Category: Management

Coupling & Crosstalk: Knowledge worker or knowledge serf?

Coupling & Crosstalk is my column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the 
Winter 2018 edition on pages 8-9.

Electronic coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit or medium to another. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes not (crosstalk). I hope that this column, by mixing technology and general observations, is thought provoking and “couples” with your thinking. Most of the time I will stick to technology but occasional crosstalk diversions may deliver a message closer to home.

Knowledge worker or knowledge serf?

“I want to chat with you but first I need a few moments to finish a computer task I’m working on. Rats! Why doesn’t it work? Hmm, the last time I did this was a year ago. Nothing seems the same, I first must untangle my brain from what appears to be non-standard logic and useless updates.”

Have you tried to figure out how you did something last time by Continue reading “Coupling & Crosstalk: Knowledge worker or knowledge serf?”

Coupling & Crosstalk: Project Management – What me worry?

Courtesy of Mr. Murphy!

Coupling & Crosstalk is my column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the Summer 2018 edition on pages 8-9.

Electronic coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit or medium to another. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes not (crosstalk). I hope that this column, by mixing technology and general observations, is thought provoking and “couples” with your thinking. Most of the time I will stick to technology but occasional crosstalk diversions may deliver a message closer to home.

Project Management – What me worry?

Alfred E Neuman’s famous “What me worry?” quote should always be in your thoughts at the optimistic beginning of any project. As reality kicks in and the project grinds on-and-on you will finally start remembering Andy Rooney’s somber, pragmatic quotes.  Project success will depend on your team’s ability to Continue reading “Coupling & Crosstalk: Project Management – What me worry?”

Coupling & Crosstalk: “We are on fire!” – Good News, Bad News, or Both?

on_fire_canstockphoto44691393_300x240Coupling & Crosstalk is my column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the Fall 2017 edition on pages 7-8.

Electronic coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit or medium to another. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes not (crosstalk). I hope that this column, by mixing technology and general observations, is thought provoking and “couples” with your thinking. Most of the time I will stick to technology but occasional crosstalk diversions may deliver a message closer to home.

“We are on fire!” – Good News, Bad News, or Both?

When a business is said to be on fire does strategy go out the window? It is curious that fire or fire-related terms are used to characterize two extreme states of business. A business on fire may think they are like a professional athlete Continue reading “Coupling & Crosstalk: “We are on fire!” – Good News, Bad News, or Both?”

Coupling & Crosstalk: Smoke and Mirrors? A Failure in Three Acts

credit card house of cards canstockphoto22380257_250x250Coupling & Crosstalk is my column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the Summer 2017 edition on pages 10-11.

Electronic coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit or medium to another. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes not (crosstalk). I hope that this column, by mixing technology and general observations, is thought provoking and “couples” with your thinking. Most of the time I will stick to technology but occasional crosstalk diversions may deliver a message closer to home.

Smoke and Mirrors? A Failure in Three Acts

Wow, that’s cool and I really want one! In fact it is a perfect solution to _______. Those are typically my first Continue reading “Coupling & Crosstalk: Smoke and Mirrors? A Failure in Three Acts”

Coupling & Crosstalk: Avoiding Ruts and Nuts!

ruts-canstockphoto9368594_450x300Coupling & Crosstalk is my column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the Fall 2016 edition on page 8.

Electronic coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit or medium to another. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes not (crosstalk). I hope that this column, by mixing technology and general observations, is thought provoking and “couples” with your thinking. Most of the time I will stick to technology but occasional crosstalk diversions may deliver a message closer to home.

Avoiding Ruts and Nuts!

We just completed a fantastic trans-Canadian family road trip! The highlights included Glacier National Park in Montana along with Banff & Jasper National Parks in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The trip provided the right amount of “disconnecting” both physically, (or should I say wirelessly?), and mentally. During this time I observed a number of ruts of the repetitious, not the sexual Continue reading “Coupling & Crosstalk: Avoiding Ruts and Nuts!”

Coupling & Crosstalk: Priorities First! Or Last? Or Not At All?

pina colada - canstockphoto1826026
 Coupling & Crosstalk is my column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the Fall 2013 edition on page 12.

Electronic coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit or medium to another. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes not (crosstalk). I hope that this column by mixing technology and general observations is thought provoking and “couples” with your thinking. Most of the time I will stick to technology but occasional crosstalk diversions may deliver a message closer to home.

 

Priorities First! Or Last? Or Not At All?

Do I confuse being busy with being productive?

Does being efficient help me reach my goals?

What should my goals be?

Maybe I’m too much of a management geek since I spend my “lazy” summer days thinking about these topics instead of working on my tan.  Okay, truth be told Continue reading “Coupling & Crosstalk: Priorities First! Or Last? Or Not At All?”

SEMI ISS: Sense of Scale

Intel shows first fully patterned 450 mm semiconductor wafer at SEMI ISS 2013
Intel shows first fully patterned 450 mm semiconductor wafer at SEMI ISS 2013

Attending the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) is like drinking from a fire hose with the additional risk of whiplash. Don’t get me wrong, it is an exquisite fire hose but sometimes the data presented can be overwhelming at this conference of semiconductor supply chain executives. The majority of the attendees and presenters are executives from the SEMI member companies that develop the equipment, materials, processes, and technology used to build, test, and package semiconductors. And the executives present from the semiconductor manufacturers are typically the “end customers”.

The greatest value of SEMI ISS, beyond the networking, is the strategic overview of the entire semiconductor ecosystem. What are the market drivers, the technology needed, and the roadmap status of this industry? It is true that we all know where we need to head courtesy of Moore’s Law and the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors which attempts to keep us on that trajectory. The pressure of consumers needing wanting greater functionality at lower costs is relentless. Much of the technological detail of this ecosystem is addressed in a myriad of other forums throughout the year. ISS ties these technical requirements, development needs, and business needs back to the strategic direction and desires of the global marketplace.

The whiplash comes from  Continue reading “SEMI ISS: Sense of Scale”

Coupling & Crosstalk: Painting Lessons

Joseph and Della Ready to Paint

Coupling & Crosstalk is my new column in the MEPTEC Report. This column appears in the Fall 2012 edition on page 10.

Electronic coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit or medium to another. Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes not (crosstalk). I hope that this column by mixing technology and general observations is thought provoking and “couples” with your thinking. Most of the time I will stick to technology but occasional crosstalk diversions like this one may deliver a message closer to home!

Painting Lessons

It is time for our nine-year old twins to have their own bedrooms. The first step was to paint the rooms since the last time they were painted was well over ten years ago. Throughout the process I was reminded of many management and life lessons. Is this a worthwhile do-it-yourself (DIY) project? Does this first question set off the alarm bells? Can you Continue reading “Coupling & Crosstalk: Painting Lessons”

Change the Rules to Win!

Some consider the many of billions of dollars invested in the semiconductor supply chain to be huge bets on yet to be proven technology and future business. Even if you take a strict view of this as simply business it is possible to learn something from gambling.

The Atlantic tells the fascinating story of how Don Johnson took Atlantic City casinos for $15 M playing blackjack. Last year he won $5 M from Borgata in February, $4 M from Caesars in March, and $6 M from Tropicana in April. This wasn’t luck and he wasn’t card counting. How did he do this and how does this connect to semiconductors and Apple?

Continue reading “Change the Rules to Win!”

Customer Service – the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

“Le client n’a jamais tort“ – César Ritz (1850-1918)

Fastest Way to Lose Customers - click for full infographic

Regardless of language or adage used, customers are the lifeblood of any business. Without customers, there is no business. How is it that businesses lose sight of this? Sometimes customers are taken for granted and are not part of a company’s core values. Other times, as organizations and processes grow in complexity they loose sight of the customer. And quite often teams don’t take sufficient time to look at themselves from the customer’s perspective.

As shown in the infographic above, it is really about the customer experience if 68% of lost customers leave due to poor treatment. It doesn’t matter whether your product or service is consumer focused (groceries, clothing, electronics, medical, legal advice, etc.) or industrial (semiconductor capital equipment, wafer test probe cards, nuclear power plants, etc.). The only difference may be Continue reading “Customer Service – the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”

Think Outside the Box in 2012!

Joseph and Della in a box

At this time of year, when my children see a box arrive they immediately question if it is another present for them. They are very disappointed when the Amazon.com box contains breakfast cereal or dish detergent. They are definitely thinking inside the box. If the box is large enough, they will eventually start playing in it and imagine it is not a box.

Childrens’ imagination has no bounds. Adults need to make conscious efforts to think outside the box as this can Continue reading “Think Outside the Box in 2012!”

IEEE Semiconductor Wafer Test Workshop – Optimization / Process Analysis – Session Two (Monday)

Here are the highlights from Session Two – “Optimization / Process Analysis” of the 21st annual IEEE Semiconductor Wafer Test Workshop (SWTW) from Monday June 13, 2011.

Steven Ortiz, Avago, “Probe to Pad Placement Error Correction for Wafer Level S-Parameter Measurements”:

Avago’s film bulk acoustic resonators (FBAR) technology usage is being expanded from filters to include oscillators. The example oscillator discussed operates at a 1.5 GHz resonant frequency with a Quality (Q) factor ranging from one thousand to several thousand and a one year aging specification of less than 25 ppm.

These devices are extremely difficult to test due to their precision and small size (not much larger than the two device pads). The drift specification is the hardest to measure. Since it is generally desirable to have at least 10x measurement capability, the drift measurement requires approximately 2.5 ppm of tester performance, i.e. 3.75 KHz accuracy at 1.5 GHz. They use Continue reading “IEEE Semiconductor Wafer Test Workshop – Optimization / Process Analysis – Session Two (Monday)”

Preparing to Succeed

Two fatal management extremes:
“Analysis Paralysis” and “Just Do It”

“Analysis Paralysis” – over-analyzing the situation resulting in no action – prevents progress when overly detailed plans are made. It can be caused by corporate culture (no action = no criticism of possible failure), budget restraints (study costs are minimal; action costs are major), and/or no confidence in the outcome.

“Just Do It“, the other extreme, may be the response to a protracted case of analysis paralysis or “full speed ahead” management style. Regardless of the cause, proper preparation is often neglected especially when budget and/or time are constrained.

What is the proper balance between the two? How does one change default behavior?

Continue reading “Preparing to Succeed”