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Lead Bullets (2011)

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Re: Lead Bullets (2011)

#21

Post by mkmk »

philippz wrote: post #20
mi100hael wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really struggled to get through it. There's something about the rich guy from England now living in SF who went to Columbia using phrases like "oh snap" and quoting Public Enemy that just feels fake and obnoxious.

I agree. But i think it was not meant to be read like a roman rather than a reference book. :) Which makes it hard to read it like roman - storyline missing.

You might be interested to know that 'roman' is a False Friend (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend). You probably mean to use the word 'novel.'

Re: Lead Bullets (2011)

#22

Post by 3pt14159 »

throwaway2016a wrote: post #14
crystalmeph wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much of them beating you was marketing and how much was customer service? World class customer service by itself can be a market beater, even when the product you are backing up is more expensive / lower quality for the same feature set. People like to know that when they have problems, they'll get answers quickly.

2/3 marketing, 2/3 customer service in my case. Which adds up to 4/3 because one of the products was both bad marketing and bad customer service (or rather nonexistent).

Are you really sure it was that much better than the competition?

Re: Lead Bullets (2011)

#23

Post by stumblers »

mi100hael wrote: post #12
philippz wrote: post #3

Nice excerpt from his book "Hard things about hard things" - can absolutely recommend it.

I really struggled to get through it. There's something about the rich guy from England now living in SF who went to Columbia using phrases like "oh snap" and quoting Public Enemy that just feels fake and obnoxious.

Ditto, I also struggled with it. I really, really didn't like the book (but really wanted to). Since then he's a standing example for my own ad hominem thinking, as in I have to keep reminding myself to separate the person from the point they're trying to make. Embarrassed to say I've never met him but can't stand him.

Re: Lead Bullets (2011)

#24

Post by throwaway2016a »

3pt14159 wrote: post #22
throwaway2016a wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2/3 marketing, 2/3 customer service in my case. Which adds up to 4/3 because one of the products was both bad marketing and bad customer service (or rather nonexistent).

Are you really sure it was that much better than the competition?

> Are you really sure it was that much better than the competition?

In user testing our tool was easier to use. Feature wise we had every feature they had. They were clearly copying us on features (and visa versa) though so I can't say we were "that much" better. We were a couple months ahead of them and, as I said, less buggy and easier to use.

The biggest indicator I have though is how the press handled it. The press coverage for our competition was much better. They would get a full TechChrunch article for a feature we launched months ago and they wouldn't even mention us in the article.

Re: Lead Bullets (2011)

#25

Post by the_watcher »

mkmk wrote: post #21
philippz wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. But i think it was not meant to be read like a roman rather than a reference book. :) Which makes it hard to read it like roman - storyline missing.

You might be interested to know that 'roman' is a False Friend ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend ). You probably mean to use the word 'novel.'

Thanks for pointing this out. The parent comment suddenly makes sense.

Re: Lead Bullets (2011)

#26

Post by VLM »

underbluewaters wrote: post #16

Can someone explain this metaphor for me? My understanding is that a silver bullet kills mythical creatures. You can't also kill a werewolf with a bunch of lead ones.

Fred Brooks 1986 titled "No Silver Bullet"

Nothing is ever really new in software development or IT. Today, sure, people are like "Fred who?" but as surely as virtual machine wax and wane, someday a generation will arise, for awhile, having read Brooks and his timeless observations on software development. Maybe I should quit my job and write book introductions professionally?

I'm not sure if there is a legal copy out there on the net, but here's its wikipedia page anyway. Hurry, or the deletionists will get it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Silver_Bullet

Re: Lead Bullets (2011)

#27

Post by beaconstudios »

throwaway2016a wrote: post #6
seibelj wrote: post #2

It's so much easier to win when the product is the best. You can still lose because of 5000 other reasons, but the best product makes everything else so much easier.

Being the best is overrated. Three times in my career I was on an engineering team that built an objectively best in class product. Three times it failed because the competition out marketed us and/or beat us in the customer service department. Despite them having inferior products. Don't get me wrong. You need to have a good product. Your product can't be awful but it only needs to be about 80% as good as the compet…

customer service is part of the product. Saying you had the better product but other companies beat you on customer service is denying that the customer is paying for capabilities, not software, and that customer service is part and parcel of providing the capability they desire.

Re: Lead Bullets (2011)

#28

Post by seppin »

throwaway2016a wrote: post #6
seibelj wrote: post #2

It's so much easier to win when the product is the best. You can still lose because of 5000 other reasons, but the best product makes everything else so much easier.

Being the best is overrated. Three times in my career I was on an engineering team that built an objectively best in class product. Three times it failed because the competition out marketed us and/or beat us in the customer service department. Despite them having inferior products. Don't get me wrong. You need to have a good product. Your product can't be awful but it only needs to be about 80% as good as the compet…

Having a technically superior product is useless. Having a "better" product (including design, usability, and yes marketing) is what I believe OP was talking about.

Re: Lead Bullets (2011)

#29

Post by metaphorm »

underbluewaters wrote: post #16

Can someone explain this metaphor for me? My understanding is that a silver bullet kills mythical creatures. You can't also kill a werewolf with a bunch of lead ones.

you're right, the metaphor has drifted from its original context and meaning. silver bullet, in this context, is being used to mean something more like "magic bullet" i.e. a bullet that always hits the target on the first shot, and thus only one is ever needed.

Re: Lead Bullets (2011)

#30

Post by dmckeon »

underbluewaters wrote: post #16

Can someone explain this metaphor for me? My understanding is that a silver bullet kills mythical creatures. You can't also kill a werewolf with a bunch of lead ones.

Many cheap fast improvements now are better than one perfect improvement later. (see also: "I don't need it perfect, I need it Tuesday" (Sam Goldwyn?) and "cheap, fast, good: pick two."

I think the bullet part of the metaphor has more to do with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_bullet_%28medicine%29 than with Fred Brooks, the Lone Ranger, or werewolves.

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