Corporate Canaries

Interesting new book Corporate Canaries by Gary Sutton, an expert in turning around companies in trouble. The title relates to the fact that in days gone by, coal miners brought canaries into the mines for danger warnings. At the first hint of poisonous methane gas, the little birds stopped chirping . . .

While his experience is more with companies in distress he cites examples of how companies doing well need canaries almost as much. He cites how when Bill Gates decided the Internet was real, he refused to talk to employees for three months unless the conversation was prefaced with something related to the Internet.

In tech with disruptive technologies and competitors where market leadership changes every few years, we could use more canaries. Wait a minute - we call them bloggers - now! Except we chirp more when we sense danger...and the miners often ignore us...