Sometimes the Band-Aid is too big to use

Sometimes the only solution you have is too monolithic to consider. Bail on it and keep thinking.

The Hard Part: Making the Product the First Time

It could be argued that creating a process or prototype / product / model of something for the first time is not the same as producing or selling that product in mass scale. But they're kinda related, right?, because it's all about changing and innovating… I'll try to distinguish between the creation and the birthing.

Doing something for the first time is creating the process or business. It is akin to giving birth.

Selling the product after it has been created and first shown is akin to raising the child. It is a constant selling process.

Let them set the urgency for their problems

Sometimes others' problems really are not your own; but they have to be. When I encounter this type of situation, I like to let the other person drive; make them set the sense of urgency and schedule things. Let the sense of urgency happen on their side. When they approach you with their thing, be nice, have good customer service, and move forward.

Forget about the Non-Current Impediment Now

Don't waste your time thinking about something you could do later. If you're not fighting a fire or doing something urgent and important now, then you're wasting your time. Find the person that's fighting fires and take their direction on how they need help. If they don't need help, then something's wrong; you're not supplying them enough resources.

Be Selling or Be Solving

You've basically got two choices in work and getting things done from a communications perspective: solve it or sell it.

Sometimes the sellers have to be solvers, and sometimes the solvers have to be sellers.

Know your role and what you have to do next. Be flexible.

Learn on the Task Incrementally or About the Framework Overall

There are two primary learning methods in my experience:

1. Learn on the task at hand (either by figuring it yourself or asking someone how to solve/do it)
   
2. Learn the overall framework or system (requires good connections, time, patience, and money)
   

Learning via method #2 is a luxury that we sometimes get. We want more of it but can't always find it because we don't know enough people who are as smart as we are or know as little as we do. I'm currently in a project that requires quite a bit of #1 work and I don't really have too much help on it.

We need to get better at learning in both of these ways.

Many Professional Services Compensation Methods

From what I can tell there are just a few sensible ways to pay a professional services worker:

1. By the hour on billable client work
   
2. By the hour on non-billable work (process improvement)
   
3. As a % of billed project work (sales)
   
4. Fixed fee for bringing on new consultants
   
5. Fixed Salary
   

And metrics at play that would allow you to build a model are:

• Billable hours
  
• Hourly bill rate
  
• Total billed on project
  
• Number projects
  
• Wage Costs
  
• Number billing consultants
  
• Margin on work
  

I want to be able to get paid for all of these methods but the company has to first determine how all of these options work such that the company can continue to grow rapidly and sustain its growth. No small task but I hope to continue to think about and develop a formal, flexible software model for this.

Business Intelligence: The Stuff You Don’t See, Know, or Understand

Business intelligence are the things that happen "behind the scenes" to achieve a business outcome. Business intelligence are the outsourced or "hidden" capabilities that the IT application or service provides for you without you knowing.

More later.

Distinguishing *Kicking* Major Booty from *Kissing* Major Booty

In order to get ahead we sometimes have to "kiss ass". It's not fun but we probably all do it sometimes. It's even a skill I would argue.

But it's not the same as "kicking major ass" and it's really not the goal. Let me explain. We can get ahead in one of two ways: A) climbing the ladder and B) doing good work. Climbing the ladder *may* come as a result of doing good work but can also come from kissing ass and "who you know".

Try to climb by kicking ass (doing good word) rather than kissing ass (building relationships) but recognize that don't matter and you probably can't do one without the other; you attract more bees with honey.