Consultant's View Articles
Consultant's View, 2010
February 2010
What do we really know?
Have you ever run into someone who was totally convinced of something that you knew to be wrong?
While this is common in political fields, it happens also in the business world.
This is a type of ignorance that is not easily cured.
more
Let's Celebrate Rascals
Recently, Charlie Wilson died. He was one of the "rascals" in American life.
He was known for the ladies and the drinking - and also for taking exceptional action to help the
Afghan fighters push back the Soviets.
In his honor, it is time to celebrate American rascals.
more
January 2010
Fears and Freedom
The reaction to the Underwear Bomber shows some of the nature of human society.
Ordinary American citizens jumped in to subdue him instead of waiting for government to act.
Now, the TSA reacted with a bunch of new rules and regulations.
Some people love the new regulations and others chafe under them.
more
How to Kill a Great Company - Part II
The fall of Richard Nixon, the almost bankruptcy of Salomon Brothers,
and the demise of the law firm of Jenkins and Gilchrist all show one of the fastest ways to destroy something good.
In these cases, top management knew about a problem and chose to hide and defend it rather than to cut their losses.
more
Consultant's View, 2009
December 2009
New Technology Cusp?
Every time a new computer technology comes into being,
it starts by being used by specialists,
then by people playing games, and only later do general purpose applications show up.
Each time, the new technology was derided as a "toy" by those who were working with the previous technology.
Over time, each new technology reaches a "cusp" where it changes from being a fun technology
into something that most people will use.
We are approaching that point with smart cell phone technology.
more
How to Kill a Great Company
Attitude is the key to a company's future.
We are told to hire for attitude. We do well to fire for attitude.
But the key attitude that we would do well to fire for is one that very few companies actually check for.
more
October 2009
The Economics of Trade
Over the last decade, there have been a couple of best selling books
purporting to show that trade has significantly changed.
Both of these books, the "Long Tail" and the "World is Flat",
mistake changes in the costs of trade for a fundamental change in trade practices.
more
Consultant's View, 2008
The 2008 issues include things like "Denial of the burst", "Have you changed your management style?"
"How much risk can you stand?"
Check out more of 2008 issues
Prairie Trail Software offers a complementary newsletter, A Consultant's View.
These newsletters are our chief form of marketing. But beyond letting our clients know that we exist, they also provide a great source of information about consulting in general and specifics for transaction processing systems.
Our newsletters are completely free and available on request, see our ordering page, for more information. Recent newsletters are available on the web after print publication.