Friends: who wants to be a CIO? Ping me. A medical device company reached out to me looking.

My good friend Saul Berman has a great new white paper out on the transition from products to services. http://ping.fm/Rr80Z

Cutting red tape is a fast path to rebuilding Japan. http://ping.fm/bwABX

Important evidence of another wave of industry productivity growth - this time from analytics. http://ping.fm/SiRBO

Despite Amazon cloud issues, there's no going back to a pre-cloud era. http://ping.fm/vzWj2

United 852. Narita to San Francisco.

That's dedication: IBM electronics consultants helping client recovery on site at factories in Fukushima to get Japan exports back on track.

Samsung's split personality - components & branded OEM - faces key challenges. http://ping.fm/dRKhh

IBM gross margins six points over Apple, for those of you keeping score. http://ping.fm/5gU6j

Apple, Samsung Clash Could Force More Innovation At Samsung

Apple and Samsung are now engaged in a high stakes legal battle over Apple's charge that Samsung copied it's design approach in phones and tablets. Imitation, as they say, is the sincerest form of flattery.

But this has to fall into the category of "Be Careful What You Wish For".  Samsung has traditionally been a fast follower in business - moving into spaces with standardized products at lower prices once the market has been proven - push down cost and driving up quality and volume.  This has worked well for the company and, if anything, the success of this strategy has probably slowed down investments in more innovative, original approaches.

That could all change now.  Apple is telling Samsung, in a way, that it must choose between the fast-follower business in consumer devices and the roughly $6 billion in annual component sales to Apple.  If Samsung chooses to back off on the fast follower business model, that might not mean a smaller Samsung.  It might mean a much more innovative one willing to take bigger risks.

Apple might like that Samsung even less.

Samsung at CES.  Photo from Joanna

Wow! Philips ditches the TV business. New CEO wastes no time in kicking off a major transformation. http://ping.fm/T5aGN

Wow! Philips ditches the TV business. New CEO wastes no time in kicking off a major transformation. http://ping.fm/T5aGN

Forget Tepco, Japanese Start-ups Power On

There's a good article over at TechCrunch on their Japan start-up day.  Link.  There's a number of good ideas there.

Japan's start-ups face big challenges in getting going and the number of start-ups featured in the TechCrunch event was tiny compared to the same number that would show up in Silicon Valley.  Too many graduates in Japan still aspire to join the ranks of big companies.

Even more important, few Japanese companies see start-ups as a source of innovation they can acquire.  Today, while IPOs remain an important "exit" point for companies, the most common one is acquisition by a larger technology company.  The buyer gets a proven product and team at the stroke of a pen and the start-up gets a faster exit and great payday.

Tokyo Tower, in brighter days.  Photo from Around The Rings

Small reminders everywhere of the power of the Japan quake. Of course, what else do you expect when you shake 40 story building?

TEPCO killed the Narita Express. :(

Narita. Tired, but one conference call before I can sleep.

Just got good-night kisses from kids via Skype. Uber-cute.

Hey google -really - you can't send international SMS messages from Voice? This is so stupid.

Overnight in Frankfurt. (Unscheduled). I think I need a beer.

Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. And then stuff that I didn't think could go wrong, did.

Morning in Amsterdam, a beautiful day starting.

Nothing Special In The Air: Lufthansa's A380

Airlines have often used big new airplanes as opportunities to roll out updated products.  Despite the hype, however, the A380 looks to be different.  Unveiled in an era when first class is all but extinct, the super jumbo seems to have little to recommend it other than it's new.

Today will be my second flight on the A380 and I can already tell this is the last time I'll bother to remember that.  While some planes seem to be universally wonderful (The 767, 747), the A380 seems to be quite boring. 

Most boring of all?  Lufthansa's implementation of the A380.  The airline has done really nothing new in coach or business class to make the plane differentiated or special.  In coach, the squeeze remains as tight as ever.  And in Business Class, Lufthansa is determined not to break down and give people an actual flat bed.

The result: its just a big plane.  One that will bring a big line at the beginning and the end of the flight, but nothing special in the middle.  All things being equal, a flight on a United 767 would probably be much better.

Photo from Globetrotter

The new terminal at SFO puts everyone else to shame. If only other airports were like this. http://ping.fm/9ubzl

Chuckle chuckle. I wonder how many dogs my laptop would weigh? http://ping.fm/OdnIZ

I have re-surfaced. Spent weekend asleep, now back to work.

SK558 from AMS to ARN

Round The World: Death By Conference Call

The hardest thing about doing conference calls on the road is that impact of jet-lag on your ability to stay awake.  Presenting is easy.  Listening, concentrating, is hard.

In fact, right now, I'm supposed to be listening to someone tell me about a new software product.  But my mind is wandering.  It's not that I don't approve on wondering - it's useful and probably healthy from time-to-time, but with jetlag and exhaustion, that wondering starts to extend just a bit too far.

Netflix wins Mad Men exclusive. 2011 really could be the year the old order collapses. http://ping.fm/qf3yH

Yes, I'm tired and sleep deprived and a little bit wound up, but hard to
miss such an uplifting view.

KL 1260 Nice to Amsterdam.

IBM's electronics team taps into the future of connected health. http://ping.fm/2m850

IBM lab in Nice. A mid-century modern classic.

This is a rather unexpected illustration of what we mean when we say "lean innovation" http://ping.fm/nTxAD

MPAA sues Zediva, more coverage. http://ping.fm/OIwvA

The super-premium online window movement gains momentum. http://ping.fm/4JGNA

Finally GPS gets some real competition - but can Russia keep it's network operating reliably? http://ping.fm/J3iPq

You mean there are still people who aren't on Facebook? http://ping.fm/OYvz3

National security trumps convenience it London, it seems. http://ping.fm/Fdxmt

The gloves are off and it's to the courts they go: MPAA sues Zediva. http://ping.fm/vPigF

Around The World in 21 Days. Day 1.

Sunday.  The first day of my round-the-world trip to meet clients and team members.  Day 1: United 930 to London departing at 7pm and then connecting onto Lufthansa for Munich and then, finally, Nice.

At SFO

I've been sitting in the lounge for 3 hours now, having come to the airport early to get work done in a sane, quiet atmosphere.  With two kids at home, yes, really, going to the airport can be peaceful.  After writing a ton of email, I decide I better get up and walk around a bit before sitting on my rear for 10 hours.

Just as I'm leaving, I get a phone call from United.  They say I'm scheduled to fly to Frankfurt tonight, but I have not checked in.  Am I planning on coming?  No, I say.  I'm going to London.  Now I'm worried, is my reservation messed up? Did I forget something really important - like what flight I am on?  No, they say, just some confusion in the record.  They will clean it up.

I put it out of my mind and go for a walk.  My goal, cover the international terminal front to back before getting on the plane. I put on some music and walk out.  40 minutes and three terminals later, I'm back wondering towards my gate.

I go down and inquire about the all-important upgrade - they have just started boarding.  Somehow, I'm auto-pilot because I don't even notice that I'm not at the right gate.  London in 97, but I'm here, inexplicably, at gate 92, which is the flight to Frankfurt.

Fortunately, they've been looking for me.  The flight to London is overbooked and they wanted to offer me an upgrade on the flight to Frankfurt, complete with earlier connection and arrival in Nice 2 hours sooner, so I'm on.  The gate agent prints me new boarding passes and asks me if I'd like a revised copy of my itinerary.  Sure, I say, so she prints it out.  She takes one look at it and hands it to me. "You're insane," she says.

Nice views over the Alps

On the plane: Half a glass of champagne, some warm nuts, and I'm down to sleep for 7 hours.

Awesome views above the alps between FRA and NCE

Being flexible and no checked luggage: switched to UA926 to FRA, arrive in Nice 2 hours faster.

Confused about your brand identity?

Out for dinner on a beautiful evening in San Francisco.

Airline Alliances, Mergers Generate Bizarre Results

Check this out.  I buy a plane ticket on United Airlines.  One segment is operated by United.  The next segment is operated by Continental, but sold as a United Airlines code-share with a United flight number.  And the third segment is operated by Lufthansa, but again, sold as a United segment with a United flight number.

• My first flight is upgradeable.

Upgradeable.

• My second flight is not.  Say what?  Doesn't United own Continental?  They do indeed.  Doesn't matter.  I cannot upgrade my ticket to business class with any number of miles, points, or VIP certificates.

Not upgradeable.

• The third flight is operated by Lufthansa.

Not upgradable.

But aren't both Lufthansa and Continental also members of the Star Alliance? Yes they are.  Can't you book upgrade awards through the Star Alliance?  Yes you can.  So why can't I upgrade? Because I bought the United ticket.

Had I purchased a ticket from Continental, I could have used United miles to upgrade on the exact same flight.  But, having purchased it with a United code share flight number, I cannot upgrade.

Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up.

Hmmm. I think the on-time notice is not very credible without a plane.

Typical lunch in Munich and back to work!