Seattle Newspaper for the People by the People

Category archive

People - page 7

Mark Hurd Explains Seattle Business Inefficiencies

Mark Hurd is a seasoned leader who became President of NCR Corporation in 2001, before joining Hewlett-Packard in 2005. Under Mark Hurd’s leadership, both companies began turning profits after he improved efficiency, built stronger business leaders, and eliminated waste. He was named one of Fortune Magazine’s 25 Most Powerful People in Business in 2007.

As an individual, he is well-known for his cost-cutting capabilities and ability to shore up inefficiencies, all while embracing innovation and modernization. Before Mark Hurd designed alternative business methods, he first had to identify what about was inefficient about current processes.

Businesses aim to run flawlessly with no wasted opportunities. The symptoms of an inefficient business include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Complaints from customers about poor service or poor product quality
  • Frustration and negativity within the work environment
  • Work being neglected or duplicated
  • Work bottlenecks
  • Increased business cost and/or wasted resources

Mark Hurd provides these tips for replacing some of Seattle’s biggest business inefficiencies:

  1. Document the current processes and analyze it to understand the purpose it was designed to serve.
  2. Design several new process alternatives, evaluating each one for continued improvements.
  3. Develop the case for how the alternative is better and develop plan for its approval and implementation.
  4. Continue to look at alternative processes and remain receptive to the innovative ideas of others.

As a CEO, Mark Hurd appreciates analytical data. Identifying inefficiencies are difficult when processes are not properly documented. This is a greater problem when work is complex and has remained the same for long periods of time. However, Mark Hurd believes this is one of the largest mistakes companies can make because there is no way to quantify the process’s efficiency. Additionally, if businesses do not follow the documented processes then data is unreliable and possibly outdated. This can be very wasteful explains Mark Hurd, because there may be unseen redundancies in a business.

When redesigning processes to increase efficiency, eliminate waste, and cut costs, it helps to speak to people directly involved in the process. Mark Hurd believes it is important to incorporate their ideas and insights into new process designs. After brainstorming and hearing from personal insight, analysis into risks, costs, and effects can be examined.

In the end, resolving inefficiencies may mean cutting labor, changing the roles of management, incorporating technology, or eliminating entire processes completely. Mark Hurd stresses the importance of continued monitoring. The process may take a while to adapt to and further changes may still be necessary.

Fixing Seattle Businesses With Mark Hurd

You might be interested in

Mark Hurd: The Importance of Growth

Mark Hurd has been the head of several successful technology corporations. Each of these corporations has increased in size and profits during Mark Hurd’s tenure, all while increasing efficiency. In fact, increasing efficiency has become one of Mark Hurd’s trademarks: During his 25 year tenure at NCR, he was noted for increasing operational efficiency in the Teradata Division, of which he was first vice president and then COO. As President, COO, and CEO of the entire corporation for 4 years, Mark Hurd was once again noted for increasing the company’s operational efficiency.

When he was hired as President and CEO of Hewlett-Packard in 2005, he was immediately recognized for his improvement of the company’s operational efficiency. By the time he left HP, they were number one in laptop and desktop computer sales for most of his tenure, and the price of stocks had doubled.

Now, as President of Oracle Corporation, Mark Hurd is standing by his mantra of increasing efficiency and continual growth. In all business, growth is important for a company’s survival. In the field of technology, where rapid industry-wide developments can take place in single 24 hour period, standing still can be fatal. Mark Hurd is well aware that a company must always be moving forward, always innovating, and always striving to produce better products.

For Mark Hurd, one of the best ways to grow is to focus on customers. In his keynote speech at Oracle OpenWorld 2013, Mark Hurd stressed two issues. Firstly the importance of recognizing value in big data, and secondly the importance of customer service. Big data is something that all companies have to deal with as levels of technology users grow exponentially larger. Customer service is an issue that companies have had to deal with since the beginning of business.

Mark Hurd at Oracle's OpenWorld giving a speech
Mark Hurd at Oracle’s OpenWorld giving a speech

For Mark Hurd, customer service is about relationships. He makes it a priority to visit with and answer the questions of his customers. He wants potential clients to understand that he cares about them and their business, and that by working with him and Oracle, a mutually beneficial partnership will emerge.

In every transaction, there must be a level of trust. In technology, that trust is based upon the assumption that the product or service will work as advertised, and that if there are glitches they will be fixed. Mark Hurd goes out of his way to show customers why doing business with the Oracle Corporation is the best choice for them.

For the Oracle Corporation to grow, Mark Hurd needs to find new customers, and to find ways to network with existing customers to generate profit for both parties. That is why Oracles’ goal is to spend 5 weeks of every quarter, 3 days a week, talking with and building relationships with customers. The goal is to talk to 50 customers a day. While this may sound ambitious, Mark Hurd recognizes that it is necessary for a company to grow.

Mr. Hurd understand the importance of a customer relationship and always building upon that. Every customer should be talked to in the loop about new services or even helping them with training.

The Bellevue office just east of Seattle was created just for that. They call it the Oracle Training University and it helps educate and train their employees for current and future Oracle products. Oracle not only builds and invests into their employees, they want to have the sharpest and most educated team in the Seattle area.

If you like to get a feel for Mr. Hurd, his experience, and leadership, be sure to watch his speech below at Oracle’s OpenWorld event.

You might be interested in

Mark Hurd Discusses The Cloud

Oracle, with offices in Seattle (Bellevue Washington area), recently announced with the help of Mark Hurd the potential of the cloud service. Mr Hurd is a passionate President of Oracle and being second in the space just isn’t good enough. During is talks about the service, he laid out a plan to be the number one company and the overall potential for Oracle and the industry in general.

Watching many of the speeches by Mark Hurd, you truly can feel his leadership and potential for the company. His years of experience are really impressive.

As Mr. Hurd, discussed the potential of the cloud service, he stated that he could easily see Oracle doing $10 billion dollars which just their customer base right now. He mentioned as of right now Oracle has only used about 5% of that customer base. He also believes the market for the cloud to be around $74 billon dollars.

There other opportunities coming down the road, he explained, such as marketing and services related to the cloud service as well.

Oracles cloud staff is about 19,000 strong. These individuals are certified for Oracle’s cloud products.

In short, Oracle is working hard in this area and see’s big opportunities in the cloud future. Recently, they increased their language support for the service. 13 new languages were added bringing the total to 33 now. All the language support covers about 98% of Oracles revenue base.

Oracle Seattle office:
Address: 411 108th Avenue NE Suite 900. Bellevue, WA 98004
Phone: (425) 945-8200
Bellevue Washington is located approx. 16 minutes east of Seattle Washington. The office is mostly for training and developer/programmer type work.

Mark Vincent Hurd summary:
Mr. Hurd is the co-president of the Oracle Corporation. He is also a board member and director of the company. His previous experience and leadership was for HP (Hewlett-Packard). He left that position in Aug. 2010. He was born Jan. 1st 1957. He actively supports his graduating college Baylor University. Mr. Hurd currently lives with this wife, Paula Kalupa, in Palo Alto, California.

Mark Hurd Seattle

Michelle Obama’s Trip To Ireland

Michelle Obama Vacations Wasting Tax Money

If you are a regular reader of this Website you read what I wrote about Joe Biden’s expensive hotel stay. I do not want to be accused of picking on MEN so I want to follow up with Michelle Obama’s trip to Ireland. For sure she did not have to check her bank balance or look in her pockets for some change or do any price shopping for a place to stay. Nope since it was on the taxpayers dime she went for the best. According to reports she stayed in the Princess Grace Suite which charges $3,300 a night. Her entourage booked 30 rooms.  The cost of the two day trip has been reported to be around $5 Million dollars. Taxpayers pay for first family’s travel. But shouldn’t there be a limit? The Obama’s have thumbed their noses at us lowly working Americans time after time. Even if it is legal to do it, how can the Obama family blow through millions while at the same time preaching about the cuts the sequester is causing. Obviously it does not affect them.

His trip was a real money waster too. He can,t seem to stay home. It cost Ireland a lot for his security. They take Air Force One and Air Force Two. His speeches were terrible but there was a good reason. It was the SUN. They say the sun was in his eyes and he could not see his teleprompters. Guess he has never given a speech in the sun before. When he spoke in Germany it was before 5,000 invited guests (and it has been said that a lot of those did a no show). When Kennedy spoke there it was to a crowd of 450,000. Even Republican Ronald Regan spoke to 45,000.

If anyone is against anything the Obama’s are for they can be audited by the IRS. Obama will act like he is shocked that the IRS would single out Patriots, or Tea Party groups and he will pretend to do something about it but he needs the IRS. They are the source of the money for the government to waste. Once the IRS starts on you even if you did not do a thing wrong, you’re done. They can trump up something in an audit and you can fight them for years and never win. They can take your home, you can lose your job and never really be sure what the heck happened. All you end up with is a huge attorney bill.

This got a little off track from Michelle’s trip but the Presidents lies are slowly catching up. He says this is a transparent government but it’s anything but. With all the surveillance of private citizens he is trying to say he did not have any warning about Benghazi. Help was an hour away. He hasn’t even said where he was that night, but he has lied about everything else what could he say that anyone would believe. Until the IRS is dismantled not much will change. They are not making up the rules, they are coming from the White House. The only thing positive the IRS workers have done this year is “learn to boogie”. They should boogie right off the stage and lose their jobs. If they do something really bad they get put on paid leave. I read that the IRS got a bonus of $70 million. Not sure for what. Was it for throwing the election? But hey Obama is cutting expenses by closing the White House to the public at a savings of $17,000 a week. Maybe it was that savings that made it possible for Michelle to take a hairdresser to put glitter in her bangs.  Need to go throw up yet?

You might be interested in

Obama

Obama Keeps Blowing Money

As reported previously by Lilly, it is now official President Obama will be making a visit to the devastated OSO

Voice of Hope: Seattle Author, Artist Nadine C. Keels Says, “Keep Going.”

Seattle, WA, April 16, 2013 — “Nadine” is a French name that means “hope.” With the ongoing purpose of spreading hope to her readers and audiences, Seattle author and spoken word artist Nadine C. Keels recently released her ninth book, Love Unfeigned, and her first poetry album, Hope. Lyricized., within five weeks of each other. The album was released on April 1 in celebration of National Poetry Month.

“Bad news is inevitable,” Keels says, “so we must keep good news in demand. People need to be reminded that authentic love yet exists and that life, with all of its triumphs and trials, is still worth living. My novella, Love Unfeigned, is an invitation for imperfect human beings (in a word, everyone) to take their self-imposed bounds off of love and to let it live. After years of my listeners’ requests for an audio recording, Hope. Lyricized. is my response to the demand for hope in uncertain times, to positively impact how we view our circumstances and make decisions.”

Keels has been performing spoken word since 2006. Her latest presentation took place on March 30 at the One Love Urban Poetic Experience at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute in Seattle. The event, which featured nine selected local and national poets, was hosted by the nonprofit organization Of One Body, to support their relief work for underserved communities around the world.

Keels is one in a group of authors, with 20 books published between them, at Kingdom Family Worship Center International in Kent, home to a number of writers, actors, dancers, songwriters, and recording artists. The authors are currently working on their second anthology, set for a mid-May release. Keels says, “Conveying hope through literary and performing arts is a powerful way to tell humanity, ‘We haven’t set our goals for life in vain. We’ll make it if we keep going.’”

Find out about Nadine C. Keels and her books and spoken word at: www.prismaticprospects.wordpress.com

Davy Crockett Ship Owner Going To Prision

Going To Jail Bret Simpson, the owner of The Davy Crockett, will be sent to federal prison for 4 months (plus home detention time).  He was sentenced and charged due to him abandoning an old beat up barge in the Columbia River.  When Mr. Simpson got the 400 ft former Navy ship he figured he would just scrap it and walk off with a tidy sum of money.  It is believed his company, Principle Metals LLC, made $88,000 just for the first haul of metal.  Of course, it’s hard to provide an accurate number of metal as it would be easy to hide in my opinion.  With that being said, it probably was much more.  One thing we know for sure about the Federal Government is that if you’re hiding money, accept cash, or making it in a way that cannot be traced back then they get very angry.  They don’t support issues in which they are not getting their cut such as marijuana or prostitution for example.

This is the first case in Washington State that a boat owner was sent to Keep Reading

Dreams of Success: Mark Hurd

Many teenagers and young adults watch successful businessmen and businesswomen wear fancy clothes, drive in expensive cars, and go to upscale parties. They imagine what the high life would be like as a successful executive. They dream of money and all of that money can buy, and wish for the success that has been bestowed upon others. What many of them never recognize is that those successful people once had the same dreams before turning them into realities.

Mark Hurd was one of those dreamers. So were many of the famous figures of business technology. They worked hard, had an idea, and then discovered how to turn that idea into a profit. They saw needs in society that others missed, and they found themselves able to fill those niches. Mark Hurd and others like him followed the examples and advice of those that came before them, the men and woman whose faces could be found on the covers of Fortune and Forbes Magazines.

For Mark Hurd, the journey to success was not short, and it was not easy. He put in a lot of long hours and had some unsatisfying days before making his dreams come through. But Mark Hurd and others like him have long known that in order to make your dreams come true, you have to work as hard as you can and never give up. That is why Mark did not quit his job as junior salesman at NCR when he likely deserved a much higher position.

Instead, Mark Hurd worked to become the best at the job he was given, and once he had done that he was promoted, and given a new challenge. With every new position and new responsibility, Mark could feel himself getting closer and closer to his dreams. Those dreams were still a long way off, it was true, but Mark Hurd was not going to give up.

In 1994, after 14 years of performing in various sales, marketing, and management positions, Mark Hurd was promoted to Vice President of one of NCR Corp’s larger divisions. He performed well, as he had always done, and was named COO of the division and President of NCR Corp as a whole. His dreams were finally coming to fruition.

Mark Hurd was named the COO of NCR Corp in 2002, and after only a year was named CEO, making him the President and CEO of the company where he had worked for 23 years. In 2005, Mark Hurd had led NCR Corp to incredible success and growth. The company grew nearly $300 million dollars (up 6%). A few years later he was offered a position at Hewlett-Packard as President and CEO. He took the position. Even at HP Mr. Hurd was able to increase their revenue nearly 63%!

When the name Mark Hurd began to show up in the lists of Fortune, Business 2.0, and Forbes, it was evident that his dream had been realized. Mark Hurd at last attained success. He worked hard, he worked long, he devoted his life to the business of technological advances, and he became successful.

Many people would consider this to be the culmination of his dreams. But the thing about dreams is that they must always evolve. Success is a great dream to have, but far better than success and wealth is excellence. Mark Hurd led HP with an attitude of excellence, and continues to do so as the President of Oracle Corporation today. It can only be assumed that Mark Hurd will continue to pursue excellence for a long time to come.

Overall, one the best businessman working today. We are including his revenue performance chart below. As you can see it’s impressive work.

Mark Hurd Revenue Chart
Mark Hurd Revenue Chart

**Inspiration piece submitted to inspire Seattle residents to make big moves in their careers. Dream big and be your best at everything you do.

You might be interested in

Who Is Bill Bryant?

Bill Bryant is seeking to be re-elected to his job as Seattle’s Port Commission President. Forget any good things you might have heard that he has done. (I can’t recall any, but there might be something). It’s time to say NO to Port President Bill Bryant because he pushed for the largest raise possible for Port CEO Tay Yoshitani during this economic recession. Is he getting a whopping kick back or does he need a couple weeks at Western State for a mental evaluation? This gives the CEO a base salary of $366,825. God only knows how many thousands in perks he gets.

They call themselves public servants, I call them parasites. I have written other articles on this website about the obscene salaries and perks but this article is to alert you to NOT VOTE FOR BILL BRYANT.

The Governor says the state is broke, she may be right but his salary could be cut by $300,000 and it would still be $66,825. Lots of smart people would step right in for that salary. No wonder there are protests by people out of work or who are having their insurance cancelled when this stupid, stupid stuff is going on. Like they say Throw the Bums out. Let’s start with Bill Bryant.

When I voted this time, I voted against any incumbent that is holding office. You cannot reach them, they do not care what you have to say. A little legislative aide will answer for all of them. The King County Council is selling bonds based on tolls even though there is a vote coming up on that, but they will ram it through like they did the tunnel that no one can afford by saying contracts were signed so it has to go forward. If the city, state and fed government is broke none of these expensive things should be considered.

All monies for each branch of government is paid for by workers. None of these places including the port have a money tree but they will tell you it was allocated, or set aside, or approved by the voters ten years ago.

Who Is Mayor Bud Norris?

Have you ever heard of Mayor Bud Norris? Didn’t think so. If you did it would be something to try to make you not like him. He makes the spotlight every once in awhile. Two years ago he declared a “Glen Beck” day and gave him a key to the city. Beck is a native son and famous now. Why shouldn’t the mayor invite a famous personality home whether you like Glen Beck or not? But the public had a hissy fit over it.

Now the Mayor is in trouble with the public and city council because he asked the state to deny a liquor permit for a proposed Mexican Restaurant. They want to serve 60 kinds of Tequila @ $8 to $10.00 a drink. There is an establishment directly across the street from this proposed restaurant that has had excessive 911 calls so the Mayor says its just too much booze served in that neighborhood. Public is having a hissy fit again.

The Library sign fell apart and they had to replace it but the Mayor left off one word. The word was “biblioteca”. This means Library in Spanish. He as asked that the phone system not include Spanish in their menu choices.  Another Hissy fit.

The public is calling him a racist. I call him the best prospect for President of the United States. What do you think? Please leave your comments. LLL

Paridon Williams – 50 Ways To Help Another

It’s about 1:30am in Seattle as I share a beer with a friend at the newly updated Belltown Pub. As the last call announcement is broadcasted over the speakers, a very tall house-less man walks in. His beard is a little gray and needs a good shaving. Dressed in black with a shoulder bag over his shoulder that appears to have costs a few dollars. It appears to be another awkward moment where we are going to be hustled for a buck or two. Walking the Seattle streets I am sure you’ve experienced it. Some are more honest than others and just need a beer and/or others have a more elaborate story to get some change. Normally, you just continue walking and don’t engage ignoring the behavior to save yourself the time, story, and money.

Paridon Williams was a little different then most, however. He had a passion about this book. It was a book he created and continues to create which involves helping others out. After his pitch to us, I passed on the offer. I just didn’t get it. Mr. Williams continue to chat it up with my friend (who may have had a few drinks) and eventually I was talked into a 50/50 investment into the book from my friend. He pulled out a copy of the book from his shoulder bag and it was put together quite well. He said he goes to the library and gets it binded at Kinkos. The pages are not numbered, but I am estimating it has approx. 75 pages or so (front and back also). I am guessing it must cost about the same for what he is selling it for ($12.95).

Since I basically gave the book to my friend at the Pub, I figured I would flip through a few pages and check it out (before morning) since I won’t be seeing this book again. The book, however, was impressive – really impressive. The value is in its inspiration from a guy who is struggling and continues to push forward and help others. It is his “masterpiece” and a piece of work that overlooks his own needs and problems for the sake of others. The book is filed with letters he has received from people just like me. Most several days and weeks later. People who turned their backs to him initially but after reading and being inspired have changed their point of view. Some people have also submitted stories, poems, and letters to Peridon Williams inside the book. His book, 50 ways to help another, encourages submissions and that keeps the book updated with new versions. He also has advertising in the book from local Seattle businesses.

In short, it’s a good read from a good guy filled with a whole lot of love from a whole lot of people.

1 … 5 6 7
Go to Top