I'd Like A Big Chair And Music With That Latte

Most people who know me will tell you that I'm an avid Starbucks fan. In fact, I believe that I have significantly helped create the company's hefty bottom line! Recently, McDonald's announced that it will also be adding coffee bars to many of its stores in the U.S. While this is a direct answer to Starbucks' baristas, I am not sure that McDonald's will achieve the same success any time soon.

While McDonald's can compete effectively in providing convenience and low prices to its customers, the company cannot beat the Starbucks experience. Starbucks customers enjoy frequenting the stores for the atmosphere and service. The ability to customize their drinks with "one pump of caramel, extra whip, and one Sweet N' Low" and be able to sit in a cozy oversized chair with a good book far exceeds the desire for higher convenience. In addition, customers enojy the consistency of their experience at stores wherever they go. No matter which city or country Strabucks is established, customers can feel "right at home" with their in-store experience. Starbucks has been able to manage increasing beverage prices based on both the experience that it provides along with the perception that the price charged accounts for the beverage's higher quality.

In general, Starbucks caters to a different breed of customers altogether. These customers typically tend to be more educated, less price-sensitive with higher disposable incomes (making on average of about $55K a year), and enjoy in-store Wi-Fi and easy-listening amenities. Many Starbucks customers are students or work-from-home employees. They frequent Starbucks to find a retreat near a window, people-watch occasionally, and sip on a warm caramel Macchiato.

McDonald's, on the other hand, generally caters to the price-sensitive customer who is looking for a quick (big) bite to eat. Many of these customers often bring their children to the stores and can enjoy watching them play in the secured McDonald's R Gym while they dine. Thus, McDonald's has built its brand on being a lower priced, high convenience provider. For those who go to Starbucks to lounge quietly or socialize amongst a similar group, McDonald's will likely not provide a comparable alternative.

Starbucks has even managed to become a genericized trademark like Kleenex or Xerox. Thus, the phrase "let's go grab some Starbucks" is often used when referring to purchasing even generic espresso beverages. In addition, the company has also done a good job with incorporating its coffee bars at stores like Barnes & Nobles, leveraging a similar customer segment. While McDonald's may grab a small percentage of Starbucks' drive-thru customers who are looking for quick service, it will have difficulty justifying its experience to those who are coffee store experience lovers like myself.

Bienvenido a Miami!

This past June, my husband, best friend, brother-in-law, and I went to visit my brother in Miami. Since most of us had never been, we thought it would be a great time to go since my brother was already there for an internship. What a better time to take a trip to the penninsula than in June? Sunny skies, warm breezes, sandy beaches – the epitome of a summer vacation!

To take advantage of the short time we had in Miami, we hit the ground running the Friday night we arrived. After getting ready, we went straight to the Delano to experience the Miami nightlife. The boys enjoyed ogling the ladies, while I checked out styles and trends and enjoyed the strong but delicious mojitos. Unlike any lounge in Dallas, the outdoor bar at Delano was covered with oversized individual beds around a large pool of water. Sitting on the bed, many times we would feel little refreshing sprinkles of water carried by the breeze on our skin. It was definitely Miami-esque.

We got ready relatively early the next day to go to South Beach. While walking to the beach, we grabbed some pizza at a small pizzeria. Although most of the restaurants on the street looked a bit run-down, the food there was decent. After soaking up the sun and wading in the water for a while, we went to the Miami Seaquarium. There, we went on the Dolphin Swim where we took rides through a small lagoon holding a dolphin's fin and interacting with them up-close. It was an unforgettable experience and definitely worth doing once in a lifetime. However, as there were 6 people total that shared an instructor for total of an hour, the time per person felt short.

After the aquarium, we went jet skiing in the early evening. Because we were the rental store’s last customers for the evening, the store allowed us to take our time on the water at Biscayne Bay. We had a guided tour of the area and drove our jet skis to see Shaquille O'Neal's, Elizabeth Taylor's, and Gloria Estefan's jaw-dropping homes. After the tour, we rode the waves freestyle and our 45 minute ride turned into an hour and half!

Being the Thai food lovers that we are, that evening we went to the Thai House for dinner. The food was fabulous. In fact, my brother, who had previously never preferred Thai food, raved about the food all night. After dinner we caught a taxi to the Opium Garden to enjoy the rest of the night. While the club was impressive inside, the hassle to get in was excessive in my opinion. The bouncers were very high-nosed about whom they let inside. After waiting for about a half hour, my husband and I finally got inside. The other 3 guys went to go check out Prive and then showed shortly after to where we were. Although the music was great, the atmosphere was a bit pretentious and the drinks were super expensive.

We headed back to Dallas on Sunday afternoon, completely exhausted. Although we had packed a lot into basically a day, the experience was well worth it! We got a chance to enjoy various activities in the span of one weekend in Miami and left wanting more.

Will You Be My Friendster?

I must admit that I am a member of online social networking. With a busy work and life schedule, it’s been hard keeping in touch with friends and networking sites like Facebook have made it a bit easier. Now, I get up to date information on my friends and can send them quick messages just by logging on to the website from anywhere. Thus, the application allows me to connect with friends who have different schedules and lifestyles.

Many different social networking sites have turned up around the world including MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, Orkut, etc. While they all have their own appeal and unique features, MySpace and Facebook have significantly prevailed in the market. Though Friendster was one of the first sites to offer social networking on a large scale and was even awarded a patent for its social networking concept, it has lost significant customer base because of its slow technology, its limited features, and its basic interface design.

Long-time users of Friendster may not want to experience the switching costs of joining another networking site, but they will experience long viewing and uploading wait times. This is due to limitations of the site’s hardware and bandwidth. Friendster’s lacking technology has not only caused user delay within the application, it has also hindered users from adding fun applications to increase socialization. While one can search for specific individuals (knowing their first and last name or email address), features that allow performing a mass search, based on one’s school or email network, are not available. Further, although there is a message board on Friendster where friends can type “testimonials” for people in their network, the page is not set up to maximize space effectively. Advertisements seem to occupy almost 25% of prime “real estate” on the profile page and the user’s various profile sections can’t be minimized to occupy less space thus making the site less customizable. These design flaws contribute to making Friendster look disorganized and chaotic.

It is also unclear what market segment Friendster is targeting. While Facebook targets generally college or post-college based users and MySpace targets high school and non-college affiliated users, Friendster has not clearly defined its niche. Initially the site focused on online dating but competitors such as dating websites seemed to snatch much of that market share from Friendster as well.

Although Friendster has built a large brand name and has revolutionized early online social networking, it has seen a huge user turnover. At this point, the site can either fix its various limitations or merge with another firm that will help to reinvent it. It should also try to appeal to an untouched part of the market by adding a unique application. For instance, the site could add a fantasy sports application where users could make predictions on game and player outcomes. This would not only help expand Friendster’s user base but also offer them another means of interacting.

Social networking is here to stay as long as we use the Internet for communication and our increasingly hectic lives limit the time we have to spend with friends. In order to take advantage of this growing trend, social networking websites must continuously revitalize and offer unique and leading-edge features to their customers.

The Buzz Around Project Management

Recently, there has been a lot of buzz in the job market around project management. While project managers (PM) have been present in almost every industry for a long time, the title has received a lot of attention with recent outsourcing ventures and large IT projects.

Often handling multi-million dollar projects within tight schedules and pressure, project managers are responsible for a host of activities including organizing resources and tasks within projects and meeting end goals. PMs frequently have hands-on experience in the industry for which they are managing projects and help to coordinate inter-group and multi-division communication and plans.

A dismal 16% of all IT projects are considered to be completed successfully. With increased IT projects being coordinated throughout the world, the need for a lower failure rate is ever-increasing. Project failure consists of going over budget, time, and scope. Project managers help to alleviate these risks by enforcing short-term and long-term deadlines, communicating with all stakeholders involved, and reporting outcomes and costs regularly.

Recently MBA graduates have filled many project management positions in various industries. Their rounded education in finance, process/project management, operations, and strategy make them valuable candidates for companies as well. Additionally, most MBAs have had previous industry experience and therefore can adjust quickly to corporate culture. Without an MBA (sometimes even with one) candidates are generally expected to have either project management experience and/or up-to-date certifications (PMP, Project+, etc).

With increasing IT projects and rising salaries, project management positions have become extremely lucrative. These positions offer a variety of projects and challenges that many professionals may not face in their current jobs. In some ways, project management offers a similar experience to that of a professional changing employers or positions to broaden skills and/or portfolio of experiences.

Feeling Heavenly

Imagine being inside a snow globe surrounded by tall pine trees, fresh powdery snow at your feet and falling from the sky. This is my attempt to describe the scenery on a mountain at South Lake Tahoe in December of last year. My husband and I, along with 3 of our friends, went to Tahoe to snowboard for a few days. Not having been skiing or snowboarding before, my experience was both exhilarating and painful! Since my husband grew up near the mountains in Colorado, he was very familiar with skiing and longed for it ever since he moved to Texas. But like many skiers, he flipped his nose up to snowboarding, so this was a relatively new experience for him as well.

Tahoe is mojo for the outdoor junky. There is something outdoorsy to do in Tahoe at almost any time of the year. During the summer, vacationers flock there to enjoy the immense lake (72 miles around) and partake in water sports, camping, fishing, hiking, etc. While in the winter, people like myself visit to enjoy skiing and snowboarding on the mountains. Vacationers not interested in the outdoor physical activities can relax at a restaurant, bar, or even casino (depending on which side of the California-Nevada border you're in) in the cute little town. As the city is known for attracting tourists, the locals are very friendly and helpful. There are also many restaurants, hotels, and shops nearby. I especially enjoyed the shops right at the foot of Heavenly Mountain.

On the first full day, we went to the Sierra at Tahoe. We had heard that the slopes were beginner friendly as compared to the other mountains in Tahoe. Once we arrived, we went to get our tickets to the slopes, our training passes, and our gear. While I was told that snowboarding was less expensive as compared to skiing, it was by no means cheap! The gear, especially the boots worn on top of several pairs of socks, was heavy and uncomfortable but definitely blocked the wind and snow. It took me almost 30 minutes to get everything on and tightened!

I was a little nervous about the upcoming experience. As I walked outside bundled up with my step-in snowboard in hand, I tried to take in the beautiful scenery and the crisp air. While the rest of my crew immediately attached themselves to their step-ins, I tested the ground to gauge its softness and looked anxiously at the "green" slopes scattered with dozens of snowboarders.

We had snowboarding instruction for about 2 hours where we learned how to start, stop, steer, and "fall properly". While I didn't have any problems falling, I never did master getting back up correctly. It was a little embarrassing as the instructor always had to give me a hand.

After snowboarding for about 6 hours that day our bodies felt like jelly. I could hardly sit or walk as my thighs felt torn. Surprisingly, we had sweat a lot on the mountain even though the actual temperature was probably around 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit with an even lower wind chill.

The next day, we went to Heavenly Mountain, which was right near our hotel. The gondola ride up the mountain was beautiful as we were able to see the lake from a distance. Heavenly, while much bigger than Sierra, also had fresher and softer snow (better for the bum). It also had higher slopes for the more experienced skiers and snowboarders. In general, this was the mountain that attracted most of the winter tourists.

That night, after another fun and exhausting day in the snow, we went to a cozy little Thai restaurant called Thai One On. While I've tried many different Thai restaurants, this family-owned business was out of the ordinary. The service and food were exceptional. The owner even came out and talked to us and our food was prepared exactly the way we had requested.

I am sure that after that trip my husband is no longer as much of a ski snob and we will make it a point to do that again. Maybe next time, I'll try skiing. While we were exhausted, we couldn't believe how fast 3 days went by and weren’t looking forward to getting back to a somewhat “less than scenic” Dallas.

The "Education" of Outsourcing

By now, most people have heard of or have had first hand experience with outsourcing. Companies participate in outsourcing mainly to reduce internal costs but also to focus on their core competencies. They most often outsource routine work efforts but have also been outsourcing large development projects as well. I do wonder, however, if the diminishing level of education in our country is connected to this in any way. Is it facilitating outsourcing?

While the US is home to some of the world's most renowned schools and colleges, only 33% of our workforce pursues higher education past high school. This is lower than the mean for most developed countries. While lacking in developed physical infrastructure and many basic amenities, countries like India and China have been aggressive about providing college education to their growing workforce. Though these schools do not necessarily have the most leading edge equipment, they do offer rigorous career development programs. Graduates often get jobs in call centers or IT companies and have contributed to the development of these countries. This developing workforce is leveraged for its knowledge and its affordability by US companies. US Companies can employ more people from places like China or India at considerably lower costs than possible in the US. But, there are so many people who are paid minimum wage in our country. Why doesn't our government take a more active approach in supporting them through vocational or industry-specific programs that will give them long term skills - such as for Network Operations Centers or even for application testing? It is true that if more people in the US were to get higher education, their pay rate would likely increase - that is just the way our economy works. But, more graduates competing for the same job would possibly balance out wages as well.

I also wonder if we are losing many of our college graduates to other countries. There were over 565,000 foreign students in US schools between 2004-2005, a large number from both India and China. While I don't have exact numbers, I am sure a huge percentage have gone back to their countries of origin and thus have contributed to the lower education levels of the US. In addition, the knowledge they have acquired from US based programs has not directly helped our economy. I am sure though that this is something that the US has not changed due to trade policies that it has established with other countries. None the less, it is a topic of concern.

Can I Be of Some Service?

I had a great idea for a new product recently. As making this product myself would require more effort than I am willing to invest and because an already established company would be able to produce and mass market the product easily, I decided to check the company's website for their "Suggestions Box". To my surprise, I found that the company didn't have an online blog where suggestions could be made!

With online social networking on the rise and the average American spending approximately 32 hours per month online, it is surprising that more companies do not leverage this opportunity to perform market research. After all, isn't it the customer that drives innovation? Additionally, the cost savings realized through reducing traditional methods for doing market reasearch such as through paper or phone surveys would likely contribute to their bottom line. Since most companies today have websites, it would be easy to solicit new ideas and comments from their customers by implementing web logs. Companies such as Telligent, through its Community Server platform, can help organizations integrate forums and blogs into their existing sites and further facilitate communication with their customers.

While there are companies such as Dell, with its Idea Storm forum, that have implemented online communities to discuss and vote on new product ideas, there are still too many companies that have not caught the wave and are likely missing out on the great ideas for future products from customers like myself.

Radio Shack Going the Tweeter Route

For a while now we have been hearing about the slow demise of Radio Shack. A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed a guy for my team who was part of the group of people recently laid off from Radio Shack. I wonder if they are going the route of Tweeter.

With competition from low cost retailers like Fry's and Best Buy, Tweeter was not able to survive in the the electronics industry. Though they had a customer base for the high-end brands they carried, the majority of electronic consumers are clustered within the mid-priced products range. Retailers like Best Buy and Fry's also display more versatility than niche players like Tweeter. Best Buy offers a wider range of items such as appliances while Tweeter offered mainly high-end home audio and video equipment.

Radio Shack is definitely feeling this competition as well. While having been around for over eighty years, RadioShack has had many shifts and downturns in the recent past. Their growth has been stagnating for the past 5 years due to their inability to successfully compete and control their operating costs. Additionally, Radio Shack has also had trouble defining their marketing strategy and finding a niche consumer base.

For many years, Radio Shack was the sole provider of high quality home electronic products. Today they carry an assortment of medium grade products including mobile technology, home theater, and home audio devices. They established themselves as a quality leader with a reputation of employing well trained individuals and delivering exemplary customer service. The market downturn for Radio Shack occurred after low cost competitors such as Best Buy and Fry’s came into the market. These companies had larger stores with wider selection. Radio Shack, on the other hand, focused on increasing the number of smaller locations nationwide. They carried their own brand of products such as Optimus along with generally known brands like Energizer, Panasonic, and Sony.

I think by having unknown in-house brands, Radio Shack is wasting shelf space and advertising money. While these brands appeal to the cost-sensitive buyer, they do not necessarily help to build or maintain a consumer base for Radio Shack. Additionally, Radio Shack can use the opened shelf space to appeal to the higher end clientele previously being serviced by Tweeter. Thus, they can broaden their selection and fill a gap in the customer base that is not recognized by any of their major competitors.

Without proactively making some vital changes, the company will continue to see fluctuating or declining sales and be forced to close more stores and lay off more employees, merely reacting to their crisis and thus going the way of Tweeter.