Guys love gadgets and I'm no exception. In my case, I got the photography bug almost 30 years ago and have been poring over equipment magazines and reviews and outlets ever since. It was bad enough in the days of silver halide film. Now, with digital, the scope for gadgetry is vast.
Part of gadget mania is wondering whether your gadgets are up to scratch, and whether there are gadgets out there that could do the job better. Of course, there always are. And they usually cost a lot more.
So I'm surprised and happy to realise that until further notice, the one camera and three lenses I have are absolutely all the hardware I need to get decent pictures. What I need now, apart from using the software better, is to work on the wetware - my vision and skills as a photographer. Thank you Nat.
Tuesday 22 April 2008
Saturday 19 April 2008
A totem bird
Last month I was giving some training in the Netherlands and staying with friends near Amsterdam. As happens so often there, the weather was changeable but late on the Saturday afternoon there was enough sun for me to grab my camera and 100-400 mm lens and head off looking for Great Crested Grebes - one of my favourites.
They're shy little birds although in Holland they can be found all over the place, along with the ducks and the coots and the herons. The difference is that when people approach, the ducks swim towards them expecting food, the coots swim away, the herons take flight with many a "grawk" and the grebes dive under the water and reappear 10-15 metres away.
Late March must be breeding season for those grebes because they were all getting together and jostling and in their finest feathers. Just right for being photographed.
They're shy little birds although in Holland they can be found all over the place, along with the ducks and the coots and the herons. The difference is that when people approach, the ducks swim towards them expecting food, the coots swim away, the herons take flight with many a "grawk" and the grebes dive under the water and reappear 10-15 metres away.
Late March must be breeding season for those grebes because they were all getting together and jostling and in their finest feathers. Just right for being photographed.
Monday 7 April 2008
There's Steve Jobs, and there's everyone else
So management by fear is right after all!!
A very interesting article in Wired magazine (click) shows how Apple's founder and CEO Steve Jobs has driven his company to the top the old way. No cuddly, buddy-buddy relations with staff - rather, relentless attention to detail and results, and a legendary temper that has people quaking in their boots. Apple was practically dead in 1997, but according to the article it's now worth more than Dell. As a brand it's certainly a lot sexier.
Does this all mean that bosses can forget all that tiresome stuff about management by persuasion? Does it mean that "do as I say, or else..." is this most effective approach? It may well be so if you've got a proven track record of creating industry-leading products, as Steve Jobs has. It may well be so if you are the founder and guardian of a brand that inspires deep devotion among its users, as Steve Jobs is. It may well be so if you are a master of PR, as Steve Jobs is. It may well be if you are acknowledged to be many, many times smarter than the average bear, as Steve Jobs is.
A while ago I had dealings with a global organization that was headed up by an inspirational, visionary leader. He was something of a Steve Jobs in a very specialised industry segment. Charismatic, autocratic, involved in every aspect of the business from the science and marketing to the HR and lay-out of the canteen. He talked well but listened badly. He decided what everyone needed to do and told them, without actually getting them on board. His company worked well for a while then things went badly wrong.
Do I wish I had bought shares in Apple in 1997? Absolutely. Would I now invest in any other company run as Apple is run? Probably not. Management by fear and diktat is a high-risk approach and there's only a handful of people as good as Steve Jobs who can pull it off.
A very interesting article in Wired magazine (click) shows how Apple's founder and CEO Steve Jobs has driven his company to the top the old way. No cuddly, buddy-buddy relations with staff - rather, relentless attention to detail and results, and a legendary temper that has people quaking in their boots. Apple was practically dead in 1997, but according to the article it's now worth more than Dell. As a brand it's certainly a lot sexier.
Does this all mean that bosses can forget all that tiresome stuff about management by persuasion? Does it mean that "do as I say, or else..." is this most effective approach? It may well be so if you've got a proven track record of creating industry-leading products, as Steve Jobs has. It may well be so if you are the founder and guardian of a brand that inspires deep devotion among its users, as Steve Jobs is. It may well be so if you are a master of PR, as Steve Jobs is. It may well be if you are acknowledged to be many, many times smarter than the average bear, as Steve Jobs is.
A while ago I had dealings with a global organization that was headed up by an inspirational, visionary leader. He was something of a Steve Jobs in a very specialised industry segment. Charismatic, autocratic, involved in every aspect of the business from the science and marketing to the HR and lay-out of the canteen. He talked well but listened badly. He decided what everyone needed to do and told them, without actually getting them on board. His company worked well for a while then things went badly wrong.
Do I wish I had bought shares in Apple in 1997? Absolutely. Would I now invest in any other company run as Apple is run? Probably not. Management by fear and diktat is a high-risk approach and there's only a handful of people as good as Steve Jobs who can pull it off.
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