Unsolicited Advice

Guest Post: Don’t Milk Your Cash Cows

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ May 24, 2011 / Leave a comment

On the Author: If you’re from the South Hills of Pittsburgh you’re no doubt familiar with Rollier Hardware on Washington Road (if you’ve been in Pittsburgh a while you were familiar with it on McFarland Road too); but did you know the family run business has a multi-million dollar e-commerce...
Long Term, Short Term and Strategic Thinking

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ May 23, 2011 / 2 Comments

A lot of people talk about operating in the short-term because there is more certainty. This is totally valid, your job isn’t likely to change in the short term and neither is the demand for it. Your company, your customers, your costs, your growth and your funding aren’t likely to...
Fit-for-Purpose Old Technologies

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ May 20, 2011 / Leave a comment

Flying so much the last few days has reminded me of a lesson that bears discussing on the blog; sometimes replacing technologies isn’t worth it. The airlines are masters of this fact. There is no doubt that newer planes are more efficient, better sized and easier to maintain. That doesn’t...
You Can Do It Because You Know You Can’t

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ May 19, 2011 / Leave a comment

I would say the following : Very few people, whether you’ve been in that job before or not, get into the seat and believe today that they are now qualified to be the CEO. They’re not going to tell you that, but it’s true. -...
Want Challenge/Reward in IT? Work for Startups.

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ May 12, 2011 / Leave a comment

The graphic above is from Information Week’s annual survey of IT staff and managers, if you work in IT it’s a must read. The survey is distributed to readers of Information Week, a group that largely consists of some of the finest, most motivated people at large companies and IT...
What we Can Learn From the Pirates About Setting Goals

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ May 9, 2011 / Leave a comment

In 2000, the Pirates went 1-7 after reaching 19-21. In 2002, the Pirates went 1-9 after reaching 31-33. In 2003, the Pirates lost seven in a row after reaching 14-14. In 2004, the Pirates went go 1-14 after reaching 23-22. In 2005, the Pirates lost five in a row after...
Remissioning, Regularly

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ May 2, 2011 / Leave a comment

This post isn’t about revising, recommissioning, resubmitting, being in remission or any of the other ridiculous suggestions spell check has for “Remissioning”. It’s about not getting so far down in the weeds that you forget which way is up. It’s about making sure that you’re not just moving, but moving...
Laws of IT’s Future: Apps, SOA and HTML 5 and the Tiny Trend

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ April 30, 2011 / Leave a comment

People are often asking me what I think is going to happen next in IT… do I think cloud is going to take off? at what level? do I think HTML 5 will be a big deal? How long will Apple be a leader? What will they do next? And...
The Right Moment

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ April 29, 2011 / 3 Comments

A few weeks ago I got to have a couple drinks with a guy I really respect, a seriously successful entrepreneur and VC. We talked about a range of topics but one stuck out to me, “Jonathan, if you’re going to start a company you have to have the right...
ET Phone Customers

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ April 27, 2011 / 3 Comments

SETI today suspended their search for extraterrestrial life. They will no longer point satellite dishes toward space and try to catch glimpses of radio transmissions. Finally. I have been arguing in smaller circles for a long time that this is an absolutely ridiculous use of time and technology. The key...