Tim de Jardine | Blog

Do you charge what you are worth? Many people don’t and it bugs them every time.

Why don’t they charge what they are worth? Maybe its because they have that trap door/escape option during or after a project that keeps us from giving 100%. We can always say “I dont have to do my best as I’m not charging what I am worth”. As opposed to being fully immersed in work and giving our all. Here is the revelation:

Everytime you under-charge you waste energy.

Almost all people who undercharge spend time thinking about how they should have charged what they are worth. This wasted energy effects concentration, communication and work quality.

Just do it, charge what you are worth. You will be happier, your work will be of more quality and you will have less stress in your life.

Seth writes an insightful blog post on the limits of meta.

Organisations or individuals who try to use a medium to write about a medium are eventually limited.

I have always thought that these types of pursuits apart from rare exceptions are sometimes quiet acts of desperation to gain authority in a field that they did not quite succeed in.

Some examples include:

• writing about writing
• blogging about blogging
• songs about songwriting
• A online business about how to succeed in an online business

Can anyone think of any other examples?

When I was in school I often was told off by the teachers for day-dreaming. Whether I was using my imagination for school related purposes or something else didnt matter.

We were disciplined to not use our imaginations when we should have been encouraged to using them the most. Why?

Creative thought.

Creative thought is the most powerful form of thought. Turning the formless into the form is a skill that few have due this brainwashing. Those that have creative thought win.

So after the dust has settled lets have an analysis of how I saw the handling of the IPhone 3G build up.

One word to describe it: incompetence. Here we have a company that is going to be the first in the world to release a device that has never had so much hype associated with it and they screw New Zealanders out of a deal. Two days ago on Monday when Vodafone announced the plans would start from $199, they we were utterly dissapointing when the pricing was announced yesterday.

For a brief moment on monday there was this huge demographic of people who suddenly thought “you know what, im gonna get one of those”. This demographic dissapeared the moment plans were released yesterday which can be described as a bungling mess.

When the prices were announced yesterday, the Vodafone site was down for over an hour and I got the plan information off of geekzone.  Geekzone is more reliable than a multinational.

Who runs this company? Surely you would anticipate a spike in traffic? It seems that the pre-registering with Vodafone for the IPhone accounted for nothing as the media are hinting that the only way to get an iphone is to either order online (site will go down) or que in line in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Another blunder.  A colleague of mine (heavy Telecom customer) went into a Vodafone store to pre-register.  He is heavily dissapointed.

Techcrunch covered the story helping to spread international attention at the hideous plans.

So here we are, first in the world to sell, first in the world to blow it. Welcome back to 3rd world status New Zealand.

There has been considerable backlash within New Zealand with an online petition(with over 1100 signatures in less than 24 hours) to boycott Vodafone and an interview with the Vodafone “marketing manager” as he was systematically crucified on live television.

So Vodafone, why go for a small market when you could have had a huge market?  You chose a big piece of a small pie, rather than a small piece of a big pie. Its the same old story and New Zealanders wont get over this one anytime soon:

Data pricing is expensive in New Zealand, dont use it.

Lets keep text messaging and fall further behind.

Any mobile applications I release wont be featured here if current market conditions prevail.

Will Vodafone listen? I doubt it, you don’t have to when you have a monopoly.

Telecom, your move.

Work mode is the state of being that you routinely slip into when you arrive at work.

The patterns of getting coffee, checking email and even thinking can influence your work mode. These patterns have developed your entire working career.  Have you ever had a clear thought about a problem at work after work has finished and wondered how you didn’t come up with the answer at work?  This is work-mode.

Take a moment and ask yourself; where you learnt your work-mode patterns from?

Was it that first poor boss or your old office buddy Gary? Was it your mentor or that slacker whos always late? We are all influenced.

The point is this: Work-mode can be disruptive because you may not be performing at your optimal rate. And if your not at that optimal level, you then you need to change your state.

The
two methods to do this are either by moving your body or drastically
changing your focus.

Here are some suggestions:

• Take a brisk walk
• Snooze for 15minutes
• Listen to some music
• Talk to a friend
• Watch a video that is non work related online
• Laugh a bit

About 4-5 years ago, my business partner and I came up with the idea for a device to record exercises at the gym to track and record online in a software as a service model where people could actually measure progress. At the time this was radical thinking we could clearly see there would be a market in the future.

Nike has recently teamed up with gyms to provide integration between gym equipment and the Iphone. It is now only a matter of time that this type of integration will exist on anaerobic exercises.

The point is this:

We spent alot of time honing a business plan and talking to people and it seemed that some shared our vision, some did not. We even went to a few of the local business incubators in Wellington to pitch the idea and get some advice from “experts”. This was the wrong move.

The incubator was more interested in the “budget” or “board of advisors” than pointing two fresh-faced grads in the right direction. We clearly understood that these are important areas to address, but not at that time. We wanted to get the concept right, see if it would fly…This proved very frustrating.

The moral of the story is this: Dont expect any type of inspirational/visionary advice from these so called “experts”. They are only really there to sell consultancy services.

You are the visionary.
You are the one who sees the future.
These people are not entrepreneurs.

Canadian Citizens are angry at telco Rogers about the pricing for the 3g Iphone. So angry that last checked today, they had around 18,000 signatures added to an on-line petition rallying Steve Jobs of Apple to sign with another telco carrier in hope of a better deal than Rogers.

23,000 signatures is at least 4.5 million dollars of handset business alone and if we add the minimum sales that Rogers would get of $60 per month on a basic plan Rogers stands to lose potential business of $16,560,000 annually. All up a minimum handset plus plan for two year loss of around 37.6 million dollars!

Vodafone take note, it takes one voice and many supporters to create this much impact, lead the field and release competitive plans!

UPDATE

Looks like we are hinting at a great deal from Vodafone according to this article

UPDATE

Looks like vodafone screwed the public with the highest in the world pricing. Watch their little spokesman get eaten alive on Campbell Live

With all this talk about a recession its very interesting to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of this speculation. We are in a recession because people say we are. Economists point to examples or “evidence” to try to convince you that there is less spending or the mortgage market has crashed or the oil situation or the cost of food or terrorism….

What economists do not take into account in their models is the Entrepreneur. An entrepreneur could come along, create a product and promote massive spending/consumer activity. Where is the recession now?

An example of this is Apple with their imminent release of the Iphone 3G. Alot of people (millions) are most likely to buy one… Economic Model thrown out the window? Yes.

A recession is a mindset and a speculation. It only takes a shift in mindset to become prosperous.Technorati Tags: The future, economics, models

People buy on value, not price.

The company I used to work for always had discount and price reduction requests from customers.  My managers strategy was to give them what they wanted, lower the price.  He caved every time.

Perhaps he didnt understand value or perhaps his hands were tied.  One thing that is certain is that people buy on the perceived value of your product, not the price.  If customers are complaining about the price, increase the value you are offering.  Whether it be services, products or insight.

Start with targeting these areas to increase value: saving your customer time and attention.  Those are the two most scarce resources available today.

Two simple words with very different outcomes:

I can be successful OR happy

I can be successful AND happy

I can save the environment OR make money

I can save the environment AND make money

Successful people use AND alot.

Unsuccessful people use OR.

Where are your OR’s?

Came accross a blog post based on a survey that mentions that 30% of 18-24 year olds would consider quitting a job if Facebook access was blocked. Ann’s initial and current reaction is “Grow up Punks”.

In my opinion this survey is an example of a trend that we see time and time again with the adoption of a new technology. We witnessed this with instant messaging, personal calls at work, non-work related conversations, getting up from your desk! and heaven forbid, flexible hours! All these concepts are denied initially, ridiculed, accepted then treated like they were always so.

Facebook has many benefits to organizations, at its basic essence it is just another means of communication. The majority just do not realize this yet. Facebook could:

• Increased collaboration internally
• Stimulation of Discussion
• Hyper communicating with friends to avoid personal calls
• Connecting with others in the industry for opportunities
• Increase Employee Satisfaction

Lets not forget: Those 18-24 year olds are the future of business. The trend will continue to grow exponentially with those who have grown up with social networks (the under 18’s).

This Apple event today has been anticipated for months on end and today I just got the run around from Vodafone New Zealand about pricing for the 3G iphone. Simple enough questions right? Yes or No or We will tell you as soon as possible?

The staff, on 3 occasion had no idea about the IPhone at all, no advice, just confusion. In the Stores, the resellers and the telephone support. In the end I was directed to call Vodafones Order Tracking service for their website, which upon called allowed me to track my order…whats going on here?

This is a monumental failure from Vodafone’s management as the biggest opportunity to turn themselves around from mediocre to remarkable seems to be slipping though their grasp. I’m not too sure whether it was even in their hand. Mis-informed staff, broken communication, disconnecting phone lines. Works a teat eh Vodafone?

If I ran Vodafone New Zealand I would have a press release today, to coincide with Apples announcement, take down numbers of those interested in the IPhone and Brief all my staff on this.

I see an opening for Telecom.

There is a difference. False buzz is where you go around proclaiming you are the best, or shouting the loudest. You contact all the media/blogs that you know and you try and Shouting louder than others dare to shout. But; you can only shout so loud for so long till people get sick and tired of hearing your voice.

This is seen all to often with hi-tech startups trying to get all the coverage from media outlets about their product before they get coverage and feedback/evangelism from their customers. If you look at typical alexa traffic patterns for startups they go something like this:

before techcrunch:no traffic
on techcrunch: lots of traffic for a few days
after techcrunch: no traffic

What went wrong? Real Buzz is where your customers shout about you. Test your products on your customers and get your product to a point where they are so satisfied that they evangalise you. Then you will either be “caught” in the act of making a good thing happen by the media or naturally people will want to talk to you.

Watch this movie, it illustrates an important point.  To succeed you must fail.

At school we were taught that there is only one way to solve a problem.  With test and essays, we had to provide an answer exactly in accordance to the teachers answer book.

If I were to ask you what is 7 and 7 equal, the only answer is 14? right?

Wrong.  I have not said what 7 is, whether its a number 7 or 7 eggs or written like “Seven” or any other definition.

The point from this silly example is that there is always more than one way to do anything.  This is a key insight to the innovation process.

What do we do when we are thinking of ideas?  We often stop thinking of new ideas once we come to one we think is right.  This is exactly the mentality as the 7 + 7 example.  

Keep going, create more ideas.  You will find miracles.

Sometimes its nice to take a break and work from somewhere different. Yesterday for a few hours I temporarily moved my office to the hills above wellington. Here I could think clearer and it gave me fresh inspiration and ideas. I highly recommend it.

A popular buzzword among entrepreneurs (especially technologists) is the notion of crossing the chasm. This involves the shift in adoption from early adopters to a mainstream market. Based on Crossing the Chasm a book by Geoffrey A Moore this theory is relevant in a mass market psychology.

The problem with going for a mass market “sweep” is that it rarely happens anymore, especially in technology. There are an infinite number of choices for all consumers in a society increasingly dominated by clutter.

A more effective strategy is to push for a niche. Adopt the long tail. Kevin Kelly puts a good point that if you get 1,000 true fans you’ve got your living. Good in a small sense, but does this scale? The auction giant EBay is a niche product. Netting 3% of the internets users at any one time. Lets face it, there is no mass market in an increasingly connected world with no borders, there simply is too much choice.

The model has changed. For example if you are featured on a prominant blog such as techcrunch or a news network such as CNN early adopters and adopters will know of your existence. The challenge then comes not from adoption but to persuasion.

The idea of a mass market is an old-age myth of boom or bust, of a 20th century fantasy regarding a zero sum game. If you cannot sustain your business, then you need to rethink your strategy but if you want your product to be used by everyone, then start making it average.

The most important chasm that exists is one that is within your Niche. Crossing that involves a combination of acceptance, timing and hard-work. Cross from bleeding edge adopters to early adopters is ideal. Apple does this successfully with around 3% of the total computing market and billions of dollars in revenue.