Monthly Archives: August 2009

I like money back guaranties. As consumers when we read “no risk” or “money back guaranty” an ease comes over us as we contemplate a purchase. It creates a frictionless buying atmosphere.

According to Wikipedia, the money back guarantee was a major tool of early U.S. mail order sales pioneers in the United States such as Richard Sears and Powel Crosley Jr. to win the confidence of consumers. Continue reading →

This week I was having dinner in the Boston area with James Tauber, the founder of Eldarion and the Pinax web development platform. We were talking about the Netflix “Freedom and Responsibility Culture” presentation that was published on the internet and how well these cultural points resonate with a Web 2.0 technology company like Eldarion. However, what can the marine industry learn from the forward thinking culture at Netflix?

For starters, whether you are a leading edge web start-up, a printing company or a boat dealer; the fundamental principles of the Netflix Culture are timeless and extend to all types of companies or organizations. Some of the ways that these cultural points are applied may not be for everyone. For instance, Netflix doesn’t track time on the job or paid time off. Instead they focus on what people get done, not on how many days or hours they’ve worked. In many marine businesses and software consulting companies this won’t work since most of them bill based on time and materials, whether its to repair a boat or install a new server. Continue reading →