Playing the Blame Game

The Blame Game sounds like fun, doesn’t it? The words even rhyme. We’ve all played it before and some of us are much better at it than others. There are really not that many rules to The Blame Game other than to make sure that, when something goes wrong, attention is diverted away from your desk, department, or company as quickly as possible. The more reasons you can come up for why it’s somebody else’s fault, the more points you get.

This can be done in oh so many creative ways. It could be somebody else’s fault for not following up on the information you gave them. Or, it could be somebody else’s fault that they didn’t give you the information you needed to get the job done. Or, you could always blame technology for breaking down, processes for not working the way they should have, or just plain old incompetence on the part of a vendor that should have known better.

How Much Fun Can the Blame Game Be?

As a matter of fact, there are teams that have taken blaming others to such new heights they have coined the expression ‘blamestorming session.’ We’re all familiar with the brainstorming session that involves sitting in a room and coming up with as many ideas as possible to solve a problem. There are no bad ideas and judgment is not passed on any of the ideas proffered. A blamestorming session is similar in the fact that everyone sits around the room and comes up with ideas, but the problem they are looking to solve is how to divert blame away from themselves. There are no bad ideas on how to blame others and suggestions are offered up freely. The one or two most viable ideas will then be picked and circulated in the corporate ecosystem.

What a blast!

Here’s the problem…

Blaming others for a project’s woes is only a short-termsolution to a long-term problem. It gets even more complicated if you find yourself pitted against your client. When something goes wrong on the project and it runs over budget, is delayed by a couple of weeks, or the scope didn’t come in as anticipated, the first thing everyone does is subconsciously and instinctively start to think about who else’s fault it is.

C’mon, you know you do it too.

You cycle through all of the who-knew-what-and-when-did-they-know-it scenarios. It wouldn’t have happened if this person (who knew the information) had done something about it at this time (when they got the information). You fastidiously compile a chronological list of events complete with email date and time stamps and precise versions of documentation. There’s no way they are going to pin this one on you, your department, or your company. No way, you’re not going down for this mistake!

When it comes to problems, misunderstandings, and confusion between companies…guess what? In the early stages of trying to get to the root of the problem, the blame could go either way. I’ve seen it happen way too many times. For example, when a technical issue surfaces on a project that prevents it from moving forward, you, your team, and your company immediately think it’s on the client’s side. The client immediately thinks it’s on your side.

A barrage of semi-polite, yet accusatory email ensues.

“Can you please take a look at what is going on here and let us know what you find?” the client asks. Translation? We think it’s your fault.

“We did, everything is fine on our side. You may want to double-check what is happening with the changes you made last night to the server,” your company replies. Translation? We think it’s YOUR fault.

This may go on for a day or two until things get desperate, escalations to upper management begin to occur, nerves get rattled and people really start to stress out.

Whose fault is it? The truth is that there is a 50/50 chance it could be you or them. That’s why I encourage you to take a new view of things until the problem goes away. Take the view that BOTH of your companies have the problem until it’s resolved.

Shared Responsibility

Think about the benefits of why this is a better approach:

• It CAN go Either Way – Technology is a funny thing if you’ve worked around it for any amount of time. It’s like building a house of cards. Just the slightest breeze could cause the whole thing to tumble to the ground. Someone could fat finger the wrong web server or database address and bring the entire system to its knees. A seemingly innocuous piece of software could be installed that unknowingly conflicts with a production system and everything comes to a grinding halt.These are honest and simple mistakes to make on either side of the fence. The bottom line is that the project is at a standstill or at the very least crippled for all parties until the situation is fixed. So, work on the problem in good faith TOGETHER until the problem is identified.
• You Won’t Look Like an Idiot – I’ve worked with guys that are alwaysadamant that things are not their fault. They’ll stake their job, reputation, and whatever else they have of value on the fact that there’s no way they could have caused this problem. Their vociferousness is rivaled only by the exaggerated hand gestures they use to emphasize their righteous indignation at being accused of making a mistake.You guessed it. It was their fault. They had to eat crow and retract all of the sound and fury.
• You Will Be Vindicated – Like I said a number of times, it can go either way. There’s going to be those times when it’s NOT your fault and the other guy, team, or company is the one that made the mistake. You’ll find that you will be quietly and graciously vindicated if you handled yourself professionally during this time of discovery. Everyone will know if your team is not to blame. They may not come right out and say it, but you know that they know that you know the issue was on their side…this time.The gracious part is up to you. You can choose to say “I told you so” or some variation thereof. Or, you can rise above it and understand that mistakes happen to the best of us. I recommend the latter. It’s better to rise above the issue and let it go.

Sure, The Blame Game is always fun to play and we’re all probably a bit hard wired to play it. Remember though, when it comes to getting your projects done, there are no winners in The Blame Game. Focus on solutions and breaking through obstacles and your projects will always come out on top.

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Sony Wrist Notifier coming soon?

After two smart watch products, Sony may be preparing a wrist notifier of sorts. Such device, marked as model number SWR10, has just cleared the FCC, making it ready to be sold on the U.S. soil. It, however, remains to be seen when the Japanese company will actually launch this “BT Wrist Notifier”; but with CES just around the corner, we have a feeling this won’t be a long wait.

Anyhow, the FCC’s listing says that Sony’s accessory packs Bluetooth and NFC, which should make for a seamless smartphone pairing. We would assume there may also be some button to locate the phone, pressing on which your smartphone would start beeping so it’s easier to locate. Or perhaps this part will remain reserved for the smart watch. You never know…

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DESIGN MATTERS: ALL ABOUT MOBILE APP TEMPLATES

Your business deserves both an efficient and beautifully designed mobile app. And one key characteristic of such a smart app is a user friendly look. That being said, here are some thoughts on mobile app templatesand the role they play on the performance of your product. That’s because great design matters as much as the line of code. These are equally important ingredients for developing a product that stands out.

Mobile App Templates For Effective Results

                Your mobile app is your business, and your business needs to look amazing and grab the most attention in today crowded marketplace. Consumers are firstly attracted by the best looking app in the app store so making a great choice when it comes tomobile app templates and clearly define your digital product visual style it’s really a must.

First of all, you need to properly do the research, as the visual personality of your mobile app is dictated by the audience you target. The visual direction – which also involves choosing between multiple mobile app templates the best suited one – must create a memorable feeling for your users.    

Smartphone and tablets are touch-screen devices so you need to focus you attention on UX – usability. Make sure all the mobile app buttons are easily clickable; your audience must be able to effectively use touch controls to expand or minimize; finally, from all the mobile app templates you could choose from, do your best on deciding on the one best suited to your business and vision.

4 Examples Of Beautiful & User Friendly Mobile App Templates

                Check out these amazingly crafted apps that have gorgeous mobile templates, and the companies that created them. So here are some mobile design rockstars:

• Twitterific – it’s definitely making twitter extra terrific; simple design, extremely easy to use; after the sun sets, the mobile app automatically switches from a light theme to a darker one.
• Any.Do – it helps you to remember the things you got to do; the template is minimal and focuses on a few principles: capture, organize, sync, share, and personalize.
• Yahoo Weather – it lately drastically changed its design and it looks way better; it’s easy to use and provides information according to its promises.
• Mailbox – developed by Orchestra, it’s the ultimate email client, helping you to quickly get through your emails; clever, beautifully designed and really simple to use.

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4 EASY WAYS TO CREATE A WORKPLACE CULTURE THAT DOESN'T SUCK

Entrepreneurs fret over just about everything: marketing plans, product features, investor pitches, sales collateral, management team hires, company valuations, financial projections, cash balances. But an often neglected, yet critical part of success is the culture that a startup founder fosters and the key role that it plays in the company’s eventual success.

Culture permeates everything. It spurs innovation, inspires resilience, promotes collaboration, wins customers, builds a winning mentality--all key success factors to any business, let alone a nascent young venture.

Yet since culture is not something that can be easily measured, tracked or quantified in conventional terms (ever seen a balance sheet with an asset entry called “Culture”?) it’s often neglected or even dismissed as somewhat of a luxury.

But culture is something that grows within any organization whether you actively work to create it or not, so setting priorities for what’s important and taking an active role in shaping it is absolutely critical. Fail to pay attention and you risk the build up of a poisonous environment that can envelope the entire venture.

HERE ARE FOUR WAYS FOUNDERS CAN HELP BUILD A WINNING CULTURE:

1. Write a Culture Plan
We have business plans, financial plans, marketing plans, sales plans, even office plans, yet very few founders ever sit down and articulate in writing the kind of culture they want to build around them. Writing a culture plan can help clarify to employees the key organizational values that the founder aspires to. It also guides behaviors that affect everything from the way a company treats its customers to key hire decisions.

2. Take the Pulse Often
You don’t focus on what you don’t measure. With my company, I created feedback mechanisms so that I would ensure I was always aware of company sentiment or shifts on morale or focus. Such mechanisms included weekly office hours where any and all employees could book time to chat with me; walking each morning around the office to informally chat with teammates; having occasional anonymous online surveys; putting feedback boxes around the office.

3. Foster Frequent Informal Interactions
Meetings are important though my experience tells me that newer or younger employees often feel intimidated or inhibited in these staged environments where hierarchy is obvious. I deliberately designed a large kitchen with long tables and promoted an environment where the company, regardless of role, sat and ate lunch together every day. These informal interactions not only broke down perceived hierarchical walls, but they also gave me direct engagement with younger employees and interns than may have normally felt intimidated to interact with the CEO. I found that basic human friendship is a more powerful motivator than a top-down command.

4. Mean What You Say
It’s not enough to say that culture is important. As leaders, founders need to continuously reinforce it. Culture and values ought to permeate everything from company benefits, office arrangement and design, employee reviews and, perhaps more importantly, in whom the company promotes, hires and if needed, fires. These clear signals help continuously reinforce a company’s priorities, convictions, and ambitions with respect to the culture it seeks to foster and promote.

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iOS 6 vs iOS 7 icons: A visual comparison

With iOS 7, Apple, under the watchful eye of Jony Ive, completely transformed the aesthetic of iOS. Gone were iOS mainstays like drop shadows, heavy textures and gradients. In their place was a cleaner, simpler interface.

Since iOS 7 was first released about three months ago, innumerable iOS designers have updated their app icons to more closely align with iOS 7's new design aesthetic.

A Tumblr blog fittingly titled AfteriOS7icon has compiled an exhaustive list comparing how icon designs have changed from iOS 6 to iOS 7. The list is curated by @KeeYenYeo.




I think many of the changes have resulted in sleeker and, in some instances, more engaging icons.

Not everyone agrees, however, with some iOS users feeling rather strongly that iOS 7 icons represent an unfortunate step backwards in design.

What do you guys and gals think? Feel free to chime in in the comments below, but make sure to check out the full Tumblr blog before you craft your final opinion and begin firing away.

Here are a few more samples for good measure:

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Scientists created malware that communicates using sound without any network involved

Straight from camp "what could go wrong" scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication have developed a proof-of-concept malware that can communicate with other machines nearby, using just standard laptop speakers and microphones. Most importantly, the computers don't need to be on the same network, they just need to be within 65 feet of each other. Even more sinister, is the fact that the researchers who developed the method claim they can form audio "mesh" networks to extend this reach much farther. The idea isn't a new one, and in fact, the technique that proved most reliable is based on an older method, developed to help computers communicate under water (not malware). One "positive" is that currently data speeds are slow. Very slow. An excruciating 20 bits per second. So, your petabytes of personal data might not be radioed back to crime HQ any time soon, but tests have already successfully shared passwords over the "air gap." If there's ever an excuse to get that radio in the office, this is probably it (though it'll need really good top-end).

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Amazon Prime Air will soon deliver your packages through drones

Amazon has just announced its awesomely futuristic plans of delivering packages using unmanned aerial vehicles or drones. Called Amazon Prime Air, the goal of this delivery method is to ensure the product reaches the customer in under 30 minutes.

The system is designed to deliver small packages, typically those under five pounds, which tend to form over 86 percent of the orders at Amazon. Each of these will be put inside a container and then strapped to a drone, which will fly over and deliver it to your doorstep.

As of now, this is still just an idea, aside from the few test runs made by Amazon. In order to have drones flying in the sky, Amazon needs the right regulations to be put into place by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of America for unmanned aerial vehicles. Amazon believes they will be able to get this delivery method off the ground by some time in 2015.

It remains to be seen how Amazon manages to handle this operation once they get the necessary permission. It is obvious that this method of delivery will be expensive and not something you’d choose unless you want something really urgently. But I wonder if there will be a time in future where the sky will be filled with little drones carrying yellow boxes around to their designated address.

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Solar Charging Feature Enters iPhone 6 Rumor Mill

The first in what will most likely be a long line of rumors related to the iPhone 6 claims that Apple will make good on several patents related to solar recharging for the iPhone 6.

The notion of a solar charging feature on an iPhone is nothing new; in fact, there are plenty of third-party options out there (like the one pictured above) that give users the ability to charge their iPhone battery with the sun’s rays. None of these products, however, are considered to be viable enough to foster mainstream appeal, and for the most part, solar charging arrays for the iPhone tend to be used more as emergency, last-ditch-effort features for giving just a bit of juice to a dead iPhone.

A new rumor, however, suggests that Apple will change the face of solar charging for smartphones next year by implementing well-establish patents for an iPhone 6 battery that will feature a solar charging panel that actually works.

Apple had in Feb 2013 received patents for its innovation in using solar panels in portable devices, like the iPhone 6. The technology was an integrated touch sensor with a solar panel. This technology allows Apple to “stack-up” touch sensors on top of solar cell layers.The report comes by way of the Australian version of IBT. Author Sachin Trivedi writes:

The electrodes on the integrated panel can be used for both collecting solar energy and for sensing on a touch sensor array. The integration, according to the patent, will save surface area on the device. Can we expect this on the iPhone 6?

There are a couple of obstacles regarding this report, namely, that the patent is quite new, having been approved less than a year ago. Typically, we’ve observed that Apple patents often take years to “cure,” and even more often, never emerge on an actual iPhone or iPad. In the case of the aforementioned solar panel/touch sensor array, it’s hard to conflate that functionality with what Apple has going on right now with the iPhone 5s. Having just debuted its first Touch I.D., where and how this newfangled solar panel-turned-touch-sensor remains to be seen.

Another problem is the charge factor.

The ever-increasing battery drain of high-performance hardware on the iPhone suggests that the iPhone 6 will need even more juice than the current iPhone 5s. This will especially be the case if the iPhone 6 has an even bigger screen and the implementation of iWallet, which will prompt the device to communicate more frequently via NFC. NFC takes up battery juice.

Solar power continues to be a novel energy source for small mobile devices. Apple for its part will have to dramatically improve upon existing solar technologies in order to make such a small surface like the back of the iPhone 6 soak up enough energy to make the technology viable.

Of course, Apple might jump at the opportunity to brand the iPhone 6 as “green” as a sales pivot for the device. In spite of the fact that the iPhone has a relatively low energy footprint, Apple might include a solar charging feature just as a means of selling more iPhones. But whether or not solar charging is an actual “good” idea for the iPhone 6 still remains to be seen.

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