Working better together - collaborative people, companies, and software,

Here are the places I've been. Fun to see the map! :-)

U.S. states (visited in Red):

Create your own personalized map of the USA

World:

create your own visited country map

Admittedly, some of these I've only been through (short visit in airport, or drive-thru). But hey -- it's still a checkmark on the map.

Next place I want to visit: Russia. (Not only do I electronically know people there whom I want to meet in person, and not only do I want to see it, doing so would add a ton of red in one fell swoop. ;-)

Technorati Tags: Inspiration

Posted by Jay Batson at 01:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The slow week of the holidays is a good time to reflect on things besides the tyranny of the urgent. One of the things to consider is how well you're doing your job - whether it is employee, or CEO. As I reflect on my role, I find it useful to focus my attention on what it means to be a CEO.

The bottom line: A leader isn't a leader unless he's part of a team that's aligned with him. There has to be a great team in order to have a strong CEO. While a football quarterback may be a leader, he can't play the game without wide receivers, running backs, and a front line - and that's on offense alone. And the better the team around him, the more the team wins.

I hope I'm that leader now. Regardless, I resolve to strive during 2007 to continue to build the best team possible for Plum Canary, and to be so effective in leading them that we become the best small software player in our league.

Other things that occur to me at the moment:

• Losses are as important as wins. While winning is the goal, losses will happen. Thank goodness for them. They show us our weak points, and what we need to work on.
• Nimbleness is the most powerful weapon of small companies. Don't get too relaxed; always be looking to move fast, find openings, and serve markets others aren't seeing (yet).
• Money is a tool - not a goal. In fact, money helps you make more money. Let's be effective in the way we think about it this year, and not be hesitant to use it when we have it, or let lack of it make us be a slave to it (or its sources).

Technorati Tags: Collaboration, Inspiration

Posted by Jay Batson at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I like running companies, but one of the things I get stuck on is that I love knowing the technology at a deep level. I was a software programmer before I went into management, so I like to stay close to the technology.

So with that said, it makes me feel happy that I scored high on this. :-)

Technorati Tags: Nerds

Posted by Jay Batson at 03:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I started Plum Canary for a fairly ordinary reason: I couldn't find any software that would help me with what I was doing. I wanted a product that helped me keep a team of people on track executing work that needs done. So I built Chirp to do this.

However, task status, etc., isn't all there is to communications. The sharing of ideas and information is just as important.

Which is the reason for me to start a blog. While the Internet (or you) may not need yet-another-blog, I hope that I can:

• Raise issues that you consider thought provoking and important.
• Help you know how I, and therefore, Plum Canary thinks about how people can do more, better, faster.

I've been building software, and IP networking equipment for over 20 years. I've been an industry analyst, an entrepreneuer / pioneer, and front-line manager. This gives me what I hope is an interesting perspective.

In the end, the thoughts, and this blog, can will give you some idea about the direction Chirp's product development will take over time, and how it will (hopefully) be useful to you.

Posted by Jay Batson at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)