Last week I was very excited to have found DocSyncer… providing me the ability to synchronize my local MS Office Documents with Google Docs.

I was pretty pleased with the ability to upload my files from my desktop in one fell swoop and then manage the files either on my computer on on Google Docs.

The problem was, it didn’t really work. All my files got loaded up, but I learned that they didn’t synchronize at all… once they were loaded, the versions no longer matched up.

I thought that I would take a few minutes today to see if I could figure it out and get it to work… because it is really cool.

When I went to the DocSyncer website, I found this note.

Thank you for your interest in DocSyncer. Our service will be shutting down on June 20th, 2008. All current users can continue to access and use the service until that time.

DocSyncer began largely as an experiment. When our primary startup (ProtectMyPhotos) began to appear that it wasn’t going to work out, we wanted to try something radically different with our technology. In a very short amount of time, we were able to build DocSyncer for the world to enjoy. However, it was always an experiment and we weren’t sure it could be a business. We’ve figured out in a very short amount of time that DocSyncer is a cool tool - but not a business. With no way to pay for itself, we’d rather shut the service down than let it fall into decay as our team begins to work on a new project. We regret that anyone who’s enjoyed DocSyncer will be disappointed to see it go - we’re certainly disappointed as well. Nonetheless, we made some great progress with DocSyncer that we’re proud of. We synced more than 5 million documents to Google Docs - making us the largest user in the history of the Google Docs API.

Until we meet again, good luck and thank you for the support!

Couple of thoughts I have.

1. Shouldn’t you figure out if you have a business model before you work on building something this cool?
2. If Google can do it for free, why can’t they?
3. It really is a cool idea. If they could just get it to work right, I bet Google would buy it.

Oh well… I’ll have to be careful to do a little more research before I think something is cool.

We’ll, maybe not all the time.

There is a good way and a wrong way to fail. Above is an obvious example of a failure that never should have happened. Thanks to Luke Houghton for the pic.

Last year, I posted that there two main reasons why people fail. Take a look at my post titled The right and wrong ways to fail.

Corey Smith
Co-founder of Resumango where you can build a better resume for free

Be the best.

Be the top.

Leave your competition in the dust.

And they’ll come for you.

Microsoft and Yahoo are teaming up (or rather Microsoft is buying Yahoo for $44.6 billion). From the press release, Microsoft said:

Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo! can offer a credible alternative for consumers, advertisers, and publishers.

Who do you think they are talking about? Of course, they are talking about Google.

If you are number one, people will look to you as the person to beat. That is not necessarily bad, but once you get to number one, you have to do more things, new things, innovative things to stay on top.

Although, Microsoft does have a long way to go since Microsoft and Yahoo combined market share was half of Google’s. Microsoft hasn’t historically been a very innovative company, just a company who copies then either sues or buys to increase market-share. So, we’ll see what happens.

Corey Smith
Co-founder of Resumango where you can build a better resume for free. 

Take a look at this dancer… Is she rotating clockwise or counter-clockwise?

The following is from News.com… thanks Jared for pointing it out to me.

If clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa.

Most of us would see the dancer turning counter-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it.

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
“big picture” oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can “get it” (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

When Senator Clinton Anderson asked Colonel Frank Borman why the fire on Apollo 1 took place… who was at fault, he responded that it was everyone’s fault. He said, “Failure of imagination” caused the fire. “We knew there was a possibilty of fire but we assumed it would take place 100,000 miles away from the nearest firestation. We just didn’t think of it.”

When you are looking at what could go wrong or what could go right, think of the impossible. Think of what might be. Think of what you think might not happen and then consider that the possibility.

You might be interested in a new project that we are doing. Take a look at Resumango.

We are building a revolutionary approach to building resumes and helping people find work.

I invite you to take a look at the site.

You might be interested in my post there titled How We Started.

You’ll see that site change over the next few months as we develop our skin completely as well as the innovative tools to help people manage their documents.

We plan on taking the recruiting world by storm. If you would like to be a part of the beta program, make sure you input your email address on the home page and we’ll send you an invite when we are ready.

It still needs a lot of work, but I would love some feedback on how we are doing.

I was watching a little TV this weekend and before I could hit fast forward on my DVR, I saw an ad for a “once in a lifetime” opportunity. ”Make up to $10,000 per week part time” and “Get a job that can give you more free time” were some of the claims.

I wondered… if these opportunities are so great, why do they have to advertise to find people? Word of mouth marketing should make the opportunity spread like a wildfire in Southern California.

When you watch advertisment like that, take a look at the fine print on the TV screen. “Results not typical.”

Okay, so there’s the catch. These people are the outliers. They are the exceptions.

So, why are they not the rule. Why do these “business opportunities” not find success among the normal, everyday people that attempt them?

I believe it has to do with passion. If you do something simply because it will make you money, eventually you will get bored. Eventually, you will not want to do it anymore. Most often, that point of boredom occurs prior to any level of success being achieved. Money is not the only form of compensation that makes a difference.

You need fulfillment to stick with anything long term.

You need to find your passion. When you find your passion, it won’t matter how much money you make because people will come to you to see what you are made of. They will want to be a part of your “community.” Word of mouth marketing will kick in and people will sell you for your passion.

The next step would be to figure out how to monetize that passion…. that is a much bigger discussion…

Find your passion and the rest will come by focusing that passion.

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original.”

- Sir Ken Robinson

Thanks to Olivier for the pic and quote.

Corey Smith
Vice President of Innovation at Fisher’s Document Systems.

Strengths development + engagement = an innovative corporate culture, recent study finds.

What does it matter? Well, innovation is the way by which we improve, grow and change. Contrary to popular opinion, change is good… not because of the fact that it is change, but because in order to grow, we must change and evolve.

The Gallup Management Journal points out that an innovative corporate culture is required to develop our strengths and evolve to the level of greatness.

George Bernard Shaw wrote: “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.”

Why type of culture are you fostering in your business?

Business Intelligence and Innovation go together.

Business intelligence (BI) is a business management term which refers to applications and technologies which are used to gather, provide access to, and analyze data and information about their company operations. (lifted from Business Intelligence at Wikipedia).

The authors at training magazine wrote a great little article about the business of innovation. They said, Companies that consistently emphasize delivering value over creativity are significantly more effective at innovating, according to the 2007 futurethink Innovation Tracker, a survey conducted by innovation research, tools, and service firm futurethink.

In my opinion, it is the act of innovation that allows for business intelligence to be a reality.

Read the rest of the article at The Business of Innovation.