This is a question I’ve thought about often (See Google’s ten rules compared to Microsoft). Before I give my answer, if you’re in Seattle you should go listen to Lawrence Lessig give his talk on the subject Friday Nov 2nd at Kane Hall, at the University of Washington.

The short answer is No. In 1998 Microsoft was suffering from the shaky Windows 98 release, was facing a new DOJ lawsuit, and will still engaged in the browser-war with Netscape. I was in my 4th year at MSFT in ‘98, and it was the roughest year for the company I’d seen. The browser war was emotionally brutal, and on the Internet Explorer team we were trying to recover from IE4 (a release few of us were proud of). To outsiders, 1998 was a year of comeuppance for Microsoft.

Looking to next year I don’t see Google headed for seas quite so rocky. Yes, there are threats of major lawsuits with YouTube and search privacy, but those threaten future revenue sources more than current ones. However, like Microsoft in the 90s, the competitive landscape isn’t impressive. Yahoo and Microsoft have are still trailing players in tech-sector mind share.

Most important comparison: By 1998 Microsoft, the 23 year old company, had managed to piss off just about everyone at least once: at least it felt that way when I spoke at conferences. Google, only 8 years old, has a much higher standing in the industry, among competitors and partners, than Microsoft did. But then again, it’s 15 years younger :)

On culture and attitude: Life inside Google feels much like at Microsoft in the mid 1990s. I’ve been to Google several times (Chapter 1 of the Myths of Innovation recounts one visit) and know folks working there. The vibe feels incredibly familiar to my mid-90s MSFT memories: happy, smart, independent people who feel they are empowered to change the world, and who work in a special place, with special rules. And as best I can tell, it’s true. They deserve to feel that way. So in that respect, rock-on Googlers.

But the rub is that in the mid-1990s Microsofties felt the same way about their place in the industry, and their ability to change the world, as the folks at Google seem to today: We have the ball and we are running away with it. I suspect the folks at Atari in 1977 (year of the 2600), Apple in 1985 (and perhaps again now), Netscape in 1994 (year of Mosaic) and dozens of other companies that were once at the top of the world. And they were all prone to the same kinds of self-destructive hubris.

Common mistakes employees of dominant companies make:

1. Believing no one has been at the center of the tech-universe before.
2. Inability to take a non self-centric view of the world.
3. Depending on power and intimidation, more than intelligence and wisdom.
4. Failing to find ways to stay humble & hungry while being dominant.
5. Focusing more on beating rivals than satisfying customers.
6. Underestimating how decisions will be received by the rest of the world.

When I was at Microsoft (’94-’03), I always felt the company made things so much harder for itself in how employees, executives included, presented themselves to the world. I can’t tell you how many times I saw Microsoft employees embarrassing themselves at conferences, e-mail lists or on newsgroups. And it wasn’t entirely their fault: they were expressing the internal culture to the outside world and the result was predictably disastrous.

The perception of Google today, and in 2008, is at a tipping point. They are quickly rounding out their positions of dominance and the Microsoft comparisons will only get sharper. If they can learn the best lessons from Microsoft’s 1998, it’s about handling pressure with grace, and the wisdom to pay more than token attention to the mistakes above.

Posted in Innovation, Management, Myths of Innovation | 6 Comments »

Next thursday Nov 8th is World usability day, and there are events all over the world.

For you folks online, just like year’s past I’m offering the first 10 people who leave a comment a free expert usability review of the website they post (it doesn’t have to be their own website).

How to get a free expert usability review:

1. Leave a comment, include your e-mail address and a URL.
2. If you’ve got a specific problem or user scenario you’re worried about, mention it.
3. If you’re in the top 10, I’ll post your review online.
4. If you’re after #10, be creative. If you make me laugh you might get yours too.

Bonus: If you work on stuff for cell phones or mobile devices, Sender11, a mobile design expert, is offering free usability reviews for you.

Posted in Design | 24 Comments »

Work is underway for the revision of the art of project management. One goal is to make the book more useful for teachers, professors, or even team leads who work through the book with their team.

If this is you, I want to chat and get your input - Either leave a comment, or contact me. Thanks.

Posted in art of project management | 4 Comments »

We have truly messed up our job titles.

Somehow, somewhere, the job title project manager became lame. I don’t know if it was born this way, or if it happened over time, but it’s a shame. Here’s what I think happened - we’ve confused project tracking with project leading.

If you take any interesting work in architecture, film, software, or any pursuit that involves millions of dollars or dozens of people, there is someone playing an executive role, overseeing decisions, budgets and schedules. They are a leadership force for the project, and are, in essence, a project leader. They might call themselves director, producer, architect, or VP of whatever, but if their authority is tied to a project, they are a Project Leader.

But somehow that job title never caught on. Not in software, not anywhere. Instead, the title project manager is used everywhere with all sorts of meanings. At NASA, the director of the entire space shuttle program is called a project manager. But more often the project manager is the guy with an ambiguous role and even less clear authority.

Many of these people are really Project Trackers. They write reports, make spreadsheets, and report back to people on what just happened. They aren’t expected to lead the entire project, as engineers or business analysts take most of the fun parts of the leadership role anyway. But no one ever gets that job title - it’d be too easy to figure things out.

Microsoft dodged this whole problem, and created new ones, by creating the role of Program Manager. This was a project manager who isn’t granted much leadership authority, but who is allowed to earn it and grow into a true project leader. But soon there were program managers whose sole job was to manage a single dialog box, and the power of the role was gone.

Worse, many places have Product managers, program managers, and project managers all on the same teams, further confusing who does what and why.

The solution: whenever I meet people with a P or an M in the title, I ask the following questions.

• Does your team report to you?
• Do you or your reports create / contribute to / follow requirements?
• Do you or your reports create / contribute to / follow specifications?
• Do you or your reports create / contribute to / follow schedules?
• Is design a major / minor / negligible part of your role?
• How much of your time is spent tracking the project vs. leading it?
• Does your level of involvement, from project inception to completion, change?
• Are you completely / partially / indirectly accountable for the project outcome?

Only then do I understand which dimensions of leadership/management the person is responsible for. I wish it was easier, but I find I’m always asking these questions every time I teach or consult in a different place, no matter what their job title says.

Anyone else have ideas for how to identify which kind of PM you’re dealing with?

Posted in Management, Software/Web development | 15 Comments »

This Thursday marks the beginning of national novel writing month - That’s right. A bunch of crazy people write an entire novel in 30 days (~1500 words per day, for 50,000 total). It’s a fun crazy thing, a chance to be bad, and I’m doing it this year.

You can sign up at their website, get moral support, tons of advice, a word count tracking tool, a FAQ, and other bits that help you start and keep going (Here’s my advice on the subject: Writing hacks part 1).

If you do join up, make me a buddy: my username is berkun.

Posted in On writing, creative thinking | 2 Comments »

We’ve all had tough projects, but this one might just top them all, and it hits on three of my favorite topics: design, management, and film making. Here’s the rundown:

• It’s a feature length film shot on an independent film budget.
• It’s one continuous 90 minute shot.
• The film spans 33 rooms of the famed Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg.
• It has over 800 actors and performers.
• It has various plays, dances and orchestral performances, all performed live and in a scripted sequence.
• It took years to plan, write and develop the custom steady-cam technology.
• They only had budget/time for 4 tries, and got it on the 4th.

I’ve both seen the film, and have visited the Hermitage (prompting a 2nd viewing of the film). Understanding Russian history helps make the film more than a stunt, as the story can be hard to follow (It’s an abstract and art-y film, both figuratively and literally as it’s shot in an art museum). But even without it, the film is a visual delight and a project management wonder. If you’re a designer or a manager you’ll be in awe even if you only make it through half the film. Moreso, the DVD includes a making-of featurette that entirely blew my mind: it will put whatever is stressing you out right now into deep relief.

Trailer, netflix listing, and reviews.

Posted in Innovation, Management, Travel, movies | 5 Comments »

After speaking at MX-East Tuesday, in the quaint retreat at Normandy farms, I hopped in a cab for the 30 mile ride to my hotel in downtown Philly, the Windsor Suites by 9pm. I got lucky: it’s in a sweet spot for a tourist, near the train station, a few blocks from museums, full kitchens and on a quiet street for $169 a night.

Looking to maximize my remaining 29 hours, i dropped my bags and headed south from Logan square down to towards Rittenhouse square, seeking a fun place for a late dinner and stumbled onto Alfa, for some sliders (small burgers), crab mac and cheese, and a spinach salad. After a few beers in the high-style digs with a thin yet friendly Tues 10pm crowd, I walked the streets for fun and then got some rest.

Wed morning: My train to Villanova U. for a speaking gig left at 2pm, so I had to cram any museums or further food adventures into the morning. Woke up at 10am, further closing the window of fun. I scrambled east over to the Reading Terminal Market, and felt as if I was back home in Queens. The east coast food so impossible to find in the Northwest was here in droves and after my whitefish salad sandwich, spinach knish (5 times better than any knish in Seattle) and Dr. Browns Black cherry soda, I lingered in the halls, soaking up as much of the smells as i could.

We the people…watch movies. With about 2 hours before my train, I had a tough choice: which bit of history to explore? Everyone told me to check the liberty bell, but I know it’s patriotic trash - a poor relic, made famous by accident more than by right (The myths of Innovation explains more about this). Instead, in these difficult times to be an American, I went to the National Constitution Center, the largest museum in the U.S. about the Constitution, seeking much needed USA inspiration.

The unusual museum centers on a special movie theater: a mix of live narration and projected multimedia was surprisingly captivating, but also expectedly patriotic, with no mention of current constitutional issues in the USA. After the 15 minute flick, you exit on the 2nd level and enter a round hall with hi-tech and interactive exhibits about the constitution and the bill of rights.

The great comedy of my visit? They wouldn’t let me take pictures. That’s right - in the main exhibit hall about the freedoms of the constitution, no photographs are allowed. As an expression of resistance to tyrany, here are three photographs from inside:

Next, in part 2, talking at Villanova, plus my first east coast Chinese food experience in years.

Posted in On Tour, Travel, Uncategorized | No Comments »

This is in two parts: first, a quick and dirty movie review. Second, a short essay on the book, the film (trailer), and the mythology of Chris McCannless.

Movie Review: Recommended. High appeal for anyone interested in self-exploration, nature, the limits of freedom, and the idea of philosophical integrity (do you actually do what you believe in?). It’s based on a true story of a young man who leaves his upper-middle class family behind to adventure in the American West. There is some brilliant storytelling and adventure and the performances are excellent (Emile Hursch is great as Chris). However, the pacing runs into trouble, with long and forced narrative points and occasional over-stylized editing. If if you’re interested in the above themes, you’ll like the film anyway, but if you hate Thoreau and can’t stand nature, then stay away: you’ll be throwing your popcorn at the screen. There is a excellent film in here, but it does sit interspersed with 25 minutes of oddly paced material (I have a similar criticism of the otherwise excellent book) and your tolerance for it will hinge on your interest in the themes.

Essay: (No spoilers here, but what i say might not make sense if you’ve never read the book nor saw the film). I read the book Into the Wild years ago and loved it. After I saw the film last week I was so confused as to what was in the book, and what was created for the movie that I went back and read the book a 2nd time. What I found there surprised me: many of the seemingly cheezy plot points, his relationships with the young girl and the old man, are actually in the book.

The book is philosophically important - I’m prone to rejecting the status quo and share many of the ideals, or at least the questions, that McCandless had. The story stuck with me for years and seeing the film doubled it’s power. I fully admire the guts it took to walk away from everything and start over (giving away all my possessions is something I’d like to do), but at the same time I’m repulsed by the cruelty involved in walking away from his family, and especially his sister. Does independence demand hurting people? Can you be half-way independent, or as McCandless believed, is it an all or nothing proposition? The story has been a forcing function for me, looking back at my decisions to leave places, people and things, to see what damage I caused in the name of ideals.

The film and the book differ on one major perspective: The film lionizes McCandless, something hard to prevent since he’s the main character of the film. Watching him take pleasures from life most wish they could find makes him charismatic despite what he had to sacrifice to get them. But the book is merely sympathetic to the lead in a cautionary tale, and goes out if its way to analyze and dissect his decisions, showing the possibility, in retrospect, of achieving his ideals without sacrificing sanity. And that’s where the story has its power: I feel compelled to re-evaluate the bar on my ideals, and the all too easy habits I’ve developed have for resisting them. McCandless’s story, in whatever form it’s told, can’t help but force people to consider the gap between their behavior and their ideals, since without a penny to his name, he lived, for a time, exactly how he wanted.

Posted in movies, philosophy | 2 Comments »

I read an NYT article recently about The Really Terrible Orchestra. Their goal, in their own words, is as follows:

The policy of the orchestra is to make no distinction between the various grades of ability and the various forms of music, or time signature. The RTO looks forward to a further lowering of standards, in order to underline its commitment to accessibility and relevance.

You can go to their website and listen (they’re not that bad), but that’s not the point. The point is this: if the Boston Philharmonic and the RTC both threw parties on the same night, the RTC party would kick The Boston Philharmonic party’s ass. Why? Because the RTC vibe, as I read it, is free and open. They’re looking to experience more than to be perfect. Their rule set for what music is, and what it means, is way more open than any formalized orchestra could ever be.

This sounds idiotic but I think being good, as in proficient, isn’t good all the time. No doubt being good is good: I’ll hire a good doctor or lawyer over a bad one every time. But as I get older I realize how important it is for my soul to be bad or awful in at least one thing I do, and to take pleasure in it anyway. There is a way to take pleasure in things independent of my ability at them and I’m convinced that cultivating it will make me a happier person. This works solo, but even in groups I’d rather spend time with other people being silly & bad, than boring and good.

And while children naturally have this ability since most toddlers are happy and talentless (despite what their parents say), I find as I age it’s increasingly hard to find peers who:

1. Are willing to be bad in front of others, much less enjoy it
2. Accept my interest in taking pleasure in my badness at something.

Perhaps I need new friends, or must ignore their judgments, either way, as we age there’s the assumption we should know better than to do things we’re bad at. If you’re 15 and dance like a hapless idiot, that’s one thing, but when you’re 35, it’s a different story. In my thirties now I find people my age take life so much more seriously than a decade ago and I don’t fit in so well. I’m still crazy. And struggle as I might, my peers have more influence on me that I care to admit.

Back to my original point, being bad is a requirement in doing new things. To start anything new I have to concede badness: the first weeks of learning to speak Greek or taming alligators will be ugly. And I’m convinced the increasing fear of looking bad has everything to do with the tendency for people to try fewer new things as they age. We lose familiarity with the uncertainties of the new. We forget the necessity of feeling like an idiot now and then to grow. And before we know it we resist new experiences based on our forgotten understanding of how we got our old experiences: we did lots of stupid embarrassing things to accumulate all the skills and life knowledge we have.

For all these reasons there is freedom and joy in being bad at something - often more than being good at something.

I’m considering adding a new heuristic into my life:

1. Pick up a new activity that I’m bad at.
2. Spend time enjoying my badness at that thing while trying to learn it.
3. If I somehow get good at that thing, go to #1

I admit now I’m bad at being bad - much worse than I used to be, if that makes sense. But I’m making a point to get better at being worse - and we’ll see what happens.

Posted in creative thinking, philosophy | 20 Comments »

Travel for the year is winding down - here’s what I have left:

• Philadeliphia, PA, MX-East, Oct 22nd
• Philadeliphia, PA, Villanova University, Oct 24th 3pm (public), Myths of Innovation (location details)
• Cambridge, MA, User Interface East, November 5-7th
• Boston, MA, Fidelity.com, November 8th

Let me know if you’re in the Boston or Philly area around this time - might be able to get a meetup together for a meal or drinks.

Posted in On Tour, Travel | No Comments »

Just got back from speaking on innovation at the Web Directions conference in Sydney, followed by two weeks of vacation there with my wife. It’s my second time to Australia and I have to say, it’s my favorite country on the planet to visit. Here’s why:

1. The people rock. I can’t recall anywhere I’ve been where it’s so easy to make jokes and small talk with people I didn’t know. And it’s not the chilly polite vibe I so often find in America (even in Seattle), it’s this totally warm, friendly, isn’t life funny, knowing vibe. When Australians say no worries, it’s pretty convincing that they believe it, and as a traveler it’s a delight.
2. The food is magical. I love to eat, and know where to go to find great food in most cities. But everywhere I’ve been in Australia it’s too easy. Food courts, those evil zones in American malls, are fantastic in Australia (at least in Sydney and Melbourne). It’s fast food, yes, but the quality of produce and the range of high quality ethnic foods is hard to match. (And what’s with the dairy products? Yogurt and cheese just taste amazing). I’m a health food guy, and the number of juice bars, vegetarian restaurants and healthy options is unmatched by most world cities (The Glebe neighborhood in Sydney has been a favorite haunt on both of my trips there. Had a great meal at Badde Manors).
3. Public transportation rocks. I’m a former new yorker, and I miss living in a city with real public transit (The Seattle metropolitan area, despite it’s enviro-self righteousness, is a public transportation disaster). In Sydney you can get from the airport to downtown in 20 minutes for $10: It took us 30 minutes, on foot, to get from our hotel to our air-line check-in. Melbourne has free tram service (like Portland) in the downtown core. It’s all smart, clean and fast. Very impressive. I wish more Americans could see what a city is like when the infrastructure is done right, so we can admit what a crime against mental health the sprawl-o-rama urban planning of cities like Phoenix and Los Angeles are.
4. The vibe is comfortably in-between England and America. Like the British, Australians have a sense of proper rules of order and how to run things well. But like Americans (and unlike the British), Australian’s seem naturally laid-back in their manner. Things run on time and there are standards, but there’s no snobbery about it. As an American, coming from perhaps the most casual country in the world (for better and worse), Australia feels like America+: it’s familiar, but things on average look, work and taste better.
5. Two hours to the wild. We took the train from Sydney to Katoomba, and spent a week in the Blue Mountains. Only 100km or so away, but enough to escape any trappings of the big city. Katoomba was my perfect country town: a half-dozen used bookstores, a health-food co-op, and an affordable cottage with a mountain view. We did the giant stairway hike (photo above), and I spent many hours with my feet up, reading and sleep all day.
6. I love Australian slang . I admit I do love Commonwealth accents (British and Australian makes American English sound flat and boring), but little Australian phrases and shorthand like “exy” for expensive and “brekky” for breakfast are just too fun not to use. I’m sure my friends back at home will think I’m a weirdo, but it will be hard not to keep using the bits of Aussie slang I’ve picked up.

Thanks to everyone I met on this trip, at Web Directions and elsewhere, especially John Allsop and Maxine Sherrin for inviting me to keynote their conference.

Posted in On Tour, Travel | 33 Comments »

I take 10-15 trips a year, which puts me in the mid-range of air-travelers. I’m not a platinum club guy with zillions of miles and a pocket full of first-class upgrades, but I’m out of town enough that little hacks and tricks make a big difference. Here’s my list:

1. Always take the aisle. On the great window vs. aisle debate, I’m a aislephile. Here’s the argument: on the aisle you can put your carry-on overhead and get to it whenever you want, freeing the space under the seat in front of you for total feet comfort. Yes, you have to get up to let people go to the restroom, but my legs are grateful for getting a chance to walk around. Bonus tip: always take your shoes off. Amazing how much more comfortable this is, just make sure you wear clean socks (and that your feet don’t stink).
2. Bring ear-plugs. These little guys change the travel experience. They cut the noise on planes, or in bad hotels, by more than half, making it possible to sleep in either place. They block more noise than any i-pod head-set will, and they’re way smaller than those Bose Noise canceling things. They’re also cheap: you buy 30 of them for a few bucks at any CVS or drug-store. Go for the soft foam ones, the others are like cramming rocks in your ear.
3. Ask hotel reception for a better room. When you check in there are always many different rooms they can give you. Want a view? Ask. Want a quiet room? Mention it. It takes 10 seconds to ask and at least 50% of the time I’m given some kind of choice that I would not have known I had.
4. Know your airplane. Most online reservation systems tell you the exact model of the airplane you’ll be on. This means you can use seatguru.com to get the details on specific seats you want to request. Be warned: requesting a seat from expedia or orbitz is not the same as the airline guaranteeing you those seats. If in doubt, call the airline, not your online travel service.
5. On business travel to cool places, ask for personal days. If your company sends you to Paris to attend a conference, ask for a couple of days personal time. They’re already paying your airfare, by far the most expensive part of most trips. Leverage it. Ask for them to cover the hotel for a couple of days, split costs or to simply not count those extra days as vacation. Even if you pay all the expenses for those extra days, it will still be vacation on the cheap.
6. DeStress: all you need is a credit card and a passport. There are a thousand things to worry about when traveling, but these days, unless you’re going to be backpacking in Guatemala, all you need is ID and a credit card. You can buy just about anything anywhere, certainly if it’s in the realm of clothes/gadgets/books/hygiene items. And worst case, for a price, any good hotel with a concierge can get you almost anything you need. So when I freak out, I just check to make sure I have my ID and a working credit card (always check your outstanding balance before you leave).
7. Pack in 3D: Roll your clothes. The secret of packing is thinking 3-d. If you roll your clothes, lay them flat, fold, and roll, they make better use of the 3-d space in any luggage. Also make sure to cram socks or underwear inside any shoes you’re packing.
8. Never eat plane or airport food. Only an idiot eats things simply because they are offered. It takes 10 minutes to stop at a good sandwich shop on the way to the airport and it’s worth the effort. Air travel is hard enough on your body, but the evil things they feed you on planes are worse. I always make sure to have a sandwich and an apple (travels well, protective outer coating, and has more fiber than most airplane meals).
9. Grab a business card from your hotel when you check-in. Put the card in your wallet as soon as you get it. This guarantees if ever you get lost or drunk, you can just hand the card to any cab, in any country, speaking none of the local language, and you’ll get home. If you are in a foreign country, ask the desk for a business card in the local language (sometimes it’s on the back of the same card). Also useful if you get lost: call the hotel, say you’re a guest, and they’ll help you out.
10. The Concierge is your friend. It was only a few years ago that I understood what these people are really for. They are basically paid to be your local friend, with advice, recommendations, and contacts waiting for your use. Need to find a restaurant? Ask. Need tickets? Directions? Advice on finding a gift for your spouse? It’s all a phone call away. One trick: they’re busiest at check-in time and pre-dinner so if you need advice best bet is to catch them at off times (and ahead of time). If you’re asking for more than a recommendation, or you know you’ll need their help more than once, give them a tip. They’re worth it.
11. International: have someone meet you at the airport. The most stressful thing for me when visiting foreign countries is figuring out airports. It’s too easy to get ripped off if you don’t know how much a cab should cost, where to change money for a fair price, or how to find out if there’s cheap public transit that you can use. Hiring a car service, which typically costs about as much as a cab, they’ll be waiting for you in baggage claim with a sign with your name on it, escorting you straight away to your hotel. This will drop your stress level by half. They can also give you local tips on where to eat and where to buy that thing you forgot. Search your network for friends of friends, or ask your client, and get someone to meet you there (Make sure to buy them dinner or bring them a gift in return).

Have some tricks of your own? Help me out on my next trip.

Posted in Travel | 20 Comments »