Friday Link Day - 2007-04-20

Does Apple + Google = Love? It is a high interest geek story and makes for attractive rumors. The enemies err... competitors for both are often the same. My personal thoughts are that there will be much collaboration but no marriage. The Forbes article brought to you in pictures certainly is a fun read no matter what the eventual outcome.

Speaking of a marriage... Like the MAC? Or at least the UI? Check out this Blog post with a style sheet that allows you to put a MAC interface on Google Reader. (If you are looking for an RSS Reader I recommend the Google Reader BTW.)

Then to keep the Google theme for the day Google shows us the first tenet of innovation in action. The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas. Apparently Froogle didn't fall in the good category so Froogle is dead... long live Google Product Search.

Go get an MBA?

I recently read a fabulous post by Seth Godin on NOBS, the end of the MBA. In between bouts of laughter I thought immediately of post material and here we find ourselves.

Not that there is no value in an MBA. Certainly there is and depending upon the program, classes and approach to teaching lots of value can be garnered. But it is not the be all and end all that it is often made out to be. For many people a real world education and a desire to learn are what is needed to be successful. Through books, such as those written by Seth Godin are great sources of knowledge, the catch is that you need to make the time and spend the effort to learn from them.

Another important point is to consider what your focus is. MBAs focus on business administration and financials in most cases. If your passion and skills are around technology and development then it may not be the best suited thing for you to change that focus. Focus on what you do well, not what you think others want and you will go further and faster.

Stephen Covey often uses the term circle of influence to describe what you control and what you do not. If you focus on what you influencce you can expand that influence, knowledge and experience. When you focus on things outside of your circle of influence or beyond your control you only end up getting frustrated and end up with less time and less energy to focus on the things that can help you and expand your circle of influence.

You have a limited amount of time and a limited amount of energy and spirit... use them for something that gives you more, not less.