Monthly Archives: July 2009

NBR increases sales

Posted on July 31, 2009 by

It appears as though I made it to the front page of the NBR today. It was in an article written to defend the seemingly arbitrary and certainly poorly implemented decision last week to charge outrageous fees for access to … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Analysis or Opinion, Faith or Facts?

Posted on July 31, 2009 by

I had a good email exchange yesterday with a friend. It started after the Tuesday post on improvement – and my comment about switching from MYOB to Xero. My friend is a big MYOB fan, and challenged the assertion that … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Bad Stuff, bad Cadbury

Posted on July 28, 2009 by

Cadbury is already in trouble with New Zealand consumers – so the last thing I expected to see was something else to make me annoyed. First my mouse turned into a paint brush… ..and then the entire page was covered. … Continue reading →

Posted in media, NZ Business | Tagged , | 24 Comments

Tuesday Three: 3 ways to improve your business

Posted on July 28, 2009 by

Count them and cost them Make sure every computer is being used. Nobody gets two and none sit idle. This seemingly easy task is made much harder that it should be by many organisations. I’m very much in favour of … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , | 7 Comments

NBR continues their descent into madness

Posted on July 24, 2009 by

Here’s NBR homepage, above the fold, this morning. I’ve helpfully crossed out in red the articles that are subscriber only, and in black the one article that has a bad link (which I suspect would be subscriber only anyway). Note … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

The lost art of saying hello

Posted on July 24, 2009 by

Answering the phone was always a ritual when I was growing up, and indeed it was also a ritual at work and beyond. You had to be polite and clearly identify who you were and who you represented. “Hello it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Apple’s N90, and a suicide

Posted on July 23, 2009 by

Apple 4th generation is called the N90 iPhone, and the disappearance of one has caused a newish employee to jump to his death. Strangely enough I discovered this after seeing traffic stats for an old post go through the roof. … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

10 digital media lessons for book publishers to learn

Posted on July 23, 2009 by

So Barnes and Noble is joining Amazon in offering an ebook reader and downloadable ebooks. This article from NZHerald has several indicators that they will fail if they keep on their same path. The e-books sold at BN.com will not … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet Business, media | 2 Comments

Let him speak your honour

Posted on July 22, 2009 by

You wake up – hearing a crash as the front door to your house is battered down. Shouts and bangs startle you out of bed as police fan out and run through your house. You leap out of bed, only … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Weatherston Guilty of murder – before jury returns

Posted on July 21, 2009 by

Complete with quotes from the family – here is, via Google,  premature article from The Press on Weatherston’s guilty murder verdict. (Hat Tip to @rachel_a) Accidents do happen in the editorial room (I’ve done it myself) and as these things … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Tuesday Three: 3 ways to improve your business

Posted on July 21, 2009 by

Are you brave enough to kill the dinosaur? Kill SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle or whatever big system you use. Let’s face it you aren’t actually saving money by using it, everyone hates it and it costs a fortune to own in … Continue reading →

Posted in NZ Business | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The NBR is in trouble – what should they do?

Posted on July 17, 2009 by

I’ve been really impressed with the NBR in recent times – their website was going from strength to strength, and their writing was increasingly excellent. I even praised writer Chis Keall, who writes for (but I understand is not employed … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, media, NZ Business | Tagged , , , | 35 Comments

When bureaucracy goes wild

Posted on July 15, 2009 by

The USA’s tax code is wildly complicated, and that means that the sheer act of understanding exactly how much you owe for your business and personal tax takes a lot of work. It’s administered by the Inland Revenue Service – … Continue reading →

Posted in Business | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Making sure you make money from your business

Posted on July 15, 2009 by

These are notes from a whiteboard session that I led at BarCamp on Saturday. There were plenty of people in the room for the end of day session, and we had an excellent discussion. We were trying to answer the … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Internet Business, Investing | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Plenty of opportunity with Telecom’s XT bills

Posted on July 14, 2009 by

With iPhone pricing comparisons all the rage right now, I decided to have a first look at my Telecom XT Bill. I knew this would be entertaining, but despite everything below there is a minor victory, in that I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Internet Business | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments