One Red Question from Red Canary

One Red Question - Is offshoring development a good idea for a startup?

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:48:20 GMT

This week's question was inspired by a conversation I had with a couple of very smart and very green young entrepreneurs. Armed with a great idea and limited funding, the two business grads decided to have their application developed overseas. Ultimately the founders felt they suffered for this decision and are now re-building parts of the app in-house, and have hired an experienced coder/project manager to transition the rest. I'll put the question to you: Are there situations where a fledgling app can be developed elsewhere? At what point can an application be parceled out? Is there better ROI for certain kinds of development?

One Red Question

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:16:13 GMT

This week's question is inspired by the 'back-to-school' madness that's cramming our mailboxes (physical and virtual). How old should a child be before they get their first cellphone, laptop or online identity? Further to that line of thinking, do you think that as a tech-savvy professional your kids will be ahead (i.e. younger) of the gadget-getting curve?

One Red Question: Do companies take on the personality of their CEO? (VIDEO)

Mon, 05 May 2008 20:48:43 GMT

Bill Gates. Ted Rogers. Richard Branson. Steve Jobs. Martha Stewart. And lately, Dan Hesse. Iconic personalities leading monolithic companies.

All CEOs are expected to make decisions, it's in the job description, but to what extent does a company's leader influence its brand and management style?

Is that influence a good or bad thing?

One Red Question: What's the most important business lesson you've learned?

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:48:02 GMT

There's no golden rule in business. No quadratic formula for success. But there are principles, yardsticks, and wisdom that can guide you. What recent lesson or age-old wisdom is your Sherpa?

One Red Question: What are your favourite technology-related bookmarks?

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:47:45 GMT

Simple question this week, I know. But a relevant one in a million-channel infoverse. So where do you go for your tech fix?

One Red Question - Is your company lucky to have you or are you lucky to have them?

Trevor Stafford — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:25:00 GMT

Last week I wondered aloud if the reason that job descriptions are so company-centric is that organizations (or perhaps their leaders) develop a kind of hubris in terms of their company being an attractive place to work. So let me put this to you, my fellow workers in software, (to paraphrase Leonard Cohen): Do you feel that you're lucky to have your job...and the company that subsidizes it? Or are they lucky to have your talent or experience? Or is it somewhere in between? What does this mean for how we relate to our jobs and our careers? (remember, you can log in and reply anonymously with the username 'anonymous' and password 'redcanary'

One Red Question - Who's the best tech executive you've worked with?

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:08:17 GMT

We've all worked with someone who just blew us away at every level: driven but not manic, more charismatic than autocratic, talented to the nth degree but humble, and possessed of that subtle wash of vision, focus, organizational sense and level-headedness that inspires people to want to go to war with them. Who gets your vote? They may have retired or left the technology sector a decade ago, it doesn't matter, go ahead and throw a laurel their way. And if you have the time, tell us what made them great to work with.

One Red Question: Should you get an award for ignoring your boss?

Trevor Stafford — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:27:28 GMT

In a podcast for Stanford's Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders series, author Robert Sutton mentions a very curious award handed out by Amazon every month to one of its employees.

When you look at the most creative companies, they tend to openly encourage ignoring and defying managers in a painless, civilized way.

Quite simply, the award goes to the employee who most successfully gets something done -- without asking for their boss' permission first. Do you agree or disagree with this idea? Is it more reasonable for a large company, where corporate rigidity needs to be overcome, and unreasonable for a small company, where resources are scarcer? Do small companies by their very nature give employees more autonomy? Listen to the podcast with Robert Sutton, author of The No Asshole Rule.
Watch a short video clip where Robert talks about abuse in the workplace. (*Note, click the play button)

One Red Question: Which business book influenced you most?

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:23:53 GMT

The smiling faces of CEOs, thought gurus and accidental millionaires gorge the business section of every bookstore. Most of the volumes are self-aggrandizing tripe or neu-think, but some emerge as essential, influential reading. What business book do you most often thumb through? Which magnum opus changed your approach to career or professional conduct?

One Red Question - The Developer Ratio (VIDEO, POLL)

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:02:37 GMT

Just how valuable is a great developer? How many code-monkeys (see video below) does one savant compensate for? Steve Jobs is quoted as suggesting a ratio of 50-to-1. Former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold half-jokingly said the ratio was 10,000-to-1 (taken from Stephen Covey's 8th habit, page 14), and a 1994 study suggests a ratio of 10- to 20-to-1. Conversely, Ashok Kalle, founder of Pathway communications, shared this memorable quote regarding superstar employees in his Red Canary profile. "Imagine a hill with two tigers: extraordinary players come with extraordinary expectations and extraordinary egos.” It's your call. Are great developers that great? Do modern programming methodologies make average coders more efficient? Is it wiser to try to hire and retain someone who is 'good' rather than a 'superstar'? Please comment with your experiences and opinions.

One Red Question - What would it take for you to go green?

Trevor Stafford — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:53:01 GMT

Red Canary’s profile of Bullfrog Power got me thinking: What it would be like to have a job that changed the world? What would you give up? Choose an answer below.

One Red Question - Why won't tech professionals change cities?

Trevor Stafford — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 18:49:39 GMT

This question was sparked by a conversation with an HR professional at a medium-sized software company in Toronto. Her complaint was that she couldn't get Waterloo (or Tech Triangle) professionals to come and work for her in The Big Smoke. I explained to her that the problem was reversed in Waterloo, where even the best and most deep-pocketed companies struggle to lure urban professionals. I have my theories on why this is, but I'd rather hear from you.

One Red Question - greatest tech challenge

Trevor Stafford — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 04:07:20 GMT

The idea behind One Red Question is simple. We ask a question—you answer.

Readers can vote your answers up or down and good rebuttal can get votes as well.

At the end of each month we’ll reward the three highest scorers for each Red Question we post.

This week’s query:

What is the greatest challenge facing new Canadian technology companies?

Is it lack of capital? Lack of seasoned managers? Growing overseas competition?