Harish Raju Musings

Get early wins to build momentum fast. By the end of the first six months, the new leader must have begun to energize people and focus them on solving important business problems, in ways that have a quick, dramatic impact.

The key to an early win is to identify problems that (a) can be tackled in a reasonable period of time and (b) have solutions that will result in tangible operational and financial improvements.
TO SECURE EARLY WINS, A LEADER SHOULD:

- Establish A-item priorities, the major objectives that she must accomplish in the first couple of years. That lets her determine goals for the first few months in the context of these longer-term objectives. When she sets out to get some early wins, she can simultaneously move the organization toward the longer-term goals.

- Identify a center of gravity, one (and only one) key area or process where early wins are probable. For our new COO it was the distribution system, but the right center of gravity depends on the business. In a pharmaceutical company it might be a key part of the drug discovery process; in an auto company, the handoff from product development to manufacturing. Regardless, the chosen center of gravity must be an area that is important and that allows for substantial performance improvement.

- Initiate pilot projects, specific initiatives within the center of gravity to secure early wins. Implementation plans for the projects should define the standards to be used, the resources needed, and the methodologies to be employed, while specifying both tangible and intangible goals.

New Leader? Get Early Wins - Harvard Management Update - HarvardBusiness.org

In what’s probably the most interesting camcorder announcement of 2009, Sony proffers the Handycam HDR-XR500 and HDR-XR520, a pair of hard-disk-based AVCHD camcorders which integrate the dual firsts of built-in GPS and a new Exmor-R back-illuminated CMOS sensor.

Though the sensor isn’t new, this is the first time we’re seeing it in products. The technology, which flips the layers so that the photosites are above the electronics where they can get more light, may prove an effective way to improve low-light performance, the continuing weak aspect of consumer camcorders. Sony claims an 8dB increase in sensitivity, for a 50 per cent reduction in noise.

Annoyingly, Sony continues to overstate the resolution of its sensors. This one’s 6 megapixels, though you’ll see the company claiming 12 megapixels — its interpolated resolution — all over its marketing materials.

Sony Handycam HDR-XR500: GPS camcorder - Crave at CNET UK

Canon announced the release of four high definition flash memory camcorders today. Two models, the HF S100 and HF S10, are loaded with features clearly aimed to entice budget-minded professionals and amateur filmmakers. The lower-tier models, the HF200 and HF20, offer fewer features but still show improvements over previous models.

All four camcorders record video in the AVCHD format in full 1920 x 1080 at 24Mbps, the fastest possible bitrate for the codec. All four include the latest generation DIGIC DVIII processor, which adds two new features: face detection for up to a purported 35 faces and an improved auto exposure system. Canon reports that the new processor also allows for better dynamic range.

Canon Pushes Pro Features for Flagship HD Camcorders in ‘09 - HF S100, HF S10, HF20, and HF200 - Canon

Nice Digital Photography Glossary over at DPR:

Glossary: Learn: Digital Photography Review

We all want to do remarkable things, and lead remarkable lives.No one wants to spend the day engaged in mundane productivity in pursuit of a meaningless consumer existence.

Certainly not you, right?So why do we find it so hard to break out of our rut and do truly innovative things?Because it’s hard.

Because it often requires us to significantly alter our perspectives and step outside our comfort zones.It’s almost like becoming another person.

Tyler Durden’s 8 Rules of Innovation | Lateral Action

Tags: innovation, tyler durden, rules of innovation

If you want to be a good product manager, consider all aspects related to any add-on features. A product manager is not only responsible for identifying what needs there are in the market. The product manager must also figure out how those needs should be filled by new or existing products.

There are many valid reasons to include something as an add-on to an existing product, including: to utilize an existing platform for lower cost and broader distribution yet still allow for additional revenue; to provide capabilities for one customer segment while not overwhelming another; or to leverage brand recognition while expanding the product portfolio. Usually product development teams spend a lot of time deciding whether or not to include something as part of the standard product, and much less time determining the steps for how someone would obtain that add-on. In fact, how easy it is for the customer to enable the feature or buy the add-on can be a big determinant of how successful it is.

Consider all details of add-on features : How To Be A Good Product Manager: Product management tips

Tags: productmanagement

The U6 in September rose to 11 percent, its highest level since the data series started in 1994 and significantly higher than it was in the last recession, in 2001. The ratio between the U6 and the official unemployment rate has remained relatively steady over the last several years.

But that means that as the unemployment rate has risen, so too has the portion of the population suffering from other types of work deficits. Three years ago, when the unemployment rate was 5.1 percent, an additional 3.9 percent of the labor force fell into one of those other underutilized categories.

Last month, with the unemployment rate at 6.1 percent, an additional 4.9 percent of the labor force was underutilized.

Unemployment: The Bad News About Your Job | Newsweek Voices - Daniel Gross | Newsweek.com

The U6 in September rose to 11 percent, its highest level since the data series started in 1994 and significantly higher than it was in the last recession, in 2001. The ratio between the U6 and the official unemployment rate has remained relatively steady over the last several years.

But that means that as the unemployment rate has risen, so too has the portion of the population suffering from other types of work deficits. Three years ago, when the unemployment rate was 5.1 percent, an additional 3.9 percent of the labor force fell into one of those other underutilized categories.

Last month, with the unemployment rate at 6.1 percent, an additional 4.9 percent of the labor force was underutilized.

Unemployment: The Bad News About Your Job | Newsweek Voices - Daniel Gross | Newsweek.com

But in a posting to Intel’s Chip Shots blog Thursday afternoon, Anand Chandrasekher, the head of Intel’s low-power efforts, threw his fellow executives under the bus in admitting that Intel’s current low-power x86 processors don’t even come close to matching the power consumption numbers–a vital design parameter in smartphones–of those made by ARM’s partners, which are used in smartphones like the iPhone and over 90 percent of all the mobile phones in the world.

The post follows in its entirety.

Anand Chandrasekher issued a correction on comments made by members of his team yesterday at Intel’s Developer Forum in Taiwan. As general manager of the Group responsible for Intel’s ultra-mobility products, he acknowledged that Intel’s low-power Atom processor does not yet match the battery life characteristics of the ARM processor in a phone form factor; and, that while Intel does have plans on the books to get us to be competitive in the ultra low power domain - we are not there as yet. Secondly, Apple’s iPhone offering is an extremely innovative product that enables new and exciting market opportunities. The statements made in Taiwan were inappropriate, and Intel representatives should not have been commenting on specific customer designs.Whoops.

Intel ‘corrects’ executives who slammed iPhone | Apple - CNET News

Tags: intel, atom, apple

Product management is the function of serving as a proxy to a defined set of markets (or market segments), in order to be able to ensure appropriate product creation, and ongoing product health and quality for those markets throughout a product’s entire lifecycle, until end of life.

The Product Management Manifesto : Write That Down

Tags: productmanagement