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Ok so suspend your disbelief. This is an analogy I thought I would share.

Part of my recent journey has involved evaluation of career options. The MBA was an amazingly powerful stepping stone on this journey but not an end in itself. While trying to crystallise my thoughts I came up with this (a bit odd) ship analogy:

Imagine having a job is like working on a ship. There are big and small ships. Everyone on a ship is working for the good of the ship; to keep it running and well navigated. The sea is where the ship operates, there are lots of seas and lots of very different type of ship. The captain is responsible for the ship and making sure it is navigated and operated in accordance to what the owner(s) of the ship decide is in the ships best interests. On smaller ships, often the owner and the captain are the same.

Periodically, ships dock in harbours and ports. Here there are lots of people wondering around the docks, offering services to the captains and owners of the ship. Largely these services aim to improve or help administer the ship in some way. The people wondering around are a largely fragmented bunch but seem to like the independence of roaming the docks, talking to lots of different ships, offering advice but yet never having to worry about the politics and confinement of being aboard a ship which sets out to sea. The ship owners like to talk with them because while the ships have been out to sea they have had to focus all their attention on operating their ship and, now back in port, like to take the chance to see if improvements have been made elsewhere. There are many ways to find out this information about advancements in ship operation however, so often the people wondering around find it hard to engage the captains and owners in a way in which they can support their families.

There are other people in the harbour too. These people are looking to join a ship. This is because being part of a ship is a good way to survive and provide for their families. If they don’t find a ship to suite or one they like with space on board, then they may look to become professional advisor’s themselves, while they wait for the right ship to board. Once aboard a ship they may find themselves quite restricted in pursuing their own endeavours so accept that while aboard they should give up on their own independent aspirations.

It is often difficult for people to move between ships, both between large and small ships and especially between ships that operate in different seas. Even moving between ships that operate out of other harbours and ports can be difficult but perhaps less so than it used to be. Therefore, these people may choose to join the harbour itself, which provides infrastructure to the ships, maintenance, leisure, healthcare & entertainment for those on shore leave, and training in the latest knowledge in types of ship and types of seas. While working for a busy harbour they have very little to worry about and can often relax with regards to the provision to their family.

Occasionally, some of the people on the dock may decide that no ships match what they are looking for. Alternatively, they may have been working aboard a ships that operate in certain seas and have seen a way to somehow improve on the way existing ships currently operate in a sea or perhaps to take that knowledge to a different sea. These people then pop along to a sometimes rough and mischievous bunch known as the ship builders. They then set out to build their own ship. They may or may not decide that they want to be the captain of their new ship, but at least they want to be part of the journey of its growth and share in any success it may eventually achieve.

The problem with building their own ship is that it takes a lot of effort and, because they start small, they are more vulnerable to the ups and downs of the weather experienced out at sea; larger ships are so huge that they only worry about the biggest waves but smaller ships can get sunk by very small waves. For this reason, to build a new small ship is risky meaning these people may struggle to attract others to join with them to help build and operate their new ship.

This can be counted if the ship is planning to operate in an exciting new blue ocean where there are ideal conditions for operating ships. Further ways around this is when bigger ships decide to build associated smaller ships, supporting them where they can in those initial uncertain days. Even the harbour itself has been known to build new ships, although, because life typically so relaxed for the people work in the harbour, it can take a little more time.

This is a silly story! However, knowing whether you want to be on the harbour or out at sea is a useful consideration. If you want to be out at sea, picking the right ship for you, with the right culture and which operates in the best seas, is also important to think about. There is maybe too much pressure to join the first ship you come across or to decide which sea it is that you’d like to commit too, before having a chance to experience it first hand.

Perhaps there is an opportunity for the equivalent of pleasure craft guided sea tours!

Comments welcome!

PIIGS are the 5 European countries that are most exposed at the moment and threatening the Euro.

This is a link to a great website with some easy to understand video explaination.

Enjoy!

As a nascent entrepreneur myself, I was interested to find this new nascent entrepreneur website.

The website is work in progress by the sound of it but definitely something I would be interested in joining, if its put together well – I have sign-up for up dates at least.

This link gives a great visual representation of the UK population. It shows male / female numbers, aged 1 – 85years old. Most interestingly, it shows how the profile has changed and will change over time – between the 1970’s until 2080’s !

Having come from an automotive engineering world where simulation has long since been adopted as the way to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs of design and manufacture, it is surprising to discover lower adoption in other sectors, industrial or otherwise.

Recently I took on a new customer who is in the engineering software sales field. They offer solutions to automotive but also in any industrial sector; aerospace, energy, motor sports etc.

This has led me to really think about simulations place and what the benefits really are. Have we all been duped by awesome software sales teams (possibly), or, (as it more probably) does simulation provide a tangible and quantifiable benefit to business capability and therefore its competitive advantage?

The fundamental physics of mechanics, fluids and electrics don’t change so why has there been lower adoption of simulation in other industrial sectors so far?

Its a question I don’t have a definitive answer too, at the moment at least, but its something I am now deeply considering for my new customer.

As ever, I would welcome your comments.

Currently doing some background research. This is a great little animated graph showing population distribution over time, past and present.

I am having a moment of consideration and consolidation. The online marketing consultancy is open for business and the website is getting visitors from around the world everyday.

The open question remains: Which industry sector?

Although now skilled with the tools to work in any business in any industry, people want reassurance you know their industry and have direct experienced their problems.

Otherwise, they may argue, what value can you really bring them?  Their perception is maybe you don’t understand what they are going through. Furthermore, to sell consultancy you have to sell either a saving or an increase in revenue.  To justify the fee’s you charge, without sector experience, this is almost impossible by any ethical process.

It was through thinking about this sector problem that I took the opportunity to take a step back and evaluate. Consultancy is an industry limited by time and billable hours – I can only be in one place at one time. Furthermore, where is the incentive, past the good hourly rate? Is a consultant just a self-employed manager, rather than a true entrepreneur?

Here is a perspective from an interview with Chris Knight of ezinearticles.com on the subject:

What is the best advice you have for new or future entrepreneurs?

“Do it and stop talking about ‘doing it.” Get into massive action. Learn and read like mad every single day. Listen to your stakeholders and earn their respect by taking an enormous amount of action that proves you heard what they had to say. Create and design a business that allows you to step out of daily operations. If you are running your business, you are a manager and not an entrepreneur. Nothing wrong with being a manager or even an ‘entrepreneurial-spirited manager’, but true entrepreneurs in my mind unlock the creativity and innovation in market potential for their business and industry –they can only do this if they are not involved in daily operations of the business.

For the full article, click here.

I read an interesting article today by one of our (Warwick’s) MBA professors, Nigel Piercy.  The business schools and MBAs are being blamed by some quarters for the economic meltdown.  Nigel puts forward a balanced and decent repost to this notion in his article, published in the Wall Street Journal – click here.

My view is that greed is human nature.  Everyone was party to taking advantage of easy credit, fuelling the housing price boom and running up credit card bills to buy consumer items.  Its a cycle, a churn of money which spirals up and down; although we can’t directly control it individually, we are all party to the macro economy.

The macro economy is not the issue on its own, it is long established, the issue for the west is the rate of leakage of that money from the spiral.

The big point that people in the west are missing, is that while everyone argues about who’s fault it is and how did this happen, no-one is prepared to tackle the real issues, as I see it.  This crisis would have been much less powerful, ifthe west was still a net EXPORTER of goods, rather than importer.   By importing all our consumer goods, food and clothes from abroad (because we are largely too arrogant and proud to get our hands dirty and make them ourselves – why else is it cheaper?) the west has made itself very vulnerable.  It would not surprise me at all if there was a large swing during my lifetime of wealth and power from west to east, that  critically will have a profound effect on the standard of living in the west – if you look it is already happening really (why else would the UK have to borrow so much?)

Nigel was outspoken on the Warwick MBA course and quite polarised opinion within our class – some totally didn’t connect with his teaching style at all.  My feeling was that he challenged us and didn’t spoon feed us information, which I think can only be a good thing if you are to learn effectively.

Interestingly, other than in class presentations, Nigel never graded me that well in the exams; I never quite figured out what it was he was looking for.  I should therefore be frustrated with him but instead I am a fan.  I like people with a strong opinion and who challenge the status quo, making one think.  Its rare to meet people like this, with the courage of their convictions (to many unabated arrogance!) and its nice the Wall Street Journal feels the same.

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I am trying to leverage the “link juice” from this blog to use for my digital marketing strategy business called Entia Limited (link also at top of page).  If your business needs a digital marketing strategy, your existing website optimised or website hosting, then Entia can help you do it successfully cost effectively.

All most as soon as it has begun, the MBA is coming to a close.  This week I start my last taught module.

The subject is International Business and in many ways I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to finish – with such diversity in the group, this course has been truly international. 

The course readings are significant.  In fact there are so many that the binder is already full – and that is before any handouts for the week.

The highlight I hope will be the FINS exercise at the end of the week, where each team represents different groups in a simulated negotiation.  There are a mix of western multinationals, governments of emerging countries and local companies in the emerging countries.  Negotiations are expected to centre around trade incentives, tax breaks, joint ventures, knowledge transfer, government stability (or likely instability!), cost optimisation and managing the media and press to each groups advantage!  Should be a good way to finish.