[TriLUG] OT: Education

Shane O'Donnell shaneodonnell at gmail.com
Mon Sep 26 21:46:23 EDT 2005


Ouch.  I'm done.

Closing comments:

 1) I have no idea what Jon Carnes knows.  He's smart.  Good enough for me.
 2) I have no idea what Mark Freeze knows, but he's evidently got a
lifetime of experience to draw upon.  Good for you.  The world needs
folks that can make wise and informed decisions.
 3) We have plenty of over-achievers on the list.  Good.  The world
needs over-achievers.
 4) Evidently, greatness is driven predominantly by the decision to be great.
 5) Alan Porter doesn't like OT threads.  Point well taken.
 6) I really, really thought I'd been arguing in support of Jon's
closing statement (set goals and achieve them), but evidently not.

I've done a poor job communicating my points (evidently), so I'll shut
up and leave world domination to someone else.  You guys win.

Take me out, coach -- I'm hurt...

Shane O.

On 26 Sep 2005 20:29:34 -0400, Jon Carnes <jonc at nc.rr.com> wrote:
> Shane Cassandra O'Donnell,
>
> You have no idea what I know... and you've also taken much out of
> context.
>
> I'm sure the top five folks on the list got there by *not* being
> satisfied - they probably still feel restless. That's why they are where
> they are. You won't be there - unless you marry one of Sam Walton's
> kids, but you're happy with that and that's okay.
>
> ... About planning. There was a great article on XO corp that I read
> last week. The article talked about their ability to innovate and rise
> again to profitability. One of the key components to their success: Not
> over analyzing. They said it was paralyzing to plan too much. The key
> thing was to have a fixed goal and then to be flexible enough to
> overcome problems as they arose.
>
> That is the key to success in business: setting goals that move you
> forward, and overcoming those obstacles that get in the way of those
> goals... not listening to the Cassandra's of the world and paralyzing
> yourself with mediocrity.
>
> Jon
>
> On Mon, 2005-09-26 at 09:01, Shane O'Donnell wrote:
> > So we're not satisfied unless we make the Top 10 richest people in America list?
> >
> > How about Quality of Life issues?  How about personal happiness?  How
> > about the enjoyment in doing an honest day's work for an honest day's
> > pay, coming home and kissing your significant other, hugging your
> > kids, and having a beer on the porch with the neighbors?
> >
> > Prediction:  No one on this mailing list is going to become one of the
> > Top 10 richest people in America.  I'll even extend that to say Top
> > 1000.  Big deal.
> >
> > Now, on various other topics:
> >
> >  - "You must have money to make money".  Not true, although the
> > prospect is much easier if you do, given interest income, investment
> > opportunities, etc.
> >  - "I earned the equivalent of an MBA in a weekend/two weeks".  Also
> > not true (sorry Jon), although the specific tactical knowledge you may
> > have derived might have scratched a particular itch.  MBA schools are
> > still somewhat more about abstract processes and having the ability to
> > apply principles to a broad array of situations, sectors, businesses,
> > etc.  And to the previous point, in many ways, they are about the
> > networks you can build--and it costs more to go to Duke than UNC or NC
> > State in part because of the network you'll build (and the likelihood
> > that that network will have money in it somewhere)
> >  - "Most new business startups fail".  True, and usually it's not
> > because they have a bad idea, but because of execution.  Over a short
> > period, the market can be very forgiving to a bad idea executed well.
> > Over the long term, bad ideas are bad ideas.  Ask the guy that came up
> > with "New Coke".
> >  - "Charter schools shouldn't be measured by the same guidelines as
> > public schools."  What?!?!?  If they are funded by our tax dollars
> > (which they are) and the DPI is funded by our tax dollars (which it
> > is), there seems to be a pretty tragic disconnect here.  My experience
> > with charter schools is basically nil, aside from researching them as
> > an option when we were deciding where to send our kids.  The turning
> > point in our decision was when the principal from the magnet school
> > told us that the charter school we were looking at had a pattern of
> > hiring the teachers that he interviewed and passed on.  Take that for
> > what it's worth -- a single data point from a potentially biased
> > source.
> >  - "Innovative scientiest don't innovate when they join a team."  I
> > have no idea what the truth-factor on this statement is, but I highly
> > doubt it.  Personally, I'm much more innovative when working with
> > talented folks.  Left to my own devices, the means and the end are
> > decidedly less fulfilling.
> >  - "You don't need a college education to be successful."  True, if
> > you have low standards/goals, would rather learn from your own
> > mistakes over a longer period of time, or are a genius.  Otherwise,
> > shut up and go to school.
> >
> > Okay kids, if I haven't offended you all by now, here's my
> > earth-shattering statement that you'll all hate:
> >
> >    The genius of Genius is in its simplicity.
> >
> > We rush to call our "big winners" in business "Geniuses", but almost
> > across the board, especially compared to today's climate, these ideas
> > were all pretty simple.  Sam Walton started a department store (Retail
> > is not rocket science, although it approaches rocket science when you
> > do it on the scale that Wal-Mart does it).  Bill Gates (and co.)
> > created DOS.  Note:  DOS wasn't the first operating system, it was
> > simply another operating system that achieved mass-market distribution
> > status very quickly, thanks to a deal with the soon-to-be-huge IBM PC.
> >  Where would Microsoft be without that original IBM deal?  (Note:  You
> > were expected to bring two blue books and you'll have 45 minutes to
> > complete your answer.)  Michael Dell sold commodity computer
> > parts/assembled boxes out of his dorm room.  So did a lot of us.  He
> > just did it well, focusing on growth during a rapdily growing market,
> > taking investment capital at the right time, and then shifting his
> > focus to cost-competitiveness through optimized processing and bulk
> > purchasing.
> >
> > The point here is that these businesses were not beyond the grasp of
> > anyone on this list.  But many of the concepts, including sales and
> > marketing, ARE beyond the grasp of many on this list--despite our
> > collective efforts to belittle the importance of these parts of a
> > company (or company strategy).  Advanced technologies and years of
> > research usually don't take the market by storm until they've been
> > dumbed down so that Joe Blow and his wife can use them cheaply and
> > easily.  Michael Dell didn't invent the ISA bus--he just sold it.  Ask
> > someone in bio-tech when they make money...it's not when they invent a
> > drug that reduces hair-loss in chemo patients--it's when they build a
> > better "erectile disfunction" mousetrap.
> >
> > I'll shut up.  And sorry about that final painful mental image...
> >
> > Shane O.
> >
> > On 9/26/05, Ben Pitzer <bpitzer at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > Don't get me wrong. I know that there are hard working people out there, the
> > > ones who put together a business model and bust their asses through hard
> > > work, scrimping every cent in order to make things work. Paul Allen went to
> > > a private high school where he met Bill Gates, and his father was an
> > > associate director of libraries for the University of Washington (
> > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Allen). So I'd say there was a little
> > > money there.
> > >
> > > Michael Dell, however, did it on his own, as I understand things. He busted
> > > his ass, and simply had a great idea at a great time. He had the other thing
> > > that can make money: a great idea, one that comes along once every 100
> > > years. Sam Walton had that, too. He started with some money. Not a ton, but
> > > enough to start up a discount department store in Arkansas, which is still
> > > more than I probably have. Nevertheless, he had a great idea, busted his
> > > ass, and made it work.
> > >
> > > No, money isn't all it takes. But it sure as hell helps, as most of the top
> > > 10 will tell you.
> > >
> > > -Ben Pitzer
> > >
> > >
> > > On 9/26/05, Mark Freeze <mfreeze at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Bill Gates was going to Harvard when he dropped out so I think he must
> > > > have
> > > > had some family cash behind him. I don't think that Paul Allen or Michael
> > > > Dell had any big family money backing them. I don't know for Ellison or
> > > > the
> > > > other guy. The bottom of the top ten are all Waltons. They all inherited
> > > > the
> > > > money, but the person they inherited it from was (I think) the proverbial
> > > > rags-to-riches story.
> > > > Regards,
> > > > Mark.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On 9/25/05, Ben Pitzer <bpitzer at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > I'm going to jump on this dead horse and start a'whippin, just because
> > > > > it's
> > > > > Sunday night, I'm bored, and y'all need to know that I still listen
> > > > around
> > > > > here so you don't start gettin' all mouthy about me.
> > > > >
> > > > > Anyone ever heard the old adage 'you have to have money to make money'?
> > > > I
> > > > > think that there's an imporant correlary to be drawn here, and that is
> > > > > that
> > > > > having money to start with is the best way to make money.
> > > > >
> > > > > My question about each of these on the top 5 (haven't seen the list
> > > > > myself)
> > > > > is whether or not they came from wealthy families to begin with. Going
> > > > > from
> > > > > big bucks to mega bucks doesn't impress me. Going from my salary to big
> > > > > bucks does. When you have money, you have connections and/or the ability
> > > > > to
> > > > > make connections. That means that you are invited into situations that
> > > > > allow
> > > > > you to make money, and which are much more reliable than those that
> > > > people
> > > > > such as myself will find. The last time that somebody offered me an
> > > > > opportunity to invest my money and make (potentially) millions, it
> > > > > involved
> > > > > purchasing cleaning products from his online store that he didn't own,
> > > > and
> > > > > was the marketing brain child of the family that brought us Amway.
> > > > >
> > > > > So frankly I don't think that having a college education always helps
> > > > when
> > > > > you already have all the tools you need to be successful, and that is a
> > > > > head
> > > > > start.
> > > > >
> > > > > Flame on,
> > > > > Ben Pitzer
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > On 9/23/05, Mark Freeze <mfreeze at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Remember the posts we had a couple of weeks ago regarding education &
> > > > > > certifications? I was just reading the list of the 10 richest people
> > > > in
> > > > > > the
> > > > > > US and I saw an interesting fact: Out of the top 5, 4 were college
> > > > > > dropouts.
> > > > > > (The bottom 5 were all from the Wal-Mart family.)
> > > > > > I hope everyone has a good weekend,
> > > > > > Mark.
> > > > > > --
> > > > > > TriLUG mailing list : http://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
> > > > > > TriLUG Organizational FAQ : http://trilug.org/faq/
> > > > > > TriLUG Member Services FAQ : http://members.trilug.org/services_faq/
> > > > > > TriLUG PGP Keyring : http://trilug.org/~chrish/trilug.asc
> > > > > >
> > > > > --
> > > > > TriLUG mailing list : http://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
> > > > > TriLUG Organizational FAQ : http://trilug.org/faq/
> > > > > TriLUG Member Services FAQ : http://members.trilug.org/services_faq/
> > > > >
> > > > --
> > > > TriLUG mailing list : http://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
> > > > TriLUG Organizational FAQ : http://trilug.org/faq/
> > > > TriLUG Member Services FAQ : http://members.trilug.org/services_faq/
> > > >
> > > --
> > > TriLUG mailing list        : http://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
> > > TriLUG Organizational FAQ  : http://trilug.org/faq/
> > > TriLUG Member Services FAQ : http://members.trilug.org/services_faq/
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Shane O.
> > ========
> > Shane O'Donnell
> > shaneodonnell at gmail.com
> > ====================
>
> --
> TriLUG mailing list        : http://www.trilug.org/mailman/listinfo/trilug
> TriLUG Organizational FAQ  : http://trilug.org/faq/
> TriLUG Member Services FAQ : http://members.trilug.org/services_faq/
>


--
Shane O.
========
Shane O'Donnell
shaneodonnell at gmail.com
====================



More information about the TriLUG mailing list