David Byrd : Raven Call
David Byrd
David Byrd is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer for Raven Guru Marketing. Previously, he was the CMO and EVP of Sales for CloudRoute. Prior to CloudRoute, He was CMO at ANPI, CMO & EVP of Sales at Broadvox, VP of channels and Alliances for Telcordia and Director of eBusiness development with i2 Technologies.He has also held executive positions with Planet Hollywood Online, Hewlett-Packard, Tandem Computers, Sprint and Ericsson.
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January 2012

You are browsing the archive for January 2012.

Mixing it Up, the Good

January 30, 2012

I didn’t cook much this weekend as it turned out to be a weekend of leftovers. Friday, we ordered Mexican food and since neither of us eats very much we had quite a bit leftover. As a result, I made scrambled eggs with cheese topped with leftover ceviche and sour cream. Dinner was a seafood quesadilla served over chive mashed potatoes for Gay. I had smoky barbeque ribs and brisket with black beans and salsa.

Gone, Gone, Gone

January 27, 2012

In the month of January Broadvox lost two very good people from Sales and Marketing. While no one person is ever critical to the success of a business, losing good people can be expensive. In addition to the easily measured costs associated with salaries, bonuses and benefits there are other reasons to work very hard to reduce undesired attrition. Consider these less discussed costs:
  • Time spent researching resumes
  • The effort to contact candidates (email, phone, other)
  • Scheduling and conducting interviews
  • Company and industry knowledge lost
  • Time to get up to speed

Other factors such as search fees, impact on the organization, and expenses to relocate key employees can add thousands of dollars to the replacement cost.

Play Fair and Share

January 25, 2012

One of the early lessons we learn as children is to play fair and share with others. For most of my life this was a useful phrase. However, with the advent of the Internet and the ability to share copyrighted content with anyone connected to the net, sharing has become a major issue. When I first learned of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), I knew I would be opposed to their provisions.

How do You Iron Chef?

January 23, 2012

This past weekend was very interesting as I did a home work assignment for one of my wife’s students. Gay teaches at a small college in Dallas that has a culinary school. One of the tests is to look at a list of ingredients and put together an appetizer and main course. The student, having read a few of my Monday blogs, asked me to work with a flat iron steak and puff pastry for an appetizer and rabbit as a main course.

Punting can be Good

January 13, 2012

Wednesday when I used the word “punt” to describe the option of moving to a fully managed solution, I expected a few comments but surprisingly received very few. So, without being pushed I’ll explain why punting is a good thing. Most people consider punting a play that is called after the offense has failed but consider this it is also used to improve your field position. Selecting a fully managed or hosted solution does the same thing.

To Purchase, Subscribe or Punt

January 11, 2012

I filled out a questionnaire last week that had as a question the supposition that PBXs were going the way of the dodo bird. Cloud computing and hosted communications are viewed as making hardware purchases extinct. I do not hold that outlook. Broadvox has a major business segment that is focused on offering hosted communications.

Braciole, Not Always Italian

January 9, 2012

We ordered Thai food for dinner Friday (soup and two entrées). It was very good. Saturday we decided to eat the leftover Thai (it was really good). So, Sunday was my only day of cooking.

Why Perform Customer Analytics?

January 6, 2012

The 80:20 rule is more than a common concept. It is formally known as the Pareto principle.  An Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, developed the principle by observing that 20% of the pea pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas. He applied this observation to land ownership and in 1906 found that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the people.

A Refreshing Bit of News

January 4, 2012

Happy New Year! My goodness but it feels like it has been weeks since I wrote this blog. Yet, I find myself wondering how to start off 2012. Although, it is a Wednesday, I do think I should share a little bit about my food adventures the last week of the year.
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