http://www.pigsdontfly.com/2013/05/7-things-i-learned-from-unsuccessful.html
Australian companies have this strange habit, they issue “remission advice” notifications when they’ve paid an invoice.
I suppose the practise comes from back when a cheque would be in the mail for at least a few days before arriving, and after that, paper bank statements issued once a week. But does it make sense today? I don’t think so, and here is why:
You know what’s unequivocal proof of payment? The recipient actually seeing the money in their online banking. It’s the only proof any of my businesses accept, and that’s explicitly stated policy.
Some clients still send remission advice notices. It can be entertaining to see the discrepancy between notices and the actual arrival date of the money. Basically the accounts payable people of those businesses go out of their way to prove that they’re lying. I don’t understand why they would bother doing a silly thing like that, but perhaps they deal with more gillible accounts-receivable departments, and hey it’s accepted practise!
How do you handle accounts receivable?
Original article at: https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130521093557-314058-class-of-2013-four-things-you-must-unlearn-immediately (copied in full here as the url doesn’t look like a permalink)
Daniel Shapiro wrotes: “I learned a lot in college, not all of it right. Here are some things you learn in college that I had to unlearn to be successful at work.”
I was assigned many long papers in college. Six pages on natural selection. Eight pages on Plato’s Republic. Ten pages on the rise of the gold standard. For each paper, I’d reach a point where I’d run out of real content and needed filler to hit the page target. I’d spend hours finding those pages. I’d even change the fonts and page margins (it’s embarrassing to think about).
At work, no one has time to read 6-10 pages. It’s all about the summary. As a manager at Bain & Company, I’d write, re-write and re-write 1-page executive summaries until I’d boiled them down to the crux of the issue and only the essential supporting points. Those long hours were some of the most valuable, and hardest, of my job.
My advice: Write clear and concise summaries and supporting points. The shorter the better.
I was a math major and often came across questions I couldn’t answer. Rather than leaving the space blank, I’d fake it. I’d write down something that looked reasonable, but I knew was wrong, hoping that my teacher would give me partial credit – perhaps 5 points out of 10, which was definitely better than 0 out of 10.
At work, acting like you know something you don’t is perhaps one of the worst mistakes you can make. In my first two years out of university, when clients would ask me for an answer I didn’t know, but I believed I should, rather than saying “I don’t know” I would fake an answer. That got me into more trouble than you can imagine… it nearly got me fired once.
Partial credit for being partially right doesn’t exist in the workplace. In fact, leading others to believe you know the answer when you don’t, is far worse than no answer.
My advice: Say what you know and admit what you don’t.
Giving or getting help from someone in school can get you kicked out. At work, it’s just the opposite. It’s essential. When I was a manager at Bain, I would ask recent university graduates to build a financial model. When they showed me their work, I’d ask if anyone helped them. Some would respond, proudly, “no, I did it myself”, not realizing that was a bad answer. The right answer was, “Yes, and I made a few changes based on the feedback I got.”
If you’re not learning from your colleagues and teaching them what you know, then you’re not doing your job!
Advice: Give and get help liberally.
(Perhaps I should have written. Wait, wait, wait, work, work, work, turn in assignment)
The work process in school is:
That process is designed to assess your capabilities more than create great work product.
First, getting feedback early and often is key, particularly when you’re new to the job. You’re not being tested to see how much you can do alone (like school). Your manager should expect you will need help. I remember several “proud” moments when I showed my manager my fantastic piece of analysis which I did “all by myself” … to which my manager replied “Great. But you would have been done a week earlier if you’d asked me for a few tips.” Oops.
Second, the more involved your manager is in your work process, the more likely he will have confidence in your outcome. Also, if the assignment provides harder than expected, your manager will understand why, and help redirect your efforts earlier. The longer it takes to identify a problem, the more challenging it is to change direction.
By the way, believe it or not: Asking for help is not a sign of failure at work — it’s a sign of confidence. Really.
My advice: Get your boss’ feedback early and often.
I’ve mentioned 3D printing before as an example of enabling technology. Tools that used to cost tens of thousands of dollars are now in reach of anyone with sufficient interest and from prices of less than a thousand dollars.
That’s a huge change. What fewer people pick up on is that such a change shifts what’s possible in the market, and essentially changes the rules. Things that were essentially impossible before are suddenly doable. Big companies won’t pick that up as their cost structure demands big clients. But for a correctly structured startup, it’s exactly the kind of thing you want!
A Dutch/American company called Shapeways appears to “get it” and has stepped into this market. The BBC has done an item on it (see video below) featuring a custom made shoe with an iPhone holder. The exact product is perhaps a bit tacky to some, but it makes the underlying point quite well and the guy who explains it notes exactly what it’s about. There isn’t a huge market for many of these things, but that’s fine. People often think only in terms of scaling up, and they’re missing the opportunities of essentially scaling things down. At high volumes, you can’t serve the individual.
So, it’s an enabler. When you have an idea, you can now get one or two items made – even when done commercially, with this technology that can be economical. It’s printed (additive) or cut (subtractive), rather than moulded – configuring a production line for a moulded product is expensive and the moulds themselves are actually also very costly (so it’s uneconomical for small production runs). But none of that matters with 3D printing.
3D printing is a disruptive technology in both commonly known senses:
It’s good to see that Shapeways and companies like Makerbot Industries (there are many more) are exploring these new opportunities. And if you’re interested, check it out – there is plenty of space for more on the local level. These companies do things quite big, but it can also be done on a very small scale. I’m still waiting for a local “copyshop” offering a 3D printing service. That’s where it’s going – but if the local copyshops and printers don’t get it, someone else can pick it up. It could be you.
This stuff can be done with minimal investment, part online, low volume, low cost per item, quick local delivery, opportunities for assistance with design, and so on. The software tools and online resources are available, just check out OpenSCAD and Thingiverse.
If you start something like this and specifically aim local and small, the big existing companies cannot compete with you: they would not be able to do what you do at a sane price. They might not even notice you at first. If they do, they’ll laugh and dismiss – your “small fry” activity is just not of interest to them. That’s a good thing. But you can do good business and also grow.
Think about it… take the initiative. And if you do need some help developing your strategy, we’re here.
http://www.iitp.org.nz/news/archives/4547-IT_Professionals_support_removal_of_Software_Patents
The Institute of IT Professionals, New Zealand’s largest IT representative body, strongly supports the Government’s announcement today clarifying that software will not be patentable in New Zealand, removing a major barrier to software-led innovation.