Tata - Taking Another Look
February 23, 2008
We’ve all known for some time that Tata will be moving into the old James River facility in Clermont County. The non-verified understanding is that Tata will hire 1,000 new workers, a mixture of software engineers and developers as well as sales and administrative staff. Tata has been talking with the local colleges to create curriculum and programs to churn out new IT workers. And that was my perspective at first - churn. Like a Pepsi bottling plant churns out cola-filled aluminum cans.
For me, personally, I saw this as a good thing, as all the run of the mill, average software developers could find themselves good, steady jobs that could keep them gainfully employed and out of the way of the creative and driven developers that really want to make a difference. Those 1,000 software professionals could go on supporting Citi and Neilsen and the cream of the crop would flock to the smaller consulting firms and the more creative applications that come their way.
I read something this week that doesn’t necessarily change my mind about how I see Tata finding their employee base and where they fit into the community, but did cause me to see some very positive aspects of having Tata in our community. BusinessWeek explains that Tata “in all its deals…has been careful to signal its respect for workers,” and “buys companies overseas not to reduce costs but to improve [its own] capabilities.”
When Korean Daewoo’s truck division was on the auction block, Tata explained “it would preserve jobs, build Daewoo into a major exporter, and blend the outfit seamlessly with the parent company.” Tata Daweoo chief Chae Kwang Ok said that “Tata had done its homework in everything needed to do business here.”
Apparently charitable trusts hold 66% of Tata Sons’ shares, and these trusts are not “as focused on short-term gains as most investors” and “have long insulated employees ‘from the greed that is sweeping the corporate world.’” If this philosophy permeates the Cincinnati organization, the Cincinnati IT community may find a very good neighbor helping drive growth in the region.
- Andy
Sphere: Related ContentMore Birthday Fun
February 18, 2008
More birthday fun, courtesy of LUCRUM recruiter / amateur videographer Andy Erickson. Here is a clip from our birthday lunch last week. Note that the most popular response to “what do you love about LUCRUM?” was the people - with Andy’s mom coming in a distant second. All in good fun. It is a great place to work. I just surpassed 15 days (business days) with the company, and it is already clear to me why the company has been around for that same number of years. Great people. Thanks for the footage Andy.
Sphere: Related ContentLUCRUM: 15 Years and Counting…
February 16, 2008
Today’s the 15th anniversary of the founding of LUCRUM. Wow, that’s seems like a long time ago! At the same time, it also feels like yesterday! Our industry is a great industry because it never gets boring. The idea that we can problem solve in our customers’ business using some of the latest technology and techniques is still as rich in opportunity as the first day we were in business. I still remember that first day. I called about 20 different customer/prospects that I knew in the regional marketplace with the announcement that I had formed a new consulting company called, “Client Server Associates.” We were going to focus on the new paradigm of developing business software outside of the mainframe on PC’s and their network servers. It was a very “bleeding edge” concept at the time, and as you know, the rest is history.
It was also very “new” to think of business cycles lasting only a few years instead of the normal 7 year cycles. In fact, I was brash enough at the age of 33 to tell customers that the cycles were going to be “months-long” instead of years long. Boy, was I ever disruptive! In today’s economy, the switch from “build product and the market will come” to “mass customization of all products and services” has created such a huge market in business consulting and developing software solutions. I’ve skied out in Utah this season a few times and the ski “ticket” is now an RFID card that “swipes you” when you go through the turnstiles onto the ski lift! No more checking your ski tag! They also allow for you to go to their website and see how many ski runs you made and what the vertical feet added up to! Another benefit for the avid skier! Our whole world is going to change over the next five years in leveraging the RFID technology, mobile computing with Blackberries and other platforms, as well as the whole concept of “predicting” what the customer wants and suggestively selling or recommending your services in a way that you think they “really know you.” The fact is, they really do know you! “Predicting” needs and requirements is a big portion of the “data management” strategy of any company. They won’t be able to do this themselves in most situations since most companies don’t have an “inventive and build” culture. This is where LUCRUM is going to leverage our strengths and brain-power to provide these kind of services for the market. It’s going to be a very interesting “next 5 years!”
Happy Anniversary! JB
Happy 15th Birthday LUCRUM!
February 15, 2008
Today is LÛCRUM’s 15th birthday. I have been fortunate enough to be with LÛCRUM for 10 of those 15 years. It has been quite a ride. We have had great success and we have seen some truly “downer” moments. People have asked why I stay. The answer is simple, LÛCRUM provides me with a company that cares about what I have to say and gives me room to chart my own course.
I started my career in a Fortune 100 company. I was making half as much as peers of mine out of college, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be “when I grew up”. While there, I changed positions a few times, but never saw a change in my income that got me closer to my peer group. Challenges where there when I asked, but the rules were pretty severe. I moved on…My next company was a small, privately held, poorly run firm. I loved the job! I had all the flexibility that I wanted and I was challenged every day. Unfortunately, my employer had routine cash flow issues that impacted the regularity of my pay. I moved on…I went to work for a small manufacturing firm. I was again given a lot of flexibility, but they weren’t able to keep my interest long. I moved on…to LÛCRUM.
While at LÛCRUM, I have see it all. I’ve had great success, I’ve experienced failure. Through it all, LÛCRUM has believed in me. I have learned that perseverance does pay off, and good ideas only get better when you share them.
I’m really excited to see what the next 15 years bring to LÛCRUM. We are growing out of adolescence and we are well into our teens. As with most 15 year olds, what you see may not be “finished”. We have our share of ugliness…things we’d like to change about ourselves, things we know we can do better. We’re finally figuring out what we’re really good at doing and we’re starting to repeat our success. For our next big birthday, we’ll be 20. 20! Can you believe it!?! Imagine all the maturity that we’ll have then!
Happy Birthday, LÛCRUM!
And We’re Off…TheFutureValueofBusiness.com
February 13, 2008
I am now mid way through my 3rd week here at LUCRUM, and it is amazing. I have spent the last 2 weeks getting to know my co-workers, developing an initial needs assessment, and working on putting my stamp on the company’s marketing efforts.
First and foremost has been the launch of this blog. Everyone I have spoken with is extremely excited about the project - though it represents a considerable shift in approach. It will be interesting to see this web log come to life. There should be no shortage of interesting content. I am just hoping that I can keep up.
One co-worker, Andy Erickson, got so excited about the project following a conversation we had on my first day, he launched his own blog to compliment this one. Already he has developed a following here in Cincinnati, and I look forward to having him contributing to the content of thefuturevalueofbusiness.com
It’s not just Andy. Seemingly everyone here at LUCRUM is excited about joining the blogosphere. From Sales to HR, Marketing to Finance, Developers, Coders, Project Managers, and more - people are really interested. My challenge will be turning that curiosity into action - i.e. content. I believe I am up to the challenge.
I am particularly interested in reading posts from the leader of LUCRUM, John Bostick. John is truly a renaissance man. He has started numerous successful companies, traveled the world, given lectures in China, and climbed Mt. Rainier. He even teaches classes in wine and gourmet cooking at Jungle Jim’s here in Cincinnati. He is extremely well read, very articulate, and a true man of vision. I am certain that he will author many interesting posts in the days ahead.
The best part is that it does not stop with John. There are so many people with so much to share. This is going to be fun. If you are interested in hearing our story, and telling us yours, I hope you will subscribe to the site either via RSS or email. Both are available on the home page and can be set up with just a few keystrokes.
My name is David, and I blog (among other things) for a living.
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