Are you a HedgeHog or a Fox?

Obviously taken from Jim Collins "Good to Great", here's an interesting read for those who have asked about what their next career step should look like. It should be something like this:



Here's an extract:
... a Hedgehog Concept is a simple, crystalline concept that flows from deep understanding about the intersection of the following three circles:

1. What you can be the best in the world at (and, equally important, what you cannot be the best in the world at). This discerning standard goes far beyond core competence. Just because you possess a core competence doesn’t necessarily mean you can be the best in the world at it. Conversely, what you can be the best at might not even be something in which you are currently engaged.

2. What drives your economic engine. All the good-to-great companies attained piercing insight into how to most effectively generate sustained and robust cash flow and profitability. In particular, they discovered the single denominator—profit per x—that had the greatest impact on their economics. (It would be cash flow per x in the social sector.)

3. What you are deeply passionate about. The good-to-great companies focused on those activities that ignited their passion. The idea here is not to stimulate passion but to discover what makes you passionate.

Google Maps

Talk about changing the way maps work with a cleaner neater interface, and introducing some great technology! Google Maps takes the cake.

Here's a link to an explanation of how this works.

On a related note, here's a link to a visual overview of the California Coastline. This is a manual painful process of accumulating photographs of the coastline.

10 Years on the Web

Yahoo! turns ten today and releases this to commemorate.

Sayonara Oracle

Well, 'tis 'bout that time to day Goodbye. Just sent a note out to my friends and colleagues at PeopleSoft (now Oracle) that its time for me to move on.

There has been a lot of changes and yet so much remains the same. Its hard to look at the empty offices. Its hard to imagine the dramatic nature of change of leadership at the top. But it happens. There's a lot going on right now... except that very few of us are privy to what it is. I'd love to tell, but you know as much as I do now.

I've been fortunate that I chose to leave, was not laid off, unlike my friend Skanda here. He has a heart rendering tale that is a must-read - we have successfully evolved modern society into a heartless, terror ridden economic machine where people's contributions absolutely do not make any impact as compared to the bottom line.

Is it impossible to hire people and run a profitable business? I asked myself this question over and over again. I think I have an answer.

I'm betting my career on it.

P.S. ex-PeopleSoft folks, you need to take networking opportunities in your own hands.. so don't delay, register here at PeopleSoft Alumni Network now!