Largest Technology Buyout – Microsoft Purchases Skype!

Growth in the technology sector is becoming major threat to industry giants. Recent $8.5 billion Skype buyout deal with Microsoft is one example of how industry giants are trying to do things to keep up with the faster growing technology companies.

On 9th May, this largest buyout agreement was finalized. This acquisition will help Microsoft enter in business lines such as calling to play, catch-up in mobile and web advertising.
Microsoft realizes that the market for online advertising and mobile software is growing with crazy pace and this biggest Internet takeover in the recent history, will also bring Microsoft in direct competition with Google in online advertising and Apple Inc. in mobile software.

The plan to connect Skype’s 170 million active users, to Microsoft’s Outlook e-mail, Xbox game console, Windows mobile phones and corporate-phone software will truly shake the technology market place!

Skype was founded in 2003 by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. The founders sold the company for $2.6 billion in 2005 to San Jose, California-based EBay Inc., which in turn sold off most of its stake four years later. Current investors include EBay, Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz.

We need to watch how Google takes this deal in the near future!

Effective Communication - the Science of Change Management

We like to live in our comfort zone and as intelligent specie generally resist change, particularly in the corporate world. Often people do not realize the cost of their rigidity in changing their behaviors.

How many times did you experience people gossiping in the corridors about a particular process or procedure introduced in your organization in which management had spent precious time and money? Initial reactions are curiosity, fear, anxiety that result in reluctance in adapting things that are aimed at improving the efficiency and brining transparency in an organization.

Many times, the key reason for resistance to change is lack of communication between the change implementers and staff. Senior management often leaves the process to an implementing team, resulting a communication gap between the top management and the rest. Certainly causing frictions!

Yes Change Management is a science many senior managers still find tough to deal with.

There are two essentials to follow for managing change:
1. Open and two way communication
2. Creating buy-in by describing benefits

I read an excellent piece from Garrison Wynn

"Communication skills are the foundation of team work, allowing us to transfer a message of support and hope so we believe as a group that solutions are possible. The key to being able to communicate and benefit from each other is to truly see you own value. That will allow you to see it more clearly in others."

Technically speaking, when we communicate, we try to influence other’s thoughts, hence this should be a carefully crafted process and thoughtful selection of words is necessary and often realizing the pain of not changing helps in behavioral acceptability towards change.

Watch an interesting video on Change Management here.

Entrepreneurship is Beyond Money Management

A number of new businesses sprung up in the time of recession. After failure to find a suitable job, most people try to enter into entrepreneurship career. But due to unstable economic conditions and lack of their abilities to face the entrepreneurship challenges, some succeed, some not.

Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki has written a new book “Unfair Advantage” in which he describes that unemployed people enjoy an unfair advantage of becoming an entrepreneur. According to Robert, “age is not a bar in becoming self-employed”. For example, he says that “It might be easy to lease a luxury car and offer limo service”.

Robert says that “The ability to sell is an important skill of any entrepreneur and the key job of an entrepreneur is to raise money.”

And he advices entrepreneurs to learn:

1. to Sell,
2. to invest via market trends, and
3. to invest in real estate trends.

In my view, this theory can be challenged. There is no doubt when economy dives and companies start showing people doors, a larger number of individuals try to start their own businesses. But at the same time, cash is scarce and products and services are competing for less money. This cut throat competition makes survival for new business a major challenge.

My argument is that “Basics of Entrepreneurship” go beyond selling and investing. Entrepreneurship needs much more holistic approach and skill-set, idea and idea implementation strategy is evenly important. After all investments will be made when access cash is available!