StillSecure, After All These Years

Shimel's rules of business development and negotiating - Keep your eye on the prize

One of my favorite responsibilities at StillSecure is business/corporate development.  The biz dev role is something I have done for a long time for several companies. Having a decent grasp of technology, insight into business and my legal training have helped me to conclude many successful business deals over the many years I have been at it. Over the years I have also had the opportunity to work with many good people on both sides of the table, as well as the chance to help train many good people.  Some of the things I have tried to teach others and that I myself try to remember in negotiating business terms are:

1. Win-win - I know it is such a cliche, but it is also still true.  I have seen so many people from attorneys, to entrepreneurs to other biz dev people try to "beat" the other guy.  You may put one over on the other side and get favorable terms in your agreement, but ultimately if doesn't work for the other side, all of the agreements in the world won't make it work for you.  The most successful deals I have been involved in have been ones where both sides feel that they are getting real value out of the deal.

2. Don't think you are smarter than the other guy - How many times have I seen this vain attitude ruin deals.  Everybody sitting at the table puts their pants on one leg at a time.  Don't think that you are so superior or more intelligent than the other side. They usually are perfectly capable of seeing exactly what you are really driving at and trying to outsmart them again will wind up with a lose-lose.

3. Its not the battle, but the war that counts - One of the things I disliked most about practicing law was dealing with other lawyers.  Every single point of every single agreement could become a knock down, throw down battle to the death, as each side tried to show that they were the better attorney on each point.  Its not about winning any given point, its about getting the deal done.  Unless a particular point is truly a showstopper, you have to remember the big picture of what you are trying to accomplish.  Too many times I have dealt with people who seemed to keep a running tally of how many points they got their way versus how times they gave in.  Is the deal in total a good deal, accomplishing your goals the real scoreboard.

4. Theory is fine, but go for the meat and potatoes -  I have seen so many deals drag out because a particular point is taken to a theoretically possible, but highly unlikely scenario.  Good legal drafting practices says you should try to plan for every eventuality.  But because a corner case of a corner case is remotely possible, don't throw away a great opportunity.  Try to draft around that remote possibility.

5. Put as much effort into the success of the relationship as you do in negotiating the contract.  I have been involved in some deals that by the time the agreement is agreed to, one party or the other is spent and just seems to lose the momentum to carry the relationship beyond the contract.  The contract is the beginning of the business relationship, not the end.

6. Put yourself in the other guys shoes - Empathize with what your colleague is thinking and feeling. Understanding their needs, motivations and state-of-mind can help understand what it will take to reach an agreement.

Of course every deal is different, but remembering these rules will serve you well every time.

Its about the kids, stupid

Matt Asay has a blog up on "OLPC's capitulation to Windows...". In it Matt waxes poetic about what a mistake Nicholas Negroponte is making by embracing Windows for the OLPC laptop project. Matt points to Groklaw, Richard Stallman and the rest of the Redmond revolutionaries who want to see Negroponte tarred and feathered and question his vision. Hey, lets face it the "m" word is toxic to that crowd. But I really think Matt is just plain twisted about this and about what OLPC is really about. Here is what Matt has to say, "OLPC is rather about liberating developing nations from their vassal status that continually keeps them at the mercy of the pricing and licensing of Microsoft and other proprietary vendors." No Matt, that is not what OLPC is all about and that is what the problem is! OLPC is about getting a laptop in the hands of every kid in the world. It is about giving these kids a chance to learn and grow up to compete in the global economy with the same tools that kids in this country have. It has nothing to with your views of Microsoft being a 21st century imperialistic empire.

Matt both of my boys have OLPC laptops, I know what it is like using them. The Sugar interface is tough. As Negroponte says, it is a amorphous blob. The command line structure of the laptop made it hard for me to retrieve and install files. File names are truncated and kept in non-standard directories. When kids are learning windows in school, this is difficult for them. The laptops are a tool for them to learn, it shouldn't be about learning the tool. It needs to be more main stream for kids to be able to leverage it across the world. It needs to be more standards based. I don't care if it is open source standards or closed source standards but it has to be better. Windows will give it that.

But ultimately Matt, I feel that the OLPC project was hijacked by the open source movement as a "Trojan horse" to overthrow Windows. If that was your intention great. Me, I was a lot more humble and noble in what I thought it was. I thought was about getting a computer in the kids hands and having them learn and contribute.

I'm the security guy. I used to have a security guy, but he died. Now I'm the security guy

While attending the SANS event in Orlando this week I had a chance to meet a fellow who works at a company that is a StillSecure customer.  I had never met this particular guy before, so I asked him how long he had been working in security at the company.  The answer I got reminded me of an old quote from the move "The Producers" -

-Who d'ya want? -I beg your pardon? -Who d'ya want? Nobody gets in the building unless I know who they want. I'm the concierge. My husband used to be the concierge, but he's dead. Now I'm the concierge.

This guy had worked at the company for a number of years in the network department. They had a "guy who did the security".  He is the one that bought the StillSecure product.  Evidently a while back the security guy left the company.  It is not clear whether he quit or was asked to leave, but the bottom line is they had no security guy. Instead of hiring another security guy, they made this poor SOB the security guy.  He inherited a bunch of security products including our own and a bunch of "open source stuff".  This guy didn't even know where to begin.

After floundering around for a while, he made a smart move and signed up for some security training from SANS and is just beginning to realize how much he doesn't know.  But it will still be some time before he is in a position to handle the security at his company, that by the way has SOX issues to deal with.  I suggested that perhaps he look into some MSSP service to help him out.  I am going to try and help this fellow out as much as I can, but he has a tall order.

How many others are out there in the same boat?  How many people have had the security role thrust on them, without the training or expertise to make it happen.  The greatest tools in the world, won't make up for this lack of skills and experience.  Is it any wonder that we have a breach a day announced and our security seems to be in such disarray? We should let security be handled by security professionals or else we deserve what we get!

The Emperors New Clothes

The other night I was reading Hans Christian Andersen's classic "The Emperors New Clothes" with 6 year old Bradley.  Bradley cracked up that the king was walking around naked.  I was reminded about how no one wants to be thought of as ignorant or not fit for their job, so they will say and do things that they think other people want to hear.  It is a great, timeless story.  Today, I had my own emperors new clothes experience.

For the past several days I have been writing about this whole Barracuda-Trend Micro affair.  In several articles I used the word Calvary. I was talking about the soldiers riding in on the horses.  Every time I wrote it though I kept getting visions of a cemetery out on Long Island.  Finally, someone had the gumption to write me today and tell me that I meant cavalry, not Calvary.  Well I certainly felt like the emperor with no clothes!

I apologize for my butchery of the English language.  I am also grateful to Jack Walsh for pointing out my error. To the rest of you I ask:  (fixed after the fact) Were you not reading? Were you afraid to be wrong, so didn't want to say anything?  Did you not realize that this was wrong? Or perhaps you just took silent satisfaction in seeing me mess up?  In any event below are the definitions of the two words. I was right Calvary is the place where the crucifixion took place and there is a cemetery in Long Island by the same name.


Cal·va·ry /ˈkælvəri/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kal-vuh-ree] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -ries for 2, 3.
1. Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified. Luke 23:33.
2. (often lowercase) a sculptured representation of the Crucifixion, usually erected in the open air.
3. (lowercase) an experience or occasion of extreme suffering, esp. mental suffering.

cav·al·ry   /ˈkævəlri/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kav-uhl-ree] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun, plural -ries.

1.	Military. a. the part of a military force composed of troops that serve on horseback. b. mounted soldiers collectively. c. the motorized, armored units of a military force organized for maximum mobility.

2.	horsemen, horses, etc., collectively.

10 Rules for sales success

Steve Tobak, of Invisor Consulting, LLC, over on his C/Net News Blog has a great article up on selling.  While I don't usually push the Zig Ziglar or Jeffrey Gitomer stuff, something about this article rang true to me.  Steve started out talking about the stereotypical negative image of sales people as being pushy with no self-respect.  But then he makes a good point.  All of us in one way or another have to sell at one time or another. And importantly, we also need to be successful in selling, when we do it.  Steve uses a term my grandmother used to say about children.  Selling isn't a bad thing, it "is misunderstood". My grandma used to say there were no bad children, they were just misunderstood. Selling according to Steve is capitalism in its purest form.  So here according to Steve Tobak are his 10 rules to help you sell more effectively:

1. Be knowledgeable. Also, be prepared. Know your material cold, and that includes knowing how you stack up against the competition and anticipating what may come up. Knowledge and preparation also facilitate effective selling by helping you feel more confident and
   less nervous.
2. Be yourself. If you try to be someone else, or something you're not, you'll fail. Just don't even go there. If you think you're lacking something critical to sell effectively, then learn it or get it. Or maybe you're just on the wrong track. But don't fake it.
3. Be honest. If you believe in yourself, your ideas, your product, whatever, you'll do just fine. Also be forthright, don't beat around the bush. Strategic positioning is one thing--a good thing--but bullshit or dishonesty is bad news.
4. Be persistent. Also, be patient. That doesn't mean don't take no for an answer. Sometimes it's best to give up the battle to win the war. Have faith in yourself, the rest of the universe, and karma. Things really do work out for the best. And if they don't, worrying about it won't make a difference.
5. Be concise. Be crisp, focused, pithy. Don't be verbose, annoying, time consuming, selfish, or a pain in the ass. Don't abuse the audience's or the customer's time and patience. Goes hand-in-hand with being respectful.
6. Be creative. Also be open, collaborative, flexible, a problem solver. The concept of value proposition is based primarily on solving a tough problem better than others can. If it was easy, they wouldn't need you or your product.
7. Be respectful. Respect the audience's or the customer's and right to make their own decision. Be respectful of your competition, as well. Crisply state your selling points, then stop and wait for questions. If you lose, be gracious and you'll win the next time. Don't be arrogant.
8. Be there. Answer the phone, show up, make yourself available, whatever it takes. Also, be present, in the moment, in real time. Interact. Take it one step at a time and trust the process. Don't fire off an e-mail or a phone call and then go into hiding.
9. Be brave. We all have fears. Be afraid. Not only is it normal, it's a critical survival skill. Courage is being scared, recognizing your fear, facing your fear, and doing the right thing anyway. Don't try to block fear; you can't, at least not without creating bigger problems.
10. Shut up and listen. Selling is not about talking, it's about listening. When you listen, you hear what your customer or whoever is looking for. Then you can tailor your responses appropriately and, if you're on the ball, make a connection.

I have never seen these put quite like this, but I like it. Maybe it can help you sell, no matter what it is you are selling!  Thanks to Steve for sharing.

Water and software development find their own levels

I guess with reading "The World is Flat" I am thinking about the whole outsourcing thing a lot more and how America can compete in a flat world. Dave Rosenberg over on the Open Sources blog has an interesting article that I think helps illustrate my view on this. The article notes that Wipro, the giant Indian outsourcing firm plans to open a software design center in Atlanta and will hire about 500 programmers over the next three years.  Dave talks about possible cultural differences that will make it interesting and challenging.  I don't think it will be any more challenging than Toyota or any of the other foreign car manufacturers opening plants and building cars here in America.  They will find the American worker not as lazy or ugly as advertised.  They will find them incredibly productive given the right incentives and environment.  Enough so that it makes sense for them to bring jobs here. Now you can say that Wipro, Toyota, etc are foreign companies and so they are profiting from the fruits of American labor.  But are they any more foreign than "American" companies? I think not. I think where the plants and offices are built and where people are earning good livings is what counts.

In fact I think this is the future of all of this outsourcing. Yes there are short terms differences in labor costs versus productivity as many former developing companies join the flat world.  But just as the Japanese found out, when workers who may be envious or contemptuous of our decadent lifestyle get a taste of the good life, they become not very different that Americans.  They want big cars, iPods, cell phones, good things for their families and a nice place to live and learn. Then they want to take off to take some time to smell the flowers and enjoy the good life.  Soon the advantage that had capital moving there begins to wane.  I think the relative costs begin to come into balance and the many advantages of the American labor force who have dealt with working through the "good times" come into play. 

That is not to say that we have some inalienable right for high paying jobs to automatically come here.  It means that we still have many advantages to leverage and that we should not fear other countries becoming more developed.  That makes them bigger consumers for our products and makes each of them a "little bit American" themselves.  It is a brave new flat world that we live in and in which our children will grow up in.  However, it is one full of opportunity for more people than ever before including us here in the USA.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Douglas Schweitzer over on his ComputerWorld blog has an article up on the proposed legislation by Senators Murphy and Stevens banning the use of social networking sites in public schools and libraries.  Unlike most of the coverage of this proposed legislation I have seen, Douglas seems to support it.  Maybe he does not realize that the way it is currently written, such sites as Wikipedia would be banned as well.  That would be a real shame, as even my young sons have started to use the Wiki for school research.  However, I have a bigger a problem with what Douglas writes.

Douglas seems to be proud that Suffolk County, Long Island (I lived in Dix Hills in Suffolk before moving to Florida, so know it well) has already banned MySpace and the like from libraries there.  I don't know if they have also banned Wikipedia, but the real point is, Douglas does that make your children safer?  Do you think all of the sexual predators are on MySpace?  Do you honestly think cocooning your children is going to keep them safe.  There comes a point where they have to live in the real world as it is.  I am against censorship in any public forum, unless you are talking about obscenity or other illegal acts.  I think your job as a parent is to do your best to make sure you child understands right from wrong, is not a "victim" that is easily fooled by predators and that you can trust to do the right thing.  This sort of attitude reminds me of the parents who always wanted to "hide" the drug issue from their children.  You know what, those kids wound up being the biggest drug abusers. My child in second grade is already learning drugs are bad.  The philosophy is that if you have not talked to your child about drugs by the time they are in second grade, someone else has.  Same thing here. If you think banning MySpace is going to keep your kids from learning things or being exposed to predators, brother do I have a bridge to sell you. Douglas does not want his kids learning their sex-ed on the internet.  Douglas here is a news flash, your kids are going to learn about sex-ed on the internet, whether you ban MySpace or not.  In fact the internet is just todays tool to learn about sex-ed.  Douglas where did you learn about it?  Did you sit down and have the birds and bees talk with your dad or had you already been exposed by some of your more daring friends in school.  I think artificial constraints just don't work and don't accomplish the goals.  Better to educate children on how to use and benefit from using MySpace the right way then to ban it all together.

The other problem is today My Space, tomorrow what?  It used to be the AOL chat rooms.  Who is going to decide what my child can and cannot see.  I don't want the US Senate (some of whom have never been on the net and don't have a clue) or some local library board making that decision.  As a parent I reserve that right to myself. I will make that decision and stay out of my business!

Great business advice

Andy Sack, CEO of Judy's Book, has an article up about some homework he received from Brad Feld one of his board members. I call it "Know thy neighbor competitor".  On reflection, this is not something that I learned from Brad (he is a long time friend of mine and on the board of StillSecure), but it may be one of the single biggest things that has given me an advantage in business. It is also one of the biggest things I try to tell younger folks who work with me.  You have to know your own product inside out, but you should know your competition even better!

It is only through using your own product as a customer or typical user and then seeing how your competition works and what their appeal is, can you really get insight into what you need to succeed.  I think you have to be open and honest when doing this.  Going in with a superior then they are attitude or breathing your own exhaust as we say around StillSecure, will cause you to underestimate the strengths of the competition and overestimate the appeal of your own product. I can't emphasize enough how important this is. I think it is also an example of why Brad is so successful with many of his investments.  Real world advice that helps, not just money from the VC.

Wannado City, where kids do what they Wannado

This weekend we had some friends down from Long Island.  They have two boys the same age as our sons and Sunday we took them to Wannado City.  If you have never heard of Wannado City, it is pretty cool.  It is an indoor role playing theme park for kids.  It is set up as a city and the kids do run the place.  They can be fireman, policemen, doctors, dentists, fashion models, etc.  Many of the occupations and the work areas are sponsored by companies.  For instance Spirit airlines sponsors the flight  simulator, Coca Cola the soda factory, the Miami Herald the newspaper shop.  Best of all, Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey sponsors the circus.  Kids earn money doing jobs and can spend it in the stores and at the rides.  If you have small children and are ever down in the Ft. Lauderdale area, it is a great way to spend a day.  Educational and fun, not crazy expensive (only about 20.00 dollars a child, adults free).

The highlight of the day was my 5 year old son Bradley being the star in the circus show at the end of the day.  We had to drop the kids off and for a half hour they rehearsed the acts, then the parents came in for the show.  Bradley has inherited a lot of the performing genes from Bonnie's family and loves getting up in front of people.  He had everyone laughing!

A good digital security magazine

Forgive me if this is old news to you, but I wanted to make everyone aware of a digital magazine that I have been reading lately.  It is called [IN]SECURE and is downloaded via pdf for free. If you are like me (pray you are not), you are always on the look out for new sources of news and education on security. Though Network World, Computer World, E-Week and the rest have security sections, there are really only two dedicated security magazines that I know of.  One is SC Magazine and the other is Info Sec Mag.  Now I have a 3rd and I can read it on my computer.  This issue of [In]Secure has a good article on PCI that you may be interested in.  You can subscribe to be notified of new issues here.

A world free of prejudice

My wife Bonnie and I have tried very hard to raise both of our boys free of the racial prejudice that plagued our generation and generations before us.  Though my sons are only 6 and 4 respectfully, they make no distinction of race or color in how they act towards or play with other children.  I often think, what a wonderfully different world it will be when they grow up and people are not judged by race, color or religion.  OK maybe I am being a little naive, but we are doing our part to try and make that vision a reality.  Today however, history has thrown a bump in the road.  I think we can turn it into a positive, but I am really thinking through how to handle this.  Landon, my oldest son who is 6 years old, is learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. in school.  Of course it is hard to learn about King without learning that he fought for equal rights for African-Americans.  Landon came home today and told us, MLK, Jr. spoke out for brown people.  When I asked him why brown people, he said that King was brown and he spoke for his people.  This began a conversation that though some people may look brown to Landon, the proper term is black.  I then went into African-Americans, slavery (like the Jews in Egypt, now there was something he understood), discrimination, civil rights, etc.  Of course he still thinks MLK, was not the real hero because he was just a junior, therefore it must have been Martin Luther King, Sr., who was the hero.  All in all, some difficult concepts for a 6 year old.  On reflection, I was at first somewhat annoyed that the education system had brought the ugly specter of racism and prejudice to my little boy.  On further reflection, I realized that my son has to learn the truth of history, or he and his generation will be doomed to repeat those mistakes.  Though I don't want my son to have to contemplate these issues, his heritage and the kind of person his mother and I hope he will grow into, demand he is aware that some people judge others by something as silly as the color of their skin or the god they pray too.  I still think though, does it have to happen so soon? Could he not stay in ignorant bliss a while longer?  As they say, you can't keep them on the farm forever. 

One good thing was, with the Internet, I was able to take him to first wikipedia.com for the article on MLK and then to American Rhetoric to actually listen to a few of his speeches.  What a great way to learn! I am going to be watching closely now, to see if Landon starts noticing that people are different shapes and colors and making sure he does not treat them any differently.

Florida State Government at work

I attended my first PTA meeting tonight.  I volunteered this year to be the business coordinator for Landon's elementary school, Waters Edge Elementary here in Boca Raton.  As such I thought it would be a good idea to attend a PTA meeting.  Tonight's featured guest was the lobbyist from the Palm Beach County School district.  He works up in Tallahassee, the state capital on behalf of the school district.  What I heard from him frankly scared me.  Florida is not known for having the best schools in the nation to begin with.  Plus you have to remember that once you travel out of the three county area of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, the rest of Florida is a very different demographic.  So it seems that these three counties account for over 50% of all the tax revenue collected for education in the state.  However, they receive just about 33% of it back.  The rest supports all of those schools up near Georgia and Alabama in the northern part of the state.  On top of this, a few years back a constitutional amendment was passed that mandates that class sizes have to be limited to 18 in the k-5 grades, 22 in middle school and 25 in high school.  Sounds great right?  Wrong!  This mandate is great, but we don't have the classrooms or the teachers to accommodate this.  On top of this our Governor (our presidents brother if you did not know) is not a big fan of this law and has not loosened the purse strings to make this happen.  Because the cost of living is much more expensive here than in other parts of the state, the prospect of more teachers coming here is bleak and school construction with all of the hurricane codes and stuff is more expensive than ever.

So this is where the story gets even more interesting. The legislature in their infinite wisdom has made some recommendations to the local school boards to help comply with the law.  Among them are:

1. Adopt policies to encourage students to take courses from the Florida Virtual School
2. Repeal district school board policies that require students to have more than 24 credits to graduate from high school. (how scary is this!)
3. Adopt policies to allow students to graduate from high school as soon as they pass the grade 10 FCAT and complete the courses required for high school graduation.
4. Use methods to maximize use of instructional staff, such as changing required teaching loads and scheduling of planning periods, deploying district employees that have professional certification to the classroom, using adjunct educators, or any other method not prohibited by law.

I don't know about you but these don't sound like the best solutions to me.  Our school is one of the top ranked schools in the county and because of parent involvement has more resources available than most.  What are schools in less affluent areas doing?  Is it any wonder that our kids are not getting the educations they need for the US to compete in the world market? Is this no child gets left behind in action?  They may not get left behind, but I am not sure they move forward either.  This has opened my eyes and I have to watch the situation closely.