Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten

How to deal with scheduling conflicts – tip 2: You are not late if they know you are late

You are not late if they know you are late. Think about that the next time you are going to be late at a meeting. Most of the times you are late you actually know you are going to be late way in advance. But you deny it, try to avoid it and then do it anyway. But you will find out that if you call, even if it is only 10 minutes in advance, that you might not make it people will hugely appreciate that. So, the next time you have a meeting and you think you might not make it in time pick...

How to deal with scheduling conflicts – tip 1: Never Apologize!

That is a weird tip isn't it? I know and it isn't a universal tip. If you bump into someone on the train please DO apologize. If you you forget your girlfriends birthday I suggest you apologize profusely. But in a business-situation you better not apologize. A few years ago I had a meeting with a manager from a large company and I was a few minutes late. So as I sat down I started to explain why I was late and how sorry I was. He interrupted me and told me... 'Never Apologize!' I...

Interview for TED

It's sunday evening and I'm waiting for Binja Mager from TED magazine who wants to interview me. Tommorow at 5pm I'll be doing a Skype interview with someone from...

WiMaX: why, or why not?

In a few hours I'll be in a studio talking with Herbert Blankesteyn on Business News Radio about the future of Wimax. Other guest will be Simon Hania (XS4ALL) and someone from Casema who claims to have Wimax working. Mirko Mensink, Director Strategy & Partnership Management, from Casema who told about their WiMax efforts. I have spent some time looking into Wimax right after we sold HubHop (Renamed KPN Hotspots) to KPN so I have a bit of knowledge on the subject. I brought my Wi-Fi...

Back in Amsterdam

2200+ spam messages, 400+ unread messages in my inbox. About 30 snailmails and a lot of rotten food in the refrigerator. We arrived at 2 in the morning carrying heavy suitcases and two sleeping girls. I'm a bit tired...

leaving!

We are packing up and getting ready to catch our plane. Au revoir Juan les...

Seagull Thinking

I'm in the hotel garden looking up at the sky. It is windy. I can see seagulls flying. Floating. Way up high. They have flown so high that I'm wondering about a few things: - Do seagulls ever get afraid of heights? - what are they doing up there??? There is no fish! - do they ever die of a heartattack and plunge out of the...

Disaster Day?

Is today Disaster Day? My 4 year old daughter was walking along the beach of Juan les Pins with my mother when a fisherman pointed them to a man in the water. He was way out in the sea en seemed to be diving and coming up again in a strange manner. They told the life guard and within minutes there were about 10 resque boats, a sealed off beach, 30 police- and firepatrol cars and one helicopter. They are still searching for the missing swimmer but haven't found him yet... Then I get to...