Monthly Archives: April 2006

Strategy: Competitive Standards Strategy

While competitors and customers believe in standards that are fair, impartial and open, a company’s competitive interests are often met by seeking unfair, proprietary and closely controlled advantage. Yet the open standards process is valuable to a company in broadening the potential market, building a positive market reputation and building a community of potential customers. The challenge is to participate in and drive standards in a fair, impartial and open manner while internally pursuing an aggressive competitive product, market and standards strategy. Continue reading →

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Strategy: Lessons from Texas Hold’em

I don’t play cards, but I enjoy watching Texas Hold’em poker on TV. One might think that watching other people play cards would be boring. On the contrary. Poker games present a microcosm of strategy, tactics, personality traits and clues. … Continue reading →

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Business Planning: Software Patents

Up until the last few years I have not been a fan of software patents. My rationale for my disdain of software patents was purely pragmatic. Developing approvable patent applications takes significant time from senior engineers which distracts them from … Continue reading →

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Strategy: The Palladium Print System

In 1986, within a few weeks of joining Digital Equipment Corporation as an Enterprise Management Architect, I was tossed a “simple” assignment of resolving a distributed queuing problem between VMS, Ultrix and the new line of LPS networked laser print … Continue reading →

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