Interesting Links for 28-12-2014

[andrewducker]

• What it's like selling to big corporations
  (tags: software sales business )
• Fear makes you a worse programmer
  (tags: fear programming viafanf )
• Low oil prices - a threat to the dollar?
  (tags: oil USA Russia currency politics middle_east )
• Empathy represses analytic thought, and vice versa: Brain physiology limits simultaneous use of both networks
  

Comments

[bart_calendar]

The other thing with selling to big companies is to find stuff out about the person who is dealing with you. Engaging in small talk goes a long way. These people are used to dealing with people who only view them as a money pig. Finding something they are interested in, Googling it so you can say something smart about it and creating a conversation about it will move mountains. Literally these people spend all day either getting yelled at by people in their company or being sent boring sales sheets from other people. Be the dude who talks to them about knitting or houseback riding or whatever and you'll be the email/call they look forward to - and guess who they'll try to help out?

[andrewducker]

I can entirely believe that!

[bart_calendar]

Also, good luck with Putin's plan if that really is his plan.

It's clear that russia is going to need help from the IMF soon and the US will pressure the IMF to make any bailout conditioned on oil still being linked to the dollar.

The State Department has said point blank that they want a stronger dollar because they know that the only realistic way for Europe to get out their financial problems is for the Euro to fall and the dollar to rise. And, for good historical reasons they are terrified about facisim breaking out in europe if the economy doesn't stabilize.

For that reason, the US will also start buying rubles soon in order to raise the value of the ruble. The reason being that europe has been getting a lot of tourism money from Russians and that is starting to dry up with the lower ruble, so in order to help the EU economy they need to keep the ruble valuable. This too, works against Putin's plan, if, indeed, it is his plan.

[drdoug]

That "plan" is nonsense on stilts. Russia is in full-blown currency crisis, facing mounting problems with externally-denominated debt. The idea that giving up the main source of foreign currency earnings would be remotely feasible is bonkers.

[hirez]

Wasn't that one of the alleged reasons for wading into Iraq?

https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/173/30447.html

I wonder if that sort of thing comes up regularly.

[strange_complex]

That article about the conflict between empathetic and analytical thought processes is fascinating. Definitely rings true in terms of what I've observed of my own behaviour and other people's, and I think will help me understand and work with both better in future too.

[matrixmann]

For the thing about the low oil prices: One point to admit the author is right - if the Gulf states block every adaption of supply rate and cause a massive drop of the overall price, it's not only going to hit Iran, it's going to hit everyone who can't say "I can spare the income of this business". So it means everyone worldwide except for the Gulf monarchies.
So no-one should say that this is not going to have some consequences for the global balance as it currently exists.

[resonant]

Importantly, big corporations are very bad at actually paying invoices.