Manchester City soccer club is proposing to buy a Kaka, a soccer player, from AC Milan for €100m transfer fee plus a €15m per year salary.

 

So how did they construct the business case to justify the purchase?

 

 

We at Nimbus are ‘relaxed, yet professional’.  That what our staff tell us. That’s what our clients tell us. That’s the exact wording in our company values statement . In the office, from the CEO down we wear jeans, polo shirts and sneakers. Or whatever people want to wear. But when we go to the client we wear what the client wears – suit and tie at Nestle, smart shirt and chinos at Microsoft. 

 

So our culture has driven our dress code. In fact our dress code has relaxed over the last 10 years. But we have a strong company culture. In a recent staff survey it was identified as one of the reasons people enjoy working for Nimbus.  It is one of the things that people will fight to protect. So it is one our 3 key priorities as we grow around the world – “Maintain our company culture”.

 

In our case our culture has driven our dress code.

 

But is the reverse true?

 

Does a suit and tie dress code breed a stuffy, over-important culture or a very professional attitude.  By contrast is a t-shirt and jeans dress code, or even no dress code, symptomatic of a chaotic and slovenly business?

 

I remember when I was IT Director at a major UK Government Department we had very large teams who were under-performing and came to work looking a mess.  But those same people would put on a smart shirt and tailored trousers as it was the entry requirement for the local nightclub.  So we imposed that as the minimum dress code. 

 

Did it change the culture?  Slightly.

 

My view:

- Culture sets the dress code.

- Senior role models demonstrate both the culture and dress code.

- Dress code reinforces the culture, particularly for those new to the organisation.

 - get it established (in writing and minds of senior people) early in the company's growth.

What’s your experience?

There are a few things in life that you should not do, because once you've done them, you can't go back.  For me they are:

- Go out with a model (detailes withheld)

 

- Drive expensive sports cars (www.p1international.com)

 

- Drink fine wine (various)

 

- Listen to awesome hifi (www.redwineaudio.com  www.ultimateears.com)

 

Just added a 5th.   Drink Nespresso coffee. (www.nespresso.com)

 

This image sums it all up.  Living the Beautiful  Life - ad for Belvedere Vodka

 

What have I missed?

 

Paul McGee, the SUMO guy, sent a great email out last week about Making Excuses.  Sadly he doesn't blog, so here it is.

How many times do excuses replace action.  Why not give up 'making excuses' for Lent?

Click on the title for the full email.

So is 2009 going to be the year of BPM?   We think so, for a couple of reasons.


1.       The current problems in the banking sector have highlighted a woeful lack of controls.  Clearer definition of process will make the control points more transparent and allow management to understand and manage the risks better.

2.       If companies are looking to make people redundant then the first question is “Which ones”. Without any clear picture of the operational processes it is difficult to make fair and effective decisions.

3.       Operational efficiency is the way to grow the bottom line. Growth of the economy and increasing demand will not bail companies out, as it has over the last 4-5 years. As this recession looks like it will last some time a quick fix is not good enough.  “Sustainable improvement” is what companies are looking for.

So the question is where to focus? 

Here are Steve Mc Dermott's "take" on New Year's Resolutions, 

New Year's Eve... It's one minute to midnight... You're thinking one or all of the following:

Who can I kiss? Who can I avoid kissing? How much champagne is left? What does "Should auld acquaintance be forgot for the sake of auld lang syne" actually mean?

Or

How come I never get invited to any parties? Just me and Jules Holland on TV again? I'm a sad loser? I must set some New Year's Resolutions.

 

Now let us consider that last thought.

 

In my lifetime music has evolved many times, but it has still not reached its final end point.  But the end is in sight. One of the key barriers, DRM, is being removed by most music providers. The second is the available disk space or memory on players and computers.

 

Intrigued . read on

 
Someone once told me that the probability of an entrepreneur getting venture capital is the same as getting struck by lightning while standing at the bottom of a swimming pool on a sunny day. This may be too optimistic.

 

At the moment VCs and Business Angels are sitting on their hands for 3 crucial reasons:

 

1.  What is the rush?   VCs still earn their management fees even when they are not investing.  So it is better to wait and let the market settle before committing.  'Settle' may be 3-6 months.

 

2. Our portfolio may need further investment.  Understandable.  Thier current investments may get into trouble and need cash.  Double whammy.  Investment means taking more equity.  In trouble means low valuation so more equity for less.

 

3. In a downturn it is easier to spot winners.  So if everyone else is tanking it is easier to see those rising stars.  So that de-risks investments and they can still benefit from depressed valuations.

 

With this as a backdrop - Bootstrapping looks like it is going to be the only way to fund a start-up.  In the main article are some thoughts on bootstrapping.

 

So boostrapping it is...  read on - click on the blog title

 

 

Managing geeks / nerds / software engineers is never going to be easy. But if you have a top team then it is going to be doubly challenging.

 

Principle 1: the MOST expensive engineer is no more than 2x more expensive than the least and can be 10-50 more productive.  So get THE VERY BEST.

 

Principle 2: if you've paid top dollar, then do everything you can to keep them. 

 

The attached article was written in 2000 by Cal Evans, and is as true today as it was when it was written.  Probably more so with the current economic squeeze.

 

Click on the blog title to read the article