"Analogies are very dangerous" Barry Diller

It would seem the avian flu has reached Greece. We have decided to cancel our October EU trip including my speaking engagement. We hope to reschedule soon and look forward to catching up with our friends in the EU. The news from RFE/RL is here

The good people at Attention Trust are looking for an assist. You may find their blog here, and their wiki to discuss/develop/refine their Attention Trust Extension and Attention Toolkit (open source php) here. My thanks to Ed Batista for the heads up.

Vaughn Ververs is putting up some stuff that merits your attention. Kudos to the CBS tribe for joining the fold. Being a former CBS guy it makes me proud. Go for greatness guys! Check out CBS News' Public Eye here

Business Week bows Fine on Media a late addition to their Innovation tab. Congrats and good luck to Jon Fine and BW.

David Beisel has put up an excellent post Seven Questions Employees Should Ask Before Joining a Startup...

Could you meet the CEO, the founder(s), and those on the management team? Start-ups are all about the people involved. And there are a small number of people who are largely going to affect the organization. Even if an entry-level employee is going to work in engineering, I think it makes sense for him/her to meet the VP Sales; likewise, a marketing manager should meet the CTO. Yet it might not happen unless the prospective employee requests it. The handful at the top are going to have a profound affect on the future of the company as a whole and the position (regardless of function), and therefore it is best to meet as many people possible in the company possible before joining. Wise counsel David. Read the entire post here

Which reminds me of hiring and that of two hiring tips provided to me years ago by the late Bruce Johnson, a person of rare personal charm and considerable gifts...

Hire smart or manage tough (i.e., you will never teach someone to be smart)
Never hire anyone with a history of being "unlucky"

Both have served me, my colleagues, my organizations and our clients very well.