Blog Yes & Know

Video, video — oh how you've changed

Most consumers don’t want to become near-professionals to produce a simple home movie or better capture a moment of our lives. Consumers don’t want to master Studio 10 by Pinnacle …

Hey what's that in the corner?

I had another late night meeting last week, where my firm was involved in helping a company evaluate a decision to an upcoming product launch. Sorry for not being able …

Software as a Service: Over-hyped, But That Doesn't Mean it Won't Kill You

We were involved in a recent roundtable meeting where the topic of Software as a Service (SaaS) came up. Some of the people there felt it’s an important trend, others viewed it as the latest round of Silicon Valley hype.
Our view is that it’s an important change in the way the industry works, but one that will take years to play out. As so often happens in our industry, it will probably be written off by a lot of people before it has its greatest impact.

Will Cisco's Latest Move Bring in Big Bucks?

For every successful market entry, another four fail. We learned that in grad school. One of the few facts that made practical sense, and thus stuck. So it’s a brave company that tries to do market expansion, and Cisco is doing it in a new way that’s worth learning from.
When even your smallest movement makes waves in the market, how do you find the lever that moves you to growth?

Making a Better Widget isn't a Competitive Strategy

During my day job, I help both start-ups and billion-dollar tech companies pick market niches and position themselves to compete successfully no matter what size. Most of them start with …

Is Loyalty About the "First Click," Or Does That Happen Much Later?

That’s the question that’s been banging around our brains since reading an article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal on Microsoft and PC makers negotiating on the “first-boot sequence.” The article argues that in the first five to ten minutes after an OS is first installed, most consumers choose software and services they will often use for a lifetime. The comments from Microsoft suggest they think “loyalty is won at set-up.”

What's the Big Idea?

Greatness in leadership is often associated with being the “big idea” person. When most of us think “Big Idea,” we think of technology pioneers like Steve Jobs (personal computers), Jeff Hawkins (PDAs). Heck we might think of Ben Franklin (electricity!) or whoever it was that invented the Internet. And then there appears to be a gap between those “big idea” folks and us high-tech executives. Hooey I say.
Creating “Big Ideas” is available to all of us. While I do agree education, experience, connections, and intelligence play roles, here are some ideas to guide you. With this, I hope to debunk the myth of where great ideas come from, and help you generate “Big Ideas” in your field that help you and your company to win markets.