A simple game of Tetris

Tetris is simple, relaxing and addictive. You follow simple rules – try to arrange falling block-sets into a single no-gaps row. You manipulate the blocks by moving them left or right and turning them 90 deg at a time. Once a neat row of blocks is formed, it disappears. In some versions you are shown what is coming next. Wikipedia has full section on the history and development of the game at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris.

You can go to http://www.freetetris.org/ to play the game for free online; download from iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tetris/id284800458?mt=8 for your iPhone/iPad and https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ea.tetrisfree_row for your Android devices.

Simple strategies to score high consistently –

Start by reviewing the different shapes that may drop down the well. There are only so many combinations that can be made with four blocks.

 

Forge Strategies - It is very important to know how the shapes fit together with each other in different combinations. For example: if a T shape is already down, and the next one falling down is a Z shape, then where and how to get it right.

Just draw pictures to understand various combinations. Usually it is best to do it on paper, because the brain needs time to absorb and form patterns and game itself moves so fast that it is difficult to conceptualize the shapes. Use a graph paper with colored pens.

[Business: Go over various business models, market segmentation, pricing models and expense models. Running the business in real-time without real world modeling is dangerous. Most experienced people know the models intuitively from a combination of formal education and running companies]

Play the game but document the wins and losses – when a row is completed, it will vanish from the well. It is hard to remember what pieces came together to make it a winning row. When you get a winning row, do a screen-capture. You can then see how things came together.

[Business: Keep a detailed log of goals and achievements. Monitor sales performance, sales commissions, customer satisfaction, delivery timelines, production and development cost, and non-direct costs. ]

Do some analysis –

[Business: Look to see where there are some inefficiencies. Are projects being completed on-time and on-budget, Are customers satisfied and how quickly are their issues being resolved, Are production and development costs under control? Are there any efficiencies to be extracted by either out-sourcing or by bringing back outsourced functions?]

Practice is the key to Tetris success. The more you ‘play’, the more it (blocks) intuitively seem to come together. Just looking at it will tell you how they fit.

[Business: By aligning your goals with your strategy, you can increase your margins and profits. It is possible to get lured into a short term get-rich-quick situation only to realize the follies later on. On the other hand, you may end up spending all your resources on long term expectations only to find that you are a day late and a dollar short.]

Keep it simple (simple steps and simple strategy) but never take your eyes off the birds-view of the entire game.

[Business: Simple repeatable processes, consistent market message, excellent customer service, maximize profits with a keen view of the market place. Know the shifts in environment, shifts in competitor actions and the customer satisfaction.]
There are thousands of ‘Tetris’ quotes – but the thing to remember is that no matter what keep at it and you will succeed.

[Business: Lose unprofitable customers to maximize profits. Focus on your identified segment – grow your market share in those segments. And you will be a winner.]

At times, no matter what you do – you are not going to score it big – it is time to start a new game.

[Business: Time to exit and do something else.]

Sounds simple? Now go play.

Ram.

Profanity in presentations

I don't get it. Why should people use profanity in their presentation.

No matter how dramatic the effect or how important the need to use profanity, there should be no need to use profane language.

Dave McClure's - "DON'T Do A Startup, You Will FAIL" (http://www.businessinsider.com/dave-mcclure-startup-presentation-2011-7) [NSFW] is an example.

I think if you use profane lanaguage - either you don't have anything of value to say or you think using profane language gives you a macho credence. I am sure Dave McClure is a great accomplished person and would like to meet him one day. I write this post to highlight the problem and not to popularize the presentation.

I sincerely feel we should write kids friendly and readable content. It is important for us in the short term and for our kids in the long term.

Personal Time-Off

Over the last few weeks, I have been missing in action because of some personal issues needing my undivided attention. I am back now...so expect a post in the next couple of days. I am working on several topics and will post them as I finish my research and writing.

Bruce Judson’s Go It Alone! – you can go it alone.

Bruce Judson’s Go It Alone (http://www.brucejudson.com/) is a good book for budding entrepreneurs. It is a bibliography of management books and true to his academic stature, Bruce has assembled a synopsis of their wisdom in an easy to read format.

I purchased the book upon a recommendation from GigaOM – “F|R Crib Sheet: 7 More Sites to Cut Your Startup Costs” (http://gigaom.com/2008/08/09/fr-crib-sheet-7-more-sites-to-cut-your-startup-costs/). The article mentions the book under the sub-title “Free Apps for Everything!”, implying that the book talks about free apps and low-cost services for entrepreneurs.

Conceptually, the book is right on. More low-cost and free resources are available to entrepreneurs than anytime in the past. The advent of web-based services has made it easy for moon-lighting and full-time entrepreneurs to “Go It Alone.” Some points in the book are very apt –

• Focus on the important: Speed is important for entrepreneurs so focus on important core activities by outsourcing the rest.
• Free and low-cost outsourced services: Plenty of free and low-cost outsourced services are available in the market that provides most of the required functionality. Not perfect, but sufficient enough.
• The 60% rule: test market your product features when they are 60% ready. As Bruce puts it “Great is the enemy of good”.

While “Go It Alone” lists a number of case studies, it does omit practical processes, worksheets and templates. Therefore, I have decided to write a series of blogs covering the steps for identifying essential outsourced services, processes & procedures to manage them and benchmark them for the benefit of entrepreneurs. If you know of or would like to recommend services, please feel free to email me and/or post your comments.

Ram.

Invitation to write for eSamvad

I was recently asked by the founder of eSamvad to write for their new blog. I have known the founder, Subhash Palsule, for a long time. He has a sense for how technology and society come together. Subhash is a serial entreprenuer and this is his latest endeavor.

eSamvad is setup to include many writers projecting different perspectives from politics to society to technology. I expect eSamvad to grow exponentially and become a popular blog.

Please visit eSamvad at http://www.esamvad.com and my post at http://www.esamvad.com/2008/09/from-indian-classical-to-superpower-india/

Post your comments eSamvad and here. Let me know if there are topics you like to read.

Ram.

Best Buy - but for who?

I am amazed at the number of pricing gaffes that companies make. I was researching some voice plans and found this on a website. See the picture below and decide for yourself.



From the looks of it all plans above the Lite 1000 are exactly same. The pricing is number of included minutes times 4.5c plus the basic package price of $9.95. From the looks it seems the "Best Buy" is a best buy for the seller.

While I do not think this is purposeful mis-leading, it sure does not speak about being customer oriented either.

Ram.

Chocking the Web 3.0 before it is born

Not sure how many of you are aware if a recent an impending 250 GB bandwidth cap by Comcast starting Oct 1 (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-250GB-Cap-Goes-Live-October-1-97294 and http://gigaom.com/2008/08/28/comcast-makes-metered-broadband-official-beware-what-you-download/.) Time Warner is already testing one in Texas with tiered limits as well.

Of course, ISPs are going to want to charge by the GB - it is their scalable revenue model; And why should the ol’granpa pay more or work at a slower speed to check his email once a week.

However, I can see a war erupting between service providers claiming their application is “less bandwidth hungry” or “better HD for the same low-bandwidth”. It is especially going to hit advertisers as now, users will want to only view low-bandwidth ads and will start complaining if a paid service starts to hog their networks with ads and unnecessary information.

In all this, I don’t think there would be any backlash. Possibly, the limits are aimed at very (I mean extremely) heavy users. The kind that would want to constantly download and upload something or the other.

Your comments and thoughts are welcome.

Ram.