The Berger Project

I currently am facing three situations that are either already extremely ugly or are about to become very ugly because of the lack of a contract or misinterpretation of a contract.

That being said, for situation 1 we made every effort to get as much down on paper in emails, but now it is coming down to different determinations and expectation based on the words. Now we are almost being blackmailed into a corner by someone that really has no hands in the specific dispute (though they are involved in the project). They have been fabulous to work with thus far and we look forward to working with them in the future but things have gotten very twisted and I am no longer sure what will happen. Oh and by the way, the idea of suing people, don’t even think of it as a backup option because the cost almost always out weighs the benefit for small claims, beside the fact that it immediately terminates any relationship left (no we did not do this but we had thought about it).

The other situations tie personal relationships into business relationships. For me, I don’t get tied up or hung up when there are differences in business relationships but I have a feeling that the way things may end up it may happen — this is not my wish, and I hope it works but I just really am not sure. Not getting ahead of my self but some would say that you never mix business and pleasure. I would disagree with this statement; it is fine to mix the two if you are able to be mature enough to separate yourself. Business decisions need to be made based on what is best for the business not what is best for the friendship. If you cannot be able to do that or be able to take that then you need to step away from the deal because it will only end in failure.

I will report back when these get resolved.

We all know, and come to expect, that 3rd world countries and emerging countries tend to still have censorship issues because the government is scared of free information. But what happens when we find out that censorship is taking place in our own backyards, ala Boston.

Boing Boing was banned when a controversial post with a “banned phrase” had hit the main page of the site. Apparently once this post scrolls off the page the site will become live once again.

I understand this is a free-public WiFi area and p0rn and other sites may be banned but should one phrase really block a page of “wonderful things”. The internet equals freedom of information, if you are going to censor it then take it away completely, don’t just allow the content you approve of. Alright governor?

Tech Fold

One week ago my grandparent passed away peacefully with her entire immediately family either sitting by her side or en route to come home.

My grandmother was the definition of family to me, my parents/sister, my aunts/uncles/cousins, personal friends, family friends, and more. She was the one who showed me how important it is to spend time with your family, see them often, drop anything for them, and care for not only them but friends as well (my friends were crying when they heard the news because she was always as excited to see them and hear from them as she was of her own grandchildren).

She will surely be missed but I am confident that the mark she left not only with guide my life but the life of everyone she touched.

If you are going into business you want it to be successful. But where does the trade-off come between a successful business and being successful yourself?

I fully believe in compensating your employees to the fullest extent as well as sharing the business’s standing with them, but at what point may it actually hurt the business.

For my ventures I have always tried to be as open as I could about business standings/results. Not all employees are driven by the profitability of the company — but you would expect that. One solution has been to tie compensation to company results, but it becomes way to complicated on a short term basis (I do think year end bonuses can help). What I keep finding, time and again, is that regular payment is all that matters — especially on a business where all employees work from remote locations.

One solution: build a community no matter what it takes, even if it is virtual. By getting employees to interact with one another will bring out the team spirit. This can work even in businesses where employees never meet (we are in a world where people meet online and then get married so this isn’t a stretch). Ideas like conference calls, chat rooms, group email, contest and other can go a very long way.

But the question is, is the business successful when you achieve your goal or when the entire business hits it’s high point. I prefer the latter but that is just. Until next time, it’s time for me to motivate my employees.