strategy tag
25 result(s) displayed for strategy (26 - 50 of 60):
A Parable about Outsourcing
Good Washington Post article that talks about Outsourcing.Outsourcing works because the firms pay less and don't have to deal with unions or pension plans."Simply by having more experience, a specialty contractor is also more likely to hit upon the most...
The New Channel Myth
The new myth about the Channel that everyone is spouting is doom and gloom. In Larry Walsh's latest, he talks about VAR's closing, vendors selling direct and other woes.Here's some news for you: the Channel has ALWAYS competed with Direct...
No Special Sauce
There is no special sauce.Everyone has the same technology (or will 5 minutes after you market yours).It was never about the technology.It has always been about the Customer Experience!(What do you think churn is all about? They don't like you...
Sprint is Losing
I have had Sprint for a long time. Mainly, I have them because I don't like to give my money to the RBOC cellcos. I may just have to switch.Sprint's network makes me think that THEY are an MVNO. The...
The Incumbent Mindset
I'm heading to NYC next week to attend Seth Godin's seminar. It is always worth the trip to me. From his Domino Project newsletter today, a little insight:"It happens to just about every industry, from hard drives to furniture--the insurgents,...
US Government Suing AT&T for Fraud
Is Fraud rampant at Ma Bell?ARS wrote an article titled, AT&T collected millions from taxpayers in fraudulent charges, US says. "AT&T improperly received millions of dollars from a government reimbursement fund by ignoring fraudulent use of the IP Relay call...
I Can Do It Myself
I hear this all the time: "I can do it myself!" Backup solution? No, I'll build one myself. Outsource your email? No, I can run my own email server. White-label VoIP? Nope. I'm going to spin up an Asterisk box and...
Woes: AT&T, Spectrum, Yahoo, RIM
How badly does AT&T need spectrum now that the T-Mobile deal is dead? According to analysts (who are likely just trying to get press and pump up some stocks so they can make short term gains), AT&T has to make...
The Whole Content System
Yes the whole content system is a mess. Newspapers, magazines, book publishing, music, movies and now TV - all are old school content business models that are in a state of upheaval. Unfortunately, the people in charge of these content...
The Advice Column
It’s the end of the year. Time for Reflection. Time to set some Goals for 2012. Time to review those goals from 2011 to see how you did.Here are a few articles with some good advice.There’s an article trending about...
4 Random Thoughts from a Telecom Show
Here are 4 random thoughts from the STC (Society of Telecom Consultants) today.The oil industry looks at green. When you are doing a comparison between Hosted PBX and Premise based PBX, remember that when you are moving hardware to cloud,...
There's Disruption Everywhere
As folks move to VoIP and cell, the PSTN has to come down. Meanwhile, since fees are lower on VoIP and cell servcies, 911 centers can't afford to operate. As we move away from regulation - especially in Florida -...
Blockbuster Still Chasing Netflix
There's a lesson to be learned from Blockbuster. Blockbuster was the last standing national chain of video rental shops. It was purchased by DISH Network out of bankruptcy. Blockbuster was an example of a company that couldn't keep up with...
A Strange Way to Start Monday
The party might be over at the PAETEC, as they announced today an $891M stock only sale to WINDSTREAM. USLEC, AllWorx, CavTel, McLeodUSA, Quagga, Xeta, US Energy Partners - all acquired by PAETEC to create a billion dollar CLEC. As...
CLEC Frustration Part II
One reason that the ILEC’s have been frustrated with CLEC’s and spend so much effort frustrating their orders is due to the Lack of Value that the CLEC’s — in general — bring to the market place.Resellers, Rebillers, switchless, UNE-P,...
What You Can Learn from Blackberry
An employee of Blackberry published an open letter to the co-CEO's on the web [see it here]. There are lessons for all in this letter.1) It's all about the USER Experience. The people buying your product / service are the...
Growth Starts Here
This is from GE's 2010 Annual Report. I liked the graphic and the slogan: Growth Starts Here! When I think about GE that brings good things to life, I think that they must have very good people and a culture...
Top 3 Things Affecting Your Agency
Your telecom agency has seen some changes over the last 10 years for certain, but the industry is in another state of change. What three things can affect your Agency?1. Commission changes. They happen often, even without M&A.2. Your biggest...
A Message for Dan Hesse
The merger of AT&T and T-Mobile will likely have extreme anti-competitive effects on the mobile industry. Certainly, the DOJ and the two F-Agencies (FTC and FCC) need to take note that mobile is churning the service economy of America right...
Lessons from the Keynotes
At the Service Provider Summit, there were a number of keynotes. Here are the lessons that I took away. Corey Potts of VoIP Innovations spoke about Sales Management. It is a challenge to manage salespeople if there are not processes...
Business is Change
Whenever I read a really good book, it takes a while because my head fills with thoughts of how this will help my clients (and my readers ;) Right now I am reading Evil Plans by Hugh MacLeod [affil link]....
Talking with a Regional CLEC
Twelve minutes with Clay Colvin of Georgia Business Net, a regional CLEC in Georgia, talking about the business of being a CLEC and why conferences (such as FISPA's Service Provider Summit) are helpful for small businesses. It was a good conversation about...
12 Things to Do at the End of the Year
12 Things to do at the End of the YearReview 2010 goals and results.Pat yourself on the back.Thank an employee.Thank a customer.Talk to your Top 5 clients.Get a testimonial.Give a referral.Write a recommendation for someone on LinkedIn.Take some pictures to...
Rural ILEC Strategy
You have probably read about the unemployment rate. I would love to know how many jobs that the ILEC’s have shed in the last 3 years. 75,000? Probably more. Verizon has shed over 25,000 themselves in the last 3 years....
What's the SCORE?
I sat down with a SCORE counselor today. SCORE is a national organization of business executives that volunteer to help other business people. We discussed my consulting business for about 90 minutes. He shared some insights with me that I...
