The Legacy of HP Management Expertise: Quibi
July 1, 2020
When I hear the name “quibi”, I think of Hewlett Packard in the era of Meg Whitman. My focus narrows to some interesting decisions by the Board of Directors, a somewhat high-profile acquisition, a vendetta which targets a feisty computer scientist, and a great big lawsuit. The lawsuit by the way is of the variety that is likely to be a source of income for attorneys for years to come. You know the litigation matter: Meg Whitman’s former outfit and the Cambridge engineer/scientist Mike Lynch. I will name the word: Autonomy.
I read “The Fall of Quibi: How Did a Starry $1.75bn Netflix Rival Crash So Fast.” What’s interesting about this “real” newspaper’s “real” news story is that it mostly misses the boat or, at the very list, trips over the step when boarding the tube.
The article identifies what anyone listening to chatter in the line up to buy a Starbuck’s confection knows: Short videos, free for some people, no one cares, and an oddball selection of content without programs like Cheers or Seinfeld.
What catches the attention of would be financiers is the number $1.75 billion. What catches the attention of those with Hollywood in their DNA is the name Jeffrey Katzenberg. What catches the attention of the DarkCyber research team is the co Big Dog Meg Whitman.
The “real” news story cares little about Ms. Whitman and her management “successes.” I assume that those researching the story were unaware that some individuals with first hand information about her management expertise were just too difficult to reach. What’s the distance? Maybe a mile, maybe less.
The write up states:
Notionally, Quibi endeavored to industrialize a new frontier of television: short-form narratives – that is, episodes of 15 minutes or less – at its shortest and most expansive.
Okay.
Here’s a promising factoid, courtesy of a Murdoch-owned “real” news outfit:
Meanwhile, several unflattering reports have depicted internal strife behind the scenes. The Wall Street Journal detailed longstanding friction between Katzenberg and Whitman’s working relationship.
DarkCyber believes that there is a ton of useful information floating around about Quibi. There’s a gold mine of information about Ms. Whitman and her approach to guiding a business. There’s even information available to put some meat on the bones of the launch during the pandemic.
What do we get? “Real” news.
Stephen E Arnold, July 1, 2020
Knowledge Management: Still Floundering? Absolutely
June 21, 2020
I spotted this knowledge management write up: “How to Hold on to Critical Knowledge When Employees Leave.” The recommendations on the surface seem like common sense. However, there are a couple of typical knowledge management oddities.
First, the main recommendation is to create a more management oriented workplace. Management, in the KM world, means recycling MBA think from the 1970s.
Helpful, right? These tips include:
- Do the mentor thing and cross train workers. (How does cross training work when a person is hired to perform one type of work; for example, perform stress testing for Inconel variants?)
- Plan for people quitting. (In today’s business climate, how are those plans working out for organizations other than Facebook, Amazon, Google, and the other FAANGs?)
- Create a New Age organization chart. (Remember the hierarchical charts? Useful? Sure, but the charts did not match the territory. Great fun creating these charts, however.)
Now the flaw. Here’s the recommendation from the write up:
Conduct longer, more thorough exit interviews.
The hitch is that the person doing the exist interview typically does not:
- Have domain expertise. Therefore, the interviewer cannot probe in a way that reveals the needed information. Remember: One does not know what one does not know. Gnostic indeed.
- Have a system in which to store the information. Sure, there are notes, but the person departing may be involved in a non verbal domain of expertise. How about converting a mathy expertise to some words on a paper or digital form?
- Understand the context of special “knowledge.” (The departing employee may speak one language and the interviewer another. The result? No useful “knowledge” is obtained.)
Net net: MBAs are likely to be blindsided when a person quits. Think about Disney’s top guy hitting the bricks. The captured “knowledge” is not knowledge. The more sophisticated the knowledge, the lower the probability that the interviewer will know what the heck the person knows if anything.
Ah, managing knowledge. Excellent.
Stephen E Arnold, June 21, 2020
Microsoft: Some Employees Express Discontent
June 12, 2020
Microsoft — yep, the outfit which cannot update its Windows 10 operating system without killing some computers — has another hillock obscuring its vision of cloud dominance. The obstruction is not Redmond’s other friendly jungle environment Amazon.
The mound of woe may be composed of employees objecting to whom and which entities the masters of JEDI sell the ever-reliable and entertaining digital products and services. Taking a less than 365 view, “Microsoft Employees Urge Nadella to Cancel Contracts with Police” reports:
Several Microsoft employees have written a letter to CEO Satya Nadella, urging the company to cancel contracts with the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and other law enforcement agencies in the wake of police brutality episodes during the Black Lives Matter protests. The internal email with the subject line “Our neighborhood has been turned into a warzone” seen by the portal OneZero, nearly 250 Microsoft employees have asked the tech giant to formally support the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and calls for the resignation of the Seattle mayor.
Interesting. Similar employee “suggestions” have been respectfully and not-so-respectfully submitted to other high-technology outfits.
The basic idea is that employees either perceive the right to influence what the company sells and to whom and which entities.
DarkCyber wants to note:
- Employees may have a hand in creating software like Windows 10 which, when updated, fails. It seems reasonable that [a] the employees cannot do work that “works” or managers cannot manage so that products and services “work”.
- A company with internal difficulties is likely to find itself vulnerable to sabotage or work slowdowns on certain projects which staff determine do not deserve full commitment. If this assertion is accurate, some entities may lose confidence in the Redmond outfit, assuming that confidence has not begun to erode due to other factors. (Possibly the Zune effect?)
- An operating environment which increases uncertainty can undermine stakeholder confidence. The appearance of “management effectiveness” is necessary to prevent feedback which escalates uncertainty. Such uncertainty can influence the behaviors of partners, shareholders, prospects, existing customers, and employees. (Yikes, employees.)
Net net: A small perturbation may presage a larger seismic event. To be frank, it is more difficult to envision worse news that Forbes’ Magazine publishing “Microsoft Confirms New Windows 10 Upgrade Warnings.” Imagine a news service for business people warning that a forced upgrade will kill devices and services like Internet connectivity.
Didn’t Microsoft roll out Bob (a graphical interface for Windows) and the big, bright, and failed Windows Phone?
Yeah. Management, governance, confidence — a trifecta.
Stephen E Arnold, June 12, 2020
IBM: Watson, What Is Happening?
May 22, 2020
I like to think about the wisdom of IBM Watson. A large company developed smart software able to beat mere humans in a TV game show. Amazing, but I asked myself after Watson “won” jeopardy, “What about that post production process?”
Now IBM’s actual production process is visible. A new Big Blue dog Arvind Krishna is controlling the pack of huskies. Such is the success of the racing sled in a time of Covid that IBM will not cut its five percent dividend, according to the “real news” service Fox Business.
IBM hedged by declining to make a forecast for 2020. IBM’s future is bright, but apparently it is not that bright.
“IBM to Cut Thousands of Jobs As Coronavirus Plays Out” reveals that some surplus employees will be reduced in force. Fox reported:
“IBM’s work in a highly competitive marketplace requires flexibility to constantly remix to high-value skills, and our workforce decisions are made in the long-term interests of our business. Recognizing the unique current conditions, IBM is offering subsidized medical coverage to all affected U.S. employees through June 2021” a company spokesman said in a statement.
If one is not terminated, what’s the people process at IBM look like? Think bare knuckles boxing maybe? “IBM Says It’s Giving Employees the Opportunity to Compete for Positions” explains:
“As part of IBM’s regular assessment of how we work, we are simplifying how we operate to position our business for high value growth opportunities and better meet client demand,” a spokesperson said. “Employees will have the opportunity to re-skill and compete for positions where roles are available.”
Unlike some Silicon Valley outfits, having employees work from home is the first step (a generally gentle one) in eliminating surplus. The office space will go and then the less productive work from homers will be invited to a Zoom meeting for a “Find Your Future” elsewhere session.
Big Blue is more direct, more gladiatorial: Get terminated or get into the octagon. Fight Ralph, the slightly overweight and near sighted OmniFind expert for a paycheck.
Wouldn’t it be more interesting to have Watson battle Facebook, Google, and Microsoft in a smart software battle to prove which company is Number One?
Watson, what do you think of my suggestion? IBM’s approach to returning to glory is interesting, but it seems old fashioned: Layoffs and internal competition. Very Darwin.
Watson, you know about Darwin, right?
Stephen E Arnold, May 22, 2020
British Wit: Carry On
May 15, 2020
Love the tone this person takes. Very person centric. If you want a sign like this, you can get it with a click. Do you have control over what’s output. Of course not.
Get your own carry on sign at this link. Heck of a guy that Olaf Falafel because he hits on many of the management characteristics of Silicon Valley companies and some governmental bureaucrats.
Stephen E Arnold, May 15, 2020
Zooming: Uber Lets Off Some Passengers
May 13, 2020
DarkCyber does not know if this story is spot on, but it is interesting. The estimable UK tabloid the Daily Mail (yes, the one with the videos one cannot turn off without five or six clicks) published “Today will be Your Last Working Day with Uber.” Other firms allegedly have used Zoom videoconferencing to inform the surplus humanoids that they can find their future elsewhere. (DarkCyber loves that phrase “Find your future elsewhere, don’t you, gentle reader?)
According to the estimable news service:
At least 3,500 Uber employees learned that they were being laid off in a three minute Zoom call last week.
The online version of the story includes the allegedly “real” video of an Uber person (still employed at the time) bid farewell to the Übermenschen.
The person nuking these individuals has a fascinating title; to wit:
Head of Uber’s customer service at Uber’s Phoenix Center of Excellence.
Zoom is in the news, but in this instance, it is not the insights of the video conferencing firm’s security advisor. The use of Zoom by a go go Silicon Valley firm makes the headline. DarkCyber wants to add that the Daily Mail’s headline is very Googley.
Stephen E Arnold, May 13, 2020
The Cost of High School Science Club and Its Management Method
May 6, 2020
I read in Forbes, the capitalist tool, “Google’s Top Quantum Scientist Explains In Detail Why He Resigned.” The write up is an interview with a a high profile expert in quantum computing. His name? Dr. John Marinis. The interview contains a number of interesting factoids plus some PR, but that’s the norm today.
DarkCyber noted this statement by the former Googler:
I think it was hard on people in the group to focus on quantum supremacy because it meant they couldn’t work on other things they wanted to do, and most importantly, we could fail. And it seems tension comes with focus.
I use the phrase “high school science club management method” to describe how a group of young men and women who are usually exceptional in math and science behave in a club formed and run by themselves. There may be an adviser, but that person is in my experience a former member of a high school science club.
The club is insular, operates with considerable freedom because other people are “stupid,” “don’t get it,” or are “wasting time on silly things.”
Google has become one of the foremost proponents of the HSSCMM, and the efforts of the Google CFO attest to the difficulty of reigning in the spending in a science club management environment.
Observations:
- The quote from the quantum expert underscores Google’s inability to tolerate focus.
- IBM (a content marketing fog machine) and Google found themselves squabbling about quantum supremacy.
- The HSSCMM essentially forced a focused and talented wizard to quit.
Net net: Google’s management method generates revenue but if the cost is a loss of talented specialists, what’s that say about the efficacy of the high school approach?
Stephen E Arnold, May 6, 2020
The Bulldozer and Bray: Amazon and Its People Policies in Action
May 4, 2020
I read “Bye, Amazon.” The author is Tim Bray. Some may remember him as one of the spark plugs of Open Text. He did some nifty visualization work. He did the Google thing until 2014. From 2014 until a couple of days ago he worked at Amazon, the Bezos bulldozer, the online bookstore, and all-around economic engine of Covid America.
The write up states:
I quit in dismay at Amazon firing whistleblowers who were making noise about warehouse employees frightened of Covid-19.
When Amazon terminated with prejudice the Amazonians protesting.
Mr. Bray’s reaction was
Snap!
Mr. Bray was upset, went through Amazon channels, and resigned.
He states about the warehouse worker action:
It’s not just workers who are upset. Here are Attorneys-general from 14 states speaking out. Here’s the New York State Attorney-general with more detailed complaints. Here’s Amazon losing in French courts, twice.
On the other hand, he points out:
Amazon Web Services (the “Cloud Computing” arm of the company), where I worked, is a different story. It treats its workers humanely, strives for work/life balance, struggles to move the diversity needle (and mostly fails, but so does everyone else), and is by and large an ethical organization. I genuinely admire its leadership.
In his penultimate paragraph he offers:
At the end of the day, it’s all about power balances. The warehouse workers are weak and getting weaker, what with mass unemployment and (in the US) job-linked health insurance. So they’re gonna get treated like crap, because capitalism. Any plausible solution has to start with increasing their collective strength.
Several observations:
- Mr. Bray has a moral compass. DarkCyber finds that of value.
- Amazon’s “power” has been largely unchecked since the mid 1990s, and only now are actions building like storm clouds on the horizon.
- Mr. Bray was able to continue working for the Google but he could not continue working at Amazon. That’s interesting in itself.
Net net: Will Amazon take steps to deal with what seems to be the Tim Bray situation? Do Prime customers get orders delivered on time? Not if warehouse employees put sand in the Bezos bulldozer’s differential.
Stephen E Arnold, May 4, 2020
Adulting: Will It Persist?
May 4, 2020
The lure of leasing a flashy vehicle is strong. Will start ups acquire a reputation for financial probity? DarkCyber is not confident that adulting will endure. The Financial Times (remember its Endeca-based search system?) published “Hottest Silicon Valley Start Ups Begin to Sell Themselves at a Discount.” [Note: this is a link generated by the Financial Times’ security system. You may have to do some experimenting to get the write up to render. You will know you are on the right track when the wonky flesh colored background appears.] Furthermore, the write up asserts, “Balance of power shifts back to investors as founders look to bolster balance sheets.”
The write up includes a Captain Obvious quote attributed to a partner at the upscale law firm Fenwick & West:
“It’s bold and risky to be giving a company a term sheet in this really uncertain environment, and to give that investor downside protection does not seem unfair.”
We love the “does not seem unfair.” Too bad the lawyer did not include a “but for.”
DarkCyber concluded, after pondering the write up on a screen tinted the color of some humanoids’ skin:
- Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice phrase : “pound of flesh”
- Handwaving and virtue signaling are popular
- Bros will be bros
- Lawyers win regardless of the “risk” investors face.
Net net: The bubble is losing its heady mix of methane, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds or VOCs.
Stephen E Arnold, May 4, 2020
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Policeware and Intelware: Change Underway, Pushback Likely
April 29, 2020
Law enforcement and intelligence are tricky subjects. For decades, the work of government employees and the specialized firms supporting sensitive operations have worked to stay out of the headlines. The spotlight was for rock stars and movie icons, not for investigators, security, and intelligence professionals.
Most of the companies in what I call the policeware and intelware markets have to and prefer to work with people who have been in their foxhole. The result has been the equivalent of a stealth market sector. The clients — traditionally government agencies — like the low profile approach as well. Many of the activities of these professionals and the firms supporting their operations are in a position of considerable risk.
But that seems to be changing. Recent examples include:
Cellebrite’s Covid campaign. The idea is that specialized mobile phone analysis tools can assist with the pandemic. You can read about this in “Cellebrite Pitching iPhone Hacking Tools As a Way to Stop COVID-19.”
A lone wolf employee. You can learn that the NSO Group finds itself in the middle of another PR issue. You can read about this challenge in “NSO Employee Abused Phone Hacking Tech to Target a Love Interest.”
A little known past of a high profile innovator. The somewhat unusual company Banjo finds itself in the spotlight over the allegations made about the firm’s founder. You can read about this in “CEO of Surveillance Firm Banjo Once Helped KKK Leader Shoot Up a Synagogue.”
These examples — if accurate and verifiable — suggest that Silicon Valley attitudes have penetrated the developers of policeware and intelware.
The majority of the companies providing specialized services are probably operating in a reasonably responsible way. Today policeware and intelware have become a multi billion dollar a year market. Most people will never encounter outfits with names like Elbit, Gamma or iCarbon X, and hundreds of others.
The fact is that the behaviors of a small number of companies is causing the policeware and intelware vendors to become the stuff of the talking heads on televised news programs, the launch pad for tweets and blog posts, and a source of embarrassment for the government entities relying on these companies and their products.
What troubles DarkCyber is that an increasing number of vendors of specialized services have realized that many government functions cannot operate without their expertise, products, and engineering. Consequently, what I call “high school science club management” has pushed aside the traditional methods of generating revenue.
Now policeware and intelware vendors offer podcasts, assuming that investigators and intelligence professionals have the time and interest to listen to marketing information about the latest and greatest in graph generation, analytics, and visualization.
There are experts who want to build their own book and training businesses. In the last three days, I have received a half dozen email blandishments to attend this free webinar or download that list of OSINT tools.
What’s next?
Google online advertising to get me to license Blackdot, Qwarie, and Vesper technology?
Here’s the problem:
There are too many companies chasing available policeware and intelware dollars. Established vendors capture the significant projects; for example, Darpa awarded a hefty machine learning contract to BAE Systems, one of the go-to vendors of advanced technology to defense, law enforcement, and intelligence entities.
But every dominant vendor like BAE Systems, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of smaller firms vying to contract. These smaller firms usually work within the procedures which began taking shape in World War II, largely influenced by countries like Britain and several others.
The new companies appear to support the Facebook- and Google-type approach to business. From move fast and break things to digital misdirection, the approach to generating revenue from LE and intel related products and services is shifting. Forget the low profile, off the radar approach. Today it is big trade show booths, podcasts, videos, webinars, and increasingly Madison Avenue style marketing.
Not surprisingly, the three examples cited in this essay are quite different. Cellebrite is virtue signaling. NSO Group is struggling with a lone wolf action. Banjo is dealing with a founder’s youthful dalliance with distasteful activities.
It is indeed risky to generalize. Nevertheless, something is happening within the policeware and intelware market sector. I cannot recall a cluster of news events about LE and intel service providers which startle and surprise in a triple tap moment.
Is there a fix? I want to be positive. Other firms in this sector have an opportunity to assess what their staff are doing with products and services of a quite special nature. Like the nuclear industry, great management effort is needed on an ongoing basis to ensure that secrets remain secret.
The nuclear industry may not be perfect. But at this moment in time, policeware and intelware vendors may want to examine the hiring, management, and institutional approaches in use for decades.
Regulation may be useful, but policeware and intelware is a global activity. Self-control, ethical behavior, and tight management controls are necessary. Easy to say but tough to do because of the revenue pressure many of these vendors face. Plus, outsourcing means that government agencies often cannot do their work without third party support. There is a weird symbiosis visible today: Funding sources, technologists, enforcement officers, procurement professionals, and managers with an MBA.
Bad actors love these revelations. Each item of information that reveals capabilities, weaknesses, and methodologies helps those who would undertake criminal or deleterious activities.
Unless the vendors themselves button up, the unmentionables will be exposed and flap in the wind.
Stephen E Arnold, April 29, 2020
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