David Jacobson's External Insights

Project management

I've been working on long-term projects which have stopped me starting some new projects.

Should I start the new ones anyway? No. I agree with Johanna Rothman here: put your priority into finishing projects if you can before you start new ones.

Her list method makes sense and helps sort out what you need to do next to take that almost-finished project to the next step before you start something else.

New online business ideas

Any new business has to satisfy a need (or convince customers there is a need to be filled). It can answer that question: Why doesn't somebody do something about that?

Paul Graham has written about Startup Ideas We'd Like to Fund.

And here are 10 Totally Stupid Online Business Ideas That Made Someone Rich.

Effective execution of strategies

The Secrets to Successful Strategy Execution from Harvard Business Review points out that implementation depends largely on 2 factors:

• Clarifying decision rights— for instance, specifying who “owns” each decision and who must provide input
• Ensuring information flows where it’s needed— such as promoting managers laterally so they build networks needed for the cross-unit collaboration critical to a new strategy

Booz has also published an interesting Organization Effectiveness Simulator.

Is your business still in 1999?

Australia 2020

The Australia 2020 summit has issued its initial report.

Although there is doubt about whether the delegates were representative and whether they were the "best and brightest" the report contains a snapshot of contemporary Australian views which the Government will consider.

UPDATE: David Marr comments on the process.

UPDATE: Final Report

Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific

The Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific is produced by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), to provide a detailed picture of the major economic, social and environmental trends in Asia and the Pacific. Findings in this year’s edition include increased urban poverty, that energy consumption grew at a pace unequalled elsewhere and increased motorization is improving mobility.

Building a company culture

This interview with Google's engineering director gives some insight into how the company maintains its creative culture and innovative operations.

Australia 2020 summit: scenario planning on a national scale?

The Rudd Government is convening an Australia 2020 Summit at Parliament House on 19 and 20 April to help shape a long term strategy for the nation’s future.

The Summit will debate and develop long-term options for the nation across 10 critical areas. It is not clear whether the summit will actually do scenario planning.

The objectives are described as:

• To harness the best ideas across the nation
• To apply those ideas to the 10 core challenges that the Government has identified for Australia – to secure our long-term future through to 2020
• To provide a forum for free and open public debate in which there are no predetermined right or wrong answers
• For each of the Summit’s 10 areas to produce following the Summit options for consideration by government
• For the Government to produce a public response to these options papers by the end of 2008 with a view to shaping the nation’s long-term direction from 2009 and beyond.

Bank-customer communication and blogs

Whilst I have been aware of Savings & Loans credit union's blog for some time, the Better Banking Blog has drawn my attention to RaboPlus's Executive Blog and its demonstration of the value of interactive communication with customers.

In the comments section on a post about Westpac's online banking downtime, RaboPlus's Head of Financial Services for  Australia and New Zealand receives comments both about his site's own downtime and design and responds to both quickly receiving praise from the commenters.

There's no point in being defensive: if you're open about problems and show that you'll respond to  comments you'll attract a favourable response.

Reviewing your CEO

Venture capital investors are reputed to be hard-nosed, so I found this framework for reviewing a CEO to be of interest.

It assesses the CEO in the following areas:

• Vision
• Leadership
• Operating Management
• Values and Integrity
• Shareholder/Investor/Financial Community
• Strategic Partners
• Human Resources
• Public Relations
• Board Relations
• Financial Results
• Key Challenges in the Year Ahead