So here I am, sitting, scrunched up under a large desk (it has to be to fit my large bulk). Why am I here? Picking up a dropped pencil? Playing with my computer's various cables? Cleaning up all the dust bunnies? No. I'm hiding. Not from my boss, but from my kids. We're playing hide-n-seek.
Am I having fun trying to see how well hidden I can be? Not particularly. In fact, playing with my kids can be downright boring sometimes (of course, at other times, it's a lot of fun, so I'm not complaining about the "raising kids" thing). Ever been bored doing some work for a client? Are some programming tasks downright boring? Absolutely.
But, we do them, anyway. Why? Because, down the road, it'll make for a better product, happier client, well-adjusted kids, and a happy marriage. We do lots of things in any given day that we don't enjoy (raise your hand if you enjoy your commute!). Most of the time, we do these things for some payoff down the road (in some form or another). So, ultimately, that's a good thing, right?
Darn, they caught me. Now it's my turn to find them. I wonder how long that will take...
Friday, August 19, 2005
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
The Movers, They Come
I moved. That is, I physically moved myself and family from one house to another. If there's one thing I learned from that experience, it's this: don't move unless you have to. It's a pain.
In fact, I think I've heard of executives saying the same thing about building software. Hmm....
Since I'm not as young as I used to be, I decided not to move myself. This was definitely an outsourcing job, so I hired movers. The process I went through to choose who to be the lucky company was fairly obscure: I made my wife do it. And upon what criteria did she use? If she could understand them, they got the job. Actually, when you put your house up for sale, you get all sorts of advertisements from moving companies. Some of them even call you on the phone.
So, we got lots of advertisements, a few phone calls, and a lot of headache in trying to figure out who to choose. Obviously, there's the price. There was a fairly large range of hourly rates, fixed prices, etc. We had a pretty good idea of how much it *should* cost, but certainly not an exact figure. Ultimately, it came down to what I said: one of them left a message on our answering machine, and we could understand what they were saying. And they weren't too expensive.
So, my wife called them up, hired them, and we got moved. Did we make the right choice? No, unfortunately not. Was it a nightmare? Yeah, but it would have been no matter what (boxing and unboxing isn't what I call a dream come true). Should it have been better? Sure. Could it have been with a different mover? Certainly (though it could have been worse, too).
Moving is moving...you put boxes on a truck, you tape up furniture with blankets, etc. and you load/unload. It would seem to be a commodity. To a certainly extent, it is, since there are *lots* of moving companies (and many of them compete on price). However, there's a big difference between a smooth move and a nightmare (okay, mine wasn't really a nightmare...it was somewhere in between). But, as a consumer, how do you tell the difference?
There are a lot of consulting companies out there (I'm sure there are many who consider it a commodity service, since many compete on price). How do you tell the difference? When executives, managers, or whoever have to choose, how do they go about it? There are some obvious pieces to that puzzle, such as the cost (that includes dollars, but also includes other kinds of costs), and knowing what's available (it's hard to get picked when they don't know you exist). But, ultimately, what differentiates them from each other?
I've no idea. Sure, with the movers, I could have asked for references. I could have done some additional research, background investigations, asked friends, etc. Would that have made a difference? Maybe. It would certainly have helped. Would it have necessarily given the best answer? No. The moving company I hired claimed to be a different kind of moving company. How? I certainly didn't see the difference (not that I move frequently and can compare).
As individuals, we stand up and shout about how different we are. We're unique! My company is unique and different! (Does that mean it's "better?") Your company is unique and different! How and why? Is it the kind of different that I'm looking for?
Fundamentally, I don't have an answer. How *do* you tell the difference (and if I could, does it matter to me)? It's tough being a business.
In fact, I think I've heard of executives saying the same thing about building software. Hmm....
Since I'm not as young as I used to be, I decided not to move myself. This was definitely an outsourcing job, so I hired movers. The process I went through to choose who to be the lucky company was fairly obscure: I made my wife do it. And upon what criteria did she use? If she could understand them, they got the job. Actually, when you put your house up for sale, you get all sorts of advertisements from moving companies. Some of them even call you on the phone.
So, we got lots of advertisements, a few phone calls, and a lot of headache in trying to figure out who to choose. Obviously, there's the price. There was a fairly large range of hourly rates, fixed prices, etc. We had a pretty good idea of how much it *should* cost, but certainly not an exact figure. Ultimately, it came down to what I said: one of them left a message on our answering machine, and we could understand what they were saying. And they weren't too expensive.
So, my wife called them up, hired them, and we got moved. Did we make the right choice? No, unfortunately not. Was it a nightmare? Yeah, but it would have been no matter what (boxing and unboxing isn't what I call a dream come true). Should it have been better? Sure. Could it have been with a different mover? Certainly (though it could have been worse, too).
Moving is moving...you put boxes on a truck, you tape up furniture with blankets, etc. and you load/unload. It would seem to be a commodity. To a certainly extent, it is, since there are *lots* of moving companies (and many of them compete on price). However, there's a big difference between a smooth move and a nightmare (okay, mine wasn't really a nightmare...it was somewhere in between). But, as a consumer, how do you tell the difference?
There are a lot of consulting companies out there (I'm sure there are many who consider it a commodity service, since many compete on price). How do you tell the difference? When executives, managers, or whoever have to choose, how do they go about it? There are some obvious pieces to that puzzle, such as the cost (that includes dollars, but also includes other kinds of costs), and knowing what's available (it's hard to get picked when they don't know you exist). But, ultimately, what differentiates them from each other?
I've no idea. Sure, with the movers, I could have asked for references. I could have done some additional research, background investigations, asked friends, etc. Would that have made a difference? Maybe. It would certainly have helped. Would it have necessarily given the best answer? No. The moving company I hired claimed to be a different kind of moving company. How? I certainly didn't see the difference (not that I move frequently and can compare).
As individuals, we stand up and shout about how different we are. We're unique! My company is unique and different! (Does that mean it's "better?") Your company is unique and different! How and why? Is it the kind of different that I'm looking for?
Fundamentally, I don't have an answer. How *do* you tell the difference (and if I could, does it matter to me)? It's tough being a business.
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