Soup Nazi

I am told there is a TV comedy called Seinfeld. I've always doubted the comedy designation, in spite of the fact that I find Jerry Seinfeld's stand up routines hilarious. At one point, I was strong armed into watching an episode with a character called the "Soup Nazi". The Soup Nazi runs a restaurant that serves only soup. The soup is great and there is a line around the block to get soup. At the point of buying, the Soup Nazi decides if you get soup or not. If you are not worthy you go hungry - No soup for you.

So there was a great debate last year among the business pundits about Apple. Did Steve Jobs listen to his customers? Or more importantly does Apple listen to it's customers? The debate seems to seesaw between to propositions:

• Apple designs products that it's potential customers haven't imagined
• Apple continually surveys its customers to identify "net promoters"

These two propositions are true. The classic example of why a business shouldn't design for potential customers is the Edsel. Ford did the "right" market research and still lost money. Apple buys into the net promoter world view that there are "good" profits derived from people who promote your products, and "bad" profits from people who don't promote your product. This is snob appeal. The special people understand and buy your products and the rest don't matter. Apple is very profitable selling electronics this way. This is the Soup Nazi - make a really good product. Ignore your customers except to verify they are lining up. Only sell to those who are worthy.

• Want a dumb phone - no soup for you.
• Want a $200 tablet - no soup for you.
• Want a computer assembled in North America - no soup for you.

Is it fair? Probably not. Is it profitable - so far. Does Apple listen to it's customers - only when it has to.

Disclaimer - I own shares of Apple Stock.

The Best of the Soup Nazi
Another Myth Bites The Dust: How Apple Listens To Its Customers
Jobs Steps Down at Apple, Saying He Can’t Meet Duties

Replay

In the December Communications of the ACM republished Judy Robertson's blog from November of 2010: Game Design through Mentoring and Collaboration. It's apparent creating games and simulations can be an effective way to teach. So let's get people creating.

Game Design through Mentoring and Collaboration.Judy Robertson retrieved 15 December 2011. http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm/101956-game-design-through-mentoring-and-collaboration/fulltext

Blog Spam

It's funny, I've been watching my readership rise and was curious why I was getting my views were coming from Russia. A little research and low and behold, there is some advertising/phishing strategy out there to monitor new posts and use the source info to lead back to an advertising site. Hopefully, I didn't get anything from Russia with love.

This brings up the question of why write if no one is reading? Because it is good practice at the very least it lets me retain my touch typing skills.

Cheers

Strange Brew

This has been a strange week. I read Eric Jackson's The Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful Executives on Forbes.com the day after watching this little gem from Dan Pink speaking to RSA: RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us.

So take some time watch and read. Then think about this, are we paying our top performers stupid?

We Believe in Meetings

We're very very busy and we have a lot to do and we haven't got a minute to explain it all to you...
 Sandra Boynton ¹  

We believe in meetings - all that have been scheduled, all that are now scheduled, and we believe that there will yet be scheduled many great and important meetings. We have endured many meetings and hope to to be able to endure all meetings. Indeed we may say that if there is a meeting, or anything that resembles a meeting, or anything that we might possibly turn into a meeting, we seek after these things.
Mary Ellen Edmunds ²

Several years ago, my friend Walt, told me in disgust there were members of the church council who used meetings as a way to get away from their wives, the way other men went to the bar. This was a socially acceptable way to avoid responsibilities that made them feel uncomfortable.

I think there may be managers doing the same thing. Rather than spend time with their employees they have meetings to cultivate a sense of importance. I can't make that decision right now. I'm busy. I get this feeling even though I work for a company that has very good guidelines around business meetings:

• If you go to a meeting and you don't know what the meeting is about in the first 10 minutes ask. If no one can tell you leave.
• If you don't receive an agenda, refuse the meeting.
• If you receive a meeting invitation and you don't think you should be there, refuse the invitation.

Is it just me?


1. BusyBusyBusy,  Rhinoceros Tap, 1996 - Available here
2. 14th Article of Faith, Retrieved from http://www.byhigh.org/Alumni_A_to_E/Edmunds/MaryEllen.html 3 January, 2012

Truthiness: The customer is always right, except when he isn't.

Truth is a slippery concept - there is the mathematical definition of a Boolean - true/false, it is or it isn't. There is the scientific definition of it's true until it isn't. And there is the social definition of consensus - it's true because we agree it is. There are some gaps between these definitions and then we add issues with the concept of right. I'm right - you're wrong.

Last week we had a an interesting experience in the Truth when my eldest son missed the bus. His Mother, who now needed to take him to school, was not pleased. Her version was simple - our Son was dawdling. His version was also simple - he was hurrying as fast as he could and the bus came. Likely both are correct. Both are true, if contradictory.

There is only Time

Try this on for size - there is only time.

1. Time is not money. Money is time.
2. There are no goods only services. Goods are tangible evidence of services.