Today, pro teams are highly restricted in what they are allowed to do in their local markets by League head office. For example, fans are often not able to create images, merchandise, videos, mashups, stories or music about their favorite team without getting a ‘cease and desist’ letter from highly paid League lawyers who are looking to protect league licensees. So fans need to create underground websites, Twitter/Facebook/YouTube accounts, blogs, podcasts and other online as well as real life properties that hide their real identity—they are forced to become underground fans.
“A while ago I created a bunch of t-shirts with my favourite football players on them using the motif of the film 'SIN CITY'. The idea was to create cool stuff that folks could buy during the playoffs with all the funds raised going to benefit local charities. But after I got a bit of media traction, we received a cease and desist letter from a League lawyer and we had to stop. Now I am an underground fan of my team—if I ever do this again, I’ll do it anonymously. The thing that gets me is that league policies destroy any creativity by fans as well as local teams, everything is just the same everywhere.”
by Prof Bruce May 21, 2010
Triangulation is a geometric method of locating a point by first determining two angles on a fixed baseline. It is used in times of war to locate hidden radio transmitters, ships on the high seas or aiming an artillery piece.
In business, it is used in a different way—CEOs, for example, triangulate on employees or other sources of information to be sure that they are getting accurate information which is mission critical to any enterprise’s longevity and sustainability. CEOs know that direct reports often tell them what they think the CEO wants to hear instead of the unvarnished truth. That is a reason why many CEOs like to speak directly to customers and suppliers—they disintermediate everyone else.
In business, it is used in a different way—CEOs, for example, triangulate on employees or other sources of information to be sure that they are getting accurate information which is mission critical to any enterprise’s longevity and sustainability. CEOs know that direct reports often tell them what they think the CEO wants to hear instead of the unvarnished truth. That is a reason why many CEOs like to speak directly to customers and suppliers—they disintermediate everyone else.
“Tom Sanders (played by Michael Douglas in the 1994 film, Disclosure) is a manager at tech company, Digicom. He is told by ambitious executive Meredith Johnson (played by Demi Moore) that the drives they are working on are failing at an unacceptable rate due to Tom’s negligence (in software design). Only by triangulating on Meredith (by checking with two independent sources) does Tom discover the truth and save his career—that Meredith had authorized a cheaper solution (they are using a lower level clean room) which is actually causing tiny specs of dirt to foul operation of their new drives.”
by Prof Bruce February 21, 2010
To intricate someone; to bring people on board or to get them onside with an idea or a proposal or an initiative of some type by getting them intricated into the process bit by bit, almost without their noticing that they are making a commitment.
When a group was trying to Bring Back the Ottawa Senators in 1990, a team that had not played in the National Hockey League for nearly 60 years, one of their key advisers, former US Attorney General, Elliot Richardson (now deceased) said: "First we'll get the League’s Board of Governors intricated then we'll get the (expansion) franchise!"
by Prof Bruce March 05, 2009
A combination of Spartacus, Sparta and cat implying a brave soul; one who stands up to bullies in every facet of life-- in sports, business and in his or her personal life.
by Prof Bruce March 05, 2009
You’ve heard of SAAS, Software as a Service, well make way for PAAS, Product as a Service. Customers are subscribing to services that regularly deliver products they need over and over again. This could create a whole new class of business models.
Instead of selling your product to one customer, once, you might be able to turn it into PAAS, ‘product as a service’—people would subscribe to your service and you would deliver the product to them, say, once a quarter. It could be anything people use over and over again— like hair gel, shaving cream, razor blades, perfume, face cream, hey, maybe even socks and underwear.
by Prof Bruce April 02, 2011
A Playlet is a mini-play, usually less than three or four minutes in duration, that helps students learn about a subject by watching characters perform real life simulations. Scripts are usually less than 500 words and the playlets can be performed by three or, at most four, actors.
“You know last month I was trying to teach my entrepreneurship students about Bootstrap Capital (Self-capitalization) and I wasn’t sure that I was really getting through to them all. So I got a few students together and we wrote, acted and filmed five playlets on the subject. We put each playlet up on YouTube and, lo and behold, when we showed them in class this week, there were quite a few ‘ah ha’ moments amongst the students. It seems that video and play acting real life situations got the message through in a way that really clicked.”
by Prof Bruce March 29, 2010