Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Living in the Moment

Short blog this morning .... something a little different

I have had a life long love affair with the game of tennis, having played competitively and recreationally. After many years of practice I have finally begun to understand the game. Over the last 5 years my game has improved significantly, and even out of shape as I am now, I am playing better than I ever have at my competitive peak. The key learning is to live in the moment, and forget about outcomes. When I was younger, I focused so much on the score, worrying about what people would think if I won or lost. What I learned was that you cannot achieve an outcome if you don't love executing the moments and actions you need to get there.

I have learned to not worry about scores and outcomes. I focus on executing each shot, enjoying a well placed forehand, a good volley, a backhand slice. I can now reach a level of calmness, not having external thoughts and worries, when I play that allows me to perform to my potential which then achieves the outcomes I have so desired.

The learning also applies to the work world. Focusing on your day to day activities, learning to love those and doing the best you can in the moment, is the sure fire way to success. I have been working hard to bring lessons learned from recreation to my day to day business life. I'll keep you posted.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Appliance as a Business Solution

We've been working on developing applianced based business solutions.... (keyword business)

what is an appliance according to me (the first list is technology focused, if you're a business person read-on beyond this list...)

  1. Hardware
  2. Database Software
  3. ETL Software
  4. Reporting Software
  5. Advanced Statistical Analysis Software
  6. Systems Integration Assets (Data Models, ETL Code, Standard Reports, Automated Statistical Modeling)
  7. Business Process Workflow
  8. Financial Model
  9. Remote Operational Management

What does the business appliance do ... according to me

  1. It improves a specific business process (i.e. increase revenue or reduces cost) by using advanced analytics.
  2. the output of the appliance is integrated into a business process with defined user workflows that generate operational business activity
  3. The output of the appliance also generates a P&L and Balance Sheet actuals & forecast which resulted or will result from the operational business activity executed by using the appliance

What type of business processes are amenable to an appliance model ... according to me again

  1. Processes where a small set of decision metrics are obvious to act upon
  2. Processes that generate operational data

Some Examples

  1. fraud detection... output metric is a scored claim where the score value indicates whether or not the claim should be investigated. The result of claims investigation is less claims paid out. 10 to 15% of claims are typically fraudulent, eliminating 50% of fraud will more than double bottom-line results
  2. Price optimization for retail ... output is a recommended price on a product ... when executed price optimization can deliver up to 5% sales and margin increase which for a typical retailer will double bottom line profits...
  3. Forecasting for retail and manufacturing ... output is recommended inventory levels ... when executed for rertail will reduce stockouts and markdowns ... when executed for manufacturing will increase inventory turns or capital tied up in inventory... both can double bottom-line results.
  4. Customer Loyalty ... output is recommended marketing campaigns to specific customer sets ... when executed will increase frequency, transaction revenue, transaction gross margin, and customer lifetime which can add 5% to top line or gross margin which again would double a typical retailers bottom line results...
  5. A huge list of other business opportunities which achieve dramatic results

from a technology perspective what distinguishes a business appliance from software which could deliver the above 4 examples ... according to me

  1. The appliance is pre-built and avoids a 12-18 months systems integration project. Most large integration projects fail
  2. The appliance has business workflow which integrates output of the appliance into existing operational business process which ensures that output is acted upon.
  3. The appliance has financial model output which integrates into P&L and Balance Sheet tracking and forecasting to ensure the top-line and bottom-line results are achieved.
  4. The appliance is a black-box to customers ... it has a data interface to receive data and output windows (workflow, reporting and financial output) requiring no administration except a power and network cable.
  5. the appliance's day to day function is remotely administered to ensure data is loaded properly, data is backed up, statistic models are tuned, financial results are achieved...
  6. The appliance can be delivered as a hosted or SaaS model...
  7. The appliance can be virtualized...
  8. The appliance can be deployed in 20-30 days from order
  9. The client will achieve business results in 21-31 days from order

Why would a company consider an appliance .... according to me

  1. Avoids risky system integration projects
  2. Delivers results quickly
  3. Is business focused with clear integration point to business process and shareholder/public financial reporting
  4. The appliance deliverable is a business result ... not a technology system ...the appliance is a means to an end.
  5. Corporate Information Technology departments are not good at delivering strategic results... The appliance requires minimal IT involvement
  6. Corporate IT departments can learn to "appliance-ize" solutions
  7. Technology vendors (hardware and software) do not deliver on the sales proposition... the appliance does.

My company plans to roll-out many appliance solutions in the coming months ....

What do you think? Sound interesting? Feedback welcome ....