Everything Starts With Design — You Should, Too

“There is no such thing as a commodity product, just commodity thinking.” — David Townsend



Anthony DiNatale was born in South Boston. He entered the flooring business with his father in 1921 and began a career of craftsmanship and woodworking. In 1933, he founded DiNatale Flooring in Charlestown, working job to job, primarily in the northeast United States. In 1946, Walter Brown approached DiNatale and asked him to build a floor for a new basketball team to use. DiNatale quoted him $11,000 to complete the project, and the deal was struck.

DiNatale quickly went to work, knowing that he had to be cost-conscious to complete the construction, since he had bid aggressively to win the project. He gathered wood from a World War II army barracks and started building. He quickly noticed a problem: the wood scraps were too short for him to take his traditional approach to building a floor. So he began to create an alternating pattern, changing the direction of the wood pieces to fasten them together. He kept creating 5-foot panels, and when he had 247 of them, his work was completed.

Walter Brown was the owner of the Boston Celtics. When the Celtics moved into the Boston Garden in 1952, the floor commissioned by Brown in the year of their founding went with them. The floor was connected by 988 bolts and served as the playing surface for 16 NBA championships between 1957 and 1986.

DiNatale was a craftsman, an artist, a woodworker, but most prominently a designer. He made use of what he had and designed what would become the iconic playing surface in professional sports. The floor became a home-court advantage for the Celtics, as competitors complained about its dead spots and intricacies.

Design is enduring. Design is timeless. And, every once in a while, design becomes a major advantage.

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Joe


"Don't confuse my kindness for weakness." - Joe Schutzman


I was a 26 year old consultant on my first real project in 2000, working for a client in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The project was a mess. We had very little subject matter expertise, even less leadership, and it was going the wrong direction. Joe Schutzman was one of the people that came to the rescue. He brought a sense of calm and composure, and the ability to simplify a complex situation. And, he taught me the difference between being principled and being stubborn.

I've known a number of stubborn people in my life, probably most notably my Grandfather. It doesn't make them bad people, it just makes them, well, stubborn. Sometimes principled people get confused for stubborn, because they are so tied to their belief system. But, there is a big difference.

Joe was flexible on details, but determined on direction. This applied in business, as well as his life. This is the essence of a principled life. He was the champion of the pirate spirt in our team at work. I believe it originally came from the quote, "I'd rather be a pirate, than join the Navy." Regardless of where it originated, it embodied his spirit of never accepting the status quo. He was the consummate transformation agent, which is not necessarily common in someone so principled. There is often beauty in contradictions.

Joe passed away this morning, with his family in Kansas City. He will be missed, as a colleague, friend, father, husband, and sibling. But, his impact will live on, setting the bar for all of us to live a principled life, yet never being afraid to disrupt the status quo. He will be missed by all that knew him.

The End of Tech Companies

“If you aren’t genuinely pained by the risk involved in your strategic choices, it’s not much of a strategy.” — Reed Hastings

Enterprise software companies are facing unprecedented market pressure. With the emergence of cloud, digital, machine learning, and analytics (to name a few), the traditional business models, cash flows, and unit economics are under pressure. The results can be seen in some public stock prices (HDP, TDC, IMPV, etc.), and nearly everyone’s financials (flat to declining revenues in traditional spaces).

The results can also be seen in the number of private transactions occurring (Informatica, Qlik, etc.); it’s easier to change your business model outside of the public eye. In short, business models reliant on traditional distribution models, large dollar transactions, and human-intensive operations will remain under pressure.

Many ‘non-tech companies’ tell me, “thank goodness that is not the business we are in” or “technology changes too fast, I’m glad we are in a more traditional space”. These are false hopes. This fundamental shift is coming (or has already come) to every business and every industry, in every part of the world. It does not matter if you are a retailer, a manufacturer, a healthcare provider, an agricultural producer, or a pharma company. Your traditional distribution model, operational mechanics, and method of value creation will change in the next 5 years; you will either lead or be left behind.

It’s been said that we sit on the cusp of the next Industrial Revolution. Data, IoT, and software are replacing industrialization as the driving force of productivity and change. Look no further than the public markets; the 5 largest companies in the world by value are:



As Benedict Evans observed, “It is easier for software to enter other industries than for other industries to hire software people.” In the same vein, Naval Ravikant commented, “Competing without software is like competing without electricity.” The rise of the Data era, coupled with software and connected device sprawl, creates an opportunity for some companies to outperform others. Those who figure out how to apply this advantage will drive unprecedented wealth creation and comprise the new S&P 500.

This is the end of ‘tech companies’. The era of “tech companies” is over; there are only ‘companies’, steeped in technology, that will survive.

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The 4th Dimension of Enterprise Software


Charles and Miranda first met in art school in 1979. Over time, they realized a shared passion for handwork and the elegance of handmade objects for the home. Today, Charles Shackleton Furniture and Miranda Thomas Pottery, the workshops that comprise ShackletonThomas, consist of a group of individuals who share their philosophy.

Charles and Miranda think about 4 elements when creating an object:

1) Design- the shape, decoration, functionality, and style.

2) Materials- they select the best and most beautiful materials for design.

3) Craftsmanship- the precision, finesse, and functionality for how an object is put together.

4) The Fourth Dimension- “this is the element of design caused when the object is made by human hand or a tool directly controlled by human hand. All are imperfect, like the human that created it. But, the imperfections are beautiful.”

The fourth dimension is the crucial and final aspect that makes a piece of art truly great. “This is what gives life and soul to the inanimate object.”

***

Every incumbent player in the enterprise software market is facing a 4th dimension challenge. The first 3 dimensions are the nearly the same for everyone; it’s how they invest their R&D/SG&A across serving users, their existing clients/products, and a platform for the future.


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