links for 2008-06-19

Gates & Edison, constructive monopolists, pretty good tech, great reach–“What is his single most important legacy? The ability, through monopolistic business practices, to make Microsoft’s products global, de facto standards for business and consumers.”

must read post of actual project assessment — “There isn’t enough intellectual honesty within the FUBAR project. Managers reject or explain away bad news and real problems, looking instead for people who will tell them what they want to hear.”

“Instead of a strategy built around a consultant’s vision of ‘utility’ or…built around cheap or …built around excessive retail distribution and heavy advertising, they built their strategy around one girl saying to another girl, “wanna see my socks?””

hidden message (for any org) is mission & focus:”every great business is founded in a thesis, a statement of what should be true. It’s then the business’s job to go prove that thesis – in essence, the business becomes the argument that proves the thes