Between The Lines

Hey folks, if you weren't able to attend the DAC keynote delivered by Cadence's former CEO and EDAC Kaufman award winner Joe Costello, you can actually check it out on DAC's website.

In the course of his seemingly off-the-cuff, hour-plus-long talk, Costello darted around the stage like a rubber super ball in a spinning clothes dryer. Costello was stage left one second, right the next second—left, right, left, right---and at one point he was even flat on his back flopping around like a fish.

During the keynote, I turned around and noticed a big professional looking video camera in the back of the packed auditorium flailing around to keep up with Costello. I think it was when Costello was on his back on stage, that I thought to myself I hope DAC splurged and hired one of those sports cameramen—one of those folks who cover hockey games, tennis or can track a Tiger Woods' golf ball flying from tee to fairway….

Turns out both of them—Costello and the cameraman-- did a pretty good job. Check it out, the cameraman started it a bit shaky but got the hang of it.

Oh, and check out Joe Costello's follow up on the DAC site, too…

Joe had three rules of advice for building a successful product. As he started listing them everyone in the house started writing:

Rule 1 was "Think like a fish" (essentially, know what your customers want). Joe spoke of a fishing trip where this guy figured out what bugs live around the fishing hole and then he catches a bunch of fish because he knows what the fish are accustomed to eating (not sure if the fish like what they are eating, or would like something better, but they are used to it---the analogy works).

Rule 2, which unfortunately I've witnessed all too often, is "write the press release first." Joe said "it never gets better than the press release" so develop your product to the idealistic vision conveyed in a press release.

Joe's keynote was running a bit long, so Joe, to the disappointment of all in attendance, didn't have time to reveal Rule 3. But now on the DAC site, someone evidently tied Joe to a chair from the waist down in some office and stuck him in front of a still camera to deliver Rule 3? (Notice Costello's hands still go crazy.)

What is Joe's Rule 3? I can't say what it is in a nutshell because Joe didn't say what it is in a nutshell but it seems to be "in business there aren't any set rules, so to make a successful product, you need make sure your product sets or at least changes the rules."

"In business, the person, the company, the group that sets the rules, that's the company that wins!," said Costello, paraphrasing the speaker who inspired Costello's Rule 3.

There seems to be a paradox here in Rule 3? If there aren't any rules, how do you change them? Make up your own rules? But there are no rules in business…my head hurts--probably as much as the DAC cameraman's elbows.