Negotiation top 10 tips from Alan McCarthy

I picked up a list of ten tips for negotiation when I went on a half day training course with Alan McCarthy. Here is the summary:

1. Don’t negotiate.
2. Never negotiate with yourself.
3. Never except the first offer.
4. Never make the first offer if you can avoid it.
5. Listen more and talk less.
6. Never give anyone a free gift.
7. Watch the salami.
8. Avoid the rookie’s regret.
9. Avoid the quick deal.
10. Never tell anyone what your bottom line is.

You’ll need to watch the YouTube clip to understand these.

Mono .NET test on Ubuntu

A while ago I wrote about Mono running Microsoft .Net on Linux. I recently installed it. It worked well from the very basic test I ran. I would like to see it trialled on a full system in a production environment.

Here is a screen shot of the success.

Starting a Microsoft .Net project in MonoDevelop

ASPX running on Ubuntu

Sound economic advice from Cicero from 55 BC

What have we learned in 2,066 years:

“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”

–  Cicero   55 BC

So, evidently nothing.

PMI goes Agile

I stumbled on an article by Mike Griffiths. It seems The Project Management Institute (PMI) has decided to join the rest of the rest of the industry and offer an Agile certification. I think this is both good and bad. Good from the perspective that they acknowledge that Agile is mainstream and they need to adapt. Bad from the perspective that the certification could have minimal value. The debate over certification value has already started on his blog post.

Here are some high level points on the certification:
How is the PMI Agile Certification different from the PMP credential?

The PMI Agile Certification specifically validates a practitioner’s ability to understand Agile principles and practices. The PMP recognizes demonstrated competence in leading and directing project teams.

Eligibility Requirement	Description
Educational Level	Secondary degree (high school or equivalent) or higher
General Project Management Experience	2,000 hours working on project teams. These hours must be earned within the last 5 years. Note: for those holding a PMP® credential, PMI has already verified that the candidate has exceeded these requirements. Thus, a PMP will be accepted to fulfill these requirements.
Agile Project Management Experience	1,500 hours working on Agile project teams or in Agile methodologies. These hours are in addition to the 2,000 hours required in general project management experience. These hours must be earned within the last 2 years.
Agile Project Management Training	21 contact hours; hours must be earned in Agile project management topics
Examination	Tests knowledge of Agile fundamentals and ability to apply to basic projects
Maintenance	30 PDUs/3 CEUs every 3 years in Agile project management Note: these hours would count toward fulfilling PMP requirements, if the individual holds both certifications

Android app for mobile workforce management

Android application development is exploding. The company I work for, G3 Global, has made some early steps into concept applications. I was fortunate to work with Kevin, one of the java developers, to put together a bespoke application.

The idea was to create a mobile workforce system that would allow engineers to work remotely through a list of jobs. Each job would allow a before and after picture which was geo tagged. Here is a video of the application in action.

The original post on the G3 Global blog ‘Mobile workforce management on Android‘

6 Unique Claims of Jesus

1. No one says they came down from heaven but Jesus (John 6:38, 41–42, 60, 66)
2. No one says they are God but Jesus (John 10:30–33)
3. No one says they are sinless but Jesus (John 8:46)
4. No one says they can forgive sins but Jesus (Mark 2:5)
5. No one says they are the way to heaven but Jesus (John 14:6)
6. No one promised to rise from death but Jesus (Mark 10:33–34)

Taken from Mars Hill blog post where you can read more.

What do you think?

Google analytics gets some Bing

Some good news for all those users of Google Analytics. The newly release Microsoft search engine will be integrated into the search engine referals sections.

All the search engine referrals are typically shown in the traffic sources overview. A sample extract is shown below:

Currently Bing shows up as a referring site rather than a search engine.

The full story is on the google analytics post.

Designer needed at Caffeinehit

If you are a crack hot designer and want to work with one of the best be sure to apply for the position going. I’ve worked with Andy when I was at Kindo and now again at G3 Global. He is definitely on my top web designers list.

The difference one vote can make

In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England
In 1649, one vote caused Charles I to be executed
In 1776, one vote gave America the English language instead of German
In 1845, one vote brought Texas into the Union
In 1875, one vote changed France from a monarchy to a republic
In 1876, one vote gave Rutherford B Hayes the United States Presidency
In 1923, one vote gave Adolf Hitler control of the Nazi party
In 1941, one vote saved the Selective Service System just 12 weeks before Pearl Harbour

Taken from vote2009.eu

LinkedIn companies beta test drive

I recently gave the LinkedIn companies section a go. Chris Gunter, CEO & Owner of G3 Global, setup the initial page. Here is a snapshot of the page that was setup:

Company page of G3 Global on Linkedin.

I was half impressed with the functionality. It’s a great concept to use the business networking site to now have company pages, but the implementation still is clearly in Beta. I had a look at a company page that I used to work for Open Box Software, and was a bit confused when I saw three people on the page: Sophiane Arras, Andy Ashburner and Henry Juan who never worked for Open Box (they did work with me at Kindo/MyHeritage). Have a look at the ‘Former Employees’ section below:

Company page of Open Box Software on LinkedIn

They are connections of mine but clearly no relation to the company. I can only assume there is something wrong with the query in the logic. Oh well it is only beta.