Didn't care much for Purple Cow, but Art of the Start and Innovators Dilemma are solid.

Just finished reading Good Strategy Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt. Very good book.

I was surprised when Woz said on Bloomberg TV that him and Steve aren't as close as they used to be. He said that he's been finding out this news by reading like everyone else has. That's kind of sad to me. I would of thought they'd still be close friends.

It's rare to keep a close friend for 30-40 years. Especially when you end up in totally different places in life.

Check out Alan Mulally. I think he's an underrated CEO. While he is an engineer, I still admire his business acumen. I would think (and I know I'm going to get criticized for this) he might actually be better than Jobs. If not, it's 1A and 1B. Steve is in Alan's class, not the other way around.

You must view Alan's body of work and what he's done to turn around a company from the very bottom to where it is today. Totally different brand image. He's done it twice.

It looks like Mulally has turned around large, moribund businesses like Ford and Boeing from complete mediocrity to relative competence. I don't mean that in a negative way, because it's miraculous for a company like Ford to turn around the way they did, but let's be honest here. Jobs led a large, established company into being the most valuable public corporation in the world, competing successfully not with behemoths like GM but with Silicon Valley. Name a tech company half the age of Apple that can even hold its own against the forces of creative destruction in the Valley, much less grow like a startup.

I had to google to find out who Mullaly is. And frankly, Jobs having his vision for years (check out his 1997 WWDC video) and bringing it into fruition looks much much more impressive to me than some cost cutting.

It's hard to argue that there's anyone better than Steve's vision. But Steve also did some cost cutting when he took over Apple (when it was a few months away from bankruptcy).

We all know what Steve would have done if he took over Ford:

1) Elminate all models with the exception of a few. Alan sold off Land Rover, Aston Martin, Volvo and a few others. He also closed Mercury.

2) Take those models and offer one or two different versions of it and offer it in two colors--black or white.

3) Put an emphasis on design. You'll notice that Ford's cars are now much more diverse and much more attractive.

4) Focus on reliability. Again, Alan did the same thing with Ford. He took the engineers to consumer reports and had them scrutinize their reliability right in front of the engineers.

I hope I'm making a point. Steve would of likely did the same thing Alan's done at Ford. Alan would have likely did the same thing Steve's done at Apple. Maybe not quite as good as Steve's done it, but very similar.

I've been watching Mulally a little bit over the past few years. What source(s) of information would you say are best to get a better idea of his thinking and of what he's done? Do you get all that only from interview and maybe annual reports, or is there a better source?

There are few. There is this:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/221956/cnbc-originals-ford-rebuild...

I hope Alan writes a book once he retires (he's in 60s). I think there's much more than just a few savvy business moves with him.

Thanks, but unfortunately that won't play in Canada.

One of the things you gotta admire about Jason is his optimism.

Since I don't work for a startup, I spend most of my weekends wishing I was working on/in a startup. I have few friends, so when I'm not doing anything productive I feel mentally awful and occasionally get chest pain. So weekends are pretty tedious for me.

This isn't your standard answer, but I figure I'd give you a perspective from someone on the outside wanting to get on.

I'm very desperate to join a startup as an intern or employee. Some of us (me) have been dreaming (literally) about being in a startup that it doesn't matter what we do, as long as we get in one. It's gotten to the point where I would even pay to be in one. What I get out of it is that I will see if a startup is right for me, and at this point that's all I can ask for.

You can also try walking while working, which is one thing that John Medina recommends in his book, Brain Rules.

http://www.trekdesk.com/index.html

http://store.steelcase.com/products/walkstation/?utm_medium=...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck-tQt0S0Os

I am one who can also get easily distracted by going to other sites. Usually an article like the one posted here would take me about 25 minutes to read because I'd switch tabs after about the first two paragraphs. The only thing that has helped me is if I can catch myself switching tabs. I think it's kind of "retraining your brain."

There are other techniques that you can try, such as having three computers in separate rooms. One is for your work, another is for play (slashdot, TechCrunch, etc) and the last one is for communication (email, Facebook, twitter, etc) although those could fit under play as well.

ADHD drugs work great (specifically Concerta) but the side effects can be quite bothersome.

I still like Opera the most. Easily the most innovative browser and much more enjoyable to use.

I always remember a tweet that he sent out:

http://twitter.com/#!/paulg/status/29256073985

So true.