It’s been a while for many things in my life but as it relates to this blog, it’s been a an extra long while since I’ve posted. Many good and time consuming things have happened (and keep happening) that have kept me slightly preoccupied.
That doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading some really good stuff (mostly short articles):
It’s True: You Talk Too Much – How to achieve the optimal 50-50 conversation flow – A Wall Street Journal article written by the writer of The Simpson’s. It’s a very true and funny read!
Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box (Amazon link) – A co-worker recommended this fiction book. It’s written in a story-like fashion and is very applicable to creating a positive work and home environment.
Why Are Hundreds of Harvard Students Studying Ancient Chinese Philosophy? – The Atlantic
IBM Watson fires its own cancer-fighting ‘moonshot’ – Venturebeat. Extra interesting to me since I know the guy leading the Watson project for IBM.
Below is an image about self service customer support tools created by Salesforce. I am wondering about beginning to write more formally about best practices in client services in a start-up, technology environment on my blog. It’s what I do for a living. I generally run client services and operations from beginning to end. I have managed all kinds of internal and external customers. I’ve been told (who knows if it’s actually true) that I’m a strong business networker with a credible reputation. Two of my Strength’s Finder strengths are “Woo” and “Communication” so it might be a good idea for me to start sharing some of my ideas on customer service. I will continue pondering…
Author: Aruni |
Filed under: entrepreneurship,
fundraising,
networking |
Tags: Chinese Philosophy,
client services,
customer service,
customer support,
IBM Watson,
Leadership and Self-Deception,
operations,
salesforce,
talking too much |
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Most of us know that timing has a lot to do with things turning out as desired or not. If you try to bring a product to market before it’s time (e.g., anything similar to the iPad that came out before the iPad), you often fail. If you take too long, you can miss the proverbial boat. This is true for a) your career, b) relationships/love, c) start-ups, or d) teaching your kids to ride a bike.
My daughter just started riding a bike this weekend. Her brother learned when he was 5 1/2 and she’s almost 7 (2nd child with parents who are crazy busy). I knew she had good balance given she rode her scooter around the house and on the street & sidewalks with ease. So this weekend her dad put her on the bike we got her last Christmas and on the first try she was riding easily. She was ready and the timing was right! I think it was partly because we didn’t make a big deal of it or try to make it happen before she was ready.
If you had given me chocolate mixed with salt 5 to 10 years ago, I would have probably spit it out or not even tried it, but Dark chocolate with a touch of sea salt is remarkably yummy. Timing. I’m still not fond of chocolate mixed with peanuts, but maybe in 5 more years…
I haven’t blogged too much about my career recently because the company I went to work for after I left the Austin Technology Incubator back in August 2011 prohibited employees from mentioning on their blogs that we worked there. Needless to say, I did not know that before I joined and I’m no longer there. So the timing seemed right to hang up my consulting shingle for a while. My current, not very creative name, is ASG Consulting (LinkedIn). I just completed a project for a company in the clean energy/smart grid space and may do some more work for them in the future.
So here I go again attempting to create something that didn’t exist before, but now instead of a hardware or software product, I’m selling my time & expertise. I feel fortunate to live in a time, town, and space where I’m well connected and opportunities are like hidden Easter eggs waiting to be found. Who knows…one of these consulting jobs might end up in a full time job if the fit (skill match, culture, location, etc.) is right.
If I can help your company or someone elses you know with operations, strategy, and/or business development (particularly partner/client management), please ping me and let’s talk. Next up, I have to get some business cards…
Author: Aruni |
Filed under: austin technology incubator,
entrepreneurship |
Tags: austin technology incubator,
business development,
chocoalte with salt,
consulting,
operations,
riding a bike,
strategy |
6 Comments »
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