Networking? 
          My current favorite blog post on networking (in the Harvard Business Review) says:
                 -Don't misunderstand the peeking order
                 -Don't ask to receive before you give
                 -Don't fail to state your value proposition

     I would add:
      -They have the power, they have the job; what can I give?
          -Provide Information.  You have done some research and you have been talking to people in this field.  Everyone is trying to stay current, but no feels like they are completely up-to-date. (" ... I've been talking to execs in your market..."   "....Recently I read...")
           -Listen to their story.  Everyone has one and most people want to tell it.  Often the best favor you can provide someone is asking a few leading questions and letting them tell their story. ("... Wow, that must have been an interesting few years at ...").


     -Why are they doing this?  (Make it easy for them to help you.)
          People take networking meetings or calls often because they want to feel like they are being a good person and helping others (and so that you can maybe help them later).  So make it easy for them to help you.
          -Ask for their advice. Reiterate it back to them in your thank you note and in the note you send them after you land a new job (in which you thank them again). This reinforces that they were helpful.
          -Ask for a few (just a few) introductions.  Crosscheck your target list with their LinkedIn contacts. (Use this list of company lists to create your target list.)  LinkedIn makes this easy by providing a search box on the top of a person's contact list.  (In that search box just type "Company A OR Company B OR Company C".)
         

As I learn more about the travel technology business; I have found a few sources particularly helpful: 

     skift.com  @skift

     tnooz.com  @tnooz

     gbta.org @GlobalBTA 

     thebeat.travel   @TheBeat_travel

     phocuswright.com @PhoCusWright 

     The last two are paid content.  
     And of course: 

     tripit.com/blog/ @TripIt

     concur.com/blog @Concur


(Thanks to @dmhoffer and http://www.tripit.com/blog/2014/01/15-must-read-travel-blogs-for-2014.html)

Presenting at Dreamforce '13 as part of Founders Forum 

A hands-on session around company and product strategy which will help you make decisions on how to grow your SaaS product business, including how to:

-Measure growth and define success
-Identify common roadblocks to company growth
-Determine where to focus your efforts 
-Refine company & product portfolio strategy and trade-offs
-Assess different potential opportunities    


Thursday, 11/21/2013 10:00 AM
p.force.com/foundersforum
Click here to learn more about my session in the Dreamforce app

Recently a CEO suggested I consider doing some short term consulting work for his company.  He wanted to know what questions I would ask to figure out how I could help his product management / products team.

This is what I came up with (what do you think?):

-How do you balance short term improvements with long term innovation and new revenue opportunities?

-How do you make product decisions using different market, portfolio, and client analysis techniques?

-What are the components (including success metrics) you include in a business case or MRD for different situations?

-Which among the many different PRD or requirement documentation options do you use?

-How do you change the organization of a team and its processes based on the stage and size of the product line and the company? (i.e. How agile should you be?)