Re: Change is inevitable, but the timing could be better

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>]

puff -at- guild -dot- net wrote:
> 
> Maggie Secara writes:
> > OK, so , fine, I have learned my lesson.  I left a perfectly ideal set-up
> > (100% telecommuting) for a dot.com, and look what's happened.  They're
> > either going to be sold or liquidated before the end of the year (we'll know
> > on Wednesday).  So long and thanks for all the... well, you know.  Happy
> > Christmas.
> >
> > Now I must say that most of the dire warnings I was given did not apply in
> > this case.  I'm not sure what the issues have been, in fact.  When I hired
> > on in October they seemed to be on the upswing and the staff all were happy
> > to be here.  Oh well.  So I'm lookin' again in L.A.
> 
>      Good luck, though I'm sure you won't need it.  There should be a
> lot of opportunities in LA-la land.

I'd say the same. I've never met Maggie, but, from her posts, she
sounds like an experienced and reliable writer. 

>      As far as what the issues may have been, the most likely thing is
> that the company plans they made were predicated on a sequence of
> funding rounds which were likely (at the time) but which have become a
> lot trickier since the market tanked.  

That's a strong possibility, and your summary of how venture capital
funding and the stock market works is  a very accurate one. But,
another reason may simply be that the dot.com mania saw a lot of
ideas being marketed that ordinarily wouldn't be taken seriously. If
it wasn't a cliche, this would be the point to mention the South Sea
bubble, the tulip bulb craze and "Extraordinary Delusions and the
Madness of Crowds," but all I really need to say is that, in the
last couple of years, everybody got over-excited and careless.
Anything would be funded or bought without any thought about whether
the venture was ultimately profitable. In many cases, investments
were made without any understanding of what was being underwritten;
my personal favorite were the horrified investors who followed the
Linux mania, and then heard what Open Source was about.

Also, in the rush towards IPOs, many companies failed to build the
infrastructure that they would need to carry them past that point.
They fell into the habit of simply reacting, and of not caring too
much how things got done so long, or how well done they were done.
This atmosphere can be very exciting, and a lot of executives have
become addicted to it, or failed to realize that the group dynamics
that work with 20 people don't work with 100. Some companies have
failed to see the need to change, and have blundered into a
tailspin. Others have tried to change, but have found that the
effort is analogous to adding a foundation after the hous e is
built: it's theoretically possible, but difficult and slow.

Whatever the reason, what's happening now is a necessary corrective.
Realistically, very few internet stocks were worth what they were
trading at last spring. Leaving out the technology giants, the
companies that are surviving are those that a little removed from
last year's main: a little less in a hurry, a little slower to toss
money about, and more concerned with building a solid structure over
a couple of years than in striking gold in four months.

None of which is much help to Maggie. It's rough feeling like you
have to watch your money over Christmas, when everything and
everyone is urging you to spend. 

Still, January can be a reasonably good time to find writing work.
Some companies have finished year end, and others are trying to use
up their budget before year end, so the New Year can be a
mini-employment boom. 

And job security is a myth, no matter where you go. When you end in
the wrong place, all you can really do is curse and move on.


-- 
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
Contributing Editor, Maximum Linux
604.421.7189 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

'And do you mean to say that you've built up this important business
and amassed a fortune of thirty thousand pounds without being able
to read or write? Good God, man, what would you be now if you had
been able to?'

"'I can tell you that, sir,' said Mr. Foreman, a little smile on his
still aristocratic features. 'I'd be verger of St. Peter's, Neville
Square.'"

- Somerset Maugham, "The Verger"

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