Dookies™ in the Pool

Interspire is a 6 year-old company based in Australia with offices in the United States and the U.K.  These guys were passionate about software and wrote PHP and ASP versions of their applications.  The software allowed anyone and I do mean anyone, to build, operate and update a website quickly, easily and without knowing any html or other coding languages.  From time-to-time I’ve hired freelancers to customize some of my sites but I actually learned to do much of this work myself because Interspire’s applications were easy to use and easy to correct any errors that I made.

If memory serves me well, they even installed the software absolutely free of charge.  At some point they stopped building ASP versions and focused their attention on building great PHP web-based software applications. 

Monster.com, GE, Shell, Intel and many other large corporations use Interspire’s applications and although I’m by no means a corporate giant, I was proud to be in such prestigious company, felt that I had made some very wise choices and was overall, a very happy camper.

Back about 4 years ago when Interspire was a two-year old startup, the response times and support were superior to anything else out there.

I believe that as Interspire has grown, the issues have grown along with the company, hence the term “growing pains.”  The support times have gotten longer, there is now a charge to have the software installed (okay, I understand this one–software installation does cost time, effort and money), instead of paying an annual support fee that included upgrades, Interspire changed the names of some products and required loyal customers to pay for a new version instead of getting upgrades with their support agreements.  I know for a fact that this resulted in a number of disgruntled customers who vowed to never return to Interspire. 

Throughout all of this, I’ve remained a loyal customer.

In the coaching and training I do for companies, I find that many times there is a certain point where growth exceeds the company’s ability to maintain the same level of responsiveness and support.  As a company expands, it becomes more and more difficult to quickly attract, train and retain a top quality pool of talent. 

In many instances companies unwittingly attract talent from the shallow end of the talent pool.  This is similar to what happens when a professional sports league expands.  When new teams are added, there is a greater need for talent resulting in teams signing players that under other circumstances would be considered minor leaguers at best. 

I understand that Interspire is a for-profit enterprise and I understand that Interspire has changed its business model somewhat over the years as well but sometimes I’m beginning to feel as if redundancy is being built in for the sake of profits vs. better products and seemless product integration.

I purchased Interspire’s Shopping Cart last May.  I’ve very happy with it–I feel that it’s a great piece of software and a good value.

Earlier this week I upgraded from a version of SendStudio to Email Marketer and I’m very happy with the new software as well.  I feel that Interspire earned my upgrade dollars by providing a superior application. The problem arose when I tried to re-integrate Shopping Cart with Email Marketer.  I couldn’t get the XML token to work.

Interspire’s support responded to my support ticket request by telling me that my version of Shopping Cart isn’t compatible with the version of Email Marketer that I just paid another $249.00 for.  The solution?  Upgrade Shopping Cart for another $200.00.  Had I known that the new version of email marketer wasn’t compatible with my version of Shopping Cart  (support and updates ran out about 6 months ago,) I would have reconsidered my decision to upgrade in the first place. 

In essence, my decision to upgrade  may cause me to pay more money to upgrade something else that I don’t think needs upgrading at this time.  At the very least, getting emails from Shopping Cart into Email Marketer will become more onerous because I’ll have to do it manually.

Great companies find a way to overcome these challenges and continue on their upward trajectory.  I sincerely hope that Interspire puts their customer’s needs and backward compatibility ahead of making a buck.  If they can build this kind of foresight into their business model, their customers will more than reward them with more sales, referral business, more support contracts and greater profits.

Tags: Dookie Companies, Dookie Policies by admin
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I thought that John McCain showed a great deal of courage and insight in choosing Sarah Palin as his runningmate.  Before I go any further, after 8 years of Bill Clinton followed by 8 more of George Bush, I have come to the conclusion that backing either platform is a mistake.  Neither party has all of the answers and what we really need are bi-partisans who care more about serving the people than serving themselves and their cronies.  As a result, I am solidly an independent. 

Forget for a moment what Sarah Palin’s positions are and what her background is.  After having announced his choice for Vice President and being introduced to Sarah Palin, who by most accounts seems like a decent choice, we were introduced to her family.  Sarah and her husband were high school sweethearts, their son is being deployed to Iraq, four other beautiful children including a newborn with Downs Syndrome.  Sounds like an all-American family.  In fact, at first glance, it seemed as if Sarah Palin could identify with the average, middle-class American- a large group that has been given the shaft by both parties for decades. 

A few short days later, we all learned that her teen-aged daughter was pregnant.

Unexpected pregnancies happen every day in this country and throughout most of the world.  This in and of itself should make Sarah & her family even more like yours and mine: we’re fallible and we all make mistakes.

What concerns me is this: Why did we not hear about this unplanned pregnancy and the wedding plans on Friday when her family was introduced to the nation?    Why not announce that a grandchild is on the way?  I admire the fact that the Palin’s are being supportive of their daughter during what must be a difficult time in her life right now.  We can’t blame Bristol and her boyfriend for this situation, they fessed up to the only people that they are responsible to and are preparing to bring their child into the world.

Herein lies the Dookie: Had the Palin’s been upfront about this matter, I’m quite confident that America would have been far more understanding than many are now.  The media frenzy has  been absolutely disgusting.  Although after Michael Jackson, Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears, we all now know that the media appeals to the lowest common denominator has no credibilty left with people who can actually think logically for themselves.

Instead of bringing a fresh perspective and new ideas, it would appear as if Sarah Palin has quickly learned the deceitful ways of a Washington veteran.

Tags: Dookie People, Dookie Policies by admin
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I experienced an increasingly rare moment of absolute and total lucidity a few days ago. 

I sat through a day-long planning session.  I was online watching and participating when called upon, but not a presenter.  This approach has it’s pros and cons.

On the pro side, remote participants are pretty much tied to their desks so you are compelled to do the things that you know you should do, but that always seem to fall through the cracks.  It allows one to check & answer email and bio-breaks can usually be accomplished without the entire world knowing where you went or what you’re doing. 

On the con side, you can’t really goof off too much because if called upon, you need to know what’s going on.  The web cam doesn’t show the entire meeting room so you don’t always know who’s talking and finally, you can’t always hear everything that’s said.

Nevertheless, as the meeting droned on into the afternoon, I listened to everyone’s great ideas and chimed in when called upon and when appropriate–you always want them to know that you’re there.   During one particularily self-serving presentation by a self-absorbed bore, I snapped to attention when this person said “When all is said and done…”.   Of course, I have absolutely no idea what came next as he mercifully attempted to summarize and end his presentation because at that very moment it became clear to me what the problem is at many organizations: Far more is said than is ever done.

How many meetings have you attended where lofty goals and ideals are bandied about in order to impress one’s peers and more importantly, to impress one’s superiors?  A soon as everyone returns to their offices, it’s back to business as usual.

Anyone can talk-the-talk, far fewer seem to be able to walk-the-walk.  In essence, it all comes down to an organization’s ability to execute their strategy.  It seems as if ’strategy’ is where it’s at.  People embrace their strategy, they internalize their strategy, they personalize their strategy.  What about tactics?  How is that strategy going to be implemented?

Here comes the Dookie: This presenter told everyone what he wanted his strategy to be and everyone seemed to think it was a good idea.  The ‘how’ ended up being the missing link. 

A strategy without tactics is merely a dream. 

And about my increasingly rare moments of absolute and total lucidity, I don’t suffer from dementia or anything, it’s just that when I was younger, I was under the impression that I and I alone saw everything clearly and had all of the answers.  I’m now wise enough to know that wisdom will always be just beyond my reach.

Tags: Dookie Companies, Dookie Policies by admin
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Yes, that is the actual headline of an article on CNN.com and to my knowledge, the photo above has not been photoshopped. 

Let’s see… gays are now marrying each other in a number of states which is fine, Paris Hilton’s energy policy not only actually makes sense, it’s better than those put forth by either Barack Obama or John McCain and a ‘Mega-Preacher’s’ wife is being sued for elbowing a flight attendant in the left boob. 

In a world that has seemingly gone mad, Dean Peterson can’t get relief from the chaffing caused by the interaction between his regulation USPS uniform and his genitals?  The Scots have been wearing kilts for how long?  Sure, I’ll admit nobody really looks cool wearing a kilt except for maybe Sean Connery, but what’s the big deal if this guy wants to wear a kilt to deliver the mail?  So what?  He’s not hurting anybody so why not allow him some relief?

Dean Peterson used much of his $1,800 stimulus check to mail about 1,000 letters and photographs of himself wearing a prototype Postal Service kilt to union branches across the country.  Unfortunately, it was all for naught as his proposal was defeated during his union’s recent convention.   

I don’t know if Mr. Peterson will ever get to wear a kilt while delivering the mail but I don’t think that his chances are very good.  Why you might ask?  Because Mr. Peterson doesn’t represent a vocal minority. 

I’m not a bigot in any way, shape or form.  I believe that everyone should be treated with the same level of dignity and respect regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, beliefs or religion. 

I do have an issue when people manipulate their status in order to receive unneccesary special treatment at the expense of everyone else.

I strongly suspect that if Mr. Peterson were gay or a transsexual, transgender etc. he could claim some form of discrimination or EEOC violation and be permitted to wear his kilt to work, and rightly so.  The fact that I point this disparity out and because Mr. Peterson probably isn’t gay or a transexual or transgender person, I’m labeled as being insensitive or worse.

I believe that if he were a member of a visible minority, he’d be able to claim that his wearing a kilt was some sort of tribal or other ritual dating back several hundred years–and ultimately would be permitted to wear his kilt to deliver the mail.  A number of years ago in Toronto, Sikhs who were hired by the Toronto Police Service fought for and won the right to wear turbans while on duty.  Again, no problem here.  The fact that I point this disparity out and because Mr. Peterson is not a member of a visible minority, I’m labeled a racist.

Recently in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, the Ramapo Police hired an orthodox Jewish woman as a police officer.  Great!  A little multiculturalism and diversity is good for community policing.  Except that despite her having apparently agreed to be available to work on Friday evenings and Saturdays as well as stating that she’d obtain special dispensation from her rabbi to work those days if hired, she has been given a free pass to have those days off.  No problem here except…

…I know Christian police officers who have been on the job for more than 10 years who have never been given Christmas off.  Because I had the audacity to point this inconsistency out I’m sure to be labeled an anti-Semite.

To make matters worse, the town supervisor recently criticized a Ramapo Police Officer who had an orthodox Jewish woman remove her wig for a mugshot saying “Ramapo police are trained to respect religious and cultural beliefs and the officer should have known the religious nature of the wig. He has ordered new programs in police sensitivity training”. 

Apparently respecting the religious and cultural beliefs of Ramapo Police officers is not a consideration here.

Pretty slick–this woman transformed herself from a criminal to a victim just like that.  No mention of the fact that this woman was being charged with a felony and quite frankly, I wonder how many other women, African American, Christian, Hispanic etc. have had to remove their wigs, hats, burkas etc. for a mugshot when being charged with a felony and have not had the town supervisor publicly pander come to their aid?

This issue of people manipulating their minority status in order to receive unneccesary special treatment at the expense of everyone else has been around long before the Politicaly Correct folks showed up imposing their beliefs on the rest of us.  Again this represents a vocal minority imposing on the freedoms of the rest of us. 

We have the right to our race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, beliefs and religion, but our race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, beliefs and religion shouldn’t give us special rights at the expense of others.

Tags: Dookie Policies by admin
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We just got back from 8 days in the great State of Maine.  The weather wasn’t great but who cares?  The sea air, rugged coastline, fantastic seafood and great people easily make up for lousy weather. 

To make life even better, Maine is also home to one of the finest, most creative bread bakeries I’ve ever come across… “When Pigs Fly”. On this recent trip I purchased Six grain and pumpkin seed, baby spinach & garlic focaccia and banana, pecan, maple and brown sugar bread.  This blog isn’t about When Pigs Fly but I’ll make a note to address this Dookieless business later.  If you can’t wait, visit their website at www.sendbread.com.  In my humble opinion, there are very few Dookies in the State of Maine. 

I’m not so sure about their neighbor to the immediate south.

In order to drive to Maine from any other State, one must travel through New Hampshire; in our case up I-95 for approximately 16 miles.  It would appear that New Hampshire has never met a traveller ‘just passing through’ that they weren’t willing to stick it to and no, I’m not talking about the $1.50 toll everyone pays in order to cross the 16 miles between the Massachussetts border and the Maine border.  This 16 mile stretch of highway  is far more notorious for their ticketing practices. 

For about 14 miles of the 16 mile stretch, there is a grass median separating the northbound from the southbound lanes.  Look closely and provided the grass hasn’t recently been mowed, you’ll see dozens of pairs of tire tracks across the median.  The New Hampshire State Police have a nasty habit of crossing from north to southbound and vice-versa in pursuit of revenue.

On a recent trip home from Maine, we witnessed 12 troopers on I-95.  They had set up a minivan on the northbound side, under an overpass with the rear hatch open.  A trooper was sitting on the rear bumper aiming his radar gun at oncoming cars just as they rounded the bend.  Just beyond the minivan sat the other troopers in cruisers just waiting to pounce.  Meanwhile in the driver’s seat, yet another trooper aimed his radar gun at southbound traffic and had troopers waiting to hit their quota as well.

As you approach the toll, the speed limit drops to 35 MPH about a half mile before you get to the toll.  Many times I’ve seen cars pulled over in the toll area for speeding as they decelerated to pay the toll.

Now I have absolutely no problem if a policy is designed to keep everyone safe while acting as a deterrent.  What I do have a problem is with the fact that this is more about revenue generation and less about safety.

About two years ago, I had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of a speeding ticket in New Hampshire.  Admittedly, I was travelling at a speed higher than the posted limit of 65 MHP.  I was not going in the low 90’s as the trooper had claimed.  In the past on the rare occasion when I had received a ticket, I mailed in the payment and went about my business.  This ticket really bother me because there was no way I was travelling at anywhere near 90 miles an hour. 

Prior to my mandatory court appearance, we visited Maine once again. (cruise control set at 63 MHP through NH) I took this opportunity to drive about 110 miles in order to sit in the court room to see what would happen and what chance I might have fighting the ticket.  During my interactions with the clerk’s office, I came to realize what a finely tuned revenue generator New Hampshire has in operation.  If you were issued a ticket by the State Police, your court date would be on a Thursday at 8:30am.  Each issuing agency has their own time and date which makes life much easier and much more organized for their shakedown. 

What happened was absolutely astonishing.  The court doors were opened at 8:00am and court was due to start promptly at 8:30am.  I sat quietly in the back as people began to arrive.  The troopers also began to arrive as well.  As they came in, each trooper said hello to the clerk and was given their stack of tickets for that day. 

The troopers then called people one-by-one out of the court room and took them into conference rooms.  Deals were cut, fines reduced in return for guilty pleas and upon returning to the court, the trooper informed the clerk that Mr. or Mrs. So-and-So had agreed to plead guilty to a lesser whatever and would pay a fine of $XXX.XX.  Mr. or Mrs. So-and-So then left the court, paid by cash, check or credit card and went merrily on their way albeit with less cash that they had when they had arrived.  By 9:00am the judge had not yet appeared and there were a few lawyers and two DUI defendants left in the court with me.  I counted over $4,000 in revenue based only on what I had actually overheard and I didn’t hear what everyone had agreed to pay.  At this point I left too.  No use in not being able to watch traffic court because nobody was left to attend traffic court was there? 

Perhaps I’m naive but I thought that the troopers were the witnesses for the State and that the prosecutors’ job was to cut deals in return for guilty pleas.  Not so in New Hampshire, in fact I haven’t been able to get anyone to explain this phenomena to me yet, either. 

Of course to make a long story short, when I had to go back for my traffic court date, the same thing happened.  I paid a fine, got no points and no license suspension.

Somebody, somewhere came up with this revenue scheme and others supported it as a good idea.  Therein lies the Dookie.  I have no problem if I get a ticket and have to pay a fine if a fair an equitable process is in place.  I have no problem if in the interest of public safety, the police are out to get people to slow down.  I do however have a real problem when traffic ticket issuance becomes a manipulated, anticipated revenue source.

We are brought up to respect and trust law enforcement but the experience in New Hampshire has really shown that power can and is being abused in the quest for revenue.  But then again, what should we expect from a State that offers an in-service video for law enforment training entitled “Selling the Traffic Ticket–How to Avoid Unnecessary Court Appearances.”

Oh and should you decide to visit the Great State of Maine, set the cruise control to 64 MPH for at least 16 miles of your journey.  You’ll save gas while depriving New Hampshire of their pound of flesh.

Tags: Dookie Policies by admin
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