May 12th, 2008 by Andy Sweet
Frequently you hear athletes, successful business people, etc… saying, “You can accomplish anything if you set your mind to it” or some similar variation of goal achievement. I find that a lot of people (myself included) frequently just lack the goal. Yes, if you have a clear vision of your goal, it’s a lot easier to figure out how to get there.
I’ve been fortunate to work closely with some very, very successful people. Truly game changing visionaries. Wherever they go, their reputation precedes them. Their bio’s tout about how early on, long before anyone else they saw an opportunity and charged full speed ahead. What I’ve found in talking with them candidly is that often is not completely accurate. I’ve learned that they didn’t necessarily know what they were stumbling on and luck was a large part of their success. Where they are today wasn’t a goal back then.
That’s good news for those of us who fret about not seeing the master plan today. As long as you’re out there making yourself open to opportunity, you have a good chance of something coming your way.
May 4th, 2008 by Andy Sweet
Boy, did Yahoo really screw the pooch this time!
Microsoft got tired of Yahoo’s game. Now Google might now want to do the ad distribution deal because they don’t feel like dealing with the regulatory commission hassle. And even if they did, what leverage does Yahoo hold anymore? NONE. I hope Yahoo enjoyed being the popular girl everyone was trying to get to go to the big dance. Now she gets to sit home on prom night eating her Haagen Dasz all alone. Well, that’s not entirely true. She’ll still be getting lots of attention… by way of class action lawsuit from investors for this total debacle.
So what does Microsoft do now? They were trying to jump start into being real competition for Google. Their MSN er… I mean Live.com really hasn’t done it. How do they go and get in front of massive amounts of eyeballs? Some are suggesting that AOL might be the next stop.
What about domain portfolios? Say… Marchex? The stock is weak because the public doesn’t understand them. Not to mention the parting gift you could make on Yahoo’s bottom line by taking away one of their bigger distribution partners.
