CRANK Blog

I am much interested in how small companies acquire knowledge and technology to improve their operations and performance. A few months ago I published an entry in this blog enlisting some of the reasons why, in my experience, small companies struggle to hire consulting services. That entry, though, expressed the point of view of small entrepreneurs when it comes to NOT hiring consulting services.

Since few days ago, some media were commenting on the story that Apple Inc, manufactures most of their products in China under conditions that are by all means abusive to workers. Although I don’t endorse such a practice, I got surprised all this fuss is made towards Apple, being that technology companies of all sorts, not only American but from other industrialized countries follow the same scheme to cut costs and maximize profit.

I keep thinking that some of the most productive moments happen in coffee shops. A few days ago I had the chance to chat with Luis Rodríguez Salgado, enthusiast professional devoted to a very ambitious project: provide knowledge and inspiration for new and not so new entrepreneurs so they can crystallize their particular dream: launch successful companies to compete in the Market.

1)    Lack of exposure. They don’t know when their situation arrives to the critical point where their knowledge is limited to cope with a specific challenge, and thus, they don’t even see a critical situation arriving.

2)    Lack of exposure. Frequently having a technical profile and expertise in their field, they lack knowledge of common tools used in the corporate world, for example a buy or make analysis.