I started a business. It made me want to drink copious quantities, smoke myself into oblivion and hit my head against a brick wall. Instead I wrote a blog.
Site Launch Day: 52
User Count: 73
Going right: Seeing progress made on the game API, setting up game testers a go-go
Going wrong: Met an Irish woman here on Branno and can't drink with her for another 9 months or so
Comment: Have been told that during the winter months here, all people do is drink because it's so effing cold. Foresee slight issue for this winter.
Fleshing out a project specification is a long and detailed process. And it seems to be never ending. No sooner do I think that the damn project is defined and costed, than I have a new shinier idea that is absolutely imperative for the business. It's like a eureka moment every day. Whilst this in itself is inspirational, it also annoys my developers no end, who were at first as excited as I, but then realized that I was a little like Columbo - my increasingly intrusive pleasantries peppered with just 'one more thing' that never was just 'one more'.
We use a tracking system for the milestones in the projects which includes a time log and tickets. I can see the tracking system with the tasks accomplished because recently they have upgraded the system to improve transparency on project progress (apparently one client demanded daily time logs - and I thought I was bad). The problem with this is that whilst transparency is a good thing, it also gives rise to a thousand other queries...like why was only 120 minutes logged today. What else were they doing than not working on my project?
The principle of transparency is one of good corporate governance and one I completely support. As Mummy always said - honesty is the best policy. Even in business. And definitely for us. But why?
- It incites stakeholder trust by eradicating the unknown (basic psychology stipulates that in the face of the unknown people tend to be more fearful)
- At a firm level, for a virtually networked company it provides some greater coherence to the vision and corporate culture for employees to buy into
- It reestablishes accountability, ethics and lends humanity into an otherwise 'distant' and faceless community
And of course nowhere more than in your accounts is transparency more important. It's why I have committed on behalf of Investment Impact that a ratio analysis of the accounts will be available for anyone who wants to see them. But as I am sure my web developers are now finding out, committing to transparency is good in principle, but actually costs a lot more in time, effort and stress. One can only hope that the less quantifiable benefits are worth it.
Creative Accounting
When I was wet behind the ears
And innocent in former years
Not really knowing - what you credit -
My trial balance from my debit
I held the simple-minded view
That one and one were always two,
And what was basic to accounting
Was truth, and aptitude for counting.
But nothing, I now know, encumbers
The poor accountant more than numbers
Since sentiment among some clients
Made budgets more an art than science,
Or what they call, with losses mounting
'Creative' methods of accounting,
Which means in euphemistic diction
Accounts with elements of fiction.
Taken from: The Bottom Line: A Book of Boardroom ballads
Site Launch Day: 53
User Count: 77
Going right: Seems the email I sent out yesterday to those who had not activated their accounts worked.
Going wrong: Have to take a break from work this morning to go to playgroup.
Comment: It's not that I mind playgroup, or the biscuits and coffee they serve there - it's just that my work week is 60 hours and doesn't get shortened just because I take the morning off.
This is supposed to be a business blog, and yet I find that my life and business are so intermingled that this blog is a clear reflection of both. And so as I can only write what I feel, I can't guarantee any exclusivity to the more traditional business disciplines. Today's blog is therefore dedicated to a less traditional one - The Force - and what it may or may not have to do with my business. I was pondering Starwars the other day for the billionth time. But for the first time, instead of just pondering, I decided to do a little research on its enduring popularity. As usual my research did not entail moving my ass, so instead I posted a question on Facebook
Q: What is it about Starwars that inspires such loyalty?
Miguel: Everything :-) A fine answer Miguel, albeit a little unhelpful for my purposes
Laura: It's the psychology behind it - star wars is based on classic archetypes that we instinctively recognize. Excellent answer Laura, go to the top of the class...have to now look up the word archetype in the dictionary
Laura (part 2): Oooh look at my very clever response! very unlike me on facebook ;) Nothing like a little self congratulation Laura.
Kevin: The first film particularly had it all - good vs evil, princess and the pauper, David and Goliath, Abbott & Costello. With the short scenes with lots of obvious wipe transitions, it's not longer a film but a movie version of a comic strip fairytale crossed with 50's sci-fi and pulp fiction. How can anyone not be loyal to that? Don't get me started on the pomposity of the argument about the 'first' film vs. the first chronological film. That aside, interesting point of view. Totally with you on the good, evil, david, goliath thing - but loyalty to a mix of genres? Hmmm.
Gill: Yoda...nuff said. Green wrinkled being, had a less verbose part a decade on in Ghostbusters (how the mighty have fallen) apparently even bogies come to life inspire loyalty.
David: Light Sabres. You are a manboy.
Matthew: If you have to ask then you won't understand ;o). Ah. The superiority of those who 'get' Starwars, versus those who seek to do so....
Peter: Cowboys and Indians..... but in SPACE!!!! Pete, meet Dave - Dave, Pete.
Hussain: mythic themes + quality production + karmic vibes = goodness. Nice all encompassing answer. Also could be answer to LOTR.
Michael: . . .and who doesn't want to shoot and get shot at and never get hit?. . .Do you also like The A-team?
Cynthia: Harrison Ford. Not my taste but understand he is rescuer and hero.
Am really surprised that neither Pete, Dave and Michael didn't mention this reason....
Of course, there is no ONE answer really. The attraction comes in a lot of ways. But over all the the reasons set out above, my reason is The Force. It's unbelievably attractive and evokes huge empathy - as represented in the films by its power over those who are able to wield it, and those who succumb to it, and as an allegory of whatever you choose to call God, The Is, The Universe, Jehovah etc. in this world. The force is the heart and soul of Starwars, unchanging and yet as mulitfaceted as those who seek to understand it. And whilst my friend Matthew may have received a metaphorical rap over the knuckles for his answer, it's actually the one closest to what I feel. We demand that so many concepts in life are verbalized and yet they are 3-dimensional feelings which seem somehow flattened when transcribed to black and white. I feel empathy with the force running through the films as I do with my business Investment Impact. Core values, vision, mission - they are all words to describe the heart and soul of our concept but are meaningless unless you feel it. Unless you 'get' it.
Get geographical and financial freedom. Be a part of the new order. Get it?