When people think of the New England Patriots football team, their success over nearly the last 2 decades is what likely comes to mind. From 5 Super Bowl titles to longtime quarterback Tom Brady, it’s not surprising. However not everything with the team has always been sunshine and rainbows.

I know – as a longtime fan and season ticket holder, I lived through some of the embarrassing times of the Pats. However these stories stretch back even before I was born! The scrappy, low-budgeted team that didn’t have a set home stadium for its first decade that became one of the most valuable, treasured – and hated – team; it’s a Cinderella story.

Sean Glennon tells many of the positive and not-so positive stories in The Good The Bad The Ugly New England Patriots, chronicling nearly the first half-century of the team. I knew this would be a great book as I really enjoyed Glennon’s first book on the team, This Pats Year, which chronicled one season of following the team and their fans. I found the book in final boxes I unpacked after a recent move, and had forgotten I had it. Where it was a treat to find it, I don’t remember when or how I had acquired it. All things considered, I have a few takeaways for both fans and non-fans of the team.

I had forgotten many stories about the Patriots – There were a lot of nuances and details of some of the highs and lows of the team over the years I had simply forgotten. Call it what you like, but many times as I was reading the pages of this book, I said a lot of “oh, yea’s” and “wow’s” to some of the tales told by Glennon. That alone made reading them along with the stories I remembered an enjoyable experience.

Journals like this need to be updated – It wasn’t until I was about a quarter way thru the book that I looked and found it came out in 2008 – 10 years ago! Why it took me so long to read it I can’t say, but I am glad that I finally did. As a lot has transpired with the team since then, it would be great to read an update to it. I won’t hold my breath on that thought for when I tweeted Glennon about it, I didn’t get the sense he shared my sentiment!

Where The Good The Bad The Ugly New England Patriots is written for fans of the team, anyone who is a football fan, especially those who lived through the years covered in the book, would find it a good read. Which is what I hope my friend whom I gave the book to felt as well, as he also lives away from New England and these kinds of stories may also elicit the same responses in him they did for me.

---

This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

---

Did you enjoy this? Subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS/XML feed or Read by Email.

  

---

Book Take-Aways • Thrive • (0) Comments • Permalink

After recently re-reading my post about “retiring” my New England Patriots fan Web site GoPats.com, I realized that with its shutdown, I also took down the last remaining Web site I built using ColdFusion Web technology.

For those of you who are not technical – no fear, as this is not a technical post, rather one about a journey and choices made along the way – good and bad – and where I am today. So you don’t have to tune out just yet!

You Never Forget Your First Web Scripting Language

When I saw the very first graphical Web browser, NCSA Mosaic, shortly after it launched in 1993, I was hooked, and realized this is where I needed my career in technology to go – creating Web sites. Up to that point I was creating reports and screens on mainframe computers and there was nothing exciting about a black screen with white letters. So the playing and experimenting I did with Web sites – including GoPats.com – led to my first Web job a few years later.

For as much as I did to that point, when I started that job I quickly realized I still had a lot to learn. Another colleague at the small consulting firm I was at realized it too, and reminded me of it consistently! Eventually we would become friends and solid co-workers and even did a successful project that pissed off the president of said firm. And it was this colleague who one day early on in my time there asked me if I knew ColdFusion. I said no. He said that I could learn the basics of ColdFusion in an hour, creating a dynamic Web page that queried information from a database and displayed it in the browser. He also said that if I couldn’t do that in an hour that I was stupid! Needless to say I was able to do what he said and within 60 minutes. For me this was a big event, and got me started on more advanced Web site development.

Armed with this new skill, I wanted to use it, but my firm didn’t have any projects that required ColdFusion. So I sought out such projects elsewhere. As I had recently created a Web site for the Boston Jaycees, a non-profit organization I was involved with, I decided to apply ColdFusion code to it, giving the Board the ability to maintain the Web site with ease, and not requiring any HTML or any other coding knowledge. For 1997, this was rather unique. I then applied similar code to GoPats.com and some other personal Web projects, as well as some freelance Web projects I had taken on, work that would expand and eventually lead me to starting my own Web consulting business.

Becoming Web Multilingual

In 1996, as I started working for that small consulting firm, Microsoft didn’t have a Web strategy. By the following year it did, combining its Web browser and scripting language with some of its marketing genius. It was in 1997, when working on a project for a client using Microsoft’s client-server (e.g. PC-based) Visual Basic language, they asked me if I knew anything about the Web. I said yes, and they gave me a Microsoft Web server and its Web applications as part of my responsibility. Only one small thing, I didn’t know anything running a Web server or the language – Active Server Pages (ASP) – the applications were in. This has been a recurring theme throughout my career, but I digress. With the purchase of a few books and some guidance of a summer intern about 10 years my junior, I quickly got up to speed in developing Web pages and Web business applications for the client. Life was good.

All along, however, I was still working with ColdFusion – I had several sites using the technology, plus ColdFusion’s owner, Allaire, was in the Boston area and it had a good user group. There was, however, the beginnings of a change in the landscape. ColdFusion, for all of its ease of use and power, was a commercial product and to run it on one Web server cost somewhere over US$1,000. Microsoft’s Web server and ASP were free. There were other open-source (also free) Web scripting languages I was aware of, like Perl and PHP, though I was not using those at the time. Over time Allaire was acquired by Macromedia who was later acquired by Adobe. Though Web sites written in ColdFusion continued to work just fine even to this day, the Web language fell out of favor for many and they felt it was time to move onto other tools.

For myself, when I started my Web consulting business in 2004, I too was looking at other options, including other programming languages as well as packaged software instead of custom developed applications. This research was done along with the ColdFusion and ASP I was working with for my clients. All of my sites were powered by a content management system (CMS), going all the way back to my first Jaycees site. As time went on I continued to enhance and perfect my own CMS, but at the same time other CMS products came out that allowed me to do what I did best for clients, without the need for developing the CMS itself. Over time I migrated sites to these new platforms, but GoPats.com kept running just fine under ColdFusion.

All Good Things...

As I discussed back when I was doing some major digital spring cleaning and closed down some Web sites, GoPats.com was the last one to go. As updates to the site declined, the cost of Web hosting did not, and is was a cost savings as well. Where I had mixed emotions about this, simplifying the number of languages I was working with and needing to keep up on was also a time savings with all else I have going on in my life now.

So, “ciao, ColdFusion!” It was fun, and we had some great times. Where we may not see each other again anytime soon, we will always have the memories of the pioneering days of the World Wide Web.

Deconstructing Working With ColdFusion

As I said early on, this was not a technical discussion, rather one of choices. We make a lot of them through life and at the time, a good choice may not necessarily be the best one down the road. Though I didn’t choose ColdFusion initially, it worked well for me and I did make decisions about working with it or not over time, until I eventually decided it was not one to continue with. The technology continued to work right up until the end, and I know there is still ColdFusion code working very well today, and you can’t ask for more than that.

---

This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

---

Did you enjoy this? Subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS/XML feed or Read by Email.

  

---

Build • Strategize • Technology • Web Development • (0) Comments • Permalink

While recently back at my aunt’s apartment complex, the same one where I got the copy of Steve Jobs I wrote about previously, another book caught my eye – Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes by Mark Penn. What got me was the term, which reminded me about the days when I had my Web consulting business and people repeated tried to pound into my head about how I needed to find the niches to serve with my firm. Without even cracking open the book, I took it off the bookshelf and tucked it into my backpack just prior to my flight home, as this would be the book for me to read.

As I settled into my seat in my shiny metal tube taking me home, I quickly realized what this book was. First off, by skimming through the table of contents it was a book of many short paragraphs, each one on a microtrend, which was intriguing to me. What I also noticed at the beginning of the book was that it came out in 2007 – over 10 years ago! I was almost ready to just stuff it in my seatback pocket and leave it for someone else, but I decided to forge ahead and read it. This ended up being a very wise decision.

With 75 areas identified for potential, Microtrends gave me a lot to think about over that flight and a period of time afterwards, and as a result I had several takeaways from book.

There’s big opportunity in small places – The idea around microtrends are small, emerging and powerful groups who have a specialized need that can be satisfied by an enterprising businessperson who, if they do it right, can profit well from it. That is, if they realize this. See my comment above about what people were trying to pound into my head.

A 10-year old book on trends is still relevant – As Microtrends came out in 2007, it’s needless to say a lot has happened over the last decade plus. Despite this, there were many groups and demographics that are still active and relevant today as they were then.

More books need to be structured like this – What made Microtrends interesting to read was each chapter was no more than a dozen pages, which allowed me to read a complete topic on a trend within a few minutes… which sometimes was all of the time I had to read.

Don’t underline every other line in a book – I knew my copy of Microtrends was used, but abused too? Whomever had this book before over-underlined through the entire book, as shown in the picture of a random page of the book I selected. Interestingly, it is probably the first – and last – time Elizabeth Warren and Donald Trump were on the same page.

Where Microtrends was an interesting read, as I went through it, I wondered what the author would say about all of these trends today. Interestingly, earlier this year he released Microtrends Squared, with the next set of trends Penn has identified. I’m compelled to read it, to see if any of the original microtrends carried over from the first book to the second, as well as what he has identified as new microtrends.

So do I recommend a 10-year old book over a new one? Why not? The format of Microtrends – minus the underlying – contributed to the enjoyment of the book. As I pass along all books I read, this one I decided to leave in the lounge area of a hotel I stayed at recently. I don’t know if the book was picked up by a fellow guest or not, but I hope so.

---

This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

---

Did you enjoy this? Subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS/XML feed or Read by Email.

  

---

Book Take-Aways • (0) Comments • Permalink

On a recent trip back to the Boston area I rented a car for the weekend, and as I slipped behind the wheel I also slipped back into Boston driving mode. Or at least as much as I could, as living in the Midwest for the last 15 years has dulled some of my Massachusetts driving edge. As I positioned my hands on the wheel, with my thumb on the horn, I hit the winding roads which were originally blazon by cattle, wagons and marching soldiers. And along the way, I went through a few rotaries.

Rotaries are what they (I?) call out East what I see as a growing occurrence locally here in Northeast Wisconsin, the roundabout. Where they are not anywhere a new invention, and certainly not one solely in the US, roundabouts are being put into place in the area that I now call home, and have been put into place, as the next coming of driving. And they are still going up on roads and intersections.

For someone who has been driving through this type of traffic pattern since I have been driving, I want to share my insights on them from Right to Mid Coast, and how I don’t see what the big deal is.

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby

My definition of a rotary – or roundabout – is a way for traffic to flow through an intersection of 2 or more streets without the need for a traffic light. Cars will approach the rotary, pause for incoming traffic, enter the rotary going around to the right of the center of the rotary, then exit it at the appropriate street. It of course requires everyone to obey these simple rules, and nobody or their cars gets hurt. Simple enough, right?

Growing up in Massachusetts, where most cities and towns predate most of the states in the US, these rotaries have always been there. Sure, some may have been added over time, but the convergence around a circle to get to the street you are heading was nothing new. Fast forward to the times I have been to Wisconsin prior to moving here last year, I have seen roundabouts being created in certainly the dozens over the years, and I hate to say it but to my amusement as well.

My Rotaries Are Not These Roundabouts

The above photo is from a rotary just north of Boston. It a more modern and much smaller sign, as traditional rotary signs were much wider – sometimes 2 or 3 times the width of this one – and much lower to the ground. In other words, when you approached a rotary, you wouldn’t be able to miss it. There also may be a Yield sign as you approach the rotary, but other than that you won’t see any other special road markings or signage that you were entering or going through a rotary in the Bay State. Why? I don’t recall the specific from the road test manual I studied in the early 1980’s.

Moving about 1,500 miles west, you find the rotaries in Wisconsin. Honestly, they are beautiful, and that goes beyond the landscaping. Overhead and side signage greet you as you approach the roundabout. The markings on the signs correspond to the markings on the road, as the road can flare into 2 or 3 lanes, depending on the intersection, on the options you have for going through the roundabout. These lanes continue through the roundabout until you exit it.

As you exit a roundabout, don’t be surprised if there is another one right next to it. Seriously. A whole, completely new roundabout, covering another set of streets including the one you just came in from the last roundabout. Though I don’t have insight into what the roads looked like previously, likely there was another traffic light, and if you are replacing one, then replace them all? Another scenario is you will have a roundabout at each side of a bridge by a highway exit. This “phenomenon” of adjacent roundabouts is something I still can’t get my head around fully, but of course manage to go through just fine.

Since I have moved here I have observed first hand and thru the media as new roundabouts open. One in particular was added at an intersection of 2 streets that had a high accident volume, presuming the roundabout would lessen or eliminate these accidents. However after it opened accidents continued and I personally observed many close calls going through it. Some say it is due to people’s lack of experience with roundabouts and I would agree with that. Though with the signage and lane markings, what to do is almost spoon-fed to you as you enter.

These Roundabouts Are Not My Hometown Rotary

As you may have sensed from the beginning of this, I laugh a bit about the roundabouts here in Northeast Wisconsin. But I have good reason. Many of these roundabouts are at the intersection of 2 or maybe 3 roads. As you approach a roundabout, even with the well-groomed circular island in the middle, you have a clear view of most all of the traffic that is approaching or coming through the roundabout.

It just so happened I grew up in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, a suburb of Springfield. Where Springfield is the home of the US’s first armory and basketball, East Longmeadow is home to the wicked fast XLERATOR hand dryer and a rotary that ties together 7 streets. Yes, seven. Maple, Shaker, Prospect, Somers, Pleasant, Elm and North Main. You can see it for yourself on Google Maps if you don’t believe me. Seven streets was enough to get it listed in Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and interestingly the submission was by the builder of most of the homes in the town.

So when you see that car with the Patriots sticker on the back and Wisconsin license plates proceeding through the roundabout with confidence, it didn’t come overnight. When your first driving lesson started on Maple Street and you were headed into the East Longmeadow rotary, you best learn fast.

Deconstructing Roundabouts

The potential for less accidents, faster moving traffic and better fuel economy make roundabouts – and rotaries – a good choice for road improvements. In the short term as roundabout are built there will be both learning and cost curves – the more times you use a roundabout, the better experienced you are with them. But these come at a cost – I saw a new roundabout was well over US$1Million. Hopefully by the time people are used to driving through them the investments by communities in them will have at least broken even.

---

This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

---

Did you enjoy this? Subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS/XML feed or Read by Email.

  

---

Strategize • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

Though personal branding has always been around, its focus has been amplified thanks to the Internet. Previously someone was only concerned with how they were perceived locally within their community where today this community has a much larger reach. Just as it is something you would always be aware of and modify as necessary, the attention to it, just like the reach, is now much greater.

With this in mind I picked up the copy of The 10Ks of Personal Branding by Kaplan Mobray I already owned, but never read. When I did I didn’t feel I had a need to make major changes to my personal brand, however I hadn’t done any significant review of it for a while, plus I was curious of what the “10Ks” were and what I would take away from this book. I share my takeaways here.

Simplify Your Message – The idea of an “elevator pitch” is to describe yourself in the few seconds of an elevator ride. I’ve had various pitches over the years, changing the approach I used based on various factors. In The 10Ks it talked about taking a more simpler approach in talking about yourself instead of using buzzwords, industry jargon or other lofty terms. The book also breaks this down and has workbook-like tools to take you through the process, which was helpful in coming up with what I have used and has been well received.

Practice Makes Perfect – Many times we put something out there, but do we really get the feedback we need on it? The time before when I created an “elevator pitch” it worked well in writing, but when I actually spoke it for the first time, not only did it get an odd reaction from the people I said it to but it was awkward even for me to say it. When I created the new one after reading The 10Ks I practiced it aloud many times and on friendly audiences before I tried it on strangers. This helped ensuring what I said was natural and effective.

The Big Picture of Personal Branding – When I first became aware of personal branding, it was not from taking a class but from observing others and learning by example and application. The 10Ks of Personal Branding lays it all out well, from understanding it to developing it to living it. Having this kind of end-to-end resource is helpful in evaluating and changing your own brand over time.

Don’t Judge a Book by Who Gives it to You – As I mentioned I had this book before I actually cracked it open. It was given to me by a former manager that I previously talked about as one of my worst managers and for that reason it simply sat on my shelf for years. Where I can’t say I my opinion of this manager changed because I enjoyed the book, it’s a reminder to judge something based on its own merits.

The 10Ks of Personal Branding is a good, energetic read that gives you a little kick as you are reading Mobray’s personal life stories and working through the exercises in the book to create and refine your own personal brand. For these reasons I recommend it to anyone, whether in business or not, who wants to pursue a new or refine their current personal branding. As I give away all the books I read, I will send this book to the first person who contacts me through comments to this post and asks for it.

---

This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

---

Did you enjoy this? Subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS/XML feed or Read by Email.

  

---

Book Take-Aways • (0) Comments • Permalink