Paul Jacobson Life, law and other stuff

Former Werksmans Chairman heads to Bowman GilfillanPosted by Paul on May 18th, 2006

I heard a rumour about this a week or two ago and see that Bowman Gilfillan, one of the large law firms in Sandton, Johannesburg, has confirmed that it has hired former chairman of Werksmans (another major law firm in spitting distance from Bowman Gilfillan).  This move is particularly interesting considering that Stein’s father was a previous senior partner of Werksmans and the Steins have been part of the Werksmans culture for decades.  Here is the release on Bowman Gilfillan’s website:

Bowman Gilfillan has appointed one of South Africa’s leading corporate lawyers, Carl Stein, as a Director. Stein’s specialties include Mergers & Acquisitions, compliance, cross-border transactions and advising on and structuring complex corporate/commercial transactions. Stein acted as the lead corporate counsel for Telkom SA Ltd when it listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) - the largest IPO by a South African Company on a foreign bourse to date.

I don’t see a profile on the Bowman Gilfillan site for Carl Stein just yet.  I am curious what his position is at his new firm.

Update:

I read a particularly damning article in Noseweek today about what it calls a “palace coup at Werksmans”.  The article makes for interesting reading to say the least.  Ultimately readers must make up their own minds whether talk about powerful cliques and the significant changes are nefarious or simply a “restructuring” effort underway at the 89 year old firm.

Disclosure: I was previously employed by Werksmans before starting Jacobson Attorneys so I won’t comment on the accuracy (or not) of the article.

Technorati Tags: bowman gilfillan, carl stein, noseweek, gang of five, werksmans

True broadband from your local council?Posted by Paul on May 18th, 2006

I have thinking, for a little while now, that broadband, certainly a basic telecommunications service, ought to be regarded as a basic right enjoyed by all citizens, particularly in light of the government’s insistence that information technology is vital for South Africa’s continued economic development.  One reason why this probably wouldn’t happen anytime soon is that if access to a telecommunications service like broadband comes to be recognised as a right on a par with, dare I say it, the rights enshrined in our Bill of Rights (particularly the so-called socio-economic rights like the right to housing).

Short of recognition as a right all citizens ought to enjoy, the next step seems to be to regard broadband as a utility like electricity and water.  It seems that certain local governments are starting to think along these lines.  Moneyweb has reported that some of the local councils have grown weary with Telkom’s exhorbitant prices and may start offering broadband to their citizens on the back of the success of their own internal networks:

The high cost of telecommunications in South Africa is hurting consumers and businesses alike. Most companies and individuals are at the mercy of Telkom, our only fixed line provider, but many municipalities have had enough and are taking matters into their own hands.

Municipalities such as Tshwane, Johannesburg and Knysna are already using their own telecoms infrastructure to meet their internal telecommunications needs. This has proved successful to innovative councils and they are now branching out to try to provide affordable services to their residents. Cities are realising that the high cost of telephony and internet access slow economic growth. They are therefore providing these services themselves.The involvement of local governments and cities in the deployment of telecoms networks is not a new phenomenon. The investment in these Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) is driven by the failure of incumbent operators to effectively respond to the needs of local communities. Telkom’s high prices and lack of service in many of the less populated, or less affluent regions of the country have provided the perfect conditions for MANs.Telkom’s inability to deliver services to certain sectors of the population has created a gap for MANs to fill.Telephony and internet access are essential services to effectively function in society and to compete on the global front. Government and Telkom’s lack of commitment and their slowness to act on past promises have forced other parties to roll up their sleeves and get stuck into the business of providing telecoms services to their citizens. Municipalities are now partnering with various smaller telecoms providers to ensure that their local populace does not fall behind.

While there has been much talk about changing the local telecommunications landscape through measures such as the recently passed Electronic Communications Act which enables greater competition, I don’t believe that there is sufficient political will or clout to force the drastic change customers have been calling for anytime soon.  Instead we will probably see measures like this being adopted to force change and meet the huge demand for affordable broadband services.

Tags: broadband, telkom, municipalities, local government, utility, man, electronic communications act

What do you believe?Posted by Paul on May 18th, 2006

Just read a post by Seth Godin which touches on something that I have been experiencing the last few weeks.  He opens his post with the comment:

It’s not always the stories that we tell to prospects and consumers that matter. It’s often the stories we tell ourselves.

I have long believed that what we believe and what we think will have an impact on our experiences in a very real and tangible way.  However you see it, the way we think about something affects our experience of it.  There are different takes on that ranging from us having a different experience of something mainly because our mood or frame of mind is not conducive to any other experience to our ability to literally summon a particular result as a result of a creative ability we all possess.

Godin reckons there are three types of people who don’t have the right mindset when it comes to self-perception and perception of the market and your business:

1. A belief that they deserve more attention. That their product or their service is so good and so beneficial and so fairly priced that the story they tell and the way they tell it shouldn’t matter. I don’t think this is arrogance… I think it is a natural byproduct of hard work and high pressure.

2. A lack of authenticity. This is almost the flip side of the first, but, surprisingly, it often shows up at the same time. This is the feeling that you don’t have to tell the truth, that it’s "just marketing." Talk to someone at a company on a mission–Southwest or JetBlue or Acumen Fund and you’ll hear the same story, told with desire and belief and honesty. These are people on a mission to really do something. Contrast that with someone who wants to know the ROI on a monthly basis from a blog–they’re busy doing the math, not living the story.

3. The third trait, which shows up a bit less often, is the marketer who doesn’t believe that she deserves success. This is the self-critical marketer who is being brutally honest–and is frustrated at the state of her market and of her product. The obvious but often difficult solution is to either change the product, change the story or get a new gig. The wrong but most common response is to just be frustrated.

What I am wondering is how to achieve that right mix of humility, confidence and optimism to begin to manifest the kinds of returns you would like to see manifest in your experience of the market or your business or your everyday life?  Could the solution be to "fake it till you make it"?  The key ingredients seem to be confidence in your approach or message and the humility to accept that it is what you have to offer others that will carry you to that tipping point Malcolm Gladwell talks about.

Futurex 2006Posted by Paul on May 18th, 2006

I took myself off to the Futurex (and other) expo at the Sandton Convention centre yesterday for a look-see.  I have been going to this expo since it was the Computer Faire and had way more cool stuff.  I took my PowerBook with me in case there was an open wifi hotspot (not that I found) and took a walk, armed with my enormous bag they give you at the entrance.  It wasn’t that exciting for me.  There was quite a bit of cool stuff there, particularly at the Samsung stall, but nothing I’d really rave about.

I see that Mark Forrester was there the other day and had the guts to take a photo of the pretty lasses at the Flybook stall (I chickened out).  That part was quite exciting although I suspect the fact that I circled the stall half a dozen times gave me away.

Tags: futurex, booth girls, flybook, sandton convention centre

BEE blogPosted by Paul on May 17th, 2006

I received a message from Zainab, a bright young person, who is blogging about BEE.  I just took a quick look at this very clean looking blog with some useful information to guide you through the BEE maze.

Zainab’s latest post deals with BEE Codes:

The Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53 of 2003, made the concept of BEE an official policy. However, it is the BEE Codes of Good Practice that will breathe life into BEE. The Codes deal with the actual implementation of BEE - the how to.

The Codes of Good Practice have been divided into two Phases. Each phase deals with different elements of BEE. The First Phase of the Codes have been finalised, we now await the Second Phase to be finalised. While the Codes of Good Practice are easy to understand and will not pose much of a problem when practically applying them, there still remain some nebulous areas. The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) issued the Second Phase of the Codes and invited public comment so that those unclear or ambiguous areas may be cleared up. The public comment phase closed on the 31st of March 2006. The dti are now engaged in consultation with all those entities or individuals who made submissions to the dti regarding the Codes. Once this has been completed it is expected that the dti may make some changes and thereafter the Codes will finally be gazetted.

I am definitely bookmarking this blog.

Tags: bee, bee codes, black economic empowerment, zainab

Another tip from a new home owner: voetstoots clausesPosted by Paul on May 17th, 2006

My wife and I learned another important lesson yesterday.  We are now in our new house which, despite having to put up all these curtains and things, is fantastic.  Last night we were going to heat up a chicken pie for supper and we discovered, much to our dismay, that our oven isn’t working.  While our first response is to cry foul and demand some sort of compensation, our sale agreement, like almost any offer to purchase, contains a voetstoots clause which basically means that you take the house as you find it. 

Short of fraud on the part of the seller (the seller knew about a significant defect and intentionally misled you about it, to your detriment) you have no cause for complaint if something turns out to be defective.  It is your responsibility to conduct a proper inspection and ask the right questions when you inspect a possible new home.

A corollary to this issue is that you are well-served making a note of items such as water features, alarm systems, light fittings, intercom systems or any other item which the seller could conceivably remove from the property when the seller moves out and clarifying whether those items are going to be there when you move in.  If they are, make sure your agreement specifically lists those items as items that are part and parcel of the purchase, even if these items are pretty obvious.  A friend of mine purchased a property on the coast and when he took possession he noticed that the toilet seat, security gate and light fittings had been removed.  Of course these types of items can not legitimately be removed from the premises but you will save yourself a lot of aggravation and possibly legal fees if you deal with these items upfront, in your offer to purchase.

Don’t be afraid to be a little pedantic when it comes to your agreements and ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

Tags: property purchase, fixtures, voetstoots, offer to purchase

MacBook is cool!Posted by Paul on May 17th, 2006

I was quite excited to see the MacBook was announced yesterday.  This nifty replacement for the PowerPC based iBook features an awesome range of, well, features.  According to Macsimum News:

It’s here at last: the iBook replacement, that is. And just as the PowerBook gave way to the MacBook Pro title, the iBook line has evolved into, simply, the MacBook. The new consumer portable sports the Intel Core Duo processor and a 13-inch glossy widescreen display. They also come in white and black versions.

Apple says the MacBook is up to five times faster than the iBook and up to four times faster than the 12-inch PowerBook—but, based on the figures touted for the other Intel-based Macs, those specs are for ideal conditions running Universal Binary software.

Together with the 15-and 17-inch MacBook Pros, the new MacBook completes Apple’s Intel-based portables lineup and replaces both the iBook and the 12-inch PowerBook. Apple’s entire portables lineup now offers Intel Core Duo processors, a built-in iSight video camera, the Front Row multimedia software with an Apple Remote, and advanced features such as DVI with dual display support, optical digital audio input and output, Gigabit Ethernet, Sudden Motion Sensor, Scrolling TrackPad and MagSafe Power Adapter.

With prices starting at US$1,099, the MacBook lineup includes three models: a 1.83GHz and 2.0GHz MacBook in a white enclosure and a 2.0GHz MacBook in a black enclosure. The portables tout a new system architecture including a 667MHz front-side bus and 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory expandable to 2GB. At about one-inch thin, the new MacBook is 20 percent thinner than the iBook and has a display that Apple says is 79 percent brighter than the iBook and the 12-inch PowerBook. The display, with a resolution of 1280×800, provides 30 percent more viewing area than the iBook and the 12-inch PowerBook.

I am not too worried about the compromise in video card that TUAW commented on.  The MacBook has that all important ‘wow’ factor for little ‘ol me.  I am not going to rush out and buy one, I’d rather wait for the replacement for my baby in due course which now seems like it will have the much anticipated and talked about 13-inch screen (which is probably the only thing I’d really like to add to the small form factor of my PowerBook).

I love that the MacBook comes in white and black.  This makes it the perfect accessory to the new iPod Video and nanos and whatever new iPods Apple will release in the near future.

Tags: MacBook, iBook, Apple, TUAW, Macsimum News, PowerBook, iPod, iPod nano