Cubicle Death 2.0 - Journeys in Intrapreneurship & Product Management

2007-01-26T14:38:00.000-08:00

Windows Vista GA is Nigh
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The Windows Vista GA (General Availability) launch is in 3 days, 9 hours and 20 minutes.

I'll be celebrating the launch in NYC with a full roster of events.

Stay tuned...

2007-01-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

Apple iPhone = Buy Puts
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I know what you're thinking, but I have nothing against the company... it's just that I don't believe the hype. In fact, I never really believe any hype until I experience it myself - first hand. If the hype is warranted, then I embrace the hype and become the hype. If the hype is based on a company's track record or previous customer product experience, I say "prove it."

Sure it looks cool, but no one has experienced the iPhone, yet. I look at that juicy screen and wonder what it will look like after a few hours of my smudgy fingers all over it. How hard will it be to finger in text? Will the "ear/body heat sensor" work 100% of the time when I put the phone to my ear, or will it only work 98% of the time, leaving me with a horrible 2% experience that outweighs the 98%.

It's for these reasons that I see opportunity when a stock goes from $86 to $97 based on "hype." I buy puts.

Feb Expiration - 80 strike. I'm hoping there's a little more hype priced into this one. Leading macro indicators are also pointing to a market correction. Now would be a great time to smash the hype out of this stock, and get it more in line with its actual value.

2007-01-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

What Will 2007 Bring?
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My blog posts have become less frequent. This is partly by design and partly due to the advent of the working world. The advent of the New Year will bring more advents, to be sure, but before moving on to new things I'll take a moment to revisit the old.

2006 Key Milestones

Graduation - from the University of Michigan MBA program
Turning 30 - and saying goodbye to my roaring 20's and hello to being an "old person"
Starting a new job in the Windows group at Microsoft

2006 Predictions Assessment

Ouch. After looking at those top 9 predictions again, I think I won't comment on 8 of the 9. Instead let's look at #4, my 2006 stock predictions:

4. MSFT (26.15), YHOO (39.18), SID (21.40), CAT (57.77), MO (74.72), ALD (29.37), SFI (35.65) will outperform the S&P 500 index. (Respective prices on close of trading day 12/30/2005)

Results: MSFT (29.99), YHOO (25.45), SID (29.91), CAT (60.90), MO (85.20), ALD (32.58), SFI (47.81) - all prices are as of close on 12/25/2006.

10.7% Return. Pathetic. I beat the Nasdaq (9%) but failed to beat the S&P & Dow (15%, 16% respectively).

Take Yahoo out of the equation (which posted a -53.9% last year), and I beat all indexes with with a portfolio return of over 16.5%.

Wouldda, Couldda, Shouldda. Lesson learned.

This year I am going with a new look: TKG (81.10), IRBT (18.24), NHY (30.13), GRMN (54.95), EWO (36.20), IWS (146.36), RSP (47.36).

Put that in pot and let it simmer until 2008. See you then.

2006-11-30T10:30:00.000-08:00

Windows Vista Business Launch
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Windows Vista is now officially available to business customers (these are customers that have licensing agreements with Microsoft).

Are you...

This means the really exicting consumer launch is only two short months away (don't worry if you are planning on purchasing a computer for Christmas - you'll still get Windows Vista when it is released).

2006-11-08T23:18:00.000-08:00

Vista Goes RTM
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It's official... Windows Vista has gone RTM.

Now it's time to gear up for some frenetic Windows Vista Launch marketing.

2006-10-31T20:54:00.000-08:00

Why Windows Vista Is Worth It
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I hate things that are over-complicated. Simple is always good. Easy is always good. Clarity is always good. These are the very reasons that Windows Vista (the next release of Microsoft's operating system) will be so... well, good.

Before I give you my pitch, I should first give you full disclosure. Less than 2 months ago, I joined Microsoft as a Product Manager working on the Windows Vista launch team. Therefore, everything I tell you about Windows Vista will inevitably come with some biases, but take comfort in the fact that I won't recommend anything that I don't actually believe in myself. Furthermore, I promise to try to keep everything I write about regarding the new operating system, simple and easy to understand. There are plenty (too many?) detailed technical blogs and resources on the internet written by gurus and experts, neither of which I claim to be.

But I digress. So why is Windows Vista worth the upgrade? Simple - because it's easier to use. The core of the "useful ease" you will experience with Vista is in its search centricity. If you are familiar with and use Google Desktop or any other desktop search software, pretend like this capability has been enhanced 10x and put that at the core of everything you do on your PC. Okay, I know... too technical already. I'll try to simplify.

Here is "old Windows" (Windows XP Professional) running on my desktop:

Yes I still use the "classic" menu view setting because I never could stand the bright blue, red, and green candy color XP interface. If you are anything like me, two clicks are two too many. In XP I preferred to open programs (and anything else, for that matter) by using the "Run..." command in the Start menu (close up provided in image below).

This was a very convenient feature, especially for solitaire addicts - just type in "sol", press return, and up pops your favorite PC game. Still, this is not intuitive to the end user because these commands must be typed exactly as the file name appears in the Windows directory (which in this case is sol.exe). If you try to type in "Solitaire" - no dice, you will get an error.

This is where Windows Vista really wins big. Not just for solitaire, but for finding and/or opening anything on your computer (this feature is even better when combined with 2007 Office). In Windows Vista the "Run..." command has been replaced by the "Search" command in the start menu.

Close up...

Not to fear... it works the same... actually, it works much better than the Run command in XP. With Windows Vista I can type in "Sol" or the much more intuitive "Solitaire" into the Search box, and not only will I get a list of programs with that string in the file name, I will also get any files, e-mails, or even websites containing the same string of characters either in the file name or in the file itself. Even cooler, the results are narrowed and refined in real-time with each letter I type.

*pause for effect*

You will not fully appreciate this "feature" until you begin using the new operating system. I have been using Windows Vista Ultimate for the past 2 months now, and Search has fundamentally changed the way I use my PC. Everything is faster, everything is easier, and I am more productive. The best part is, I get to use it before we have even launched the product. This means that right now (albeit for a limited time) I have a competitive edge when it comes to personal productivity. And you know what, this is probably good since it just might give my new employer that extra push to get to general availability by January. ;)

2006-10-30T20:45:00.000-08:00

Value Of An MBA (Addendum)
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A recent study providing support for the "other component" of the value of an MBA debate...

Read the rest of the article here.

Note: to learn about the "other, other component" read my previous post.

2006-10-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

Ross Edges Up To #5
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Last spring, I took the Business Week 2006 MBA program rankings survey. After a long wait, the results are in.

BusinessWeek Ranks Ross # 5
10/12/2006 --
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—BusinessWeek has once again ranked the MBA program at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business among the top graduate business programs in the nation.

The Ross School comes in at No. 5 this year, joining Harvard, Wharton and Kellogg as the only four schools to crack the top eight all 10 times that BusinessWeek has conducted its biennial rankings since 1988.

"We strive to be the best at what we do,” said Ross School Dean Robert J. Dolan. “Recently, the Wall Street Journal survey, which reflects the view of hiring companies who see our graduates at work every day, ranked us number one. It's gratifying once again to be ranked among the best business schools by BusinessWeek, as well.”

In addition to its overall No. 5 ranking, the Ross School also rated highly in the specialty areas of marketing, finance and general management.

BusinessWeek's rankings are based on surveys of MBA alumni from the classes of 2006, 2004 and 2002 (45 percent of a school’s score), recruiter opinions (45 percent) and number of faculty academic journal publications (10 percent). For this year's survey, roughly 9,000 of 16,000 graduates surveyed responded, and more than 200 of 426 recruiters surveyed responded.

Source: Ross School of Business

2006-10-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

Value of a Business Plan
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I just came across some groundbreaking news on Business Week Online. According to a recent study conducted by the The Journal of Small Business Strategy, Chief Executives at startup companies say that the business plan is a valuable tool, both in terms of raising funds for a startup, and in conducting ongoing operations of the business.

[sarcasm] Wow, what a surprise. [/sarcasm]

The business plan will always be a valuable tool if it is well thought out, well written, and well articulated. And of course, in the end, the true test of the plan is how well it is executed upon.

I can attest firsthand to the value of a busienss plan. During my MBA experience at the University of Michigan, I created and pitched an award winning business plan on the business plan competition circuit. **By the way, I encourage all MBA students and aspiring entrepreneurs to become involved with these competitions.** After winning over $170,000 in cash prizes, in-kind services, and committed capital - it can hardly be argued that a b-plan holds no value. What's great about these competitions, is that they are judged by real VC and entrepreneurs who are concerned with the caliber of the business plan itself. Adept students can therefore take an off-the-shelf concept (check your local tech transfer office) and create a plan around it. The best part is that these competitions judge the plan itself, rather than a company, a concept, IP, or otherwise. The bottom line is that the VCs who are involved with these competitions obviously hold a the business plan in high regard, and would-be entrepreneurs should understand this before external funds are solicited. A well written plan can also attract a stronger valuation as well as high caliber, high integrity investors.

What's more, the value of a business plan extends well beyond the world of entrepreneurship. For instance, I am currently drafting a business plan in my new role at Microsoft. For those of you that might find yourselves working in a corporate environment inthe future, be aware that internal stakeholders will be just as concerned with the aforementioned assets of a well written, well executed business plan, as are those in a private company setting.

2006-09-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

Linked Out
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I have a business idea. I've even developed a name and working logo for the new venture...

Whattdya think? Okay, so I'm only joking (kind of) - but wouldn't it be cool? I'm sure you get the gist. Instead of allowing users to recommend one another within an extended professional network, users would also be able to anonymously censure one another thereby providing more candid and useful information to potential employers and/or associates.

If you've ever applied for a job, or if you've ever been the one doing the hiring, you know that an applicant's supplied "references" provides limited insight into the applicant's abilities or merit. Obviously, it is highly unlikely that an applicant would include references that might potentially provide information that would make the applicant appear an unworthy hire. The system is inherently flawed.

As of now, existing professional networks such as Linked In, only provide the ability for users to "endorse" other users. In my opinion, this system would work much better if associates within a professional network were enabled to anonymously tag one another with more meaningful information about a person's capability as a worker, their integrity and character, and their ability to work in a team setting. More useful is when a potential employer or co-worker is warned away from "bad" people by seeing whether or not a user has been "censured" by other users. That's where "Linked Out" comes in. This system would be most effective if users were only given a limited number of "endorsements" and "censures" that they could dole out, thereby preventing over endorsement or unwarranted flaming. Of course, the user being censored would not be able to see who is doing the censoring, and every user in the system would need to be validated by some additional process for this to really be viable.

Naturally, there is a risk that insular networks (networks of people which endorse each other with the intention of promoting those within the network) would attempt to erect barriers to censuring. To combat this behavior, a user would be allowed to censure users that are more than one hop away (i.e. not a part of a person's direct network). This way, the only option for a user to avoid being "censured" (or recommended against) would be not to sign up for the service at all. This would lend further crediblity to those users who have joined the network by the simple virtue of the fact that they have chosen to make themselves vulnerable to censuring in the first place.

I was reminded of this idea when I recently spoke to a good friend and fellow classmate at the University of Michigan, who just took a position with a VC firm in Palo Alto upon graduation. He considers himself fortunate to be working with some of the "good" guys of VC. He has since learned that, in his words, 80% of VC and angel investors are, well, let's just say "bad" guys. I've met a few VCs and angel investors in my time, some good and some bad, but the overall logic of the 80/20 split makes perfect sense to me. The venture capital industry is, after all, notorious for the type of coopetitive and cross-promoting behavior as described before. The VC industry is one of those "old boy network" industries that will inevitably undergo transformation as the exchange and availability of information prevails.

So how would that happen? Take a recent example from my own experience. A VC contacts me to conduct due diligence regarding a potential investment opportunity. So what should I say? Do I offer endorsement, do I censure? The "Linked Out" model would make the due diligence process much more simple. Even more, the other side of the table could benefit from this model too. That is, an entrepreneur looking for "good" money.

Now, if only I can raise some "good" money to launch this gem of an idea.

2006-09-21T19:07:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Company Meeting 2006

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Today I attended the Microsoft annual company meeting at Safeco Field. It was an all day event, showcasing the developments of divisions throughout the company. We got to hear from Bill G. himself, and of course, the endcap with Ballmer in full flair. I have to say, as much as Ballmer finds himself the butt of so many viral internet jokes, this guy is entertaining and full of passion. I have much respect. He is enthusiasm amplified, and he isn't afraid to show it. As a tribute to Steve, please enjoy this video that one of my good friends was kind enough to bring to my attention. (it is quite funny, and I'm sure Steve would agree - he is a pretty well humored guy)

2006-09-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

2006 WSJ Ranks Ross #1
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It's good to know someone is getting it right when it comes to published MBA rankings. For the second time in three years, the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan has topped the Wall Street Journal's recruiter based ranking.

This year's ranking is a direct tribute to my cohort, since it is a reflection of the 2005-2006 recruiting season (no we don't have to bask in the glory of those that came before us), but even still - it's a tremendous tribute to what the program is doing and has done in the past 5 years.

Now, if only those other ranking systems could wise up...

2006-09-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

The Big 3-Oh
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Today I am 30 years old. I am now officially "old". Turning 30 is like paying taxes. It's just something you have to do, I guess. 30. That's a lot of candles.

In other news, the Windows Vista launch group continues to roll out RC1 worldwide.

I am running RC1 on my machine, and so far - I love it. It is amazing to see how much goes in to putting the launch together, from a marketing standpoint. Mindblowing really. Expect good things when Vista is officially made available to the public. I'm sure I'll have more to say about that in coming months.

Stay tuned...

For now, I am going to enjoy some beers, revel with my Michigan comrades in our 47-21 trouncing of Notre Dame today, and bowl a few frames. Here's to becoming older (and hopefully a little wiser too).

2006-09-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Marketing Symposium 2006
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Today was Microsoft's annual Marketing Symposium held at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center. As an incoming Marketing Leadership Recruit, I was adorned with a green "MLR" t-shirt and was granted VIP seating in the second row of the main auditorium with the other MLRs. This provided an excellent vantage of Steve's presentation. There's some pretty exciting stuff in the pipeline, and I am excited to be a part of the whole she-bang. At the end of the symposium, Malcom Gladwell, author of the best-selling books "Blink" and "Tipping Point" gave the closing keynote speech. His speech was interesting...

something about information overload, but I can't remember much of it.... so I guess I'll just have to buy the book.

2006-09-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Real World
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After the flurry of graduation and the periphery that followed, it was nice to do absolutely nothing for a little while. Okay, so maybe 'nothing' isn't exactly accurate, but it was nice to relax for a while. Over my four month break I was able to visit distant friends and relatives, spend time with my family, and travel to distant places. I was also in one very important (and very beautiful) wedding, and attended several others. I also spent some time thinking about the past, as well as the road ahead, in preparation for the next phase of life.

Tomorrow, I begin my first day at Microsoft Corporation. I'm looking forward to being a part of a company with such a great legacy as it addresses the challenges of today and positions itself for the future. I am most excited about the vast amount of opportunity and learning potential in a Company with such extensive resources.*

Sound View

*View from my temporary housing unit, with views of Puget Sound and the Olympic mountain range.

So, as I make my way in the "real world," I will attempt to disseminate bits and pieces of my journey in an attempt to keep my friends and family efficiently informed. Who knows - maybe I'll even be able to depart a little wisdom and insight along the way. In any case, please read this blog with full knowledge that I do not claim to be an expert in anything in particular and that the comments and opinions contained herein are solely... blah blah blah. The official disclaimer can be found in this README.

Lastly, I promise to try to be humble with both my intentions and my postings. Anything resembling self promotion, etc. should be promptly reported by clicking on the "comment" button. Thanks for stopping by, and hope you enjoy.