Analysts (and authors) research fascinating things and find new truths. A lot of people want to hear what you have to say — I estimate that I gave more than 500 speeches over 20 years. Wherever I went, I seemed to experience the quirky side of things. A few exotic examples. Italian joke. I gave a…
My friend Josh died this weekend. I’d like to tell you a little bit about who he was, which is also a little bit about who I am, since we were friends for nearly 50 years. I met Josh when the teacher introduced him as the new student to our third-grade class. I was fascinated, because…
I make puns. A lot of puns. This post is my justification. My grandfather Saul was a self-educated Russian immigrant who worked as a linotype operator for the now-defunct Philadelphia Bulletin. While that was a blue-collar job, it required an excellent knowledge of English. He was a fun guy to be around. He made a…
I just want to write for the rest of my life. Is that so much to ask? Despite my training as a mathematician, my first job was as a writer. I’ve written everything but fiction: software manuals, online help files, newsletters, press releases, interactive tutorials, books, newsletters, reports, articles, proposals, ads, memos, emails, speeches, blog…
What’s your skill? Good with people, good with words? Good for you. But what could you do with a second skill? Great coders are in demand — but there are a lot of them. Writers graduate from college and swarm like ants across the job market. You need one great skill. But one is no longer enough. First off, demand…
In mid-2000 I get a phone call at my desk at Forrester. “This is Jay Kernis from ’60 Minutes,’” the caller says, and that’s the beginning of an experience that will teach me a lot more about how television actually works. I’m a pretty prominent TV analyst at this point. I’ve predicted the future of WebTV…
Don’t back down from the truth. Even if you disagree with people, your integrity will win them over in the long run. So, it’s 1996 and my bosses at Forrester have insisted that I write a report about non-PC Internet devices. I’m so dubious about the idea that the original title of the report is “The…
A Forrester Forum, like any big event, is quite a production. As part of it, you interact with powerful people in industry, people like Peter Chernin, and that doesn’t always go exactly as planned. I’ll take you behind the scenes at one of these events that included an unexpected moment of terror. It’s September 2004,…
It’s not about what you’re building. It’s about who you’re building it with, and how it feels. It’s the hot summer of 1985 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I’ve left Software Arts, the company that created VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet. After Software Arts lost focus, a new competitor called Lotus 1-2-3 came along and crushed it. I’m still…