What makes No.1 products

Joel Spolsky speaks about what makes No.1 products different from No.2's.

In brief:

* "Typical" quality aspects can bring us up to No.2, not No.1.
* To be No.1 you´ll need to:
* make people happy
* obsess over aestetics
* observe the "culture code"

Evaluate motivation in 10 questions

I've found an interesting questionaire about employee motivation, and decided to rephrase the questions for self-asessment. Very handy to evaluate oneselve's situation from time to time.

1. What is the "primary aim" of your company? Is it alligned with yours?
2. What obstacles stop you performing to best effect? Is your company concerned about them? Better, is someone actually dealing with them?
3. What really motivates you? Would your boss answer the same?
4. Do you feel empowered by the company?
5. Are there any recent changes in the company that might have affected motivation? Maybe is the lack of them?
6. Who is most motivated in your company? Why? Is there a path for you to get there?
7. Are your goals and company goals aligned?
8. How do you feel about the company? Safe, loyal, valued and taken care of? Or taken advantage of, dispensable and invisible?
9. How involved are you in company development? Do you feel heard? Are you consulted? Are there regular opportunities for you to give feedback?
10. Up to your experience, is the company's internal image consistent with its external one?

Client defined

I just came across a great definition for "Client".

"A client is a partner, someone who I have an intimate relationship, is in it with me for the long haul, someone with whom I co-invent the future, a person/organization in whose outcome I have a big personal stake, someone with whom I have an emotional bond, someone with whom I can’t work if trust is not paramount, a fellow professional who, like me, wrestles with intractable problems, the source of my reputation (for better or for worse), my No.1 “word of mouth” marketer, someone who grows with me, someone who loses when I lose, someone who wins when I win."

The greatest thing in the definition, is that it is not only descriptive, but also prescriptive. It tells you how to treat your "customers" to convert them into "clients". In português, "client" is translated into "freguês", which I love, because is the same word used for people frequenting a bar. I'm shure that if you ask a bartender, he can tell you the difference easier than an IT Sales rep.

By the way, the definition is quoted from Tom Peters book "REINVENTING WORK: the professional service firm 50". I'll go get it right away.