Does a Klout score matter

Early last week I was at lunch with some folks that I work with time and again. I was checking my klout score on my phone because I have been monitoring its fluctuations based on what was happening with my social accounts. I'm always curious about impressions that others may have, so I asked how the rest of the group felt about Klout scores. Overwhelmingly, the group was aggressively anti-klout. Now if it stayed there I would have given more weight to their arguments, but then it became an anti-social networking discussion. I want to share with you how it went and what my thoughts are after this give & take.

First off, we're a friendly bunch. Yes, we can be intense at times, but I am very comfortable with the folks that I was eating with and like them very much. They are all bright people and that is why I was soliciting their feedback. It turns out that they didn't know much about Klout and asked me what goes into the score.

Klout's algorithm is proprietary I'm sure, but I know that it takes accounts that I sync up with into consideration (whether it uses them all at this time, I have no idea). But you can sync up Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Instagram...etc.

And here is where the Devil's opinions came out to play

There was a tidal wave of negative feelings towards social media. Some of the comments were: "waste of time", "I don't get it" and "who cares". I reminded the group that it also takes blog sites into account and that lead to a sub-conversation - Is Blogging Social ?

I have the opinion that blogging is not social.
I am happy to entertain arguments that consider it social (because I could see that POV: following blogs, or commenting on posts, even sharing blog posts), but I think there is more to it than that.

As a blogger I feel that I am contributing to the community

Bloggers don't just consume information, we contribute or even curate content for use by others.
Don't we all want to be viewed as Subject Matter Experts? The web gives us the most amazing opportunity that mankind has ever seen to get our opinions, experiences and research out into the world. By contributing, others can benefit and we in turn build our reputations.

By this time, I brought up the now famous story of the marketing exec that lost out on a job because his Klout score was a 35 v. a 65 for the guy that got the job. My point was that other industry professionals are valuing this metric. One response from the table was "I wouldn't want to work for a company that took Klout into consideration."  ---- HERE IS WHY I AM WRITING THIS POST

Why not?
A executive marketing position means that the candidate understands marketing in 2014.
A high Klout score means that the candidate has worked hard to be seen as an influential person on the web. Web marketing is where it's at and where it will continue to go. Therefore, I would rather hire a marketing person with a high Klout score too.

I really get frustrated with people that I work with if they don't cultivate their online presence. Does this mean that they don't understand how business is done now, or they don't have a vision for how business is moving to a global - distributed model? I have a hard time accepting that.

Klout measures how much weight you have on the web.
I don't know it their algorithms will stand the test of time, or if other, better ways of measuring will come up, but the discussion is the same.

Is being influential on the web valuable?

Of course, I say "immensely"

Price Wars in Cloud 1.0 Land

There is not much to say on this that hasn't already been written about in Forbes, TechCrunch and the like. Well, except that it makes me very happy.

It seems that Cloud 1.0 services are perceived as a commodity these days. The innovation in is happening in Cloud 2.0 (and not by the big guys that are slugging it out 1.0 land). So that leaves giant providers like Google, Amazon and Microsoft to create value by slashing their prices. In April, Amazon had their 42 price reduction since 2008. This is great. It is just what we all expected of IaaS. We get great service, security & stability, set-it and forget-it functionality and falling prices. I am happy to benefit.

But what about Cloud 2.0?
I'm happy where I am, but I always want more.
AWS gives us tier pricing and we can pick different specifications, but cloud 2.0 will allow us to build our own. This functionality will allow us to save even more.

Question is, will we see a new innovative company emerge to challenge the giants, or will they be assimilated? I'm sure a little of both. But however it works out, it'll just keep getting better for us.

What's on your To Do List?

It helps when I start the day with a plan of what I want to get done.
This doesn't always happen, but when it does I always feel really productive.
Simple, this isn't brain surgery, it is basic Covey 7 Habits stuff.

What is striking though are the items that show up on my list.
As a startup guy, it could be anything and the kitchen sink.

Looking at my list right now, I have

• 3 separate ppt presentations to work on
• A couple of invoices to deal with
• Creating a post mortem template
• Answering client emails
• Blogging
• Updating my financials
• Going for a run

I think the idea is that working at a startup demands that we all wear many different hats.
Ya, duh - everyone has heard this before, but we have to be great at changing gears and quickly.

This can be a bit overwhelming at times, so take a break now and then I suppose.
Learn to embrace the fluidity of this path.

"Prethink" - Yah, It's a Word

I was a pretty active Toastmaster a couple of years ago.

First off, what a fantastic organization -> I'm not going to do my self-improvement sales pitch right now, but it's coming.

In Toastmasters, members prepare and give speeches in order to further our public speaking skills. A member of the audience is assigned to critique the speech on a number of points, one of them being grammar.

After one of my speeches, the person assigned to giving me feedback mentioned that I had used the word "prethink". Their point was that this was in fact not a word and I should find another way to say what I meant. Let me dispute this.

I believe that "prethink" is a word with a meaning that is applicable and critical to numerous aspects of our lives. Prethink means to plan in response to potential ad-hoc conversations or scenarios. An example would be: "I have a call with so-and-so in 10 minutes. How should I respond if they ask me about that issue they were concerned with?". 

You may argue that "Plan" is the word for this, but I see this as a much more fluid and on-the-fly skill. It's about building a short-term strategy for an important interaction. "Planning" is good, but I want to use it for more brick&mortar style decisions. Just like saying "cloud" instead of "time-sharing", prethink conveys a different energy than plan.

What do you think?
Is this a term that should make it into every-day use?

~Brian

Managing the Flat, Blank Parts

Remember the pieces of vinyl that separated the tracks on an album? They would look like circular borders that gave a pause to the music. They were the easy places to drop the needle before the song you wanted to hear. A startup software company has those flat blank parts too.

There are a few reasons that I can think of that result in a “breath” in development. Hiring, financing, code freeze, perf testing, or any of the many other causes can all result in a flat blank part for the team. It is important to manage these so that you maintain your momentum.

No matter how well you manage to process, or how big your team is (if you’re lucky), there are always items marked as “deferred”, and these are not necessarily just bugs.

commenting code

• post mortems
• reviewing the backlog
• process improvement
• updating estimates
• functionality research
• usability reviews
• producing white papers

We can go on and on here.

A startup cannot afford to misuse their pauses.

They are there, and when you see one coming get ready to make the best use of it. Your team will come out of it stronger then ever and with the feeling of increased stability.

Editorial: Ties Suck (but you knew that)

The WSJ got me all fired up this AM with an article The Tie is Dead (Long Live the Tie).
I'm on the "No Tie" bandwagon and Richard Branson seems to be leading the parade.

Branson is famously anti-tie.
There are stories of him using scissors to cut the tie off of unsuspecting employees that broke his reverse dress code.
I don't think I have ever seen a picture of Branson with a tie.
So, this defeats the idea that a tie is a necessary accessory for
success in business.

But is there other data to more firmly indicate the direction of menswear in the new millennia? Yes
The WSJ article showed that by 2008 tie sales had dropped 92%. This is a key indicator, but it isn't a fun one. I think I have better and more conclusive proof that we can hold farewell party for this antiquated accoutrement. Let me lay out my case.

1.  Bogie looked great in a hat. He was what cool was. To be cool in his era, you wore a hat.
2. Kennedy updated menswear style by breaking the hat tradition. Automakers even lowered car tops, you couldn't wear a Bogie style hat now if you wanted to.

Now lets look at our often tieless current president.

The last G8 Summit and this summer's meeting with President Xi Jinping of China showed world leaders sans tie. Is this the repeat of Kennedy's influence on men's hats? I think so. But there is one trap that needs to be avoided. Don Draper!

Mad Men is super popular. It is a great show and I'm addicted to it. I think Don has an influence on us all. Just like Bogie, he is super cool (yes, lots of bad traits that make me cringe, but still super cool).
Are we strong enough to resist the temptation to revert to this look? I think so.

I've seen my "trying to by hip" friends attempt the hat. Reaction: nope, you can't pull off the Bogie look in 2010. That hat doesn't go well with cargos at all :) LOL. So even though Draper may tempt a few of us to bring back this office formal look the tide is too strong against it. Thanks Mr. President.

As a last word though, is this Invisi-tie trend completely attributable to Mr. Branson and Mr. Obama?
Nah. It started with us tech guys.

Now Zuckerberg is the most well-known example with his statement making hoodie, but he wasn't the first. Lets say that the dotcom bubble was the fuse.

You can't wear a tie with Birkenstock's, and lots of Birks were sold to software engineers in 1999. This type of thing led to casual Friday for the entire business community.

Technology has changed the world and has even influenced our president to solidify the tie-less trend.

AND there is something that you can do to help!
Ahem, change your LinkedIn profile picture.
If you're wearing a tie, get a new shot. You still look great (probably better) just minus the tie.

Sorry Brooks Bros., you'll just have to sell more socks.

Cash is King

The King

"Cash is King", this is always true.

First off, I enjoy Johnny Cash more than Elvis, so that should be enough to prove my statement right there. I do like Elvis, but the Long Black Veil is in its own league.

http://bit.ly/1epfYdg 

"Cash is also King in your startup"

Having a set of linked financials is a must have for us. I've listned to a lot of successful entrepreneurs and investors argue both sides of the 5 year projection battle, but when it comes down to it, planning a startup is facilitated by your linked financials.

What you need

For each of the next 5 years: income statement, cash flow statement and balance sheet. Also, summary and assumptions worksheets. Everything should be linked so that you (or a potential investor during diligence) can use the data on the assumptions tab as levers that flow through your other worksheets. Think of how incredibly useful this is in working through different scenarios for your business model.

Oh, don't forget another sheet that anchors your assumptions into reality by citing credible resources.

[Back to Cash being King]

Once the hard work of setting these up is complete, you can pull the levers yourself and check out the viability of your plan as it ripples through your worksheets. Where do I spend most of my time? Right, the cashflow statement.

As a business owner, what do I want to know most? Do I have enough cash to continue to take over the world...er, I mean "to execute on my plan"  ;)

The income statement is important to see how we're doing based solely on revenue, but my cashflow helps me to determine how much outside investment I need, and where it is best allocated.

Here is a resource to download a financial templates:

http://www.score.org/resources/business-plans-financial-statements-template-gallery

It may be exciting and anti-establishment to work by your gut, but when planning a sales & marketing effort, it's important to see how your decisions will play out. 

So, sit back, listen to Johnny & June Carter sing Jackson and dig in. 

It'll be fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzhzCF77GDo