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Posts tagged ‘Ron Baker’

Nov 15

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100% true story: Plato and Aristotle advocated killing the timesheet!

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The future looks kind of wacky!

We pick up where we left off yesterday in which Plato and Aristotle had a falling out – resulting in the dissolution of their long-standing student-mentor relationship. Today’s scene opens with a much more joyous atmosophere.

TIMESHEETUS INTERRUPTUS

ACT I.
SCENE II.

WE OPEN WITH OUR TWO PROTAGONISTS SITTING AT A TABLE WITH A GENERAL AIR OF HAPPINESS, BOTH LAUGHING.

PLATO [smiling]: My dear friend, I cannot believe I pushed you out ten months ago in my pig-headed belief that billing for time was the only way to operate.

ARISTOTLE [smiling]: Tut, tut, Plato. Who can blame you? The business was doing well from a financial standpoint and it certainly was easy to keep doing it the same old way as everyone else.

PLATO [smiling (it's all smiles from here on out so you can stop reading these cues)]: Yes, yes! Easy certainly! But preferred, no! Most definitely, not preferred.

I hadn’t realized how unsatisfying and stultifying the time tracking system was for our fellow orators. To think! We had consistently attributed an individual’s value to our organization and to our dear clients merely by measuring the sands through the hourglass.

Looking back now, I see how both uninspired and uninspiring our old time and billing model was.

ARISTOTLE [smiling (I warned you - it's all smiles from here on out)]: Agreed, good friend, agreed. It was far from optimal.

PLATO [smiling]: And think of the clients! Think how happy they are now as well. No longer do we spend hours reviewing and – let’s face it – sometimes arguing over how longs things take.

Now we are focused on the common goals of each project. It’s all about the end results and not the ways and means of production.

ARISTOTLE [smiling]: Exactly. After our heated exchange and we parted company, I had time to contemplate the situation and came upon a profound epiphany.

By focusing on the common objectives and goals of our customers, including the deliverables and target dates, we immediately moved from across the table from them to the same side of the table with them.

PLATO [smiling]: Brilliant! And to effectively deliver the promised results, it became incumbent upon us to truly understand what was important to them in reaching their goals. This deeper understanding allows us to provide better quality service.

ARISTOTLE [smiling]: And all without timesheets!

PLATO [smiling]: All that wasted time spent tracking, analyzing and arguing over timesheets is now spent aligning our goals and discussing value. A much more enjoyable experience all around.

And because clients pay for the value received, I am encouraged to hire and surround myself with the best and brightest to deliver these results in an optimal fashion. No longer are we rewarded for the ignorance of junior staff who take longer to do things.

ARISTOTLE [smiling]: Yes! Yes! Exactly! It was always temptation to put the lesser capable on a job because we would be able to fatten our purses on the un-informed customer. Not that *we* ever did that of course. But other, less scrupulous firms certainly gave in to the temptation.

PLATO [smiling]: And who can blame them? The hourly billing system is broken and rewards the less skilled and punishes the more skilled.

Now, we can chose to bring a junior person on for training and cultivation of talent. The customer is not penalized and does not bear the cost of this training because the price is set prior to work by the customer’s sense of value for the selected deliverables.

It is up to us to manage our costs in order to maintain a profitable existence that we use to provide additional services, keep up on our professional advancement and keep customers informed of beneficial news.

ARISTOTLE [smiling]: It’s as if night has given way to day.

PLATO [smiling]: …

ARISTOTLE [smiling]: What is it, Plato?

PLATO [smiling]: I was just thinking Aristotle … contemplating how amazing life can be and the twists and turns that come when you brave change. Look, my friend: the student has become the teacher.

ARISTOTLE [smiling]: Let’s not argue over who is the student and who is the teacher. Let’s settle on … “partners”.

PLATO [smiling]: “Partners”. I like the sound of that, partner.

ENTER SOPHOCLES STAGE RIGHT – SHAKING HIS FIST DEFIANTLY IN THE AIR.

SOPHOCLES [angry]: What’s this I hear about you two fools getting rid of time sheets! That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. I realize I’m semi-retired but I have to speak my mind. That’s not how it’s done and clients won’t go for it and how will we know if our employees are working or goofing off if we don’t record their every movement and …

PLATO AND ARISTOTLE [Together, laughing]: Oh, Sophocles! Sit down and let’s discuss the future.

FADE TO BLACK.

When I have the time, I will translate the lost Scene in which Aristotle founds a travelling band of disciples called Verasagus Maximus with whom he emparts his wisdom upon a young Ronaldus Bakerus who in turn would go on and mentor Edwardius Klessian.

For now, I hope you enjoyed this moment in Ancient Firm of the Future History.

Nov 14

3 Comments

How Plato and Aristotle and time keeping ended in disaster

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dynamosquito/2538560682/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Did time tracking and billing really create this devastation? Yes.

[Please accept this submission of Ancient Firm of the Future History as my attempt to class up this joint.]

I find it funny how so many firms still use timesheets and time tracking to charge their clients. It’s fairly well established that the ancient philosophers resolved this matter long ago.

Please accept my interpretation of the original, classic Greek play detailing the events around this debate. Delivered in two Scenes within a single Act, I am pleased to present:

TIMESHEETUS INTERRUPTUS

ACT I.
SCENE I.

WE OPEN WITH PLATO SITTING AT A LARGE MARBLE DESK LOOKING OVER PAPERS, SHAKING HIS HEAD, NOTICIBLY DISTURBED …

PLATO [hesitantly]: Yeah… umm… Aristotle, can you come in here for a minute?

ENTER ARISTOTLE, STAGE RIGHT

ARISTOTLE [smiling]: You rang, boss?

PLATO [uncomfortable]: I’m hoping you can clear something up for me. I just spent the last 30 minutes at the public market being accosted by Senator Acrimonius IV.

ARISTOTLE [surprised]: What?!

PLATO [bemused]: Yes.

Apparently the time keeping cards that we turned in for reimbursement did not match their own records. As example, last Wednesday you marked down 5.50 hours for Public Discourse on Republican Society but Acrimonius’ records indicated that you actually put in 4.25 hours.

And on Thursday, you marked down 7.75 hours and he says his staff vouches that you were only present for a half day. He, himself, was not present on that day but he harangued me for 30 minutes on the fact that he trusts his staff with his life and he trusts us not a whit. How can you explain this discrepancy?

ARISTOTLE [taken aback]: It’s a simple matter, Plato. I walked around the marketplace contemplating and organizing my thoughts prior to arrival in order to provide a clearer and well-structured discourse to ensure their time was well spent with me. I hardly think that is uncommon, master, as you yourself practice the same. Isn’t effective dialogue our goal?

PLATO [somewhat defensively]: That may be true but need I remind you that it’s not my practices that are at question here? Acrimonius has informed me that the Senate is holding all payments until his staff has sufficient time to review all of our records for the last twelve periods to ensure there has been no further fraudulent behavior.

ARISTOTLE [clearly agitated]: Certainly, you’re joking!

PLATO [getting displeased - slams fist to desk]: Do I look like I’m joking? I’ve told you previously that the Senate is an important client and are very precise about their timekeeping practices. They count every grain that runs through the hour glass down to the second.

ARISTOTLE [on his heels and getting defensive]: Plato, I refute these accusations. My time stands as written.

PLATO [angrier]: I appreciate your feelings but this is too large of an account for us to sacrifice. Not only does it mean a loss of our livelihood, it could result in the loss of our very lives if we displease them.

ARISTOTLE [hotly, leaning over the desk]: This is an outrage. I am at the peak of my career and I have to work twice as hard to make the same income compared to my early, ignorant years. Why … I remember not ten years gone when a Public Discourse on Republican Society would take me three or four times as long to accomplish and they paid every gold piece for my time.

Now, I do far better quality work than I ever did in the past and I’m busting my hump three times harder to make a living. To top that with being questioned about my every last minute is unacceptable, Plato!

Tell me, sir! How does this serve our client?

PLATO [nearly frothing at the mouth]: Aristotle, you ignorant ass. This is the way it’s always been done and this is the way it always will be done.

ARISTOTLE [settling back, introspective]: Well then. Maybe I’ve chosen the wrong pursuit for my life.

PLATO [slightly quieter but unnoticing of ARISTOTLE's change]: Clearly you have. And in fact, maybe it is *I* who have chosen wrong. The wrong student in you, Aristotle. Since you feel that you are clearly above my teachings and understandings, I must insist that you clear out your things and depart my troop.

There are other consultants ^H^H^H^H deep thinkers out there are eager to join my company and practice in our well-established tradition of time keeping and hourly billing without complaint. After all, *that* is what the clients want.

ARISTOTLE [quietly]: As you say, Plato. As you say. And yet … maybe there is another way … something better for all of us.

Perhaps there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

END SCENE WITH ARISTOTLE WALKING OUT OF THE OFFICE WITH HIS EYES FOCUSED ON SOME DISTANT POINT, QUIETLY MUTTERING TO HIMSELF.

END SCENE

Stay tuned! We’ll pick up with the dramatic conclusion in our next installment.

Nov 4

4 Comments

Is your company stuck in a comfortable (maybe profitable) rut?

That's a beautiful trench he's in! How does your's look?

Looking for a great article that might just change the way you do business? The folks at Copyblogger have done it again with their latest entitled The 3-Step Cure for No-Sales Syndrome.

This article really resonated with me. Why?

I am a strong believer in the Firm of the Future concepts espoused by Ed Kless and Ron Baker’s evolutionary think-tank, Verasage. Part of that conviction stems from my fundamental belief that the Internet has disrupted the status quo for nearly every business and every industry – including software publishers and resellers (such as my group, Azamba).

This disruption forces us to move out of our comfort zones and into new areas of service and value creation. To properly do this, we all need to become better marketers and market researchers to find out what works and what doesn’t.

Of course, there are a lot of reasons each of us might want to keep doing things the same old way – it’s easy, we’re profitable, we have a good client base, it’s working for us, my team would be upset if we changed things too much, etc.

I suggest that myopia is a dangerous attribute these days. Look around – even huge industry stalwarts are being ground to dust as the wheels of the new Internet economy spin to life. Until things stabilize to a new status quo (don’t hold your breath for this), we all need to keep moving, searching, hustling for new opportunties to define our futures.

I’ll leave you with this thought (don’t be surprised if you see this quote repeated by me – I love it):

“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”  General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff, U. S. Army

Jul 11

Ron Baker's Book Shelf
2 Comments

Baker’s Dozen Best Business Books (Plus A Few)

Today I was in one of the most interesting Sage Summit sessions I’ve been in. Interestingly I don’t think it was one where I actually directly learned anything. Rather it’s one where I’ve managed to pick up a great deal of potential learning or stated another way I’ve learned about a few more books to add to my unlibrary.

Note: All links on book titles are links back to Amazon.com.

This is a list of Ron Baker’s thirteen (give or take) favorite business books. In order for a book to make this list, Ron Baker’s criteria are: Does it change your world view? Or does it change how you act? To make this list these books had to do both for Ron.

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