2007JUN111441
Work, rest & play are my priorities
"... So how can a consultant in a company like yourself help me? Well here are my current priorities. They're pretty simple ..."
Hi M,
I've been meaning to get back to you from the first email you sent a while ago. But since you went to the trouble of leaving a voice mail I'll let you know the delay in responding. I'm corresponding by email because A) it'll let you enter this into the system (I had a good look around last time I was in the office) and B) let you understand my circumstances before wasting phone-time talking to me. So how can a consultant in a company like yourself help me? Well here are my current priorities. They are pretty simple.
* I have time constraints at the start of days and end of days with dispatch of children.
* I'm starting my own startup
* I have expertise in Internet related software development but do not want any claims on my intellectual property or ideas, especially in software code form.
* Developing skill set at a higher level than mere "commodity software development skills"
* I work from home, but travel at irregular intervals.
* I don't have current expertise in desktop development and have no current interest in it.
* At some stage I may need to make external funding but at this stage the focus will be on hardware & meeting hosting costs.
* I have a hackers charisma [0]
So while I'm not adverse to taking on something for a short period, the constraints are pretty much above. I guess the most important thing I want to get across is I'm "not interested" in "full-time" offers for work. The software industry and work practices are not aligned with my priorities. However if you see "opportunity to do work further up the software development stack", Work that allow me to gain skills, money and allow me to pursue my own path, I'd be glad to talk.
Regs PR
PS: You can read this online at ~ http://flickr.com/photos/bootload/541843608/
Extra details
I've used your company a few times over the years and have struck me as being pretty switched on. So I'll be adding some extra information to let you know what I think the current state of the local job market. Especially the predicament local companies have to operate in, 'too much work, not enough workers'.
I made a move to work in the risky startup world in '95 way ahead of the curve in terms of job market, recognising early on there would be more opportunities in new and emerging fields of Internet related software development. I'm not adverse to taking on this risk because risk adverse jobs are usually A) less interesting ideas, technology and companies and B) mundane. So through the millennium and just beyond it I specialised working in small to smallish teams in companies that focussed mostly on building products, not services nor contracts for the Internet. I avoided working on desktop systems and anything really focused exclusively on Microsoft Windows for a good reason. The software I want to work on can be delivered anywhere and everywhere avoiding the technical and support problems associated. This is important. It not only exposes you to new technology but lets you create things you can potentially sell in the international market.
So what's happened since I've last talked? Well lots.
As the building frenzy of dot-com V1.0 boom tapered off, companies started maturing their development practices, re-aligning, laying off teams and re-aligning their strategies as they saw fit. This wasn't something local, this was a global practice. At about this time I made a (good) decision to hold back, look after my children and pursue other things. In that time I've paid off any outstanding debt, integrated into a local community and deeply integrate myself into the next phase of Internet growth, V2 (Web 2.0). So I've had lots of time to think about the opportunities available and where my priorities lie. They consist of three core concepts:
WORK
The nature of software development has changed to the point where 'mere coding' has now become commodified. This means any jobs available are now subject to market forces in the extreme. Therefore I've taken this as an opportunity to do work further up the stack. Instead of just doing software development for other companies I'm now in the process of creating a startup to develop my own product to sell. As such any ideas or expression of ideas I create in code are mine which I wish to capitalise on. Here's some constraints I've set myself:
* Time work for other companies full-time is not really an option
* Location currently at home via broadband.
* Tech skills concentrated on working with Internet related technologies (scripting languages, databases, html/css presentation layers) so working in areas with desktop development is not really an option.
* Soft skills finding/building ways to communicate to potential users in ways that scale.
* Process using processes to conceive, build and deploy products in 1/4yr spans.
* Networking building contacts within the software development market
* Entrepreneurship developing these skills to make, create profit
* Tools choosing my own toolsets to solve problems
* Control I'm in charge, technology, process, networking, comercialisation, reward, loss & risk
REST
Two important things, travel and exercise. The first means I no longer waste 3hrs/day traveling when I could be working. The next bit means I have the opportunity to maintain my fitness levels.
* Travel I have zero downtime on travel
* Exercise I have daily opportunity to exercise.
PLAY
Vitally important as it allows me to develop problems into potential product, tell people about it, listen and turn it into a product and sell it.
* Solve my problems - time to find and solve my own problems and build them into software
* Code - time to choose which
* Communicate - have my own blog, blog engine and photo site.
* Entrepreneurship - spent last 3 years honing my execution skills with a local organisation fund raising.
SUMMARY
So what does this really mean? How can a consultant in a company like yourself help me? Well here are my current priorities. They are pretty simple.
* I have time constraints at the start of days and end of days with dispatch of children.
* I'm starting my own startup
* I have expertise in Internet related software development but do not want any claims on my intellectual property or ideas, especially in software code form.
* Developing skill set at a higher level than mere "commodity software development skills"
* I work from home, but travel at irregular intervals.
* I don't have current expertise in desktop development and have no current interest in it.
* At some stage I may need to make external funding for money
* I have a hackers charisma
Reference
[0] I didn't put this in but I think he'll get the point
next >>>
2007JUN111441
Work, rest & play are my priorities
"... So how can a consultant in a company like yourself help me? Well here are my current priorities. They're pretty simple ..."
Hi M,
I've been meaning to get back to you from the first email you sent a while ago. But since you went to the trouble of leaving a voice mail I'll let you know the delay in responding. I'm corresponding by email because A) it'll let you enter this into the system (I had a good look around last time I was in the office) and B) let you understand my circumstances before wasting phone-time talking to me. So how can a consultant in a company like yourself help me? Well here are my current priorities. They are pretty simple.
* I have time constraints at the start of days and end of days with dispatch of children.
* I'm starting my own startup
* I have expertise in Internet related software development but do not want any claims on my intellectual property or ideas, especially in software code form.
* Developing skill set at a higher level than mere "commodity software development skills"
* I work from home, but travel at irregular intervals.
* I don't have current expertise in desktop development and have no current interest in it.
* At some stage I may need to make external funding but at this stage the focus will be on hardware & meeting hosting costs.
* I have a hackers charisma [0]
So while I'm not adverse to taking on something for a short period, the constraints are pretty much above. I guess the most important thing I want to get across is I'm "not interested" in "full-time" offers for work. The software industry and work practices are not aligned with my priorities. However if you see "opportunity to do work further up the software development stack", Work that allow me to gain skills, money and allow me to pursue my own path, I'd be glad to talk.
Regs PR
PS: You can read this online at ~ http://flickr.com/photos/bootload/541843608/
Extra details
I've used your company a few times over the years and have struck me as being pretty switched on. So I'll be adding some extra information to let you know what I think the current state of the local job market. Especially the predicament local companies have to operate in, 'too much work, not enough workers'.
I made a move to work in the risky startup world in '95 way ahead of the curve in terms of job market, recognising early on there would be more opportunities in new and emerging fields of Internet related software development. I'm not adverse to taking on this risk because risk adverse jobs are usually A) less interesting ideas, technology and companies and B) mundane. So through the millennium and just beyond it I specialised working in small to smallish teams in companies that focussed mostly on building products, not services nor contracts for the Internet. I avoided working on desktop systems and anything really focused exclusively on Microsoft Windows for a good reason. The software I want to work on can be delivered anywhere and everywhere avoiding the technical and support problems associated. This is important. It not only exposes you to new technology but lets you create things you can potentially sell in the international market.
So what's happened since I've last talked? Well lots.
As the building frenzy of dot-com V1.0 boom tapered off, companies started maturing their development practices, re-aligning, laying off teams and re-aligning their strategies as they saw fit. This wasn't something local, this was a global practice. At about this time I made a (good) decision to hold back, look after my children and pursue other things. In that time I've paid off any outstanding debt, integrated into a local community and deeply integrate myself into the next phase of Internet growth, V2 (Web 2.0). So I've had lots of time to think about the opportunities available and where my priorities lie. They consist of three core concepts:
WORK
The nature of software development has changed to the point where 'mere coding' has now become commodified. This means any jobs available are now subject to market forces in the extreme. Therefore I've taken this as an opportunity to do work further up the stack. Instead of just doing software development for other companies I'm now in the process of creating a startup to develop my own product to sell. As such any ideas or expression of ideas I create in code are mine which I wish to capitalise on. Here's some constraints I've set myself:
* Time work for other companies full-time is not really an option
* Location currently at home via broadband.
* Tech skills concentrated on working with Internet related technologies (scripting languages, databases, html/css presentation layers) so working in areas with desktop development is not really an option.
* Soft skills finding/building ways to communicate to potential users in ways that scale.
* Process using processes to conceive, build and deploy products in 1/4yr spans.
* Networking building contacts within the software development market
* Entrepreneurship developing these skills to make, create profit
* Tools choosing my own toolsets to solve problems
* Control I'm in charge, technology, process, networking, comercialisation, reward, loss & risk
REST
Two important things, travel and exercise. The first means I no longer waste 3hrs/day traveling when I could be working. The next bit means I have the opportunity to maintain my fitness levels.
* Travel I have zero downtime on travel
* Exercise I have daily opportunity to exercise.
PLAY
Vitally important as it allows me to develop problems into potential product, tell people about it, listen and turn it into a product and sell it.
* Solve my problems - time to find and solve my own problems and build them into software
* Code - time to choose which
* Communicate - have my own blog, blog engine and photo site.
* Entrepreneurship - spent last 3 years honing my execution skills with a local organisation fund raising.
SUMMARY
So what does this really mean? How can a consultant in a company like yourself help me? Well here are my current priorities. They are pretty simple.
* I have time constraints at the start of days and end of days with dispatch of children.
* I'm starting my own startup
* I have expertise in Internet related software development but do not want any claims on my intellectual property or ideas, especially in software code form.
* Developing skill set at a higher level than mere "commodity software development skills"
* I work from home, but travel at irregular intervals.
* I don't have current expertise in desktop development and have no current interest in it.
* At some stage I may need to make external funding for money
* I have a hackers charisma
Reference
[0] I didn't put this in but I think he'll get the point
next >>>