I have not thought myself as a startup where the thoughts from the book could apply. In my definition a startup create a product/service to put into the market and is a team to deliver this work. I’m just a single person working on a bunch of different ideas. I’m working on software and information products to the SAP market.

The way Eric defines a Startup is:

    A startup is a human institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty.

In this context I am a startup and I can see that the contexts and ideas apply much more to me. I do work under conditions of extreme uncertainty. I’m not really sure how I can make sure to sell my product and services. I know that it is possible, but I need to find the solution to really expand the market.

One probably more important aspect is the ability to measure how we are doing. For the startup to be successful and compete with big companies, they need to be learning at a much faster pace. The only way to be a better learner is to have ability to measure what works and what does not work.

I have always known that it is a good thing to make A/B testing of website or other solutions that you put into the market. Also look at the number of visitors on your website and see what makes everything convert. It take consistent practice to be sure that you follow up on the areas. But it is one of the things that often are not done. It is a bit too complicated and you don’t know what the result means.

What was your take aways from the book.

I have been working with SAP Process Integration for a long time. I though found some areas that I could improve in.

• For my use of Java mappings the book described the use of AbstractTransformation, which gives some extra options for getting extra payloads.
• There was a good short description of the use of CCTS.
• I became a bit clear on when the ccBPM created new transactions and when not. This does clear up some misunderstanding
• There was a good example of modeling with Process Component model and Integration Scenario Models. This does make the usage of the different components clear.

It is a quite technical book on how to use each of the tools. The basis of the book is to describe each of the different components, which makes it a good induction to what is going on.

It is a book that will take you thru the basis usage of SAP PI.

It is a book about how you give better service to other people so they really start to love you. So you ability to enchant other people is in proportional with your ability to make money. It is therefore important, though making money should not be the goal.

There were a lot of great stories in it about how different people have help become more enchanting. It is quite inspiring to hear that other people are giving great service and develop product like Apple is.

Enchantment does not only apply to customer service but also how you are creating your products or organization. Part of the secret is to let the “customers” decide, half it to innovate. You need to be able to provide a service which is unique, where the involved “customer” think that they are the center of your thoughts.

We can also enchant other people that we either know or don’t. We join groups based on their ability to enchant or maybe charm us would be a better phrase.

A great quote from the book is:

    Bake a Bigger Pie There are two kinds of people and organizations in the world: eaters and bakers. Eaters want a bigger slice of an existing pie; bakers want to make a bigger pie. Eaters think that if they win, you lose, and if you win, they lose. Bakers think that everyone can win with a bigger pie.

So now go create that bigger pie.

Vi har boet på et luksus hotel i området Vagator. Nok det eneste med Pool Leoney Resort. Til 300kr pr nat var det nok dyre end de Guest houses der ellers fandtes i området. Vi havde et lækkert værelse med 5 meter hen til poolen.

Det er et ret hyggeligt sted her nede. Der er en del forskellige restauranter der alle minder rigtig meget om hinanden med deres menu kort. En blanding af Indisk, Goansk, Europæisk, Italiensk, Israelsk og Kinesisk. Det smager ret godt det meste, dog er det en god ide at undgå alt med ben, da det har de ikke så meget styr over.

Stranden er rigtig god at ligge på. Der er nogle gode spise steder, som lejer liggestole ud. Så man pludselig har spist morgenmad og frokost i solen. Det koster cirka 50kr. Så det er til at leve med. Eneste problem er at man skal huske at flytte parasollen, ellers bliver man rød. Det er prøvet og kan ikke anbefales.

En lidt mærkelig ting ved strandene er køerne. Hvem lader køer rende rundt? Indere. Der er over det hele.

Et godt sted vi fandt at spise var Fishtail på stranden. De havde god mad, billigt og med udsigt direkte nede på stranden.

Daniel havde fødselsdag mens vi har i Goa. Det var godt at kunne fejre dagen med en strandtur og herefter en god fødselsdags menu på en af de lokale restauranter. Fødselsdag kagen blev nydt med udsigt over havet.

Vi var på det traditions rige marked i Ajunta, der bliver holdt hver onsdag. Det var ikke noget at skrive hjem over, nu gør vi det så alligevel for at advare. Det har det samme “Skrammel” som de har hos de lokale gade sælgere. Den eneste sjove var at vi forsøgte at gå tilbage til vores hotel. Det gik godt og var rigtig lækkert at gå langs vandet på stranden. På et tidpunkt stoppede stranden så og blev erstattet at klipper. Vi troede at der var nemt at komme forbi disse klipper. Det viste sig at kræve mere klatre udstyr end badesutter.

En anden god tur vi havde var op til Fort Chopolap eller noget i den stil. Et gammelt fort fra ruder konges tid, der nu var forladt. Vi gik langs stranden der over. Så skulle vi klatre op af skrænten. Det gik bedre denne gang iført sandaler. Der var en rigtig flot udsigt fra Fortet over stranden.

The app is called Forbrugsforeningen and allows you as a user to search for stores in your current postal code that accepts the union’s membership discounts. For more info on the union see Forbrugsforeningen.dk. It is pretty easy to use (I hope).

The app is still in a really early stage, and it would be nice to have some more hours to spend on creating a better App. But it is a start and now we can test if there is a market for an Android app for this sort. The market is still young but with the number of android based phones exploding, there will be a lot of extra functionality to use this.

Efter jeg havde lagt ordren gik der måske 30 minutter før de ringede fra butikken og sagde at de ikke havde den valgte størrelse men nogle andre. Det var en søndag så jeg var lidt forundret over at blive ringet op af en internet butik.

Jeg fandt at størrelsen ikke passede og spurgte på mail om den kunne byttes til et nummer større. Den fandtes ikke i størrelsen men de havde en anden jakke jeg kunne få i stedet.

Fra mit bekendtskab med computer e- butikker ligger de altid i et eller andet remote område. Men Joyrun er placeret inde ved Nørreport Metro. Så det er jo ret nemt at komme til.

Så jeg tog der ind for at bytte jakken, og tænkte at jeg jo ligeså godt kunne købe nogle løbesko. Jeg fandt nogle gode sko som blev testet på løbebånd. Jeg fik en god pris på løbeskoene sammen med nogle kompressionsstrømper og drikkedunke.

Så hvis du mangler nogle løbesko/tilbehør kan Joyrun godt anbefales.

Now this year the German Grand Prix is in Hockenheim, close to SAP HQ in Waldorf. It is on July 23-25 2010. So I thought that some other SAP professionals also are going to the event. It could be a great place to network and met other people who have a passion for SAP and motorsports.

It would be fun to catch up with some other SAP professionals, so if you are going to the Grandprix drop a comment and let’s find a time to get something to drink or something to eat. I do hope to get a lot of responses, and then we might even be able to create some kind of a camp.

They have also tried to call German speaking countries like described on Amazingly elaborate fraud scheme: Okuma Group.

What is interesting is that the company name domain is only registered on 12 feb 2010 according to WHOIS. And even better it is register to an anonymous user. It does not sound trust worthy.

They news list is not real trust worthy it only dates back until July 2 2010 and only contains links to other analytics.

They also offered a less tax way thru clearing houses exotic places. Wander if you would ever see the money again.

On my current project I have moved to the inventory or warehouse team. I consider them as my primary customer whom I need to help with various Warehouse integrations. After I have been a part of the team for some time I have learned a lot on what the processes are. I’m still a part of the integration team, but sitting on a table with a warehouse team instead. It just started with me sitting in there for a day but as time passed I realized I just got stuck with the routine.

Being on the team means it is much easier to learn what is going on and what is going to change. I can track their schedule and what they expect to be working on, so I can focus my attention on that aspect.

A large part of the difference is that communication is way better. I have a better understanding on what the team wants and can quickly adapt the solution to match their needs. The speedy pace of making changes is really crucial in the test or late build phase where the final adjustments should be made.

The thing I’m missing is the ability to learn what’s going on with the other integration solutions. I’m not getting as much information on what everyone else is doing and help them with their tasks. This could mean that our projects might not create as a uniform integration solution across the board.

It would probably make sense to have some meetings in the integration team, where we talked about the different solutions we are making, to make us share the knowledge across all participants.

If you have the option to be a part of any of the process teams, I would surely recommend you do it. You will be able to provide them with better and faster service.

I guess that this also apply to developers in general, if any of the teams provides enough jobs to be able to work on them.

Do you have any experience in being in the process team, and would you like to share some of your thoughts on it.