive improvement.

For many years this step by step improvement in channel and then manufacturing allowed them to take control of the PC industry.

Do you have a platform strategy? How will you make sure that you're the ultimate winner?

Quantified self: Get ready for the future - NOW!

By Simon King

Remember the 'growth marks' you drew on the wall as a child?

Now you can do the same - but not just for height.


"You can't manage what you can't measure" - 
- Peter Drucker

Quantified Self is a movement in which people are tracking and quantify their lives.

They track data points such as

• Heart rate
• Steps taken today
• Amount of sleep
• Minutes spent web browsing

The idea is gaining traction.And there are many devices to track such aspects of your life, and applications to analyze the information.


"If you can measure it, someone will, and that somebody should be you."
- Chris Dancy

According to Chris Dancy we should be thinking about how our workplace is changing - and how we as employees remain relevant.

In this fascinating interview with Wired magazine, Dancy shares some of his techniques and insights.